To Proclaim the Favorable Year of the Lord!

This Saturday, March 13th, from 3:00-4:45 pm, I will be sharing "The Blazing Fire Story"--our history, vision and values. This is particularly for those of you who have started coming to Blazing Fire Church over the past year or two and want to get caught up on our unique church culture. By ending at 4:45 pm, you will have time to get some dinner before the start of worship at 6:00 pm.

GRAHAM COOKE will be here Friday, March 19th at 7:00 pm and Saturday, March 20th at 6:00 pm!!! We have been waiting for years to have Graham come to Blazing Fire. You REALLY do not want to miss this. No matter what you are experiencing in life, you will leave greatly encouraged and filled with the wonder and awe of who God is and what He has called you to do!! We will be at a larger venue that weekend because of the larger number of people we are expecting. We will be at Celebration Christian Center, 1135 Bluebell Drive in Livermore. This is the same location where we had the Holy Spirit conference last Fall.

To give you a taste of Graham, I am including portions of a word he gave in 2001 called, "To Proclaim the Favorable Year of the Lord." This word got inside me and changed me! It is just as true now as it was then. Grab hold of this and watch the favor of God take over your life! It's a bit long, but well worth reading as many times as it takes until you believe it!

This is a year of unprecedented, unparalleled, favor of God. This is a year when the anointing on your church will experientially increase. This is a year of corporate anointing so profound that it will be sometimes like an open heaven in your meetings. The Lord says whatever you can do to get together and collectively dream about together, you wouldn't even hit the mark of what God has really got planned for you.

This is a year of unprecedented, unparalleled, favor of God. It's a year of God's favor on your family, it's a year of favor on your marriage. Let me tell you right now, whatever marriage difficulties you are having, the Lord is saying to you, this year if you believe, He will reconnect you. And it will be like it was in the beginning. The romance, the love, the favor, the kindness. For your marriage, a year of unprecedented favor. For your kids a year of unprecedented favor of God upon your family. It's a year when the prodigals will return. When God is going to reach out as you pray, as you believe, as you come and as you put their names on the alter of God, and say, Lord, please this year. It'll be a year when God will begin to touch the hearts of children who are far away from Him. And He will begin to move in upon their hearts. And I tell you, He will pursue them like the hound of heaven. There is no escape from the mercy and the glory of God. It doesn't matter how far they go, how far they fallen, and where they are. The Lord is saying this is a year of unprecedented, unparalleled, favor upon your family. And not just your immediate family, but your family line. Whatever curses have been upon your family can be removed this year.

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EVEN IF AMERICA EXPERIENCES AN ECONOMIC DOWNTURN? YOU WILL EXPERIENCE THE OPPOSITE!
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It's a year of unprecedented, unparalleled, favor of God. Just in your jobs, if you've ever been passed over for promotion. If you've ever not made a raise, if you're finding it difficult to make sales, the Lord is saying to you, This is a year of unprecedented, unparalleled, favor of God. That when you go out to make deals, pray for the favor of God. And you pray for your company that the favor of God will be upon them. It doesn't matter what economic down-turn America is going to experience, you are going to experience the opposite. Pray for your company, pray for your business because this is a year of unprecedented, unparalleled, favor of God. Because you see, you are the people of God and you get to prosper when other people are not. That's how everyone knows that the favor of God is upon you. Because they may be subject to the economic vagaries of life, but we are not because we are the people of God and we are living in the favor of God.

There's prosperity in your jobs, in your finances and the Lord says this is the year to give like you've never given before. And He will give to you pressed down, shaken together and running over. Beloved, it's not like after 12 months, the tap is going to turn off. This 12 months is catch up time. We should have been living here all along. We've given up on things, we've stopped praying about things, we've stopped expecting God, we've stopped believing God for things. This is a year when we are playing catch up. It's not like after 12 months it's going to stop, it's going to continue. This whole 12 months is about you getting back on track with where you should always have been living.

