Oh The Sweet Way He Inspires by Pastor Todd Benjamin Lout

The week before last held it’s challenges, as some weeks do. I don’t consider myself terribly unversed at how to maneuver through some rough waters here and there. Worship, prayer and the Word are staples for me. However, there comes that moment when it dawns on me, again, that I really need to just quiet myself. Just to intentionally have no other agenda but to sit with Holy Spirit, allowing my mind to descend into my heart and observe Jesus there.

Upon this familiar “ah-ha moment” I dropped everything, (trying to figure things out, busying myself, etc.), and went to my front porch. I created a little sanctuary on the porch with foliage and a comfy, outdoor Papasan chair. It took several minutes to re-train my brain to just be calm. Eventually my ears became attuned to the sound of the birds all around. This relaxing, beautiful sound. It’s usually there but we rarely really notice it. My ears tuned in and my heart softened. I thought, “Wow, my perfect Father loves this sound and allows it’s peacefulness to be a soundtrack to our days, whether it's a bit of a chaotic day or not. “ The more I listened the more I was filled with gratitude. I stayed there for a considerable amount of time until there was nothing but tenderness.

Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. - Matthew 10:29-31

After I went back in the house I got on the keyboard and began to worship a bit. “THUD!” came a shocking noise against our family room window. Out of the corner of my eye I was pretty sure I saw a little bird hit the window. My daughter, Sierra, and I went out to the back porch to investigate. We saw this little bird, standing in a corner, like a scolded school kid. I reached down to this cute creature and there was no resistance at all. Carefully I scooped it up and held it in my hand. Sierra noticed the bird’s beak was stuck open. It’s eyes were rolling some and there was definitely injury to it’s jaw area. It was so sad. We laid fingers on this cutie and began to declare healing. Right away there was improvement but we persisted until we noticed things looked normal. When the bird was healed I put it on a branch of a potted tree I have,(this particular tree is my fullest one and has been growing out of dirt mixed with my father’s ashes). The bird stayed for about a half hour more, then flew away.

(This is an actual photo of this little dude or dudette) 

I really felt like God had pleasure over my arriving at such appreciation for the sound of His little birds. Moments later He lets me rescue one and even see it through to healing...a chance to return the favor to these little creations for what they provide.

He loves us more than we know. He desires to weave intricate strands of gold through our days and we’ll notice them when we are still and know that He is God.

Here's an interesing P.S.
My wife, Karena, was in Cambodia when this happend. On that same day a little bird flew into the place where she was staying and got trapped. Karena rescued it and returned it to the outdoors.

You Can Do It! You Can Prophesy! by Bill Hernandez - Prophetic Teams Leader

On the day of Pentecost 2 millennia ago the Holy Spirit was poured out on a group of believers and Peter said that the day Joel spoke of had arrived. “For these men are not drunk , as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel (Joel 2:28): ‘ And it shall be in the last days’ God says that I will pour forth my Spirit on all mankind and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.” Acts 2:15-17

As a result of being filled by the Holy Spirit, Paul is able to state, “You can all prophesy” 1 Cor 14:31

Also as a result, anyone that comes within my circle where I am teaching and releasing the prophetic will be firmly, but gently challenged to blurt out prophetic utterances on the spot! I can do this with confidence inspired by the Holy Spirit within knowing that indeed you have all been endowed with powers beyond this realm. I want you all to grasp the reality of another world breaking forth through your very beings. I want the world to see and know that a heavenly realm exists and thereby turning its heart to God. Through the prophetic the world can be comforted, edified and consoled. You can be the consoling, comforting, reconciling heart of the Lord if you just step out and meet the challenge.

With enough practice in a safe environment that I like to create, people eventually begin to prophesy confidently. I believe this happens because we have permission to train and release the saints into amazing expressions of God's timely words to His people. I always tell people if they hang around me and others who are prophetic that they will catch it. Truly, this more caught than taught, but I believe this is because it's already inside and it's just revealed or sucked out into the open when we are around others who are doing it.

Any ministry of the Holy Spirit is easy to catch by just hanging around people who are doing the stuff. It really is infectious. I made sure to hang around the anointed leaders and watch them and hear them minister and it sunk in somehow and I came out and found myself doing what they were doing. Like Jesus, they were doing what the Father was doing and now I along with all my team am doing the same thing. The Father promotes this by pouring out more power, more ability, more inspiration to continually raise up and equip His army. He is totally into revealing what He has placed inside of you.

I will always do my part by telling others, "You can do it! You too will prophesy!"

