On Christian Unity by Rick Joyner

Discerning the Times, Part 14

The year 2009 will bring extraordinary growth in faith and peace for those who serve the Lord. One major reason for this is because it will also be a year of extraordinary unity. There will be a coming together in the body of Christ this year in ways that we have probably not seen in our lifetime. The result is going to be a release of even more power and light, which will result in ever-increasing faith and peace with His people.


We have been covering ways that the church is beginning to rise up to fulfill its last-day purpose of preparing the way for the Lord. Two primary ways that this is accomplished is by preaching the gospel of the kingdom throughout the world and building a highway for the kingdom as we see in Isaiah 40.


In a basic way, the church is called to be this highway. It is called to be a representative of the coming King and a reflection of His kingdom upon which people enter and travel toward their ultimate destiny. One of the aspects of the kingdom that we see in biblical prophecy is that after the kingdom comes, the earth will again come into harmony to the degree that even the lions will lie down with lambs, children will be able to play with cobras, and no one will hurt anyone else. Therefore, one of the basic ways that we can expect the church to begin reflecting the kingdom will be by her unity and harmony.


As we also see in biblical prophecy, the world will fall into increasing confusion and conflict at the end of this age, so the church will be moving in the exact opposite direction of the world in many basic ways. As fear increases in the world, the church will be growing in faith and peace. One reason for this will be the increase of unity. Faith gets multiplied with unity. That is why the Lord said in Matthew 18:19, "...if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.”


The word that is translated “agree” here means much more than just intellectually assenting to something; rather, it implies a deep heart unity. We can derive from His teachings several reasons why He requires faith to be unified with another in order to move in extraordinary ways. One is that the unity of His people is one of the primary issues on the Lord’s heart, which we see in His prayer in John 17. Another is that God gives His grace to the humble, and it takes all of the qualities of humility to come into unity with someone else.


Some teach that Matthew 18:19 is really saying that if we come into unity with the Lord and ask anything, then it will be done for us. Of course, that would be true, but this verse does say to “agree on earth,” which makes it quite clear that He is saying this agreement must be with another person.

In Genesis 11:6, the Lord describes the power of unity when speaking of what is happening with those who are seeking to build the tower of Babel: “And the Lord said, 'Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.'"


Unity does have that kind of power. As we discussed earlier, even a small degree of unity with a small group of people can have extraordinary impact. Karl Marx taught that just a tiny fraction of passionate people would control the rest who were indifferent. Lenin then proved this by taking over Russia, a nation of millions, with just 20,000 Bolsheviks. Likewise, if just a few thousand Christians came into unity and began to live with the resolve and willingness to sacrifice for their cause like the Bolsheviks did for theirs, the impact for light and truth would be so great that many nations would be transformed. Remember what the officials of one of the most powerful empires of the world said when Paul and Silas limped into their city—“Those who have turned the world upside down have now come to us!” (see Acts 16) That was just two people!


This year we are going to begin to see extraordinary results from Christians who begin to grow in unity. Resolve that you will be a part of it. Over the next few weeks we are going to address some of the practical ways that we will see this happen. To prepare for this in your own heart, begin to pray for your fellow Christians, especially for any who have disappointed you or wounded you in the past. Pray for them to be filled with the Spirit of God, to know His peace, and to grow in His faith. If there is anything that you can do to bring reconciliation to any degree, do it.


I love God. :D He makes fascinating universal laws, and has the ultimate power to veto these laws AS NEEDED.

I'm so glad to be a daughter of the Most High King. :)

Ikaw, are you "One of Us?" Join na!

(parang commercial ah.)


Kingdom Government Disclaimer: Christianity is not an exclusive religion or system of belief. Christianity is based on one thing: Forgiveness. God has forgiven you of your sin, when Jesus died on the cross for you. Love Jesus, get to know how fascinating He is, and He'll give you... More than you can ask for or imagine.

I love You Lord...

Psalm 37:3 Trust the LORD, and do good things. Live in the land, and practice being faithful. 4 Be happy with the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Entrust your ways to the LORD. Trust him, and he will act [on your behalf]. 6 He will make your righteousness shine like a light, your just cause like the noonday sun.

Thank you, Lord, for acting on my behalf and being my champion in my "just causes."

Nyehehe!

