“God isn’t into us striving with an orphan spirit
to find our identity in Him.
He’s looking for us to rest in His identity in us.”

– Jason Upton

Rick Joyner: “The Army of God Mobilizes–Every Christian is Called to be a Warrior” {from the Elijah List website}

Quality of Warriors

We have been blessed by a core leadership team and staff that have been together many years. As a result, we have been through many battles together. I don’t think anyone enjoys conflict, but they nevertheless thrive on it. They come alive with focus and resolve when there are attacks.

Even so, we have some that I have watched recoil with every new attack. Their first tendency is to draw back and retreat, but when they fortify themselves in the Lord, they tend to be the ones who stand with great endurance. On the other hand, the ones whose first tendency is to bow up and fight sometimes tire the fastest. For this reason, I try not to judge the quality of warriors by their first response to conflict, but by how they fare over time.

Those who can quickly engage and stand their ground and those who take a little longer to have resolve, are important to gaining success in the battle. Just as the natural Special Forces are now the tip of the spear in military campaigns and can accomplish things that would often take forces many times their size, these would be wasted and not fare well in the day-to-day fighting in the trenches. Few wars will ever be won just by Special Forces, but used rightly, they can help prepare the way for a much more swift and total victory.

My point is that we need to discern what kind of battle we are in or are going to be in. At our home base, we are doing some things that are considered radical and threatening to many other Christians - such as laboring to see an authentic prophetic ministry raised up in the Church. As we see in Scripture, this stirs up the wrath of those who serve other gods, or those with a Jezebel spirit, and we must have many who will fight with great endurance.

We also have a Special Forces Missions group being raised up that we deploy mostly in special missions. These are adventure junkies who do not do well sitting anywhere for long periods of time, so we use this characteristic and see it as a part of their missionary gifts.

Every Christian is Called to be a Warrior

Every Christian is called to be a warrior, but not all warriors are the same. I do not consider myself to be smart enough to really know people with much depth until I have known them for a long time. I am constantly amazed and surprised at people. One thing I have learned over time is to not try and fit people where I want them to be, but to let the Holy Spirit place them in the Body where it pleases Him.

I can discern the kinds of battles we are likely to be in by the type of people the Lord sends to us. We do not try to fit people into Special Forces Missions (SFM), but we put out a call. Those who respond to this type of training and danger will come. Our goal is to then provide the training that will help them to understand their own gifts and callings, and some learn that the SFM is simply not for them.

As we mature in age and experience, our callings can also change. I used to thrive on the edge of danger much more than I do now. When I was a young pilot, I gravitated to aerobatics and would get bored to tears flying a long, straight, and level flight. I was more of the fighter-pilot type, not the long-range bomber type.

When I owned an air charter company, I gravitated toward taking the freight runs that were going through challenging weather, rather than taking the passenger flights where smoothness was far more important. I knew the pilots who were more tense in the challenging situations would stay clear of them and were therefore better with passengers.

We all have our gifts, callings, and places, so we do not need to force others into trying to be something they are not. Therefore, one key element after mobilizing people is to discern what they have been created by God to do and help prepare them for that, not forcing them into something they are not called to be or do.

The Knights of Malta

One of my favorite and, I think, most inspiring accounts from church history is the history of the famous Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Rhodes, and Malta, or as they are more popularly called, “The Knights of Malta.” They were a small order of monks who are credited with inventing the hospital, which they founded in Jerusalem to care for the sick pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land during the Middle Ages. Because many pilgrims were being attacked on the way to Jerusalem, these monks later formed a military division to protect the pilgrims.

As these military monks became recognized as knights, they started to become renowned for both their courage and skill as warriors. They also focused their resolve to not only protect the pilgrims, but protect Christian territory. They vowed to never retreat before the enemies of the Cross and to die rather than surrender an acre of Christian territory to them. They also vowed to do all that they could to preserve Christian unity and to never take up arms against fellow Christians or the forces of a Christian nation.