The favor of God upon you will cause you to come into such a place with God that you will get revenge on the enemy for everything he has ever done. Listen. You know, personally, I would make a list. I would make a list. Cause I want pay-back for everything. I want payback with interest, thank you very much.

You know God will turn your captivity into a ministry. Whatever your struggles have been, there is a spirit of breakthrough this year. Whatever your past history, this is a year of jubilee. This is a year of breakthrough. This is a year when you will break out, you'll break in, you'll break through. On the right hand and on the left. Whatever has oppressed your family will be broken. Wherever you've been a victim, God will make you a hero in that very same area. This is revenge, big time.

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THIS YEAR, PROPHECIES TO BE RESTORED . . . FULFILLED
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Whatever previous prophecies have been spoken over you the Lord says to you, "This year, take those words back because the answer is still yes!" God will restore what the locust has eaten, God will restore what the enemy has stolen. There will be grace upon grace, upon grace, upon grace, upon grace, upon grace, upon grace, upon grace, upon grace upon us. Because in this year you are going to understand what the nature of God really is like.

Beloved, this is a holy moment. You don't want to waste this time. I tell you something, it will be possible for you to go through this year and not experience a tenth of what God wants to give you. You need to take this word 365 days, not just the next few weeks. Don't let go of this word. You know, we've wasted opportunities in the past.

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GET REVENGE WITH THE ENEMY IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS
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This is a year designed to get you back on track with God. So if I were you, if you were really sensible, you would make adjustments really early on. Get revenge in the next couple of months. Get yourself totally sorted out in the next two months. Then you got ten months after that to enjoy what God's going to do with you. Don't wait. I'm serious. I'm as serious as a heart attack, don't wait. Don't wait. Don't treat this lightly or casually. Go to war with it. Every single day, think "favor". Every single day! Every single situation you come in, you go into it saying, "Father, I know I have favor in these circumstances, what should I do?" Every single thing, every single day, for the next twelve months, until it gets into your mind, this is the way you should be living. Until you are so soaked in the spirituality of this you cannot change. Until your mind set is so set on the favor and goodness of God, it is impossible for you to be any different.

This is a year of unprecedented, unparalleled, favor of God. When you will become a people of promise and the promise here in this passage is that you will have a garland instead of ashes. See life won't taste like dust in your mouth. There will be a fragrance there. You will have the oil of gladness for mourning. What does that mean? It means you'll never be miserable again. It means there is an oil of gladness upon you. It's a glad heart, a glad eye, a glad ear. You're a person of glad tidings, people are glad to see you. It means there is a mantle of praise for the spirit of heaviness. What does that mean? It means whatever oppressive spirit is over you or over your community, you're going to replace it with the mantle of praise.

Also it means that you're going to be an oak of righteousness that's planted by the Lord in that community and people are going to come and congregate under your shade. It means that other people will bless you abundantly. It means that you will be called priests and ministers of God. It means that the prosperity that God flows on you, you will be able to use for Kingdom purposes. It means you'll have a double portion where there was once shame. It means there are going to be days when you just shout for sheer joy of what God is doing. It means you'll have a double portion in the land. What does that mean? It means you've got a double portion in your community. That God is going to have an investment in your community.

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IT'S GOING TO BE JOY EVERLASTING!
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This joy that you have is not going to be transient, it's going to be everlasting. You know, because I'll tell you, some of us need to be trained to be joyful. That's true. I'll tell you, some of us find it so easy to be flippin' miserable. And God is going to train you to be joyful. But you've got to realize that this joy is everlasting because God is the happiest person I have ever met in my entire life. And what that means is, it doesn't matter what the enemy throws at us, we just stand there and grin. Because we know something he doesn't know. We are fighting a good fight and we ain't losing.

See, you're going to get this new testimony about the nature of God. The yoke is going to snap through the anointing. And because of all of that a spirit of restoration will be upon you. And you will rebuild ancient ruins. You'll raise up devastated areas.

Burn the Fat and BE the Fire!

Hello Wonderful Friends!

