All That I Have Is Yours

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Luke 15:31... ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.

After running a few errands for his parents, a little boy went 2 his father and said, “I know why u and mummy had me.” “Why?” asked his father. “So that u guys would have someone 2 run errands for u!” exclaimed the boy.

Like the little boy, do u see God as a Father who demands obedience and service from u? Have u ever felt that unless u obey Him and keep all His commandments, u don’t have a right 2b blessed by Him?

Jesus shared the story of the prodigal son 2 show how some of us call God “Father” and yet don’t know His heart. There are two sons in this parable. We know what happened 2 the prodigal son, but we can also learn something about the older son. This is what he said 2 his father when he discovered that his father had thrown a party 2 celebrate the return of his irresponsible, spendthrift brother: “Lo, these many years I have been serving u; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet u never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.” (Luke 15:29)

Now, this son believed that his father had brought him into the world 2 serve him. He saw his father as someone issuing commandments 2 him all the time. And he saw himself as someone who had 2 obey those commandments 2 enjoy his inheritance. But the truth is that the father had already given him his inheritance. (Luke 15:12) The father even reminded him lovingly: “Son… all that I have is yours.” And I am sure that that inheritance included more than one goat!

Have u, like the older son, failed 2 understand your Father’s heart? Your heavenly Father already gave u a rich inheritance in Christ when u became His son. He wants u 2 know that u have received the Spirit of sonship. (Romans 8:15) So call out 2 Him, “Abba, Father!” and know how much He loves u. Because u are His heir, all that He has is yours 2 enjoy today!

Matthew 6:33 - … seek first the kingdom of God & His righteousness, & all these things shall be added 2 u.

God doesn’t want u grabbing the newspaper first thing in the morning & reading all the bad news in the world. He knows that if u do that, your heart will be full of cares, anxieties & even fears.

This happened 2 a mother who read in the newspaper that children from China studying in our local schools were becoming top students. She wrote 2 the press, voicing her concerns about the stiff competition her child would face from these students, even for the top jobs in Singapore in the future.

When are reading the newspapers, magazines, medical journals, economic reports, watching movies or surfing the Internet all the time, then u are getting your “nourishment” from these sources instead of God’s Word. Now, I am not against these things. But if u constantly feed only on earthly things which cannot satisfy, u will fill your heart & mind with cares &  worries.

Jesus doesn’t want u 2 end up worrying about your life — what u will eat, drink or wear — as these are the things that the Gentiles (people of the world) seek. He says that your heavenly Father knows very well that u need these things. (Matthew 6:31–32)

That is why He promises u that if u would seek first His kingdom & His righteousness, all these things that the world seeks after will be added 2 u. It will not just be given but added, which means greater in quantity & quality!

If u are broke, don’t pursue money. Pursue God your prosperity. If u are faced w/lack, don’t pursue material goods. Pursue God your provider. If u are sick, don’t pursue the “cure”. Pursue God your healer.
My friend, don’t grab the newspaper or call your friend first thing in the morning 2 talk about the latest bad news. Instead, grab your Bible & read all the good news God has 4 u for the day. And as u seek first the kingdom of God & His righteousness, all the things that the world is running after will be added 2 u!

Believe AND Act On The New Covenant

1 Samuel 17:45 - Then David said 2 the Philistine, “… I come 2 u in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom u have defied.

Ever wonder why two people can hear the same thing and yet have very different responses? For one, what is said makes him afraid and discouraged. For the other, his heart is so filled with faith that he dares 2 come against the devil and what he is doing.

In the Valley of Elah, Goliath the Philistine giant taunted the armies of Israel for 40 days. When David came on the scene, he heard the same mockings of Goliath that the rest of the Israelites heard. But somehow, those same words which caused fear in the soldiers angered David. What did David know or see that the others failed 2 see?

David knew that he had a covenant with God. Now, King Saul and all the soldiers with him that day also had the same covenant with God, but only David believed the covenant. And he acted on his belief. So God caused his giant 2 come tumbling down.