Luke 14:26

You cannot be my disciple, unless you love me more than you love your father and mother, your wife and children, and your brothers and sisters. You cannot come with me unless you love me more than you love your own life.

Uhuu. Uhuu. *coughing* Nabulunan ako.

Goodbye, Havaianas, goodbye Pizza. Goodbye stuff that I don't need but keep bugging God for. Hello dying to self, and trusting that He will make me rich, in His time. Trusting too, that I will get all the computers I've always wanted, when I'm ready, and when I'm no longer greedy for them, and when I actually do need these na.

Praise for a loving Father-God!

Praise for a God who loves giving Lorie more than friends, supernatural cash-less provision, but also cash provision, and blessings to spill over to more friends and... YES, my forthcoming MACBOOK PRO (which I won't need to agonize over, btw)!!!

Againagainagain:

Psalm 37:3 Trust the LORD, and do good things. Live in the land, and practice being faithful. 4 Be happy with the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Entrust your ways to the LORD. Trust him, and he will act [on your behalf]. 6 He will make your righteousness shine like a light, your just cause like the noonday sun.

Yehey!

A Macbook Pro is a just cause for a person who works online, don't you think? Nyehehe!

And Nay, Tay, you won't be the ones to pay for this, this time. God will make His ways, you'll see. Thank you for buying me Sayuri, and providing me with computers since I was 8.

I love you both!!!

Do not worry about...

Victory Christian Fellowship preaches the same thing, for this year-opening season. So you could understand that this is God's global call to believers and anyone human, right?

Discerning the Times, Part 13

As we are told in Hebrews 12 and other verses, everything that can be shaken will be shaken. However, we have been given a kingdom that cannot be shaken. A primary way that we build our lives on the kingdom that cannot be shaken is to use the key of the kingdom for every major decision in our lives. The key of the kingdom is described in Matthew 6:31-33:

“Do not be anxious then, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘With what shall we clothe ourselves?’
“For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”

The first thing the Lord tells us to do is to refuse anxiety. Anxiety is a lack of faith in God. This is an especial affront to God because when we are anxious, we are implying that the problems are bigger than God. Whenever we begin to feel anxious, we must learn to look at God and resolve that we are going to use our trials to increase our faith in Him. He is much bigger than all of the world’s problems combined.

God is the ultimate answer to every human problem, and He wants to demonstrate this, starting with ours. We must trust Him, and anxiety is evidence that we do not trust Him. Reject anxiety. It is the sin of unbelief. We repent of sin by confessing it and then turning away from it. Determine that your response to a problem will not be to feel anxious, but to see it as a wonderful opportunity to grow in our faith in Him. We read in I Peter 1:6-9:

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,
that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.

To be tempted is not sin. We can all be tempted to doubt and to be anxious, but the quicker we recognize it and turn away from it, turning our attention instead to God, the more we will learn to walk in the peace of God. Walking in the peace of God is basic to a victorious life, as we are told in Romans 16:20: “And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” Notice that he did not say that the “Lord of hosts,” which means the “Lord of armies” would crush Satan, but the God of peace would. It is the peace of God that is an impregnable fortress. The peace of God is the linchpin fruit of the Spirit, which if we lose it, all of the other fruits of the Spirit will also be lost. Think about it: If you lose your peace, you will quickly lose your patience and faith—then it is hard to love…. We must guard our peace.

We can count on this being tested this year by many events in the world. Let us resolve now that instead of worrying about the things happening in the world, that we are going to grow in our trust in the Lord because He has already overcome the world. He is bigger than the world.

The best way to put our trust in the Lord is the next thing the Lord said to do after telling us not to be anxious—seek first His kingdom in everything we do. If we are anxious, it can be a sign that we have not been building our lives on the kingdom God, but rather the things of this world. Regardless of how far off the path we have gone, we can get back on the path by determining now to seek first the kingdom in everything we do, making it the most basic issue in every major decision that we make. When we know we are seeking the Lord first and His kingdom, the peace of God will come upon us. Having the peace of God rule in our lives will be critical in the times to come.

"Everybody want Messiach"

I may not understand a whit of Hebrew, but all I know is that I agree with these kids."Everybody want Messiach NOW!" (Messiach = Messiah = Savior)

New Christian Music Finds! Oooo! Whee!

I'm currently working on a personal project then gearing to create my 20-year paradigm in order to, well, order my life.

