1 Thess 5:18 "in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you"
-it doesn't talk about giving thanks FOR things, but rather IN things. although giving thanks for receiving is good, many times we neglect to give thanks in all things.
-everything is... everything. Good times, badtimes, in doubt, in faith, in death, in life, in growth...why? it's it will of God.
-the will of God in your life, is to know Him, it is the will God to for ALL His children to know Him. it is through, in this case, thanksgiving that others may see the Father's heart
-thanksgiving is bringing heaven on earth, everything that happens in heaven is to glorify God, thanking, praising all around His throne. A good reason why God calls us to 'enter His gates with thanksgiving' is to prepare us for heaven, which is praising God, all while letting heaven invade earth.
Mangs, God has taught me so much about thanksgiving this month, unparalleled. Thanksgiving brings victory, it is expressed faith, and cultivates faith. Thanksgiving is the mark of one who recognizes what they have been given, which should be every believer...
-brandon.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Make it your own
So one time, my friend was asking me about my story. How I came to salvation. As I told him about growing up in a christian household, he finally said, "So when did you make it your own?"
The moment he said that it was like time froze, I really liked what he said, and it seemed like everything that had happened to me was summed up in that phrase. After a split-second lapse to admire the question I continued to share.
I liked what he said because it encompasses the foundation of Christianity. It was not meant to be between me and my church, or me and another Christian. It is supposed to be God, and His love for me.
Because it is when you "make it your own", that you start taking responsibility for your hunger for God, you take responsibility for knowing the spiritual condition of your own soul, and of others. It is when you begin to solely depend on God and not on man, when the opinion of God matters more than the opinion of man. When you "make it your own", beloved, that is when you walk in faith, love, and hope. Under the shadow of His wings, in the peace that is beyond understanding, in the joy that is full, and in His arms of love.
The condition of my soul was no longer dependent on the condition of my church, or my pastor, or the people around me, or the conferences I went to. The condition of my soul became dependent on how much time was spent in His throne room; the secret place. To the degree I was chastened by the Holy Spirit was also the degree of the prosperity of my soul. No longer influenced by how 'on fire' my youthgroup was, but the fact that I burned because the passion of Christ was born in me.
It is the secret joy in knowing the love of the Father, and that He. Is. Good. All. the. time.
Make it your own if you have not. Make it your own for the sake of those who haven't. Make it your own because the Father wants you to. Make it your own because you don't know what you have, or what you have access to until you do.
-brandon.
The moment he said that it was like time froze, I really liked what he said, and it seemed like everything that had happened to me was summed up in that phrase. After a split-second lapse to admire the question I continued to share.
I liked what he said because it encompasses the foundation of Christianity. It was not meant to be between me and my church, or me and another Christian. It is supposed to be God, and His love for me.
Because it is when you "make it your own", that you start taking responsibility for your hunger for God, you take responsibility for knowing the spiritual condition of your own soul, and of others. It is when you begin to solely depend on God and not on man, when the opinion of God matters more than the opinion of man. When you "make it your own", beloved, that is when you walk in faith, love, and hope. Under the shadow of His wings, in the peace that is beyond understanding, in the joy that is full, and in His arms of love.
The condition of my soul was no longer dependent on the condition of my church, or my pastor, or the people around me, or the conferences I went to. The condition of my soul became dependent on how much time was spent in His throne room; the secret place. To the degree I was chastened by the Holy Spirit was also the degree of the prosperity of my soul. No longer influenced by how 'on fire' my youthgroup was, but the fact that I burned because the passion of Christ was born in me.
It is the secret joy in knowing the love of the Father, and that He. Is. Good. All. the. time.
Make it your own if you have not. Make it your own for the sake of those who haven't. Make it your own because the Father wants you to. Make it your own because you don't know what you have, or what you have access to until you do.
