Turning Your Stone Into a Stage

April 11 2011

Jesus spoke on two different enemies he had to overcome in order to be victorious. 1. Death. 2. The grave.

The Grave

You need to understand “ the greater the power, the greater the artillery that comes against you!!!! There is an equation between your potential and the attack! The greater the attack-the greater the anointing! The greater the anointing-the greater the attack!!
Satan understood Christ’s anointing, therefore he sent forth special securities to make sure that once he had him down, he held him down!!!

They put him in the grave, but then they rolled a stone over the top of the grave. The stone represents those things that the enemy puts in front of you to limit you.

Jesus is dead and they are still afraid of him!!

Nobody is afraid of anything that is dead —a rabbit will jump on a dead lion’s back-buzzards are real brave when things are dead. But Jesus had spoken so much in life that even in death they were afraid he would move!!!!!

When the enemy recognizes you as a potential danger to the building of his kingdom, he puts up extra security, he strengthens the guard. He wants to keep you in deadness and separation because he knows that all that power, persuasion, and strength is going to be used to tear his kingdom apart!!!

You say, “how can God use such a sinner?” You don’t realize that Satan saw the potential way before you were saved and he strengthened the watch. He knows that if you ever get loose, hell is in trouble! If that Spirit dwells in you!

Purpose of the Stone

Destroy faith-anytime there is a sense that something big is blocking us, the first temptation is to feel a sense of hopelessness-
Satan will use any kind of stone to render you helpless. Sickness, debt, just when you’ve made a commitment to start bringing people to church -you’re car breaks down-no further activity! A stone rolled into your life!!!!

Lose your job-stone-no further activity. He wants to render you helpless and impotent. He wants you to go back into the cave and shut up, go into depression, feel sorry for yourself because he’s afraid that you just might get loose!!!

See they didn’t mind the disciples worshipping where Jesus was, they just didn’t want any new miracles. The devil doesn’t mind you worshipping something that use to be, doesn’t mind you worshipping dead religion! The devil doesn’t mind you coming to the tomb and bringing frankincense and myrrh, or talking about what God use to do in your life!

He doesn’t mind you going to church as long as nothing happens when you get there! Doesn’t mind you giving money as long as you don’t believe God will turn around your finances with what you give
Satan is not afraid of dead religion-he doesn’t care how many people build shrines to what Jesus use to be—but he did however put a stone between death and life and he doesn’t want you to cross over to a real experience with God.

You see, the Pharisees put Jesus behind a stone, left him by himself, but what they failed to realize was that the help he needed wasn’t on the outside, it was on the inside!!

You’ve got to understand, when you have God in your life, when nobody comes to rescue you from the outside, you’ve got more than enough power on the inside to take you through the storm.

They messed up when they put “The Rock” inside a rock, and left a rock to hold “The Rock”. They didn’t know that “The Rock” was behind a rock!!! How can a rock stop “The Rock”?

If you will not panic but rather have faith in God, He will turn your stone into a stage! He’ll give you the victory in spite of yourself!!
You see, people don’t judge Jesus by his death; they judge His word by His resurrection.

People don’t judge you because you fall down, they judge your character by whether or not you get up! So get up!

Perseverance always outlasts persecution!

Call upon Him and He will answer! It’s the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead!

Come see us at Powerhouse Church for Easter.

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Intense Men 2011

February 23 2011

Are You Ready? It’s that time again when men of all ages, races, and size assemble in Schulenburg Texas at Jordan Ranch to camp, eat, compete, and learn of God.

Exodus 15:3 “The LORD is a warrior; The LORD is His name.”

This year’s tagline is Spartan Games. We have created an atmosphere of competition where father and son can work together for a common goal. Encouragement, strategy, victory as well as defeat can be understood together as men grow stronger for the challenges of life. You will want to register today as we expect over 1000 men to be camping at the Ranch come April 7-9.

