Word at Work Ministries

Word at Work February 9 2012

2012-01-24T21:05:14Z

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9
Scripture: John 10:1-6

In John 10:1-6, Jesus outlines the key characteristics of a good shepherd. He says, “’Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.’ Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.” One of the primary characteristics of shepherding is the willingness to pioneer by walking ahead of others. It is the willingness to go where God says to go so that what we teach comes from experience. God does not tolerate hypocrisy. True shepherding means living on the cutting edge of God’s truth and following the leadership of the Spirit. Shepherding for a prophet means fully releasing what we are hearing even though we know it is going to create division. Compromise comes when we diminish a message (Deuteronomy 12:32, Jeremiah 26:2) in order to gain a following and finance what we want to do. Those who said yes to the Spirit in the early 1900’s paid the price of persecution. The early Pentecostal’s had to pioneer something that was not well accepted. For them, it was costly. But they learned something about pioneering with the Lord. Persecution is the seedbed of advancing the Kingdom. If we, in faith, step out and follow Him, He will advance the Kingdom. True shepherds are pioneers and they are willing to pay the price to pioneer in the Spirit regardless of whether anybody follows or not. Let’s pray for the restoration of the spirit of the pioneer for everyone of the five-fold ministry. It is desperately needed.

Word at Work February 8 2012

2012-01-24T21:04:30Z

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8
Scripture: John 9:35-41

When blindness is healed, revelation comes and worship is released. Jesus said in verse 39, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” The Pharisees were the leaders. And when they heard that statement they said, “Are we blind also?” Jesus’ answer was about transparency and acknowledgement. He said, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.” What was Jesus saying to the leaders of His generation? He was saying, “There is no repentance in your life. Because there is no willingness to change or to come out of your tradition, then you are blind.” Can we walk out of the priestly passivity that now rules much of the church? Can we walk out of decades of tradition in time to save nations? Can we once again see true shepherds releasing the heart of the Living God to the church? Can we see the church rise up and change nations? I believe we can, but that is not going to happen without a spiritual theological transition. Teaching the church how to rule and pastor with the rod of iron could bring this change!

Word at Work February 7 2012

2012-01-24T21:03:47Z

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7
Scripture: John 9:17-34

Jesus healed a blind beggar but did it on the wrong day, which created division and a spiritual inversion. If you are sick is there a wrong day to get set free? What is a spiritual inversion? A spiritual inversion is where religious tradition is overturned often resulting in the followers teaching the leaders. When God goes after tradition, wise men embrace humility and prepare for change. The wisdom of the blind man in his healing brought a revealing of the tradition that held people in captivity and the leaders found themselves being taught. They could not stand the power of the Holy Spirit that turned their tradition on its ear and so they had to throw out the man with the revelation. What would happen to the largest churches in America if suddenly, the 25,000 or 50,000-strong congregations got a revelation of Jesus the Judge and prayed a plumbline into their church over compromise? Would homosexual church leaders survive? Where would they go? Would people continue to feed a beast that has become their captor? What would a Holy Spirit invasion look like? Would the sheep revolt? If Jesus were to remove our blinders, would we see? Come Holy Spirit and invade the church! Let us wake up in the morning and have a whole new wave crashing upon the entire church and let God arise! Now that is something to pray for.

