Faith Five Fellowship Of Ministries

What is Victory?

It’s that moment when I choose to get up after being knocked down by life

It’s that moment when I choose to forgive when everything in me cries for revenge

It’s that moment I turn my back on fear, doubt and unbelief; when I let go and trust God to catch me when I fall

It’s that last ounce of strength that causes me to worship when all I want to do is curl up and cry because I can’t take it anymore

It’s that moment when my last support has left me and I feel alone and desperate, but still I stand knowing this too will pass

It’s the grace to be kind to someone who you know will never be able to repay you

It’s the strength to feel pain and still remember who you are and not bow to the demands of your own body

If you can do these things everyday for the rest of your life, then you, my friend, will never be numbered among the failures of this life

Remember it’s not what you get, but WHO GIVES IT TO YOU- Apostle Anthony Nelson, Apr. 21, 2011

Why Stay Here & Die?

Arise, O LORD; Save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.  (Psalms 3:7)

I grew up in the Caribbean where it was very common to see groups of men congregate at bars and street corners. Those who did not go to church would congregate at the local watering hole and play dominoes. The music would be excessively loud and the laughter, boisterous and even laborious like men drinking away their disappointment and dashed dreams.

They discussed the state of the government and the condition of the church with endless repetition. They vented their frustrations on the tables and drank until they had either passed out or some, kind family member took them home.

In case you might think this state of the mind is a “Caribbean, male thing”, then you would be wrong. This happens all over the world in which we live. In North America, our hockey rinks and football stadiums are full of people who desperately spend their God-given strength on teams that most times never really rise up to their expectations.

Millions play the lottery and gamble at casinos. Countless others go to church or work for humanitarian causes, working tirelessly for the need of others while deep down there is a void in their own lives and relationships that never seems to be met.

You see friends life is full of people who live in the place of inner frustration – a place where they can’t see a way forward, no way back and the present is closing in around them. Many sadly clothe themselves in religious expression and practice religion with a deep hope that somehow God will rescue them. They wait for God’s grace when they have it already. They seek God’s deliverance when Christ has already come and done His work for us and now the Holy Spirit is here to empower those who are willing to do the unthinkable.

The story in 2 Kings 7 is one that I love to read on those depressing February days for these men formed their own church. I would call it the Church of the Forgotten and the Rejected. They were not accepted by their own because they were lepers. In the city, it was so bad that women were eating their own children and the price of donkey’s droppings was sky-rocketing (Let’s think about that the next time you and I complain about the price of bread).

These men had very limited choices – return to the city, which as earlier stated was in a rough time, stay where they were which was certain death or face the enemy in their camps. How many times have you been in a situation where it seems that your choices are very limited and they all look bad? But what these four lepers did not know is that a word had preceded them by the servant of God and they were about to do something that would set many free.

Right now things might look bad for you. It may be a lost job, medical expense, or a broken relationship with someone you love. Maybe you have just reached the limit on your credit card or the gas for your car is on empty and you don’t know where to go to get help.

There is no one to reach out to and you feel in your spirit the draining of your strength. You don’t want that hopeless feeling you know so well to come on you. A wise man said when you look around you and all is depressing and in you and all is oppressive, then look up and be blessed.

Dear friends, you don’t have to stay there in depression and frustration. God has provided an answer to every impossible situation that you have. You must remember this truth:

1. Your heavenly Father is in control

2. He will finish everything He started in you

3. He never has a bad day

4. He misses nothing

5. He is never late

6. He has no foster or stepchildren

7. There has never been a pit deeper than His arms can reach for you

8. He is never lacking in any good thing 

And guess what? He is waiting for you to make one act of faith and He will meet you at the point of your need. So right now like those four lepers it might look bad, but why stay where you are and die?

Do something that requires faith and shocks your enemy. I dare you to open your mouth and just praise the Lord, write a cheque or give someone you know is in need a gift. Just do something right now that puts your enemy under your feet.

Why stay where you are? I am not going to stay right here and do nothing. I am going over to the enemy’s camp and see what the Lord is going to do.   See You over there! - Apostle Anthony Nelson

Living in the Extreme

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (John 10:10) 

Canadians do not like extremes. If you live here, you will quickly know what I am talking about. If you don’t live here, you might think that I am exaggerating. So let me ask you, how many countries in the world do you think may experience four different seasonal effects in one day? Which other country in the world will allow a minority government to stay in power so long without successfully challenging its power?