Daniel of the Bible was an intense man. He served God no matter what the circumstance. Lions den, fire, death threats, no matter what, Daniel faced each challenge with a faith in God like few others have ever considered. That’s what I desire, a real strong, steadfast faith. How about you? Most faith like this was forged in the fires of life. Most men who come out of these fires stronger, had some kind of role model; father, that they could emulate and model as they were going through these trials.

A major focus of “Intense” men’s weekend is to teach on fathering your sons. Lets face facts, if we could get the leaders, fathers, to lead in a God honoring way, the majority of our societal curses would be reversed. I believe with all my heart that most men sincerely desire to be great fathers, brothers, husbands, etc. we just need to know the trick.

Men, this weekend is purposed to instill Daniel like tendencies in your heart that will remain with you for a life time.
Go immediately to www.intensemen.com and register yourself and your sons as well.

Keep pressing,
GFW

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Choosing Your Disciples

December 09 2010

We should not be in authority unless we have learned and proven we can produce while under authority.

Quoting one of my spiritual fathers, Dr. Cole has often said, “God’s methods are men. While men look for better methods, God looks for better men.” How should we choose our twelve men? Like Jesus did: one at a time.

As leaders, choosing whom to pour ourselves into is an extremely important decision. It’s even more important considering that the rest of the flock will line up under them. We cannot base our decisions on who has been a Christian the longest, who has given the most financial support, or who would be appalled if they were not asked to be in the group. We need to start with twelve men who possess the heart and spirit of a leader.

“Moreover thou shalt provide out of all people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.” These are the kinds of men a leader needs to seek. Faithful men, fair and godly men, men of truth. These are real leaders.

I have found it to be true that “some people make things happen, some people watch what happens and some people wonder what happened.” The “Majoring in Men” curriculum teaches that leaders determine to influence while followers only happened to influence. If a mentoring strategy is going to work, the leader needs men in his group who are determined to make a difference.

By implementing this strategy, motives are exposed. Men in search of personal recognition will not want to humble themselves under a mentor. Men who are double-minded will not like the accountability mentoring brings. “Good ole’ boys” who are only out to impress the pastor tend to shy away from the responsibility of caring for other church members. Men who only “play church” resent the fact that mentoring requires them to bear fruit.

One thing is for sure, the G-MEN strategy “separates the men from the boys.” The leader’s job is to choose twelve Christlike men, then equip them to be even better leaders, so they can go back and train up the boys. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19

I like the following anonymous statements about the difference between winners and whiners. They always encourage me.

When winners make a mistake, they say, “I was wrong;” when whiners make a mistake, they say, “It wasn’t my fault.”

A winner works harder than a whiner and has more time; a whiner is always “too busy” to do what is necessary.

A winner goes through a problem; a whiner goes around it and never gets past it.

A winner makes and keeps commitments; a whiner makes and forgets promises.

A winner says, “I’m good, but not as good as I ought to be;” a whiner says, “I’m not as bad as a lot of other people.”

Winners listen; whiners just wait until it’s their turn to talk.

Winners respect those who are in authority over them and try to learn something from them; whiners resent those who are superior to them and try to find chinks in their armor.

Winners feel responsible for more than their job; whiners say, “I only work here.”

A winner says, “There ought to be a better way to do this;” whiners say, “That’s the way it’s always been done here.”

Please join us at PowerHouse Church Sundays at 9am & 11am to hear more about the G-Men Strategy.

Keep Pressing,
GFW

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Strategy: G-Men

October 12 2010

President Roosevelt gave a directive to build the Panama Canal in an effort to improve the rate of commerce. Thousands were employed for the job. While progress was being made, it was not at the rate he had intended, so he looked into the matter and was appalled at what he discovered.

The project lacked efficiency because the living conditions of the men were so deplorable that deadly malaria was sweeping the camp killing the workers. He realized that more men were dying trying to build the canal than soldiers were dying in the war.

