Pastor Lindell Ballenger

There are yet a few things that need to be resolved, and as you put your trust in the Lord He will replace uncertainty with firm direction.  Do not hesitate to move ahead with plans or proposals, because the Lord is with you.  Do what you must do quickly so that it does not distract from spiritual concentration.  If you will rise up and truly walk in the Spirit, the Lord will manifest Himself to you in ways that you could not have imagined.  Seat yourself in heavenly places by faith.  Heavenly places are anywhere you walk and live.  You bring heaven to earth by your very presence.  Christ is in you the Hope of Glory. He is the Head and you are His body and He has put all things under His feet.  Ephesians 2:4-7  But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

This is a small quote from the Sunday message at Jubilee International Pensacola.  Be encouraged.  He has heard your cry and He will bring you up out of the pit where you have been and give you a new song to sing.

HE BROUGHT ME OUT OF THE PIT

PSALM 40:1- 5

I waited patiently for the LORD;

And He inclined to me,

And heard my cry.

2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,

Out of the miry clay,

And set my feet upon a rock,

And established my steps.

3 He has put a new song in my mouth —

Praise to our God;

Many will see it and fear,

And will trust in the LORD.

4 Blessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust,

And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

5 Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works

Which You have done;

And Your thoughts toward us

Cannot be recounted to You in order;

If I would declare and speak of them,

They are more than can be numbered.

A Personal pit is a very deep subject, The Pit. There is a pit because I went there.  So many don’t talk about stresses in life and just believed if you are full of the Holy Spirit it would all be all right.

Over 50 per cent of hospital patients don’t have physical problems just physical symptoms.  Stress and emotional problems will manifest in physical symptoms.  Panic attacks pain, suicide etc.

There are times when you can’t feel the presence of God anywhere. It is as though you have been deserted.  It is as if I was in the pit of despair.

But while I was in the pit I discovered many had come down there before me because there was writing on the pit wall. As I was in the pit I began to look at the graffiti writing on the pit wall and I began to read.

There is a balm in Gilead.  I was up to my neck in deep crap but God sent Ebid Melech to pull me out of the pit.

Signed: Jeremiah. 

The lion sleeps tonight p. s. The lions don’t bite.

Signed: Daniel

While in the pit I began to read these words.

Smoke does not get in your eyes they thought they threw three men into the fire but there are now four in here and one looks like the Son of God. p.s. We will not bow and we will not burn.

Signed: The Three Hebrew Children.

I read this on the pit wall.

Expect twice as much as you had before because I know my redeemer lives.

Signed: Job

I begin to get encouraged. There were other writings on the pit wall that caught my attention.

One said, the fish will spit you up and you will do the will of God. Signed: Jonah

Another on pit wall read:

Jail house rock:  There is a whole lot of shaking going on.  P. S shake it off.

Signed: Paul

I read these words on the pit wall:

I will run through a troop and I will leap over a wall the bigger they come the harder they fall.

Signed: David

I was starting to get encouraged by now. I saw some more writing and I wrote it down.

I am he that lives and was dead and I am alive forever more, and I have the keys.

Signed: Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

I begin to discover I was not the first one to go down to the pit.  David said he brought me up out of a horrible pit.

David, Jesus, Jonah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Paul, they all had been there.

I read these words on the pit wall:

I lost my coat twice my brothers got it and Potiphers wife got it.  They got my coat but they didn’t get my dream and I am coming up out of here.

Signed: Joseph

I begin to get encouraged, God has given me a dream and if the devil could get my dream he would have me. My dreams motivate me. This is something I have in me.          

The Devil wants to steal  your dreams and get someone in your face to say you don’t have it go home, you failed, quit.  He wants somebody to stare you down and take your dreams from you.

Some of you are in the pit and devil is trying to take your dreams from you. Don’t allow it.  Talk about your dreams. Read the graffiti on the wall of the pit from those who have gone before.

God will let you dream be as big as you can dream.

Understand if you dream big you may live a lonely life.  People despise big dreamers.

Go ahead and start dreaming they may take your coat and kick you out of their company. Oh yes, Big dreamers sometimes live lonely lives but the future is amazing.

