PASSIONATE PEOPLE – PG 4
FRESH FIRE LIVING CHRIST BOLDLY
Cont agious
Let the World See Jesus
CHRISTIANITY www.freshfiremag.org
Lesley’s Note
Be Contagious Welcome to the first edition of Fresh Fire Mag! We are so excited about being able to impart God’s fresh Word into your life. We trust that as you read this magazine you will be encouraged to meditate on and apply God’s Word daily and in turn have the success that God promises us. It’s my prayer that God’s fire be ignited anew in your heart as it has been in mine. I encourage you to seek God in all that you do and to live Christ boldly! It’s not enough to just live your life. No, Jesus said that he who believes in Him.. would do greater works than He did.. John 14:12. What works is He talking about? Isaiah 61:1, 3 gives us a clue “... the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”
“Preach
As Christians we need to be doing the work of the ministry and not just leaving it up to ministers, missionaries, pastors or bishops to do. We need to be doing greater works than Jesus. We can start with people who are in our spheres of influence.. our friends, our neighbours, etc We can represent Christ just by living out a Contagious Christian Life. We need to be the trendsetters, the influencers and not the other way round.
often and if necessary, use words” St Francis of Assisi
]
In this issue, we’ve taken a look at how we as Christians can live passionately for Christ and affect people postively with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Before we can give something away, we need to have it first. We need to be desperate for God and for His purpose in our lives. We need to find out Who God is and what is on His heart. God loves people and so should we. St Francis of Assisi said that we must preach often and if necessary use words. Wow! What a wonderful testimony that could be about the way we live. People could be touched from the overflow of what God has poured into us. We could diffuse the Fragrance of Christ everywhere and affect the Health of our Nations. As we develop mountain-blasting faith, we will change the way we do life. Look around you... People are watching your life like a hawk looking for a clue as to why you have a different spirit... As we continue to walk in love towards others, God’s goodness will lead them to repentance. As we keep the picture, God will deliver on His promises– time and again.
Live Christ Boldly!
]
Contributors
IN THIS ISSUE
About FRESH FIRE PUBLISHER Fresh Fire Media www.freshfiremedia.co.za
CONTACT DETAILS P O Box 10423, George, 6530
EDITOR / COORDINATOR Lesley Cartwright
Phone: +27 (0) 861 11 23 71 International Phone: 0861 11 23 71 (within SA) Fax: 086 621 1554
SUB EDITOR / PROOF READING Andrew Cartwright PROJECT X ENQUIRIES projectx@freshfiremag.org
E-mail: info@freshfiremag.org Mag Website: www.freshfiremag.org
FRESH FIRE MAGAZINE is published bi-monthly as a downloadable PDF available on the website by Fresh Fire Media, South Africa, with the sole purpose of spreading revival fires throughout the African continent and abroad. It seeks to provide a platform from which ministers / ministries will contribute articles that boldly communicate the gospel in its entirety. Fresh Fire magazine aims to facilitate the spiritual growth of it’s readers and to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. © Fresh Fire Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. Because all Fresh Fire issues are preplanned, we are unable to accept unsolicited manuscripts. If this magazine has blessed you and you would like to contribute financially, you can do so on the Project X webpage.
ANDREW CARTWRIGHT
COLIN MCGEER
Andrew Cartwright is the founder of Find Life Web Church, an online Christian ministry that features powerful faith-building tips, articles, and Christian resources. He delights in writing encouraging, Bible-based articles that inspire believers to apply their faith in practical ways. Andrew is also co-publisher, together with his wife, Lesley, of FRESH FIRE MAG, a dynamic magazine that aims to equip believers for the work of the ministry, spreading revival fires throughout the African continent and abroad.
Colin McGeer established The Oasis Revival Ministry in Pretoria, South Africa, together with his wife, Laura, in March 1999. The ministry grew from humble beginnings to the point where it became necessary to purchase a building, now called the Oasis Centre, in 2006. Their passion is to inspire people to keep God at the centre of their lives, to truly live with God, and infuse His presence thoughout the community – whether it be Government, Business, Education, Sport, or the Arts.
Inside
The ‘Contagious Christianity’ Issue
Issue 1, 2008
FRESH FIRE
Passionate People by Floyd McClung
Diffusing the Fragrance of Christ Everywhere by Lesley Cartwright
Let the World See Jesus by Kenneth Copeland
Not Peace but a Sword by Adrian Wright
How Desperate are We for God by Lesley Cartwright
Mountain–Blasting Faith by Andrew Cartwright
Contributors
FLOYD MCCLUNG Floyd McClung is the founder of All Nations, an international leadership training and church-planting network. Floyd and his wife, Sally, live in Cape Town, South Africa, where they lead an outreach and training community working among the poor. He is the author of several books, including the bestselling ‘The Father Heart of God’ and ‘You see bones, I see an army.’
4 6 8 11 12 14
The Health of your Nation by Colin McGeer
The Love Destroyer by Pastor Belinda Linley
Keep the Picture by Lesley Cartwright
Do you want to know Jesus as Lord? by Lesley Cartwright
You Can’t Give Away Something You Don’t Have by Joyce Meyer
16 18 20 22 23
IN THIS ISSUE
PS. BELINDA LINLEY
KENNETH COPELAND
PASTOR Belinda Linley is co-founder and senior pastor of Light of the Nations International Church in Polokwane, and in Pretoria, South Africa, together with her husband, Dr Deric Linley. Founded in 1986, their church has grown to include an internationally accredited Bible college, Christian school, and an international minister’s network. Their vision is to inspire people to have a heart after God and to fulfill His purposes for their lives.
Kenneth Copeland is co-founder and president of Kenneth Copeland Ministries in Fort Worth, Texas. He boldly preaches the uncompromised Word of God, reaching millions of people worldwide through TV broadcasts, magazines, teaching audios and videos, conventions and campaigns, and the internet.
JOYCE MEYER Joyce Meyer has been teaching the Word of God since 1976 and in full time ministry since 1980. She is the bestselling author of more than sixty inspirational books, and thousands of teaching CD’s and DVD’s. Joyce’s Enjoying Everyday Life radio and television programs are broadcast around the world, and she travels extensively conducting conferences. Joyce, and her husband, Dave, are the parents of four grown children and make their home in St. Louis, Missouri.
ADRIAN WRIGHT Adrian Wright together with his wife Benita, serve as the leaders of the AllStars Youth Ministry based at Little Falls Christian Centre, Roodepoort, South Africa. With their passion for young people, a “no compromise” attitude, and a serious desire to know and serve God with their lives, they have been able to inspire those around them to step up and to start getting serious with God.
passionate People by Floyd McClung
We live in a world of competing passions.
If we do not die daily to the flesh, the world, and the devil we will end up with lesser passions.
It’s possible to deceive ourselves into thinking we have Biblical passions when, in reality, all we have done is hold a little baptismal service and give our old passions new names. We have only chosen passion for Jesus and his purposes in the earth when our hearts long for Jesus to be worshipped by our neighbours and the nations. When that passion beats in our hearts above all other passions, then we know we have exchanged our life for his. May I encourage you, dear friend, to give up your life? If you are ready to exchange your passions for his, trade your life for the life he has planned for you. If you are desperate to live a focused life, I invite you to pray this prayer: ‘Lord, be ruthless with me in convicting me of selfish ambition and lack of willingness to die to myself. By faith, I die right now to everything that has distracted me and held me back from loving you with abandon and boldness. I exchange my old passions for passion for you and your purposes in the earth. I choose this day to live for your glory. Let me see what you see and feel what you feel for the lost of the world. Fill me at any cost with apostolic passion. Do whatever you must do to bring me to a place of complete abandon and fierce focus on you and your glory in the earth. Amen.’
