dispensation next

Far be it from me, to mangle or malign the good that is happening in the Kingdom of God or the good that is flowing continually from the Throne of His power. There are many hopeful and beneficial points of Glory in our midst, many lives being changed and His work will not fail to meet its predestined end. So, as I rant and cry for the pains I see, it is not to complain or to underestimate His power in us and in you. My pains come rather, from a place of vision, a place of not rejecting what we have, but an unfulfilled desire to see “it” for what “it” could-should be.

The Church is, and probably always will, on this side of Glory, be a hodge-podge of weaknesses and contradiction. Those proclaiming freedom, barely knowing the meaning of the word and with lives whose measure is lower than its station cause crisis all on its own, but this is not the problem. We expect these contradictions. The one that seems to be the unforgivable sin for me, is not that we are not real but we are not moving.

We sit and read the “menu” week after week and never eat from the buffet. We talk of deliverance and live in more bondage than many in the worlds systems. We talk of nakedness, humility and surrender, all the while covering our weaknesses with more skill than a soft bellied turtle.

Crisis or just higher calling, I am not sure. The angry prophets in our midst are calling for fear and judgement for our condition while the church is embracing wishy-washy 20th century watered down grace to comfort their guilt and pad their crosses. What is Gods heart in this matter and what should be our reply?

I do not claim to have all the answers but I have seen the other side and I do know we are not taking the land we have been given. hopefully this book helps stir your heart to freedom and gives some practical directions to find your way to, “The Other Side”.

Frazzled and hurried to make my next flight, a routine done a thousand times it seems. This time, it’s a business trip to Denver, transferring at Newark, and rushing to see if there’s time for a coffee before the next gate. Thank you Jesus, for a few seconds and a cup of Java. I think Jesus would have loved coffee, but probably not as much as me.

I walked toward the out-doors and grabbed a discarded NY times, not confident the New Jersey air would be any less stuffy than the airport. My senses were already battling the rush and wind of noise and bustle. Outside was more of the same, there were the homeless, and panderers, and smokers, and taxis all lined up for their share of the moment.

I scanned the crowd as you should, when you are in Jersey, and sipped my coffee. I spotted what seemed to me, a homeless lady, sitting near the street. By the look on her face she was either demented or in trouble. I paused for just a moment to see what God would have me do, and in the pause, He said, “Go help her, you have what she needs”.

I love it when He does this- but not now! Well, ok now, but I sure hoped I had what she needed fast, like a dollar or something “Cause I’m gunna miss my flight to Denver”. You know how us guys are, always looking for a quick fix to a woman’s troubles.

I went to her and sat down on a small brick wall next to her. She was rubbing her hands together and looking down at the street. I asked her if she needed some help.

In Italian, eyes filled with tears she said “Me bla bla bla ya ya ya…”

Oh no! She doesn’t speak English!

I knew it was Italian as my Moms side were always yelling in this emotion packed tongue for most of my life. Sure wish I would have learned some of it right about now. I made out only a few words. Pass-a-Port-a and Italia and Engleeesh. I was in trouble. I had to decide right there, “Do I help this lady or make my flight?” I imagined the 3 stuffy executives who were to meet me in Denver and how mad they would be if someone else had to fill my place at the meeting.

“Fine, I’ll deal with the business later, right now…”

The woman thrust her ticket into my hand and stopped talking except for the word Pass-a-port-a. I noticed her flight to Italy was long gone and my attempts to let her use my cell phone and offer her a ride somewhere was met with more Italian and hopelessness. I got the impression that she was alone in the States and had nobody to call. She was wearing mostly black so I assumed she was here for a funeral and now on her way home.

Apparently, she lost her passport and was searching-wandering all day with no one to help her. I said, “Ok God, how can I have what she needs since she doesn’t need food or a ride?” I looked down at my free newspaper and sticking out was a little red book. I thought “NO WAY!” I peeked inside to see. Stuck to the inside of the paper by some really gross half chewed caramel, was a passport! But there was no way it was hers was it? I pulled it out and opened it to find my new friend’s face in a much happier pose.

She looked at me, and I looked at her, and it, and we both were sure a miracle just happened. I am sure the shocked look on my face was enough to let her know I was not an Old-Lady Passport stealer.