If David had such a great victory even though he was under the old covenant, how much more u and I who are under the new covenant! Today, God is asking, “Where are my Davids who will believe the new covenant?”

What is the new covenant?
It is the covenant of grace. And grace means unmerited, undeserved, unearned favor. God wants us 2 know that He has cut this covenant with us through Christ our representative. And according 2 the covenant, we have His undeserved favor. We are blessed bcoz Jesus took our beating. Because of what Jesus has done on the cross, we have victory over every giant.

Isn’t that good news? Today, God wants u 2 stand b4 your “giant” and declare that in spite of what u are going through, in spite of what is happening, u believe that God is for u bcoz of what Jesus has done for u. And then, b4 your very eyes, u will see the giants of accusation, intimidation, condemnation, disease and debt fall flat b4 u!

HOPE System Based in REST

Bob Hartley:

A New Hope-Filled Operating System Based in Rest

God's Heavenly Hope-Filled Perspective for 2011-2020

In the midst of perceived waves and challenges in the earth, the Lord has been unveiling His hope-filled perspective for 2011-2020 to the Body of Christ by revealing His solutions to every circumstance and situation in the earth. HE IS THE SOLUTION. The Lord has been equipping His people in many ways so that we can become a dwelling place for Him, and we can become places of His presence and hope in businesses, in education, and in our homes. He is equipping us with Hopeful Eyeglasses (the ability to see rightly from His heavenly, hopeful perspective), Hopeful Hearing Aids (the ability to hear His voice rightly as the God of Hope) and the Right Body Armor (the importance of surrounding ourselves with marvelous comrades and loving, hope-filled communities) in this season, and now He is giving us a New Hope-Filled Operating System based in rest.

There was a prophetic picture about this New Operating System that my daughter and I discussed, which revealed that I was operating out of assignment versus relationship. Initially, this picture was given for me personally, but God has since expanded it through dreams as a word to build up the Body of Christ. The essence of these dreams is a new partnering with Him, where we become experts in rest as we discern the stressors and clutter in our lives and turn our focus instead toward Him, toward adoring Him. Where the Body of Christ has been operating out of assignment, out of striving, stress and unbelief, the Lord is coming to show us His more excellent way, the way of operating in rest and relationship, of seeing His solutions from above the clouds with Him.

In Exodus 33:15 Moses said to God, "If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here." At the core of the New Operating System is this valuing of the presence of God above all else.

The New Operating System of Rest

God is calling us into this New Operating System that moves out of rest in His presence – an operating system that He began 2 explain 2 me in a dream through a pile of leaves. The dream came at a time when years of pushing hard in life and ministry had left my body and soul running low. In the midst of this time, as I was looking for a new way forward, God brought 2 me the beginning of the answer in the form of a dream, a dream that began with 10 piles of leaves.

In the dream, as I am walking toward a villa in Germany, I encounter a woman who instructs me 2 rake up the leaves in her yard into 10 piles. So I start 2 try 2 comply with her instructions, but the wind is blowing and I am running in too many directions at once, trying 2 rake up and gather the leaves, feeling confused and exhausted. The Lord showed me that these 10 piles of leaves represented present needs and issues facing the Body of Christ, which are real, but need 2b left 2 God.

In the dream there was too much 2 do, too many directions 2 go in. I was feeling increasingly exhausted, but I wasn't getting anywhere. Just then a woman with blonde hair and glasses, from the house next door, came up 2 me, grabbed my face, and said, "One focus, not ten," telling me 2 work on raking up ONE pile of leaves instead of the ten. "One focus on His eyes," she said, and as I raked the remaining leaves and followed her instruction, I did it with rest and ease.

One Focus: His Presence

In the dream God had also spoken the words, "Thirty days for Thirty Years," 2 me, which He explained meant that if I would give Him thirty days it would set me on this course, this course of a New Operating System that would change who I was and how I operated for the next 30 years of my life, and He said that the same promise was true for the Body of Christ. When I shared this dream about the woman with blond hair and glasses 2 a good friend, he said 2 me, "I know the place and the woman."