Passionate Focus
We have seen that one of the greatest enemies of living a life of passion is lack of focus. You can expend energy on all sorts of good ministries, and not get one step closer to living with holy intent. I don’t have anything against all the projects and ministries done in God’s name in the church. God’s people do them, and I don’t question their obedience to God. We are set apart by God to live for His mission. God has called us to live single-mindedly, to love Jesus passionately, and to bring others to that same place of love and obedience to Jesus. We must focus, or we won’t obey. Focus on what? Jesus and his purposes. God wants a people for himself. Being busy for God without sharing God’s passion for more worshippers for his Son is good religion, but it’s not the longing of God. Everything we do must lead to making, gathering, teaching and baptizing more fully devoted followers of Jesus. Some people are under the illusion they need a special calling to tell people about Jesus. But that is not true. Whatever you do for Jesus must lead to this one thing: that Jesus has more worshippers who know, love and obey him. Call that what you will. I call it making disciples; other people call it church planting. If those terms do not appeal to you, choose another. But make sure that above all things you do what he commanded us to do: go, teach, baptize and make disciples. That is apostolic focus.
Passionate Praying
A young man in Bible school offered to help a well known preach-
4
FRESH FIRE MAG - Issue 1, 2008
er years ago when he was ministering on the streets of New York City. The man of God asked him how much time he spent in prayer. The young student estimated about twenty minutes a day. The preacher told him, ‘Go back, young man. Go back for a month and pray two hours a day, every day for thirty days. When you’ve done that, come back. Come back, and I might consider turning you loose on the streets where there is murder, rape, violence and danger. If I sent you out now on twenty minutes a day, I’d be sending a soldier into battle without any weapons, and you would get killed.’
a revelation of God’s glory burning in their hearts. Is it any wonder they never hear God say ‘go!’ They have not cultivated a passion for the passions of God. Lesser desires are holding them captive.
You can get into heaven, my friend, without a lot of prayer. You can have a one-minute quiet time every day and God will still love you. But don’t expect to hear ‘well done, good and faithful servant’ on one-minute conversations with God. And you certainly can’t make it on that kind of prayer life in the hard places where Jesus is not known or worshipped. Here’s a challenge for you: read everything Paul says about prayer, then ask yourself, ‘Am I prepared to pray like that?’ In his various prayers Paul said that he prayed ‘night and day with tears…without ceasing…with thankfulness in the Spirit… I pray constantly…boldly…for godly sorrow… against the evil one.’ If we want Paul’s passion we need to pray like Paul prayed.
Passionate courage
Passionate decision-making
If you live without a vision of the glory of God flooding our planet, you are in danger of serving your own dreams of greatness as you wait to do ‘the next thing’ God tells you. There are too many over-fed, under motivated Christians hiding behind the excuse that God has not spoken to them. They are waiting to hear voices or see dreams all the while living to make money, to provide for their future, to dress well and have fun. The Apostle Paul was guided by his passions as well as the impressions of the Spirit. Acts 20 and 21 tell of his determination to go to Jerusalem despite his own personal anticipation of suffering, the warnings of true prophets, and the intense disapproval of his friends. Why would Paul go against his own intuition let alone the urgings of prophets and weeping entreaties of close friends? He had cultivated a set of core values that guided his life. Everything he did was values based. He had a revelation of greater priority, of a greater motivation: the glory of God, and that revelation shaped and defined his inner beliefs. Apostolic decision-making starts with a fresh encounter with God, then leads to a burden for lost people. Most people ask the where-and-when questions without
Present your gifts, vocations and talents to the Lord. Press into God. Stay there until you long to go out in His name. Remain there and nurture the longing to see people come to know Him and the earth bathed with His praise. Only then will you be able to trust your heart if you hear God say ‘stay.’ Only those who long to go, have the right to stay. It doesn’t take courage to be a critic of the government. It doesn’t take courage to leave South Africa. And it doesn’t take courage to complain about how bad things are. It doesn’t take courage to build walls around your heart and let no one in. It certainly doesn’t take courage to place impossible demands on God and then feel justified in your disobedience when God doesn’t meet your demands. It doesn’t take courage to refuse to share Jesus with our neighbours or refuse to expose your heart to poverty by serving the poor. All it takes to live without courage is a bucket load of excuses and misuse of God’s grace. Why do we have to wait until we are called? What’s wrong with volunteering? God won’t be upset with us if we choose to lay down our lives…He won’t lean over the balcony of heaven and say, “Hey, cut it out! Your messing up the ‘I call you, you don’t call me,’ system. Stir up courage in your heart and go for it! It is this radical way of looking at serving God that is at the heart of apostolic intent.
banking on the grace of God. That, to me, is courage. I believe courage is not waiting for God to call you, it is stepping out in faith by calling on Him. Courage is volunteering to be used by God in places he cannot find anyone else to go, knowing God doesn’t punish volunteers but rewards them. Courage is not waiting for something mystical to happen to us to make us obey God, it is stirring up our hearts to believe God. The Bible says Daniel ‘stirred’ up his courage. It tells us that Joseph of Arimathea ‘took’ courage. Courage does not come arbitrarily to the brave; it is taken hold of by the obedient. It is the reward of those who refuse to be prisoners of their fears, the lies of the enemy and the temptations of the world.
Passionate people are dangerous people
If you have passion, you are one of the most dangerous people on the planet. The world no longer rules your heart. You are no longer seduced by ‘getting and gaining’ the things of this world, but you are devoted to spreading and proclaiming the glory of God. You live as a pilgrim, unattached to the cares of life. You are not afraid of loss. You dare to believe you may be given the privilege of dying to spread his fame on the earth. The Father’s passions have become your passions. You find your satisfaction and significance in him. You believe He is with you always, to the end of life itself. You are sold out to God, and you live for the Lamb. Satan fears you, and the angels applaud you.
The church today needs to be relevant and focussed on reaching the lost. This article is an excerpt from my book “You See Bones - I See an Army” and it is available from bookstores nationwide. Why do we have to wait until we are called? What’s wrong with volunteering? Courage is the quality of those who see the need in the world, have faced their fears, and chosen faith instead of fear. Courage is overcoming our struggles by facing down the lies of the enemy that have been holding us captive. Courage is not the absence of fear in the face of danger; it is the willingness to trust God in spite of danger. Courage is believing that God’s grace is sufficient for every situation, and then acting on that belief. I am convinced that in myself I would deny God if I was persecuted. I am
Your greatest dream is that His name will be praised in languages never before heard in heaven, and among your neighbours here on earth. Your reward is the look of pure delight you anticipate seeing in His eyes when you bow at His feet and receive the just reward of His suffering: the worship of those you have brought to Him. Alone, in total surrender to God, you are a threat to the enemy, but you are most dangerous when you choose to pass on your passion to others.
Issue 1, 2008 - FRESH FIRE MAG
5
diffusing the
FR AGR A NCE OF
CHR IST everywhere!
leads us “Now thanks be to God who always diffuses us ugh thro and in triumph in Christ every in ge wled kno the fragrance of his e of ranc frag the God to place. For we are d save g bein are who e Christ among thos g.” shin peri are and among those who 1 Corinthians 2:14-15. with Did you know that we are filled ist? Chr the fragrance of e breathed His very life into us the day . we received Him as Lord and Saviour t! eren diff ll sme and No wonder we look
H
this exLet me illustrate what I mean with y of Man : ago s year me e ample that God gav nd arou be to nity ortu us have had the opp ic, garl n eate er eith e hav someone who may the that e agre you ld onions or fish. Wou nitely aroma that lingers around them, defi easily can You n. eate ’ve points to what they identify it.
