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Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
Showing posts with label Word for the Week. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Word for the Week. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Rick Joyner's Word for the Week: The Second American Revolutionary/Civil War, Part 8 - MorningStar Ministries
Saturday, February 16, 2019
Rick Joyner's Word for the Week: The Second American Revolutionary/Civil War, Part 7 - MorningStar Ministries
The Second American Revolutionary/Civil War, Part 7
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Week 7, 2019
The ultimate issue of both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars can be summed up in one word—LIBERTY. True freedom requires liberty and justice for all. We are still fighting for these, and this war will not be over until they are realized as fully as they can be on this earth. To pursue this is the calling and destiny of the American Republic.
The Divine wisdom given to our American Founding Fathers that became our Constitution and Bill of Rights was for a government structure that contained built in relief valves—ones that enabled the peaceful settling of injustices and infringement on our freedoms. Departure from the wisdom in these founding documents is the reason for virtually every conflict and crisis we are now facing as a nation. These will not be resolved without reconnecting to the Constitution and Bill of Rights. For this reason, the ultimately successful strategy in the Second American Revolutionary/Civil War will be to fight for their restoration as “the supreme law of the land.”
Both major American political parties, the left and the right, are guilty of failing to keep their vows to defend the Constitution. Neither party is now capable of recovering what has been lost in our “constitutional republic.” A new movement is coming that will restore the Constitution to its rightful place so that we can become the nation we are called to be. The Second American Revolutionary/Civil War will be to complete what was begun by the first ones.
As stated previously, the First and Second Great Awakenings preceded the Revolutionary and Civil Wars respectively. The messages that came out of those Awakenings caused those wars. They also presented an even higher way for those wars to be avoided. If the political leaders of the time had truly embraced the truths of those Awakenings and had the courage to obey them, both of those wars could have been avoided and the trajectory of our nation toward our calling and destiny would have been much easier and cleaner. As we see from the beginning of history until now, men rarely choose the easy way.
Great Britain, which lost the American colonies to a large degree because of the hardliners in Parliament, learned their lesson. While led by some of the same people whose hardline response to the grievances of the colonies caused the Revolutionary War, they softened to the message raise by Wilberforce about the evils of slavery and eradicated it in the Empire without a great war.
That which can be accomplished without war is always preferable. However, when the political leadership is not capable of this, then war is preferable to allowing evil to prevail. We must come to grips with this truth once again.
We can expect the voices that arise calling for the New American Revolution to be blamed for the rising discord, just as Elijah was called the one who troubled Israel. Yet, sin and corruption are the true cause of the trouble, not what exposes them. Unity is a wonderful thing, but not when it comes at the cost of tolerating or allowing evil to subjugate the people. There is a point when it is no longer possible to avoid conflict. When that line has been crossed, our strategy must change from keeping the peace to winning the war. That line has now been crossed in “The American Republic.” It may take a while for others to see this, but it will soon be obvious.
When it is settled that the “Second American Revolutionary/Civil War isinevitable, right, and will be successful,” the next step in our preparation is to determine what is “right” about it, and what “successful” looks like from heaven’s perspective.
According to I Corinthians 13 we see in part, we know in part, and we prophesy in part. All I have is part of the picture. I will present all that I have in this series, but I understand that this is just part of the whole picture. When I inquired of The Lord about His vision and purpose for our nation, His response was that He gave it to our leaders in the beginning. It was articulated in our founding documents, and it is in them that we must see them.
About two decades ago I began a study to see if I could find a special covenant or mandate that God had given to our country. My prayer for this was Psalm 90:16-17: “Let Your work appear to Your servants and Your majesty to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; and confirm for us the work of our hands; yes, confirm the work of our hands.” I asked to see His hand and guidance in the founding of our nation, and by this understand His purpose so that our work and prayers for the country would be toward the fulfillment of His purpose, not just certain political goals.
