Potentials

I wanted to write a personal blog today. We all have just got done with Christmas and this year seemed to be more special in the midst of heartache. With my wife’s dad passing a few weeks prior to and then 4 days prior to Christmas I did her grandmas funeral, has caused again the evaluation of life.

Family is what is most important and this year seemed to be a greater appreciation of each other. I enjoyed my kids being home more than ever. Having all of us together is a great joy and maybe one of the greatest.  Memories flooded me this year of years ago, as I reflected on the struggles of raising 3 teenage boys, launching a ministry and trying to hold balance. In some ways you want to relive certain times to do things different and in other places to be able to hide the memories deeper. As you’re around your grown kids you see the places you should have shored up, but you also see the great accomplishments you made with the core values they carry. Even though their life might not be where you want it to be, the core values will eventually get them there.

As we all get older we see that life is more fragile than we care to admit. The moments seem to tic by into years and suddenly you realize there is not that much time left. We re-evaluate thinking looking backward will possible fix things now, but evaluation is not to see the wrong but the right we have done. Re-evaluating is actually the looking to see the road markers that solidifies we are on the right path in life and decisions.

We need to be living each moment to the “fullness of life”.  As a Christian the new life we each has been given is to leave lasting impact on others. For myself there seems to always be so much crowding in, taking precious moments that cannot be given back unless the Lord redeems the time. So many make demands on me and sometimes the demands are not necessary. It is time to only do what I am really to do. I see so much untapped potential in myself and have decide I must crowd out the distractions and begin to crowd into the untapped areas. It is time my later years far exceed the former and a greater weight of glory I would carry.

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Comparison of Congregation Verses Apostolic Center

This was such   good teaching I decidedd to post my notes from listeing to it. May we all gain understanding.

Comparisons of

Congregation Church to Apostolic Center

By Peter Wagner Sept 2012

The Apostolic reformation is now growing faster than the world population. This movement actually started in Africa around 1900 as churches moved from denominational oversight to independent African Churches. Current Apostolic Kingdom Centers are moving to the forefront to become places of regional impact. Denominational structures are territorial. Apostolic Centers are regional. Apostolic Centers are hubs for other like faith churches and ministries. All things in the following charts are not black and white but are Peter Wagner’s observations of ideals and patterns that have emerged.

	Congregation (typical church)	Apostolic Center (Ecclesia)
Name	Reflects inward dynamic	Reflects outward dynamic
Government	Pastor    – cares for needs	Apostle – mobilizes people
	Elders supervise the pastor Final authority a group	Elders support the Apostle Final authority – Apostle
	Little authority designated to people	Large amounts of authority designated   to people.
Staff	Pastors and teachers	Apostle Prophet Pastors teachers evangelist
	Pastor Employee	Apostle lifetime leader
	Leadership style is conformity	Leadership style is creativity
	Rules/ followers	Expression/ risk takers
	Tries to not make mistakes	Plans for mistakes
	Mono Task	Multitask
	One speaker	Many speakers
Focus	On the congregation	On the kingdom
	Self and the structure	People connected with the kingdom
	Self centered = small vision	Kingdom centered = large vision
	One mountain forming culture –   religious	All 7 mountains forming culture
	Pastor supports the church	Center supports the Apostle
Operation	All social expectations must be meet,   worship, prayer, care, etc. This comes natural.	All social expectations must be meet,   worship, prayer, care, etc. This must be worked at.
	Fellowship groups	Ecclesia, legislative body
Profile	More passive and peaceful, weaker	More aggressive and stronger
Prayer	Petition, self needs	Decreeing and Kingdom needs
	Avoid demonic confrontation	Creates demonic confrontation
Worship	Intimacy, bedroom type, loveaholics	Throne room, productive, workaholics
	Planned out, love songs	Free flowing Throne room songs
	Feminine	Masculine
Revelation	Interpret the written word	Written word and prophecy
Money	Maintenance decided by committee	Advancement decided by apostle
Training	Saints trained to fit into program	Saints trained to find destiny
	Jobs assigned by gift	Gift creates opportunity
Joining	By people you meet	By common vision

Culture War

We all see the culture war occurring in front of us daily. We hear reports, have discussions and form our opinions how to resolve things. Many Christians fight for cultural preferences as if they are heaven or hell, or eternal issues. Then when we bring forth things of the kingdom we don’t fight for these or absolute truth with the same passion and we wonder why the church is losing the culture war. We are not only not relevant, but have allowed the culture around us, by our own voice, to be most relevant .

As Children of God we are not fighting for political gains, cultural influences or even to change culture. We are to be children first of a spiritual political group call the Ecclessia of the Kingdom. We are to be part of an economic group called the Blessed of God. Philippians says our conversation is in Heaven. The word conversation means business, conduct, administration, and employment. We are to be concerned about the economy of God, which is the spiritual well being of Gods Kingdom on the earth and how it influences the hearts of men. We are to bring the influences of the Kingdom of God and allow truth to influence first the culture of the individual heart, to the point of it bringing cultural change because of the internal kingdom shifts within those hearts.  We can easily see this pattern in scripture as people abandoned idols, changed religious practices and changed their values, and what they spent their lives on as truth prevailed in their hearts and caused cultural shifts in their lives. When enough of the masses shifted individually we then saw a cultural shift within a nation. This is a spirtual awakening and not convincing words of mans wisdom. This pattern is in scripture and in human history.

The real war is not about political or economic agendas. The real war of culture right now is if the Kingdom of God will hold influence in the earth and if the souls of men will be influenced by it. It is a war between good and evil. Between darkness and light. It is a war between the tree of knowledge and the tree of life. A war between the breath of God or the breath of man. It is a war of waht our focus is, what is temporal and passing or what is eternal and everlasting.

What Does God Say?

Today I woke up fighting overwhelming discouragement. I have fought this before but today it was so much stronger than any time in the past. As I wrestled with this, the desire to just quit was the thing I was fighting. I was remembering the prophetic words over my life. The mandate for the state the Lord had spoken. I was also reflecting on the suffering over the years and the things I have had to endure. I know another race is in front of me. Do I have the strength to run it? Will the words be fulfilled or would another end up finishing for me? Am I truly a wise master builder? If others are not running with me I just don’t know if I can do this next leg. Where are the prophets who are to be standing alongside me?  Will anyone run with me? Am I going alone? I know what God has said but it sure seems to be not unfolding. I guess today like David I must encouragement myself again in the Lord.

As I started to write this and got the first paragraph typed out the phone rings. A prophet from another state calls me directed by God to call at that exact moment. He speaks prophetically to me for 20 minutes. He knows nothing and I have had no conversation with him for some time. He starts by a warning of the prophetic attack now started against those young ones under me. (confirming what God was showing me last night)That I have been appointed to pray for them (God spoke this in the night for me to step things up)and this is why I today have felt such an attack.  He speaks the exact scripture God called me with Luke 4:18. He speaks of who I am to minister to. He sees a vision and gives this to me. He speaks of the forerunner call, the investment of God and the Holiness needed. (Holiness is my focus and God is giving me much deep revelation on it recently).  When it is all done the discouragement is lifted and I am ready to face the day.

Some times when we hit the wall like this God steps in and bring you back on course. He knows what we can endure and the breaking point as well. He also can send anyone, at anytime, from any distance, to speak directly to us with a sure word, on time and filled with Him. If you are fighting discouragement God knows your heart and he will send His voice to you once again. He will never give up on the destiny of our lives. It is the carnal mind that fights against God. The warfare rest there. Let your heart connect with His heart and there will be no room for discouragement.