For my latest project to provide a place for you to learn how to prophesy, I am offering a training seminar on the prophetic on November 15-16 and I would encourage you not to miss it. It will change your life and those whom you minister to. We will be teaching out of Kris Vallotton's manual Basic Training in the Prophetic Ministry. Please check out the website for information on how to register: http://blazingfire.org/sopregistration.htm

Blessings,

Bill Hernandez

Dominion, Creation, and Our Heart by Pastor Russ Fochler

Last summer, I had the pleasure of conducting two weddings.  For both, I read from the Creation Story in Genesis 1: “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”” Genesis 1:26-28 NASB

This is a beautiful and mysterious passage.   But, with mystery; we can tend to “gloss over” what we don’t really understand.  But, I couldn’t “gloss this over” anymore.  I began wondering: “What was the dominion and responsibility that God gave man – both male and female - over the Earth and over the creatures of the Earth?  And how do we fulfill this today?”

Jesus clearly walked in dominion while living on the earth.  He ordered the wind and waves to be stilled.  At His knowledge and probably command, a fish with two coins swam up to be caught by Peter so the temple tax could be paid.  At His command, a fig tree withered and died as a sign.  And Jesus caused 153 fish to gather together to be caught “on the other side” of the apostle’s fishing boat when Jesus came to meet them at the Sea of Galilee after His resurrection.

We lost much of our authority to steward the Earth when our forebears Adam and Eve fell into sin and rebellion.  Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection provided for the restoration of our stewardship as sons and daughters of the Creator of the universe.  Indeed, Paul writes:  “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.” (Romans8:19 NKJV)  The fullness of this awaits the return of King Jesus.  Yet, can we walk in a greater stewardship and dominion even now?

There is evidence that gives a resounding “yes!”  But our hearts and spirits must be tuned-in with God’s heart and His Spirit.  Many Christians have had a hardened disregard of the earth - using the scripture about a coming "new earth" to justify this disregard.  So, as Kris Vallotton points out: “Our eschatology has messed-up our ecology.”  And as Leif Hetland notes: "All Kingdom matters - are matters of the heart."

Here is a story of how heart-issues affect the creation around us – and how letting God soften and reconcile our hearts can bring land, plants, and creatures into harmony and fruitfulness.  It inspired me.

From “Healing the Earth” by John Sandford and Mark Sandford (Elijah House) pages 4-6:

“In the wake of World War II, Mother Basilea Schlink and her companions were building a center near Darmstadt, Germany to house their new established evangelical sisterhood.  After a dump-cart loaded with sand derailed six times, Basilea discerned that their vindictive attitudes were affecting the physical world around them.  She urged her sisters to repent and reconcile with each other and with God, and the cart never jumped its tracks again.  From then on, by the same means they periodically stopped torrential rains, frost and heat waves that hindered the building process.  For Basilea, the abstract idea that sin spiritually pollutes the land became a concrete reality!

There came a day when God convicted Mother Basilea to stop polluting the land physically as well.  At God’s prompting, she insisted that her ministry cease using pesticides.  Some of her sisters complained that this “defied all common sense,” but Basilea felt convicted that repentance would be the most effective pesticide.  They began picking off inchworms and catching rabbits by hand.  As tedious as this seemed, Basilea chose to view the hard work of practicing kindness to the earth as an indication of their willingness to bend to God’s will.

Her staff continued to combine these efforts with repentance, both individually and as a group, for whatever sins God revealed.  The Lord tested them with a season of drought, but they persevered.  So, He rewarded them with refreshing rains, along with ladybugs to eat plant lice, birds to pick off insects, and human helpers to assist with weeding.  The result was a harvest so copious that they were able to feed not only themselves and their guests, but also needy families in the nearby town!

They dubbed that summer, “the time of unmasking.” This was repeated year after year (usually without the drought), as again and again God sternly alerted Mother Basilea and her companions to cleanse their hearts.  Each time insects invaded their garden they dropped their tools, retreated to their rooms and asked the Holy Spirit to reveal whatever sin had invited the pests.  In every case, after repenting and reconciling they returned to their garden and found that the pests had moved out. 

Sometimes the unmasking was painful, but the bountiful results produced great faith, even in those who normally tended towards discouragement!

Since the Scripture says that God “…sends the rain on the righteous and the unrighteousness” (Matthew 5:45), I caution that not every natural occurrence is due to sin.  But today’s way of thinking blinds many Christians to the possibility that it ever is.  I wonder if, for some who live a repentant lifestyle, nature has responded and they have chalked it up to mere coincidence.  

What an added incentive to live like Jesus they might have missed."

A King’s Decree by Rich Oliver

During the past few months we have seen so many people going through very difficult and trying times.  And sadly, many of them simply accepted “what life threw at them”, and struggled along.

This awakened something in my heart, and I am feeling a resistance building up against the whole idea of always being a victim to circumstances, and soon Holy Spirit began to stir up a word in my heart.

What does the Word say?