In my study, I was surprised by how obvious His handiwork could be seen in our nation’s founding. It was also easy to see the serious trouble we suffered as we deviated from His purpose for us. We are now entering the worst crises in our history when it will be determined if we will live or die as the Republic we have been called to be. If there is anything worth fighting for in our life, it is God’s purpose. If there is anything worth fighting for in our nation, it is God’s purpose for our nation.
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Rick Joyner's Word for the Week: The Second American Revolutionary/Civil War, Part 6 - MorningStar Ministries
The Second American Revolutionary/Civil War, Part 6
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Week 6, 2019
Even a cursory study of history reveals that many of the issues over which the American Revolutionary and Civil Wars were fought are not settled. These issues have continued to be points of conflict in our country. Many of the issues have evolved and are not in the exact same form, but basically, our present struggle continues to be about independence, liberty, freedom from the bondage of oppressive government, and equal justice under the law—for all.
How does this fit with the next Great Awakening that so many have prophesied, including myself? The First Great Awakening preceded the Revolutionary War. The Second Great Awakening preceded the Civil War. It is easy to see a direct link between the messages of these Great Awakenings and how they ignited these wars. Their light exposed darkness to the degree that it could no longer be tolerated. Likewise, the light already being revealed from the emerging Awakening in this time is causing great agitation in our land. The issues have morphed in a lot of ways, but they are basically the same ones that were fought over in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.
Some historians concluded that the American Revolution began when George Whitefield was forbidden to preach in the Church of England and began preaching in open fields to the common people. This was in the 1730s, almost half a century before the Revolutionary War, but sometimes seeds take a while to germinate, sprout, and bear fruit. So how did the light that Whitefield brought sow the seeds of American independence?
Whitefield began preaching to the common people in a town of coal miners that were considered lowly. They considered themselves too unworthy to even have a church in their town. To the shock of all who heard Whitefield, especially these miners, he began to declare that they were the true royalty in the earth—“the royal priesthood” if they gave their lives to Christ and followed Him. In the class sensitive England of the time, this was shockingly revolutionary.
These lowly miners could not fathom being allowed to get within sight of the royal family, yet Whitefield was telling them that if they were in Christ, they were of even higher royal stature than the British royal family. This seed became the doctrine that “all men are created equal,” and that who we are in spirit, in relation to Christ, are more important than any earthly, human lineage. As the Apostle Paul wrote, we should therefore no longer judge people after the flesh—after externals—but after the Spirit. As Martin Luther King, Jr. later paraphrased this, he had a dream that we would not judge each other by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character. That we would be a nation where this is true, the real “American dream” and one that heaven has given to us.
So Whitefield’s messages implied that the poorest miner who followed Christ was of a higher stature than earthly royalty. These miners gave their lives to Him by the thousands. Soon Whitefield, who had filled many churches with the hundreds who sought to hear him, now had trouble finding fields big enough to hold the thousands who sought to hear this message. It was not just Whitefield’s remarkable ability as an orator that drew the crowds, but also a foundational aspect of the Gospel that for centuries had not been so articulated. Once again “the poor had the Gospel preached to them.” There is nothing on earth as revolutionary as the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When it is preached, revolution is inevitable—even where it is claimed to already be Christian.
When Whitefield brought to the colonies this message that so elevated “the common man,” the crowds swelled to tens of thousands. Many of his crowds were larger than the population of the cities in which he preached. People would travel for days or even weeks to hear him. They drove their buggies, rode their mules and horses, and even walked to hear the great evangelist when it was published that he would be in a certain city on a certain date.
Whitefield also preached in humble, small churches. He did not seem to be a respecter of people or crowd size. Some of these small meetings may have had as much impact on the destiny of the nation as the larger ones. When he spoke at the Polegreen Church just north of Richmond, Virginia, the little church of less than a hundred people later became known as “the womb of the Revolution.”
Sitting in that small audience were some destined to be called the fathers of the nation. Patrick Henry was one of those. He lived only a few hundred yards from the Polegreen Church, but the passion for liberty born in him that day would soon fire the nation.
