Tag Archives: do not shrink from death

M12I CROWN Calling Real Ordinary [Wo]men Now!

The following are the four steps the body of Christ must make as one before it can begin to run. The first three have been addressed. The fourth step may seem way out “there” and it is, but not when the first three steps are taken seriously and given the time they deserve.

Step #1 – turn from sin—repent

Step #2 – share your testimony

Step #3 – plead the blood of the Lamb

Step #4 – answer God’s personalized assignment for you while not shrinking from death

The Lord is THERE as Jehovah Shammah and His hand is not EXAMPLE CROWN CONNECTIONSshortened that He cannot get his purpose, plan and will to you and me for our lives while we are on this planet. But it seems we always ask the question:

What can one person do? Allow me to give six examples:

First Example: Irina is a believer who lives in Krymsk, a city of about 75,000 people in southern Russia. When an Every Home Crusade (EHC) team arrived and began mobilizing believers to reach every family with the Gospel, Irina eagerly volunteered to help. After several days of participating in home-to-home evangelism, Irina had a powerful dream. In her dream, Irina said she saw someone who was like Daniel’s “Ancient of Days” (Dan. 7:9), standing above a harvest field. And then He spoke to her saying, “See how white the field has turned, but there are no people for the harvest!”

Irina believed this dream was her calling from God to be a Great Commission evangelist. She didn’t stop to think about it twice. Irina went to work! EHC’s team leader, Alexander Sakharov, reported, “She went out every day, with or without others to help her, in good weather and bad. Even though every home in Krymsk has since been reached with the Gospel, Irina’s mission continues.” Now she is continuing the work with follow-up, in hospitals, with students and at the gymnasium. She is also sharing the Gospel home to home in nearby cities. It is a great encouragement when people find their calling. It inspires others to action.”[1]

Second Example: Videos are available about remarkable community transformations as the result of prayer [see www.sentinelgroup.org ]. Ruth Ruibal tells about her city, Calle, Columbia, where 60,000 Christians jam the municipal soccer stadium for all-night prayer vigils every ninety days. A multi-billion dollar drug cartel was brought down in the late 1990’s. It happened through unity of the spiritual leadership. That unity came with a great price tag— Ruth’s husband. He was a local pastor who fought for the unity of the pastoral leadership and was martyred for it.

Third Example: Chuck Ripka gives his testimony in his book, God Out of The Box. He started out as a construction worker and is now an international banker. It happened by his obedience to the Lord one day at a time. He stopped praying for people and started praying with them, and he has empowered his employees in his bank in Minnesota to do the same; people go to his bank for prayer! His faithful obedience, and that of his team, spread to the capitol and beyond. His faith-at-work story received international attention; revival has come to his state.

Fourth Example: Cheri B., who you read about in Chapter 17, took her son Josiah and his friend John to India and Sri Lanka on a missions trip in February, 2008. Before leaving, she memorized Habakkuk 3:19 in the Amplified Bible, “The Lord God is my strength, my personal bravery and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hind’s feet, and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering or responsibility]!” It gave her great comfort, courage and confidence in the Lord.

She would need it. Persecution of the Christians in Sri Lanka was very serious. A pastor was killed and his wife and child seriously injured. They met in a house church where Cheri spoke. She and her mission team brought much encouragement to the weary, yet joyful, Church there. The most joyous part is that she witnessed the Church overcome its division and come together as one. Her February 12 email said, “It’s a powerful position to be in when the Church arises as the Warrior Bride of Christ to take her stand against the enemy. Amazing!”

Fifth Example: Although Kathy F.’s parents were Christians and her father had seminary training, conversations about Jesus were infrequent at home. After two divorces, Kathy descended to a breaking point. It was then a friend shared with her about the Holy Spirit. She gave her a book about the Holy Spirit. Kathy grew hungry for the Word as she learned about who He is.

She was content to work and delight herself in the Lord when a friend kept hounding her to call “this guy.” That’s the last thing I need, she thought.

