I watched 'YES MAN', a recent movie by Jim Carrey last night. It's simply the story of a bank worker who had developed an extreme negative attitude towards life after his wife has left him. He avoided friends and socialising, rented movies and refused to pick his phone calls up. His outlook on life was really bleak until he met an old friend who invited him to an empowerment seminar. He eventually made it there and was challenged by the speaker to make a covenant of saying YES to every opportunity. This changed his life forever.
He started saying YES until he took it to the extreme. The surprising thing about it all was that it worked. It presented him with the opportunities he could never have dreamed of ;
1. He learnt how to fly a plane
2. He learnt how to speak Korean
3. He met a girl he truly loved
4. He went bungee jumping
5. He travelled spontaneously
6. He gave out loans indiscriminately and ended up being promoted
7. He built friendships through the loans he gave which paid off as they all returned his favours one way or the other
There were other things he did not worthy of mention but the point is he said YES and it revolutionised his life. Because he had lived life on an extreme NO, he needed an extreme YES to develop a healthy rhythm of facing life head-on. 2010 is a time to say YES. YES to those God-given dreams, YES to those God-inspired business ideas, YES to overcoming those sins that doth easily beset us, YES to loving people you wouldn't ordinarily come close to, YES to living life like God intended, YES! YES!! YES!!!
When you decide to say YES, God's Grace is available to back you up. Remember Mary, when she was visited by Gabriel and given the message of being the channel through which the Messiah would come, she said YES. Look at how it's rendered in the Message translation:
And Mary said,
"YES, I see it all now:
I'm the Lord's maid, ready to serve
Let it be with me
just as you say (Luke 1v38)
I'll leave you with these words from John Wesley:
Do all the good you can - YES
By all the means you can - YES
In all the ways you can - YES
In all the places you can - YES
At all the times you can - YES
To all the people you can - YES
As long as you ever can - YES
*I've added the YES at the end of each line*
Thursday, 7 January 2010
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
2010 -The Year of the Manifestation of the Fullness of Times
Happy New Year! 2010 is finally here! I must say my anticipation was quite high primarily because of the things God has been stirring in my heart and I'm excited to be alive and well in what might turn to be one of my greatest years on planet earth. Anyway, so much for me... I'll share with you what I feel God the Holy Spirit will be doing from 2010 and beyond. Every year when God gives a word or a theme, it is to propel us to pursue primarily within that particular timeframe the things for which God has already apprehended us in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12)
The process of acquiring inheritance
Galatians 4:4
"But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons"
The Apostle Paul in the letter to the Galatians wrote the above-mentioned verses whilst explaining the difference between faith and law. Interestingly, he uses the analogy of acquiring inheritance to justify his claims. In doing this, Paul mentions a critical truth - "the fullness of the time". Time is crucial to the heir apparent acquiring the inheritance bequeathed. According to Galatians 4:1, if the heir is a child, then he/she must wait for the time SET by the Father in order to enjoy the inheritance even though it is already the child's. If the heir is an adult, however, the inheritance can only be accessed and enjoyed after the demise of the one who willed it (Hebrews 9:16). Either way, acquiring inheritance is indeed a process of time!
Positionally, in Christ, we already have our inheritance (1 Timothy 6:17b, Ephesians 1:14,18, 1 Corinthians 3:21,22). It is so vast and huge that it spans both our temporal and eternal lifespan. It's prepared to meet every need and want and planned to give us a rich and glorious lifestyle. It's so inexhaustible that we can't outlive it yet so elemental we can't live without it. It's like having a portion of cake that has everything and satisfies every taste bud and craving! However, experientially, we are all at different levels of accessing and possessing our inheritance. The Father sets up kairos moments that enable us progressively access and possess our inheritance just like He gave Israel the Promised Land in bits even though the entire land had already been given to them by God (Deuteronomy 7:22).
What time is it?