A few months later, I went 2 the wellness center that he had spoken of in Germany. I went 2 enter in 2 this New Hope-Filled Operating System based in rest and 2 restore my body and soul. When I arrived there, I met the woman with the blonde hair and glasses from the dream. She was helping 2 run the wellness center and she spoke 2 me in the same way with the same words she had spoken 2 me in the dream. "One focus," she said over and over again in the thirty days that I was there. "One focus moving out of a restful place of hope where ministry comes out of overflow, not residue."

During my time there, God continued 2 unveil this New Operating System, based in rest, based in one pile of leaves, one focus in Him, that He wants us 2 function from in the days 2 come. This one focus is an Ephesians 4:4 call 2 the Body of Christ. Ephesians 4:4-6 says, "There is one body and one Spirit, just as also u were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. ONE FOCUS IN HIM.

The "Healthy Hope Center of Heaven"

To enter into this New Operating System, He has revealed 2 me a series of rooms in a "Healthy Hope Center of Heaven" similar 2 my encounter in the Classroom of Useful Information, which u can read about in our 2011 word. In the "Healthy Hope Center of Heaven," God has shown me four rooms that will be key in unlocking this New Operating System for us. They are the Room of Rest, the Room of Patriarchal Love, the Room of Care for Your Soul, and the Room of Care for Your Body.

The Room of Rest

The first room we enter into is the "Room of Rest." In this room we learn a new rhythm, a new focus, a new way to be in His presence with intentions of only love and hope. Here we move from scattered focus and disconnection to clear, concentrated connection in Him. Here we leave behind our Babylon chaos and confusion and enter into His rhythms of rest, as in Hebrews 4:9-11 where it talks about this Sabbath Rest: "So there remains a Sabbath Rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience."

As we enter this "Room of Rest" we have to trust in the God of Hope, the God of Jeremiah 31:25 that says, "For I will satisfy the weary ones and refresh everyone who languishes." We have to trust that "those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength" (Isaiah 40:31). We have to "stand by the ways...where the good way is, asking for the ancient path" of Sabbath Rest, trusting that we will find "rest for our souls" (see Jeremiah 6:16).

The "Zimbabwe Road"

When I was living in Zimbabwe about 20 years ago, we didn't have anything except for one another. Since there were no distractions there was a depth of love and intimacy that developed between us there. I especially remember the Zimbabwe road where I used totake walks with my wife and how much our relationship deepened and grew on those walks.

In this "Room of Rest," God pursues that "Zimbabwe road" type of relationship with us, that road where we walk together for the sake of relationship alone. In John 15:15, Jesus says 2 us, "I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known 2 u
u." He speaks to us as friends. The greatest act of love in return is for us to listen to His voice. Only then can we enter into His Rest 

The Giant of Busyness

When I was on the plane flying back from Zimbabwe, I had a dream where God spoke of the promises over our land and He showed me the giants that we would have to fight to obtain the promises He spoke of. One of these giants was "Babylon busyness, activities devoid of life," which is like the "ten piles of leaves" from my dream. As we try to rake up these "ten piles of leaves" to attend to needs and issues of the day in the Body of Christ, we find that our focus is scattered and disconnected because we are locked into the motion, the activities of the day vs. heart connection with Him.

Years ago, I was a lifeguard, and I was on duty one day when a boy drowned. This was an incident that impacted me deeply. Many years later God showed me a picture of myself on that same lifeguard stand, and He spoke 2 me that it was time to come down from that self-imposed responsibility that I had placed on myself. He said that it was not my job to rescue everyone in the world, 2 address every need and issue in the Body of Christ. He later showed me that same lifeguard stand, but now He was the lifeguard on the stand and I was sitting next 2 Him. God is emphasizing for us, the Body of Christ in this time, this distinction of partnering with Him while allowing Him to be the lifeguard on the stand.