The friend would not quit, so she called. Not home. Great! But, he had caller I.D. and returned the call. He said all the right things—wanting to honor the Lord. He had been through a fourteen year wilderness himself.

Their relationship grew resulting in marriage where they were determined to put God first. Kathy went to a revival service where she prayed for God to give her husband a hunger for the Word. When she came home from work the next day he was reading his Bible. He had seen a message on television by Pastor John Hagee that impacted his life. His hunger for the Lord increased. While in his pickup one day—he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Kathy’s marriage to Mark has prospered as they both committed to each other—placing the Lord first. They have been married for over ten years, are both learning about the healing ministry, and have gone to classes to learn how to pray for people as the Holy Spirit leads,.

As a railroad engineer, Mark prays for his co-workers, and Kathy listens to people around her in the marketplace. As the Lord directs, she prays with them. She also volunteers with the hospital chaplaincy. Her desire is to help others prepare their heart for healing in all areas. She guides them in prayers of heart preparation she learned from author Joan Hunter that she learned from Joan’s books: Healing the Heart and Healing the Whole Man Handbook.

Misty as example Is. 49:6Sixth Example: Misty R. has seen many answers to prayer as she allows God to work in her life. She exhibits no traces of serious eye and facial wounds from a head-on collision she experienced at the age of thirteen.

A friend taught Misty to pray specifically and to believe God to meet “all” her needs, even very small things. She started to keep a journal of her prayers in a spiral notebook. She drew columns, one for requests and one for answers, expecting God to answer every one of them. She prayed for a big and tall man’s size shirt. The Lord led her to a brand new one, but also one for her son. He always gave more than she asked. Twice, when she and her husband needed money for car repairs or such, her mother called to say a mysterious cow got out, was killed and the sheriff gave them the cow; they took it to the stockyards and sent Misty the money.

Next, she learned to ask big, believe big, and receive big from her great big God. After going to a Beth Moore Bible study, she prayed, “God, please use me to speak to hurting women. Would you want to use Amy, Cheri, Judy and me as a team?” Misty also claimed John 14:12, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

Misty’s three friends all lived in other towns and they were not technically a team. But, the phone rang, “Misty sit down . . . . My brother and wife in South Africa called. The women have been praying for God to send women to bring encouragement.”

The women in Africa prayed for twenty-four hours for the four ladies to know if they were to come. The Lord gave Misty, Isaiah 49:6, “I will make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

The Lord gave the same Scripture to the women in Africa. The lady from Africa said, “Go get your passports and your way will be paid.”

The women decided it was time to tell their husbands, and the LORD gave them a temporary name, C.R.O.W.N. – Calling Real Ordinary [Wo]men Now.

You can imagine the spiritual battle the women went through in order to have the $14,500 for all four to go in only four weeks time. With no fundraiser and never asking for any of it, God provided. “When God places an order, God pays the bill,” Misty said. In other words, it was all accomplished in His strength, no human factor whatsoever—and heaven was brought to earth for them.

The women spent fourteen days in Africa. They spoke at a women’s’ retreat, participated in all-night prayer meetings, sang in orphanages, and met with people who were desperate for the Lord. On three different occasions, people came up to Misty and said, “I have to tell you there is a white light around you. Satan is attacking you, but God is protecting you.”

In addition, Misty realized that Ephesians 6, which tells about the armor God gives, provides no protection for the back—because He never intends us to retreat.

Misty asked her hostess, “What do you think of us in America?”

Her reply, “Quite frankly, we don’t think there will be many Americans in heaven. You have heaven on earth. You are so busy, busy, busy. I have to go before heaven every day and pray for water for my baby.”

Seventh Example: Your story goes here.

Jehovah Shammah - HankListen to these words from a man’s viewpoint. Chuck Pierce, president of Glory of Zion International Ministries says, “Women are in the forefront because they model conception, travail and birthing better than men. I believe God is asking the same question He asked at Abraham’s tent, ‘Where are My Sarahs?’ He is saying, ‘I want to conceive My purpose in this hour to bring forth My inheritance in the nations. I need Sarahs filled with faith who can conceive and give birth to this plan.’”[2]

Where are the faithful Sarahs? Where are the daughters of Hagar who now believe? Where are American women? Do we have to have our heaven on earth removed before we will get serious with God and take a stand? Will the African lady continue to be right or wrong?