Word at Work February 6 2012

2012-01-24T21:03:18Z

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6
Scripture: John 9:8-16

Jesus chose to do more than to just heal a blind man. He healed him on the Sabbath when it was illegal to do any work. The Holy Spirit led the Great Shepherd to violate tradition that would result in His crucifixion. Try and sell “sacrifice unto death” in a book as God’s best for you now! Jesus brought division. I thought the church was supposed to bring unity, but Jesus was led by the Spirit to do something that brought division. That brings us to the issue of whether the Holy Spirit will generate things that bring division in the church. Jesus certainly did. He brought division into that religious community of no small magnitude. If God is going to cause division, we have to ask, “What is the purpose of that division?”. Perhaps the purpose is to demonstrate to people the stupidity of their tradition and the death and destruction it is bringing. Perhaps that is happening even as we speak. Is the Holy Spirit beginning to release and do things that will bring division in the church? Does Jesus the Judge bring division? Does teaching people that the same Jesus who saves, kills, bring division? The same Jesus who raised the widow’s dead son at Nain, sent an angel and killed Herod. The same Jesus who anointed Peter to heal all the sick in Acts 5 anointed Peter to put Ananias and Sapphira in the grave. Why do we ask God for only the healing anointing? Is God beginning to do things that are bringing division to reveal the imbalance between mercy and justice? Can the church grasp covenant mercy to Mexico means death to the cartels? Do we have the theology to pray death on every cartel member? Jesus killed a fig tree!

Word at Work February 5 2012

2012-01-24T21:02:46Z

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5
Scripture: John 9:1-7

In John 9:1-7, we see Jesus pastoring. He is shepherding the blind man in an unpopular, not very politically correct way. We see Jesus spit on the ground to make clay with His saliva and He anoints the eyes of the blind man and tells him to go wash in the pool. Now I suspect that all observers who were watching this objected to or criticized the method. How weird can a pastor be to spit on the ground, make clay put it in your eyes and tell you to wash it off. Jesus was specific about where to wash! This encounter released God’s wisdom! The number one priority for the restoration of the Biblical shepherd is a willingness to follow the Holy Spirit and do what seems utterly ridiculous in the eyes of people. When our actions and origins are in the Spirit, the fruit proves it. A healed blind man proved Jesus’ actions were God originated. When Jesus is the author of what we preach, people grow. When we yield to culture we have a dumbed-down, seeker-sensitive priesthood more concerned about being successful than obeying God! But the true success is only eternal when the origins are in the Holy Spirit. One of the things that made Jesus so different from the other leaders of the day was His utter and total abandonment to the Spirit and the non-conformity in action that brought. The Holy Spirit is guaranteed to drive us into the teeth of religious tradition. From the whole issue of the Sabbath that Jesus excoriated to the money issues, we have got all of these things today in various and different forms. True success in ministry is not in how many people we attract. That should be obvious in observing Jesus. Some of the same people who liked Jesus early on shouted “Crucify Him, Crucify Him!” at the end. If we base success on the size of our mailing list or the size of the crowd, we have already forfeited dominion. Jesus learned obedience and we have to follow. The foundation of all shepherding is committing to protect the sheep and do whatever the Spirit says, regardless of personal danger.

Word at Work February 4 2012

2012-01-24T21:02:11Z

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4
Scripture: 1 Peter 5:3-9

In 1 Peter 5:3-9, Peter reminded us that if we shepherd like Jesus then the reward is a crown of life that will not fade away. That raises the question of, how does Jesus shepherd? Peter portrayed Jesus as Savior and Judge! Peter said there is a conflict we are going to have with the enemy and we are commanded to prepare the church to resist him in order to be victorious. He also inferred there is a price in this resistance because we must stand up for Christ. That price is adversity and we are going to pay it. Peter made it obvious that the issue of shepherding was the issue of training the church how to go to war with an adversary who was like a roaring lion looking for people to devour. But we are to resist him with everything in our ability and everything in our power. When we get to the book of Revelation we find out that resistance includes a rod of iron with which we strike the enemy. We can strike those who champion the enemy’s agenda with a rod of iron declaring prophetic justice over them. Jesus demonstrated this dimension by speaking to a fruitless fig tree. We can expect the God we serve, “after we have suffered a little”, will deliver us. Peter proclaims that promise. Shepherding means teaching the church how to release the dominion of Christ. Does the average person view a pastor as an agent of God’s dominion? Does our culture look at shepherds as those who teach the church how to handle the dominion of Christ? Do we look at shepherds as the most passive people on the planet? Pastors are ultimate servants sent to help dysfunctional, needy people. Most people view pastors as “turn-the-other-cheek” counselors for people in need, with no ruling authority, no dominion and no demonstration of the judicial Christ. What if God decides to elevate pastors with a judicial anointing? What if pastors pray and champions of evil die like drug dealers, abusers or political and spiritual pimps? Would the fear of the Lord return to the nations if the judicial Christ were to move on our shepherds? It is time to pray for the true emerging shepherds to shoulder their anointing and rise to the occasion. That time is here. Let God arise and our enemies be scattered!