Call 2 the Body of Christ

God is calling us back 2 "one pile of leaves," one focus in Him. He is calling us into a New Operating System that moves out of rest in His presence, an operating system that He will give to us as we follow Him through these rooms in the "Healthy Hope Center of Heaven."

There are three more rooms in the "Healthy Hope Center of Heaven" for us to explore on another day, including the room where we learn to give and receive Patriarchal Love, the room where we learn to Care for our Soul and the room where we learn to Care for our Body. Until then, return to the ancient paths of hope you already know.

Remember to ADORE HIM, proclaiming who He is and the God of Hope that He has been 2 u in your life. Remember to ASK HIM how He sees u and what good things He has stored up for you in the hope-filled days to come. Remember 2 ask Him how He wants u 2 enter into this "Room of Rest," ask Him how He sees u, and ask Him what good things He has for u through this New Operating System of Rest.

Bob Hartley
Deeper Waters Ministry
Email: deeperwatersinc@gmail.com

The Multiplication Anointing

Catherine Brown:

The Multiplication Anointing

And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work. Exodus 36:7

In outworking global missions I have learned that God provides for everything He commissions. The principle of getting in the flow of God's eternal provision by faith is a key to unlocking the Father's unlimited resource and funding for Kingdom vision. Flow is about understanding and entering in to the faithfulness of God in the reality of our covenant relationship with Him. Christian leaders are appointed as stewards of Heaven's resource, and so I believe it is essential that we enter into a fresh understanding and experience of the miracle of multiplication in our ministries so that we may be instrumental in releasing transformational blessing to the nations.

God has been speaking to me recently about His desire to release the Church into a new level of miracle multiplication anointing, i.e. a season of supernatural "suddenly," acceleration and increase.

It is has been my personal experience that God has a simple "formula" for such an outpouring which has been:

Great need x great faith x sacrificial giving x prayer x God's love = miracle of multiplication!

Multiplication of Time

The multiplication anointing operates in the realm of the miraculous, outside of the confines of physics, time and space. It is the realm of the impossible made possible by God's grace, love, power and authority.

I have experienced God "stretching" time on one occasion. I had been ministering in the Central belt of Scotland some one hour and 40 minute drive from my home. I had been delayed and consequently left the meeting extremely late. I had needed to leave on time since I had to pick up my youngest son from school that day. Driving home I prayed and asked the Lord to redeem the lost minutes and to multiply my time back to me. It is physically impossible for the drive to take less than one hour and 20 minutes in good traffic conditions, but despite this I arrived in my home town just 50 minutes after I left the Central belt (in fact I was five minutes early for school). I had sown time into the Kingdom and my harvest was a multiplication of the resource of my time back to me. I had honoured the Lord and fulfilled my apostolic assignment, and God graciously met me in my need as a mother to pick up my son.
To say that leaders are busy people is the understatement of the year. Therefore, I believe it is important that we exercise faith in the arena of multiplication of our time. In this season of miracle outflow and increase, may God grant us a harvest in our time resource and time management for His glory!

Multiplication in Healing

The multiplication anointing is catalytic in releasing the creative power of God. This is why a roomful of people can suddenly experience being healed simultaneously, rather than just one at a time. When Jesus heals one by one it is still glorious, but this is more like "addition" than "multiplication." It has been my profound privilege to have been ministering in meetings in different continents whereby the miracle working power of God has flowed in multiplication and we have corporately and simultaneously witnessed bones being healed, people being delivered and diseases being healed and swept away in the flood of God's love. We honour the Holy Spirit as the means by which such miracles occur.

We may refer to this as spiritual multiplication in the realm of healing. Apostles move in signs, wonders and miracles by the grace of God. The healing anointing is also freely available in Christ to every Believer, and evidenced in miracles and healings in many evangelistic meetings and contexts. It is my humble conviction that there is a greater realm of multiplication of miracles we may access by faith in the name of Jesus in these days. God is calling us to come up higher so that we have access by faith to unlimited healing and creative miracles in the name of Jesus – for the furtherance of His Kingdom here on earth. May God use apostolic leaders from all over the world to pioneer into new realms of releasing healing blessings to the Church and to the lost, and may His name be lifted up in praise by every tongue and every tribe as millions come to know His saving grace.