-brandon.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
His Great Love
"Although these are aspects of the love of God, there is still so much missing because God's love encompasses everything that He is. He does not have love; He is love. Love has become more than an emotion, love is now a being and that being is God. It is what He is. He is love! I have love, but I am not love. I can give love and I can receive love, but I am not love. God in His very essence is love and the love with which He relates to His creation is not dependent upon our perfection. It is not dependant upon us doing things right and it does not diminish if we do things wrong because love is what He is. His love is not just a commitment or an emotion; it is what and who He is. God is love and the essence and character of His love is so high that the higher you go in it, the less tangible it seems. He has to bring the tangible expression of His love way down in degrees, to enable us to relate to it. The further you get out of the temporal and into the Spirit where you are touching the higher degrees of God's love, the more you realize how pure His love is. This pure love is so different from ours that He has to bring His love down to our level so we can relate to the love He has for us.
His love is also holy. I love to experience being carried up in His love because of His holiness. His holiness fills every particle, every bit of His love. The entire essence of His love is holy and because of that holiness, it is so clean and so pure. The all consuming essence of His love is that part of Him that lifts us up out of everything we have ever thought, everything we have ever been or could hope to be, and lets us touch eternity. This is the love of God. It is holy, yet it is tender. It is filled with compassion, mercy and care. It is filled with carefulness, gentleness and kindness. His love does not fret because it is filled with faith. Remember, His eyes are eternal. He sees everything from beginning to end and no matter how bad things get, He knows how good they are going to get before it is over. Because His love is so humble and unassuming, it is not demanding, pressing, sharp or hard. Although His love can be very strong and firm, it is still filled with love. He can chastise us like a father, but you know in this case it is coming from a Father who loves you."
www.worldforjesus.org
I don't think i can post as often during weekdays. Studies mang...
-brandon.
His love is also holy. I love to experience being carried up in His love because of His holiness. His holiness fills every particle, every bit of His love. The entire essence of His love is holy and because of that holiness, it is so clean and so pure. The all consuming essence of His love is that part of Him that lifts us up out of everything we have ever thought, everything we have ever been or could hope to be, and lets us touch eternity. This is the love of God. It is holy, yet it is tender. It is filled with compassion, mercy and care. It is filled with carefulness, gentleness and kindness. His love does not fret because it is filled with faith. Remember, His eyes are eternal. He sees everything from beginning to end and no matter how bad things get, He knows how good they are going to get before it is over. Because His love is so humble and unassuming, it is not demanding, pressing, sharp or hard. Although His love can be very strong and firm, it is still filled with love. He can chastise us like a father, but you know in this case it is coming from a Father who loves you."
www.worldforjesus.org
I don't think i can post as often during weekdays. Studies mang...
-brandon.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Crackdown 3
Ha, off the last post. This is how my mind works.
Recognizing the wave of possibility:
-if pray for breakthrough and continual intercession for this 1 person, God will transform their life sometime or another
-because of the sheer power of daily, focused prayer, this person's transformation be radical in any sense, they WILL be sold out to God, more-so than me
-because of the transformation, this person will effect everyone around them, bring many to Christ, teaching deliverance, one who walks in the power of God, and one who has been humbled by His love and mercy
-because of my choice to intercede for this person, I have directly influenced the kingdom, I have been an agent through which heaven could come down on earth and invade this 1 person's life
-because of the fruit of my choice, I now have a testimony of God's power and glory, and every time i share it, it reminds me of His greatness and it stirs my heart and spurs me to do it again on a larger scale, interceding for more people
-because of the sharing of this testimony, I am filled with joy again just making known the works of God, and the people who hear are encouraged, stirred in their hearts, and may even do the same thing
-because of how God has moved in 1 simple choice, there seems to be a cycle where it all starts over again with more people
Riding the wave of possibility
-Me and Sam are actually doing a 'holy experiment' like this and we're starting to see some of the fruits.. but mang i can already feel it coming.
---
So the funny thing is, I'm thinking about all the people that have been moved the same way because they heard similar testimonies I've heard, and now they are moved just as I am (or even more so) to pick someone out and intercede for them until they see a radical change.
"The kingdom of God is like a box of chocolates, any way you pick, iss reel good." - God just downloaded that =D
dang.. i didn't even touch the notes to myself...