*The greek understanding of time indicates that it occurs in 2 forms; Chronos and Kairos. Chronos refers to chronological time - days, weeks, months, years whilst Kairos refers to an appointed time or an opportune time. For instance, when a woman is pregnant, she spends nine months of chronos time in pregnancy waiting for her child but when she goes into labour, the Kairos time for the birth of her child has come.*
I mentioned earlier that the Father sets up Kairos moments for us to access our inheritance; these kairos moments from God are indicative of His Favour, Plans and Purposes. When the fullness of times come, these kairos moments seem to converge with the chronos time bringing about massive breakthroughs, huge release of favour, widespread demonstration of power and incredible harvest of souls into the Kingdom. Things are set in motion or accelerated to a high degree. Things erstwhile found difficult become easy to overcome, the one at the bottom of the corporate ladder suddenly surges to the top of the establishment...all because of the fullness of times; the proper time, the perfect time...
I'd like to quickly illustrate further with the example of David from the Scriptures.
David was anointed King of Israel when he was seventeen and then all sorts of tests and trouble hit him. In fact, the pressure became so intense he had to run to exile for safety and refuge. For thirteen years, he was more or less a vagabond with a ragtag company of 'soldiers'. However, when the 'fullness of times' came for David;
1. Saul, the incumbent King, died (1 Chronicles 10:13-14)
2. "All Israel came together to make him king at Hebron" (1 Chronicles 11:1-3)
3. "David became more and more powerful, because the Lord Almighty was with him" (1 Chronicles 11:9)
4. David's army grew so much so that it was compared to God's army (1 Chronicles 13:22)
5. People from all over came "fully determined to make David king over all Israel" (1 Chronicles 12:38)
6. There was continuous celebration in David's house and joy in Israel (1 Chronicles 12:39-40)
7. David succeeded in 'bringing' the Presence of God back to pre-eminence in Israel (1 Chronicles 13 - 16:3)
8. Hiram, King of Tyre, sent servants and resources for the construction of David's Palace
WOW!
Let me explain this further
The Power of 10
10 is a unique and interesting number both from a natural (mathematical) and biblical standpoint. In the natural order of numbers, digits change order whenever they reach a 10 or a denomination of 10. For instance, 0-9 is referred to as Units. No number between this range is able to change this order except you move on to 10. Instantly the number order changes to Tens. Again, for the number order to graduate from Tens, it must reach 100 (a denomination of 10) and so on and so forth. Biblically, 10 represent government, order, measure, law, trial & testing and fullness. One of the combinations for 10 is 3 and 7. These numbers often frequently describe God's fullness/completeness and perfection, together they imply God's 'perfect fullness'. So many things become clearer in the light of this...e.g. Tithe, which is one tenth, is usually seen as a portion of a whole, however, it is a portion that is complete in itself.
So what's the point?
Chronologically, we completed the 1st decade of the millennium at the end of 2009. 2010 represents a new decade and a new order. Spiritually, 2010 is a huge kairos year where all things are possible and no good thing is withheld from those that love God. It’s PERFECT AND COMPLETE TIMING! These two timeframes converge IN 2010 and there's going to be an eruption of Grace, Power and Prosperity like never before. This fullness of times is necessary for the decade ahead most especially, that is, 2010 - 2019. The Kingdom of God will so GREATLY advance that kingdoms of this world would start to become the kingdoms of our God. Also, the darkness would be so intense for those on the evil side, so the revs and truths from God's Word and Presence you get now will equip you for the challenges ahead. Receive this word and position yourself as 2010 gets under way...
* Interpreting the Times - Chuck Pierce*
The process of acquiring inheritance
Galatians 4:4
"But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons"
The Apostle Paul in the letter to the Galatians wrote the above-mentioned verses whilst explaining the difference between faith and law. Interestingly, he uses the analogy of acquiring inheritance to justify his claims. In doing this, Paul mentions a critical truth - "the fullness of the time". Time is crucial to the heir apparent acquiring the inheritance bequeathed. According to Galatians 4:1, if the heir is a child, then he/she must wait for the time SET by the Father in order to enjoy the inheritance even though it is already the child's. If the heir is an adult, however, the inheritance can only be accessed and enjoyed after the demise of the one who willed it (Hebrews 9:16). Either way, acquiring inheritance is indeed a process of time!