Multiplication of Physical Resource

In Exodus 35 and 36 we read how the people of Israel brought their skills, resources and talents to Bezalel and Oholiab for the materials for the construction of the Tabernacle. Bezalel and Oholiab were filled with the Spirit of God and had been given skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts. God had also imparted to them the ability to teach others. Under Moses' leadership they were able to call the Israelites to partner with them in God's vision of a beautiful Tabernacle on earth which He would graciously bless with His presence. The people gave so much to God's vision that Moses had to restrain them from bringing more "because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work."

I have been privileged to witness God outwork this principle of faith multiplication in resource many times during the fulfilment of the various global ministry assignments in which God has graced me to serve Him. Truly, when we bring what we have in our hearts and in our hands and give it as a love offering to God, He multiplies it for His glory. Apostles are anointed by the Holy Spirit to catalyse spiritual gifts in others. Apostolic multiplication anointing is a blessing to be shared with the Body of Christ.

One Million Hours of Praise was a global assignment I was privileged to lead, which lasted just under three years from conception to completion. It involved the mobilisation of thousands of people in more than sixty nations. It included a huge army of volunteer team members and praise partners throughout the world. Furthermore, it raised up a prayer movement of hundreds and required a huge amount of media exposure to keep the vision momentum moving. The list of all that was required to maintain the vision through to completion was enormous, but God did all of this and more.

God provided for the vision of MHOP in a number of different ways including:

1. The Lord sent people with skill and similar heart to partner with me in the vision.
2. He provided the raw materials/resources that were needed.
3. He gave me strategy to cast the vision and favour with media, hence increasing the networking opportunity to connect with potential partners.
4. He provided financial gifts from time to time through ministry donations/partners.
5. He gave me increased faith to pray for every need to be met in His goodness.

Every time we had a need, I found myself on my knees praying with fervent faith, and many times necessary breakthrough came when I released a sacrifice of praise/prayer to the Lord. I quickly grasped that I didn't have to pray for money; all I had to do was pray for God's miracle-working flow of goodness to provide for the need and God came through in wonder-working ways every single time. Our final budget on paper showed that we had spent the ludicrously low amount of £1,623.74 (approx $2,546 in U.S. dollars) to execute the vision from beginning to end! The reason the figure was so low was because the people of God all over the world who were our partners sowed sacrificially and generously, giving of their time and talents just as the Israelites had done in their day, and there was more than enough. All leaders have a responsibility before God to love, pray and invest in their team and partners. When apostolic leaders experience blessing and breakthrough, those with whom they partner with partake in the synergy of blessing from Abba Father, too.

In the last few years, I have been surprised by grace and elated to witness the Lord multiply money in my hands several times and in numerous currencies, including Euros, pounds Sterling and Kenyan shillings. On one of these occasions the multiplication happened in a foreign exchange bureaux in Kampala. The Holy Spirit instructed me to count the money (pounds sterling) and it multiplied as I counted it. Full of joy, I handed the money to my young aide Rachel and asked her to count it again. I told her the Lord had just multiplied it in my hands and instructed her how much was there. When she counted the money, it multiplied again in her hands. This is an important aspect of multiplication – it just keeps multiplying because we keep on giving! When we receive a blessing, it is multiplied as increased blessing when we give it away. Multiplication causes a continuous flow of blessing!

This money was exchanged in Ugandan shillings and was (in part) sown into a ministry in Masaka, Uganda. The miracle seed was shared with an apostle who had come close to giving up on ministry. He was so weary when we met him, but it was our privilege to wash his feet with prayer and words of apostolic encouragement. I sowed in love, sharing that Jesus was giving him miracle seed, and I prayed for increase and acceleration and apostolic blessing. Within two days the man was gifted a new car, and by the end of one week he had established a wonderful Bible School. He now invests in other leaders to raise them up as sons and daughters of God, and the man of God, the Bible school and the students are flourishing. God took the blessing and made it to be an even bigger blessing that produced both physical and spiritual resource. Multiplication brings the life of Christ into situations and releases testimony of God's goodness and miracle working power.

