Helping you to be come an overcomer in this life through discussing Biblical truth. It's about changing you so that you can change the world and make the history you want to read about.
What we find through the history of God dealing with men and then through his chosen race, the Hebrews, that they found that God was too awe-inspiring, too majestic to have any relationship with individuals and so they decided that because he was so awesome and just and powerful and holy and couldn’t be approached because of all of this, and they were so evil and sinful and bad and couldn’t go near to God because he was holy and they were so bad, that they instituted a priesthood, someone who could be touched like they could be, yet was holy enough to approach God.
So the priesthood came and was the means of preventing the people of God from understanding the father heart of God because they said, “I am not holy enough because I have sinned. Therefore I will go to the priest and give him an offering so that he can pray for me to God because I can’t.”
You understand that concept of the Old Testament. Now think about these. That concept is still alive and well in a lot of Christendom. We think that we are not worthy of coming into the presence of God. Therefore we must have someone else to do that for us. One of the things that happens to me very often and still happens to me even when I’m not in a foreign country, they will come and they will say, “Please pray for me for ...” Please pray for my family. Please pray for my children. Please pray for their school. Please pray for my daughter to have a baby. Please pray for this. Please pray for that. Please pray for something else, as though I had somehow got more connection with God than they had.
No, I don't have any more connection to God than the next Christian, I have just realised the connection that I have with my father and they perhaps haven’t realised. You see the connection is that God made us his sons. He made us his sons, therefore he must be our father. If he’s our Father, then we can go to our Father. Now, it’s great that you can pray for somebody because they asked you to pray for them; but we don’t need someone to pray for us. We need to know that we have access ourselves. Amen?
Excerpt from coming book by Howard Sands
Your Kingdom Come
I would love to read your comments below how this message has impacted you.
You can listen to a live recording of this message here.
Dr Howard Sands is the International Director of Beautiful Feet Task Force, is available as a speaker for churches, outreaches, business & missions.
For more details or to book Howard for your college, church or event see how to frame an invitation here.
If you would like to assist BFTF in its mission to equipping African and Asian ministers with the word of God to empower their own generation you can donate to BFTF here.
Dr Howard Sands is the International Director of Beautiful Feet Task Force, is available as a speaker for churches, outreaches, business & missions. For more details or to book Howard for your college, church or event see how to frame an invitationhere. If you would like to assist BFTF in its mission to equipping African and Asian ministers with the word of God to empower their own generation you can donate to BFTF here.
Either your spirit or your mind is going to dominate your body.
Which is it going to be? its up to you.
When you were born again your spirit was recreated brand new (2Cor5.17) with the righteousness of God (2Cor5.21) made a participant in His Divine Nature (2Pet1.4) and was supposed to dominate your mind (Rom12.2) and body and bring them into subjection to the Kingdom of God. . . . . but. . . . sometimes your spirit doesn't dominate because you fail to act on what you know. You fail to speak the Word of God as God has put it in your heart, (Mk11.23) for if you did speak it in faith you would put God's own creative power to work in your circumstances. I'm not talking about blab it and grab it, I'm not talking about positive thinking or positive confession; I am talking about what the faith eye sees, the faith mind believes and the faith tongue speaks until it actually creates a living vital thing was was first seen by the eye of faith.
What can you see with your faith eye? What are you believing? People can tell what you are believing because they can hear what you say and see what you do. Your spirit can be seen by how you speak and act; is it taking control or is your lazy, unfruitful, backslidden, unregenerate, carnal mind taking charge? The best practise for changing your circumstances is to let your faith eyes do some speaking.
Dr Howard Sands
Howard Sands is the International Director of Beautiful Feet Task Force, is available as a speaker for churches, outreaches, business & missions.
For more details or to book Howard for your college, church or event see here.
Although the land we are told v30 had rest 80 years, we are also told Ch 5.6 that the roads
were abandoned,
It seems that the rest (according to
Matthew Henry) was not in the south east part of the land where
Philistines still marauded, but rest in the north west from the
Moabites. The Israelites had abandonded the roads because of these
looting, pillaging Philistine thieves that controlled the highways.
Apparently one day Shamgar saw a
raiding party and got up a Holy Spirit inspired anger.
The word says he killed 600 with an ox
goad,
(This
implement, Mr. Maundrell informs us, in Palestine and Syria is of an
extraordinary size. He measured several, and 'found them about eight
feet long; and at the bigger end about six inches in circumference.
They were armed at the lesser end with a sharp prickle for driving
the oxen; and at the other end with a small paddle of iron, strong
and massive, for cleansing the plough from the clay. In the hand of a
powerful man such an instrument must be more dangerous and fatal than
a sword.
)
He took what was at hand.
The impulse was
sudden and strong, He had no sword only the tools of his trade
God can make those whose family,
finance and position are of no consequence (he was following the
plough) and save a nation with them.
God can make ploughmen into judges and
generals
Shepherds into kings,
Fisherman into apostles
It doesn’t matter how weak the weapon
is if God directs and strengthens the arm that uses it.
Then the ox goad does more than
Goliaths sword ever can.
Sometimes God chooses to work by
unlikely means that the excellency of the power may be seen to be of
God and not of men.
But what if Shamgar didn’t respond
that day.
What if he hid in fear and the
Philistines ravaged the land yet again.
Who knows how many times they had done
it before and how many other men God had put the impulse in but they
had shied away from the task.
Are we taken with a passion and love
for His house that we won’t allow the marauding armies of the
Philistines to plunder our land.
