by Rick Joyner - MorningStar Ministries

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but I was also shown that it meant He is going to renew our vision. .... RICK JOYNER is the founder and executive director of MorningStar Ministries and Heritage ...
2011

by Rick Joyner

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ach year at our New Year’s Conference, we seek the Lord for direction for the coming year. The following are some of the general words that I was given for the coming year.

RE-VISION The first word I received was “re-vision.” Revision can mean change, and there is change coming, but I was also shown that it meant He is going to renew our vision. Many words and promises that His people have been given will be renewed this year. This is a second chance to enter the Promised Land that we have been called to possess. Many people have felt that the Lord was giving them the numbers 11-11 over and over but did not know what they meant. This is the message of Isaiah 11:11, which speaks of Israel being gathered back to their land a second time. When Isaiah prophesied this, Israel had not been driven from the land and gathered back the first time. The Lord had already extended mercy for His people and a recovery of their hopes and visions far into the future before they had even failed. He will do no less for those under the New Covenant than He did for those under the former. We must go back and review the promises of the past. Many have been called to ministries or missions years ago, and feel that they have now passed, but they are going to be reawakened because now is the time for their fulfillment. Those who have been wandering in spiritual circles in a wilderness will be able to cross over into their land this year. Many apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers will be commissioned after many years of preparation and waiting. New missionary ventures will be born, churches planted, and overall, the vision of the Lord’s people will be renewed this year.

SIMPLICITY In II Corinthians 11:3 we are told, “But I am afraid, that lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” To stay on course with the Lord, we must keep this simplicity. Complexity is what often leads us astray. This is the year to simplify, get rid of clutter, and anything else that is distracting us from our main purpose. By this, many will be set free and a new, fresh spiritual exhilaration will come upon them.

MODERATION In Philippians 4:5, 7 we are told, “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand . . . and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (KJV). Here we see that peace is linked to moderation. Much of the complexity that binds us now is the result of not obeying this exhortation. The Morning Star E-Journal



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A few years ago, an interesting study on happiness concluded that our possessions have absolutely nothing to do with our happiness. You would think they could have at least a little to do with it, but this study concluded that our possessions have no positive impact on our happiness and could have a big impact on our unhappiness. Many of God’s people have been deceived into pursuing possessions, thinking that they would find fulfillment, but the opposite is what they have found. This study concluded that the happiest people in the world tended to be some of the poorest because their lives were so simple. Because their lives were not so dominated with stuff, they had time for the one thing that has the most to do with human happiness—relationships. This is what we must return to, and much help will come from the Lord this year to do this. This year we need to resolve to get rid of anything that detracts from our relationship to the Lord and one another. The benefits will be immediate and great.

HOW TO LIVE AT THE END OF THE AGE I was also given I Peter 4:7-10: The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Here we see that at the end of the age we must be devoted to the following: Sound judgment A sober spirit Prayer Love Hospitality The gifts of the Spirit All of these will be an emphasis this year. Together these will help lead us to a great maturing of the body of Christ and the emergence of a renewed church that truly does become a distinct “holy nation” within the nations and is a true light to the world. Just as Isaiah 11:11 speaks of the re-gathering of Israel to her land, the body of Christ, which is “spiritual Israel,” will also begin to be re-gathered to her Promised Land. This will be a year of great gathering and re-gathering. Relationships will be restored and then purposes will be restored. 2



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Those who have backslidden will be returning, but some who are going on to iniquity, who have hardened their hearts, will go much further down that path this year. The Lord is gracious and merciful to give us another chance, but let us not try the Lord by presuming we can continue in our sins and repent later. This will be a tragic mistake for those who presume this. This is our year to get rejoined to the Lord, His church, and His purpose in our lives. For those who return to the Lord and resolve to be faithful, this can be their best year yet. As we are told in Romans 14:17, “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” The kingdom of God is not about what we have or what we do. The kingdom begins with righteousness, which is doing what is right in the sight of the Lord. This leads to a peace that the world does not know and cannot understand, and this peace leads to true joy. This is the year to possess the kingdom. Rick Joyner is the founder and executive director of MorningStar Ministries and Heritage International Ministries and is the senior pastor of MorningStar Fellowship Church. He is the author of more than  forty books, including The Final Quest, a worldwide bestseller. Rick is the president of The Oak Initiative, an interdenominational movement that is mobilizing Christians to be engaged in the great issues in our time. Rick and his wife, Julie, have five children: Anna, Aaryn, Amber, Ben, and Sam.