6
FRESH FIRE MAG - Issue 1, 2008
by Lesley Cartwright It’s the same way with a child of God, once he’s been around the throne room, the presence of God will linger about him and give off a fragrance which you can easily identify. People always take note of the way you wear God, even if they don’t say so. I made a decision in my life, that whatever I do or say, should reflect on God and turn people to Him. Everything that Jesus did or said reflected back to God. People saw that He was different. They didn’t always accept the ‘different’, but when they needed to be healed, set free or encouraged, they knew exactly where to go. Jesus liked to provoke people. He didn’t come to tickle ears or leave them to live their comfortable lives, or to let them stay just as they are, but He came to save them and to give them eternal life. God has given us that eternal life,
and He wants us to tell others that He has that life for them too. Sadly, today religion has made so much tradition out of the word of God, and the many people that say that they are Christians, are not wearing the Name well enough. Nowadays, Jesus is even more ridiculed than ever. If His people aren’t any different from the world, why should anyone else want to serve Him. Mahatma Gandhi once said that if it wasn’t for the Christians, then the whole world would be Christian. How true and how sad that is. No-one wants to listen to who people say their God is, they want to see the demonstration thereof. We need to become imitators of Christ, to do the same things that He did. Jesus released His ministry to us in the earth.
In order to be effective in reaching the world today, a new breed of God-chasing Christians who want to be mightily used by God, will need to rise up. You and I are going to have to be willing to toss aside man-made programmes, and to let the Spirit lead us. We can only make a difference, if we are different already.
The right fruit
It’s time we face facts, we need to restock our lives with the presence of God once again, not only during church services, but in our personal lives - on a continual basis. We cannot overflow with the presence of God, if we are never filled up, or if we’re only half-full - from yesterday’s session. The Bible says that we need to stay filled with the spirit. (Eph 5:18b.)
add flavour to a meal. If we are the salt of the earth, then our job is to add flavour to the world - the flavour of Jesus Christ. The more salt you add, the more salt you’ll taste. God is a giver of good gifts. He gave us callings and giftings, not for us to keep to ourselves, but to share with others. The potential that God has given us, is right inside us.
Blessed to be a Blessing
Every one of us has been given the ministry of reconciliation. To reconcile man to God. We are an extension of Jesus’ ministry in the earth today. We just have to look at the Word of God to see what was purposed for us to do. We have been commissioned to be the salt of the earth. Salt’s primary purpose is to
Clear guidelines
God has given us clear guidelines as to how we are to live. He says we are to seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness (right-standing). When we seek God’s face (and not just His hand), His arm will automatically embrace us. We won’t have to seek after things, they will come with His blessing. What is the Kingdom of God? The bible says that righteousness (right doing), peace and joy in the Holy Ghost is the Kingdom of God (Rom 14:17). How can the whole Kingdom be contained in just three things? When we are walking in righteousness - doing what the Word says to do, and obeying the voice of God, we will have peace, which will in turn lead to joy. On the contrary, if we are walking in sin and unforgiveness, we are out of right-doing, which results in us losing the peace that guards our hearts and then the joy of our salvation. What we become is Christians who look like they’ve been baptized in lemon juice - never overcoming. Lemons don’t attract many eaters.
A very real responsibility leans on us as Christians to produce the right fruit to attract the right eaters. Jesus says in John 15:8 “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so that you will be my disciples.” Jesus placed a tremendous emphasis on us producing fruit that will remain. Why? Fruit attracts people, and makes us people of strength and character. People will know us by our fruit. No one will be attracted to a Christian, or anyone, who has a bad attitude, who walks in offense or holds a grudge - never forgiving others. God commands us to love Him, and then to love one another. Just because we say we love God doesn’t mean that we can live how we want to. If no one has been attracted to the Jesus in us, then we need to take stock, and see if we’ve allowed Him to be Lord in our lives and not only our Saviour. Making a decision to live righteously may not always be easy, but the reward of seeing people come to know Christ because of it- is well worth the sacrifice. To wear Christ well, one will need to continually walk in truth with themselves and others, to apply the truth of the word, and to walk the talk. It’s no use just talking about who we are, or about who God is - we have to live who we are (in Christ) and abide in God. We may be the only Bible that many will ever read. Let’s make sure our Bible personifies Jesus in a real and approachable way - one where He can be touched.
dying for. If you believe in it - it’s worth dying for.
Attracted to the Light
Phil 2:15 “that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” The gifts are all a part of His strategy to reach the world. So I encourage you, don’t hold back. Once we get to know God, we’ll understand the calling on our lives. And the more time we spend in relationship with God, the more confident we will become in the assurance that through us, God can make a difference. David faced Goliath, in the might of His God. He knew that no man could come against God and live. How did He know that? Did He read it somewhere? No! He knew God, because he fellowshipped with Him. Once we know God, we will step out as mighty men and women of valour, and we’ll enforce Christ’s victory on the earth. To become the effective people we so desire to be, we are going to have to renew our minds according to the Word of God, to let His standard become ours. We must decide on whose side we’re on. If we choose Jesus, then we need to take a stand for Him - not backing out for anything. Because if we don’t stand for something, we will fall for anything (James 1:6-8). We’re not 100 percent living, until we find something worth
Many people think that Christ came to set them apart from the world, but Christ came to set us free from the law of sin and death (Rom 8:1-2). His desire is that we in turn proclaim that liberty to others (Is 61:1-3). Anyone that is not in Christ, is held captive by the enemy. The only way we are going to win this world, is to live amongst them and to be a light to them (John 12:46-48). I’m not saying that we should live like them, but that we should be living examples to them in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity, and so on (1 Tim 4:12). Our lives should be producing good fruit. If we take a look at the light in our kitchen, we will notice that when we switch it on, bugs seemed to be attracted to it. It’s the same with us, when we are in God, and we are switched on, those who don’t know God as Lord and Saviour will be attracted to us. When they come, we simply just lead them to Jesus. We proclaim liberty to them and allow Jesus to set them free. Let’s stay filled with God on a continual basis, and develop His heart for the nations. It’s then that we will wear Christ well, and be a blessing to the Nations. Issue 1, 2008 - FRESH FIRE MAG
7
Jesus
LET THE WORLD see BY KENNETH COPEL AND
P
eople today are hungry to see Jesus. They don’t just want to hear about Him. They don’t just want to know what other people say about Him. They want to see Him for themselves. They want to see His character. They want to see His life. They want to see His power. The time has come for us, as the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, to rise up and give them what they want. It’s time for us to let Jesus walk and talk and live His life through us. It’s time for us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to do the works that He did so that the world can see Jesus through us.
That’s been God’s plan for the Church all along. He has always intended for us to reveal Jesus to the world during our earthly lives just as Jesus revealed the Father to the world during His earthly life. Think about that! Jesus revealed the Father so perfectly that when one of His disciples said, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us,” Jesus answered him and said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:8-9). What do you think will happen in the world when we manifest Jesus so completely that the same thing can be said of us? What will happen when the people of the world can say of us, “If you’ve seen them...you’ve seen Jesus.” I’ll tell you what will happen. We’ll have a worldwide harvest of souls swept into the kingdom of God the likes of which this earth has never seen! The Word of God tells us that time is coming. Ephesians 4:13 refers to it as the time when “we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” What’s more, the Holy Ghost is letting us know that time is now! We’ve entered into the last of the last days. This is the time for the fullness of the manifestation of Jesus through His Body on the earth.
The Excellent Pathway to Power
That’s one reason so many Christians desire to operate in the gifts of the Spirit these days. They’re responding to the stirring of the
8
FRESH FIRE MAG - Issue 1, 2008
Holy Ghost within them. They’re sensing the Church shouldn’t just be reading about the manifestations of the Spirit described in the New Testament anymore, but rather, Christians should be walking in them! For as 1 Corinthians 12 says: ‘The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. But covet earnestly the best gifts’ (verses 7-12, 31). Many believers today are wholeheartedly obeying the instruction in that last verse. They are earnestly coveting spiritual gifts. They long for them. They pray for them. They study the Bible to build faith for them. But for the most part, the Church is still not moving in them fully. What more can we do? The Apostle Paul himself answers that question. Right after he tells us to earnestly covet the best gifts he says, “...and yet show I unto you a more excellent way.” Then he writes an entire chapter on the subject of love. Pursue love...and desire spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 14:1). According to the Bible, a more excellent way to walk in the power of God is to pursue love. That’s the best way to develop a lifestyle of doing the works of Jesus. Walking in love is the best way for the world to see Jesus through us. Why is that so—why is the way of love such an excellent way? Think about it scripturally for a moment and you’ll see the reason. Acts 10:38 tells us that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and heal-
ing all that were oppressed of the devil.” So if we’re going to do the works Jesus did, we’ll do the same thing, right? We’ll bring healing and deliverance to those who are oppressed. Keeping that in mind, consider what Isaiah 54:14 reveals about how the devil inflicts that oppression. It says, “Thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear.” According to that scripture, oppression comes from fear! Fear is the spiritual force behind sin, oppression, sickness and every other bondage of the devil. Fear is the spiritual connector to the entire spectrum of death. But, glory to God, the New Testament tells us that “perfect love casteth out fear” (1 John 4:18). Love destroys the devil’s hold. It undermines his whole operation! And not only that, love connects us to the oppression-destroying power of God because that power operates by faith and faith works by love (Galatians 5:6).