Again, the main seed that sprouted and became a revolution was the Gospel that elevated the common man to being sons and daughters of The King of kings. This was the seed that became the message that “all men are created equal.” This led to the previously unimagined concept that government existed for the people and not the other way around.
In the world at that time, there was no other place and no other government that considered this concept. This was the basis for what is called “American exceptionalism.” To be exceptional does not necessarily mean better, but rather just different. In this case, it was better. The American Republic became the exception to every other government in the world.
This is why many historians believe that the First Great Awakening was the beginning of the Revolutionary War. However, the Revolutionary War did not win this freedom for all and did not result in all men being treated equally. A whole class of people were still treated worse than the coal miners that Whitefield had first preached this message to. This made an even more devastating war necessary, and the revolution continues to this day.
A Personal Note from Rick
Finding and fulfilling your purpose in Christ is the greatest adventure you can have in this life. MorningStar University exists for the purpose of helping His disciples find and prepare for that purpose. Having been called a movement of "thinking prophets," MSU is designed to equip high-impact Christians in every major sphere of influence.
MorningStar University is accredited through AICCS and offers a Certificate, Associate’s Degree, Bachelor’s Degree, and a Master’s Degree in Leadership. MSU is based at our headquarters near Charlotte, North Carolina. Tuition is affordable and housing is available. Click Here for more information about MSU or call 803-547-8494.
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Rick Joyner's Word for the Week: The Second American Revolutionary/Civil War, Part 4 - MorningStar Ministries
The Second American Revolutionary/Civil War, Part 4
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Week 4, 2018
Wars have been fought for different reasons. There have been religious, political, and economic wars. Some have been just for conquest. Some have been fought because one monarch was insulted by another, which is why Napoleon invaded Russia. Many have been fought over combinations of the above. Some of the most ugly and devastating of all have been racist wars.
Every war is the result of some failure in human relations. Potentially great and devastating wars have also been avoided by remarkable statesmanship. The Lord has a special heart and place for the peacemakers. These should be esteemed more in our history than those successful at war, but they are not. Even so, as we are told in Ecclesiastes 3, there is a time for war and a time for peace. If it is time for war, then those who do not fight are the ones out of step with the times.
As we see in Scripture, there will be war until the end of this age. It is right to seek peaceful conclusions to our disputes, until war begins. Then we must fight, and we must fight to win. If we are going to win from heaven’s perspective, we must also fight the right way.
Some of the most touching stories of war are things like the troops on both sides in our American Civil War and in World War I singing Christmas carols to their enemies in the trenches. It brought a poignant realization that brothers in Christ were facing each other, and the next day would try to kill each other. How could this be right?
War is an ultimate human failure. War is one of the devil’s biggest victories. His intent is to kill and destroy, and nothing accomplishes this in a bigger way than war. So why don’t we refuse to fight them? Because the devil, and those controlled by him, will not. To refuse to fight in an inevitable or right war is not choosing to do what is right. Rather, it is to submit to evil. There are righteous wars. When it is right and time to fight, we will be in rebellion if we do not do our part.
Even The Lord says repeatedly in Scripture that He, our Leader, is a Warrior. Israel left Egypt as “a great mixed multitude,” or a mob, but before they even got to the Red Sea they were “marching in martial array,” or military order. Presently, the body of Christ is one big mob, with some groupings and associations but lacking in overall definition and discipline. This will soon change for the remnant that is left.
In every civil war, Christian leaders from both sides have claimed that theirs was the right side. This can be confusing. We must resolve to be sure we are fighting on the right side and for the right cause. When this is established, the most merciful way is to fight to win decisively and as quickly as possible.
Harry Truman was right when he said that “Most people are defeated by their secondary successes.” This means that they got distracted from their ultimate objective after achieving lesser ones. There are many examples of this in history, and Truman was likely correct to say this happens to “most people.” It was true in our Revolutionary and Civil Wars. How do we avoid this deadly trap? We must determine now what the ultimate objectives are—anything less than these would be a defeat.