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Perfectly Weak

by Francis Frangipane

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ccording to the Scriptures, Moses was “educated in all the learning of the Egyptians.” Indeed, as a prince in Egypt, Moses had grown to be a “man of power in words and deeds” (see Acts 7:22). Thus, it is hard to equate this eloquent and cultured man with the stammering shepherd who, at eighty years old, was overwhelmed with his inadequacies, so much so that he pleaded with God to choose someone else. Consider: The Lord took a self-assured world leader and reduced his opinion of himself until he possessed no confidence. It was in this state of mind that God decided to use him. Having been thoroughly convinced of his unfitness for leadership, Moses was now qualified to lead. Remarkably, the Lord would ultimately reveal Himself to Moses (and all Israel as well) as Jehovah-Rapha: “I am the Lord that healeth thee” (see Exodus 15:26 KJV). Yes, God is our healer, yet there are times when God’s hands wound before they heal. Indeed, He must cripple our self-confidence before we truly become God-confident. He breaks and drains us of pride so that we, who were once full of self, might instead be filled with God. The Lord called Moses to return to Egypt as His spokesman. In response Moses pleaded, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue” (see Exodus 4:10). Never been eloquent? What about Egypt? “Moses the Eloquent” had become “Moses the Stammerer.” The identity of a sophisticated leader, a prince who knew the highest tiers of Egyptian culture, no longer functioned in Moses. God had so humbled His servant that he could not even remember his days of powerful words and mighty deeds. Moses had only one memory of Egypt: failure. For Moses, the very mention of the word Egypt flooded his mind with weakness; Moses feared returning to the place of his humiliation, especially as a leader. Yet God had not called him to be a leader, but a servant. And, to be a servant, one need not be eloquent, but obedient.

It Was God’s Idea Moses was sure his particular weakness, stammering, would disqualify him. How can a man who could not speak clearly speak for God? Yet not only was the Lord unhindered by human weakness, He asked, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” (see Exodus 4:11) Amazingly, the Lord not only accommodated Moses’ condition, He took credit for it! It is a profound thought: God stripped Moses of his worldly place and training, burdened him with a heavy and slow tongue, and then commanded him to serve Him in this specific area of weakness: speaking! 4



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The Lord could have instantly healed Moses! He could have given him oratorical skills greater than what he possessed in Egypt, but He did nothing to cure Moses. In fact, the slow speech was God’s idea! Perhaps we have spent too much time blaming the devil for certain limitations that actually have their origins in God. Yet what truly matters with the Almighty is not the eloquence of our words, but His power to fulfill them. It’s a fitting combination: stammering words backed up with immutable power. “I, will be with your mouth” (see Exodus 4:12). This is the alliance that makes for victory. Why is the Lord so attracted to the lowly? He knows the weaker His servant, the more genuinely he will praise God for the work He accomplishes. So the Lord kept Moses weak, and He maintained His servant’s sense of dependancy throughout the wilderness sojourning. Forget Charlton Heston’s portrayal of Moses with perfect articulation—there is no record of God having healed Moses’ stammer. Standing before the regalia of Pharaoh’s court, Moses spoke with the same stammering tongue that began to afflict him in his old age. Later, at the Red Sea, when the horses and chariots of Pharaoh’s army cornered the fleeing Hebrews, Moses lifted his voice and, with struggling lips, proclaimed, “Sta-sta-stand st-still a-a-and see th-the s-s-salvation of the L-L-Lord!” Who would not be tempted to plead, “Hurry Lord; heal his stutter?” Yet the Red Sea parted. God was never troubled by His servant’s flawed oratory skills. This is the glory of the cross: Self is crucified so that Christ may be revealed in power. The fact is that the Lord deliberately seeks those who know their flaws. Paul testifies that “God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong . . . the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God” (see I Corinthians 1:27-29). “That no man may boast before God.” May the revelation of God liberate us from human vanity. The truth of God is this: Our weaknesses are an asset. God has chosen us, not because of our strength, but because we are weak. I am not talking about our sinfulness, but that our weaknesses and lack of pedigree do not disqualify us from being used by God. I am not saying we shouldn’t seek God to heal our weaknesses, let us pray and believe Him! But let us also not excuse ourselves from God’s calling because of our weakness. You see, before the Almighty, we each are nothing, and we can do nothing of lasting value apart from Him. It is in our lowliness that God’s glory rises to its greatest heights. Perhaps your last place of service to the Lord seemed to be a complete failure. Yet it is possible that the Lord has simply been making you perfectly weak that He might manifest Himself perfectly strong within you. Francis Frangipane is the pastor emeritus of River of Life Ministries in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the president of Advancing Church Ministries. The Lord has used Francis to unite thousands of pastors in prayer in hundreds of cities. With more than a million copies of his bestselling books in print, and with an expanding online training school called “In Christ’s Image Training,” Francis is in much demand worldwide. His newest book is titled And I Will Be Found By You. For more information, visit: www.inchristsimage.org