Last Saturday I began my message talking about my time praying with Peter Holthe, Kara's husband, who was battling cancer (you can hear what I said on podcast by going to www.blazingfire.org). I said that he was very close to being home with Jesus. I didn't know it at the time, but it turns out that Peter was already home with Jesus when I spoke those words. He passed from life to More Life just about the time we concluded the worship portion of our service (about 7:30 pm). Although Peter did not attend Blazing Fire, I had the distinct privilege of getting to know him in quite a special way over these past two weekends. Kara has been coming to Blazing Fire for several years, and for those of you who wish to surround her with loving support, you are warmly invited to Peter's memorial service to be held this Saturday, March 6th, at 2 pm at The Church on the Hill, 20801 San Ramon Valley Blvd., San Ramon, CA, with a reception following at the Senior Center in Dublin. If you would be willing to help with some of the set up and clean up of the sanctuary, please respond to this e-mail to let me know.

This coming Saturday night at Blazing Fire will be a very special family time together, hearing from the missionaries returning from Israel and as well as a few others. We will end with prophetic ministry to bring great encouragement, hope and vision to God's people!

Last Saturday at our service, I read a prophetic word from Chuck Pierce that we acted upon by allowing the Fire of God to burn away those things in our life which were holding us down. It was a pretty wild night and I expect that much good fruit will spring forth from the faith that was displayed last Saturday. Here is that word:

Dear Glory Seekers:

We are entering a new glory realm. This is such a key time and the Lord is calling us forth to "see His glory." We are developing a new identity in this new season. We wear the glory. Ask the Lord for a new prophetic release and a new level of supply. Wealth and glory go together. This past week the Lord has shown me some patterns to help us move forward. We must discern our present place and go beyond.

As we gathered this past week, the Lord spoke: "You will go beyond where you have been in the past. You had fire in one season, but now you will go beyond and BE fire for the next season. You will draw back the bow and shoot beyond where you have gone in the past. You will ford and eddy and you will go into that water, and yet you will not back up when the water deepens around you. You will go beyond!"

I see a picture. It's almost like you were lost in a snow storm and you've been pressing to find your way out. You are almost through the forest, but you feel like you need to lie down and sleep—that it is too hard to press on through. I hear the Lord say, "The fire is coming in you and melting away what is trying to cause you to slumber in this season. You have lost your 'soul press.' I am rekindling your soul, for there is an identity in you that is going to be fiery and will burn your way through this season. Momentum is coming through the fire gate. Catch the moment and you will create the event you've been watching for. You have said, 'The event is escaping me.' Catch the moment when I blow up through your soul and awaken the past deposits of My glory that have fallen asleep.

"Your soul has been dry and your soul has cried, but today there is a sound of rushing waters in your soul that is causing your soul not only to be healed, but to see. By seeing deep into your soul, your identity will be displayed. Allow the rivers flowing from My throne to flow in your soul so that your soul comes alive in Me with new energy to press forward. Your soul will now see! You have not seen your identity reflect the desires deep within you. I am causing a river to cause a reflection to come through you that you have not seen.

"The identities of My people in the earth are now changing and they will have a different identity as they cross into their future. Remove that which is not reflecting Me. Words have been spoken that stopped you from digesting My word in the past and stopped you with fear from branching out into places that I am calling you to branch out into. Those words are now being pushed out by the River and the Fire in you so that you will have a boldness to say, 'This is who I am in this season.'

"There is a smell of sacrifice that I am calling to arise from My people, because the fire that was once burning has been rekindled. You have smelled the burning from the past but have not seen the fire. Smell the burning and watch, for the fire will come alive. I am blowing on the fire. The smell of burning is on you, but now the fire will blaze in you. There must be a release of new fire through My people. Ask Me to open that fire gate and cause the smell of burning that has been purifying you in the last several months to turn to a new, blazing fire.

"The fat is going in the fire! You have been trying to lose weight on your own, in the flesh. You have been trying to get rid of weight—not just physically, but spiritual weights—and the fat is going in the fire. The fire gate of Heaven is opening and the fat is in the fire! You will move toward the river and go beyond the river and the depth you have been in the past season."