While I was looking for an old song that had touched my heart back in my dark days, Jars of Clay's Much Afraid, I bumped into this amazing complement to iMeem: jango.com



Jars of Clay - Much Afraid

Jars of Clay - Even Angels Cry

Matthew West - All The Broken Pieces

Jaci Velasquez - Speak for Me

Superchic[k ]- Hold

Casting Crowns - While You Were Sleeping

MAN. I love the Innernets. If you loved this new site, please say a prayer for me, if you want to thank me in kind.

Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you what to pray for, and I'll be grateful you prayed for me. :)

Inform me via comment or private message that you prayed for me, and I'll say a Spirit-led prayer for you too.


I sure pray you had a great Christmas, and I pray that 2009 would be doubly fruitful for you and your fam, that, 2008's fruits would just be a shadow of what 2009's harvest brings!*


*Paraphrased from my good friend Pau

I Just Knew I Wouldn't Be Able To Stop

Casting Crowns - Let Me Love You

Misty Edwards - Finally I Surrender

Heather Clark Band - Deeper

Heather Clark Band - I Present Myself As A Living Sacrifice

Brian and Jenn Johnson - A Little Longer

I knew I'd find it hard to stop sharing with you, just as soon as I had posted the blog. Here were my iMeem picks over the past few days. I love how God has allowed the Internet to be the answer to the prayers of millions of Filipino Christians who had been longing for decent Christian radio here in this country.

I know that Jam 88.3 plays Christian music as well, but I don't have FM of late. Also, it just rocks that the music I find have not even been released yet, at times.


Here are my old-time faves, before I forget:

Amber N. Brooks - Like You Promised
Nina Landis - Captivated (Just look for it on her playlist)
Meredith Mauldin - Release the Angels (Same as Nina Landis, please just look for the song on her playlist)

And of course, the unbeatable women that got me started on my next level of loving Christian music:

Rebecca St. James - Lion

Misty Edwards - You Won't Relent


And prior to my discovery of Rebecca St. James or Misty Edwards, here are the rainshowers that have kept my heart alive through my dark adolescent years:

Caedmon's Call - Shifting Sand
Caedmon's Call - Love Alone
Caedmon's Call - Piece of Glass

Jars of Clay - Worlds Apart
Jars of Clay - Hymn
Jars of Clay - Flood
Jars of Clay - Liquid


Man, it feels like only yesterday when I've had those Caedmon's Call and Jars of Clay songs as anthems. I can't believe the difference of the angsty-ness of these anthems, as opposed to the lovesick-for-Jesus songs that I listen to today...

I guess it's really the way the Christian travels: from darkness and despair, and into light. :)

I'm so glad that I'm singing for the Lord to be my fire now, as opposed to "Take me out of the dark, my Lord.."

It was not a happy place to be in constant despair, you know. (Mighty redundant for a bit there, but anyway..)

I still have my moments, mind you. But these are more manageable now, thanks to how God takes care of me so well.

I'm just happy to be His daughter. :)

And here I am, sharing with you the songs that had earmarked my journey. :)


It was only yesterday that I had been swimming in the gunk of constant angst and pain, and today, I can finally use the word... "Happy."

I used to swear that word off. I used to despise the people who could use yellows and pinks for their profiles. Today, I am one of those who can use pink and yellow on my profile.

Uh-mazing.

God is. Not meh. Coz as I had realized one time, how I got here was not a function of actually agonizing about things. I had gotten to this happy place, one prayer at a time, one issue surrendered at a time. And oh, one command obeyed at a time.

I can't believe it, 2009 is dawning, and I have never felt better in my life. I had never felt this much hope and this much balance, as well as love in my life before.

And I owe it all to Jesus, for whom all these songs were sung. :)


I love You Lord!!!




(And yes, if you liked the songs on my post, nevermind my self-absorbed blabbering, please say a prayer for me, and let me know so that I can say a prayer for you too!


Hugs and Love!)

Welcome 2009 With Hope - Encouragement from Rick Joyner

There are three major fronts on which the church will be mobilizing to fight and to be the light of the world, combating the great darkness of our times. These are a basic part of our mandate as the church and there have been many victories in the past, but in recent times, much ground has been lost with each. We will not retreat any further! We will rise up to take the land—the inheritance that we have been given.

