Monthly Archives: February 2012
Stewardship vs. Ownership
“The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.” Psalm 24:1
“A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.” John 3:27
Understanding our position as stewards over what our Heavenly Father entrusts to us has kept us from stumbling many times in our Kingdom walk. Whether it was a promotion we didn’t get or a crack in our windshield, we learned not to sweat the circumstances we had no control over. Were we disappointed in either situation? Yes. The times when aggravation and frustration overstay their welcome, are the times we realize we might just be taking ownership of the situation and need to repent to Yahweh and release it back to Him. Our response should always be – Yahweh you know! When we truly believe that our steps are ordered, we will understand our faithfulness will ultimately produce perpetual blessing. Our reaction and state of mind will either position us for increase or we will eventually succumb to the frustration of our own futile mind.
Whether it is a job, place, idea, vision, person, pet, or thing, we must understand that Yahweh is the owner of it all – we will be judged on our stewardship over His treasures entrusted to us. We believe that it has helped us to value and maintain all that surrounds us – each other, friends, our career, finances, and all the things given to us. All we have control over is our faithfulness throughout each given day. When circumstances around us seem to get out of control, we must look to Yahweh and trust that “He is working all things for our good.”(paraphrased from Romans 8:28)
Dirty Dog Dish
One of the earliest revelations we ever received and which has stayed true and relevant through the last 27 years all stemmed from a dirty water dish that was outside for our dog. I know that many of you will find it hard to believe that any dog of ours would actually have had to stay outside for any length of time – ha ha. Keeping a bowl outside is pretty hard to keep clean. There is a plethora of dust and debris seeking to find a resting spot somewhere in that container – it’s inevitable. In an attempt to clean the bowl one day, we held the water hose directly in the bowl and were amazed to find that if held there for any length of time, debris and dirt had no chance of clinging to the container – but were displaced out and clean, clear water remained. Holy Spirit began to speak to us about the corruption and dirt that tries to find a resting place in us. We are in the world and will always be subjected to things that we would consider to be unclean. What is incredible about being in relationship with the Father through His Holy Spirit is that when we allow Him to flow in and through our life, He has the ability to displace and discharge that corruption quickly. We cannot completely keep ourselves from being exposed to the dirt and debris of life, but we can trust that as we allow Holy Spirit to flow in and through us, we will always have a clean, clear stream of living water that continually displaces anything not of Him. Visuals, words that we hear, or even challenging events will not find a resting place in us because of the continuous flow. Thank you Holy Spirit for being an identifier and eliminator of those contaminants that seek to find residence in us. Flow in and through us to ensure that we provide to those around us a clean and clear drink of refreshing water.
Short end of the stick….
There have been many times in our Kingdom walk where we have found ourselves in situations where the law of what is right and just could not be found. We are sure that all of us have at one time or another wound up with the “short end of the stick” – so to speak. The best scenario is to be able to recognize the signs, pray, speak words of life and truth, be patient, stay diligent, and rest – knowing that the resources of heaven and earth are “working all things for our good.” (paraphrased from Romans 8:28)
The [not so good] scenario is to continue to rehearse the wrong and unfair dilemmas that have been surrounding us. With each vocalization, frustration germinates and begins to grow. Something Holy Spirit showed us early on in our walk was that when a plant is just beginning to grow it is easy to pluck from the earth. The longer you let something grow, the bigger the roots get and it is more difficult to extract. If left too long, you will need to rely on heavy equipment for removal. Our greatest response must always be to quickly repent and “behave our way out of what we have talked ourselves into.” Our experience has been that repentance doesn’t eliminate the temptation to revert back – in fact – new situations arise to see if the repentance was genuine.
Recognizing the signs and making the right Kingdom response is critical. As we begin to redeem all that has been lost, stolen, or given away, the world will attempt to dissuade, distract, and seek to discourage our valiant effort. If we do not have an accurate assessment of our resources, we will loose heart. When we really understand that Yahweh our Father is for us, Yahshua (Jesus) His son reconciled us back into relationship, and the Holy Spirit is drawing out of the Father and Son and ministering all those resources to us – we will be of great courage and begin to put all things under His feet.
Apostle Ball Jan 18, 2012
We love when Yahweh speaks to you about one thing and confirms and solidifies it in your spirit by an amazing oracle – Thank you Apostle!
Disclosure – had to consolidate and condense – the “….” represent additional sentences in between – couldn’t transcribe everything. We believe we captured the heart of what he was saying – WOW!!!
“People of faith are never moved by the tangible…. The testimony of your faith is what will you do when you can’t see a thing, when you have no support, when you have no encouragement…. Faith is always more than you can see, more than you can receive and more than you can understand…. They wrapped their faith around what they could not see, they wrapped their faith around the faithfulness of God. Faithful is He who calls you – who also will do it. That’s got to be the pattern of your life. You’ve go to believe that – Yahweh – no matter what He has called you to do – He is faithful…. God is bigger than your faith, He’s bigger than your expectations, bigger than your understanding. Don’t ever limit yourself to what you are going after for the moment…. You’re just qualified to take on another lap. Just about the time you think you can’t make it any further, God’s about to load something else on your wagon – to find out are you trusting Him or are you trusting in your own ability? …. If you are not after something that is above and beyond your ability to receive, beyond your ability to see, hear, understand, lay hold of – if you are not chasing that elusive thing – then you’re not walking with God…. Faith never deals with the now and never deals with the past – it deals with something beyond you….And your faith will put in conflict with people who have learned how to live in a barren land and actually would prefer to go back to Egypt – back to their old life – because they have fellowship with those people there – they don’t know about this thing up the road here… You’ll have to sacrifice the fulfillment of the thing that God has given you to get to the next level. You cannot hold on….. It’s always by faith.” Apostle Ball (The Rock of Panama City, FL – January 18, 2012 – sermon.net)
The Voice within the voice….