President of Harvest Evangelism, Inc., Ed Silvoso, in his book, Women: God’s Secret Weapon, believes there has to be a rematch between the devil and the woman. After all, the first deception was between the serpent and the woman before the man was influenced. Silvoso writes, “I call it a rematch because it will involve the original contenders: human beings and the devil himself. Just like their predecessor in the Garden, women will play a central role. Except that this time, as God has predicted, Eve’s daughters will win.”[3]

Another man encourages women. Author and teacher, Francis Frangipane says, “Yes, indeed, there is a battle; there still exists ‘enmity between (the serpent) and the woman’ (Gen. 3:15). Satan especially hates you because it was your seed that bruised the serpent’s head. It is amazing to me that God chose to bring His Son into the world, not through the heavens nor even through a woman impregnated by man, but through a woman made pregnant by God! God Himself came to earth through the woman’s power to give birth!”[4]

God chose Mary to give birth to his Son and now He has chosen you and me to give birth to the end-time harvest of souls who help make up His Bride. Your testimony is important! Your written and spoken testimonial words of God’s faithfulness, mercy and love are like throwing Jesus’ blood into Satan’s face. Do it!

Just as Denise’s words help us now, your words will help many. We need each other, and we must ban together as one body and one voice. I make this commitment to you—to share your words. Go to the Contact Us page at my blog: www.godwhoareyou.org. Please let us hear from you. Tell us your story RIGHT HERE

This book can be a great discipleship tool to use in sharing with your best friend at home, at work, or in a small group. And, if you have a friend living close or a distance from you, strongly consider going through the workbook with them. Please utilize this FREE eCourse Bonus to the book that offers one chapter per week in fifteen-minute, illustrated increments per day via email. I can emphasize the high points and share more information with you through the course than are in these eBooks and workbook–especially with images. It’s like having a virtual tutor. This is what I will be doing until Jesus returns.

You may sign up for my monthly GOD BLOG RIGHT HERE, especially if you are completing this e-course. I don’t want to lose contact with you.

There is a  Leader’s Guide to the God Who Are You? Bible Study: Your House Can Change the World. It  is designed for someone who has never led a Bible study. It also contains an answer key to the exercises. The guide has instructions for Each One Teach One at the back, and the Joshua/Jericho Prayer Walking Guide that utilizes the Hebrew Names of God in praying for your neighborhood. Can you imagine how quickly the harvest would come if we all did this? It would be ‘something worth seeing’––the Ruth Church!

My calling and assignment from God is from Revelation 1:19: “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now, and what will take place later.” I have accomplished the first part, writing what I have seen.

Only we, together, can fulfill the ‘what is now’ portion with our combined testimonies as we work in the harvest field.

Expect God to show you also what will take place later––in dreams and visions with the Word confirming them. Expect anything and everything and share it with us. God bless you!

Who are we? We are the Mature Military Warrior Bride with one voice. We are [wo]men with a passion for Jesus!

I used to ask GOD to HELP ME.

Then I asked if I might

HELP HIM.

I ended up asking GOD

To do HIS WORK

THROUGH ME. —Hudson Taylor

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[1] EHC Letter from Dick Eastman, April 27, 2004

[2] Chuck Pierce, “Women Transforming the World,” SpiritLed Woman Magazine (April/May, 2000), p. 15.

[3] Ed Silvoso, Women: God’s Secret Weapon, (Regal, 2001, Ventura, CA) p. 74-75.

[4] Ministries of Francis Frangipane; email: francis1@frangipane.org via ElijahList Publications 310 2nd Ave. SE, Albany, OR 97321 www.elijahlist.com; email: info@ elijahlist.net Phone 541-926-3250, “A Word to Women of God-You Were Created to Birth Breakthrough on the Earth,” accessed Sept. 10, 2007.

