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In This Issue
1. THE WISDOM OF THE FEAR AND THE LOVE OF GOD – By Ron McGatlin
2. The Next Great Move of God Will Be Through Believers in the Workplace – By Os Hillman
3. News Headlines
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1. THE WISDOM OF THE FEAR AND THE LOVE OF GOD – By Ron McGatlin
POWER WITHOUT LOVE CAN BE FEARFUL
When we know that the one God of ultimate power loves us, we are comforted with the assurance that the massive power will be used for us and not against us. In a mutual love relationship with Almighty God, we can draw near to Him and know that there is no greater power that can come against us.
However, if we come near someone or something of extremely great power and are not in a functional mutual love relationship, great fear may overcome us.
Allow me to illustrate this with a brief experience as a young teen way back there in the steam engine train days.
Trains were very interesting to me especially the huge freight hauling engines. There was an awesome roar with belching fire and smoke as they pulled massive trains at high speed through the country side. One day as I walked near the tracks, a roaring massive train was approaching. I decided that I wanted to stand near the track when it passed. I reasoned in my mind that the massive roaring smoking train could not get off the track. Therefore, it was impossible for it to hit or harm me.
I took a position maybe only twenty feet from the track and waited. The engineer was blowing the train whistle, but I stood fast even though my heart was racing. Still telling myself that that monster of power had to stay on that track. As the engine was passing me the engineer released a blast of steam that shot out toward me with a roar. I broke and bolted into a run faster that I had ever run in my life. I remember running and thinking that I was now many yards from the train and could stop running. But my legs did not agree. It was at least the distance of a large city block before I could stop running. I feel sure that the engineer laughed about that incident for years.
Nothing could be more fearful than being in the close presence of Almighty God and not being in a pure holy love relationship with Him. Though I liked trains, I had no assurance at all that the train or the engineer driving it loved me. We can only completely submit to God in an intimate relationship when we know that He loves us, that we are in love and abiding in Christ Jesus and He is abiding in us by the Holy Spirit. (John 15:5-10).
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
The love of the Lord is the maturing of wisdom.
The wisdom of the fear of God is found in experiencing the magnificent absolute holiness and power of Almighty God. Receiving awareness of the reality of the manifest presence of the omnipotent creator and sustainer of all that exists is more than awe inspiring. It is more than a natural human being can endure. Without the awareness of the purity of the work of the blood of Jesus evident in the heart of the person, they may not be able to survive the experience of the manifest presence of the holiness and power of Almighty God. (Psalm 111:10) (Proverbs 9:10) (1 John 4:18).
Even for believers, if there are any remaining impurities in the heart, they may experience dramatic reactions in their souls and bodies. They may respond by falling to the floor as dead, or they may shake or vibrate violently and uncontrollably. Contact with the power of God in Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit in His manifest presence will drive out evil as light burns away darkness. (Matthew 17:5-7) (Ezekiel 44:4) (1 John 2:8-10).
Non-believers or carnal Christians may run as fast as they can to get away when the presence of God even begins to be manifest before them. (John 3:19-21).
PERFECT (mature) LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18).
Consider Adam and Eve before the fall. Adam walked with God in perfect peace and harmony as with a loving Father. There was love and respect between them as Adam received instruction on how to live and manage the Garden of Eden for God.
It was only after Adam and Eve listened to the serpent (the devil) and sin entered their hearts that they responded to the presence of God in fear by hiding themselves. (Genesis 2 and 3).
Man has developed many creative ways to attempt to hide from God and the awesome presence of all-powerful, all-knowing, completely Holy God. Religions are perhaps one of the most prevalent and subtle means of hiding ourselves from God.
Religion tends to build a form of godliness without intimate connection to the reality of the personal presence of Almighty God. Within the form of religion, many traditions of ceremonies, liturgies, rituals, feasts, or special holy days may be strictly adhered to or celebrated to satisfy the souls of the followers without the reality of personal intimate experience with the presence of God. (1 Timothy 3:5, 4:1)
Before the cross, resurrection, ascension, and return of Christ Jesus in the Holy Spirit, religious form was given from God as a form of connection with God. Priests and Prophets served as connection to God for the people.
After the redemptive works of Christ Jesus, the way is open for all mankind who abide in Christ and in whom Christ fully abides to have direct and personal access to Father God. God desire and has made the way for you and I to come boldly into His presence in an intimate personal relationship. (Hebrews 4:16).
The religious form that was used to connect to God before Christ Jesus is no longer necessary. Clinging to it can stand in the way of transitioning into the fullness of the “Christ in you” reality of the kingdom of God coming forth in God’s people on earth.