-brandon.
and again, typing this I am stirred again to pray even harder for my friend for his breakthrough.
Recognizing the wave of possibility:
-if pray for breakthrough and continual intercession for this 1 person, God will transform their life sometime or another
-because of the sheer power of daily, focused prayer, this person's transformation be radical in any sense, they WILL be sold out to God, more-so than me
-because of the transformation, this person will effect everyone around them, bring many to Christ, teaching deliverance, one who walks in the power of God, and one who has been humbled by His love and mercy
-because of my choice to intercede for this person, I have directly influenced the kingdom, I have been an agent through which heaven could come down on earth and invade this 1 person's life
-because of the fruit of my choice, I now have a testimony of God's power and glory, and every time i share it, it reminds me of His greatness and it stirs my heart and spurs me to do it again on a larger scale, interceding for more people
-because of the sharing of this testimony, I am filled with joy again just making known the works of God, and the people who hear are encouraged, stirred in their hearts, and may even do the same thing
-because of how God has moved in 1 simple choice, there seems to be a cycle where it all starts over again with more people
Riding the wave of possibility
-Me and Sam are actually doing a 'holy experiment' like this and we're starting to see some of the fruits.. but mang i can already feel it coming.
---
So the funny thing is, I'm thinking about all the people that have been moved the same way because they heard similar testimonies I've heard, and now they are moved just as I am (or even more so) to pick someone out and intercede for them until they see a radical change.
"The kingdom of God is like a box of chocolates, any way you pick, iss reel good." - God just downloaded that =D
dang.. i didn't even touch the notes to myself...
-brandon.
and again, typing this I am stirred again to pray even harder for my friend for his breakthrough.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Crackdown 2
note to self:
-thanksgiving
-make it your own
-elementaries
-prayer
Responsibility
Going off from the last post.. about sharing. I remember realizing that this was the call to our 'fellowshipping' with the body, that our fellowship should result in a mutual blessing, as we share testimonies or what God is teaching us (hence, a GOD-centered fellowship), then as a result, everyone who hears and the one speaking is blessed. This is why we rejoice together as one body, why we mourn as one body and receive healing as one body. Going back to the point... our call as a body in fellowship is to sharpen each other and build each other up, and when you have the typical kind of 'fellowship' you see in so many Christian clubs and youth groups you end up with frustrated and empty Christ-followers. This first frustrated me a few years ago, and now I realize that it's very difficult to see fruitful fellowship in any gathering of believers if none have fellowshipped with the Living God. If we are born again in the spirit, then there is no fruit in fellowshipping by the flesh. If we are born again in the spirit we must be walking in the spirit, led by the spirit, and in this case, fellowship in the spirit. How can we expect to fulfill God's call to fellowship when we have not first fulfilled the call of the cross?
The reason why I enjoy going to Freedom rather than my 'home' church is because I know that the people at freedom seek God. You can see the supernatural peace of God --that rests on those who cast their worries on Him and who enter His gates with thanksgiving-- resting in their lives by the way they speak and by their joy. The love of God has encountered each of them in a way that it overflows and it becomes the joy of the Lord that is their strength. Every single time I open the door and step inside, I literally feel the peace of God in that room... may it be like that everywhere I go.
So what does this have to do with responsibility? Everything. When you realize everyone on this planet is here for 'such a time as this', then you will start taking responsibility. It's realizing that everyone in the world is so connected to the effect of 'six-degrees-of-separation'. It's realizing that one blessing can be multiplied. It's realizing that the loaves of bread and the two fish that little boy gave(the blessing), by the power of God can be multiplied into food enough to feed 5000+ (more blessings), including the boy himself. <-- (yea see that part about the loaves, God just showed me a truth about the parable of the feeding of the 5000. ZOMG.) See, all the little boy did was share, when God invades the equation, anything can happen. "God can win with any hand. Even if it's a pair of twos" -Bill Johnson. Here, I'll illustrate the little boy's loaves in another way.