The first front we covered was to mobilize for education. To be the light of the world is a call to illumination or education. When the church is in unity, it has resources available for this which are greater than any other entity, including the secular media. There is movement toward this unity, and if we come together as the church, the illumination of the truth will be magnified many times over, and it will have the impact of turning many nations to the Lord. However, as we think of education, we must think far beyond schools and consider all of the ways that people are influenced in their worldview.

The second major front is to strengthen our own foundations, becoming the great society that is built on love, and the excellence of a discipline that is motivated by love, not law. This must especially be done in relation to families so the church can become the family that it is called to be. Family is one of the primary targets of the devil’s assaults in these times because he knows very well the power of them to be a light in this world. Godly families and churches that become the families they are called to be will stand out more and more in these times as a very bright light, leading many to salvation and victory over evil.

Of course, there is much more that can and needs to be said about these basic fronts, but now we want to highlight front #3—a kingdom economy.

We are called to be “a holy nation.” Before the end of this age, the church will be perceived to be a nation within the nations. Its main unity will be spiritual, but it will also be very practical. It will be so practical that when it is determined that no one on the earth can buy, sell, or trade unless they have the mark of the beast, those who are a part of this holy nation will not care about that because they will be part of another economy which is much greater than the world’s economy.

Of course, the big question is how will this happen? How will the church become a separate economy that can be sustained and prosper? It has been done before on smaller scales, and we need to learn from these examples. The foundation of this is becoming the citizens in heaven that we are called to be—living in the world but not being of it. This is not a matter of becoming cloisters or hidden self-sustained communities out in the wilderness somewhere. It is much bigger and greater than that. It is having access to heaven and all of its resources, just as Jesus came to show us how to access and to become the Door to this transcendent life. The Lord did not do this so that we could escape the world, but to help save it.

As we have addressed previously, Isaiah 40 tells us that we prepare the way for the Lord by building a highway. Spiritually, a highway is a “higher-way.” It is the way to the kingdom. It is the path of life. Right now all three of the fronts we have discussed have been crumbling. The wheels are coming off of public education, and in the West, the basic core structure of the family has been disintegrating. Now the economy is shaking to the point where we are in danger of a collapse. In short, everything that can be shaken is shaking right now, but we are called to be a part of the kingdom that cannot be shaken.

Just as the Lord had to shake Egypt to its foundations in order to set Israel free so that it could build a nation that was called to be a light to the world, the whole world is now going to be shaken to its foundations so that God’s people can be set free to become the light that they are called to be. The statue in Daniel 2 is beginning to collapse, and the little stone that struck at its feet is going to become a mountain and fill the whole earth. The way to be a part of that which is growing instead of collapsing is simple and straightforward, but it requires the faith and courage to be different, and to stand out because of those differences. It will require us to have the light, walk in the light, and be the light. Every day the world will get more desperate for that light.

This coming year will be one of the best ever for those who seek the Lord. The Lord promised us abundant life. That does not mean that it is going to all be good, but that there will be a lot of it. Great changes are coming in the world. We need to see them before they come and make the necessary changes before they come upon the world so that we are standing on solid, unshakable ground. We need to get practical and specific in addressing these. This is not just knowing what is going to happen and what we should be doing—it is about growing in faith and getting closer to the Lord.

“But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (I Timothy 1:5).

As things tend to get increasingly complicated in the world, one of the ways that we can be a light is to keep the simplicity of devotion to Christ. He is the answer to every problem we have. The ultimate witness of the gospel of the kingdom is that the King is coming, and He will fix everything. Don’t ever forget that, and it is just as good a promise for our personal lives as it is for the world. Even if we are in a mess because of our own foolishness, greed, or any other sin, the world is likewise in its mess for the same reasons. He did not come to condemn, but to save.

Get ready for a very exciting, fulfilling New Year that will stretch our faith— something that is far more valuable than gold.


As we come to the close of this most exciting year, many are entering the New Year with a feeling of dread and fear because of the things going on in the world. Others are entering it with great faith and hope. Faith and hope are going to win. The best year yet will be 2009.

Every Christian should be looking to the future with great faith and hope, even if we are looking into the “great tribulation.” It does not matter what comes upon the world, our King has prevailed, His kingdom is going to come, and His will is going to be done, right here on earth as it is in heaven. Bob Mumford once said, “You can read the end of the Book, and we win!” Consider this great promise in II Corinthians 2:14:

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.