Are we the people who will stand and
deliver a nation, a people, a community, an individual person.
Are we the ones that see ministry as
doing what ever God requires (not just some high position that
inflates our ego).
Are we consumed by a passion for His
House that we come and do the work so that the house looks good, not
out of a sense of duty,
Not out of a sense of “its my job”
But because I want to serve my Lord and
do whatever it takes to make His house
a place of praise,
a place of excellence,
a place of real spiritual worship,
a place where others can find the
presence of God that heals their hurts, bathes their emotions,
softens their spirit and enables them to find the God who cares.
1 Cor 4.17 Paul spoke about Timothy as
His faithful son, “faithful in the Lord”
he spoke about Moses as "faithful in all
his house."
Faithful:- those that have the Lords
best interests foremost in everything they do.
We are building His house full of this
kind of people, not merely doing a job in church but faithful in a
ministry to the Lord.
I heard an interesting statement in church today, "There are only two things, God & Violet Crumble."
Now that is not what Pastor Ian said, its what I heard. He said, "There's only God and nothing else matters." My involvement in advertising for so many years took that slogan that Violet Crumble made famous "Nothing else matt...." and interpreted it in my brain to the Violet Crumble product in Ps Ian's statement, (maybe it had something to do with winning a Picnic bar in answering a question in one of Ps Ian's famous church quizzes). Therefore there is not just one thing, there is God and then if nothing else matters there is Violet Crumble. Video ad
How our brain works is a fascinating thing, word / product / image association.
What is the image that comes to your mind when I say Africa.
Well that depends on what things to do with Africa have made an indelible impression on your mind, let me not put images into your mind of what it may be in your mind (we're all different), but allow me to share with you an image, impression and concern in mine when I hear of or think of Africa. (I have already done 6 missions trips to 4 African countries)
I think of thousands of ministers passionate for the gospel message of Jesus Christ that saves to the uttermost even the worst of sinners, I think of some difficult situations from rural villages to major cities, I think of humungous gatherings of people hungry for the gospel truth, I think of leaders crying out for help on how to teach their congregations that Jesus has already won their victory. For most, they know it but they don't know it. I mean they have heard it, they even give a mental assent to the truth of it but they themselves don't know how to live in it so how can they impart the revelation of truth of it to the congregations. They are hungry for revelation knowledge of the word that will sustain them.
On the other hand I also think of many churches where the pastors are almost worshiped, they adore adulation, sitting mightily on throne like chairs before their congregations and having their members do everything for them; gaining at least three titles is tantamount to dictatorial rule and as a consequence substantial financial gain, these doctrinally shallow leaders keep their people in the same shallowness so that their position in the pecking order is not disturbed, it just too good being adored and having everything materially conceivable even through many of their congregations are often struggling to put food in their children's mouths.
Whilst there are people in every country and from every walk of life that abuse privilege Jesus showed us a form of leadership not like the world, he demonstrated and taught servant leadership. Paul the apostle of Bible writings was first of all a persecutor of the church than an advocate of it. He received revelation of who we (the church) were in Christ, that other disciples who were disciples before him said, "some of Paul's teachings are hard to understand." Yes they are, for they are not to be understood with the soul/mind but with the spirit. Paul said these things are spiritually discerned.
My heart and passion is to help people become spiritually minded enough to receive the revelation of who they are in Christ, that they know how to live in it daily, that they don't need to be lording it over others but can in true humility help believers to have the confidence in Christ for every situation that He intended for us. When you mention Africa to me, the picture I see is of thousands of leaders receiving understanding of what Christ has done for them and how to both appropriate it themselves and release others into the freedom it brings for them.
To this end Beautiful Feet Task Force is again ministering in Africa the revelation of Jesus Christ to hundreds of pastors and leaders. I expect there will be all types there, some there for good intent and others for selfish. Some there who are healthy strong servant leaders and others who have not yet realised that releasing people into their destiny actually releases you into yours.
I'd like to take you on this journey with me, sadly for this trip you can only come in prayer, in giving and virtually, (we will be posting to facebook as much as possible during the trip - Follow here)
From 23 October 2015 Ps Howard will be heading to Bamende, Cameroon as one of many guest speakers of Dr Bernard Etta at the '40th Anniversary Global Convocation' along with guests from many parts of the world.
Then its on to Cape Town, South Africa for the jointly organised 'Kingdom Advancement Leadership Summit,' hundreds of leaders from Southern Africa particularly are expected to attend.
After this, BFTF with the Pheonix Ministers Fraternal are hosting 'Leading Without Limits' in Durban, South Africa.
During these programs and many local church functions Ps Howard will be (with others) helping many hundreds of leaders lift their revelation of who Christ is in them, what He has done for them and what He wants to do through them.
The church in Africa is growing much faster than the western church and yet the need for sound teaching and revelation of who we are in Christ has become greater than ever because of rampant poor, shallow and wrong teaching that has kept many bound in law and limited knowledge of the freedom found in Christ.
Will you help bring freedom to thousands through supporting hundreds of leaders across Africa with revelation knowledge.
You can support BFTF in these ways. PRAY - SEND - GO - FOLLOW PRAY especially on days of international mission SEND support these missions with your gifts GO join a team whenever a team is going. FOLLOW BFTF on social media PRAY Subscribe to Prayer Newsletter SEND
Two ways to contribute
direct deposit to Beautiful Feet Task Force
Commonwealth Bank of Australia BSB 062 614 Account number 0094 0442