She hugged me like I was an angel or her long lost grandson. I was crying she was crying and we both walked to the ticket counter to get her a new flight. As we got her ticket in hand, I was pleased to hear, my flight being announced as “now boarding”. Apparently, there was a 30 minute delay. I never missed the flight.

I don’t remember the business trip, but I do remember my new Italian Grandma. I bet I’ll be able to talk to her in heaven.

Story by
Bill Ebert

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The heart to seek God is birthed in us by God Himself. Like all desires, it is not something that can be legislated or forced, but it grows within us as we “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8) Although we have been given the capacity to perceive God’s goodness through the new birth in the Spirit, that capacity is something that must develop in us throughout our lives.

The quest for God has two central dimensions-the quest for His presence and the quest for His favor. Let us first consider some of what the Bible has to say about the first dimension: seeking His presence. First, we must realize that seeking the presence of God is not about trying to get God to do something. He’s already given us His Holy Spirit without measure. All measurements are set up on our end of the equation, determined by the degree to which our lives are in agreement with God and His kingdom. Scripture gives us some specific clues about how we can bring our lives into greater agreement with God and “host” greater measures of His presence. Significantly, all of these measures correspond with deeper truths about who God is.

A profound truth is that God comes to live in each person who receives Jesus Christ through His work on the cross as the necessary payment for sin. In one sense, He was already in me as the one who actually holds my cells in place. But when I receive Him, He comes to make my body His temple-the eternal dwelling place of God. He has come in an increased measure of His presence. We progress to a deeper truth when we learn that whenever there are two or three people gathered in ‘His’ name, He is there in their midst. He is already in me as a part of His creation, and He is in me as His temple, but that measure of His presence increases still more when I come together with other believers in His name. “In Jesus name” means more than as an ending to a prayer. It is in fact the attempt to do and be what He would do and be in that given situation. (If that is a correct definition, then how many of our gatherings are actually in His name?)

David discovered a wonderful and even deeper truth that adds to this revelation of increasing degrees of His presence. He said, “You … are enthroned in the praises of Israel” (Ps. 22:3). His throne is an even greater measure of His presence. He holds my being together with His presence, and then He moves inside to reign as God over my life. He increases my encounter with Him by having me gather with others in Jesus’ name. Ultimately, His glory begins to fall on us as we learn the honor of serving Him through thanksgiving, praise and worship. This is not a definitive list by any means. But it gives us a place to start in our quest for the greatest treasure of all-God Himself. The point is that the presence of the Lord can and will increase for those who embark on this quest. Isaiah seemed to tap into this understanding when he wrote, “I saw the Lord … with the train of His robe filling the temple” (Is. 6:1, NASB). The world for “filling” implies that He came into His temple, but He also kept coming. That explains why those who seem to have the greatest measure of God’s presence on their lives tend to be the hungriest for more. There’s always more to hunger for! This shouldn’t be a hard concept to embrace, since we believe that He Himself fills the universe with His presence. King David declared that the universe is actually the work of His fingers. That’s really a big God who has a lot more to give us than we can imagine. I cannot live in mediocrity, content with merely knowing that there is more of God to experience and explore-and then do nothing about it. Truths that are not experienced are, in effect, more like theories than truths. Whenever God reveals truth to us He is inviting us into a divine encounter.

Ever learning and never coming into the encounters of God are one of the greatest warnings in scripture. Hearers and not doers or doers of dead works based on religious ideals instead of inspired encounters from heaven…

Taste and see.

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Two Anointings
The way back to a personal anointing.
The difference between the gift and the man.

Definition : Anointing
The Presence or Power of God, The Holy Spirit. The power to do or to perform the will of God or to establish the kingdom of God on earth or in a persons life.

For the purpose of this article, there are two types of anointing; the grace anointing, and the personal anointing. The Grace anointing comes with corporate worship or with a person who has a gift to bring forth the glory of God. Jesus gave this anointing to the 70 when He said, “Go and preach and when you preach lay hands on the sick and cast out devils”. He also gives this gift of the anointing to those who are called to buildup the body or to proclaim the Gospel to the lost. The “gifts” are many in number but most people have heard or been taught on the five fold gifts that He gave to the church for the perfecting or maturing of the believer. These gifts as well as the other “gifts of faith or ministry” are given without cost or as a reward for a persons faithfulness or holiness.

