|
|
| Sent Forth Ministries Newsletter Volume: 8
|
May 1, 2009
|
|
|
Hello Friends, Today's Economy: Esther 4:13-14 "And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: "Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" NKJVAmerica and probably most of the world is looking at some really tough economic times ahead of us. Tough economic times are really God opportunities. The money system and coinage that we use in America has printed on it "In God We Trust" and I think that God wants to find out whether that is true or if we are a bunch of hypocrites. America either needs to turn back to God and His principles or take it off our coins. Forty plus years ago we had a visitation from the Lord called the charismatic movement and it was a great time for many as they received a fresh breath of God in their lives and experienced God in a way they never had before. I personally had never experience Jehovah-Jirah. I had never known about the 5-fold ministry gifts in Ephesians 4:11. This move of God was an empowering movement and helped us recognize our authority and our role in the earth. We learned that there was a King and a kingdom and and that our authority flowed out of this. A friend of mine who is a one star general was trying to explain to a three star general his concern about an upcoming assignment. The three star general looked at him and said : "this is what you were trained for and you are well able to complete this assignment. Now stand up and deliver." We are in desperate need of strong, decisive leadership that will react at the right time, preventing crises, not just reacting to them. We also desperately need "Josephs" and "Daniels"-prophetically-gifted people who will give wisdom and understanding to our civil leaders. Two things stand out to me in the scriptures above. We are not exempt from this situation as Mordecai reminded Esther. Second, is that if we the church do not stand and deliver at this time, help for America will come from another place, which we certainly do not want. The last forty years were years of training and preparation for the current times that we are experiencing. God created his people with the ability to solve problems. Remember that a problem is an opportunity provided by God to exercise one's divine ability of gifting.I always think of the example of Joseph, who was in an environment filled with worldly knowledge, and had no Godly wisdom. Joseph had an opportunity to reveal God's gift on the inside of him by interpreting Pharaoh's dream and providing a solution, as they were about to face a famine period. This is our time also as we can see economic disaster ahead us as a nation. We can just accept things as they are or we can get involved in the solution and live above this economy. God has a plan for His people, but the answers are in God and our dependency on Him and not in our government. God is looking to elevate His people in times like these. Joseph received his promotion as prime minister of Egypt during the time of famine. It is always during a famine season that the real potential of an individual has an opportunity to be exercised. Joseph stayed humble in attitude and as a result God had an opportunity to exalt Joseph's position. By relying on God for the solution Joseph ensured that his input remained pure and acceptable due to his humble attitude. Remember it's not about us that God gives solutions, but it's always for others. Like Joseph and Esther, there is great risk involved in both remaining silent and stepping out, but without risk you are never heard of or remembered. Intro to Guest Article: I would like to introduce to you Kay Hiramine who is a great friend of mine and a man with a huge and very generous heart. Kay has many great passions and the one I appreciate the most is his passion for the poor and those trapped in poverty. His heart's drive is to alleviate suffering throughout the world. His ministry is called Humanitarian International Services Group. "HISG" Kay is a master at networking and connecting resources to need. He also has a passion for relevance in the kingdom of God and not just theory. He is a global traveler and a global grazer, finding and connecting people together and he knows where all the best restaurants are! Eugene Strite, President, Sent Forth Ministries International |
|
|
|
|
New Website!
Check it out! Sent Forth Ministries launches our official website this week! We welcome your feedback!
|
|
Cumberland Valley Business Prayer Gathering
|
May 29th, 2009
7 - 9 PM
at King Street UBIC in Chambersburg PA
Focus is on business men and woman. For more information contact Erin at 717.709.1126
|
|
"God created his people with the
ability to solve problems. Remember that a problem is an opportunity
provided by God to exercise one's divine ability of gifting."
Eugene Strite
|
|
|
|
|
The Time of Threshing
by Kay Hiramine
|
As I prayed for this blog entry over the week I saw the following:
I
saw a very fruitful field and the harvesters were taking the wheat into
the community Harvest House. They are excited and happy that there has
been a huge harvest and that God has blessed them with the fruit of
their labors over the season. As they are threshing the wheat and
singing songs to keep rhythm, a horseman comes up to them with a
message. I could not hear the message, but it filled the room with a
darkness and dread. As this was happening, I was brought to a higher
elevation and I saw many Harvest Houses in a panorama landscape. I
could see messengers going to each house and telling people of the same
message. I then saw people leaving the harvest houses and homes to go
into a monolithic and dark city, which looked like Saruman's evil tower
and workplace. It had evil spirits in and throughout the city. In
fact, the messengers were herding the fearful people back to the city.