In Canada, everyone can live together with little or no trouble. We pride ourselves on being tolerant of everyone except those who are extreme. The high mark has been lowered to a viagra where everyone can exist, but no one can thrive to be what they were meant to be. There are laws in place so that you cannot live to the extreme.

The problem with that, friends, is that the Body of Christ has bought into this worldview – hook, line and sinker – to the effect that anyone daring to live in God’s extreme place is looked on as someone who is slightly off. But if we really want to live for God and walk in His Spirit, we are going to have to live to the extreme.

One of the definitions of the word extreme is: extending far beyond the norm, or achieving the highest point. It’s a place of being and doing. The extreme person is not comfortable with what everyone else is doing. They reach towards another level, and they seem to always go there.

Have you ever met someone like that in your life? They don’t want passing marks, and they don’t want a shallow relationship. They always want to go a little further. They pray longer than others. They give time and energy when others have stopped.

 When others give up they buckle down and get intense. They never complain about the cold or the heat, the lack of comfort or the attitude of others. They are just too intensely occupied by the thing at hand to be side-tracked by other lighter things.

 They don’t ask God for what they can handle. They ask God to give them faith to handle whatever comes. They rejoice in the battle. They dance in the fire, and they just keep going like a Duracell battery. If you mention witnessing, they are the first on the street and the last to come in. They take discouragement like it’s a mark of victory. They never give up until they attain their goal or die trying.

If you ask me who they are, I think John the Baptist was one of them. His school was the desert and locust and honey were his food. The clothes he wore was not designer fit and he really had no desire to be nice. His purpose was clear and he gave his whole being to living extremely for God.

Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”  He said: “I am’ The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the LORD,”’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”(John 1:22, 23) 

What about you? Are you uncomfortable around people who believe the Bible extremely? Are you waiting for the next revival at your church or are you so extreme that you walk with your own revival in your soul? Is God stirring your soul and causing the fire in you to burn?

I believe this year, there is going to be an increasing manifestation of God’s extreme ones on the earth. The earth is feeling them as they worship and open themselves to be changed into His likeness and bring His extreme healing, grace and power to the earth.

Dear friends, remember that God has called you to Himself and He does nothing half way or mediocre. If He has created it, then it’s for extreme blessing. If He made you and I, then we are created to live for His extreme praise so that those around our lives will see how great our Fathers is. So…

 1.   Submit yourself to God’s altar and die to your definition of you.

 2. Stop eating the same food that mediocre people eat.

 3. Start doing things that, to your past, would be extreme.

 4. Start trusting God for things you normally just planned for.

 5. Come to the edge of your understanding, then let go and see what God can do for you.

This is my year of extreme blessing and grace. I am determined to live more extreme for Him and reach more for Him, give more to His cause, love more, serve more and bear more fruit by His grace than ever before. What about you? The extreme one, Apostle Anthony Nelson 

A Word from the President

Let Us Arise from This Place

 And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided Me a king among his sons.  (1 Samuel 16:1)

As we step into 2011 with anticipation and a keen sense of the changing landscape of our time and season, I believe we must take a serious inventory of what we carry with us into this year.

Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways!  (Haggai 1:7)

There will be many prophetic words and visions of the year ahead as men have done from time. In memorial, we peer into the future and seek to second guess what God has already said. The future for us individually and corporately has never been what God has asked us to focus on. His presence and power has been the help and protection for His people in every generation and that kept Moses when facing Pharaoh.

I was preparing for our New Year’s celebration at the ministry center and the Lord dropped this word into my spirit ..” the mourning is over and it’s time for you to arise”. My first response when I heard that was to say, “I have no one who has died for me this year, so why should I be in mourning?”

But knowing this was from the Lord, I stopped to listen as He graciously opened my heart and took me to the life of Samuel and his relationship with King Saul in 1 Samuel 16. In this portion of Scripture, we see the elderly priest and prophet sitting at home, mourning because of the lost hope and relationship that he had with King Saul.