Quoc is my old pastor. Keep that in mind. I don't know the extent of what my sharing has done, but i know people have been blessed because of what God has done in my life. Starting small. If I had never been to the retreat where Quoc spoke and first convicted me of my lukewarmness, none of those people God has touched through me, would have been touched. Now Quoc. He's spoken at so many retreats and places, the number of people touched by God because of him.. is countless. If he had never attended freedom, taught by pastor Hoa or had never been blessed by his church, then he would not have effected all those people including me. Now Freedom. Freedom is now an international network of 20+ churches in i think... 3 or 4 nations. If Pastor Hoa never got saved, answered God's call, took up the pastoring position there, followed God's plan, the church would not be where it is today, Quoc would not be the way he is today, nor would I, nor would any of the people God has touched through them. I am 100% sure the list goes further than just Pastor Hoa, but that was just 3 links, you already see the massive fruit just from Pastor Hoa's obedience and diligence from the moment he got saved, to this moment as a pastor, father, and most of all a lover of God. His decision for Christ has indirectly impacted countless people, more than I can try to imagine. Back to responsibility.
God has placed every believer where they are for a reason. The people that only you know, the people you hang out with that no one else does, the people you work with, the people that you see that I don't see. You were meant to minister to their life in a certain way. We must realize that how much we pray directly impacts the lives of the people we pray for, and in return, people may bless us back (like a testimony, or they start praying for you) as a result of our prayers. When I think about this, I realize that in any spiritual lack in my life, there is an element of my own failure, to pray for my own heart or to build someone else up. If there is no one at my school for me to fellowship with, it is because I have not interceded for someone's heart to be reconciled to God, or I have not asked God and sought for one who believes. If I am struggling with temptation, it is because I have not followed the word of God and resist temptation, or I have not followed God when He was trying to lead me to still waters and green pastures, or I have not realized my weakness and called a fellow brother to keep me accountable. And because of all my struggle in my own self, I have been disabled, unable to pour out love on an unbelieving friend, to pray for the broken-hearted, to lay hands on the sick, to teach deliverance, and even to worship with a pure heart. As I think about it more and more I realize that my decisions today directly effect other people today, and myself tomorrow. Had I been cultivating a sensitivity to the voice of God instead of spending time on youtube, then I wouldn't be missing as many of God's urgings for me to call an old friend and speak prophetically into their life or give an encouragement or give a word of knowledge. Had I known earlier that all believers in Christ have authority over all principality and powers in this earth including the devil himself and the power of death, then many people would no longer think that crutches and casts are part of a normal healing process.
Ah... just thinking about all this makes me think about the greatness of God's kingdom.
I'm missing so much stuff..
-brandon.
-thanksgiving
-make it your own
-elementaries
-prayer
Responsibility
Going off from the last post.. about sharing. I remember realizing that this was the call to our 'fellowshipping' with the body, that our fellowship should result in a mutual blessing, as we share testimonies or what God is teaching us (hence, a GOD-centered fellowship), then as a result, everyone who hears and the one speaking is blessed. This is why we rejoice together as one body, why we mourn as one body and receive healing as one body. Going back to the point... our call as a body in fellowship is to sharpen each other and build each other up, and when you have the typical kind of 'fellowship' you see in so many Christian clubs and youth groups you end up with frustrated and empty Christ-followers. This first frustrated me a few years ago, and now I realize that it's very difficult to see fruitful fellowship in any gathering of believers if none have fellowshipped with the Living God. If we are born again in the spirit, then there is no fruit in fellowshipping by the flesh. If we are born again in the spirit we must be walking in the spirit, led by the spirit, and in this case, fellowship in the spirit. How can we expect to fulfill God's call to fellowship when we have not first fulfilled the call of the cross?
The reason why I enjoy going to Freedom rather than my 'home' church is because I know that the people at freedom seek God. You can see the supernatural peace of God --that rests on those who cast their worries on Him and who enter His gates with thanksgiving-- resting in their lives by the way they speak and by their joy. The love of God has encountered each of them in a way that it overflows and it becomes the joy of the Lord that is their strength. Every single time I open the door and step inside, I literally feel the peace of God in that room... may it be like that everywhere I go.