Positionally, in Christ, we already have our inheritance (1 Timothy 6:17b, Ephesians 1:14,18, 1 Corinthians 3:21,22). It is so vast and huge that it spans both our temporal and eternal lifespan. It's prepared to meet every need and want and planned to give us a rich and glorious lifestyle. It's so inexhaustible that we can't outlive it yet so elemental we can't live without it. It's like having a portion of cake that has everything and satisfies every taste bud and craving! However, experientially, we are all at different levels of accessing and possessing our inheritance. The Father sets up kairos moments that enable us progressively access and possess our inheritance just like He gave Israel the Promised Land in bits even though the entire land had already been given to them by God (Deuteronomy 7:22).
What time is it?
*The greek understanding of time indicates that it occurs in 2 forms; Chronos and Kairos. Chronos refers to chronological time - days, weeks, months, years whilst Kairos refers to an appointed time or an opportune time. For instance, when a woman is pregnant, she spends nine months of chronos time in pregnancy waiting for her child but when she goes into labour, the Kairos time for the birth of her child has come.*
I mentioned earlier that the Father sets up Kairos moments for us to access our inheritance; these kairos moments from God are indicative of His Favour, Plans and Purposes. When the fullness of times come, these kairos moments seem to converge with the chronos time bringing about massive breakthroughs, huge release of favour, widespread demonstration of power and incredible harvest of souls into the Kingdom. Things are set in motion or accelerated to a high degree. Things erstwhile found difficult become easy to overcome, the one at the bottom of the corporate ladder suddenly surges to the top of the establishment...all because of the fullness of times; the proper time, the perfect time...
I'd like to quickly illustrate further with the example of David from the Scriptures.
David was anointed King of Israel when he was seventeen and then all sorts of tests and trouble hit him. In fact, the pressure became so intense he had to run to exile for safety and refuge. For thirteen years, he was more or less a vagabond with a ragtag company of 'soldiers'. However, when the 'fullness of times' came for David;
1. Saul, the incumbent King, died (1 Chronicles 10:13-14)
2. "All Israel came together to make him king at Hebron" (1 Chronicles 11:1-3)
3. "David became more and more powerful, because the Lord Almighty was with him" (1 Chronicles 11:9)
4. David's army grew so much so that it was compared to God's army (1 Chronicles 13:22)
5. People from all over came "fully determined to make David king over all Israel" (1 Chronicles 12:38)
6. There was continuous celebration in David's house and joy in Israel (1 Chronicles 12:39-40)
7. David succeeded in 'bringing' the Presence of God back to pre-eminence in Israel (1 Chronicles 13 - 16:3)
8. Hiram, King of Tyre, sent servants and resources for the construction of David's Palace
WOW!
Let me explain this further
The Power of 10
10 is a unique and interesting number both from a natural (mathematical) and biblical standpoint. In the natural order of numbers, digits change order whenever they reach a 10 or a denomination of 10. For instance, 0-9 is referred to as Units. No number between this range is able to change this order except you move on to 10. Instantly the number order changes to Tens. Again, for the number order to graduate from Tens, it must reach 100 (a denomination of 10) and so on and so forth. Biblically, 10 represent government, order, measure, law, trial & testing and fullness. One of the combinations for 10 is 3 and 7. These numbers often frequently describe God's fullness/completeness and perfection, together they imply God's 'perfect fullness'. So many things become clearer in the light of this...e.g. Tithe, which is one tenth, is usually seen as a portion of a whole, however, it is a portion that is complete in itself.
So what's the point?
Chronologically, we completed the 1st decade of the millennium at the end of 2009. 2010 represents a new decade and a new order. Spiritually, 2010 is a huge kairos year where all things are possible and no good thing is withheld from those that love God. It’s PERFECT AND COMPLETE TIMING! These two timeframes converge IN 2010 and there's going to be an eruption of Grace, Power and Prosperity like never before. This fullness of times is necessary for the decade ahead most especially, that is, 2010 - 2019. The Kingdom of God will so GREATLY advance that kingdoms of this world would start to become the kingdoms of our God. Also, the darkness would be so intense for those on the evil side, so the revs and truths from God's Word and Presence you get now will equip you for the challenges ahead. Receive this word and position yourself as 2010 gets under way...
* Interpreting the Times - Chuck Pierce*
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