Teaching and Equipping

Let the Walls Fall!- Karen Austin

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One thing that I sense is that the Father’s heart is pleased as His Body is beginning to arise. I have seen multiple worship folks who got together to create live worship during the day to glorify Jesus on Facebook, even though they come from different churches. Live Facebook prayer gatherings are taking place. Messenger prayer groups are sharing prayer requests. People are watching pastors from another church’s services. Once again families are coming together in prayer. We are seeing neighbors talking to one another as they step out of their homes to get some fresh air.

My prayer is that the dividing line is coming down in His Body. It is going to take all of us laying aside our spiritual pride and our idols to see things change as we desire to see them change in our nation. Our nation’s leaders are doing a terrific job, but ultimately the responsibility lies with the Church. I truly believe church will no longer be as it was. We have known a shift was coming, but did not know that a virus would be part of what prompts this change.

The church as a whole has gotten very complacent regarding spiritual things as spoken of the Laodicean church. “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” Revelation 3:15-17. We lost our fire, our zeal and our passion for the things of the Lord. Now, I am not speaking of all who identify as believers, but I am speaking of the church at large. As long as things were going well in personal and professional lives and we had a quick Sunday service, we were satisfied. As long as there wasn’t much of a demand placed upon us to change and die to self, all was good. But times have changed and I believe it is a good thing.

We will look back at this time and see that this interruption in “normal” church life was exactly what was needed. As we can see from the early church in scripture, “normal” was not in their vocabulary. We read of boldness in the face of opposition and persecution. Healing’s disruption and elimination of disease. Deliverance from demonic possession. What the enemy has meant for destruction, if we as His church partner with Heaven, will turn this around for resurrection of His church. Interruption meant for destruction will instead result in resurrection! Can I tell you we should never be satisfied with where we are spiritually. There is sooooo much more!!

May we not go back to being comfortable and complacent!! Times have changed and will demand a church totally filled to overflowing by Holy Spirit, full of power and on fire for His Kingdom to manifest in today’s world!

Whats Eating You??? (Part 3) – Gary Florence

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So here we are again, are you ready to walk down memory lane with me on a day that I was a total train wreck? I will ask you one thing, as you read this can you identify with what I am sharing and maybe even see yourself in it? It all started on a Saturday morning have you heard the phrases “waking up on the wrong side of the bed” and “a bear with a sore behind.” That is how my day started and ended and to make matters worse my wife works for a hospital and she has off every other weekend and it just so happens this is her weekend off.

So I am sure she was thinking “Really this had to happen on my weekend off and now I have to put up with this all day instead of only a part of the day?” Murphey’s law was in full effect, “anything that could go wrong will go wrong.” All day long one thing after another kept going wrong and instead of addressing it I kept stuffing it down inside of me until the volcano eruption took place. The smoke was billowing and the hot lava was spewing out all over the place. I could not reel myself in and needless to say my wife was getting the brunt of the storm. So I went to bed the same way I woke up. The next day (Sunday) I got up and took our dog a walk to try and release the stress that had built up from the previous day. The guilt, shame, and condemnation was coming at me from all sides as if it was a flood drowning me in it.

I literally was walking hunched over hanging my head in sorrow. I remembered 1 John 1:9 and was mumbling it over and over out loud to myself. “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and purify us from all unrighteous.” When I was a young Christian I remembered being taught this very verse because I was told you are nothing but a miserable sinner and you will have to say this scripture over and over. So at this point I am feeling pretty bad about myself “nothing but a miserable sinner” trying to convince God that He had to forgive me according to His word which He does time and time again, as this guilt, shame, and condemnation was eating away at me. Then all of a sudden the Holy Spirit arrested me and said “If you think repentance is something (a Law) that you have to do then it will be something (a Law) that you feel you must do (a Law) but if you look at repentance as a gift from God and receive it as a gift and not a law when you stumble and fall instead of being like Adam and Eve where they ran and hid from Him you will run to Him and freely open up this gift of repentance and forgiveness.”

