The intended purpose of this poll was to find out if anyone was more favorable in the eyes of the public than a quarterback, whose name I’ve heard mentioned but don’t know anything about. -Now, now…if you knew his name, you’d be wondering yourself just how I could miss a name like that. But the truth is I don’t watch sports or pay any attention because I don’t enjoy sports. I am simply into other things.

To get back to the answer to my question..who is the most popular person in America today? The answer was Abraham Lincoln. After all this time, President Lincoln is still viewed favorably by the eyes of the public for holding this country together in the most devastating war in U.S. history, and altering our nations course forever. He called for fasting and prayer- a day to ask God for forgiveness of the pride of a nation. Lincoln was a lot of things, but even he pointed us to Jesus. It was not Lincoln who held us together, it was the hand of God upon the man, who carried out the will of Jesus towards us- unity, compassion, mercy, and love.

Today the earth is hungry. God’s people cry out for the rain of his presence like never before. Global awareness through technology spotlights the condition of our neighbors and has enabled us to both help and hurt those around us. Could it be, that when looking at the mess we are in here in American we see that God is raising up hope and creating opportunities for his mercies to shine newer this morning than ever before? Could it be that as hard as some fight against the name of Jesus it is intended to spread his name further around the world? His victories are being seen in increasing measure,and that cannot happen without resistance? It’s the simple supply and demand principle here I am thinking of. Could it be that on the earth today we are on the verge of an outpouring of his presence in a way that we have not yet seen that will change the course of World history today?

The poll taken noted that all Republicans polled had a favorable view of Jesus. Men of God, Women of the word, businessmen and young adults, in this coming election, weather you are a republican or not, is it not time to stand up and ask God for even greater favor upon the name of Jesus in our day? The Bible spoke of Jesus growing in wisdom and stature and favor with God and men. And Jesus, is not dead. He is alive, therefore I am led to make the conclusion that as he grew in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man in the days he walked this earth as one of us, so does he continue even now.

If I am made in the image of Christ Jesus, I too am supposed to follow his way. Our big questions as Americans and Christians today is, are we growing? Are we creating an opportunity for God’s fame to astound the earth in ways we’ve not yet seen? Are we growing in wisdom, and in stature, and in favor with God first, and the men and women around us that we see each day?

Take another poll. Poll yourself on how you are doing. Who is the most famous person in your life? In the poll mentioned above, higher than both Lincoln and Jesus, we the people stood in favor of ourselves than either of these two men. Since we are all individuals, that did not create a majority. “Each one to his own…” If we each seek ourselves in the way we voiced our favors in this poll, we need a perspective adjustment. At the end of it all, we are simply dust, and God stands alone. He wins every time. -Yet he is so kind, as to desire our unity. He cares for us with jealous love. I say, it’s about time, we respond in his image. -With a jealous love of the name of Jesus.

All in favor say “I”. -or… should that be “Jesus.”

As believers, we know His word to be true in our lives. We sense an increase in the inner man as we wait for the increase to become evident in the outward circumstances. His increase is certainly different than our perspective of the word. His definition means more of Him in us. It means more of His nature, His character, His virtue, His spirit, His continual Presence and faithful love. It means more awareness on our part of His on-going activity in building His Kingdom on earth, both in us and through us everyday.

Pondering upon all that this word means, we become so aware of His grace and power to make it happen. INCREASE! Are we desperate for increase: more of Him and less of us? In order to walk fully in the destiny He has prepared for us, we must give way to His thoughts of us, as well as His plans for our lives. Do we long for the inner expansion that comes with increased waiting on God, increased time in His word, increased worship and intimacy. Increase: Are we making ready?

Have you had things in your life that have not seemingly worked together? Have you received
prophetic words over the years and you’re wondering how is this ever going to come together?
Hopefully you’ve sought the Lord on some of these words and put into action some of the
direction that He’s given you, but still, things have just not seemed to work together the way you
thought they would, or in the timing that you thought it would happen. We can have success in
one area and not in another and it just doesn’t make sense to us. This can certainly be frustrating
and cause disappointment, right?

Well, I just want to encourage you with this scripture. Ephesians 1:10 says, “That in the
dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both
which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him” The terminology “fullness of time”
means that when God has said the time is right, something will happen, especially if He has said
it will. The time preceding the event is thus like a glass of water slowly filling up as the time
rolls on until when the glass is full it has reached the time for the designated event to occur.

Well dear church, we are certainly heading into “the fullness of time” or “synchronization”
in so many ways. All that we’ve experienced in Father up until now, the lessons learned, the
sleepless nights at times, the success and disappointments have all been used to prepare us up
until this point and we are about to see that all has not been lost, we have just been positioned
for one of the greatest outpourings of the Holy Spirit that the world has ever seen. God is such
an environmentalist – He wastes nothing – but all things work together for our good. That
is just so exciting to think about – get ready because whether you realize it or not – you are
being “synched”.