Multiplication of Spiritual Resource

Apostle Paul longed to visit the Church in Rome so that he might impart some spiritual gift to them. God still uses apostolic leaders today to take the Church to the next level in her ability to lay foundations, build and advance God's Kingdom on the earth. Apostolic leaders are mobilisers who are entrusted by God with divine blueprints to build the Kingdom.

I am delighted to say that One Million Hours of Praise reached and surpassed its target in 2005, and since 2007 I have had the privilege of spearheading a new global initiative, GGM 7 Million Souls, working with partners from all around the world. One of the greatest treasures in my role as the overseeing apostolic leader is to serve the wonderful men and women of God who partner with us to reach the nations and make disciples. My heart is to invest in the emerging generation of leaders, especially young leaders, and help them to reach their full potential in Christ. To raise up spiritual sons and daughters is one of the most precious aspects of apostolic ministry. Although I recognise that programmes have their place in the strategic outworking of vision and ministry in the Kingdom of God, I believe that people and relationships are much more important to Jesus than programes.

I am compelled by Christ's love to continue to nurture others as I read Charles H. Spurgeon's words, "To do the Lord's work must be as necessary as food to us. His Father's work is that in which we also are engaged, and we cannot do better than imitate our Lord. Tell me, then, how Jesus set about it. Did He set about it by arranging to build a huge Tabernacle, or by organising a monster Conference, or by publishing a great book, or by sounding a trumpet before Him in any other form? Did He aim at something great, and altogether out of the common line of service? Did He bid high for popularity, and wear Himself out by an exhausting sensationalism? No; He called disciples to Him one by one, and instructed each one with patient care."

I ask God to bless each one of you in whatever field of ministry and capacity He has called you and graced you to serve Him. May we each walk in increased intimacy with Christ and with each other and release His fragrance in the nations, and may God multiply His grace and glory in, to and through us for Christ and His Kingdom.

Part of this article has been adapted from Catherine book, Kingdom Building – Realising Vision and Developing Leaders.

Catherine Brown
Founder/Director, Gatekeepers Global Ministries
Co-Founder, Scottish Apostolic Networking Enterprise

Email: admin@gatekeepers.org.uk
Catherine Brown is the founder/director of Gatekeepers Global Ministries (GGM) and is a sought-after national and international preacher and teacher. She is presently leading a global evangelism and discipleship mission entitled "GGM 7 Million Souls" and is working with her team and valued partners from many nations to achieve the vision objectives. She operates in an impacting apostolic/prophetic mantle with a strong revival thrust on her preaching, serving the Church and the lost through Christ's Gospel of love. She has ministered in Europe, Africa, Israel and the USA and has had the privilege of seeing people saved, baptized, healed and delivered in the glorious outpouring of the Holy Spirit, with signs and wonders following. Catherine's passion for Christ and His Kingdom is contagious and wherever she ministers people are envisioned, equipped, empowered and mobilized. Catherine is married to Stephen and they have four lovely children and live in the West Coast of Scotland.

Jesus Is Your Qualification 4 God’s Blessings

Deuteronomy 28:2 - And all these blessings shall come upon u & overtake u…

God loves 2 bless u. He has even declared that “blessings shall come upon u & overtake u”. This means that u can’t run fast enough 2 escape them! When u turn one corner, there is a blessing waiting 4 u. When u turn another corner, u run smack into another blessing!

Now, u may think that u don’t qualify for God’s blessings bcoz of the preceding verse which says that these blessings will come 2 pass only if u diligently obey God’s voice and keep all of His commandments. You know that no matter how hard u try, u just cannot keep all of God’s commandments. In fact, the Bible says that if u fail 2 keep just one commandment, u fail 2 keep all. (James 2:10)

My friend, I have good news 4 u: Jesus is the one who qualifies us for every single blessing bcoz He has kept all of God’s commandments. When He died for us on the cross, He not only fulfilled all of God’s commandments, He also redeemed us from the curse of the law. (Galatians 3:13) Note that He did not redeem us from the blessings of
the law, so the blessings are still ours today!