Roosevelt redirected his efforts to improve the environment and surroundings for the men in Panama. They stopped working on the canal and cleaned the streets, rerouted sewers, cut the grass and installed hanging mosquito nets in the sleeping quarters. These reformations abolished malaria, and work on the canal began again without the hindrance of sickness and death. The men were able to focus on the goal set before them and they completed the Panama Canal in record time.

This is similar to what has manifested in the Church. We were given a mandate from God, a Great Commission, to “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.” We were commanded to build a canal that would allow God’s love and the message of salvation to flow to unsaved humanity. While we have been busy “having church” there has been a plague in the land that we have failed to realize. The spiritual condition of men is unacceptable. The reason for their condition is because they do not have a spiritual father to mentor and disciple them. The attributes of Christ are not being formed in men, so consequently, the laborer, the man, has not done his part to further the move of God in this hour.

I believe God has been so tired of losing men to mediocrity that He dropped a revelation into a few men’s hearts and declared that it is time to defeat the disease. What we must do is stop, re-evaluate the
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G-MEN – CONT’D FROM P. 26

condition of men and deal with the problem of the missing link so
we can open the floodgates to the power of a spiritual canal and accomplish God’s plan to win back his Man!

As we focus our efforts on restoring men and lining up the family in God’s intended order for victory, we create a canal of spiritual maturity that allows the anointing to flow more effectively and efficiently. “Let all things be done decently and in order.” This restoration of order will open up the floodgates of God’s blessings so that we can take the world for Jesus.

Churches often choose to meet members’ needs by implementing programs for special interest groups. There’s women’s ministry, youth ministry, children’s ministry, marital counseling programs, and so forth. All of these ministries are beneficial, but have we first gone straight to the head? Since men are given the commandment to be the shepherd of their home and they are held accountable to oversee and care for their wife and children, doesn’t it make sense to focus our efforts on maturing and developing Christlike men?

Perhaps as much as 60% of church programs wouldn’t be needed if men were taking care of their homes. We could do the “God things,” not just “good things.”

All groups can be “fixed” by focusing on one group. Godly men can minister to the needs of others once they understand their mandate from God. A Christlike man who guides, guards and governs his household with Godly wisdom will minister to the needs of his family far more effectively than any church program.

MEN NEED A FATHER

An astounding 61% of the households in America today are fatherless! How damaging it is to have a nation full of “absentee fathers!”

• 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes.
(Source: U.S. D.H.H.S. Bureau of the Census)

• 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes. (Source: U.S. D.H.H.S. Bureau of the Census)

• 85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes. (Source: Center for Disease control)

• 80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes. (Source: Criminal Justice & Behavior, Vol. 14, p. 403-26, 1978)

• 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes.
(Source: National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools)

• 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes. (Rainbows for all God’s Children)

• 70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes. (Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Special Rpt., Sept. 1998)

• 85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home.
(Source: Fulton Co. Georgia jail populations, Texas Dept. of Corrections, 1992)

In the homes that do have fathers, one statistic I read said the average American father gives only thirty-five seconds of his undivided attention to his children each day. Yet in the Bible we read that in the last days God will “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers.” How can this be in such a fatherless nation? In this hour, God is calling men to rise up as spiritual fathers and instruct other men in the Word through relationship and accountability.

If the guidance and support of a father plays such an important role in our ability to function in the world, how much more do we need a man of God to train us up in spiritual things? Ideally, our natural fathers would have modeled Christ for us and been the one to raise us up in the ways of the Lord, but most of us did not have that example growing up.

Even if we did have a father in the home, we most likely did not see him love our mother as Christ loves the Church, and we probably did not see an example of a laborer in the move of God. Our idea of manhood was likely distorted by our father’s example and our mind was conditioned to base our masculinity on the world’s standards, which directly oppose God’s definition of a man. “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” As men, we must replace ungodly thought patterns about our role as men, with the truth of God’s Word.