Samuel had anointed the young king over Israel and the people were overjoyed with this new leader who would take them from victory to victory. He was the best of them all and he was chosen to be king and started with great humility and even Samuel found in him the son he wanted.

But the relationship did not last long as Saul was tested in the area of his heart’s obedience to the Lord and he failed the test. In his desperate attempt to look good in the eyes of the people, he grabbed hold of the robe of the man of God and in a moment His kingly anointing was stripped from him. But greater than even his position was  the level of relationship he had had with Samuel.

Most of us, if we are honest, have lost some close relationships in 2010 and deep down we realize that it hurts to know that we can no longer call each other or talk as we did. We meet the same person, but things are different now. There is a distance in our sharing and we no longer feel open as we once did. Something has died and it cannot be brought back.

This is what I believe the Lord has shown me that is happening to many of us in the Body of Christ. We think that everything can be fixed with a prayer and a word. But the truth is when God says, ‘Move on,’ we must let people and events go. That’s a hard lesson to learn in a world of shallow relationships and declining morals when we make all manner of excuses for those who openly disobey God’s word and reject truth.

God said to Samuel, I have rejected Saul as king and I am in the process of selecting a new king. The problem with that is that when God moved on, Samuel took some time to mourn over this man Saul. We have the same attitude many times in our lives. If you look back in 2010, you will see times when God said move on, but you could not because your soul was tied to the good things of the past, refusing to move on to what God is doing now.

Let me let you in on an open secret about the past. 

1. The past can sometimes be the enemy of the future if we will not let it go.
2. No matter how good it was, it cannot help you now.
3. The future can be adversely affected by your past.
4. No one gets anywhere by staring into the rear view mirror.
5. The past many times was not as good as you think it was.

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, [and] rivers in the desert.  (Isaiah 43:19)

So as we move in faith into 2011, I speak encouragement to those of you who, like me, had some good times and some not so good times last year, to arise from your place and hear the Lord speaking to you about what He has in store for you in the year ahead. Like Samuel, who had an appointment in Jesse’s house to anoint the next king, you have some God-appointed times ahead of you that will require you to arise with a fresh anointing and move towards your David.

May arise from your pain, from your loss and even from your triumphs and say like the Apostle Paul….

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss because of Christ.  But, no, rather I also count all things to be loss because of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them to be trash, that I might gain Christ  and be found in Him; not having my own righteousness of Law, but through the faith of Christ, having the righteousness of God on faith to know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, having been conformed to His death if somehow I may attain to a resurrection out of the dead.  Not that I already received or already have been perfected, but I press on, if I also may lay hold, inasmuch as I also was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not count myself to have laid hold, but one thing I do, forgetting the things behind, and stretching forward to those things before,

 (Philippians 3:7-13)               

Let us arise and go forth for God is with us!

 - Apostle Anthony Nelson

God’s Gift to You

It’s that time of year again when the parking lots are full of busy shoppers, seeking to buy gifts for friends and family, when churches are putting on Christmas plays and carolling groups practice their songs for Christmas Day. Kids excitedly look forward to see what Santa Claus brought them for Christmas.

Maybe you have passed this phase in your life and these things don’t mean anything to you and all this season does for you is bring more stress. It could be that you are one of the millions who are dreading the holiday season because it brings only loneliness, sadness and painful reminders of lost loved ones who, last year, were here with you and are now gone.

I know friends that gifts means different things for different people. It really depends on where you sit when you receive that gift. To the workaholic, time off from work stops him from doing what is important to him. To the stay-at-home Mom, it’s just more work tidying the house and preparing more meals. To the store keeper, it’s the busiest time of the year and more work.

We all look at what comes to us in different ways and respond differently when the situation come to us. Like the story of the three friends who lived on a farm. Two were ducks and one was a frog. In time, the farm was sold and about to be torn down to make way for a new subdivision. The three friends decided to go south and find a new home. Well ,the ducks were okay because they could fly but the frog, well , he had a problem. So the  friends decided to give him the gift of a free flight by putting a piece of stick in his mouth and each of his friends would hold an end and carry him as he held on with his mouth. It all went well until as they were crossing a particular piece of land a couple of people spotted this strange phenomenon and pointed out that they never knew frogs could fly. The frog opened his mouth to explain why and you know the rest.