So what does this have to do with responsibility? Everything. When you realize everyone on this planet is here for 'such a time as this', then you will start taking responsibility. It's realizing that everyone in the world is so connected to the effect of 'six-degrees-of-separation'. It's realizing that one blessing can be multiplied. It's realizing that the loaves of bread and the two fish that little boy gave(the blessing), by the power of God can be multiplied into food enough to feed 5000+ (more blessings), including the boy himself. <-- (yea see that part about the loaves, God just showed me a truth about the parable of the feeding of the 5000. ZOMG.) See, all the little boy did was share, when God invades the equation, anything can happen. "God can win with any hand. Even if it's a pair of twos" -Bill Johnson. Here, I'll illustrate the little boy's loaves in another way.
Quoc is my old pastor. Keep that in mind. I don't know the extent of what my sharing has done, but i know people have been blessed because of what God has done in my life. Starting small. If I had never been to the retreat where Quoc spoke and first convicted me of my lukewarmness, none of those people God has touched through me, would have been touched. Now Quoc. He's spoken at so many retreats and places, the number of people touched by God because of him.. is countless. If he had never attended freedom, taught by pastor Hoa or had never been blessed by his church, then he would not have effected all those people including me. Now Freedom. Freedom is now an international network of 20+ churches in i think... 3 or 4 nations. If Pastor Hoa never got saved, answered God's call, took up the pastoring position there, followed God's plan, the church would not be where it is today, Quoc would not be the way he is today, nor would I, nor would any of the people God has touched through them. I am 100% sure the list goes further than just Pastor Hoa, but that was just 3 links, you already see the massive fruit just from Pastor Hoa's obedience and diligence from the moment he got saved, to this moment as a pastor, father, and most of all a lover of God. His decision for Christ has indirectly impacted countless people, more than I can try to imagine. Back to responsibility.
God has placed every believer where they are for a reason. The people that only you know, the people you hang out with that no one else does, the people you work with, the people that you see that I don't see. You were meant to minister to their life in a certain way. We must realize that how much we pray directly impacts the lives of the people we pray for, and in return, people may bless us back (like a testimony, or they start praying for you) as a result of our prayers. When I think about this, I realize that in any spiritual lack in my life, there is an element of my own failure, to pray for my own heart or to build someone else up. If there is no one at my school for me to fellowship with, it is because I have not interceded for someone's heart to be reconciled to God, or I have not asked God and sought for one who believes. If I am struggling with temptation, it is because I have not followed the word of God and resist temptation, or I have not followed God when He was trying to lead me to still waters and green pastures, or I have not realized my weakness and called a fellow brother to keep me accountable. And because of all my struggle in my own self, I have been disabled, unable to pour out love on an unbelieving friend, to pray for the broken-hearted, to lay hands on the sick, to teach deliverance, and even to worship with a pure heart. As I think about it more and more I realize that my decisions today directly effect other people today, and myself tomorrow. Had I been cultivating a sensitivity to the voice of God instead of spending time on youtube, then I wouldn't be missing as many of God's urgings for me to call an old friend and speak prophetically into their life or give an encouragement or give a word of knowledge. Had I known earlier that all believers in Christ have authority over all principality and powers in this earth including the devil himself and the power of death, then many people would no longer think that crutches and casts are part of a normal healing process.
Ah... just thinking about all this makes me think about the greatness of God's kingdom.
I'm missing so much stuff..
-brandon.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Crackdown 1
So God's been opening my eyes a lot lately.
I've been reading a lot of books like The Release of the Spirit by Watchman Nee. That is some crazy stuff... but he affirmed many things I've been thinking about. One of them was along the lines of sowing and reaping. Whenever we fellowship with Christians, God, anyone, as spiritual beings we are no longer called to fellowship with anyone in the flesh. As God is destroying our flesh, we shouldn't in any way live in the flesh, including the fellowship with anyone. Then he says that we discern in the spirit; that there's a reality in finding out someone's spiritual condition just by the way they speak. Like from personal experience, and what I think Quoc first taught, you can know whether someone has sought God's face by the way they pray. Likewise, Nee says even by the way people talk you can discern their spiritual condition, and thus be able to minister accurately to anyone's need as God leads. This really explained why I always feel led to tell people different things when I'm talking to them about the Kingdom, my spirit already senses their condition and adjusts the 'radical-ness' of the message as I continue.