“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteous

ness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that full of age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

We shouldn’t have to re-teach the basics because fathers should have taught us the Word while we were growing up and held us accountable so that our generation could have built upon the advances they made. Instead, God’s original plan for the man, the priest of his home, to train his sons to be Christlike, has not been carried out in the home…until now.

God is calling pastors to do more for men than preach from the pulpit. We are to birth spiritual sons. “I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.”

A teacher prepares a lesson, teaches the material and then leaves it up to the student to make use of that teaching. A father, however, wants to know you understand what has been taught because he has a personal interest and desire to see you succeed. Fathers model success. They do not just teach about love, they live it. More is caught than taught. They know their sons and care about them and children are motivated by the confidence their father has in them. It is not enough to teach the Word to men. We have to father them through the Gospel as Paul did.

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Spiritual Unemployment

August 04 2010

“But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:5

Yes, soul-winning is our thrust, but we recognize also that God didn’t tell everyone to be an evangelist.  He said to do the work of an evangelist.  What is the work of an evangelist?  It’s to tell people about Jesus, lead them to Christ and to help build the church.  As believers, we have been commanded to take the Gospel to our neighborhood, city, nation and the world.

Who is going to do it?  I tell the men to do it!  Does this mean women aren’t called to win souls and minister to the lost?  Of course not!  God does not esteem one gender over another. (Genesis 2:24)

Women are well equipped for lifestyle evangelism because women are typically great at relationships.  It’s not an abundance of females in the Body of Christ that’s a problem today.  It’s the lack of male participation that has slowed us down!  From reports I’ve read over the years, the average church congregation is still 80% female and 20% male.  The harvest is plenteous, but the men are few!  “Adam, where art thou?”

Men Must Produce

A man’s creativity, productivity, and ability gives him worth, value, and a sense of dignity.  For that reason, unemployment is a devastating, soul-damaging condition, and one of the greatest stresses in a man’s life.  A man who can’t exercise his ability to be productive and earn money for his family tends to lose his sense of worth.

Have you ever wondered why crime is so high in low-income areas?  It’s not because people who live there have less morals or ethics.  It’s because unemployment tends to be as high as 25% to 30% in such areas, which is what makes them low income.

A man without a job or a means of maximizing his creativity or abilities will search for another outlet to express himself, often illegally.  The reason why a young man deals drugs on the street is because he finds fulfillment and value in his ability to earn money.  He also gets to use his creativity to avoid the law and that adds to his feeling of satisfaction.

We can’t just tell a man to quit dealing drugs and not give him a job.  Somehow, somewhere, he desires an outlet for his ability, creativity and productivity.  When a man walks down the street with a one hundred dollar bill in his pocket, he feels he has it made.  But a man without a penny to his name feels emasculated.  Men who are unemployed, whose wives become dependent on the welfare system, don’t even have the satisfaction of a healthy, respect-filled relationship.  Her source of provision becomes the government instead of her husband.

The Gospel Welfare System

We shudder when society’s unemployment rises into two digits.  But in the church, we settle for unemployment as high as 80% to 95%!

Spiritually unemployed people in the church experience the same loss of value as unemployed people in the world.  When 80% of the people are not doing the work of an evangelist, the majority of the congregation depends on the pastor, like a gospel welfare system.

In a gospel welfare system, the pastor becomes the source for all revelation and spiritual help.  I’m a minister, but I won’t deny that some ministers perpetuate dependency because they get a feeling of importance.  But ministers of the whole gospel teach the five-fold ministries out of Ephesians that equip the Body for the work of the ministry.

The Church depends on every member doing the work of an evangelist.  Church members must take responsibility for the move of God in the local church.  I learned this principle first from Dr. Cole’s book Strong Men in Tough Times, but I’ve witnessed it, experienced it, and preached it so much, it’s mine now!  It’s just so true.