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Forerunner Generation by Tim Flachman

All Scripture references American Standard Version unless otherwise indicated.

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od thinks multi-generationally. This is why the Lord is called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (see Exodus 3:6). Many times it may take several generations of preparation for the Lord to accomplish His plans and purposes in the earth. This can be seen clearly in Scripture. There is a multi-generational plan in the works that is about to reach the next phase of fulfillment for many people this year. The Lord has been preparing His people as forerunners, like Moses in the wilderness, who will lead another generation into their destiny. This year, these forerunners will begin to be released into their destinies as a deliverer for God’s people. Moses was a response by the Lord to a problem. When Joseph led the Israelites to Egypt, they originally had the favor of the pharaoh, but “there arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph” (see Exodus 1:8). Four hundred years after Joseph, the people were languishing under the burden of slavery. Thus the Lord sent a deliverer to set the people free from their bondage. We are roughly now four hundred years after the first successful English settlement at Jamestown was established in America. Christians are suffering under a government that seems to have forgotten the foundations this nation was built upon. It is now time for the Lord to release deliverers to America. Many lessons can be learned by studying the story of Moses and the Israelites that are pertinent for the events which are unfolding this year. Although there are striking similarities in the forty years spent by both Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness, the differences give insight into the nature of these different generations, giving a framework that will impart hope and direction for the season of preparation that is about to end. 1. The forerunner generation is anxious to get to their destiny; the second generation isn’t ready for it when it first comes. This statement expresses the nature of the forerunner generation. Forerunners are typically “doers” or those who can hardly wait to get started. Moses (our forerunner example) killed the Egyptian slave master trying to fulfill in his flesh the destiny that he knew was upon his life to free the Israelites before it was time. This running ahead of the Lord is part of what is being tempered in forerunners during their wilderness season. When the Israelites came to their destiny at the Jordan River the first time, they were not prepared and chose not to enter for fear. The second generation needs the leadership of the forerunner to get them past the paralysis of analysis. They are the analyzers who would prefer to have all the information and safety before moving ahead. The wilderness is designed to get both generations walking in step with the Lord and not ahead or behind. As Rick Joyner has said, “There is a ditch on either side of the path of life.” 6



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Wilderness for the forerunner generation is about preparing another generation; wilderness for the second generation is about taking the land.

The ultimate goal in the Lord’s plan is taking the land, but that is not what the forerunner Moses was being prepared for. This was a multi-generational plan which required an entire generation of preparation before implementation of the final plan to take the land. It is not easy for Western Christians to think of a plan of God that they may not see in their lifetime. The calling of forerunners is to build the kingdom of God instead of the kingdoms of men in order to see the ultimate purposes of God fulfilled. This is similar to the calling of David who spent an entire lifetime amassing enough wealth so that his son Solomon could have all the resources necessary to build the temple. 3.

The forerunner generation doesn’t understand the purpose of the wilderness; the second generation has a clear goal at the end of their wilderness.

It is clear that Moses didn’t understand the purpose of his forty years in the wilderness. When it came time for him to enter into his destiny, he argued with the Lord concerning going back to free the Israelites. Moses had lost hope that the destiny he once knew clearly enough to kill an Egyptian slave master would ever come to pass. It is common among forerunners to lose hope along the way. Although the Israelites frequently tripped up along the way, Moses was there to walk them through their wilderness. Because of Moses, the Israelites understood their wilderness experience and knew at the end they would enter the Promised Land. Although the hardships of the wilderness can be excruciating, forerunners can take heart that the preparations will give them an understanding of the needs of those in wilderness seasons. This experience will translate into multiplied effectiveness for the generations to follow. 4.