As we are told in this verse, the Lord always leads us in “His triumph.” The point is that what may be His triumph may not always be the outcome that we want. His greatest triumph was the cross. Can we embrace that? If we do, we will also experience the greatest victory over evil in our lives. The year 2008 was a breakthrough for many, and many more are going to experience this in 2009. The victory is sure, and if you are one with faith, you can start enjoying it long before it is established. Fearful people are always tormented, even when things are going well. Faithful people are always living in peace and joy, even when things are not going well. We get to choose which of these we will be.

In a recent message at our church, Jack Deere said that we often make the mistake of putting our faith in an outcome rather than in the Lord. This has our hearts set on a thing rather than on Him. If we trust in the Lord, we also need to trust Him that the outcome of a matter will be what best advances His cause, what will be “His triumph,” not just ours. In many cases, the greatest triumph would be the growth of our faith, which we are told in James is more valuable than gold. We only grow in faith when we need faith.

This is not to imply that we should not pray for specific outcomes, such as a specific healing or the overcoming of a specific problem. We should not put our trust in an outcome, but in the Lord. If we would do this, we would probably see outcomes that are even better than we expect.

Many are looking at the passing of this difficult year with great relief. It is good to look at the New Year as a new beginning and to have hope and expectation. We will also look at the passing of this age in the same way. We can be absolutely sure that the age to come will be wonderful beyond what we can even now perceive. Every day that passes we are closer to the return of the Lord and the coming of His kingdom. Even so, in the meantime the world will have to go through some tribulation. The Apostle Paul preached that it is through tribulations that we enter the kingdom, and the same will be true for the world. Even so, it does not matter what the world goes through—it does not have to impact us if we are abiding in the Lord and have built our life on the kingdom that cannot be shaken.

I once had a prophetic experience in which I was suddenly standing in what I knew to be the control room of some kind of warship. I was standing in front of a radar screen, and the Lord Himself was standing right next to me. On the screen, a small blip appeared straight ahead and was moving toward us. To avoid a collision, I ordered the ship to turn 90 degrees. The blip did not move on the screen; instead it kept coming closer. I then ordered the ship to turn in the other direction, with the same result that the blip on the screen kept coming closer. I then grabbed the screen to brace myself for the impact, but nothing happened except the blip disappeared. I asked the Lord what this was, and He said it was “the great tribulation.” He said that it was coming and was unavoidable, but it was just a small blip of the radar screen of all that He is doing, and if I stayed close to Him, I would not even feel it!

Of course, I had the benefit of having this very real experience that implanted something deep in my soul. Even so, whether you trust this vision that I had or not, the point is that you can trust in the Lord, and it is sound biblical truth that when we stay close to Him we are protected, regardless of what happens.

If you are wondering about all of the martyrs who stayed close to Him but were killed, that, too, was His protection! It does not matter whether we live or die, but what matters is that we remain faithful. Our whole lives are “training for reigning,” and laying down our lives for the sake of the gospel is one of the greatest acts of faith. If we believe in the resurrection and not just the doctrine of the resurrection, we should be excited about this, glorying that we have been considered worthy of suffering for His name sake, just as the apostles and most martyrs have been.

The best year yet will be 2009. That does not mean it will not be hard, but it will be the best thing for us because He promised us in Romans 8:28-30:

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren;

and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

One of the ways that we can begin to experience the victories more quickly is to understand that everything God allows to happen to us is for the purpose of conforming us to His Son. We can look at any trial and probably determine quickly which fruit of the Spirit He is trying to work out in us, and the most basic will always be love and faith. What would love have you to do? What would faith have you to do? That will almost always be the answer, and always remember—“Love never fails” (see I Corinthians 13: 8).

The greatest victory we could have in 2009 would be to grow in love, for God first, and then for one another. The second greatest victory would be to grow in faith. Neither of these has to come through trials, and probably would not if we were in faithful pursuit of them without having to have the trials to spur us on. However, trials that come are worth any price. On that judgment day, our success as human beings will be based more than anything on how much we loved God and one another. Be a success—grow in love. Fortify your success by growing in faith, too.

Next week we will continue with the three great fronts on which we can expect the body of Christ to advance this coming year. For now, enjoy the New Year, which is the beginning of the rest of your life. This is going to be the best year of your life!