Spiritually unemployed people are the most likely to become dissatisfied with the church and turn to illicit, ungodly, even illegal sources of pleasure.  The Church overall is struggling with a plague of immorality, due in large measure to the high spiritual unemployment rate.  Church members with little to do spend their time flirting with sin until they fall right into it.

A church full of spiritually employed members accomplishes the vision at a much faster pace, with a fraction of the need for counseling and crisis management.  By mobilizing men to do their share of the work, we work smarter, not harder.  We need members to move from the pew to the plow.  It starts by employing men.

This, again, is not to minimize the service of women.  No way!  Women are shouldering much of the load today because of the absence of men.  We need the head, the laborer, doing his part.  Men are to be setting the example for their family, and instead they are just sitting.  Men, let’s get off the bench and get in the game!

A great understanding of this is that men (Adam) were the first laborers put into the garden to till it or work the harvest!  God in His infinite wisdom took Eve out of Adam and made a statement—“The two shall become one.”  We are truly the “laborer” when we are unified and one together in the harvest.  The most efficient laborer in the harvest is the husband and wife as one working together.

At PowerHouse Church, our calling is to restore the man so he can restore, teach, and lead his family as Christ leads the church. I invite you to come and see the vision next Sunday @ 9am or 11am, or check out ManChurch on Wednesdays at 7:30pm. I also encourage you to check out www.dangerousgames.org as a resource to help men be who God has called them to be.

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A Great Call

June 16 2010

A great friend, Larry Walker, sent this to me.

“A teenage boy had just passed his driving test and inquired of his father when they could discuss his use of the car.  His father said he’d make a deal with his son: ‘You bring your grades up from a C to a B average, study your Bible a little, and get your hair cut. Then, we’ll talk about the car.’  The boy thought about that for a moment, decided he’d settle for the offer, and they agreed on it.  After about six weeks his father said, ‘Son, you’ve brought your grades up and I’ve observed that you have been studying your Bible, but I’m disappointed you haven’t had your hair cut.’  The boy said, ‘You know, Dad, I’ve been thinking about that, and I’ve noticed in my studies of the Bible that Samson had long hair, John the Baptist had long hair, Moses had long hair…and there’s even strong evidence that Jesus had long hair.’  You’re going to love the Dad’s reply: ‘Did you also notice they all walked everywhere they went?’”

Only a father, or a son with a strong father, can relate to this story. Larry used to coach the great La Marque football teams of the mid 90’s. He’s been in many state Championship games and even won some. But his greatest battle to date was with a kidney that became stubborn and wouldn’t submit to real good coaching!

He needed a new kidney, a replacement or a sub as we used to call them. He found one in an unusual place…a girl.  Not just any girl – his own daughter.  Larry raised his daughter, Kristen, to be solid in her Christianity.  Solid in her understanding of sacrifice. ( I know this because of the fruit of her life.)  There were times, when she was small and did not understand, that Kristen didn’t agree with her dad. Nevertheless, Larry maintained his standards of truth based on the Word of God. For that, he received a great daughter who in the moment of greatness chose correctly.

2 Timothy 3:16 (NlT) All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

The Bible has a purpose and it helps us to know or see when we are wrong.  We don’t like to hear that we are wrong, but the Bible is right.  When used to raise children – natural or spiritual – it produces champions that will rise to the occasion and do the right thing. Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Congratulations to Larry, who now has a new kidney.  Aside from the occasional urge for a glass of pink lemonade, all is good.

Great call Larry, well done Kristen.

Keep pressingg

GF

Join us at PowerHouse Christian Center in Katy for our series on 1 Timothy – this Sunday at 9am or 11am.

We believe so much in the restoration of families at PowerHouse Christian Center that we have built a family restoration retreat.  This retreat is the finest in the state and sits right outside of Schulenburg on 86 acres. Men’s retreats, women’s retreats, marriage retreats, youth retreats, weddings, corporate retreats – all are welcome.  Please check out the website at www.jordanranch.org and contact us to tell us how we can serve you!

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