Senin, 30 Januari 2017

The Privilege of Patmos

The Privilege of Patmos
“I, John, both your brother and companion
in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of
Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called
Patmos for the word of God and for
the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
-REVELATION 1:9

Since John is an Overcomer, God sends out the call for Overcomers through John. John is symbolic of all Overcomers, and he is the instrument through which God raises up Overcomers.

I can relate to John. I know many of us feel as if we are alone, in exile, in a wilderness. Gradually we feel we are being shut up and shut out by others who have not seen what we have seen. It is right THERE, in the desert place, in the place of exile, in the place of banishment, in the place of dryness, in the place of darkness, that Christ is revealed to us. This ought to encourage us no matter what our situation.

Source: "The Prophetic Mandate" by Chip Brogden

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Abundant Life

Abundant Life
“The thief does not come except to steal,
and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that
they may have life, and that they
may have it more abundantly.”
JOHN 10:10

Those who hunger and thirst after Righteousness – Christ – will be filled. Thus, the one who is filled is never hungry or thirsty. So on the one hand I want to know the Lord and my desire for Him increases day by day; but it is not the desperate search of a hungry or thirsty man who is fainting and wasting away.

​ ​​​​​​I am full of Him because He fills me. There is my “Life, and Life more abundantly.” My Life is not in what He gives me, but in Who He is.

Source: "Lord of All" by Chip Brogden

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Want Deeper Friendships?

Want Deeper Friendships? Do This.

The most important moments in my life have all begun with questions.

Some were questions directed toward me. A friend pointedly yet lovingly confronted me with one that pierced my heart. Another initiated a conversation with a vulnerable question, altering my perspective and expanding my empathy in a much-needed way. And of course I cannot forget the life-upending question God paired with His gospel: "Will you follow me wherever I lead you?"

Some questions, however, were those I've asked of others, and they've led not necessarily to important moments but to significant relationships. An invitation to coffee kickstarted what has become a treasured friendship. A request for advice grew into discipleship. A passing invitation to the quiet newcomer has become a life-giving friendship. A curious interest in another has opened up stories and vulnerabilities and, now, a deeper connection between us.
I've taken note of this dynamic--how questions stand at the starting line of friendships--because I've been shy all my life and even speaking to others has not necessarily come naturally. But I've tested this dynamic (and survived!) and found it to be true. Questions begin relationships and then, as nails setting the frame of a house in place, solidify relationships so intimacy and trust can grow. We know and are known through well-placed questions. We develop understanding for others rather than assumptions and comparison with questions. And we cannot help but grow in wisdom when we ask questions of and listen to the wise. 

Here's something else I've noticed: the world is starving for more question-askers and empathetic listeners. With the advent of social media, everywhere we turn these days we’re bombarded with people sharing their every thought and displaying their lives for all to see. We ourselves are often shouting to be heard online, and when we don’t feel heard, we shout even louder. Perhaps we are so busy shouting that there is not even the space to ask good questions, listen carefully, and think about what we’re hearing. Or perhaps it’s that we’re naturally good at talking about and focusing on ourselves, and asking questions and listening requires thinking beyond our own desires.

Sometimes I try to picture the internet in my head and I see us all as blue dots across the world map, shouting and spouting, but far too many of us feeling isolated and relationally poor. And we don't have any idea why. Isn't talking the way to be heard? Isn't spouting an invitation for others to come toward us?

What if observing, asking questions of others, and listening is really the way to be heard? What if showing interest in others is really the way to deeper friendship? What if well-placed questions are a form of ministry to others that, in time, develop into intimate relationships?

Consider Job and his friends. Job’s friends showed up on his doorstep, sat with him silently for seven days (good!), and then, without asking a single question, started spouting off counsel, all of which came from their own experiences and assumptions (bad!). If they’d only asked a few questions and listened well to Job’s grief, they could have comforted him and offered him hope rather than compounding it.

Job’s friends offer us “what-not-to-do” wisdom and in their lack of questions, we see more clearly that our goal in asking questions and listening well is not to gather information as a busybody might do or patronize the hurting but to develop or further a relationship so that we might serve that person in some way. So much can be helped and so much can be diffused by a simple question.

Although I am shy and although question-asking can often be awkward and uncomfortable, I cannot begin to calculate back to you how questions alone have changed my relationships. If I were to try, I may begin shouting and spouting myself as I show you that map in my head and what a ripe opportunity exists for anyone who will consistently ask purposeful questions of others. They will have ministry opportunities and friendships in abundance.