Word at Work February 3 2012

2011-12-30T21:52:00Z

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3
Scripture: 1 Peter 5:1,2

1 Peter 5:1,2 says, “The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;…” The word translated “Shepherd” in verse 2 is poy-mah-ee-no. Peter commanded leaders, which includes all those who are called into five-fold ministry because they carry a specific shepherding function. How has the enemy robbed pastors of their authority and power? Peter lists some temptations that are culprits in this theft. Attitude is critical. Pastoring is one of the toughest jobs in the world because of the words and actions of the saints. Most congregations kill their pastors with criticism and judgment. The natural response to unwarranted criticism is self-pity. When self-pity enters, compulsion follows and power departs. We are talking about the loss of divine authority that equates with the warrior side of Christ in each dimension of the five-fold ministry. An equally dangerous threat to authority is the motivation “…for dishonest gain…” How did we deteriorate into the passivity of the five-fold ministry that we have right now? Failing the mammon test guarantees power loss. Every single one of the five-fold has a pastoring-with-a-rod-of-iron application to impart to the Body of Christ. Because without it, we cannot rise to a place of fullness. How did we get here? The pastorate has been under assault for years. The loss of authority and passivity that reigns in the church today will change. One way to get to this level of passivity is to pursue a crowd-pleasing, mammon-driven biblical model for growth by dumbing down the Word and refusing to speak the truth that is offensive. One burst of Holy Spirit boldness cures that. Pray Holy Spirit boldness for every pastor! Truth offends. The Bible is full of offense. Political correctness is antichrist pimping and it needs to be pastored with a rod of iron!

Word at Work February 2 2012

2011-12-30T21:51:26Z

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2
Scripture: Ephesians 4:7-11, 11-13

When Jesus descended into the depths of the earth and faced hell itself for three days, He stripped principalities and powers of their keys of Hades and Death. Jesus ascended victorious! Once He was ascended, Ephesians 4:11-13 says, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect/tel-i-os man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;,…” the Greek word for pastor is poy-mane. Poy-mane is the noun that identifies the office of the pastor. Poy-mah-ee-no is the verb defining the actions of pastors. Revelation is revolutionary because Jesus pastors with a rod of iron. The rod of iron does not fit with the cultural concept of pastoring! How did the cultural concept of pastoring become so passive? One burst of the Holy Spirit can change this concept. Only tradition can steal the reality and force of a biblical shepherd and what they did. We stand today in a culture who sees the most passive person on the planet as the one who occupies the position of the pastor. Jesus is committed to changing that concept. Whenever the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, the Lord comes by His Spirit and authorizes a flood to restore what has been stolen and what has been lost. I suspect the most militant pastors in the history of the church are about to emerge. The creative God is about to anoint His pastors with a take no prisoners, no holds barred mindset proclaiming, “Here is what the Word says and here is what my God does!” Resist the Lord at your own peril. When shepherds strike with a rod of iron in prayer, I expect the angel of the Lord to visit and put Herods in the grave. Pray for power on pastors!