As u read the list of blessings in Deuteronomy 28, starting with “Blessed shall u be in the city… in the country… the fruit of your body… your basket… when u come in… when u go out…” (Deuteronomy 28:3–13), I believe that Jesus is saying 2 u, “Like the blessings? Then take them by faith!”

You may say, “But I don’t deserve them.” Yes, u don’t deserve them, but u still get them bcoz of Jesus. That is God’s grace! The law says, “You must deserve the blessings.” But the law is no longer here. Grace is here. So take the blessings by grace through faith. Believe God for the blessings.

Today, it is no longer a question of how much or how well u have kept God’s commandments. It is a question of how much u can believe God for His blessings. All the promises of God in Christ are “Yes”, and bcoz u are in Christ, u can say “Amen!” 2 His blessings! (2 Corinthians 1:20)

When the Crop Permits

Francis Frangipane:

When the Crop Permits

Certainly, the period prior 2 Christ's return will be both difficult and perilous. Scripture warns that God's voice will shake all things, things in the heavens and things upon the earth. Everything that can be shaken, will be shaken and removed (Hebrews 12:27).

Yet, there is more on the calendar of God than increasing judgments and the rapture. There will also be the advance and establishing of God's Kingdom (Daniel 2:44; Matthew 24:14; Matthew 13). A spiritually mature people will serve as the vanguard of His Kingdom. Before the Lord is glorified in the earth, He shall be glorified in the Church (see Isaiah 60:1-3; Ephesians 5:27). Indeed, the attainment of Christlike maturity in those who pursue the Lord shall not be a mere sidebar on the scroll of end-time events; it will be the main attraction.

Listen carefully 2 what Jesus taught. He said,
"The Kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes 2 bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts up and grows – how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, bcoz the harvest has come" (Mark 4:26-29).

Jesus likened the Kingdom of God  a Farmer waiting for the maturing of His crops. During the harvest season, farmers are concerned about two primary things: the quantity and quality of the harvest. I live in eastern Iowa. Some corn and soybean fields, which may have started strong, fail or are stunted due 2 unusually high or low temperatures or lack of rain. As a result, farmers plow under their fields bcoz their crops did not reach maturity. There was no "mature grain in the head."

Just as the farmer will not harvest without the grain becoming mature, so God is seeking a crop of Christ-followers that have reached spiritual maturity. God is after full stature, not just full numbers. Take note: Jesus said, "when the crop permits," God puts in the sickle. The return of Christ isn't about a certain "day or hour," for it is the spiritual stature of the harvest that triggers the great unfolding of end-time events. You see, God is not looking at His watch; He's looking at His crop.

What does spiritual maturity look like? Recall Paul's words. He wrote, "We are ready 2 punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete" (2 Corinthians 10:6). What does complete obedience look like? It looks like Christians taking "every thought captive 2 the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). Again, God is looking for Christlikeness 2 ripen within us as we approach the end of the age. Indeed, our maturing can actually hasten the coming of the day of the Lord (2 Peter 3:12).

"Man...in the image of God" is the seed-idea purposed by the Almighty from before time began (Genesis 1:27). It does not in any way mean we think we are gods or that we take Christ's place; it means Christ has truly taken our place (Galatians 2:20). The original plan was for man 2b conformed 2 Christ. This is what the "mature head in the grain" looks like: mature Christlikeness.

For too long we have assumed that only the numeric size of the harvest was the focus of the Father. Certainly, the number of people saved is pivotal: "the fullness of the Gentiles" must come into the Kingdom (Romans 11:25). However, the Almighty does not just want numbers; He wants spiritual maturity.