Because of this resolve, this little order became one of most important and strategic forces in history, not only impacting their own times, but changing the future course of history to the degree that European monarchs credited them with saving Europe from an Islamic takeover.

At the battles of Rhodes and Malta, there were just a few hundred of these remarkable knights, joined by several thousand militia, who took their stand against the most powerful Muslim armies numbering nearly one hundred times their own. After months of sieges, with some of the most fierce human assaults by numbers many times their own, and when the smoke had cleared, the banner of the knights still stood on the ramparts. The few but bloody knights who were left stood next to that banner.

Their courage and resolve even gained the respect and honor of their enemies. Today there are Muslim leaders who have such respect for this order that they give an audience to the modern knights. One reason may be because these more fearsome and courageous warriors never forgot their calling as healers. After each battle, the knights, even though exhausted and often wounded themselves, would not rest until all of the wounded on the battlefield had been taken care of, even those from among their enemies.

Humbling Ourselves to Serve

To keep their humility, these knights, who were mostly the scions of the most powerful and wealthy families in Europe, and even their leader, the Grand Master of the Order, would spend time weekly in the hospitals serving the sick and wounded, even changing their bedpans. They did this believing that as they served even the least of these, they were serving Christ Himself.

This is something that must be recaptured and maintained. People are not our enemies - we do not war against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers in the spiritual realm. With all of the courage, resolve, strength, and devotion that we have as spiritual warriors, we must also grow in our skills as gentle healers, humbling ourselves to serve in this way even those who are used by the enemy to attack us.

We must always keep in mind that our victory is salvation and the greatest victory of all is the salvation of our enemies. However, even if our enemies do not turn to the Lord and continue to hate us, we must love our enemies, and while resisting their error, we must be open to serve them in any way that we have the opportunity without compromising our message and convictions.

Rick Joyner
MorningStar Ministries
Email: info@morningstarministries.org

Psalm 138 [The Message]
A David Psalm

Thank you! Everything in me says “Thank you!” Angels listen as I sing my thanks. I kneel in worship facing your holy temple and say it again: “Thank you!” Thank you for your love, thank you for your faithfulness; Most holy is your name, most holy is your Word.
The moment I called out, you stepped in; you made my life large with strength.

When they hear what you have to say, God, all earth’s kings will say “Thank you.” They’ll sing of what you’ve done: “How great the glory of God!”
And here’s why:
God, high above, sees far below; no matter the distance,
he knows everything about us.

When I walk into the thick of trouble, keep me alive in the angry turmoil. With one hand strike my foes, With your other hand save me. Finish what you started in me, God. Your love is eternal
—don’t quit on me now.

During our time of soaking with our worship team the Lord showed me a vision of the globe with the Philippine archipelago on the horizon. Then I saw a big white arrow point down on the Philippines.

As the Lord brought me closer, I saw that the arrow was pointed towards Cebu island. As the arrow points on the island, a shockwave spreads from Cebu, to the Philippine islands, then to the rest of the world.

Then as the Lord brought me closer I see the words “PERPETUAL BRIGHTNESS” labeled on Cebu island. Then the Lord brings me closer and I see that the tip of the arrow rests above Cebu City and He says to me this is the center of true worship.

As the Lord brings me even closer I see that the tip of the arrow is pointing at a heart — it was my heart; it was the heart of every Cebuano worshiper. And then the Lord says, “THIS IS WHERE IT STARTS!”

I just came off a two-day revival conference held here in Cebu. It was conducted by James Horvath Ministries who brought several revivalists from all over the US and one from New Zealand.

On the second day of the conference, I had this desire to get an impartation, a prophetic word or at least a laying on of hands from Seth Fawcett, the revivalist pastor from Lower Hutt, Wellington, NZ. And although I was part of the group impartation and prophecy that Seth released to my congregation – represented by our worship team and a few Maranatha members who attended the event – I really wanted to get a personal, specific word from the Kiwi revivalist.