The forerunner generation is often unprepared when the final manifestation of their destiny comes; the second generation is ready and waiting.

When the time came to enter into his destiny to deliver the Israelites, Moses was unprepared and argued with the Lord. When the Israelites came to the Promised Land, they had been transformed into an army ready to move without argument into their destiny. Although this is not clearly laid out in Scripture, I believe this was imparted to them by Moses, who learned from his own loss of hope to remain faithful to the calling and be prepared when the time comes. Even the loss of hope in wilderness seasons can serve the purposes of the Lord in forerunners. “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (see Romans 8:28 NKJV). If you are experiencing the hardships of a wilderness experience, where the destiny you thought you knew so clearly seems a million miles away, you may be a forerunner prepared by the Lord to lead a generation into their destiny. The Morning Star E-Journal



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It is not easy to be a forerunner, walking through a desert wilderness for years without understanding the purpose and timing of the Lord. Yet this is the very crucible designed by the Lord to prepare His people for their destinies. Let hope arise, understanding that there soon will be an end to the wilderness and your destiny will be much bigger and better than you could have imagined. Tim Flachman is a businessman who is passionate about releasing Christians to view their workplace as ministry. With a distinctly prophetic edge, Tim ministers with a heart of love for God’s people. A successful businessman and entrepreneur, Tim is the founder of POSNation.com, a point of sale systems business which he sold in 2009. Tim is also the IT Director for MorningStar Ministries and the leader of MorningStar’s local chapter of the Kingdom Business Association.

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Cry Out for Discernment by Joni Ames

All Scripture references New King James Version.

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love the holidays and everything about them! I thoroughly enjoy the “new hope” that comes as we enter into a new year. I love what the Word has to say about it: You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance (Psalm 65:11).

While I’m quite an optimist, I also understand that the above statement doesn’t mean everything will be rosy and wonderful in the new year for everyone. Both good and bad things happen. However, what I do understand is that things go better with the Lord on our side. While  watching the news on TV, it gave way to pondering on years past as well as the year ahead. Some of the past years were not so good for me. In my younger years, I was one of the most UN-discerning people I’ve ever known. I was so gullible and even downright dumb at times! I’m not “word cursing” myself—just being honest. That isn’t so “cute” after a while, and it isn’t godly. While we are to be as children in the area of faith, the Lord doesn’t desire for us to walk around in the spirit of stupid! In fact, that could be deadly in the time up ahead. His Word says: When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man (adult), I put away childish things (I Corinthians 13:11). We need to be more mature in these times than ever and put away the childish image of being some “sweetsie” little kid. Jesus gives us clear warning when He says, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Getting taken advantage of isn’t in God’s plan for us. He tells us we are not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices (see II Corinthians 2:11). It’s up to us to seek  God for the wisdom and discernment we need. I love the Book of Proverbs because it truly is the Book of wisdom. One day as I was reading it when I was much younger, I came across this set of verses, in which it says to “cry out for discernment.” I took it seriously and it changed my life! Check this out. Incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; The Morning Star E-Journal



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He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path. When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, Discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you (Proverbs 2:2-11). When I read the above verses, I took it LITERALLY! I began spending lots of time literally laying on my floor crying out or standing and shouting up to the heavens: “God, forgive me for being so stupid and gullible and for  thinking that blindly trusting everyone was of You. Help me. I’m crying out to You for wisdom, discernment, and understanding. Discernment of God, come to me, in Jesus’ name. Wisdom of God, come to me, in Jesus’ name. Understanding of God, come to me, in Jesus’ name.” I didn’t just do this one time for five minutes. I spent hours, days, weeks, months, even years crying out for it. And I still do it. We must be willing to pay the price of true, intimate relationship with the Lord—spending TIME with Him. When we do that, we will truly get to know Him, His voice, and His ways better than ever before. We are truly in a time when we must “contend earnestly for the faith.” (see Jude 3) for if we do not, we are in danger of deception. Jesus warns us in Matthew 24:24, “False Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” It is frightening that even the elect could be deceived. Dear God, please help me— us—to be kept from deception. Do you remember when the “buzz” term went around for awhile, “more Lord?” Well, when I heard that, it immediately reminded me of  an old song, and it says something like this, “I want more of Jesus, so I’ll give Him more of me.” When I would hear others say, “more Lord,” I would pray, “more Lord. More of You—less of me.” I’ve heard it said that we are all as close to God as we want to be. Well, I’m not. So I decided to keep crying out and keep giving Him more of me, and I pray to God to give me the guts, fortitude, and strength to never stop. I love the Scripture, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). There’s an old Larnelle Harris song based on that Scripture  called, Greater Still, and in it are these words, “I must become less, so much less, so that You become greater still. Lord empty me of anything that keeps me from what’s real.”  When I hear that song, it makes me cry, and I just pray as I sing it to Him, “Yes, Lord. Please do so with me. Always.” The Word basically warns us that dumb people enjoy and think it is funny to be stupid: “Folly is joy to him who is destitute of discernment, but a man of understanding walks uprightly” (Proverbs 15:21). A religious spirit will try to come and tell you that you are judgmental, harsh, or ungodly for being discerning. Jesus warns, “Behold, I 10