Nothing to Hinder the Anointing...
No wonder the Bible calls love the more excellent path to God’s power! The more we walk in love, the freer we are from fear and the more fully the Anointing of Jesus can manifest itself through us. When fear is gone there is nothing in us to hinder or interrupt its flow. That’s why Jesus said what He did to Jairus in Luke 8. Jairus had thrown himself at Jesus’ feet and asked Him to come minister to his daughter who was at the point of death. He was making a demand on the manifestation of Jesus’ Anointing. He was expecting Him to go straight to his house, operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and raise his daughter up. On the way to Jairus’ home, however, Jesus was delayed by a woman who came to
“Love is the more excellent path to God’s power! The more we walk in love, the freer we are from fear and the more fully the Anointing of Jesus can manifest itself through us.”
same way you grow and develop in anything else. You practice it. You exercise it until you get stronger and stronger in it. Some people start out by trying to practice love on the meanest, ugliest person they know. But I don’t recommend that. Granted, the Bible does tell us to love our enemies. It does tell us to love each other as Jesus loved us. If you start there, however, you’re likely to end up frustrated and defeated. Why is that? It’s because, according to the Scriptures, the divine cycle of love begins with God’s love for us and our love for Him, then it extends outward to other people.
Him to be healed of an issue of blood. By the time He had finished ministering to her, Jairus had received word that his daughter was already dead. “But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole” (verse 50). Fear not! Those were the first words out of Jesus’ mouth in that desperate situation. Why? Because He knew fear would contaminate Jairus’ faith and stop the flow
The Apostle John said it this way: In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is
of the Anointing. In essence, Jesus was saying to Jairus, “If you allow fear to get in you, you’re going to block the flow of My Anointing. Even if I go home with you, I won’t be able to do much for you. So fear not, believe only!” Jesus is saying the same thing to us today. After all, the manifestations of the Holy Spirit operate now exactly as they did back then. There aren’t two Holy Spirits—one that worked in Jesus’ day and another that works today. No, He’s the same yesterday, today and forever. So for Him to manifest Himself fully through us, we must keep our faith uncontaminated. We must keep growing in love until we flush fear completely out of our lives. Then the Anointing of Jesus can flow freely through us.
love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:9-11, 16-17). According to those verses, the first thing we must do to develop in love is to practice believing the love God has for us. We have to practice believing, for example, what Jesus said in John 17—that the Father loves us just as much as He loves Jesus! That’s hard to swallow but the Bible says it. So when we find ourselves worrying about something, we should reject fear and practice believing God’s love instead. We should say, “I refuse to worry about this. My Father loves me just as much as He does Jesus so I know He is going to take care of me. His love will never fail me. He’ll never leave me or forsake me. I just cast all my cares over on Him because I
The Best Place to Start
How do you grow and develop in love? The
Issue 1, 2008 - FRESH FIRE MAG
9
know He cares for me!” The more we think about that and pray over it, the more the revelation of God’s love for us will develop. It will grow and grow until it overtakes our thinking, our emotions and everything else in us!
Falling in Love With the Lord
“That sounds good, Brother Copeland,” you might say, “but the Bible also says I’m supposed to love God and, honestly, I just don’t love Him like I should.” No problem. You can develop your love for the Lord. How? On purpose, by faith, begin confessing your love to Him. I found that out by personal experience many years ago, not long after I got saved. I was sitting in a church service listening to people talk about how much they loved Jesus and, frankly, I felt left out. I just didn’t seem to have the same love for God that they did. Certainly, I appreciated what He had done for me, but I didn’t expe-
it with was the one I had had with Gloria. I knew I’d never experienced that kind of love for the Lord. But I wanted to. So I went up to the altar of that church, got on my knees and said by faith, “Lord, I’ve never said this to You before but I’m going to say it to You now because I believe it. I love You, Lord. I love You.”
I Double-Dog Dare You
I didn’t feel a thing before I said it. But as soon as I got those words out of my mouth, the reality of the love of God came all over me. He manifest Himself to me right then and there. Suddenly, I didn’t care what anybody else was doing or thinking, I was having church all by myself! The love of God just began to flow through me like a river and I just kept on saying, “Oh, God, I love You! Jesus, I love You! I love You!” I was too scripturally illiterate to realize it at the time, but I had actually stepped out on a promise of the Word of God.
If you’ll start every day like that, you’ll get a revelation of the love of God beyond anything you’ve ever known before. You may not get all emotional like I did…or you may. But either way, the love of God will respond in you and the tide of it will rise higher and higher. If you continue to do that, eventually, when the devil tries to throw some fearful, wicked thought at you, you’ll just laugh at him. You’ll say, “Ha, ha, ha, Satan you can’t scare me with that stuff. I know how much God loves me. He loves me just as much as He does Jesus. He takes good care of me. So you might as well get out of here and go peddle that fear somewhere else because I’m not going to buy it anymore!” When you start talking like that the devil flees the scene. Why? Because he knows perfected love casts out fear and fear is the only weapon he has. When fear is eliminated, it’s over for him. He’s finished.
First the Father—Then the Children
Once you start loving the Lord and receiving His love that way, you are going to love others. It’s inevitable! First John 5:1 leaves no doubt about that. It says plainly, “Every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.” In other words, every one who loves the Father also loves the children! We start off loving God because He first loved us. We practice our love on Him and we end up falling in love with everybody around us.
rience what I would call love. To understand that you have to realize where I’d come from. There had been so much demonic activity in my life before I was saved, that I actually said with my mouth that I didn’t believe love was real and if it was, I was incapable of it. My heart was so hard, that I had no emotional response to anybody. I didn’t care about a human being on the face of the earth, including myself. Of course, my mother was praying for me night and day at that time. And God began to break through my hardheartedness, even before I was born again, by setting me up with the prettiest girl in the state of Arkansas, Miss Gloria Neece. I fell head over heels in love with her the moment I met her! And I married her as quickly as I could. Less than a year later, we both got saved. So as I sat in that church service listening to people talk about how much they loved Jesus, the only experience I had to compare
10
FRESH FIRE MAG - Issue 1, 2008
By choosing to love the Lord and saying it on purpose by faith, I’d activated the spiritual principle Jesus revealed in John 14:21: “He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (New King James Version). The moment I confessed my love for Jesus, I experienced the love of the Father and Jesus manifest Himself to me. That same thing will happen to you! So if you want to develop your love for the Lord, begin by telling Him over and over again, all day long, “Lord, I love You with all my heart. I love You with all my soul, with all my will, my mind and my strength.” When you wake up in the morning say, “Oh Jesus, I love You so much today. I commit everything I am and everything I have to You. How can I serve You today, Lord? What can I do for You?” I dare you (or as we say in Texas, I double-dog dare you) to do that for the next 30 days and see what happens in your life.
