Pastor Lindell Ballenger

A Legacy Fit for a King

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:55:36 -0600

A Legacy Fit for a King

If Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive to see his new monument in Washington, D.C., it would probably give him great pride to see his likeness standing at the foot of the Tidal Basin, facing the Jefferson Memorial. No two men could be more perfectly situated than a father of our religious freedom and the man who championed that freedom to a revolution of human dignity. Today, their monuments are a visual testimony to a very practical and inspiring truth. Long before his memorial looked toward Jefferson, Dr. King lived his life in line with the democratic ideals of the man himself. They were two great leaders, living in two very different times — but their dreams were both firmly rooted in the freedom of faith.

So it is a somewhat fitting irony that this year we celebrate Religious Freedom Day on the same date we remember one of the most influential ministers in American history. For the past 19 years, Presidents have set aside January 16 to honor the passage of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, written by Thomas Jefferson in Fredericksburg some 233 years ago. It was such an important document that the men who crafted the U.S. Constitution relied on it for the framework of the First Amendment. “…Almighty God,” Jefferson wrote, “hath created the mind free; that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burdens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion…”

Without religious liberty, Rev. King wouldn’t have had the freedom or the platform to overcome racial oppression. Maybe that’s why, despite all of his accomplishments, Jefferson considered the statute one of his greatest legislative feats. ” No nation,” the third President said years later, “has ever existed or been governed without religion. Nor can be. The Christian religion is the best religion that has been given to man and I, as Chief Magistrate of this nation, am bound to give it the sanction of my example.” Two hundred years later, Rev. King understood faith’s place in fueling a movement of Christian people. “The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state,” he said in Strength to Love, “but rather the conscience of the state.”

What motivated Rev. King and powered his movement was Scripture — an understanding that “darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” Civil rights could not have been achieved if that light, that religious liberty, had been extinguished. It’s what enables the church to speak out today on behalf of marriage, the unborn, the downtrodden, and the persecuted. Rev. King understood then, as we do now, that religious freedom is fundamental to every other freedom on earth. And without that rich tradition Rev. King’s mighty vision would have been just another dream.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
-Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)

A Word For 2012

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:58:02 -0600

Expansion and New Levels of Brightness and Favor

Things are accelerating in the Spirit. This is a time of God’s favor and overwhelming blessing in the midst of testing times. As we anchor ourselves to Him, building our house on His Words, we will not fail to discover the place that He has prepared for us in this hour.

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” John 15:7

A Time of New Levels of Authority Being Released

“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” Revelation 3:21-22

The authority of the Lord is going to increase as we pursue Him. In conjunction with this expanded territory of His dominion there will be a coinciding authority released to steward the work that the Lord is doing. With every new thing that God grants to us there is the responsibility that comes with the territory. The new authority is needed, for with the new territory comes new challenges that can only be handled by it.

A Time of the Brightness of His Glory Being Released

“For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” Isaiah 60:2-3

In this new place that God is building there will be a bright release of His glory. The highlight will be the “brightness” of His glory. As we partake in His glory, we will reflect His glory. There will be a brightness upon our faces. Just as the children of Israel could not stand to look at the face of Moses, so God will restore to us such a glory that the world will be able to see a difference. Because the Lord is building the house, our labors will not be in vain and will not be out of religious ritual and tradition but out of the ongoing influence of the Spirit in our lives.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.” 2 Corinthians 13:14

Communion with God is no longer a chore because we have broken ties with the prevalent evil that seeks to bring God’s people into bondage and under a “heavy yoke mentality.” You can always tell you are under a religious spirit when your communion time becomes “work.” You have lost the “easy yoke” of Christ and have come into a place of superficiality that breeds “striving in the flesh” to accomplish things. In Him there is not striving of the flesh but an ease of flow, because you are simply yielded to the Holy Spirit and find your pleasure in Him. It is never work when it is a pleasure to do something.

Ask the Lord to release a fresh oil upon your head to remove the weights and chores mindset, that He may replace it with a joyful desire to be with Him. What a concept! In that place we will find the brightness of His glory upon our face.

“As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.” Psalm 17:15

A Time of the Favor of God and His “Famous” Anointing Being Released in an Unprecedented Way

“For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield.” Psalm 5:12

God will release His unprecedented favor or “famous” anointing upon His people. Because our hearts are to make HIM famous, He will release this anointing upon our lives. Due to the absence of “self-promotion,” God will do the promoting and bring His Joseph Company into the places of prominence that He has destined for this time from the foundation of the world.

The wealth of the wicked has been stored up for those who walk with integrity before Him. They will not spend this wealth on their own fleshly desires but will funnel it into His Kingdom purposes for the glory of God. God has tested and tried choice vessels for this purpose.

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.” Proverbs 13:22

These are those who have been found trustworthy to handle the wealth of the world. He who has been faithful with little shall be entrusted with much. Those who covet this wealth will not be the recipients, but only those who covet the Lord. This is not any wealth, but a special wealth that has been set apart and is “holy to the Lord.”

His favor is for a lifetime. He does surround His righteous ones with this favor like a shield. The pure in heart shall see God and glory in His love, goodness and grace.

The Timing of God is Perfect Yet Offends the Natural Mind

The timing of God is perfect, but it does offend the natural mind. God has His own economy. It is completely separate from the world.

“When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices…” Proverbs 11:10

When the economy of Heaven is functioning in His righteous holy ones, the city rejoices. What this means is that when the righteous tap into Heaven’s realities and function from that realm, the realm of Heaven gains access through the gateway of the heart of His people into the earth. The people of God are the channels of blessing that funnel the unlimited resources of Heaven into the earth.

Just as Jesus multiplied the loaves, so God uses His people to release His blessings and provision into the earth. In this way, He gets all the glory. It is beyond our natural (worldly) understanding, because the blessings are from a heavenly outsource. This is why it is of utmost importance that we function by faith with our trust in Him, believing in His faithfulness and desire to be our sole Resource in the earth. It is “In God We Trust.”

A Word For 2011

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:49:38 -0600