On my way to the evening session, I told the Lord, “I want to get an impartation from that New Zealander guy, Lord. Or a prophetic word. Or at least have him lay hands on me.”

So, the evening session began. The worship was amazing… and exhausting. After a while, when the singing was coming to a close, Dr. James Horvath (the main speaker) calls on Seth and tells him to point out the five (or so) people the Lord had earlier pointed out to him. Seth starts calling out people, identifying them by what they were wearing. I was just looking at Seth point people out, while deep inside I was hoping, wondering if I might be called out.

Then his eyes scanned the audience and locked on to me. He points to me and says, “the man with the…” He wasn’t able to say ‘stripes’ (which was what I had on – a striped shirt) but his hand made line gestures on his shirt and I knew he meant me.

It was so surreal. In my mind I was like, “Wow! Na-single out jud ko!” God really heard my heart’s desire. I was a bit nervous – I was actually shaking while making my way to the altar. Grabe jud maka-amaze si Lord!

And so, Seth starts prophesying over the people the Lord pointed out to Him. Then my turn comes. The prophetic word wasn’t that lengthy but it was what I needed.

“I’ve seen you! You will prophesy with an instrument. It may not be in a church setting. It may just be between you and the Lord. But you will prophesy with your instrument.”

This is just part of the prophesy that I got. I still have to ask my friends what they heard, because portions of it flew right past me – I was just really blown away. This guy doesn’t even know I’m a keyboard player in my congregation, and I don’t think Seth recognized me as one of the worship team members from the day sessions of the conference. So, to me, that prophetic word was really an encouragement from the Lord

So, this encounter again proves that if you just ask of God, He will answer, and that the only reason we have not is because we ask not.

Amazing God! I’ll be asking for more revelations, impartation, prophetic words from Him from now on!

Francis Frangipane: “For Dreams to Come True - You Must Wake Up!”
[from the Elijah List]

Just because we walk and talk does not mean we are truly awake. Zechariah was not sleeping when an angel roused him “as a man who is awakened from his sleep” (Zechariah 4:1).

Perhaps we too need to be shaken from our slumber to possess the promises of God! Amazingly, in spite of all the signs, wonders, and warnings announcing that we are truly in the last days, Jesus also said there is a mysterious drowsiness that we have to overcome. Indeed, immediately after highlighting the various evidences of the end (see Matthew 24), He compares the Church to virgins who “all got drowsy and began to sleep” (Matthew 25:5).

Virgins sleeping at the end of the age: this seems incomprehensible with all the signs in the Heavens and wonders upon the earth, not to mention the increasing presence of Christ. Yet this phenomenon is something we each battle: the tendency to become spiritually drowsy and lose our focus as we wait for the Lord’s return.

There is a subtle activity of the enemy that dulls our perception and seduces our zeal. Our vision takes a backseat to other less important aspects of life. From the beginning, the voice of satan has had this lulling effect on mankind. Eve’s excuse for disobedience was, “The serpent hath caused me to forget” (Genesis 3:13 Young’s Literal Translation).

This sense of spiritual forgetfulness, of drowsiness, is the cloud of blindness that we each must discern and overcome. It was in regard to this that the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart through the following dream.

“If You Want Your Dream to Come True, You Have to Wake Up”

There was a temple standing in an open field. My view of the temple was from its side, about 200 yards away. I could not see its front, yet it must have been completely open because great light flashed out from the inside; it pulsed like lightning, yet was solid like sunlight. The block of light issued straight out, and I knew this light was the glory of God.

The temple was so close that I knew that with a little effort I could enter the glory of God. His holy presence was clearly within my reach. There were also others directly in front of me that I recognized as people from church. Everyone seemed very busy. And while the temple and its light were visible and readily accessible to all, every head was bent downward and turned away from the light; each was occupied with other things.

I heard one person say, “I have to do laundry.” Another said, “I have to go to work.” I could see people reading newspapers, watching televisions, and eating. I was sure everyone could see the light if they wanted to - even more sure that we all knew His glory was near.