In creating this blog and sharing our experiences and inspirations, we wanted to ignite faith in the reader to aspire to embrace all that Yahweh has for each of us. We sometimes assume that everyone has the same interactions and walks throughout their day with the Truth of His Holy Spirit speaking into their lives. That people understand how to hear His Voice within the voices of others.
The most amazing thing happens every time we hear Apostle Ball from the Rock of Panama City speak. (Sermon.net) He could be ministering on something we have heard before, or he could be sharing a story that he has rehearsed for us many times. In every instance, without exception, we have heard His Voice within Apostle’s voice. Apostle Ball will always stir us to honor Holy Spirit more, draw out of Holy Spirit more, and spurs us to honor Yahweh more in everything we do. Apostle Ball has taught us to hear the Voice within the voice. It is the Voice of Truth inside us – His Holy Spirit.
Look to hear the Voice within the voice from ministers of the gospel, spouses, friends, family and even your enemies. He can speak to you in any situation if you honor Him.
What Holy Spirit is able to do in us is to differentiate between what is the truth and what is a lie; what is flesh and what is Spirit; what is Yahweh’s purpose for us and what is just a ploy from the enemy.
In our pursuit of redeeming all that is lost, stolen, or given away, it is His Holy Spirit speaking to us that will guide us and keep us on track to lawfully dispossess our enemy of what was intentionally ours. It is Holy Spirit that will help us to speak, think and dream big without compromising and hearing a grandiose word that is so far out there – it is unattainable. Holy Spirit will help us to become wise, sharp and fruitful. We will not be deceived.
If you have not been filled with His Spirit, just ask – Yahweh is just waiting on the invitation. It was several months after we had committed our lives to Christ that we knew there had to be more. There was a desire in us – a yearning. You don’t necessarily have to be in a church service to receive, but wherever you are – just ask to be baptized into His Holy Spirit. The Helper is ready, willing and able to do abundantly more than we can ask or think. How could we ever thank you enough Holy Spirit? You are beyond amazing!!!!
Don’t be tempted to temper…..
After weathering storms and tribulations in life, we are sometimes tempted to temper our hopes, dreams and visions. After all – the way we thought it would happen only brought disappointment when things didn’t work out. Sometimes we question our ability to hear and our interpretation of confirming signs. Did we believe for too much? Does this world’s system really have the ability to deny the provision and blessing of Yahweh? OR Could our dreams have been too small and Yahweh’s purpose and plan for us bigger than we can fathom right now?
If there is one thing that we have learned over these 27 years – it is that Yahweh is a “rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 A quote from Apostle Ball’s book “Quotes from a modern day Apostle” sums up what Holy Spirit is stirring in us at this time. “I think the great shame, the great reproach upon us, is that we do not ask abundantly. We do not ask in an exaggerated way. Yahweh is wanting to do more. He is wanting to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all we can ask or think. So if we can think it, it is not too much. If we can dream it, it is not too much. Not many of us are in danger of overstepping the bounds by asking for too much. Most of us are not pushing the limits.” (Page 9)
If we are to redeem all that has been lost, stolen, or given away – we need to think big. We need to set our face in the morning, employ our ministering angels, and petition our helper – the Holy Spirit – to give us good ideas, favor and provision for our day. We need to declare the awakening of the earth’s resources to come to our aid. We need to set ourselves to be Yahweh’s tools of redemption for a lost people, government for a chaotic earth, and strength for a mighty revolution for Yahweh’s Glory to be revealed in us!!!
Part 2 -Accelerating “through” being Thankful
Part 2 of previous post. Something we blogged about earlier and that Apostle Ball repetitively emphasized was the importance of being thankful. When we are in the crux of the battle – rehearsing all the good things and being thankful for all the great people in our lives – brings us “out of the fog” and into a state of faith and hope. We find that our spirit becomes more aligned with His Spirit and once again our resolve is renewed and our confidence boosted. The situations may not immediately change, but our perspective does. We believe that the times we have truly looked deep and chose to be thankful – even in the midst of despair – we have accelerated “through” the circumstances. Remember – situations will come to pass – how long it takes maybe up to us.
We love how Yahweh will so confirm what He is speaking. We saw this interview of a gentlemen named John Kralik – here is an excerpt from his website for his book (http://365thankyounotes.com/book-simple-act-of-gratitude.php):
“A Simple Act of Gratitude is a book that tells the story of an inspiration, the writing of 365 Thank You Notes, and how my life was changed by the people who received them.
In December 2007, I had reached what I viewed as a nadir in my life. While my life seemed full of debts and disasters, I ached for the things and the security I felt I deserved. On January 1, 2008, as this dissatisfaction pervaded my thoughts, I took a walk in the mountains above Pasadena, where I was inspired to write one thank you note a day for the next year.
Although it took more than a year to complete the writing of 365 thank-you notes, I continued writing them until 365 were completed. And then kept on. I learned to be grateful for the life I had, recognizing that the love I had for my children made my life already richer than the many people I envied. I learned to be grateful for my law firm, my practice, and for the love of friends and family that surrounded me. I became thankful for the many people around me who dealt with challenges far greater than the ones facing me, with courage and style. I learned to recognize the many people in my life who had protected and cared for me.
A Simple Act of Gratitude tells the story of how all these things happened, and could be traced to the willingness to be grateful, in fact to the grace I received from writing 365 thank you notes.”
We have not read the book yet, but were so inspired by the lengths he went to find something to be thankful for. He talked of being thankful for the barista at Starbucks who knew his name and prepared his coffee. We know that we all can find something to be thankful for – let’s divert our thoughts and attention in that direction – we many soon find our battles won and no scars on us.
kingdombizness 