They were whipping them with hopeless words and taunts not with
physical whips. The messengers were from the city.
I then was
brought back to the original Harvest House and saw the following scene
like a movie: the majority of the people left af ter hearing these
words and starting running to get their families to go to the city. The
rest of the people left in the harvesting room went to their knees and
prayed to gather and to garner strength and grace from the Holy Spirit
to carry on with the task at hand and not be discouraged by this
message. They then rose up and continued to work threshing the harvest
to get the fruit out, encouraging each other and even laying hands on
each other to keep pressing on. With my spiritual eyes, I then saw
angelic hosts coming alongside of them to finish the task. I saw
families coming from some homes going to the harvest houses to work
with their fathers and sons.
I asked the Lord what this vision meant and so far this is what I have received:
1.
In these days of dread, the enemy has dispatched messengers of dread
and hopelessness to the world and the Church. The time of the Harvest
is now and the enemy is threatened. In fact, the harvest is so
plentiful that we cannot do it ourselves but need others to help, both
spiritually and in this world. The safest place in the world is in His
Will and placement. Do not ever surrender and give in! Press onward
and upward!
2. God is using these times and messages of
hopelessness & dread to thresh those in the Church who will keep at
the threshing floor, keep pressing into the Lord and finishing the task
He has given us all.
3. It is those that first pray and seek God's Wisdom and Grace that will keep pressing through.
4.
We need to encourage each other and come alongside each other to help
one another when called to the same field. Bring your family into the
harvest with you! Train them and give them a vision of the field God
has called you and see Him bring them into the harvest house.
5.
The time when the messages come is not on our timetable but we need to
be prepared both spiritually and physically. Be prepared at all times!
6.
It is not how we act everyday that really matters, but how we react to
events and messages. This shows how God has prepared us; how we have
died to the world's messages; how we stand in His Truth and Word; how
in our character we have given God space to work in and through
situations to shape us into His image; how we have positioned ourselves
in Jesus; and how we have managed our affairs according to the Word
rather than conventional world wisdom. Will we arise in the fear and
admonition of the Lord? Are we more than conquerors in Christ Jesus?
7.
Most importantly, have we died to iniquity positions? (Isaiah
14:13-14): being God for others - being the source to others around us;
have we wanted to be worshipped by others rather than pointing them to
worship the one and true God; and escaping reality by doing things that
He has not called us to but what our flesh wants and desires.
God
is using these times to clean us of sin and iniquity in our lives.
Make room for the Lord to work during this time. Let Him by His Holy
Spirit show you areas in your life where positions need to die - He
should be the only one in authority.
Trust in God!
In
traveling around the world (which I have circumnavigated the world
twice in three weeks in the last month) and met with people, I have
consistently found that those that have been impacted the least
emotionally and spiritually are those that spend the most time with
God. I don't mean to sound hyper-spiritual, but it is those that spend
time in the Word of God, time in prayer and also those that invite
Jesus into their every day lives. Bottom line, immersing themselves in
the world but NOT of the world. Sound familiar? They are not impacted
by what is going on around them, but they continue to stand on what God
has told them to do and live. I have known many of these people for
many years, some over a decade, and their position in Christ is the
same - consistently in Him. Interesting, huh? I am sure you know some
of these saints that live a daily walk in Him. It may be you!
What
I have learned from them is that they trust God no matter what messages
are bombarding them with, especially those from the media. When people
come to them for advice because they are islands of hope and light, it
is inevitable that the conversations go back to getting back into God's
will and plans. To hold every thought captive in Christ! To cast all
fear and anxiety onto Him who has already borne the sins and iniquity
of the world on the Cross. To allow the Holy Spirit to fill you with
His Wisdom and grace to submit your will to His completely.
Let's
all turn to the Lord! Allow the Holy Spirit to call out sin in our
lives that need to be nailed to the Cross! Let Him show you where you
need to die. "Die fast and die well," a friend said to me some years
ago when I was confronted with a decision for Him or for myself.
I
will end with the following word - Jesus said: "Let not your hearts be
troubled! Believe in God; believe also in me." John 14:1
|
PLEASE NOTE: Every Tuesday morning there is an open Intercession Prayer meeting from 6AM to 8AM at World Harvest Outreach, 1090 Wayne Avenue in Chambersburg. Everyone is welcome to attend. The focus is on business and the economy.
|
|
|
|
|