I am going to end this right here and the next time we get together I am going to share with you what happened in my life when I took the advice from the Holy Spirit and received repentance and forgiveness as a gift and not as a law and opened it up and what the result had on guilt, shame and condemnation throughout my life. I will give you a hint, it’s exciting!!!!!

Don’t Social Distance from God – Karen Austin

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I am sure we have all heard the new buzz words “Social Distancing”. Even though that is what the experts are advising and I concur with this advice, I sense these are the same words Holy Spirit is saying. Not that we do not have a social life or social contact in one form or another, but that we distance ourselves from bingeing on social media and instead spend the time praying and seeking His face. Of course, we should catch the latest updates from our nation’s leaders, but guard against the temptation for 24/7 media gorging. It is so easy to get caught up in that.

We have been given a parenthesis in time from other activities which we say prevent us from spending time as much time as we would like in the Word and with Him. We have entered a new era and can no longer move along our spiritual journey by being on rote. It would behoove us to distance ourselves from hours of intake of Facebook, fear and doom statements from some news media, and enter into His chambers to obtain His wisdom on how to maneuver spiritually in these days and hours that lie ahead. Holy Spirit will share with you what to do to be healthy He will lead you as to where to go or not to go. We must be a people led by the Spirit and a people of peace. After all, He is the One who knows all things! He knows how this will end. I do sense, however, things have changed from now going forward.

We need to social distance ourselves from those who speak nothing but negativity and fear into our lives and have no desire to change. We certainly pray for them, but do not continue to expose our self to their draining negative opinions. Guarding our ear gates and our eye gates will be very important.

Feed yourself on His Word. I can tell you after our son passed, I had very little physical strength or emotional strength from the long season of continual high stressors. When I began spending time in His Word, I would come away from those times actually feeling physical strength coming into my body. It was what made a marked difference in my journey back to health.

My prayer is that a fire has begun in His church and will continue to grow…that His church will not go back to being lukewarm after this virus issue is solved, as in former days. May you and I be a catalyst of His Holy fire spreading faster and more powerful than any virus ever can and this HOLY FIRE brings LIFE!!

Whats Eating at You??? – Gary Florence

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Before we dive into What’s Eating at You??? Part 2 I would like to say to you that if guilt, shame and condemnation really has never been an issue in your life. I would like to encourage you to right now begin to thank the Lord for that and to give Him praise and to give those who have at times or maybe even as they read this struggle with this, please give grace and your prayers. Guilt, shame and condemnation can be very real.

When you look at yourself in the mirror and all you see is your faults, failures and shortcomings it can have an impact on how you do life. Your relationships with your spouse, your children, other family members, coworkers etc. can become very strained because a lot of the times the way we see ourselves is the way we see others. If we are the judge and jury towards ourselves we can become the judge and jury concerning others faults, failures and shortcomings. Someone might be asking the question “Why share this part of your life with us, we do not know who you are, we will never meet you?” “You are opening yourself up to criticism, finger pointing and even judgment.”  My answer to those questions would be if just one person who stumbles upon this blog and can identify with what I am sharing and would then be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to walk them through the process of freedom from guilt, shame and condemnation it would be worth allowing you into a portion of my life.

In Ephesians it declares that we would be blameless and holy before God even before the foundation of the world. I do not know about you but that is hard to wrap my mind around that. So if I am “now” in Christ, that blameless and holy before God is part of who I am and that when God looks at me I am clothed with the righteousness of Christ Jesus. WOW!! So if I could see through the lens of God at me, He sees me without guilt, shame and condemnation. Just think about that for a few moments.

Take a deep breath inhale and now exhale, you are awesome in the sight of God and you are not what the enemy or others have labeled you as being. You may be thinking to yourself “I do not feel blameless or holy.” It’s not based on feelings but on His word about you. Next time I am going to allow you to walk down memory lane with me on a day in which I was a total train wreck, have you ever been a total train wreck? Then I will share what happened the following day when the Holy Spirit arrested me and asked “Do you want to be set free from guilt, shame and condemnation?” I cannot wait to share with you these keys He shared with me.