Gifts really are to be received in faith and thankfulness that someone thought of you before the time so that you could enjoy at the right time what you got. I can’t help but think of how God in His infinite grace promised us a gift and then delivered it to mankind –  the greatest gift we could every have.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is everlasting life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 6:23)

The message of this season is still the same as on the first Christmas morning when the baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes was greeted by the shepherds and then by those wise men. He still is the Gift of God to the whole world and as many as received this gift can have everlasting life right here and right now. This gift does not come with batteries to be wound up or software that needs to be updated every couple of months. No He is the real thing.

He is more than you think or understand. There is more to Him than you or I will ever be able to relate to. He is greater than the greatest. Stronger than the strongest and will outlast everything else that man has substituted for Him. When all our toys are gone and our dreams have been shattered, He still stands in the middle of our world as the gift of God to you and I.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Eph. 2:8, 9)

Christ really is the reason for this season not a consumer holiday or a time for family to get together. It’s God’s way of saying this is my gift to you. Receive Him as I sent Him and live. Reject Him and you have no other way to live in this life.

It’s our prayer at Faith Five, for you that you may unwrap this wonderful gift from a loving Father and receive the fullness as Paul calls it of your Father’s love to you through His Son Jesus Christ. If you can receive Christ as the Father gave Him to us then you and I will receive each other this season as the gift of God to you.

Remember to give your friends and loved ones God’s gift to you, so they can receive Him too. Our team wishes for you an incredible God-directed 2011!

- Apostle Anthony Nelson

Wearing the Right Garments

(Isa. 61:1-6)

If you are like me, who live in the northern hemisphere – where we experience winter in its most severe form – then you can understand when I say that winter is coming and I am looking in my storage containers for my winter coats. I have learnt the lesson over the years that wearing the right garments are essential to surviving the season that we are passing through.

I do hope you get the point I am making, saints, for each of us have seasons in our lives that require clothes, but not all garments can be worn in all seasons. So it is in your walk with the Lord. There is a garment that God has given to us to wear that will keep our spirits secure for our daily walk through this life.

The book of Isaiah is a hope-driven look at the sins of Israel, the Babylonian captivity, and the promise of freedom from Babylon and other enemies, when Israel’s exiles return to their homeland and to a renewed relationship with God. Israel’s unfaithfulness, judgment, God’s faithfulness to His covenant, and the re-gathering of Israel are recurring themes, and apply on more than one level. They apply to the sins of the Israelites leading to their Babylonian punishment, scattering, and re-gathering, and they have a long-range meaning to their Roman punishment, diaspora, re-gathering, future blessings, and kingdom joys. In both cases, the waves of judgment culminate in overwhelming waves of blessing.

Now for you and I to walk in the blessing of the Lord we must understand that God’s divine blessing comes from His people being clothed in the right garments. It’s our garments that identify us and declare to the atmosphere who we are and our set purpose. I am talking spiritually now.

In Isa. 61:1 we see three progressive works taking place:

1. Israel being restored and brought back to wholeness

2. They have been given new garments to replace the old ones that they wore in the past.

3. They have been given a new mandate of restoration and repairing that which was broken. It is this process that will cause the world to change their perception of Israel.

Now, beloved, we who are called to be followers of Christ can take our cue from Christ who quoted these very words in Luke 4:18 and begin the same process in our lives. It’s the Anointed One who has saved you, bound up your wounds of past hurts and declared His promises over your life. But He does not stop there. He has a new garment of praise for you to replace the garment of heaviness that the world wears to ably. The devil would like to steal from you these wonderful garments that cost our Lord so much in order for you to wear the image of him in this world.

Here are the garments that are yours to wear:

1. Royal garments (Psalm 45:14–15). Adam and Eve. The devil replaced the glory of God with fig leaves. The animal garments with which God later clothed them with (Gen. 3:21)

2. Sackcloth (Isa. 3:24). Mordecai wore it also (Est. 4). Haman does not want you to put the sackcloth because he knows that if you put the sackcloth on, there will be deliverance.