There were even a few people reading the Bible and praying, but everyone maintained the downward thrust of their gaze; each had a mental barrier of some kind between themselves and the place of God’s presence. No one, in fact, seemed capable of standing up, turning, and steadfastly walking into the very near glory of God.

As I watched, suddenly my wife lifted her head and beheld the temple in the field. She stood and walked without pausing toward the open front. As she drew closer to the light, a garment of glory formed and thickened around her; the closer she went, the more dense the light surrounding her became until she stepped in front of the temple and turned completely toward the blazing face of God.

Oh! How jealous I felt. My wife had entered the glory of God before me! At the same time I realized that there was nothing stopping me from approaching God’s presence - nothing except the pile of things to do and responsibilities that, in truth, ruled my life more than the voice of God.

Pushing the weight of these pressures from me, I determined to rise and enter the temple myself. But, to my great regret, in my dream as I rose up, I suddenly woke up!

The longing and disappointment within me seemed unbearable. I had been so close to entering God’s presence. How I wanted to enter the temple and be swallowed up in His glory!

I cried, “Lord, why did You let me wake up?”

Instantly, the word of the Lord responded to my cry. He said, “I will not have My servant’s life fulfilled by a dream. If you want your dream to come true, you have to wake up.”

Breaking Passivity - Setting Priorities

Beloved, today, God is awakening us to the reality of His presence. The promises the Lord gives us in the Scriptures must become more to us than dream-like realities only reserved for the hereafter. Moses frequented the glory of God! Israel’s seventy elders ate and drank in God’s resplendent glory (see Exodus 24:9-11). Jesus unveiled God’s glory on the Mount of Transfiguration! Paul says that we all can behold the glory of God and be transformed by it (see 2 Corinthians 3:18).

For this reason, the Scripture says, “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Ephesians 5:14). If we truly want Christ to “shine” upon us, we must arise from the distractions that entomb us in lethargy and spiritual darkness.

Right at this moment, the presence of the living God is near enough to hear the whisper of your heart. But if we want our dream of standing in the presence of God to come true, we must wake up.

Francis Frangipane
Ministries of Francis Frangipane
Email: francis1@frangipane.org

The older I get the younger I feel
The false gets replaced by the real
The more I know the more I see
I know nothing of eternity

As days go by my strength wanes down
In lieu of such, the One renown
No more dependency on me
But on Him who will carry me

The closer I come to the Savior
The more I see flaws in my behavior
Totally helpless and lost in sin
If not for Him who had me cleansed

No grip on time, on life, on anything
No hold on anyone except my King
Stripped of all my laurels and pretense
Now worship increased and intense

Falling but getting up more
Wearied but hopeful for what’s in store
Running but not feeling faint
Pushing forward with the Saints

Decreasing so He will increase
Intimacy will never cease
Needing Him more with every breath
Learning the art of daily death

So help me God

… TABANG LORD!

It’s amazing how technology can improve and make life easier. One concrete example: mp3 players in general; iPod in particular! For the average music lover, this technological innovation of portable music makes it convenient to bring their favorite songs everywhere in a compact case and even more convenient to listen, shuffle, repeat and wear out the music of their choice to suit the mood of the day. For the music minister – such as yours truly – an iPod nano in his hand can mean the difference in his level of worship and music-assisted soaking in the presence of God.

God gave me an iPod nano through my two best friends and I have to say this tech gadget has done nothing but increase my time of worship and soaking. Not only have I been blessed by this gadget as a music lover (been desiring to get an mp3 player for two years) but also as a music minister (I’m now able to listen to worship music anytime, anywhere and pick out possible songs that we might sing during worship service in church).

Another thing the nano did for me in the past three weeks is put oil in the rusting hinges of my songwriting aspirations. [Here we go again with the rock star dream!!! Hahaha!]

- - - - -

Thanks to J & G for the iPod nano.

Thank You Daddy for the new burst of inspiration!