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send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). That sounds pretty serious—nothing to ignore in that verse for sure. The truth is, we are NOT to believe everything that presents itself as spiritual. We are to test every spirit: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God” (I John 4:1). This doesn’t mean that we need to go around telling everyone everything God shows us. In fact, that would be stupid. There are times the Lord has shown me things that I know wouldn’t be believed by anyone else if I told them—even things He showed me about some famous ministers. I knew I had to just keep my mouth shut and pray. That’s what prophetic intercession is. That’s why God trusts us with it—not so we will shout it to the rooftops, but so we will take it to Him in prayer. Ecclesiastes 3:8 tells us there are times and seasons for everything, “A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.” Right now we are in a time of greater spiritual warfare than has ever existed. Many are sensing as Jeremiah was in Jeremiah 4:19, “O my soul, my soul! I am pained in my very heart! My heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, Because you have heard, O my soul, The sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.” The good news is that our God is with us in battle. Psalm 18:34 says that He even teaches our hands to war. Of course we know, “Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds (II Corinthians 10:3-4). God’s promise to us is the following: “You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you” (Leviticus 26:7-8).   Some of us have gone through serious betrayals. Jesus knows how that feels. Judas did it to Him. However, just as with that situation, what Satan meant for evil, God will turn for good! These verses are for you: Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them. By this I know that You are well pleased with me, because my enemy does not triumph over me. As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, and set me before Your face forever. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen (Psalm 41:9-13). Whatever your battle, know that Jesus, Himself is on your side as the third man in your fiery furnace. It’s time to do more than believe that He exists—believe that He is “for you!” The Morning Star E-Journal



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He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (see Hebrews 11:6). It’s time to cry out for discernment; to believe that He loves you enough to give it to you; and then to walk in it.

PRAYER And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:9-11). Joni Ames is a writer and itinerant minister who travels extensively, teaching and activating the body of Christ in the gifts. Her Women’s Prophetic Destiny conferences provide teaching, mentoring, and practice for women who feel called to ministry but who have not previously had a platform. She ministers in many venues. To find out more about Joni, visit her website at http://www.joniames.org/bio.htm

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Substantive Faith by Karla Perry

All Scripture references New International Version.

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e were created for a kingdom of faith and belief, not one of doubt and fear. For instance, it wasn’t that Adam and Eve needed to doubt Satan, it was that they needed to believe God. Satan was presenting a false reality, and if they were living the true reality and believing accordingly, the deceptive offer would have been inconsequential by comparison. The thing that got them into trouble was doubting God rather than believing Satan. They could not have believed the lie if they had not first doubted the truth. Christians are often conditioned to be skeptics rather than believers. We are fearfully skeptical of being susceptible to anything false—so much so that we live according to that “fear” reality instead of the true reality. More than having a fear of being taken in by a false religion, we fear being taken in by a false doctrine or a false prophet, and thereby being led away from the truth. It is the Holy Spirit that leads us into all truth. If we are living in a place of believing God and being led by His Spirit, His Spirit will witness to our spirits the truth in which we are to abide. We ought to be able to see truth in all things in all forms. Satan cannot create anything; he can only distort what is already real. It’s like opening a clam and finding a pearl. It may need a little cleaning, but a real pearl is still there. Bill Johnson often states that under the Old Covenant you touch a leper and you become unclean, but under the New Covenant you touch a leper and the leper becomes clean. I think this principle holds true for other things as well. We can touch something false and the falsity will fall away to reveal the true glory of the thing. The false reality cannot jump on us and hold us hostage. We live in the liberty of the truth. However, this is not to say one ought to feed on a false reality. If we are continually consuming things that are false, they can adversely alter our perspectives. We have to be solidly walking in the truth. When we walk immersed in His light, the darkness is dispelled to mere shadows which cannot affect our light. There is never any reason to exercise unbelief or skepticism. We do not need to be skeptical of what is false when we believe what is true. We do not need to practice not believing the devil; we need to simply believe God.