THE UNHOLY FEAR OF HOLY GOD
When religious form becomes a god to the people, an unholy fear of the real presence of Almighty God grows in their hearts.
There are formal and informal religions or belief systems or religious philosophies that rule in the hearts of mankind that can hinder the people from coming into the reality of the manifest presence of God.
Basically the formal religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and many others propagate belief of a supreme God or gods.
The informal religions or belief systems such as atheism, humanism, secularism, intellectualism, and many more generally deny that there is a God beyond natural existence.
Religion in a much generalized sense is the works and systems of man attempting to reach God or attain to a level of self-actualization and reason of existence spawned from an innate desire for something or someone greater than and beyond natural life.
IF AND WHEN THE REALITY OF THE MANIFEST PRESENCE OF HOLY ALMIGHTY GOD COMES AMONG, RELIGIOUS-MINDED PEOPLE FEAR DRAMATICALLY OVERCOMES THE PEOPLE.
Generally there are two possible first responses of religiously infested people encountering the manifest presence of God. One response is to run away at the first indication of even the hint of the presence of God.
The second is to submit to the presence of God and die to our past lives and erroneous beliefs. This is the fear of God that is the beginning of wisdom. In turning to God with the whole heart, there is an end of past life and a beginning of the life of the resurrected Christ filling our life by the Holy Spirit. God’s presence begins to cleanse us and fills our being with the life of God in Christ Jesus. We are consumed in the love of Almighty God. (Galatians 2:20) (Romans 6:11).
Perhaps the only other potential outcome could be to drop dead on the spot. (Acts 5:5-10).
THE HOLY FEAR OF HOLY GOD ALMIGHTY
The holy fear of God is an awesome respect and honor of Almighty Father God in pure holy love. Love transforms fear into the peace and joy of righteousness (right alignment with God).
The holy fear of God is the now emerging reality of the maturation of love in maturing Sons of God. This reality is one of the freshly restored Spirit revelations and impartations from heaven. It is a part of the hidden mystery of “Christ in you” coming to light in this transitional season of the emergence of the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. (Colossians 1:26-27) (Matthew 6:10).
Many wonderful believers including some leaders of the past may not be given to receive the fullness of this major shift and transformation now coming forth in this world. Many religiously trained believers may have difficulty in receiving this marvelous transition. (Matthew 13:10-17).
However, many younger believers are emerging as leaders in the freshly restored reality of intimate love relationship with Almighty God. God in Christ by the Holy Spirit is a loving and very present Father to those who through brokenness have come to Him with their whole hearts. At this point this is NOT the general condition of the bulk of the church, but there is a growing remnant of love and power-filled men and women in love with God. They are moving into God’s glorious kingdom even in the midst of tribulation in the world and serious imperfections in the churches.
Perfect peace inhabits perfect love. God in Christ Jesus, Yeshua Messiah, by the Holy Spirit is the only source of true love on Planet Earth. Even in the midst of storms of this life, the perfect peace of God’s love goes beyond understanding guards our hearts and minds. (Philippians 4:7) (Psalm 23).
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27.
Love never fails,
Ron McGatlin
www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net
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The 7 Key Areas that Define Our Culture
“I believe that one of the next great moves of God is going to be through the Believers in the workplace.”—Billy Graham Billy Graham made this statement in early 2000. But seeds of this began as early as 1975 when Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ and Loren Cunningham, founder of Youth with a Mission, both evangelism ministries to students, met for the very first time. It just so happened that God spoke to each of these leaders that very week about the need to equip leaders in 7 key areas of business, government, arts and entertainment, media, education, family and the church. God said to these leaders, “These are the areas that most define the culture. You must raise up leaders in these areas if you expect to shift the culture.” Some leaders call these gates “mind-molders” or “mountains” based on Isaiah 2:2: “And it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.” It does not matter what you call them. They are simply places of the greatest influence in culture. Why Haven’t We Seen More Fruit? So why haven’t we seen more fruit from this vision? That’s a good question. I believe the reason is twofold: 1) Bill Bright and Loren Cunningham sought to fulfill the vision by equipping young people who were missionaries living on support who had little ability to impact the culture beyond evangelism. They were raised up from the church mountain instead of the other six mountains where cultural influence is greatest. 