Character is what we do when no one is looking. It is not the same as reputation which is what other people think of us. Character is not what we have done but who we are. Character is the courage to do what needs doing; the discipline to make decisions and carry them out; the vision to see far into the future and deep into people’s hearts and the endurance to keep going in spite of ridicule, discomfort of boredom.

Don’t Get Distracted

Don’t allow current situations and demands to cause you to get sidetracked from your main purpose and destiny.  Procrastination and neglect will lead you away from vitality in the Spirit.  Be diligent to seek the face of the Lord and acquire wisdom and guidance.  Position yourself with right motives and attitudes so that you can acquire the best that He has for you.  Luke 10:41-42   And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

 I was blessed by this interesting writing from From the Academic Writing Class – Jubilee College International

Jubilee International Church

As soon as I pulled up to this building, I felt a familiar urgency.  I needed to get in there.  This is the most important place I come to in my week.  Some people call it church.  I call it home.  Jubilee International is the best place to be on any given Sunday.  Even as I walk into the building, I am captivated.

The word, ‘Jubilee’, is personified at the front door.  As I am embraced with a warm hug by the high-energy greeters, I am grateful that it is not a dry hello.  The genuine smiles that accompany those hugs bring confirmation that I am among family.  The intense presence of the Holy Spirit is apparent in those first few moments. 

I automatically feel the freedom to worship as I walk further into the building.  The foyer, although expansive, might seem intimidating, but it is actually quite inviting.  Immediately, I am equally welcomed by the anointed artwork.  Like a miniature version of the Sistine Chapel, Jubilee’s intense ceiling pulls your gaze upward.  The canvas that graces the ceiling is adorned with heavenly depictions that usher me into the Holy Spirit filled atmosphere. 

Once in the sanctuary, I am comforted by not only more artwork, but, also, the art of worship.  To me, the definition of worship is what I see before me.  Hands are lifted and waving, feet are jumping and dancing, and flags are cutting the air making a boom all their own.  All of this is done in sync to the electrifying, divine-deposited  praise.  Adding to the realm that is classic Jubilee, the musicians are ministering, using their instruments as their mouthpieces.  The harmony of their worship flows effortlessly between them.  How can you live without this kind of day?

Upon leaving church every Sunday, I always reflect on the revelations that enrich my life.  In encountering the agape love in every hug, the culture of every art piece, the freedom of every expression of worship, I stand by my affirmation that Sundays at Jubilee are the best day of my week.  I wish ever tomorrow was ‘any given Sunday’.

What amazing days to be alive and being a citzen of the Kingdom of God.  Wednesday I ministered in Glory and Peace Church International in Winnipeg, Manitoba with Pastors Mike & Maria Efezino. What a great church that is touching the nations from Canada. Then Thursday through Sunday at one of the most beautiful places in the world, Gods River Reserve in Northern Manitoba.  Pastor Marcel and the church are doing an amazing work reaching out to the more than 60 reserves of First Nations people.  The tribal chief and council members came tonight asking for prayer and we prayed and ministered to them.  God never ceases to amaze me with His Goodness and Power.  Pastor Curt and Sandy Jacobson from Thief River Falls Mn and Pastor Earon James from Jubilee are with me. Just wanted to give this good report.  These are exciting days to be doing Kingdom Business.  Oh Yes I must mention those big Northern Pike I was forced to put in the boat today.

I am rebloging this article by R. Albert Mohler Jr. This is an unusually long article but it is significant and as Christians we must pay close attention to what is taking place around us. This is not a time to be complacent and prayerless.

For several days before this ruling I have been hearing this in my Spirit, Woe to the people who call good evil and evil good.  There is gross perversion in the land and deception at every turn.  We must not give yourselves to perversion and deception.  Seek truth in every circumstance and stand for what is pure and undefiled.  Raise the bar, set a standard, rise up to the next level of righteousness and integrity.  We are a people called by His name.  We must stand together for the “Faith once delivered to the saints.” Live a life worthy of your calling. 

Philippians 1:27-28 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.

 Why the Proposition 8 Decision Matters

 (the emphasis are mine)

The importance of the decision handed down yesterday by U. S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker in California’s Proposition 8 trial will be difficult to exaggerate. Proponents of same-sex marriage immediately declared a major victory—and for good reason. The editorial board of The New York Times declared the verdict “an instant landmark in American legal history,” and so it is, even if later reversed upon appeal.