As His love begins to flush the fear out of us, suddenly we can drop the barriers that have separated us from other people. We aren’t afraid to love them anymore because we know they can’t hurt us. We are safe in the love of God. As a result, we can abandon ourselves to each other. We can forget about our own protection and preservation and just lose ourselves in helping meet the needs of those around us. We can draw on the ministry of Jesus—not just to meet our own needs or to prove we’re spiritual hotshots—but because we need His power to take care of others. We need it to help them and heal them and get them free! It doesn’t make any difference how impossible a situation might be, when we have that attitude and that heart of love, the gifts of the Spirit are going to operate. Signs and wonders, healings and miracles are going to break forth. People all over the world—spiritually hungry people—will finally get what they need. They get to see Jesus. They’ll see His love. They’ll see His life. And they’ll see His power. As we grow up in love, we will walk in the fullness of the measure of the stature of Christ. We will reveal Him just as He revealed the Father and the world will see Jesus again! *Article used with permission from Kenneth Copeland Ministries
NOT A
PEACE
We all know that life is tough. We all know what it feels like to be betrayed, to be hurt, to be disappointed, and to be rejected.
by Adrian Wright
BUT
YOUNG PEOPLE
We all know how it feels to be let down by those we love and hurt by those we trust. We experience pain, turmoil and confusion and many times feel like giving up completely. This is the truth: There is no peace in this world. Jesus spoke these words, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth; I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” What do you think he meant by that? He’s brought us a sword and not peace? Isn’t He the prince of peace? Why did He say that then? Do you think He means that He wants us to fight instead of being content? Is He encouraging us to wage war rather than remain silent? Doesn’t fighting lead to less peace? In this life your heart will be broken and your hopes will be disappointed, But God offers us a better life, a life that is not based on this earth, but in heaven. He offers us a peace that is not of this world, a true peace that can only be found in Him. But the whole world is against you finding this peace and so it is something you need to stand up and fight for. PEACE IS WORTH FIGHTING FOR. Does this sound like a contradiction? Almost like if you seek to find life you will lose it or He who desires to be first shall be last? Yes according to the world this classifies as a full-on paradox, yet in God it makes perfect sense...
keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) God needs to take you to a place where it would be impossible for you to continue if it wasn’t for Him. God wants to get you to a place where your strength means nothing, so that he can take over, and that will set you free. Secondly, God always remains Faithful! Joshua 1:9 “ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and very courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. “ God never leaves or forsakes you, He promised he would always stay near you. He will never ever let you down. Listen to what Paul says to timothy (2 Tim 2:11 -13): “It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for he cannot deny Himself”. Yes you might have been hurt in battle, you might have been to places you would prefer to forget about, you might have felt hopeless and useless and faithless, but even though we often give up on ourselves, God never does. He still has the same big plans for your life that he had for you before the foundation of the earth, that he had for you the day you were born, that he had for you when you were five years old, that he had for you yesterday. God has not given up on you. Take courage young person. Run the race. Fight the good fight. Pick up your sword and watch God perfect his strength in your weakness.
When Jesus said that He had come to bring us a sword and not peace He was essentially saying this: “If you chose to follow me, you enter a war. I cannot give you external peace, but I can show you the way to inner peace. If you join Me you will no longer be of the world and so you will be hated. The world will spit on you, attack you and curse you, but what I offer you is worth so much more than anything you could even imagine. You had no hope, no chance, no life, but I will give my life so that you can stand...But dear child you must fight for it! I promise to be with you even until the end of the age.” Be encouraged to fight this good fight for the peace of Christ because God’s grace is sufficient. As Paul found out, “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to
Issue 1, 2008 - FRESH FIRE MAG
11
HOW DESPERATE How desperate are we to see God move in our lives, our cities, and our nations? Do we want to receive God’s strategy and his heart for our lives, or do we want to run ahead with our own agendas?
T
here are many voices crying out in the wilderness. They are weeping for cities, for countries and for nations. None of these cries have gone unheard before the Father. It is God’s desire to reveal His heart and strategy for the salvation of the nation, but He is not just going to entrust it to anyone. He is looking for people who are willing to become broken and contrite vessels. Vessels that have come to the end of themselves, and who become so desperate that they are willing to give everything they have, to see God’s purposes fulfilled in a nation...It’s people with the same tenacity that Jacob had, in that he said ‘I will not let go, until you bless me’, that God is looking for (Gen. 32:24-30). We need to arrive at a point when we realise that we cannot do this alone, that God has to come and take over the ‘reigns’ of our lives. Many are willing! ‘Here I am Lord, send me’, they cry out, but when the Spirit comes to test their hearts and their motives, they’re not really willing to lay-down or to forsake all in order to lay hold of that which Christ has for them (Heb 12:1). God is looking to and fro, for someone who will make a wall and stand in the gap or the breach on behalf of their city, land or nation (Ezek. 22:30).
12
FRESH FIRE MAG - Issue 1, 2008
Strength comes from the Father
People can be selfish with their time, resources and energy. They only want to be available to serve when it suits them. Jesus, when He was still here on earth, served the people tirelously. He wasn’t moved by how He felt, rather, He was moved with the compassion of the Lord when He saw the crowds and realised that they were like a flock without a shepherd. He saw that they had very real needs, that only God Himself could meet. Jesus gave of Himself freely, regardless of how He felt. He obtained His strength and power from His Father. He did only what He saw the Father do. His spirit was refreshed as He spent extended time in the presence of the Lord. Many leaders are tired or burnt out because they are doing everything in their own strength. They are not taking the time to go before God and to sit at His feet, to hear what He has planned for their church, city or nation.
‘Godly strategy is only revealed at the feet of the Father.’ If we are going to get desperate for God, we are going to have to commit our own ways to Him. We will have to let go of everything that has become a substitute for God, even the good godly things -our promised land, our victory, signs and wondersabsolutely everything. Anything that takes the place of God is no longer a blessing, but a hindrance. Our attitude should be- if it’s going to be a substitute for You, then I don’t want it - I want You! Abraham was tested on this very issue. He waited years
for Isaac to come, but when he did, God told Abraham to offer his son as a sacrifice. He immediately began to obey, but God stopped him. God never intended that Isaac be sacrificed and had already provided a ram for this. He was just testing Abraham’s affections in his heart (Genesis 22:1-19).
by lesley cartwright
We are going to have to trust God to change us, to change our hearts. Before we can believe for our nation to be transformed, we are going to have to start with ourselves. Our prayers are usually targeted at God changing others, or changing our circumstances, when they should really be to decree change within ourselves. When we change- people around us change. The thing to note here is that God hears and honours this kind of prayer, in that He will begin to work in us, even at the most inconvenient times.
‘God knows exactly how to fine tune us, to build the necessary character in us, so that we can affect nations.’ God’s ways are higher
Most times we like to dictate to God how He should change us. God will not do it our way. His thoughts and Ways are higher than ours. God is interested in Godly character being built into us, so that we can produce attractive fruit.
ARE WE FOR GOD? It’s usually our ‘adversity that crowns us king’. God will use the simple or the foolish things to confound the wise. We just have to be willing to say: ‘Lord whatever it takes, make effective change in me. Create in me a pure heart, so that your purposes may be accomplished. Steer me, so that I may walk in Your ways.’ God is very interested in us. We just have to be willing to change, to get to a point of no return or ‘dire’ desperation. Being desperate is likened to someone ‘who is gasping for air, they want nothing else like they want their next breath’. The emphasis changes- all they can think about is ‘air’. When we get to the place where all we desire is one more minute with God, then we will attain ‘desperateness’ for Him, for His presence. We tend to shake off everything else, it’s just not important anymore. Our focus and priorities change. It’s at this point that God imparts His secrets. Our cry begins to deepen, and then He lavishes His compassion on us to release it to His people. Can we be trusted with His heart? The choice has been left up to us. How desperately do we desire God in our midst? Do we want to leave His presence with only a touch or a visitation? Or do we want to live there on a continual basis, and begin to pour out from what He is pouring into us. When we choose the latter, God is able to reach others around about us with the overflow of His presence in our lives. He is able to draw them in as they taste and see that He is good (Psalm 34:8). Are we willing to follow Christ no matter what the cost? Will we lay down our lives and pick up His? are we REALLY desperate enough? Issue 1, 2008 - FRESH FIRE MAG
13
MountainBlasting by Andrew Cartwright
“I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (MatTHEW 17:20 NIV) What is THE most powerful substance known to man? Is it plutonium; dynamite; rocket fuel...? No, it’s none of the above. Jesus spoke of a particular substance that is so powerful that an amount as small as a tiny mustard seed can move a mountain! But it doesn’t end there - Jesus took it even further, saying that anything will be possible for you if you have even a small amount of it! Imagine being able to change absolutely anything in your life that needs changing? The Bible calls this massively powerful substance... FAITH! Good news - it’s available to you and me right now!