The Father’s Heart in Prayer – Frank Work

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I don’t know about many of you, but this past several months have been a real time of seeking the Lord on decisions and paths that are in front of us. When I say, “us” I mean my wife and I. Before I was saved, my wife was the spiritual head of the household. She did all the things she possibly could do to maintain the presence of God in our home. It was a battle for her, a real struggle, especially since I was in the camp of the enemy. So here you have this spiritual struggle in a home, a home divided against itself, while all the time, our children were trying to figure out what their role was in all this. Prayer is not an easy task, and quite frankly I don’t think it’s supposed to be. The act of “praying” is easy. Assuming the position of prayer, head down, eyes closed mumbling away the prayers that you have listed out that day or come to mind at that moment, and then I’m done.

Here let me outline the prayer I do with my wife in the morning to give you a better perspective of what I mean;

Father we thank you for this day; I ask that you watch over and keep us, guide and direct us, be with us as we go about the task of the day. We ask that you watch over. Watch over our two children and their spouses, watch over our 3 grandchildren.  Watch over our parents and family members. We lift up our home, our vehicles and our finances. Help us to be good stewards of those things you have placed with in our hands. Open our eyes to see and our ears to hear what You are doing in and around us so that we may follow the path You have for us this day. We thank you Lord for your sacrifice on the cross for our sins and help us to be in remembrance of that as we go out this day. We thank You and give You the glory, in Jesus name, Amen.

Now I don’t think that is a bad prayer, I covered all the bases as far as our personal life and gave God the glory at the end. So I should be set for the day, right? Problem is, if that is my first conversation with the Lord in the morning when I first wake up, I am missing so many facets of Him, and the very essence of who He is. I am never really getting a true sense of direction for the day that lies ahead. What I am doing is hoping that He will hear what I am praying and answer those prayers according to my expectations.

I still believe that Jesus was giving a command when He spoke the following words, “This is how you should pray.”

8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen”

When Jesus refers to “them” he is speaking of the heathens who use vain repetition hoping to be heard (Matt 6:7). Prayer to me is an intimate communication between myself and Jesus. Prayer isn’t just asking for something selfishly, but it’s aligning my heart with the heart of the Father. Yes there are moments when we can come before the “Master to Petition Him” (Luke 18) He listens to His children and would never turns His back on the elect which are covered in the blood of His Son. Selfishly praying will not yield a fruitful prayer life, but only disappointment and eventually mistrust in Jesus that He will not accomplish anything in your life. This is a direct assault of the enemy against the body of Christ. When we see our prayers not answered, the enemy, who is Satan, will begin his assault on our hearts and whisper to our spirit man, “You see, He doesn’t care about you, He won’t answer you because He has no time for your request.” The enemy is relentless when it comes to attacking the body of Christ, he will never cease, there is nothing he wants more than to draw your focus away from God, and onto yourself.

Finally here to me is the clearest direction on how we pray and how we can align our hearts with His and to know without a shadow of a doubt what the Fathers heart is concerning any situation in our life.

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

This is the best description in my opinion of what it means to have the desires of your heart answered. Because it’s not about us at all, it’s about the Fathers heart for us. When we line our hearts up with His heart and His will, the Holy Spirit will cause our hearts to line up with His heart. At this point, His desire will become ours and we will be praying in line with His will for us. The keys to this are in the scripture I just shared, “Trust in the Lord, Feed on His faithfulness, Delight yourself ALSO in the Lord, and THEN He will grant the desire of your heart.”

If we as Christian really do give our lives to Jesus, then we are saying we trust in fact that Jesus knows a better way for us to pray and ultimately serve in a “right spirit” in His kingdom.

Offense is Deadly (Part 2) – Frank Work

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Now before I go any further, I have offended people. Sometimes knowingly and other times, without knowing. People have and still ignore me, walk by me without saying a word, avoid contact and so on. All the while I am wondering what I have done to cause such a reaction. Sometimes people want to be mad at you because of the offense and are wondering why you haven’t asked for forgiveness. How can I? I don’t even know that I have offended you, or what the offense is. There are a few scriptures that I don’t walk in as much as I should;

Matthew 5:23-25 (NKJV)
23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.