Judge Walker’s decision is sweeping and comprehensive, basically affirming every argument and claim put forth by those demanding that California’s Proposition 8 be declared unconstitutional. That proposition, affirmed by a clear majority of California voters, amended the state’s constitution to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. In one brazen act of judicial energy, California’s voters were told that they had no right to define marriage, and thousands of years of human wisdom were discarded as irrational.

Even as the case is immediately appealed, the reality is that a Federal court has now declared that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. Pressing beyond this verdict, Judge Walker also released a set of “findings” that include some of the most radical statements about marriage yet encountered.

In rendering his verdict, Judge Walker declared that California’s Proposition 8 violates both the equal protection and due process rights of homosexual citizens. The proposition, he concluded, “fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license.” He continued: “Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples.”

In order to reach this conclusion, Judge Walker provided more than 100 pages of legal reasoning, based on the evidence that he allowed or accepted. On page after page, Judge Walker arbitrarily accepted the claims put forth by proponents of same-sex marriage as rational, and declares the evidence and arguments put forth by the defenders of Proposition 8 as lacking in any rational basis.

The decision handed down Wednesday in San Francisco comes with virtually no surprise. Judge Walker’s statements and rulings in the course of the trial proceedings pointed directly to the decision released yesterday.

This decision, whatever its final resolution, serves as an undeniable reminder of the power of Federal judges. A single unelected judge nullified the will of the voters of California as expressed through the electoral process. Those who have been arguing that judicial activism is a fiction will have to look this decision in the face. The New York Times celebrated Judge Walker’s usurpation of the political process, arguing that “there are times when legal opinions help lead public opinions.” The paper and the proponents of same-sex marriage clearly hope that this is one of those times.

That is clearly the most significant dimension of the verdict. Judge Walker’s decision, bearing the full force of a Federal court, adds to the sense of inevitability that the proponents of same-sex marriage have been so carefully constructing in recent years. Defenders of marriage as a heterosexual institution should resist the temptation to minimize the significance of this decision, even as the verdict is vigorously appealed. Yesterday’s ruling is a huge win for the homosexual community, and a significant step toward the full normalization of homosexuality within the culture.

Anyone who reads Judge Walker’s decision will see that the normalization of homosexuality was one of his major concerns. Any belief that heterosexual relations are morally superior to homosexual relations “is not a proper basis on which to legislate,” he asserted. Proposition 8, he insisted, “was premised on the belief that same-sex couples simply are not as good as opposite-sex couples.” The judge claimed to have “uncloaked” the real reason California’s voters adopted Proposition 8—”a desire to advance the belief that opposite-sex couples are morally superior to same-sex couples.”

The judge released enumerated “findings” within his decision. Among the most important—and startling—of these are the following:

“Religious beliefs that gay and lesbian relationships are sinful or inferior to heterosexual relationships harm gays and lesbians.”

“Children do not need to be raised by a male parent and a female parent to be well-adjusted, and having both a male and a female parent does not increase the likelihood that a child will be well-adjusted.”

“The gender of a child’s parent is not a factor in the child’s adjustment. The sexual orientation of an individual does not determine whether that individual can be a good parent.”

“Same-sex couples are identical to opposite-sex couples in the characteristics relevant to the ability to form successful marital unions.”

In a breathtaking and brief sentence, Judge Walker asserted: “Gender no longer forms an essential part of marriage; marriage under law is a union of equals.”

Until this verdict, such language had never appeared in a decision of a Federal court. If gender is no longer “an essential part of marriage,” then marriage has been essentially redefined right before our eyes.

The religious liberty dimensions of the decision are momentous and deeply troubling. While Judge Walker declared that the religious freedoms of citizens and religious bodies were not violated because no such body is required to recognize or perform same-sex marriage, the very structure of his argument condemned religious and theological objections to homosexuality and same-sex marriage as both harmful and irrational.

Beyond this, Judge Walker claimed to read the minds of California’s voters, arguing that the majority voted for Proposition 8 based on religious opposition to homosexuality, which he then rejected as an illegitimate state interest. In essence, this establishes secularism as the only acceptable basis for moral judgment on the part of voters. The judge’s statements condemning religious opposition to homosexuality speak for themselves in terms of animus.