3. Our High Priest was clothed with Righteousness (Isa. 11:5)

4. Faithfulness & Joseph. Pothiphar’s wife tried to take his garment of faithfulness off (Gen. 39:10-12)

5. Garments of salvation (Isa. 61:10). The prodigal son came back and the father put this on him (Luke 15:13).

6. Garment for the wedding, provided for the wedding of the Lamb of God (Matt. 22:11).

7. Robes washed white (Rev. 7:14). No more dirt from the world. In the middle of the tribulation there is a white robe put on you by Jesus Christ (Rev. 6:11; 7:9). It gives you victory, strength and courage to overcome the battle. This tribulation will also be over, so it’s also a Garment of Victory.

8. Garment of Praise (Isa. 61:3). It’s protection from the enemy.

9. The garments of the high priest of Israel for the service in the temple (Exod. 28:4-43).

10. The garment with which Boaz covered Ruth (Ruth 3:9) Redemption – the proof that you are redeemed.

Do you see how much God has given you to wear and your enemy would like to take off of you? Make a decision in this season of your life that you will, by faith, put on all the Father has given to you to wear in Jesus’ Name.

Apostle Anthony Nelson

Someone is Going to Get Dirty

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force (Matt. 11:12)

These are truly incredible days of wonder and power on the earth. It’s a time of great miracles and signs of the sons of God. But I must say, it is also a time of pain and suffering that seems to never end.

In these days of revelation and power, you have been born and now live and work. The security of many has been shaken to the core. The hope of nations is falling and the need for any security is the cry of many. They are willing to give up their God-given purpose and destiny in order to receive food and shelter. They lock themselves behind walls of false security and hope that no one can penetrate that place.

Brothers and sisters, there is one thing I have found to be profoundly true: there is no power on the earth that can withstand people who are properly lined up in their God-given purpose behind the God of all creation and power!

In 2 Sam. 5:1-10, we read the story of David and the leaders of Israel at the gates of Jerusalem, ready to enter in and possess the place of God’s purpose for his life. But David, the warrior, was mocked right there. Those on the inside said even blind and lame men could hold him back. They were trusting in the walls of the city – their place of safety. They did not know who they were dealing with.

I believe the same thing is happening to too many of God’s saints in this generation. Doors seem to be shut tight, and you can’t see any way to get to the place the Lord told you about in your time with Him. They say you don’t have the education; the money for the visa; the support systems; or the ‘covering.’

But King David declares a word to his army at the shut gate and a man named Joab steps up and is the first to respond. Who is this man Joab? His name means Yahweh is father. He was not David’s favourite and throughout his career as one of David’s mighty men, he was both David’s source of pain, but also a powerful soldier and leader.

But I digress for Joab had a quality that much of God’s people have missed in this generation. We have often not been victorious in God’s plan because we have not been willing to get dirty. You see Joab had to climb up the water shaft into the city of Jerusalem and open the gates from the inside.

We need to understand this biblical truth deep down where we live. Just because we are called, anointed, and are God’s beloved children, does not automatically open every door that God has for you and me. The truth is the higher you go and the further in you are to the plan of God for you, there is a greater need for you to get the mind of Christ that is willing to get dirty so that the gates will be open and the King will come in.

I believe with all my heart that one of the greatest reasons why we have not seen the King of Glory return to this earth is because most of God’s greatest soldiers are outside of their set place and are unwilling to do something that their enemy would never expect.

Beloved, listen to me right now! This is the best of times, but it’s also the worst of times. You might think you are alright where you live and that you are safe in your place of security. But I’ve come to tell you that if you don’t change your mind, get down from where you sit and be willing to do whatever you have to do and open the door through prayer, fasting, giving – whatever it takes – then promotion will come to someone else. After going up the water shaft and overcoming King David’s enemies, Joab became chief of his army.

The saddest thing I can think of in a local church is qualified, spirit-filled people missing their opportunity while someone else steps into their place because they’re willing to come off their high horse, sign up for a ministry time, or give themselves in the community, becoming what you and I were meant to be.

But not me, and I hope not you. I pray today that you will hear the call of the Lord to you. He wants to come into your family or your work place. But someone will have to get dirty. Someone will have to quickly reach for the best and do something in order to see the glory of the Lord enter into its rightful place.