Another interesting thing off of that was that whenever I spoke to people, encouraging, or praying, I would always have a sense of joy and refreshing after I did so. And Nee pointed it out exactly that, whenever we talk about the Kingdom to anyone, there's a mutual blessing, they are receiving revelation from God and I'm reminded and stirred yet again as if the word was fresh like the first time I received it. Then this leads to the reason why we are called to fellowship with believers. Why Viv enjoys our fellowship, why I keep meeting up with and speaking, why I keep sending emails, and why I'm trying to start this blog. The reason is because I am stirred again by the words that I say, and that it's like meditating on a word God has given, your mind is again focused on it and as you meditate on it, it allows the Spirit to move and usually, more revelation =D. And now I'm remembering that time Quoc told us to take notes because often we find us writing and when we see what we write, it serves as another way for the Spirit to get the most out of the words spoken. So many times I've taken notes and then my mind wanders because of the truths from other verses start popping into my head and then God reveals another truth about His Kingdom. In my opinion, that's the mark of a good preacher; one who realizes that the word he is speaking first came from God, and as he preaches, he himself is stirred again and remembers the joy and refreshment that he received when God first revealed it to him... and then he says, "I'm about to preach myself happy" (billjohnson) or "That's good preaching!" (bennyperez) or "this is a good word!!" (pastorhoa) or "can somebody say amen??" (mostpreachers).
yea i'm cracking down and writing down the things i've learned lately. more later.
-brandon.
I've been reading a lot of books like The Release of the Spirit by Watchman Nee. That is some crazy stuff... but he affirmed many things I've been thinking about. One of them was along the lines of sowing and reaping. Whenever we fellowship with Christians, God, anyone, as spiritual beings we are no longer called to fellowship with anyone in the flesh. As God is destroying our flesh, we shouldn't in any way live in the flesh, including the fellowship with anyone. Then he says that we discern in the spirit; that there's a reality in finding out someone's spiritual condition just by the way they speak. Like from personal experience, and what I think Quoc first taught, you can know whether someone has sought God's face by the way they pray. Likewise, Nee says even by the way people talk you can discern their spiritual condition, and thus be able to minister accurately to anyone's need as God leads. This really explained why I always feel led to tell people different things when I'm talking to them about the Kingdom, my spirit already senses their condition and adjusts the 'radical-ness' of the message as I continue.
Another interesting thing off of that was that whenever I spoke to people, encouraging, or praying, I would always have a sense of joy and refreshing after I did so. And Nee pointed it out exactly that, whenever we talk about the Kingdom to anyone, there's a mutual blessing, they are receiving revelation from God and I'm reminded and stirred yet again as if the word was fresh like the first time I received it. Then this leads to the reason why we are called to fellowship with believers. Why Viv enjoys our fellowship, why I keep meeting up with and speaking, why I keep sending emails, and why I'm trying to start this blog. The reason is because I am stirred again by the words that I say, and that it's like meditating on a word God has given, your mind is again focused on it and as you meditate on it, it allows the Spirit to move and usually, more revelation =D. And now I'm remembering that time Quoc told us to take notes because often we find us writing and when we see what we write, it serves as another way for the Spirit to get the most out of the words spoken. So many times I've taken notes and then my mind wanders because of the truths from other verses start popping into my head and then God reveals another truth about His Kingdom. In my opinion, that's the mark of a good preacher; one who realizes that the word he is speaking first came from God, and as he preaches, he himself is stirred again and remembers the joy and refreshment that he received when God first revealed it to him... and then he says, "I'm about to preach myself happy" (billjohnson) or "That's good preaching!" (bennyperez) or "this is a good word!!" (pastorhoa) or "can somebody say amen??" (mostpreachers).
yea i'm cracking down and writing down the things i've learned lately. more later.
-brandon.
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