It seems that over and over we, the people of the earth have gone through great periods of transition. We can look all the way back to the days of Adam when he and Eve transitioned in their relationship with God when they chose to sin.  They did not have the same type of relationship with God as they had experienced since the day of their creation. Fear came in between them and God, and shame. Then, God created a physical boundary between them and the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil by placing the angels with flaming swords to guard the garden.  For the first time, mankind experienced the harsh reality of transition and confusion in knowledge. Adam and Eve  must have spent much time reviewing their decision; knowing what God had said and pondering what God had done as a result of their decisions. Confusion came in remembering the words of the serpent which we know caused doubt of God, and resulted in a new enmity between them and other creatures as a result of sin.  No longer was it easy to rule over all creatures and earth. As a result of sin, the earth became difficult to work with, not all animals were at peace with them, and their work was hard. Pain entered the world, along with new birth. So, in summation, Adam and Eve faced transition.

Despite all of this,God had a promise.  The tree of life would again be given to man.  It would just take a very long time (in our timeframe) to come to pass.  Many people from the time of Adam, until Mary had to wait for him to appear. Jesus is the tree of life.  So, here’s the question. If transition began when Adam and Eve sinned, and changed the relationship between them and God; separating them from the tree of life, what then changes when that tree of life has been restored? If God walked in the garden with Adam and Eve, and sin introduced confusion and death, difficulty, and enmity, should not all of this be restored in Christ?  Of course!  As a people we have been taught through time, that we are still living with a hard boundary line between us and the tree of life.  Yet, God took that away when he gave us Jesus!
Transition is supposed to give us light and revelation of the change abolishing separation with God and draw us closer to him!  Transition literally means “change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., toanother; change”!
One lecture I heard this week mentioned that “God really, really, wanted/wants kids!” And it’s so true. We just forget to look at the truth and we keep on keeping on as generations have before us.  When God brings about transition, do we see it in the light of its true purpose? The purpose is relationship change resulting in restoration and availability to the tree of life.  God really wanted us to receive from the tree of life.
God did everything possible to restore the relationship he created in the beginning with us on his end, and he removed the barrier, the veil between us and him at the death of Jesus. He gave us back the tree of life embodied in the sending of Jesus and demonstrated at the resurrection!
Originally transition changed the position of mankind from easily receiving from the tree of life, to life separated from that tree.  Now, I believe transition is an instrument or reminder from God to bring change in our hearts. Transition is meant to bring us from a position of striving separation, to receiving from the tree of life. – It is meant to bring us into and receive from the very presence of God. The Holy Spirit brings truth and life.  He is the instrument of change in transition.
God really wanted you. Are you a transitioning child in the family of God, who sits eating from the tree of life, listening to daddy? Or are you becoming childish in transition?
So, repeating the prayer from 1692: We repent Lord of our stubborn striving, and our false believing ways, and we ask God that we change as you intended so “that all iniquity may be put away, which hath stirred God’s holy jealousy against this land; that you would show us what we know not, and help us, wherein we have done amiss, to do so no more.” We choose to embrace transition Lord so you can change our heart position and breathe life into the land again in this season of transition.

In early October I always begin to pray for the next year. I ask God what He has in store for HLF and for the upcoming Year. For 2012, He was speaking two words; transitions and impartations. While also bringing to mind of the meaning of the number 12.

The Biblical Meaning of the Number 12 from Biblestudy.org
Twelve is a perfect number, signifying perfection of government, or of governmental perfection.
Perfection of organization here some examples:

How is the number 12 represented in Solomon’s Temple?
The temple of Solomon has the number twelve as the predominating factor, in contrast with the Tabernacle, which had the number five. This agrees with the grace which shines in the Tabernacle, and with the glory of the kingdom which is displayed in the Temple.

When we come to the New Testament we find the same great principle pervading the Apostolic government as we see in the Patriarchal and National, for we have:
The twelve Apostles.
The twelve foundations in the heavenly Jerusalem.
The twelve gates.
The twelve pearls.
The twelve angels.

Measurement of New Jerusalem will be multiples of 12.
The measurement of the new Jerusalem will be 12,000 furlongs square, while the wall will be 144 (12 x 12) cubits, Revelation 21:16,17.

The number of the sealed in Revelation 7:4 will be 144,000, and all that has to do with the Twelve Tribes is necessarily pervaded by this number, such as the stones in the High Priest’s breastplate, the stones taken out of the Jordan, the number of the spies, etc. etc., and therefore we have not referred to all such reference in these pages.

Who were the 12 people specially ANOINTED to serve in government?
Twelve person were anointed for government of various kinds. Of course, all kings, priests, prophets, and healed lepers were anointed; but the circumstances of the anointing of twelve individuals is specially recorded. Of these, five were priests (Aaron and his four sons, Exodus 6:23) and seven were kings: David was anointed three times, viz: by Samuel, 1 Samuel 16:13; by the men of Judah, 2Samuel 2:4; by the elders of Israel, 2Samuel 5:3.

It will be observed from the above list that Saul, the man of MAN’S choice, is thus stamped with the number 6. David, the man of God’s choice, is stamped with the number seven. For Saul and David are the sixth and seventh respectively in order. The words, “a man after God’s own heart,” means simply a man of God’s choice.