LeAnn Squier shared: One of the things about fat is that all the toxins are stored there. It is so good of God to say for us just to throw all of the fat on the fire. I also thought about how Paul was bitten by the serpent and shook it off into the fire. The Lord is saying, "There is a lot of stuff in the fat of that past season that I am asking you to offer Me, because there are serpents in it. I'm asking you to shake it off and let Me consume it on My fire, on My altar.

"Bring a sacrifice to Me. Go forward beyond where you have been before. Bring a sacrifice of you to Me, and in your sacrificing to Me, what has been held up (brooding within you) now will begin to move out of you and deliverance will come. You will find yourself standing in the place that I have longed for you to stand. Deliverance now has been activated. The flood gate, the fire gate of deliverance, have now opened up and deliverance is moving through My people. They are sacrificing to Me in a new way. Watch Me set a fire within you!"

Lastly, I wanted to share with you some cool things that Terry Lawrence saw in the Spirit last Saturday night at Blazing Fire:

Last night at Blazing Fire, our Jesus showed up in a different way that I have ever seen Him at BFC before!!! YAY! He was as tall as the ceiling. He was wearing a loose tan, coarse looking but soft ,cloth tunic that came down to His calves, and with loose sleeves that came to about his elbows (the cloth glowed! ), and dark brown dreadlocks (can we call them lovelocks?).

Part of the time Brent was teaching Jesus was standing in front of him swaying gently side to side, looking and listening but He also kissed Brent on the head a few times and stood behind him once with His hands on his shoulders. At times He danced; always joyful, deeply loving, deeply peaceful and those attributes flowed over us from His very Presence. During the drum time at the end Jesus was beating a drum too, very energetically and having a grand time dancing very enthusiastically at times!

The atmosphere was full of light,healing and deliverance. [There must be many testimonies today of what Jesus did last night, today and forever!]

When Brent talked about the Lion of the Tribe of Judah…The Lion showed up with the enemy in His mouth, shaking , shaking, shaking him! I can hear Him growling now as I write this! J He was huge too, almost as tall as the ceiling, golden tan, glowing mane, fierce but kind, confidently powerful, enjoying Himself and definitely “not tame, but very good.”

YAY JESUS!!!! YAY JESUS!!!!

Change for Saturday + BFC's History, Vision & Values!

Hello Friends,

Just a quick e-mail this week to let you know two things.

No Stephen DeSilva this Saturday
Stephen DeSilva from Bethel Church in Redding will not be speaking at Blazing Fire Church tomorrow night due to illness. Nothing serious, but he needed to stay home and rest. We have rescheduled him to come on May 8th! The good news is that Jesus is still going to be there on Saturday and he wants to hang out with YOU!! I will be speaking Saturday night and we will also hear a bit from Karissa Glanville, author of The Realm, a fascinating Fiction story about the realms of light and darkness.

Blazing Fire Church's History, Vision & Values: March 13th!
On Saturday, March 13th, from 3-4:45 pm, I will share how God orchestrated things in my life that lead to the start of Blazing Fire Church 8 years ago and share a brief overview of our history as a church. I will briefly describe the vision and values of our church as well. EVERYONE is welcome to attend this meeting and it is especially an attempt to help those of you who have been coming more recently to catch you up as to who we are and why we do things the way we do. The meeting will take place at our regular place of worship, Harvest Valley Christian Church, 3200 Hopyard Road, Pleasanton. There will be time after the meeting to go get a bite to eat for dinner before the service starts at 6:00 pm that night.

I declare MASSIVE blessings, favor, grace, love, joy, and peace upon you!!!

Doors Are Opening!

Hello Friends!