I have an opinion of what ultimate victory in the unfolding Revolutionary/Civil War looks like, but I don’t want to share it and I don’t even want to have it. What we need, and what I’m begging for, is heaven’s perspective on this. My dream on December 14, 2018 was just a small beginning of this for me. It does not matter how mature we are in Christ or how successful we have been as a steward of His mysteries—it is a terrible presumption to think that He is just like us and that His opinions are the same as ours. I am a religious conservative, and I try to keep in mind that it was the religious conservatives that were the worst enemies of Christ when He walked the earth. Why?
If you look at their doctrine, the Pharisees were generally correct in most of their beliefs. They were the most devoted to being faithful to the Scriptures and were carrying the greatest hope for the Messiah. Yet, they resisted Him more than any other group when He came! Why?
Again, we can be right in our politics, our policies, and our beliefs, but have pride that is more deadly than the evil we are fighting. Pride caused the first fall and virtually every fall since. We can be right but not be righteous. For winning the present war, it is crucial to not just fight for what is right, but to do it in the right spirit. We must fight for right and we must do it right.
In the Revolutionary War, the “Patriots” who wanted independence were about 30% of the population. The “Loyalists” who wanted to remain British subjects were also about 30%. The other 40% were undecided, or tended to switch sides according to who was winning. Today, we have about 30% who are liberal, 30% conservative, and the 40% that are still undecided or wavering. Soon all will have to choose a side. Now is the time to resolve what we believe in.
A Personal Note from Rick
Finding and fulfilling your purpose in Christ is the greatest adventure you can have in this life. MorningStar University exists for the purpose of helping His disciples find and prepare for that purpose. Having been called a movement of "thinking prophets," MSU is designed to equip high-impact Christians in every major sphere of influence.
MorningStar University is accredited through AICCS and offers a Certificate, Associate’s Degree, Bachelor’s Degree, and a Master’s Degree in Leadership. MSU is based at our headquarters near Charlotte, North Carolina. Tuition is affordable and housing is available. Click Here for more information about MSU or call 803-547-8494.
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Rick Joyner's Word for the Week - Bondservants of Christ - The Book of Revelation (Week 3)
Bondservants of Christ- The Book of Revelation
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Week 3, 2016
Last week we covered the first key to understanding the Book of Revelation found in its first sentence: a revelation of Jesus Christ. This is also the most basic key to all understanding. It’s all about Jesus and all things will be summed up in Him. Therefore, the wise seek every day to know Him better and to be found in Him.
The next key is also found in the first sentence of Revelation—the revelation:
“that God gave to Him to show to His servants….”
Just as few Christians are disciples according to the biblical definition, there are fewer that conform to the biblical definition of a bondservant. As the first sentence in Revelation declares, this is a revelation for the bondservants. Without the mentality that comes from being a true servant of Christ and living to do His will, not much of this revelation can be understood.
As the Lord said in John 7:17, “If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.” Fundamental to understanding the teachings or revelations of Scripture is our willingness to do His will. The degree that we live the life of a bondservant is the level that we can understand His teachings or prophecy.
Two significant teachers of church history, Abelard and Aquinas, argued whether one must believe before they could understand or whether they needed to understand in order to believe. From what the Lord said in John 7:17, before we can understand we must believe and be willing to obey Him.
A bondservant is one owned by another. They do not have anything that is their own—even their time belongs to their master. They wake up each day seeking to know and do the will of their master above all else. Do we live to do the Lord’s will, doing “all things for the sake of His gospel”? Do we take up our crosses each day, dying to our own desires and seeking to do what He gives us to do?
This does not mean that those not living as true disciples or bondservants do not have eternal life. Those who trust in His atonement by His cross are redeemed. However, when we are born into this world we just start to become what we will be, and so it is with those born again—they are just beginning to become what they are called to be. To stay at that spiritual level has devastating consequences. The more shallow or immature we are in our faith walk, the more difficult it is to comprehend the ways of the Lord or to survive in the unfolding times, as we will see later in this study.