2) A second reason I believe we have not seen greater fruit is men and women in the workplace did not see themselves as “marketplace missionaries” called to impact the culture through their vocations until the last 15 years. It was not until the late 90s that a move of God began in our nation and world that became a trumpet call to the spiritual calling through our work life. It was called the “faith at work” movement. Dr. Henry Blackaby, Peter Wagner, Billy Graham, Ed Silvoso and many other Christian leaders began to say, “I believe there is a move of God taking place in the workplace today.” Many of the most prominent workplace ministries birthed in the mid-90s. During the late 90s and early 2000s, more and more conferences began to take place around work, calling and community transformation. Over 300 initiatives can be cited today that have birthed in communities with a goal of community transformation. Conferences on the seven cultural mountains were hosted by Lance Wallnau and me for several years in a row in the mid-2000s. Many other faith-at-work conferences were held around the nation. The Billy Graham organization invited me to consult with them about what they were seeing as a “move of God in the workplace in early 2000.” We co-hosted two conferences with the Billy Graham organization in 2004 and 2005. Impacting the Cultural Mountains During the last five years, we have been hearing more and more stories of Christian leaders making a difference in the seven cultural mountains. There are many Believers on the Fox Network representing Christ on the media mountain. There are many Christian voices in the mainstream media gaining greater influence. We are seeing more and more Christian-themed movies on the arts and entertainment mountain. There are many Believers operating on the government mountain in Washington, DC. Our current president is very influenced by Christians who are in or close to his administration. There are new initiatives taking place on the education mountain. One initiative being launched on the education mountain is a curriculum based on the seven cultural mountains for Christian high schools. Another initiative involved the creation of a textbook on how the Bible has influenced culture that is being used in many schools in America and other nations. Pastors are beginning to understand the importance of equipping marketplace leaders to see their work as a calling. There is an entire organization that was birthed focused on this for pastors called “Made to Flourish”. Adopting Intentional Strategy—Imagine What Christians Could Do! The reason this move of God is so important is that men and women who operate in places of influence have the greatest ability to impact culture through their influence in these six areas. They often have access to financial resources and places of power needed to make significant impact. We have learned that it only takes 3-5 percent of a leadership operating at the top of a culture mountain to shift that mountain. We have seen this in the gay rights movement, which is a big case study of this fact. This group represents less than 2 percent of our population. Yet, through a strategy to influence culture through the seven cultural mountains, they have shifted America’s mindset about this issue from being a moral issue to being a civil issue. Just imagine what Christians could do, given we represent more than 40 percent of the population in our nation, if we adopted an intentional strategy to impact culture. There will be a major Culture Shapers Summit in Washington, DC in 2019 that is featuring over 40 top leaders who operate within the seven cultural mountains. This will be the most significant gathering of leaders focused on the seven cultural mountains in the last few years. The army is gathering to prepare for the next great move of God. Os Hillman Os Hillman owned and operated an ad agency from 1984-2001. His company won many prestigious awards from the Direct Marketing Industry such as the International Echo Award, Direct Marketing’s highest achievement for excellence in direct marketing for specific ad campaigns. He has spoken at Harvard University and was a visiting professor at Regent University for a season. Os also attended Calvary Chapel Bible School. Today Os Hillman is president of Marketplace Leaders and Aslan Group Publishing, and is involved in several entrepreneur ventures related to publishing and internet marketing. He is an author of 18 books, a speaker, a consultant and a recognized authority in the role that faith and ethics play in the marketplace. He is married to Pamela, and has one married daughter, Charis. He and his wife live in Cumming, Georgia. |
2. News Headlines
Prayer Alert News: UK, Europe, and Worldwide – September 21, 2018
Praise Reports Calls for abortion clinic buffer zones rejected India: back from the dead Europe France taking hard line in Brexit talks Greece: asylum-seekers at Lesbos British Isles and Ireland Brexit: farming and the land The CofE in Parliament Christian Unions in…
Louisiana Religious Groups Sue to Block ‘Drag Queen Story Time’—Here’s Their Argument Sep 21, 2018
“We have no problem with a drag queen story hour being held in a private facility. It can be held at the fraternity house. It can be held at the coffee shop. We draw the line by the fact we have government actors endorsing it.” -attorney Christopher Sevier…
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos: American Colleges Have “Abandoned Truth” Sep 19, 2018
She said that school faculty, “Too often attempt to shield students from ideas they subjectively decide are hateful or offensive or injurious, or ones they just don’t like….