Judge Walker’s decision will be appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, also located in San Francisco—the most notoriously liberal appeals court in the nation. Inevitably, the case will be then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The decision handed down by Judge Walker, especially as expressed in his findings, was clearly constructed with such appeals in mind.

Thousands of cases make their way through the Federal courts each year. Some are important, but only a few have lasting legal significance. Whatever happens on appeal, the decision handed down yesterday by Judge Vaughn R. Walker will reverberate for decades to come. Yesterday, a very important gavel fell on marriage. The central institution of human civilization suffered a direct hit, and its future hangs in the balance.

R. Albert Mohler, Jr. is president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. This commentary also appears on his blog..

We have just been so blessed by True Worship 2010. An experience like none other I have ever enjoyed in the presence of God.  I just hear the Lord saying, Let your spirit soar high above the mundane and earthly concerns.  Get above the things that bog you down physically, mentally and emotionally.  Rise up into the place where you can adjust your perspective and see clearly in the spiritual realm to know His will and purpose for you.  Leave behind all fear, anxiety and worldly concern.  Come up into His presence where you can be refreshed, restored, and renewed.  Psalms 16:11 You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

All of us have had times when things were extremely difficult but God’s Grace intervened. A time when there was a simultaneous operation of darkness and grace. It reminds me of Romans 5:20, which says, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” The word “abounded” that Paul uses to describe this abundance of sin comes from the Greek word, pleonadzo, which simply means more. It denotes something that exists in abundance. The Greek tense describes an abundance that is growing larger and more expansive with the passing of time. The implication is that sin is never stagnant but continually grows, increases, and expands. This means Romans 5:20 could be translated, “Where sin exists in abundance and is multiplying and constantly expanding.” This describes the growing nature of unrestrained sin.

But Paul doesn’t stop there! He goes on to say, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more Abound.” The words “much more abound” are from the Greek word huperperisseo, which describes something that is growing out of measure, beyond proportion, and out of its banks to a far-stretched extreme. It is like a giant river that is being flooded with waters from upstream. Those waters are coming downstream so fast that the river can no longer hold the raging current in its banks. Its water rises, rises, and rises until it finally begins pouring out of its banks and begins to flood everything in sight. This is exactly the idea of the word Paul uses when he says, “Grace did much more abound.”

This means Romans 5:20 could be interpreted:

“For wherever sin exists in abundance and is multiplying and constantly expanding, that is precisely the time and place where grace is poured out in a far greater, surpassing quantity.”

Regardless of where we live and what we are facing - regardless of how bad the situation around us looks to our natural eyes - the grace of God is flowing downstream, and God is lavishly pouring it forth in abundant measure! In fact, it is impossible for us to imagine, measure, or even dream of the amount of divine grace God is sending in our direction. No banks can hold the flood of grace He is sending our way! It isn’t just “a lot” of grace; it is more, more, more, and much more grace! The flood of grace will always far surpass the flood of sin and darkness!

Satan will try to stop you from doing the will of God, but never forget that the enemy cannot prevail against you if you will only yield to the Lord. You will find that God is supplying more than enough grace to match whatever the enemy is trying to do. If you will surrender to that divine grace, it will rise higher and higher until it eventually floods every area in your life. Instead of seeing the destruction of the enemy, you will see the awesome outpouring of the marvelous grace of God everywhere you look!

So when a situation looks bad don’t be too surprised if you hear God’s Spirit say, “Pour it on! Keep it up! Don’t stop for a minute! Keep pressing ahead! It is in dark and difficult moments like these that I love to work the most! This is when My grace super-exceeds the darkness of the world. Wherever sin and darkness abound is where I really pour out My grace!

Declare today that God’s grace is poured out mightily to drive back the forces of darkness during times of difficulty and chaos. God uses these dark moments as opportunities to pour out His grace and to show others who He is! The world may reel in fear and uncertainty, but God is always near. God will reveal His power and intervene with His grace to bring the solution for this difficult hour!

If Jesus is Lord, He must receive first priority in your life. He is above every other love and every other loyalty. He is above every goal, dream, and ambition. You cannot be a disciple and say, “Lord, first let me..?’ He must be first…in everything. Otherwise, He is not truly Lord of your life, regardless of what you say. Jesus said:

Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say? (Luke 6:46).