Matthew 18:15 (NKJV)
15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.

Mark 11:24-25 (NKJV)
24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses

Bottom line, I am offended because I want to be offended. I am offended because I hold on to offense. I am offended because I have taken on a heavy-laden burden, that I never should have in the first place. Jesus did not come to offend, but because of the message of the gospel, the “brood of vipers” were offended. The religious minded who held on to man’s traditions and laws, were offended. We who hold on to the things of this world, are offended. When we are saved, when we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are no longer of this world. I have to stopped allow myself to take on the offenses of this world, and take on the love of Christ.

Lastly, I would like to share a story; I was teaching a prophetic class at my church and it was the end of the class at which time I open up the class to a questions and comments period. One lady stood up and said, “Frank when I first came to this church, I didn’t like you very much.” I was a little shocked, but I knew in my spirit that she felt this way since our initial meeting. I asked her why she felt this way and she responded, “I didn’t like you because someone from my other church, who had some of the same mannerism as you did, offended me and without even knowing who you are personally, I automatically took offense to you because of the other man who offended me.” She took an offense and transferred that offense to me. This is the power that offense can have over us. Even though we don’t realize it, we can carry an offense from someone in our past, and transfer it to someone in our present who may remind us of that person. Don’t let this happen, it’s so easy to do and we do it sometimes without even realizing we are doing it.

I would like to thank Pastor Paul Black for preaching a sermon on this topic to give me a better understanding and clarity on what offense will and can do.

Offense is Deadly (Part 1) – Frank Work

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Offense in the Christian community is an interesting concept. I have seen us wield the words of this world to offend people like a sword in battle. I have seen the wounds, and I myself, have felt the wounds, as a result of an offense. It’s, I believe, one of the deadliest weapons in the enemies’ arsenal that the church readily seems to pick up at a moment’s notice, including myself.

I personally have been both. I have been the offended, but also the offender. Sometimes we offend people and we don’t even realize we have done something to hurt our brother and sister. Many times, when I am offended by someone, it’s because of a previous offense I had against that person, and the issues just continue to snowball on top of each other until finally I have built up so many offenses against someone, I can’t remember what the original offense was. WHAT A MAZE!

When this happens, and we have “stockpiled” our offenses, we become bitter and cold inside, because then it’s only a matter of time until we start catching and holding offense from anyone we come in contact with. Our spirit has become so weighed down with offense that the wounds we have given permission to be inflicted upon us, become infested with the maggots of condemnation and self-worth. When I am offended, I am like the man spoken of in Proverbs 18:19 “A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city, and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.”

One thing I noticed I was not doing, was something I should have been doing as soon as I took the offense. What was that Frank? I am glad you asked. I will answer it with scripture, Jesus said in Matt 11:28“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Which simple means, if you have taken on an offense, it’s like a pack on your back, that you carry around with you all the time. Until I am willing to release that “heavy laden” burden and give it to Jesus, I will feel no rest and the weight of the heavy-laden offense will increase. In fact, not only will I be carrying around the original offense, I will be carrying around all other offenses.

Also, offense built up can cause your physical body to start to feel the effects of offense and unforgiveness through sickness and depression. That’s a whole other article though.

The next part to this article will give us an idea of how we can combat the spirit of offense with the power of scripture and the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit. Stay tuned for part 2!

Whats Eating at You??? (Part 1) – Gary Florence

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Romans 8:1 says “That there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ” yet so many of us find ourselves living under that very thing and more times than not you will find shame and guilt lurking around condemnation. In Heb 12:24 it says “and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood (Jesus’), which speaks better than the blood of Abel.” Why is it than we can easily find ourselves stuck under the old when we have before us something new?