The origins of faith
‘By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.’ (Hebrews 11:3) When did faith first appear? The Bible tells us that God SPOKE the universe into existence (‘at God’s command’). God first had a picture inside Himself of what He wanted the Creation to look like, and when He gave the command, those things appeared! (see Genesis 1; & Gen 2:1-2) And because we are made in God’s own image, our words have similar creative power! (see Genesis 1:26-28; Proverbs 18:21). Hey, I want this powerful faith right now! How do I get it? Well, the word translated as ‘faith’ comes from the Greek word ‘pistis’ which means ‘fully persuaded and convinced’ (See Strong’s Concordance, #4102) Therefore, faith is complete belief in something, particularly in regard to the truthfulness of God’s word. The Bible says ‘as he thinks in his heart, so is he’ (Proverbs 23:7). What do you or I really believe deep down? Let’s give this topic our full attention, because in the next paragraph we’ll discover how to get powerful, life-changing faith in us, and later on, we’ll learn the secret to gaining even more powerful faith!
How do we get this powerful faith?
‘faith comes by hearing the Word of God’ (Romans 10:17) A good example of how to get faith is found in the Bible where God called Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land – He instructed Joshua to first ‘meditate on this book of the law day and
14
FRESH FIRE - Issue 1, 2008
night’, and then Joshua would prosper and be successful (Joshua 1:8). Before he could embark on the challenging journey ahead, Joshua had to first build powerful faith inside himself by constantly thinking about, and speaking God’s Word (the word meditate means to think about; and mutter). The above verse (Romans 10:17) confirms this - we get this powerful faith by spending time listening to God’s Word! And through the wonder of modern technology, God’s word is readily available to us through reading the Bible; in sermons and teachings, CD; DVD; Podcasts; radio; books etc. When we take time in our busy lives to relax and listen to a good tape, then we’re filled with God’s wisdom and power through His word soaking into us! Faith comes by hearing the Word of God! Other keys required to build mountain-blasting faith ‘imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.’(Hebrews 6:12) We need to exercise patience as we are building our faith to explosive level! Jesus said that if we continue in His word, then we are truly His disciples, and only then will that truth set us free (John 8:32). Similarly, according to Hebrews 10:35, we need to persevere in hearing God’s Word so that we may receive what God has promised. It is unavoidable to encounter opposition to God’s work in our lives – we have an enemy called Satan who will whisper lies in our minds, and use people to try and distract or stop us from building faith and believing God. No, we must stand firm; bear up under difficult circumstances, and actively keep on hearing God’s word. Faith will come to us at the right time. Be patient! Is that all? Well, there is one more very important issue at stake - faith works by love (Galatians 5:6). God’s love is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5), and it is through God’s love in us that our faith is energised! Also, it is through God’s love in us that we are able to forgive others who have hurt and offended us. In fact, this issue of forgiveness is crucial in making sure our faith, and prayers, are not hindered from operating properly (see Mark 11:23-26) So let’s make sure we forgive and let go of the sins
Faith! of others towards us. Cancel the debt they owe you. That’s true love in operation! Forgive those that have hurt you and then earnestly pray that God will bless them. Forgiveness opens the way for our faith and prayers to operate freely!
The secret to gaining even more powerful faith
‘Dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.’ (Jude 1:20) John the baptist, speaking of Jesus, said: ‘I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 1:8) In Acts 1:8, we discover that we receive power when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. After Jesus had returned to heaven, His followers were gathered in a room and were praying together. Suddenly, all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they all began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them (Acts 2:4). Being able to speak and pray in tongues (other languages, either known or unknown) is evidence of being filled with God’s Holy Spirit. Let’s ask Jesus to fill us with His Holy Spirit now, and every day, so that we can pray with even greater power, and build up our faith to extraordinary levels!
How do we release faith?
“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.” (Mark 11:22-23) When an electrical charge is slowly built up in clouds under the right conditions, it eventually reaches an explosive point and a bolt of lightning is released. Similarly, faith is built up in us until it reaches the point where all doubt is removed, we fully believe God’s word, and faith explodes from us like lightning. A spiritual connection is made with God’s power, and we receive the promised blessing! Just as God spoke the Creation into existence, we too must speak out our faith. Wow...a life-changing event occurs! How do we build up, and then release faith? LISTEN, then SPEAK! Constantly LISTEN to God’s word in faith-filled sermons, teachings, Bible studies, and Christian music. Be specific – if it’s healing you need, listen to healing verses! If it’s prosperity, then listen to preaching on God’s prosperity. And then SPEAK directly to that ‘mountain’ and command it to disappear! Are there any ‘mountains’ such as sickness or lack in your life? Blast them out of the way with your weapon of faith!
Issue 1, 2008 - FRESH FIRE
15
THE HEALTH OF YOUR
NATION
by Colin McGeer
16
FRESH FIRE - Issue 1, 2008
As we look at the state of our countries we are confronted with all kinds of sickness. Sick countries filled with hatred, anger, corruption, division and every kind of un-godly action you can think of. I cannot think of any country that is spiritually healthy. Is the problem with our politicians? Believe me no politician can administer life to any nation. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. His life can only
Agreeing with God
Secondly, I found out that when God the Father says “be humble,” he is actually asking His children to agree with Him. Some years ago a young pastor’s wife in our home church, a well attended church whose services were broadcast on national TV, received an instruction from the Holy Spirit to “Go do cartwheels across the platform in front of every one.” Not only was she wearing a dress but she was also not a naturally expressive person in front of others. She checked with her husband who said “if it is God, do what He has told you.” She then spoke to another pastor hoping that he would say no. But he also uttered the same instruction that her husband had given her. She then preceded to do cartwheels across the platform in full view of every one. Even though she hadn’t understood the implication of her action, she nevertheless chose to agree with God, and humbled herself.
that all those who are born-again of the Spirit and called by God do not really want to be wicked. We know when we sin, we confess and repent and choose not to sin. What wicked ways is God speaking about? I researched and found that the Hebrew word for wicked is “Ra” which amongst many interpretations of this word, one is “man’s ways”. Then the lights went on for me. In the context of this verse, if we, God’s people, called by Jesus’ name agree with God, seek His will and pray His desires, turn from man’s ways, God will hear from heaven and heal our land. We so often do things which have been done many times before because they work for us. Many can run a Church meeting without God because we know how to do it. Sunday in and Sunday out, but God never shows up and nothing changes.
be given through His church. THAT Months later a young man testified, that on MEANS YOU AND ME. “If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 [ASV] Many intercessors can quote this scripture in their sleep! Consider what is written! What is God trying to say to us? I read through my concordance looking for some light that would reveal to me what is really being said. What was God driving at? Who is He speaking to? If the promise of healing is given by God for our land, where are the healed countries?
Those who are called by His Name
Firstly, who is God speaking to when He says “If my people, who are called by my name.”? God is speaking to His children, you and me the called ones who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. “All of you are God’s children because of your faith in Christ Jesus.” Gal 3:26 [CEV]. v18 “And because of Christ, all of us can come to the Father by the same Spirit. v19 You Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens with everyone else who belongs to the family of God. v20 You are like a building with the apostles and prophets as the foundation and with Christ as the most important stone.” Eph 2:18-20 [CEV].
that specific evening he had been invited by a friend to go to church. He had being going through a rough patch and agreeing to go to the service had been a last resort. He had given up on life and no longer believed that God even existed. He was contemplating taking his own life and as a final resolve challenged God: “If you really are God then cause someone to do cartwheels across the platform”. God loved this man enough, that even in the midst of a thousand people, he found a person who was willing to agree with Him and do something that appeared foolish. As a result, the young man repented, gave his life to Jesus, got healed and now lives for God.