My prayer for you: “Lord, I pray that every timid and fearful spirit will leave your people who read these words. Lord, may they not second guess themselves and think too much, so that they may miss their season of opportunity. Father, right now we know that you are standing at the gates of our hearts and want to come in and do something so wonderful. Let your Holy Spirit speak to the hearts of my brothers and sisters, so they may surrender all to You in Jesus’ Name. AMEN. – Apostle Anthony Nelson

People of the Cross

As America withdraws its soldiers from an ill-conceived war, based on faulty information and biased leadership, the Iraqi people are left now with the devastation and the mammoth task of restoring a nation and a people’s psyche.
 
I sometimes wonder after observing the results of the intervention of man, if more of us would be better off if we turned to God and trusted Him completely instead of our efforts. History has testified time and time again that the efforts of man to solve his problems independent of the Lord, results in disaster. Isa. 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, And rely on horses, Who trust in chariots because they are many, And in horsemen because they are very strong, But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, Nor seek the LORD! 
       
But in our arrogance and pride, our generational leaders have rejected the Word of God, His priests and His Spirit. We have rejected the roles of men and women, redefined the sacred bond of marriage and have created our societies and religious institutions. We no longer release God’s servants to go forth and bring His truth to societies. Now we plant churches in communities which grow overnight, but have no relationship with the spiritual climate. We no longer build relationship. We establish service stations so that unredeemed people can come to get “ministered to”. But they leave us worse than when they came. They have more knowledge and less heart towards the Lord. The hunger is still there, but they have been duped into believing they are full.

Prov. 3:5,6: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 
      
For those of you who know what I am saying, then the Spirit of the Lord is allowing your heart to come out from among them. This is your time to seek the favour of the Lord – to receive courage, strength and grace. To move forward and find your place in the army of the Lord. The world needs a new breed of people. Those who are identified by the cross. Gal. 2:20-21: I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.
 
They are coming out of organized religion and tombs. They are coming out of caves, homes and refuge, prayer closets and clefts within rocks. Their heads have been bruised, but they carry the mind of Christ. They are stretched out towards all of God’s children even as they feel the pains of confinement because of their obedience. They are whole, but secure in their place of ministry and power.
 
This army of the cross may look defeated and in despair, but in truth they are the triumphant ones, laying down their lives to carry the message of their Lord to a dying world. Now before you say, “Amen” and thank God for them, remember God is also calling you right where you are like Matthew the tax collector to come follow Him and become a person of the cross. – Apostle Anthony Nelson

Bring in the Witnesses

And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth (Rev. 11:3)

In the Federal Government of the United States of America, there is a program called the - the Federal Witness Protection Program. The program was created to protect witnesses of criminal acts against the perpetrators of crime who had one goal: to stop the witness from testifying.

The first is circumstantial evidence.  To the court of law, prejudices (our history) and opinions are not sufficient to declare a case for or against us. It is so in the Kingdom of God. The word witness is defined in the dictionary as “someone who has firsthand knowledge about a crime or significant event through their senses.” The Bible has a lot to say about witnesses and how important they are in establishing the truth that is dear to the heart of God.

1.       Abraham called upon the witnesses when he made a covenant with Abimelech (Gen. 21:30)

2.       We are called to resist speaking as a false witness against our neighbours (Ex. 20:16) 

3.       God himself has been a witness to the deeds and acts of men (1 Sam. 12:5; 1 Sam. 20:12)

I don’t know, beloved, if you are getting how powerful the witness is to your life and the truth that the Father wants you to walk in today.  

2 Cor. 13:1 Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses

Deut. 17:6:  Whoever is deserving of  death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 

The truth is, beloved, your life’s success or failure according to God’s Word, is not determined by your body, soul, or spirit alone. It’s determined by your spirit agreeing (a witness) of the events you believe is true.

God, in His great wisdom for your life, promised His Word, His Holy Spirit and the power of Christ in you to be the witnesses that you will need to overcome: 

·Condemnations

·Fear

·Lack

·Poverty

·Doubt

·Infirmity

· and a lot of accusers of the brethren

If the truth of God’s Word does not condemn you, you are free to be His witness to others of His power in Christ. I believe the world needs more witnesses of:

God’s love, grace and mercy moved by the power of the Holy Spirit to testify by their lives to everything that moves in their ability whether it be at work or play. I hear a shout from heaven that the witnesses are coming – men and women like you who have the power of God in their mouths, who are willing to declare the truth they know and love to a condemned world.  –  John 1:15

May you be His witnesses in this season! – Apostle Anthony Nelson

I Want My Blessing!

Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in Christ:  (Ephesians 1:3)

As we approach the end of summer, most of us have already seen the signs of the changing seasons. The squirrels are collecting nuts, the trees are shedding leaves and the nights are becoming much more chilly.

There is a definite preparation for the change taking place and based on where you live and how you look at fall and winter, you may say that the blessing is on its way. The animals look forward to this blessing with a eager desire to rest and recuperate and replenish their much-used muscles for the coming spring.

Many Christians see the changing times and don’t know what to do more than pray for the Lord’s protection and help. We don’t understand that God has prepared for us blessings in every season of life and all we have to do is prepare ourselves for His blessing which are ours in Christ Jesus.

There is a story in Gen. 27 of Isaac as a father and his last days on the earth. He was the promised son of Abraham and the blessing of the father was on him. He was blind in his old age and desired to pass his “blessing” on to his favourite and firstborn son. The problem with the story was that the firstborn son never desired the blessing of the firstborn in the season when he had all right to it. But his brother, with the help of his mother, tricked the father into releasing the blessing to him instead.

I know some of you are asking, “So what’s the big deal about this blessing that Isaac had and what was so important that both sons wanted it in the end?” Well, the truth is the word “blessing” has not really been understood by most Christians in our generation because of the absence of fathers in their place in the family and the Church.

There are three New Testament Greek words related directly to the English word “blessing.”

(eulogeitos) is an adjective meaning “well spoken of; praised”

(eulogew) is a verb: “to speak well of; to praise; to call down God’s gracious power”

(eulogia) is the noun form, meaning “praise; fine speaking”

These words show up very seldom in Greek classical writing. The concepts are Hebrew in origin, and the idea of blessing permeates the Old Testament. The New Testament Greek words are direct translations from Hebrew. These same Greek words are used more than 400 times in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) to represent the Hebrew concepts of blessing.

The concept among the Old Testament Jews was that God possesses and dispenses all blessing. Adam, Noah, the patriarchs, Moses – were all blessed by God.

Moses, in turn pronounces a parting blessing on the Twelve Tribes (Deut. 33:1 ff).

The idea of “blessing” was also closely related to the question of inheritance - passing blessing from father to son. Jacob blessed Joseph in Gen. 48:15, and Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Jacob put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, although he was the younger.

In the Bible, both blessing and cursing are said to be passed down through two or more generations. For example, there is the concept of the fourth generational curse -divine discipline for a family that is out of fellowship.

In the Christian life, the inheritance that we pass down to our children is spiritual, doctrinal and many times also financial in it manifesting on the earth. It’s time we understand that when Paul said in Ephesians that God has blessed us in heavenly places in Christ that He was not talking only of spiritual insight, but also the grace and power that flowed through Christ (the Anointed One is also ours as we walk in Him.)

Well then, who is blessed? 

1. those who walk in the revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Ps. 89:15).
2. those who are not offended by the life of Christ in them  (Matt. 11:6).
3. those who by faith, believe what God’s Word has spoken (Luke 1:45).
4. those God chastens as His children (Ps. 94:12).
5. those who suffer for Christ (Luke 6:22).
6. those who fear God’s Commandments (Ps. 112:1).

My brother and sisters, I don’t know about you but I want to live to see the blessings of the Lord not only on me, but on my children’s children to the fourth generation. My desire is to walk in the fullness of the blessing which I have in Christ Jesus and to see others be born into my Father’s house grow and become everything God intended them to be on the planet.

It’s our prayer that you may have a deep hunger, born of the Father in your spirit for His Spirit life and to receive the blessing of Christ, which are in heavenly places, become a reality here right now in your daily experience. May the Father bless you in this season, may you prepare yourself and receive what He has laid up for you as you read these few words. May your passion for Him increase and the anointing of the Holy Spirit come upon you in a surpassing way as you read these words in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

- Apostle Anthony Nelson