Rev. 5:10 “And You have made them a kingdom (royal race) and priests to our God, and they shall reign as kings over the earth!”  and

Eph. 2:6  "And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

We have been called to a higher place of victory.  We have been appointed as kings to rule in this earth and not to fall victim to every attack of the enemy!  The king of a country or kingdom decides what to do in different circumstances and his orders and wishes are carried out to the letter.  A king makes things happen!

Then why is it that we, who are supposed to “rule and reign in this life in One Christ Jesus”, are so willing to accept defeat when sickness, poverty or adversity come our way.

Job 22:28-29 “You shall also decide and decree a thing, and it shall be established for you;  and the light of God’s favor shall shine upon your ways.  When they make you low, you will say, There is a lifting up; and the humble person He lifts up and saves.”

Wow!  Isn’t this amazing?!  With God’s Holy Spirit living in us, we are able to know the will of God, and knowing His will for us, it is time that we DECIDE AND DECREE A THING, and it shall be established for us!

When a king sends out a decree, it is not a suggestion, but it is law!  It has to happen!  You and I are kings in the Kingdom of God and it is high time that we make up our minds that we will no longer be victims, but we will become victorious! We will send out a decree into the heavenly realms that says:

By His stripes we are healed.

We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

We are more than conquerors through Christ who loves us.

We are the head and not the tail.

The angels of God encamp around us.

No evil shall befall us or our loved-ones.

Our children are blessed, anointed, protected and live in God’s plan for their lives.

People will see us and call us BLESSED.

We will have enough to be a blessing to others

We will walk and live in the perfect will of God.

Etc. . . .

Will you join me today in deciding that we will rise up and be the kings and priests who God has called us to be?  Will you call out a decree of victory in your situation and see it be established for you?

We decree that you will have a week filled with God’s joy and glory!

Lindy and I love and BELIEVE in you!!
Papa Rich

Inviting God to Disturb us by Pastor Susan Fochler

Dear Family;

We recently spent some time in the Point Reyes area, where Sir Francis Drake made landfall in 1579 at Drakes Bay in Marin County.  I was struck by the prayer Sir Francis prayed as he was leaving England to make the second circumnavigation ever of the world. During a time when any travel by boat for any distance was very risky; long before GPS, satellites, cell phones, or gas-powered motors, Sir Francis recorded this remarkable prayer:



Disturb Us, Lord

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess
 We have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, We have ceased to dream of eternity and in our efforts to build a new earth, We have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wilder seas where Storms will show Your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the Stars.

We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push back the Future in strength, courage, hope, and love.

This we ask in the name of our Captain, who is Jesus Christ.

What Was Sir Francis Thinking?

I find it shocking that he would pray such a prayer at a time when there were none of the comforts or ease of transportation and communication as we find with todays rapidly expanding technology.  This prayer deals with an issue of our modern lives that can so lull us with it’s familiarity: the security of the known.  It is so easy to take what we have for granted.  Nothing was very safe or predictable 400 years ago in the day when Sir Francis lived.  Long before electricity, reliable transportation, medicine, communication, and safe food and water supply, he asked to be “disturbed” from playing it safe!  Clearly he was listening to a wooing from deep within, to step into an eternal destiny that was given to him by God alone.  Any other journey would never satisfy.  May we each so listen and respond to that deep calling unto the deep places in our own hearts!

Disturb us with Your Kingdom, Lord!

I propose that this prayer is an invitation to embrace the Kingdom of Heaven as that place that is not familiar, predictable or controllable.  Yet, how can we choose a lesser path?  We belong to the Lord of Heaven, we answer to a Higher King than the prince of this world.  His ways, His thoughts are so beyond, so much better than ours; yet, He invites us in, higher, to dream and imagine a world beyond this, where Faith is the entrance and Love is the currency.

We thank you, Lord, that through our Precious Jesus we are all “in” and qualified already!  You faced the worst discomfort imaginable so we could know unending belonging in You.  How could anything else of this world compare?  Give us eyes to see, and ears to hear the bounty of Your goodness and the very near reality of Your Kingdom as never before.  And give us the courage to enter in boldly, knowing we truly can trust You, the source of all Love, with all we hold dear.  Thank you, sweet Jesus, for choosing us first, to be Yours, forever.  You are our only safe place.

With Love,
Susan

Saying goodbye to Lonnie and Angelas Ellis by Pastor Brent Lokker

Let's face it, none of us particulary cares for big changes in our lives that seem to upset "the way things were." Especially when "the way things were" were pretty darn good. But our loving heavenly Father--who is outside of our timeline (that we like to thing we're in control of)--knows all things, knows the very best for us, and knows how to get us exactly where He wants us to be for the sake of His Kingdom plans to bless the whole earth.

Sometimes that's kicking us out of a comfortable nest we'd happily stay in the rest of our lives. That's actually how and why I planted two churches, the last one being Blazing Fire Church that God has used to transform the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of lives over the past 13 years--but that's a story for another time.