Seeking God intimately
Clearly we all know the importance of seeking God. He says in the Word that those who seek Him will find Him. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 God says “..seek my face” I believe He is admonishing us to seek Him intimately. Not only know about Him but know His desires and pray in accordance with His will. Thy will be done, Jesus said “If you love me you will obey me. “ “Not everyone who calls me their Lord will get into the kingdom of heaven. Only the ones who obey my Father in heaven will get in.” Matt 7:21 [CEV]. Seeking God’s face is to seek His will and desires.
Turn from man’s ways
What concerned me the most in 2 Chronicles 7:14 is the following phrase; “...turn from their wicked ways”
Trust in God, not methods
When I read the scriptures I find that very seldom does God repeat His methods. When His people went to war each strategy was different - marching around the walls of Jericho 7 times, sending the singers out in front of the army, blowing trumpets and shattering jars of clay with a handful of men, and many other plans to destroy the enemy of His people. Jesus healed by speaking a word, by spitting and making mud, and by stretching forth His hand. Always different. If we rely on a method we will not need to rely on Jesus. To trust in any past methods and ways is to trust in man’s ways. God wants us to trust Him and be totally dependant on Him. We do not see miracles and see our land healed because we trust in horses and chariots and not in Him. If God’s church in Africa will agree with God, seek His will, pray His desires and do things God’s way, we will see our nations healed. Be an agent of healing in your Land.
I enquired of God, why wicked? I am sure Issue 1, 2008 - FRESH FIRE
17
strife divides people, love unites them
By Pastor Belinda Linley What is love? I am sure many of us have heard sermons and read articles about love, but I often feel we can learn more about a subject when we look at the opposite of it. 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter, gives us about 16 characteristics of love. Let’s take a look: “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me
18 FRESH FIRE MAG - Issue 1, 2008
nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish
things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13 (NASB)
Strife is not love
I want us to look at strife– the love destroyer, so that we can learn more about how to walk in love. As a Pastor for the last 21 years, I have counseled many people and one of the things that really amazes me is that as Christians we try so hard to do the right thing, live in righteousness and walk in love, but when we engage in a disagreement or are offended at someone, we end up fighting like the world– that’s strife! But there is a right way to fight! Let’s learn what it is, so that we can be an example in this area also. We live in a day and age that is prone to strife, and therefore we need to have an understanding of what is biblical and what is not, where strife is concerned. Strife refers to conflicts, arguments, quarrels, hatred between people. I am not talking about the strife of war. I am talking about the strife between individuals.
What causes strife?
I mentioned 16 characteristics of love earlier in 1 Corinthians 13. Now I want to give you 16 biblical examples of the causes of strife, both within worldly people and within the church of Jesus Christ. Examples of strife • Hatred causes strife. Prov 10:12 says: hatred stirs up strife (or dissension)..” • Perverse and/or violent people cause strife. How many of us have tried to discuss a point of disagreement with someone, only to have them totally blow up on us? Some will blow up even if given a platform over some irrelevant point. Prov 16:27-29
When you are angry at someone, it is usually better to just shut up. Get over your anger, and then speak the truth in love and with a cool head, rather than fuelled by emotions you can’t trust at the time. • Fleshly motivation causes strife. Gal 5:19-21 Strife is one of the works of the flesh. • The tongue causes strife. James 3:2-12 Wow, this explains it so well, the tongue is a little instrument, which can cause major trouble. • Pride causes strife. Prov 13:10 Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who do take advice. • Contention or disagreement causes strife. Prov 18:6 The words of a fool lead to strife, his speech invites blows. • Divisions cause strife. 1 Cor 1:11-13. Notice that each person insisted on his own position, his own perspective, his own way. • A quarrelsome spirit causes strife. Gal 5:14-18. Some people enjoy quarrelling more than a good slice of chocolate cake. If you are friends with someone like this you may have to consider putting some distance between yourselves. • A self-seeking attitude causes strife. Luke 22:24-27. These people believed there should be no authority in the church. Jockeying for position to feel important.
• Doctrinal arguments and disputes cause a lot of strife. This is extremely rampant in the church today. 2 Tim 2:14-16. State your own beliefs and understanding, explain why you believe what you do, then drop it. And don’t try shove your personal convictions off on someone else. • Contentiousness causes strife. Prov 26:21. Some people use contention, to help them feel important. • Arrogance regarding doctrine causes strife. 1 Tim 6:3-6. ...he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words that result in envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions... • Indignation causes strife. Matt 20:2024. (who do these guys think they are?)
God commands His blessing..
When we operate in the above, we are sure to let strife in, and the bible clearly instructs us to avoid strife and there is a very good reason why. James 3:16 ‘for where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.’ and love certainly will not thrive in that atmosphere. What do I do then? You humble yourself at the mighty hand of God and He will lift you up, you strive to live in peace with them, (as much as is possible, without compromising the Word of God or your moral standards), and you cultivate unity and love in your life. Ps 133:1-3 ‘how good and how pleasant it is for the brethren to dwell together in unity.. there is where God will command his blessing.’
cultivate unity and you will be rewarded
• Aggressive nature causes strife. but Ps Belinda, you don’t understand, “I am Italian”, yes, but you are a Christian too, and as Christians we need to submit our culture to the obedience of God’s Word. Prov 17:19 He who loves transgression (or rebellion) loves sin;… • Scoffing causes strife. Smart mouths can cause instant hostility. If you are constantly criticizing others, nobody wants to hear it. Prov 22:10 Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended. • Anger causes strife. Prov 29:22. An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins.
Issue 1, 2008 - FRESH FIRE
19
What you see is determined from Whose perspective you are looking from. When the hard times hit, it’s easy to get distracted and to be mislead by bad advice. Sadly, many of us turn to God at the last minute and we then institute an emergency on His part. My question is: “why do we wait for trials or power failures to hit before we turn to God or to His Word?” I think our order is wrong and it’s affecting our lives. Imagine if Noah only began building the ark when the rain fell. A fat load of use that boat would have been then. Another example is that if one of us had a bank account and we never ever made a deposit. Would it be possible to make a withdrawal? No! The same applies to our lives. If we fill our hearts with the Word and establish ourselves in our most Holy faith– it would be within our right to make a withdrawal. On the other hand, there are times when we do make small deposits. The only trouble is that when the hard times hit, we try to withdraw more than what we actually have in our faith account. That is when we enlist God’s help and expect a miracle. Fortunately for us – God is gracious and merciful and will make
by Lesley Cartwright 20 FRESH FIRE MAG - Issue 1, 2008
the impossible happen. Yet, I don’t think that this is the type of relationship He wants to have with us. He wants us to know Him on a deeper level, to see Him and to experience His Goodness in all that we do and all that we are. Psalm 91: (AMP) “v14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness--trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never]. v15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.”
A Clause in place
Even though God says that we are heirs of His promise, He does have a clause in place in His Word: Joshua 1:8 (AMP) ‘This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.’ This scripture implies that in order for us to go the route of good success –we need to live continuously in God’s Word. Psalm 9:1 also says that if “we dwell in the secret place of the Most High we shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty.” To dwell or abide as some translations say, means
to live there all the time. The only way we will remain fixed and immovable when the tough times hit is if we have an assurance of who God is, and that will only come when we see who He is from His Word. God’s integrity has stood the test of time. His Word is tried and tested and it has accomplished whatever He has sent it out to do (Isaiah 55:11). In order for us to see why God wants us to make His Word a priority in our lives, we need to understand how it will benefit us in the long run. 2 Timothy 3: 16 ’Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action).” God says that His Word is a light unto our path and a lamp unto our feet (Ps 119:105). He will reveal Himself to us through the scriptures. Jesus said ‘he who has seen Me has seen the Father’. If we want to see Jesus, then let’s turn to John 1: vs 1 “In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.’ Jesus and the Word are one. When we are faced with hardships or decisions that we have to make, we should ask ourselves ‘what Jesus would do’, how would He respond, and when we find the scripture that answers our query, we should align ourselves with what is said in the Word.