Do you desire deeper relationships? It is not as simple as a question, but it absolutely begins with a question or two.

My Cup Overflows

My Cup Overflows
“If you knew the gift of God, and who it is
who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him,
and He would have given you Living Water.”
JOHN 4:10

We must know the Gift of God. The one who knows will not only be satisfied, but will have an abundance of Life springing up from within. If we are mainly interested in being filled for ourselves then we will have little to offer anyone else. Yet when we know the Gift of God the Life will overflow. “You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over” (Psalm 23:5).

Are you an overflowing Christian, with all of God you can hold, and much left over? Sadly, this does not describe many of us. To drink is a beginning, but God’s goal is an overflow. How we need clear revelation into the Son! How we need to see just how precious and worthy He is!


Source: "Lord of All" by Chip Brogden

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Authority Over the Nations

Authority Over the Nations
“He who overcomes, and keeps My works
until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—
‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be
dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—
as I also have received from My Father;
and I will give him the morning star.”
REVELATION 2:26-28

Just as Jeremiah was set over nations and kingdoms, so we have received this authority also. We do not serve in a governmental capacity, but in a spiritual capacity, praying for the Kingdom and Will of God to come forth. Such prayer is very weighty and universal. It is beyond the earth, and so it moves the earth.

In addition to authority over the nations, we are given “the morning star.” Christ is the Morning Star, the Heavenly Man, Who is higher than the nations and kingdoms of this world. The Morning Star gives Overcomers the heavenly authority which is beyond the influence of the earthly realm in which they must live.

Source: "The Irresistible Kingdom" by Chip Brogden

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Chip Brogden 

All or Nothing

All or Nothing
“Little children, keep yourselves from
idols (false gods)— [from anything and everything that would occupy
the place in your heart due to God, from any sort of substitute for Him
that would take first place in your life].”
1 JOHN 5:21 AMP

That is the sort of radical, uncompromising attitude he says we must exercise over our own hearts, for as the members go, so goes the whole Body. Just look at the gravity of his words! “Keep yourself from ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that would occupy the place in your heart due to God, from ANY SORT of substitute for Him that would take first place in your life.” Fanatical, impossible directions! Do you really mean to say that there can be NOTHING that takes first place in my life but Christ? Is that what it comes down to?
Absolutely, that is precisely what is at stake, and that is precisely where the battle rages, and that is precisely why we are being tempted on a daily basis. All we have to do to be defeated is to put Him some place other than first. Either He is Lord OF all, or He is not Lord AT all.

Source: "The Prophetic Mandate" by Chip Brogden

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An Ascendant Spirit

An Ascendant Spirit
“And [Jesus] led them out as far as Bethany,
and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.
Now it came to pass, while He blessed them,
that He was parted from them
nd carried up into heaven.”
-LUKE 24:50,51

Bethany has a heavenly savor. There is an ascendant spirit there which lifts us up to the heavenlies. I believe that as we prepare a place for the Lord this ascendant spirit will break forth upon us spontaneously. It is one thing for us to try to act heavenly, and it is quite another thing for us to enter into such communion and fellowship with the Heavenly Man that we simply begin to exude His heavenliness, as the priest in the Holy Place exuded the fragrance of the sweet incense.

The Kingdom of Heaven is where Christ has the preeminence and fills all things: and if this is the case with us individually, or corporately, then it can be said of us that the Kingdom of Heaven has arrived.

Source: "Lord of All" by Chip Brogden

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Chip Brogden 

The Lion and the Lamb

The Lion and the Lamb
“Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah,
he Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll
and to loose its seven seals.”
- REVELATION 5:5

When John was given a revelation of Christ in the Isle of Patmos he described the feet of Jesus as “fine brass as if refined in a furnace.” Brass is a symbol of judgment, and the furnace is a symbol of wrath, purification, and refinement. This dimension of the Lord Jesus was something quite new to John.

Because Jesus did not come to judge the world right away, but to save it, we tend to think of Jesus only in terms of the “Lamb” – meek, silent, longsuffering, and turning the other cheek. He certainly is all that. Yet here we get a glimpse of Jesus as the “Lion.” He said He was indeed a King, but that His Kingdom was not of this world. Up until now the kingly aspect of Christ and the majestic glory of His Kingdom had remained hidden.