I continue to be GREATLY encouraged in this new year. Something within me has intensified--both the passion to know my Jesus more closely than I ever have before and the heightened desire to see my Father's Kingdom breaking forth upon the earth, and more specifically, in the Bay Area! No matter what is happening in your life, I URGE you to keep your attention focused on the great big smile of the Lord and on the steadiness of his eyes upon you, giving you the confidence and boldness to be who you truly are! There's no time for His Bride to be moping around in discouragement. We are LOVED! We are EMPOWERED! We are bringers of God's LIGHT! We are releasers of God's ENCOURAGEMENT! We are carriers of God's GLORY! We are GREAT beyond measure! We are UNITED with CHRIST! NOTHING is impossible for those who know their King! NOTHING!!

Recently, I had a dream where I could not open a door because the handle was missing. As I turned to get something to repair it, a "Fix-It Man" was already passing me by, not with a doorknob, but with an entire new door! Now just Who do you suppose that "Fix-It Man" was? You guessed it...Jesus was already on it! The things you haven't been able to fix or do for yourself or make happen, Jesus is ready to do for you! He's already on it!

This dream fits right into a portion of a word on the Elijah List by Taffie Furr that greatly encouraged me a week or two back. I pray it does the same for you:

Prophesied on January 8, 2010 in Albany, Oregon at The ElijahList's "What is God Saying for 2010?" Conference

"2010 is a year of your transitioning being established into positioning. Many doors, both big and small, that have been kept both hidden and sealed closed, shall be made obviously visible and opened.

"Your pathways shall be cleared away for a free and steady run as you seek My instructions and walk in obedience to both My rhema and logos word. Remain where you are until the clarity of My Spirit overtakes you for the next jog of your journey. Yes, this time will be known as being fast-paced because acceleration is upon you and set in motion upon the season, but it will not be without rest and it will not be aggressively strenuous. I am in it and all over it and I give rest and joy, not heavy burdens."

I have given the order—promises fulfilled for those who have been, and are willing to wait upon the Lord. Take it, receive it, move and live in it," says the Spirit of the Lord. "The vault of Heaven is opened to My children and I will pour out My blessings and treasures, multiplied, as you are willing to receive in faith, knowing that I am good and that My word produces, supplies and never runs dry.

"As the world looks for and is assuming the worst, I am fulfilling the desires of My precious Bride and giving you the best.

Taffie Furr

Finally, some of you have been asking for the links to the youtube videos I showed last Saturday night at Blazing Fire Church. Here is the one about how much your heavenly Father loves you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cmd64f9C21s (the first few seconds are black, so keep watching!)

And here are the two clips I used to talk about our intimacy with the Lord being like the relationship Lucy had with Aslan, even burying her face into His mane! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0AwNDoUTbE and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1qMwk7azBs

Enjoy!

Enjoy Me in the Journey!

Hello Amazing Passionate Followers of Jesus!

On this journey that we are on with Jesus, we often get really down on ourselves if we don't think we are where we ought to be. The problem is, I don't know anyone who is completely where they want to be since all of us are still in the catch up phase of apprehending all that has already taken place when we received our brand new life in Christ.

In light of that, I hear God saying to each one of you,
"Chillax and enjoy Me in the journey more! It doesn't always look the way you think it should, but I assure you that I am taking you to good places! And don't be so hard on yourself as we travel together. I am constantly changing and molding you to look just like my Son, Jesus, and I know JUST how to do it in your life. I have given you a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26), one that is responsive and sensitive to my touch and my voice. Yes, you DO hear my voice (John 10:27) and I am lovingly teaching you that responding to my Spirit within you is your life-line. I want to remind you that anything the enemy does to try and slow you down, I will use to accelerate your growth! I AM trustworthy!! I AM faithful!! I AM good in all that I do!! I AM convincing you that the death blow of my Son's death on the cross to your old sin nature was 100% complete! Nothing from your old way of life has power over you any longer! (Rom. 6:6) You live solely to please me now. YOU ARE MINE! I won't share you with another. I am causing a distaste in you for anything that draws you away from me. I have put within you a voracious appetite for my presence. You will continually eat from my Tree of Life and continually drink from my River of Living Water! 2010 is a year of MASSIVE victory for you! You will stand at the end of this year, look back, and be amazed at all I have done. BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS!!"