M12H Overcome Fear of Death

The Scripture for this chapter—overcoming by the blood and by the word of our testimony—was another theme Scripture for our women’s group. However, the last part of it was not on our promotional material. “Not loving our own lives so much as to shrink from death,” means we must face the physical part of death when it comes to following Jesus as His disciple. This initially seemed too hard for our group to bear. Letting dreams die, as an example, is only a spiritual aspect.

overcome fear of deathRuth said to Naomi: “May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me” (Ruth 1:17). This is true commitment. Is our commitment to Jesus Christ this strong? We need to make this decision now before we should ever be faced with it. One member of our group had a vivid dream which brought her to this choice on February 8, 2003. It was Denise. She fell asleep listening to Scripture tapes. She was praying for God to fill her with His Spirit and to change her.

Denise overcame fear of death for Jesus Christ’s sake

Denise dreamed she was in a huge, tall, apartment-type building. Suddenly, like cell phones, everyone had a small, hand-held computer. She wrote:

On the top floor, people were dressed in blue body suits including faces masked in blue. They were playing a musical type instrument, swaying back and forth. On the back of their heads at the base of their skulls were blue tubes like a vacuum hose leading to a laptop computer in the center of the room. On the screen was another blue screen with a diamond-shaped box that turned slowly; it rippled like when touching water. It was all evil, and addictive like a video game and brainwashing.

My two friends and I were awakened suddenly with yelling to get out of the building—very urgent. On the street, everyone had the same laptop computers. Leaflets were passed out—folded in quarters. Everyone who looked at it seemed entranced.

Back in the apartment was a man watching us very closely. We pretended to be engrossed in the computer, but were not. He put his cell phone away. I grabbed my friend, who had a leaflet, to take her into the bathroom to warn her that this was all evil. As we got to the bathroom, two mean-looking men came out. They had sores all over their faces. In the bathroom, two more men were standing in front of the sink, looking into the mirror. One man ran his hand through his hair and the red hair that was on top of his head was in his hand. He said, “Look, I am a new creation.” And then I saw a razor in the sink and he proceeded to shave the sides and back of his head and his beard and when he was done (like a second later) he started praising God and singing. The guy next to him did the same thing, but he had his hair.

I felt the Holy Spirit come upon me and I wanted to join in, but I stopped myself. A few moments earlier, I looked at my friend and she was just like those men we saw leaving the bathroom. She had sores on her face—looking mean and full of hate. As I listened to the men singing praise, I knew that if I joined in, I would either be killed or put in prison. I chose to join in.

There is no other choice for me. As I make that decision right now, I know that no matter what happens to me, I will sing praises to God and that what I might suffer through will only be short lived. Next, my husband woke me up.

Jehovah Shammah - do not shrink from death

The Lord has given Denise a message for Christians

She is very passionate when she says, “I just want to share something that is deep in my heart. Most people do not realize the persecution of Christians that is going on today. In fact, most people do not even have a clue of the history of Christian persecution and martyrdom. Just going from 33 A.D. thru the year 2000 there have been roughly 69,421,230 Christians who have been martyred for their faith. The surprising number is that 65 percent of this persecution has taken place in the last 100 years.[1]

“It is time to WAKE UP! WAKE UP! Stop sleeping, sleepy Christians. It is time to become REAL with our faith! Be in God’s WORD like never before! Share your FAITH like never before! While we have the FREEDOM to do so! It doesn’t hurt to speak out to protect those freedoms that so many men and women in our history have bled and died for! We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but we all know that our world is changing and things are not going to be as they once were! We cannot afford to be caught off guard! We must stand together as ONE voice! More importantly we must fight the good fight, keep up the race to the finish and keep the faith! SO WAKE UP, Sleepy Christians! WAKE UP!”

[1] D.C. Talk with Voice of the Martyrs, Jesus Freaks, Vol. 11, (Bethany House, 2002, Bloomington, MN), p. 352-353.