You cannot call Him Lord and then start making excuses for not obeying Him. You can’t claim that He owns you and then go ahead and do whatever you please. In the Kingdom of Heaven there is no such thing as a “weekend citizen:” You do not follow Him one time and not another depending on your preference. If Jesus is Lord, you cannot live for Him on Sunday and for yourself the rest of the week. Jesus is either Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all. The Lordship of Christ is a 24/7 proposition. There is no other schedule.

Living under a Lord also means giving up all concepts of personal ownership. This does not mean you have to sell your house or sell your car or give away all your personal possessions. It does mean learning not to take a proprietary view toward these things. The King of Heaven is a righteous and benevolent Lord who graciously allows us to use and fully appropriate His riches and resources and all good things. That is one of our rights as Kingdom citizens. We can enjoy all of these things without measure as long as we remember who owns them. The moment we begin to think that they belong to us, however, we set ourselves up for trouble. If we think ownership is ours, we make ourselves a lord. This takes us out of alignment with the will and character of the King because in His Kingdom there can be only one Lord.

What happens when we think of ourselves as owners? In our dog-eat-dog culture it means we feel we have to fight for what we get, hoard what we have, and guard it anxiously from fear that some-one will take it away. And our neighbors do the same thing. We live in fear of economic downturns, inflation, downsizing, and never having enough. This is not Kingdom thinking!

In the Kingdom of Heaven, there is no economic crisis and there are no shortages. With a King who owns everything, how could there be? When we relinquish our sense of ownership and acknowledge God as the Owner and ourselves as stewards, it relieves us of the pressure of having to worry about how we are going to make it because we are now depending on Him for our welfare. And He is a benevolent and generous Lord of infinite resources.

Relinquishing ownership then also puts us into the position of full access to those resources. As we learn to give and receive and transfer at His will, He shares with us freely and abundantly. But a hoarding sense of personal ownership that shouts, “Mine!” cuts us off from those same resources. Which position would you rather be in?

Letting go of personal ownership also nourishes and releases a generous spirit within us. If we are only stewards and not owners, we can give freely as the Lord has given freely to us, knowing that He, who has no limitations, can replace what we give to others. His reputation as King and Lord rides on how well He cares for His citizens and He will give special care to those citizens who reflect His character by giving as He gives.

As a matter of fact, the best time to give is when things are tight personally because that is when you acknowledge that He owns even what you don’t have. The greatest sign that you truly believe that Jesus is Lord is by how much you are willing to get rid of. You have learned how to live under a Lord when you can give freely without hesitation, regret, or fear and say to the Lord of all with a joyful and willing spirit, “It’s all Yours! It’s all Yours!”

1. A king personally owns everything in his domain. There is no private ownership in a kingdom. Everything belongs to the king.

2. Use of anything in a kingdom is a privilege. If the king owns everything, then anything in that kingdom that we use is not by right but by a privilege granted by the king.

3. A king can give or distribute anything to anyone in his kingdom. Why? Because he owns it. He can shift things around any way he pleases. This is why we need to hold onto “our” possessions lightly. They really are not ours. Sometimes the King will test us by telling us to give up something He has given us. Our response—obedience or disobedience—will reveal whether or not we really believe He is Lord. If we obey, we show that we believe He owns everything and that He not only can replace what we give but even multiply it.

4. Submission to a king’s lordship means that we have no right to ourselves. That is why the greatest confession we can ever make is the confession, “Jesus Christ is Lord:’ The moment we say those words, we are acknowledging that we have no more right to our own life; it now belongs to Christ. We have put ourselves willingly under His control and direction and are at His beck and call. He can help Himself to our lives anytime He wants.

5. Obedience is acknowledgement of lordship. When we obey the King, we are simply saying to Him, “You are Lord and my life is Yours. Your wish is my command.”      The “Fear of the Lord” is absolute obedience, regardless of the cost for regardless of the circumstances.

6. Thanksgiving is an acknowledgement of the King’s Lordship. Daily thankfulness for food, water, clothing, shelter, and other daily needs reveals that we believe that the King owns all and is the source of all we have.                                

7. The word “Lord” can never be used with the word “but” Those two words are impossible together. We cannot say, “I love You, Lord, but…” or else He is not Lord. We cannot claim Him as Lord and then make excuses for not obeying Him. The only appropriate word to go with “Lord” is “Yes!” Either He is Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all.