The Sparkle in My Eyes!

I asked the Lord how He wanted to encourage you today and this is what I heard:

My Children,

Look into my eyes and see the sparkle. That sparkle is there because I am looking at YOU! Don’t lose hope! All is going according to my plans. Trust me and enjoy the journey more. You are worried about many things that you do not have control over, but I have already told you that I will take care of you. I know how to get you from where you are to where I am taking you. And where I am taking you is a GOOD place. Do you know why? Because I am a GOOD Father and I am taking you deeper and deeper into where and who I am! I will do all that I have said I will do in your life and in this world! Whenever you start to fear or become discouraged, look even deeper into my eyes. See the joy, the delight, the absolute certainty that all is well!!

Then the Lord highlighted these three verses from the book of Isaiah:

“Lord, you will grant us peace, having completed all our undertakings for us.” (Is. 26:12)

“Do you hear? Long ago I prepared this, from days of old I actually planned it. Now I carry it out.” (Is. 37:26)

“The jealous love of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this!” (Is. 26:32)

Extended Worship this Saturday the 9th + Encouragement from Doug Addison!

Hello Amazing Friends!

About two weeks ago, I met an amazing woman, Lani Netter, who is the wife of Gil Netter, the producer of "The Blind Side" as well as many other movies ("A Walk in the Clouds", "Fever Pitch" & "Marley and Me", to name just a few). Lani has been interceding for Hollywood for quite a while and is seeing the fruit of her labor coming forth. She has a great passion to see the mountain of entertainment ruled by Jesus! I am super excited to announce that Lani Netter will be coming to speak Blazing Fire on January 23rd, as well as speaking at Wildfire (youth group) on Monday night, January 25th, and at our Kingdom Training School of Supernatural Ministry on January 26th. She will be sharing about how and why "The Blind Side" is shaking Hollywood (it has grossed well over 200 million dollars!) as well as sharing some of her own personal journey in how God has prepared her for such a time as this.

Also, I want to encourage you to come this Saturday, January 9th, for our Extended Night of Worship from 5:00-11:00 pm to spend 6 hours enjoying the presence of God and also receiving prophetic or healing ministry (come at 5:30 pm for sign-ups to receive ministry).

Here is a really encouraging word from Doug Addison, who will be coming to speak at Blazing Fire in April:

A really great thing about God is that He sees us as who we are becoming through His love and power. As He looks at our lives, He knows our past, understands our present, and can see us in the future, all at the same time. His love, mercy, and grace are unfathomable. Imagine the possibilities if we could see ourselves the same way that God sees us. Much of the time we are not able to see our purpose and destiny with much clarity, so we are required to rely on faith. The principle of faith allows us to trust that there is something special and unique for us, even if our experiences have been the opposite. Sometimes there is great resistance or even setbacks before we are able to get into the fullness of God's desires for us. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 NIV

We need to be certain of the fact that God has nothing but good intentions for us, even though we may not see them yet. You'll see this in this powerful Biblical principle: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

These are God's intentions for us. His plans are to prosper us, to give us hope and a future. If you read on, you'll see the benefits of grasping this. Then (after you discover God's plans for you) you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:12-13 NIV

We must see what God is doing in our lives and work with Him to bring it about. It's time to take a stand against what satan has in mind for us and come into line with God's wonderful intentions for us. If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; but when they attend to what He reveals, they are most blessed. Proverbs 29:18 The Message

Our Identity is in Christ!

The foundation of my life is this: in Christ, I am a new creation, and all the old thoughts and behaviors no longer have power over me. I am being renewed every day with God's love and character. I share in God's divine nature because God's Spirit lives in me. I am free from condemnation and have the strength to live my life free of despairing thoughts and the competing desires of my flesh. I am God's workmanship, created to do good works, which God has prepared ahead of time for me to accomplish. I am more than a conqueror through God who loves me. I have a clear mind and can make good decisions. I am increasing daily in faith, strength, wisdom, and love. I am able to love others because God has first loved me.