Word at Work February 1 2012

2011-12-30T21:20:35Z

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1
Scripture: Revelation 19:11-16, 1 Peter 5:1-4

One of the strongest passages in the New Testament portrays the Jesus you and I serve as a warrior and a judge. His eyes are a flame of fire, He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, He is obviously in the midst of combat, and He is leading armies who are dressed in white and clean linen. Out of His mouth goes a sharp sword and with it He is striking nations and ruling them with a rod of iron. Everyone in full-time ministry, because of 1 Peter 5:1-4, is responsible for the perception of a pastor. This passage states, “The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.” Perhaps one of the most misunderstood concepts today is how the average person views a pastor! Pastoring comes from the Greek word poy-mah-ee-no and it means, ‘to shepherd.’ The cultural norm painted for pastors has nothing to do with war and is completely disconnected with the image of Christ that we see in Revelation 19:11-16. Every reference to the ruling, reigning, warring, judging Jesus has been disassociated with the pastor. Pastoring is ancient shepherding. Every one of the five-fold ministry of Ephesians 4:11 pastors according to their piece of God’s heart. A prophet shepherds differently from an evangelist. Jesus had much to say about shepherds. Jesus was not silent about the difference between the true and false shepherds. The New Testament has volumes to say about what makes a good shepherd. The Greek word translated “rule” in Revelation 19:16 is our word for shepherd. I believe the greatest answer to prayer we could get in 2012 would be the Holy Spirit empowering of shepherds. The devil’s devices have the goal of pimping the pastorate into passivity. There has been no greater assault on any single group than the demonic cultural assault on pastors. God’s shepherds are the ultimate servants. The abuse thrown at them for following the Holy Spirit in upholding a standard of righteousness is stunning. I believe the Lord is about to transform pastors with an anointing of holy boldness. If King David were alive today, would he be stunned, amazed and ashamed at the abuse of today’s leaders? We need warriors. We need to recover the Kingly character of Christ and we once again need to see men and women who will pastor with a heart of Revelation 19:11-16. There is a resurrection of the heart of David wielding the rod of iron coming to pastors.

February 2012 Outcry

2012-02-01T01:55:48Z

Government policy is forcing us to pay twice as much for gas as it should cost by limiting supply. The payoff is the government collects twice as much in tax. Every time we fill up our vehicles, we should ask for covenant justice. We can pray Psalm 7:6 for those responsible for financially raping us at the pump. Genesis 1:26-28 reveals God’s purpose for man and the creation, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all[a] the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”

When we refuse to develop resources for fear of harming the environment, then we place nature over man effectively spitting in the face of God. Everyone wants a good environment but I have seen whole towns destroyed by outrageous application of environmental restrictions. The EPA is considering banning “fracking,” or the use of high pressure water to break into layered pockets of gas and oil under the guise of safety.

Fracking was first used in 1949 and has grown into the safest way to drill and the most environmentally-friendly way of discovering gas and oil. We pay nearly double the price for gasoline because of our dependency on foreign oil while environmental lawsuits restrict the development of our own abundant supplies of natural gas and oil. Fish & Game wants to add the sand dunes lizard to the endangered species list, which would kill 20% of America’s oil production from the Permian Basin.

A little known fact is that America has more oil than all the Middle East put together. The US Geological Service last updated their report detailing the “Oil in the Ground Estimate” in 2008. In just one region of western North Dakota and South Dakota with eastern Montana contains the largest domestic oil discoveries since Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and could eliminate all of America’s dependence on foreign oil. The estimate is 503 billion barrels in this location is enough to fuel the American economy for 2041 years. In addition, 1000 feet below the Rocky Mountains lies the largest reserve in the world – 2 trillion barrels of oil.

On Aug 8, 2005 President Bush mandated the extraction of American oil from the Rockies. However, not one barrel has been extracted because of environmentalists and their political party. America has eight times as much oil as Saudi Arabia, eighteen times as much as Iraq, twenty-one times as much as Kuwait, twenty-two times as much as Iran and 500 times as much as Yemen. Why are we not extracting it when high, high oil prices kill jobs and bankrupt airlines like American Airlines? OPEC would be destroyed if America would develop its oil but we can thank environmentalists and the political party they control for supporting Islam and decimating our economy.

Psalm 7:6 records a Davidic prayer for those whose idolatry contains the environment. Romans 1 defines justice for this group. Praying Psalm 7:6 over leaders could save the nation!