In a similar fashion, Lonnie & Angela Ellis, who have been on staff as our elders and pastors (Lonnie for the past 10 years!), have been coaxed out of this nest called Blazing Fire Church to venture out where the Spirit of God is leading them next. It's a bit scary for them, but the adventure of leaping out under the direction of the Holy Spirit and having to trust entirely upon the goodness and faithfulness of God will give them deeper roots in the Lord than they could possibly imagine--the kind of roots needed to go to the ends of the earth any time they are called to do so.

Lonnie & Angela will be preaching tomorrow night, Saturday, September 7th at Blazing Fire Church. They will be sharing their hearts and bringing us some encouragement, as they always do. And we will have the privilege of sending them on their journey with blessing, not because we want to see them go, but because we want to see Jesus get everything he paid for on the cross for the sake of the world God so loves, and He is sending them into the next phase of the journey He's already planned for them.

I have a big favor to ask of you--Would you help us bless them with a generous financial gift from our Blazing Fire family? We can never give to someone financially what they are worth, but please help as you are able for us to give Lonnie & Angela an over-the-top blessing for their many years of pouring into our Blazing Fire family.

This is going to be one of those extra memorable family night together, so please join us if at all possible. If you can't be there, you can still bless them by sending a gift to Blazing Fire Church, P.O. Box 1599, Pleasanton, CA 94566, and put their name in the memo or send something through Paypal onhttp://www.blazingfire.org, noting that it's for them.

I will end with a short segment from my friend Myles Weiss who explains the Jewish year 5774 that we just entered into on Wednesday night. This is for Lonnie & Angela and for each and every one of you reading this!

5774 – Ready to go through the Open Door?

The decade of “70” is coming into its 4th year. We are celebrating the Fall Feasts and beginning the year 5774. The Hebrew letter “ayin” which is the word associated with 70 is pictured by the eye. A door pictures the Hebrew letter “dalet”, the 4th letter. This coming year will include many opportunities for us…as God is opening doors.

As the seasons pass from Rosh HaShanah to Yom Kippur, let’s not lose the symbolic importance of the “day of blowing” —the Feast of Trumpets. Beyond the heavenly sound of the physical ram’s horn, there is also the picture of who we are to be as His representatives in the Earth. In our generation, we are to sound the alarm, the Good News, and the call to war as watchmen on the wall.

When we allow God to have His way, we are the voice of God lifted up and released into His purposes. It is time find your destiny … and walk in the specific calling He has for you. This year, 5774 God intends for you to look for open doors of opportunity for you and I to speak words of wisdom and grace to those around us.

You are a shofar in His hands in this generation!.

Exporting Love by Pastor Brent Lokker

Four of us from the Blazing Fire family just got back from two weeks in Uganda where we had the joy and privilege of meeting beautiful people and releasing what has been entrusted to us by God. Tomorrow night (Saturday, August 31st), Pastors Brent, Lonnie & Angela and Fred Long will be sharing with and releasing to you what we experienced and received and we will encounter the Holy Spirit together!



(A Ugandan family that Blazing Fire supported two years ago with a coffee farm to give them hope for their future)

Most of the Ugandan people are very poor financially, yet their tropical land is loaded with the juiciest, sweetest pineapples and the biggest, richest avocadoes I've ever tasted! As God brings Kingdom transformation to the infrastrucure of Uganda, they already have the goods to export to the world!

That got me thinking about how you and I have been loaded up with the riches of God's heavenly Kingdom. And the more He transforms our inner lives to flow effortlessly according to our original identity as His sons and daughters who carry His glory, the more we will export His goodness everywhere we go.

The greatest mark of maturity in the Christian life is love. Love is the greatest quality of God that we carry. Love crosses all cultural barriers. Love changes things. Love wins. And love is our biggest, sweetest and richest export to the world!

This Saturday, in addition to sharing with you what happened as we exported love to Uganda, we will also be sending off Joe & Eva Medina who will be exporting to Redding, CA the love they've absorbed from the Blazing Fire family over nearly a decade. The following week, September 7th, we will be sending off Pastors Lonnie & Angela Ellis to export the love of Christ to Sacramento and the world! Please do what you can to be there these next two Saturdays to express the love, honor and deep appreciation to these beautiful friends who will always remain part of our family, but who are following the Lord's leading into the next chapter of their journey with Him.

Finally, I want to remind each one of you that you carry the riches of heaven right inside of you! You carry the greatest change agent ever created that is God's answer to all that you will encounter...LOVE! Freely give what you've freely received. Freely export what has been freely imported by God into you!

Ephesians 5:1-2 (The Message Bible)

"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."

2 Corinthians 5:14 - "For Christ's love compels us..."

Let the love of Christ compel you to export His love and goodness everywhere you go!

With Great Love for Each One of You!
Brent