The Lord said, “Woe to those who nurse babes” (see Matthew 24:19) in these times. I interpret this as being bad for those who keep their people in immaturity, as well as those who have been kept in immaturity. Maturity in Christ begins with the resolve to seek His will first and to do it. Fundamental to knowing the Lord, believing in Him, and following Him is to know that He is Lord. If we see Him as He is, we will believe in Him more than in our own understanding, opinions, or desires.
To connect the next statement, let’s read again the first two verses of the Revelation:
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,
who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
Again, we see that this is a revelation of Jesus to be communicated to His bondservants. He bore witness that this was a revelation of Jesus in “all the things that he saw.” So we must look for Jesus in everything in this vision. As we do this, it will carry over to us seeing Him in everything in our life. Let us resolve to be His bondservants, valuing doing His will above our own and delighting in the awesome privilege of doing so.
A Personal Note from Rick
Finding and fulfilling your purpose is the greatest adventure you can have in this life, and should be a top priority for every Christian. Helping Christians find and then be prepared for their purpose is the reason MorningStar University exists. Having been called a movement of "thinking prophets," MSU is designed to equip and prepare the most powerful Christians in our times in every major sphere of influence, not just leaders of churches. If you are resolved to do what it takes to become a high-impact follower of the King in the greatest cause, MSU can help you get there.
We offer one and two-year programs that include personal mentoring by the MorningStar leadership team, as well as instruction from some of the most important teachers and prophetic ministers in our times. You may also earn accredited degrees from Associates through Doctorates.
MSU is based at our headquarters near Charlotte, North Carolina. Tuition is affordable, and housing and meal plans are available. Click here for more information about MSU or call 803-547-8494.
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Rick Joyner - Our Best Year Yet - Word for the Week (Jan.1, 2016)
Our Best Year Yet
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Week 1, 2016
How do we make this year our best yet? First, we need to look at what we’re doing and how to do it better. Then we need to prioritize what we’re doing so we don’t get consumed with things that may clamor loudly but are not the most important.
As Christians, we are supposed to carry our cross every day. We are called to die daily to our selfish desires so we can live for Christ. This helps us live the abundant life He calls us to have. How does dying daily lead to the abundant life? If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, wouldn’t today be filled with only the most important things in your life? What if we lived like that every day? Disciples do.
One of the things we should do on the first of each year is evaluate and rid ourselves of the unimportant things consuming our time, energy, and resources and devote them to the Lord. Taking whatever time is currently being wasted frivolously and giving it to the Lord can radically change our lives. As we do this, we will find ways to give Him more.
Growing in love for God and one another are two of the most important things we’re called to do in this life. These two things will determine if we have had a successful life or not. How do we grow in love for God? Because God is love, I don’t think you can see Him or anything about Him that will not cause you to love Him more. If we take a half hour each day that may usually be spent watching television and use it to study the Lord’s ways, we will grow to love Him more. This will also start a momentum for Him to use us to spread His love. Every time He uses us, it is a revelation of Him, and we grow in love for Him still more.
The Book of Revelation was given as “a revelation of Jesus Christ”—that He, Jesus, was given to give to His bondservants. This is the only book in the Bible that promises us a blessing just for reading it. In 2016, our Word for the Week will include a study of the Book of Revelation.
This book that scares so many is actually easy to understand, since it is a revelation, or “a revealing,” not “a hiding.” If you have the keys given to us in the beginning of the revelation, it is like unlocking the most wonderful doors you have ever gone through. It is time to understand this revelation; it will draw us closer to the Lord. I have been reading it over and over, as well as doing an in-depth study, and it has been like opening the mineshaft to the mother lode of revelation. It is time, and I think that as we get into this study, it could become one of your favorite books of the Bible.
A Personal Note from Rick
Finding and fulfilling your purpose is the greatest adventure you can have in this life, and should be a top priority for every Christian. Helping Christians find and then be prepared for their purpose is the reason MorningStar University exists. Having been called a movement of "thinking prophets," MSU is designed to equip and prepare the most powerful Christians in our times in every major sphere of influence, not just leaders of churches. If you are resolved to do what it takes to become a high-impact follower of the King in the greatest cause, MSU can help you get there.