According to I Timothy 4:1, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” Notice that this comes from an abandoning of the faith. We have to step out from the truth to follow deceiving spirits. We are not going to follow them if we have not first abandoned the faith. The Morning Star E-Journal



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Hebrews 11:1 states that “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Verse 3 elaborates on that point by saying, “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what is visible.” Therefore, if faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see, we can have a surety and certainty that God created the universe out of nothing visible. Faith has often been misappropriated to mean blindly believing in something that has no substance or certainty. Faith is not something employed when there is lack of evidence, but it is itself the substance of something real and true. Another translation of Hebrews 11:1 reads that faith is the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (NKJV). Faith has a tangible substantive quality tantamount to evidence of the unseen. In fact, faith is the greatest substance for it is of the Father Himself. Faith is when our spirit tangibly touches His Spirit. It is contact with God, not merely mental agreement with a doctrine or propitious truth claim. It is an experiential connection between the natural and the divine that produces physical results in the natural world. The unseen becomes manifestly visible, sometimes in a sense known only to the person of faith, and sometimes it is powerful enough for others to see. James 2:22 tells us that faith is completed by our actions. It’s like when we do something in line with the faith we have, we activate heaven to manifest, which causes a completion of that faith in our actions. A dormant faith does nothing for the believer or the world. We must actively walk out what we know to be true. Abraham didn’t sit back and believe God spoke to him about sacrificing Isaac; he actually went to do what he was told to do. However, since he was in relationship with God, in faith he did not proceed with the sacrifice of his son when God gave him the substitutionary offering. His faith was not based on what God said previously, but on the continual revelation of what God was saying in the moment. This is true faith. Anything less would have cost Isaac his life. Think about this: Faithfulness and righteousness are inextricably tied. An individual or a nation cannot be faithful to false gods. No, anyone worshiping a false god is not faithful, but faithless. If a husband forsakes his wife for an adulterous relationship, he has not become faithful to a new woman; he has become faithless to his wife. This is why when Israel turned away from God to serve created idols, God called them “faithless” and “adulterers.” Faith is a substance that comes from God. It cannot be allocated in a path separated from God. To not be faithful to God is to be faithless. This is not to say that people who do not have faith in the biblical God do not have a sincerity of belief. The “faith” spoken of in the Bible is not a matter of intellectual belief, but a matter of connecting experientially and substantively with the person of Truth. A person who just believes the doctrines of Scripture without connecting to the Person of whom the Scriptures profess, does not have the faith spoken of in Hebrews 11. 14



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By reading II Timothy 2:13 we see that our faithlessness disowns Him, but He is always faithful because He is always Himself and cannot disown Himself. If faith is inextricably tied to being in line with Him, faith in anything else isn’t real faith at all. Furthermore, Ephesians 4:5 clearly states that there is only “one faith.” It is therefore erroneous to refer to various religions as “faiths” for they are not “faiths” at all. Within them, if you find true faith, that faith is in God, not in the religion. Only those who are faithful in Jesus have true faith, which is substantive and righteous. This is why the righteous live by faith, and this is why the faith of our forefathers was accounted to them as righteousness, for only by that experience with God can faith be found and lived out. Only by Jesus can we have that experience with God. Karla Perry, apologist and worldview revitalizer, is an avid writer with a penetrating and thought-provoking style. Having written for local publications and for Relevant Magazine online, Karla helps people develop their worldview through presuppositional apologetics. Karla connects regularly with Christians and non-Christians alike on her Blog at www.answerbearer.blogspot.com. Karla lives with her husband, Joseph, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where they lead Remnant Ministries, a member of the MorningStar Fellowship of Churches.

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Prayer and the Tragedy in Tucson by Lloyd Phillips

All Scripture references New King James Version.