Aim for the GOAL
Live like a KING

jars of clay

impartation:
poetic lyric writing
soulful singing
use of natural, God-given voice with impressive results

first soundbyte:
Flood — this song not only introduced and got me hook on Christian rock music, it also helped me appreciate guitar-driven music as a whole

favorite album/s:
Much Afraid
Good Monsters

favorite song/s:
Tea and Sympathy
Work
Scarlet
Disappear

michael w. smith

impartation:
creativity with piano/keyboard playing skills
writing insightful lyrics
use of tenor/bariton voice

first soundbite:
Place in this World — I was surprised to learn that this song was written by a Christian; it introduced me to Christian pop music

favorite album/s:
Live the Life
Go West Young Man

favorite song/s:
Love Me Good
Somewhere Somehow
Live the Life
In My Arms Again
Somebody Love Me

chris tomlin

impartation:
singing high praises to God
use of high tenor voice
free worship inspired by the Psalms

first soundbyte:
Your Grace is Enough — I heard this being sung in our congregation during praise and worship and fell in love with the simplicity and directness of this song; one of the first few songs I considered “non-traditional” p&w songs

favorite album/s:
Arriving
See the Morning

favorite song/s:
How Great is Our God
How Can I Keep From Singing
Let God Arise
Your Grace is Enough

jason upton

impartation:
intimate worship of God
violent declarations in the spiritual
spirit of sonship
intimacy with God

first soundbyte:
I Will Wait — heard this a few years back in church and it just captured the state of my heart at that time; currently soaking on Jason’s albums to deepen my intimacy with the Father

favorite album/s:
Between Earth and Sky
Faith

switchfoot

impartation:
appreciation for ear-grabbing guitar riffs
artful screaming/shouting in songs
thought-provoking lyric writing

first soundbyte:
New Way To Be Human — didn’t quite get into the band just yet with this one, but I found it catchy enough; Happy is a Yuppie Word made me a convert

favorite album/s:
Nothing is Sound

favorite song/s:
Happy is a Yuppie Word
Stars
Only Hope
Dare You to Move

brian and jenn johnson

impartation:
high praise and deep worship
use of low/bariton voice [thanks, brian]
use of high-to-falsetto voice [thanks, jenn]

first soundbyte:
O Taste and See — again sung during praise and worship in church; very catchy tune, very powerful lyrics; this is my training song for high pitch (I can sing Jenn’s part, except in the chorus where I switch to Brian’s pitch)

favorite album/s:
We Believe

favorite song/s:
O Taste and See
We Believe
Greatly To Be Praised
Where You Go I’ll Go

mute math

impartation:
creative, ambient music
creative, cryptic lyric writing
creative vocal workings
deep worship

first soundbyte:
Typical – my first taste of Mute Math was anything but typical. They’re music was quite fresh to my ears and Paul Meany’s vocals also gave me a lot of cool ideas on how to use my own

favorite album/s:
Reset EP [still soaking on this for now]

favorite song/s:
Typical
Chaos
Control
Peculiar People

delirious?

impartation:
singing with a British accent
groovy worship music
desperation and hunger for the Lord

first soundbyte:
Deeper – this is probably one of the first intimacy and spiritual hunger songs I’ve heard. Martin Smith’s British accent stands out in this song and it makes this song a standout to me.

favorite album/s:
Glo

favorite song/s:
Deeper
God You Are My God
Rain Down

misty edwards

impartation:
uber-intimacy and desperation for the Lord
total abandon to God and total focus on God in worship
importance of the fasted lifestyle

first soundbyte:
Baptize My Heart – sung in church with very convicting results. My pastor doesn’t like the line “I don’t want to be offended when it’s coming down”. “Offended with what?” he says, but after listening to Misty talk about spiritual violence and how Jesus was offensive to the religious, the song made more sense to me.

favorite album/s:
Relentless

favorite song/s:
My Soul Longs for You
You Won’t Relent
All Consuming Fire