We offer one and two-year programs that include personal mentoring by the MorningStar leadership team, as well as instruction from some of the most important teachers and prophetic ministers in our times. You may also earn accredited degrees from Associates through Doctorates.
MSU is based at our headquarters near Charlotte, North Carolina. Tuition is affordable, and housing and meal plans are available. Click here for more information about MSU or call 803-547-8494.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
The Transfer of Christianity - The Great Commission, Part 22 - Rick Joyner
The Transfer of Christianity - The Great Commission, Part 22
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Week 22, 2014
Last week we addressed the elements of truth in the saying, “In Jerusalem, Christianity became a religion. In Greece, it became a philosophy. In Rome, it became an institution. In Britain, it became a tradition. In America, it became an enterprise.” Not all of this was bad or unintended. The Christian culture that was to be received by all nations was also intended to receive from all nations.
Even so, the expression of Christianity has picked up a lot of baggage from its passage through the nations that it needs to get rid of. Much of this will come as the center of gravity of Christianity transfers to Asia. One thing we can expect to see is Asia becoming a great filter that removes many of the impurities that the expression of Christianity has picked up. This will come from one of the great strengths of the Asian culture—its honor of history. They will be prone to go back to the roots of the faith, to the purest forms, and embrace them more than trends and fads that were added.
As we look at the history of Christianity, we can also note that its center would transfer from one place to another at different rates. It was only centered in Jerusalem for a few years. Then it remained in Greece, or to be more accurate, where the Greek culture was dominant which included Asia Minor, or what is now modern day Turkey. This is the region of the Seven Churches of Revelation and Constantinople, one of the most influential of all Christian cities, where it remained for centuries.
Rome emerged as the dominant center of gravity, as a counterpoint to Constantinople, and held the dominant position in European Christianity for over a thousand years. Then Germany and Switzerland became two of the most powerful centers of the advancing church with the birth of the Protestant Reformation.
America’s time as the center of the advancing church has been short, but powerful. This is typical of the innovation and initiative America is known for. The Evangelical, Pentecostal, Charismatic, and Third Wave movements all were either birthed in America, or quickly found a receptive home there. Many other smaller but very influential movements were spun off of these.
However, many problems and heresies spun off of these movements as well, probably due to the great weakness of the church in America—its lack of devotion to knowing and understanding the lessons of history. For all of its talk about devotion to biblical truth, studies have revealed that even in the Evangelical movement, less than 10% have a biblical worldview. This is bad, but not surprising. America’s DNA is from pioneers and risk takers—those always trying to expand the limits and look to the future. Such are not prone to stop and look backwards into history, or take much time on the slow, tedious work of laying strong foundations. Therefore, it seems fitting that the Christian center of gravity is moving toward a culture where the lessons of history are so honored. The balance is needed.
Of course, over the last century some of the greatest revivals in history were ignited in South and Central America, as well as Africa. Their contributions have been great and will likely be even greater in the future. Such paradigms for understanding history are never completely smooth or perfect, but the centers where the biggest and most enduring influences were brought has mostly been in the Northern Hemisphere, and moved from east to west.
The Lord said that the end of the age is the harvest. The greatest ingathering of all time is beginning, but it is also more than this. The harvest is when all of the seeds that have been planted mature. Even as the center of Christianity moves to Asia, we can expect all of the other homes of the faith to come into a greater maturity. Just because the center of gravity may have moved elsewhere, it does not mean that their contributions are over.
How long will the center of Christianity remain in Asia? Could it be that their contribution, rooted in depth and long history, can be accomplished quickly? Regardless of how long it takes, the center of gravity of Christianity will return to Jerusalem before the end comes. At that time, we can expect Isaiah 19:19-25 to be fulfilled.
Source: Morningstar Ministries Resources
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