The second type of the anointing is the fruit of our relationship with God.
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Jn 15 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
With intimacy comes Glory, as the Father fills our life with His Word and Spirit, as we are yielded to Him and obedient to His guiding. Those who were filled need to continually be-being filled by separation, death to self, and radical obedience to his whispers. As we go deeper and deeper into this death to self we find more and more of the revelation of His son and the next measure of Grace to enable us to hold fast to his dealings with us. In this season we hear and see things in the spirit, many of great wonder and encouragement but then comes the test and the death required to self to see it realized.

2 Cor 4:10-12
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

So then death worketh in us, but life in you.

Many who have this pruning or purging work being done in their lives stop at the pain and retreat to more comfortable places. The retreat does not remove the call or the anointing or the Glory from our giftedness but does remove the next step in Glory. If retreat continues, it can cause such a retreat in our souls that God is not actively working in the fiery press with us.
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In a far and distant place, where the land is filled with forest, there live little creatures who are known as The Tree Dwellers.

Their custom is to attach themselves to one spot on a tree and make it their home.
From the time of birth, Tree Dwellers enjoy the benefits of food, safety and protection that the tree gives to them.

Occasionally, an age-old story is told of some who have let go of their spot on the tree and allowed the Wind to carry them away. As a result, the Tree Dwellers became Wind Walkers that can fly free with the Wind.

No one believes the story. For they say among themselves, “Everyone knows that if you let go, you will crash and die”.

In their tiny minds, they could not see that there was abundant life awaiting them outside the tree. Instead, they hung, lived and died attached to their spot on the tree.

One day, a young Tree Dweller after having heard the story of the Wind Walkers, began to dream of letting go.

Everyone on his section of the tree, told him of the dangers of letting go. They exclaimed to the Tree Dweller that the Wind would grab him, rip him through the branches, and tear him apart.

Despite the warnings given to him by his neighbors, the young Tree Dweller refused to give up his dream. He believed there was a whole new world to know and a greater life available to those who would trust the Wind to show it to them.

Finally, a day came when he decided to let go and allow the Wind to carry him. At the risk of losing his life, he had to know if the Wind would show him another way to live.

When the morning Wind came, the Tree Dweller let go and allowed the Wind to carry him through the tree. All who saw him panicked and called for him to grab hold.

The first few moments were painful for the Tree Dweller. The Wind pulled him through the twigs of the tree; yet, he resisted the urge to try and hold on to any up-coming branch.

An amazing thing began to happen to him, as he was struck with some of the branches his limbs became more flexible and his stiff little arms unfolded into wings. The pain of the fall was changing him.

As soon as he was free from his tree, The Wind lifted him up higher and higher until he could see the forest beneath him. It was only then that he realized all Tree Dwellers were meant to fly.

The Wind Walker spent the rest of his days moving with the Wind, learning His ways and proclaiming “The Story”.

The Good News is that this is a possibility for all mankind to leave the tree behind and walk with God.

All who will give up their lives will find it and those who will save their lives will lose it.

Copyright 2000

Moses led a mass of humanity to free places, not to wander free in dry places but to first meet with the God of freedom. They were met at a mountain of fire and death by the one who would consume flesh and raise up new life, but the people would not come, rather settle for dry and free. “Let Moses speak to God and let Moses speak to us for we are afraid.”

Free they were, and yet slaves to fear, delivered not to wander but to enter. A land flowing, a promise given, a dream cast with blood and flies and death and frogs and freedom, cast in the sand and made real forever by the deaths of their captors. Yet they all died, never receiving the promise.

Wandering ignorant slaves like lemmings to their deaths the carcasses an embarrassment to a nation and a lesson to us. For are we not like them? Given a promise of flowing life and settling for wandering dusty freedom?

Are we brave enough to even ask these questions?

Is this American Christian life ok, or enough? Is going to church and being free from the worlds death party all we really need? Being good employees, nice people, ever learning about the Book. Are we bordering in suffering death, teetering between fear and salvation. Is the promise so great and the price paid so high we are on the verge of wrath? Well everyone else is going this way…

I would like to put it to you that we are living on past revelations at best in almost 100% of American churches. We play church, go through the motions, while the call is still “come up and die and live. Meet God in His fiery mountain, be known of Him and know Him. Walk not like church people but God people”.
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