R

ecently, a number of praying citizens converged upon our state capitol building and proceeded to pray for the incoming representatives before they took their oaths of office and began the legislative session. We began and ended in the rotunda, and in-between, prayed throughout the capitol building. Every seat in the legislative hall was prayed over and anointed. One of the things I emphasized as we closed was I Timothy 2:1-2: Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.

This is something I try to carry out daily in my own personal life. I pray for the President and his family for their health and safety. I pray for other elected officials from local school boards to the governor. I pray for many other people who are in authority and are not elected, like our military and first responders, our church leaders, and our business leaders. I listened to an interview recently with a congresswoman from Arizona, and I liked some of the things she was proposing to save money—like giving Congress a pay cut. She had voted for the liberal Health Care Law, but seemed to be moving a bit to the right in light of the changes in the makeup of Congress since the election. Sometime after that interview, I had a thought about Leo Ryan, who was the only member of Congress ever to be killed while in office. He was killed while investigating the Jim Jones cult in Guyana, South America. While few other jobs can come close to being as safe as a member of Congress is, with one casualty while in the line of duty in almost two hundred and twenty-five years, I added this to my prayers because the Bible says the Spirit of God helps us to pray when we don’t know the details on how to pray (see Romans 8:26). Like all of America, I was horrified to hear of the tragic shooting which had just taken place in Tucson, Arizona in January. I was familiar with the congresswoman who seemed to be the object of the assassin’s activities because she was the same one I had seen interviewed only a day before. I prayed fervently for her, the other wounded individuals, and the families of those who had died, including a conservative Federal judge who had stopped by Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford’s event to say hello. As reports came in, I felt nothing but disdain for the acts of such a coward as Jared Loughner, the shooter. My shock and disdain escalated at the behavior exhibited by many of the politically liberal individuals who were interviewed in light of the shooting. I was astounded at how quickly blame was being flung against conservatives and the military. The shooter was described as a possible member of the Tea Party, as a returning veteran of the Afghan war, all without any evidence, and all turned out to be false. If you will recall, this is the same thing 16



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that happened when the car bomb was discovered in Times Square. Without any evidence, the Mayor said he was sure it was placed there by some conservative who was upset about the Health Care legislation. I don’t recall any apology when the Islamic terrorist who set the bomb was captured while trying to flee to the Middle East.  In fact, Jared Loughner was described by a former classmate, “As I knew him, he was left wing, quite liberal and oddly obsessed with the 2012 prophecy.” Don’t hold your breath waiting for a retraction from those who have blamed conservatives or veterans because it’s doubtful you will hear of one. Rather than apologize for their vitriol, these folks now seem to be repeating a mantra that the discourse has gone to in this country, and we need to tone it down. They say this even as they point fingers and try to affix blame on their political opponents. It seems they want everyone to “tone it down” except themselves. Wasn’t it the President that called his opponents “enemies?” Wasn’t it his Chief of Staff that said, “never waste a crisis,” but use every crisis to grab more power and push the liberal agenda further? Wasn’t it the President’s Homeland Security director who released the report warning that the likely terrorists would come from conservatives and returning veterans? It’s no wonder that the folks who digest these things without considering the facts jump to conclusions and false accusations so quickly. It’s really a shame—but these folks are shameless. Most people want to reflect and pray for the families who have been so deeply affected by these horrific events. However, in the present climate, one is wise not to let down his guard, as the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. Habakkuk, the Old Testament prophet, was a watchman, and he wrote that as he stood on the wall guarding the city that he expected God to speak to him while he was on duty. It was during this time on the wall that he received what was to become one of the most re-written quotes in the Bible, “the just shall live by his faith” (see Habakkuk 2:4). My heart was both broken and then encouraged as I listened to the words of the mother who lost her darling nine-year old to the lunatic’s rampage on that Saturday. She expressed her loss but also expressed her faith and how her faith was sufficient to see her through. May we all remember that example as we continue to pray for those affected by such a tragedy, but remain as watchmen in faith. Lloyd Phillips, Director of Fellow Laborers’ International Network (FLInt Net), travels extensively, and has been teaching for more than twenty-five years in the U.S. and abroad. Lloyd establishes God’s divine order within the church, teaches and engages others to prepare the church as a glorious bride, while ministering the majesty of God’s glory through intimacy with the Lord and preparing people for kingdom authority and living. You may reach Lloyd at: FLInt Net P.O. Box 113,  Missoula, MT  59806 phone (406) 251- 8580 [email protected] Web page: www.flintnet.org

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