For most of my Christian walk I was under this very thing. Every time I would sin this guilt, shame and condemnation would just eat at me and eat at me. Please do not get me wrong when we sin we should have a healthy conviction stir up within side of us but the key word is “healthy.” I would find myself days even weeks later confessing the same sin over and over knowing deep down in my heart that God had already forgiven me the first time I confessed it. The shame, guilt and condemnation was overwhelming. It would consume me at times. Then what would really confuse me is that even though I would feel unworthy to be used by God, He would still use me, sometimes it even felt like He would use me even more in people’s lives when guilt, shame and condemnation was screaming louder in my head.

I would be like “God how and why would you continue to use me to speak in other’s lives when it feels like my life is spinning out of control?” Many times I would just take myself out of the “game” and say to God “I am going to sideline myself until I get this “sin” under control” because the guilt, shame and condemnation would ramp up the intensity when I would step out in spite of it. Does this sound familiar to anyone reading this, do you find yourself shaking your head in agreement with what I am saying?

If this is you I want to let you know that there is hope for you to get out from under shame, guilt and condemnation. We will continue our discussion the next time we get together.

Peace as a Weapon (Part 3) Karen Austin

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Wherever we walk in peace, i.e. our job, home, it will crush satan’s plans. True peace is the condition of a heart that trusts God, regardless of our circumstances. The peace of God is the power that will lead us to victory over ourselves and the strongholds of the enemy. Peace is a barometer of our trust faith and trust in God.

“Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them]. Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and model your way of living on it, and the God of peace (of untroubled, undisturbed well-being) will be with you.” Philippians 4:6-9 AMP

“And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall GUARD your hearts and minds (THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS) through Christ Jesus.” Guard – Mount, guard as a watcher, to protect, to hem in, keep with a garrison, Picture a fort build around your mind that is what peace will do!

“The Lord will give strength to His people, the Lord will bless His people with peace.” Psalm 29:11

We must seek peace because, as we all know, it does not just fall on us in times of trouble. Remember that our words and our actions must sow peace and unity. When we don’t know which way to go, this scripture is key: “For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace...” Isaiah 55:12. Our knees may be shaking, but we will have a supernatural peace within.

It seems like every day, more and more fear is being unleashed upon the earth. Television and social media are now big proponents of spreading fear. There are no natural solutions to things we are facing and will face in the future. But as we, His Bride, walk in peace, we will not only receive our answers but we will shine as a light in dark places. In this hour, I believe His Bride will know unprecedented peace. ‘He will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon You, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3. This peace will be a fortress to many. A true sanctuary on earth.

Now is the time to be armed with the peace of God. This peace will be a profound contrast to the fears that are coming upon the world and causing men’s hearts to fail because of fear. It is through abiding in His supernatural peace, we will crush every manifestation of the enemy in our lives.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27

Peace as a Weapon (Part 2) – Karen Austin

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When we continue to abide in the peace of God, regardless of our circumstances, it crushes the enemy’s plot to use those circumstances against us. Abiding in His peace also allows us to see God’s plan and, at times, His purpose in them. Our Father is not in heaven wringing His hands. He knows the end from the beginning. His plans and provision are already in place to turn the situation around. Just as the enemy has a plan for our situation, our Father has a greater plan! All our days are written in His book [Psalm 139:16] and we will succeed if we come into and remain in agreement with His plans and follow His instructions, no matter how much they may offend our mind. If we are abiding in Him and seated with Him in heavenly places as we been given access, we have ability to remain in perfect peace.

The attacks of the enemy are first intended to rob us of our peace. The secret is abiding. So how do we abide? The word “abide” is a word that means to “remain” or “stay”. 1 John 4:16 says that we abide in Him and He in us. To abide in Him is to remain in constant fellowship, our hearts fixed by trusting Him and resting in His ability to keep us in all our ways.

“Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude. Tell him every detail of your life, then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding, will make the answers known to you through Jesus Christ.” Philippians 4:6-7 TPT

Isaiah 26.3 “You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You and hopes confidently in You.” AMP

Peace (Shalom) means being safe, well, happy, friendly, also our welfare, good health, prosperity, favor, perfect peace, rest and wholeness.

I believe we can all use more peace!

~~to be continued