Source: "The Irresistible Kingdom" by Chip Brogden

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The Prince of Peace

Apostle Colette Toach

The Prince of Peace

When the storm rages before you, child, you can find me in the eye of the storm. You can have peace and know my will for you, even when there is a shaking all around you.
Take a breath and realize that I am within you and also by your side. I know what lies ahead and when the dust settles, you will see that all things work together for your good.
So, step back today and remember that I am with you every step that you take and every day of your life. Whether in the middle of a storm, or when there is quiet on all sides, I remain the constant in your life. I am your source of peace and in Me, you can find peace in the eye of any storm.
When the storm rages, gaze upon Me and meditate on who I am. When you do, you will begin to see from my perspective. You will fill up with hope and a deep peace will bubble up from within you. Stay close, child and know that I am, indeed, the Prince of Peace.

The Power of the Word

Apostle Colette Toach

The Power of the Word

Do not be intimidated when the enemy comes at you. He often comes as a roaring lion and he likes to cast a shadow that is bigger than he really is, but it is only to intimidate you.
Instead of believing the lies, take up your sword, the Word, and tear down the pictures that satan paints in your mind. My child, I have trained your hands for battle and I have made you strong in Me. So, shake off the lies of the enemy that come to wear you down.
You are more than a conqueror, you are mighty and inside of you, is all the power you need.
Take my Word, speak it out, and walk out the promises that I have given you. For indeed, as you choose to stand, a surge of power will erupt and what you feel inside, will begin to line up with the Word that I have given you.
Know also, that you do not stand alone. With every battle that you face, I am right there with you. I am in you and you in Me. Amen

Feet Like Bronze

Feet Like Bronze
“His feet were like burnished bronze,
refined in a furnace… When I saw Him,
I fell at His feet as though dead.”
-REVELATION 1:15,17 ESV

When this other side of Christ was revealed to John, he “fell at His feet as though dead.” At the Last Supper, John had leaned on the Lord’s breast and eaten dinner with Him. In this context, however, he can do nothing but collapse at His feet.

There at His feet we discover there is a difference between the Holy and the Human; the One Who comes from Above, and the ones who come from Below; the One Who is Spirit and Truth, and those of us who are merely flesh and blood. His feet are burnished bronze. This is His majesty, and His righteousness. It immediately identifies Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Righteous Judge, the Living Word Who discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Source: "The Irresistible Kingdom" by Chip Brogden

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When Things Go Wrong

When Things Go Wrong
“We wanted to come to you – even I, Paul,
time and again — but Satan hindered us.”
-1 THESSALONIANS 2:18

We should not expect things to always go as planned, even when we are indeed following the will of God, and especially when we are trying to do what we feel led to do. Sometimes it seems as if everything is rising up against us. Cars break down, people get sick, misunderstandings arise, businesses fail, things happen.

We do not want to give the devil any glory and attribute everything to him. But we do want to discern the true operation of the enemy so we may dispose of him. We must exercise discernment and wisdom to know the difference between the hand of the Lord, the work of the enemy, and the natural environment. Otherwise we will suffer unnecessarily.

Source: "Dealing With Difficulty" by Chip Brogden

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One With Him

One With Him
“As the body is one and has many members,
but all the members of that one body, being many,
are one body, so also is Christ.”
-1 CORINTHIANS 12:12

The Bible says that there is an invisible but very powerful union that exists between Jesus and all His disciples; they are one Body. It is a spiritual union. This spiritual union forms the basis of our relationship and fellowship with Christ.

Jesus says, “I am the True Vine… Abide in Me, and I in you” (John 15:1,4). Jesus compares this union to a vine that has many branches. Each branch lives in union with the vine. The same life flowing in the vine is also flowing in the branches. Jesus says He is the True Vine, and we are His branches. This is spiritual union. As branches, we can only grow and produce spiritual fruit so long as we continue to live, dwell in, abide, and be part of the Vine. So then, union with God is not the reward for spirituality; it is the basis of spirituality.

Source: "Embrace the Cross" by Chip Brogden

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To Be With Him

To Be With Him
“He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him
and that He might send them out to preach…”
-MARK 3:14

I like the way Jesus selected His disciples, and the explanation as to why they were selected: “That they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach.” Their being sent forth was contingent upon their having been with the Lord. Preaching was only optional, but being with Him was the primary objective. If they will only be with the Lord then they will have something to say when they do go forth.

Source: "The Church in the Wilderness" by Chip Brogden

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