PRAY! “Regardless of Hostility, I Plan to Preach the Word of God in Blackpool”: Despite Fierce Opposition in England, Franklin Graham Prepares for Festival of Hope Sep 19, 2018
“The opposition has not hindered us at all, aside from blocking some of our advertisements. If anything, it has just given us more and more resolve.” -Rod Barnett, BGEA director of North American Festivals Jeffrey Rodack : Sep 18, 2018 : Billygraham.org…
Renowned Neuroscience Professor Under Investigation for Telling His Students “Men and Women are Biologically Different” Sep 19, 2018
Dr. Germund Hesslow got in trouble for citing verifiable research which supports the scientific conclusion that differences between men and women are “biologically founded” and therefore genders cannot be regarded as “social constructs alone.”…
Richest Man in Singapore Gave This Surprising Answer When Asked about the Key to Success in Life Sep 17, 2018
Despite possessing the cash to purchase absolutely anything he could ever possibly want, this giant of world business declared something astonishing as he wrapped up the video: that nothing comes even close to accepting Jesus into your heart. Will Maule : Sep 17, 2018…
Chinese Churches threatened with surging nationalism Sep 17, 2018
China (MNN) — We have talked about how Christian persecution in China is rising dramatically. Every week, more churches are shut down or censored by government officials. Local authorities have banned children from certain congregations. By Lyndsey KohSeptember 17,…
An education for Camp Moria refugees Sep 15, 2018
Greece (MNN) – The UNHCR recently released a report that says this year, 500,000 more refugee minors are not in school than last year. Altogether, this results in four million school-aged refugee children who are not attending school. By Lindsay SteeleSeptember 10,…
Indonesia’s Pentecostal Church Evangelizing Despite Opposition Sep 15, 2018
Ferry Mamangkey, is seen as one of Indonesia’s most dedicated evangelists. Photo: Stefan J. Bos for BosNewsLife/ANS JAKARTA, INDONESIA (ANS-September 10, 2018)– When Ferry Mamangkey had a liver health scare he knew he needed a miracle. Now many prayers and “miracles”…
New “In God We Trust” Law Goes into Effect in Florida: Some Teachers are Fighting It Sep 14, 2018
Some schools have opted to using the state seal as a way to comply with the law that’s less controversial than simply stating “In God We Trust.” Victor Skinner : Sep 14, 2018 : EAGnews.org (Tallahassee, FL)—[EAGnews.org] Teachers in Florida are…
65 Women Come to Kavanaugh’s Defense After Feinstein Reveals ‘Secret Letter’ Alleging Sexual Misconduct Sep 14, 2018
WASHINGTON – Sixty-five women who say they have known Judge Brett Kavanaugh since high school are coming to the Supreme Court nominee’s defense after allegations of sexual misconduct were leveled at the judge this week. 09-14-2018 Abigail Robertson CBNNEWS.COM…
‘God I Can’t Thank U Enough’: Odell Beckham Drops to Knees on the Football Field and Praises God for Healing Him Sep 14, 2018
“Mind. Body. Soul. Spirit. God I can’t thank U enough for completely puttin me back together and givin me another opportunity…” -Odell Beckham Jr. News Staff : Sep 13, 2018 : CBN News [CBN News] New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr….
Prayer Alert News: UK, Europe, and Worldwide Sep 14, 2018
Praise Reports Mission Academy Live Ghana: rescued from slavery Europe Vatican City: C-9 and sexual abuse Poland will block EU sanctions against Hungary Putin: Novichok suspects not criminals British Isles and Ireland Brexit and ‘a leadership challenge’ Response on…
Mexico: Hit Man Pulled the Trigger Point Blank against a Pastor, But the Gun Wouldn’t Fire Sep 12, 2018
“Whenever a Christian starts to engage in social work—for example setting up a drug rehabilitation clinic or organizing youth work—that is a direct threat to the activities and interests of organized crime because it takes the youth away from them, so it is a…
Federal Court Rebukes Planned Parenthood, Lets Missouri Enforce Abortion Regulations Sep 12, 2018
The abortion organization fears that the rules will force its Columbia facility to stop committing abortions and interfere with efforts to start abortions in Kansas City, Joplin, and Springfield. All of this would leave one St. Louis location as the state’s only…
Stand for the Flag, Kneel for the Cross’: GA Cheerleaders Accused of Supporting Police Brutality, REALLY? Sep 8, 2018
Cheerleaders at Dodge County High School in Georgia got an unexpected response to their sale of a certain T-shirt to help finance their participation in cheerleading competitions. The T-shirt artwork included this statement: “In Dodge County, we stand for the…
Millions Secretly ‘Turning To Christ’ In Indonesia Sep 8, 2018
Many Christians are attending the Pentecostal Church in Indonesia (GBI). JAKARTA, INDONESIA (ANS – September 8, 2018)– Millions of Indonesians are becoming Christians, often secretly, but authorities refuse to recognize this trend in the world’s largest Muslim nation,…