Thus, the Lord is not looking at a calendar thinking, "Oh, it's the year 2011 (or 2020, etc.). I have 2 destroy the world on that date." No. A farmer does not reap his crops without first walking his fields, holding samples of the grain, and studying the moisture and integrity of the seed head before he begins his harvest. Again, the maturity of the crop determines the day of the harvest.

So many Christians are frozen in spiritual immaturity. They are easily offended, often distracted and without prayer or spiritual discipline. We think God is requiring of us simply 2 hang on, yet the Lord is looking for more. Paul says the goal of God in the Church is that "we all attain 2 the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, 2 a mature man, 2 the measure of the stature which belongs 2 the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13).

Even now, Believers around the world are becoming increasingly more Christlike. They live in India and China, Africa and South America, Europe and North America, and places beyond. Yes, they are comparatively a little flock, yet "with unveiled face," they are "beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord" and "are being transformed into the same image from glory 2 glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18). When this crop permits, the Father shall put in His sickle, for the harvest has come.

Let's pray: Lord Jesus, as You continue looking for spiritual completeness in the harvest, help me 2 grow 2 full stature, that I may truly represent a planting which has grown up into Your likeness.

Francis Frangipane
Ministries of Francis Frangipane
Email: francis1@frangipane.org

... We May Need What We Don't Like

Bill Yount:

We Are in a Season Where We May Need What We Don't Like!

Have u experienced certain things in your life that u did not like at the time, but later realized were needed?

May I share a few things I don't like?
Recently I was driving through a dangerous snow storm going 2 Pittsburgh, PA 2 minister. I don't like snow storms, especially driving in them. Another thing I don't like is big eighteen wheeler trucks flying down the highway, passing me by when I am driving. When they pass u by they can throw stones at your car and crack your windshield.

This snow storm was beating down hard but the roads were well-salted. But, my windshield solvent line had become frozen and my windshield became coated with salt, making it almost impossible 2 see. The windshield wipers only made it worse. I felt dangerously blinded. Then all of a sudden I noticed something. Every time an eighteen wheeler passed by and got ahead of me, its tires would throw water up on my windshield and I could see. Because of the storm there weren't many trucks on the road so I began 2 pray for more trucks on my highway. "Lord, please send me more trucks." When I could faintly see a truck that was way ahead of me, I would speed up 2 catch up, so it could throw water on my windshield. The trucks became my deliverance through the storm.

Another time when I was driving in a snowstorm a huge truck ahead of me was going slower than I wanted. Although the roads were treacherous, I decided 2 take a risk and pass this humongous hindrance 2 make up for lost time. As I began 2 turn into the passing lane, I noticed a huge snow plow in front of the truck and it dawned on me I needed 2b behind the plow or I might never get 2 where I was going. Again, what I didn't like, I needed.

Lord, Why Have Our Troubles Come Upon Us Like an Avalanche of Snow?

Job 38:22, "Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?..."

Again, driving recently in another snow squall, I cried out 2 the Lord, "How could the Apostle Paul say that his and our many troubles are just a 'light' affliction compared to the glory that is 2 be revealed in us. Was Paul crazy? Lord, show me what Paul meant and show me what my struggles and overwhelming problems look like 2 You. How do You see them from Your point of view?"

The Lord responded, "Son, look at just one of those snowflakes! You see it and then it's gone! That is what all of your avalanche of troubles look like 2 Me in the eyes of eternity. They are as light and short-lived as the life of a snow flake. That is what I see."

Corrie Ten Boom, speaking at a conference, kept looking down as she spoke as if knitting something. Near the end of her teaching someone asked her why she was looking down and not paying much attention 2 the people. She held up a tapestry she was doing needle work on. Holding up the side that was frayed and hard 2 make sense of, she explained, "On this side of eternity our lives many times look like this." Then she turned the tapestry over and said, "But from God's eternal point of view, He sees something beautiful and good."

Lord, help us 2 understand that what appears 2b a blizzard of problems is actually a treasury of snow.

Bill Yount
Blowing the Shofar Ministries
Email: theshofarhasblown@juno.com