I thought about this and really felt stirred in my heart that many people have ‘power failures’ in their lives. They feel that no matter how hard they pray, or play the game, there is no power. This is not the time to give up and run away. It’s the time when you make a withdrawal from the deposits you’ve been mak-
God can turn it around
Keeping the Picture
True Godly strength will come from applying the Word consistently. Consistency holds a lot of power. When you continue to do what you know you should – the breakthrough will come. When you mean business with God – He’ll mean business with you. I think of a story that my husband told me about a tour that he did of an international airport. He was allowed into the air traffic controller’s tower and was given a brief description of what happens there. What stood out for me as he spoke was a technique called ‘Keeping the Picture’. If a power failure took place for some or other reason, the air traffic controller would have to remember where all the planes were situated on the screen. His task would then be to safely land each and every plane.
ond nature to us. Giving him first place in our lives should become the norm. I choose to speak from experience: In 2002, I was involved in a motor car accident and I could have had every right to give up. But I didn’t. Even though I spent a great deal of that year in hospital, and had to relearn what many of us take for granted, I decided that no matter what – God would have first place in my life. I realised that God is for me and not against me. He has a plan and a future for me. As long as I kept the image that the Word says I am in front of me – the ‘power failure’ didn’t affect me. Over the years I’ve learnt that whatever the devil wanted to use for my demise – God would turn around for good. I don’t give myself a chance to ponder on the bad and what could have happened. Sure, there are setbacks, but God said that He would lead me into triumph, and I believe Him. I’ve walked too long a road with God to bail out on Him now. God is good, period!! You may be going through something in your own life right now. Don’t give up! God wants to come through for you. He wants you to give your concerns to Him and to trust that He can do it for you. 1 Peter 5: 7 “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.”
ing. People who know their God will remain stable. They will not be moved and turn to the left or to the right. If we fix our gaze consistently on what the Word has to say – we would be able to ditch every curved ball that life throws us. If we allow Jesus Christ to be the air traffic controller in our lives, He will successfully direct every aspect of our lives into His perfect will and plan, time and time again.
Constant focus on God’s Word
In my own life, there have been countless times when I could have thrown in the towel and said that’s that. But.. I’ve made the decision that ‘as for me and my house.. we will serve the Lord’ Standing on His Word should become sec-
When situations happen and it feels like your whole world is crumbling all around you – know that God can turn it around. You don’t have to be affected by your circumstances. Instead you can affect it with your consistent seeking to do God’s will. 2 Chronicles 16:9 ”For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong in behalf of those whose hearts are blameless toward Him...” God wants to show Himself strong on your behalf. He wants to carry you when you think you can’t take it anymore. Give your load to Him. Don’t let mundane things distract you. Don’t let them make themselves of importance in your lifestyle. Stay in the Word. Live and dwell there and when trouble shows up– let Jesus answer the door. Issue 1, 2008 - FRESH FIRE
21
Do You Want To Know Jesus As Lord? he is the one you’ve been waiting your whole life to meet! If you would like to know Jesus as your personal Lord and saviour, we want to encourage you to pray the following prayer from your heart: “Heavenly Father, I come to You in the Name of the Jesus. Your Word says, ‘Whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved’ and ‘If you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved’ (Acts 2:21, Roman 10:9-10) I take You at Your Word. I confess that Jesus is Lord, and I believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead. Thank you for coming into my heart, for giving me Your Holy Spirit as You have promised, and for being Lord over my life. Amen! Welcome to the family of God. You are now born-again. • FIND A ON-FIRE CHURCH! You now need to find a church that is Bible-based and on fire for God. Get involved.. don’t sit on the side-lines. • READ THE BIBLE! If you don’t know where to start reading, start with the Gospels or get a devotional from a Christian Bookstore. When you read and meditate on God’s Word - it changes you from the inside– out and you will begin to understand what belongs to you. • SPEAK TO GOD - PRAY! Speak to God throughout your day. Spend time with Him, tell Him about your day.. you will build and nurture a relationship with Him. If you prayed this prayer, or if you would like more information on what it means to be a Christian, feel free to download our Salvation booklet– “Give me Jesus”. Click on image to download a PDF version. We would also like to hear from you. Drop us a line at saved@freshfiremag.org 22 FRESH FIRE MAG - Issue 1, 2008
You Can’t Give Away Something You Don’t Have
by Joyce Meyer Loving and being loved are what make our lives worth living. Many people experience times in their lives when they feel unloved. During these times it’s easy to dwell on those negative thoughts, but allowing it to continue leads to unhappiness and depression. Love is the energy of life. It is what motivates people to get up each day and keep going. Love gives life purpose and meaning. Everywhere you look you see people searching for love…but they’re looking in the wrong places. God is love, and they will never find what they’re looking for until they find Him. People look for fulfillment in life in different ways. These ways may seem good at first, but eventually the unsuccessful search will leave them feeling frustrated, disappointed and empty. The only way they can find the true fulfillment they are so desperately seeking is to choose to walk in love—to actually put love into action by reaching out and loving others. As soon as I made a commitment to God, I began to hear people talk about the importance of loving others. Since I wanted to live my life according to the Bible, I wanted to walk in love, but I just couldn’t. I had the urge…but no power to follow through. I always made elaborate plans but couldn’t carry them out. Unfulfilled desire is often frustrating. I felt very frustrated and wondered what was wrong with me. I was impatient with people. I was legalistic, harsh, judgmental, rude, selfish and unforgiving— and that is only the beginning of the list. The harder I tried to walk in love, the worse I became. I began to understand that I could not love others because I had never received God’s love for me. I knew in my head that the Bible said God loved me, but I didn’t feel His love in my heart. I wondered how God could love us as imperfect as we are. *Article used with permission from Joyce Meyer Ministries
God loves us because He wants to—it pleases Him. God loves us because it’s His nature to love, and He will always love us. He doesn’t always love everything we do, but He does love us. God’s love is unconditional. In fact, there’s nothing we can do to ever escape His love. God’s love is the power that forgives our sins, heals our emotional wounds, and mends our broken hearts. Over time I came to realize that I am deeply loved by God simply for who I am, not because of any work I could do for Him. I could finally quit trying to earn His love by doing things I thought would make me more worthy of His love. Once I began receiving God’s awesome, unconditional love, I was able to start loving Him in return and reach out to others more freely in love. Because God’s never-ending love was in me, I could give it to others without fear of ever running out. Everyone in the world wants to be loved and accepted. And the love of God—that wonderful gift He freely gives us—satisfies that need. His love flows to us, and then it should flow through us to other people. Now I see myself as a container full of blessings. I want to be the type of person who can pour out God’s love into the lives of the people around me. I’ve found that I’m always happier when I choose to make others happy. In the Bible, God calls Christians the salt of the earth (see Matthew 5:13). He expects us to “season” the lives of those around us. All of life is tasteless without love. Love is the salt, the energy of life, and the reason to get up every morning. Every day can be exciting if we see ourselves as God’s secret agents, waiting to sprinkle a little salt on all the lives we encounter. And we know that because we are deeply loved by God, we can never run out of love—no matter how much we give away. Issue 1, 2008 - FRESH FIRE
23
COMING UP IN OUR NEXT ISSUE
I AM NOT INSIGNIFiCANT
LIVING CHRIST BOLDLY
FRESH FIRE
MAG
GOD KNOWS
WHO I AM “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart” - Jeremiah 1:5