At what age did Jesus first appear in public?
Twelve years of age was Jesus when He first appears in public (Luke 2:42) and utters His first recorded words (see number 1).

Twelve Legions of Angels

Twelve legions of angels mark the perfection of angelic powers (Matthew 26:53).

The Half of Twelve
The half of twelve sometimes denotes interruption or defect in human government, while the number of occurrences of words agrees with its signification, e.g., aulh, aulee, “palace,” occurs twelve times.

Additional commentary on the Biblical Meaning of 12 *
The number 12 is found 187 times total in the Bible, 22 of which are in the book of Revelation.
The number 12 represents divine authority and appointment, as well as governmental foundation and perfection, and shows completeness. 12 is also used as a signature of Israel. Truth is symbolized by 144, or 12 x 12.

There are 12 divisions of heaven called the Mazzaroth, which God uses for signs and seasons. The testimony of the stars is numerically in harmony with the Bible: “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalms 19:1).

There were 12 sons of Jacob, whose families formed the 12 tribes of Israel with 12 princes; there were also 12 princes of Ishmael.

The high priest’s breastplate, used for judgment, had 12 stones representing the 12 tribes. The showbread consisted of 12 loaves. During the period of the judges, 12 judges judged Israel. Solomon appointed 12 officers over Israel.

At age 12, Jesus appeared at the temple. Jesus ordained 12 apostles, who were sent with authority to preach the Gospel and to be witnesses of His resurrection. After His resurrection, Jesus told the apostles that He had been given all authority in heaven and earth — the divine authority of God.
During the great tribulation, 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel are saved, totaling 144,000 (Revelation 7). A second 144,000 are gathered from the earth to serve the Lamb and follow Him (Revelation 14:1-5). The bride of Christ is pictured with a crown of 12 stars (Revelation 12:1).
The New Jerusalem has 12 gates of pearls, 12 angels at the gates and the names of the 12 tribes of Israel over the gates. The wall of the city has 12 foundations of precious stones; in them are the names of the 12 apostles. The wall is 144 cubits high (12 x 12). The city is 12,000 furlongs (1,500 miles) square.

Looking forward to a great year of organization, transition, and impartations Both personally and corporately.
Blessings
Pastor Gerard

I have been thinking about this in relation to us being the fragrance of Christ to those around us. As we press in to be more like Him in our words and actions, we release a fragrance of His love. This fragrance is smelled by those who come near us. It is released in to the atmosphere. The responses to Christ’s love are similar to other natural fragrances. They can be happy and excited looking forward to what lies ahead, or they can be grieved by their personal life experiences. The best part is that we are the fragrance of Christ bringing hope, joy and love into a world longing for it.

By Maureen Haberstro

This morning as I was getting ready come to the office, the Lord reminded me of a conversation that I had with a member of the GLBT community. In our conversation, the person said, “This is who I am, it’s in my DNA, I can’t be anything but who I am, I take me wherever I am and I live from out of that place.” It seemed funny to me because I hadn’t challenged this person about their lifestyle in any way and while I don’t agree that lifestyle is biblical, I heard the Holy Spirit in this statement challenging me. “If people who don’t know me and don’t carry truth can live their life with such conviction, tenacity, with no apology about who they are, what about you? What about the church? What if My people really believed that I was their DNA and took the healing, grace and love of my Son everywhere, in every situation, because you can’t help being a Jesus person – what would that look like, how would that change things?” I sat at my desk and realized that as a Jesus person, I can live with the same tenacity – I can’t help it – it’s who I am.

Yesterday I attended my yearly Cousins Christmas Party. We haven’t been a very together family but a group of us have been dedicated to sort of “repairing the breach” made by our parents who didn’t always get along. We’ve found each other to be really nice people – we are all very different. One of my cousins recently visited a country where there have been religious apparitions occurring and expressed her disdain at the tenacity by which some people seem to run after such things. I was listening intently, mostly trying to discern what the Holy Spirit was saying during this conversation – not looking to argue about the validity of such things – but Jesus, where are you in this conversation. My cousin had attended a service where there was “laying on of hands” for the sick and she was deeply touched by the Presence of Jesus! She said she had to sit down and people told her that her facing was “glowing”. She shared how the experience frightened her, but yet she felt years of pain over divorce, loss of loved ones and just the brokenness of being human in a fallen world being lifted off of her shoulders. And then it happened – I couldn’t help being who I am – I had to stop the conversation she was having with the group because Jesus had something to say to her. I began to prophecy over her as the rest of my family sat there stunned. I couldn’t stop it, nor did I want to – I was being who Jesus created me to be and delivering love and grace to a hurting family member. It changed the whole tone of the party to one of awe and reverence for the One whose birthday we were celebrating. It brought us all closer.

We are in a season where people can be a little more vulnerable, a little more open and if you stop and listen for that still small voice in the midst of all the hustle and bustle, you’ll hear Him speaking, it’s your DNA.

by Associate Pastor Jan Popielski

12/5/11

I am glad there is a different message to be tuned into a different broadcast. One that generates from a different government.