Category: Newsletter

January 20, 2022

My blog today is designed to be a teaching that I feel Holy Spirit wants me to pass along.  I’m usually pastoral in my assignment at Antioch International Ministries but teaching is my main office gift and it is from that posture that I feel most motivated in this post.  In my time with the Lord today, I felt His nudge to be an exhorter/encourager and present a truth designed to keep us sharp and focused for the hour in which we live

At our Antioch International Ministries prayer meeting this past Monday evening (1/17/22), one of my focus Scriptures was Matthew 25 1-13 which is the reference to the Parable of the 10 Virgins as taught by Jesus.  I used this focus Scripture to build a foundation to point out our need to prepare and be alert to the things going on around us so that our God-ordained assignments and those of the ministries we represent will be right on target over the next year and especially the next three months.  Then, the Holy Spirit took me on a different twist and I felt the warrior spirit hit me.

Mat 25:1-13  “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2  “Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3  “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4  but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5  “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6  “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.‘ 7  “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8  “The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9  “But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10  “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11  “Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12  “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13  “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.  (NASB)

I was particularly impressed to pray out of verse 5 with a focus on the word “delaying.”

In Matt. 25:5, the word delaying in the NASB above comes from the Greek word Chronizō̄  [Khron-id´-zo].  It is an action verb that means to Delay, Linger, or Tarry.  Here are 4 translations of this 5^th verse.

• 5 Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. (NASB)
• 5 When the bridegroom didn’t come when they expected, they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. (TPT)
• 5 While the bridegroom lingered and was slow in coming, they all began nodding their heads, and they fell asleep. (AMPB)
• 5 The bridegroom didn’t show up when they expected him, and they all fell asleep.(MSG)

Note: This Greek word is an active verb which means it is something that is done or performed; an act; a deed. an act that one consciously wills and that may be characterized by physical or mental activity.  This is in comparison to a passive verb which means that it is accepting or allowing what happens or what others do, without active response or resistance.  In other words, and in this case, because the guest’s expectancy was not met, they acted by nodding their heads and falling asleep. So, by their own actions they brought about their disqualification.

In all of these translations of Scripture, it is clear that in verse 5 Jesus was teaching that the time the bridegroom was taking to get to the wedding and feast was longer than was expected.  Further, He was teaching that the guests not having their anticipated satisfactions fulfilled in the time they wanted them fulfilled, they actively and by their own will got lethargic, complacent, and fell asleep.  They were not sensitive to the coming of the central character of why the event was even taking place.  They weren’t thinking about his possible reasons for the delay or what he was experiencing that may be causing the delay.  They wanted their needs and self-centered desires satisfied.  “Let’s get this party going!” was perhaps their attitude.  When that didn’t happen, they of their own volition fell asleep.  They took their eyes off the prize and when the bridegroom did come, they were neither prepared nor alert and were left totally out of the celebration.

Now, relative to the current season of events happening around us, the prophetic impression I had at the prayer meeting was that there are many Christians who were at first on fire to believe that God was going to intervene in the earth (and especially the USA).  Since then, they have waned significantly in that posture.  The seeming delay in intervention has caused the same lethargy and dissatisfaction among the “guests” as it did in the parable and they are falling asleep.  (By the way, I’m personally not sure that He hasn’t begun to intervene.  I’ve seen many signs of intervention—maybe just not the way or in the time it was expected.)  Many Believers have totally forsaken the prophetic words of credible prophets and have called them false prophets and taken them to task by saying, “you should repent for being in such gross error.”  Some have quit praying and releasing their faith for righteousness to manifest.  Be careful; 1Ch 16:22  “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.”   You don’t want the backhand of the anointing to hit you.

Let me ask the guests to today’s feast, “has God changed His mind?”  Is He just going to allow the gross sin and lawlessness in this covenant nation and in His creation to continue?  Of course not.  He is not a man that He should be found a liar.  So let me caution the “guests” to this season that you don’t become lethargic and complacent.  Be careful that you don’t willfully just fall asleep on this most important watch.  Revival and awakening is occurring in this nation and around the world.  We are on the brink of things never before experienced by mankind.  Justice will be prepared on the table before us in the presence of our enemies.  Let us war against the spirits of complacency and lethargy—especially if they are affecting our Brothers and Sisters in Christ.  WAKE UP SLUMBERING SPIRITS!  HARKEN TO THE VOICE OF HOLY SPIRIT!  Never quit!  Never yield!  Never move back one inch from the posture that our God will redeem—completely!  If you’re breathing, STAND!

Isa 60:1-3  “Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 2  “For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you. 3  “Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. 4  “Lift up your eyes round about and see; They all gather together, they come to you. Your sons will come from afar, And your daughters will be carried in the arms. (NASB)

LANDMARK CASE FACES THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

Pastor Jim Sanderbeck

Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Unfortunately and starting today, Wednesday, December 1, 2021, most of the United States citizenry are not even aware that the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is hearing an extremely vital case,. This case is landmark in that the current SCOTUS rulings on abortion in this country have been foundational to the separation and disunity that exists between conservatives (especially Christian believers) and the liberal communities of US society.  This case, Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, before the Supreme Court, could negate all or most all of the Roe v Wade decision of 1973.  You can read a very comprehensive article written by SCOTUSblog at this link:  https://www.scotusblog.com/2021/11/roe-v-wade-hangs-in-balance-as-reshaped-court-prepares-to-hear-biggest-abortion-case-in-decades/

Many of us who are of the conservative Christian faith believe that the downward spiral of social behaviors and the waning social emphasis on Christian expression (both religious and social) in the US began in the early 1960’s.  We believe the center of the waning Christian influence came about when non-Christian activists who opposed prayer in public schools, got a favorable audience with SCOTUS.  The main voice of the movement was a woman by the name of Madalyn Murray O’Hair.  She was the very visible and catalytic voice who supported atheism and the separation of church and state.  The U.S. Supreme Court, legislating from the bench, banned school-sponsored prayer in public schools in a 1962 decision, saying that it violated the First Amendment.  This battle is still an oppositional and adversarial condition between the liberal American community and conservative Christian believers.  The school prayer issue, along with a liberal SCOTUS trend since, certainly has at least contributed to the current religious and conservative vs liberal atmosphere resulting in the abhorrent and lawless social conditions we experience today.

The governmental balance of power that is to be shared administratively, legislatively, and judicially has drastically swung towards the court since the early 1960’s.  However, it was a point of consternation as far back as 200 years ago.  Thomas Jefferson who helped to draft the constitution, wrote in 1819 to Judge Spencer Roane and said, “Our Constitution . . . intending to establish three departments, co-ordinate and independent that they might check and balance one another, it has given—according to this opinion to one of them alone the right to prescribe rules for the government of others; and to that one, too, which is unelected by and independent of the nation. . . . The Constitution, on this hypothesis, is a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary, which they may twist and shape into any form they please.”

Then in 1821, in a letter to Charles Hammond, Jefferson once again expressed a great fear regarding America’s future as it pertained to the authority taken by the courts.  His concern was that SCOTUS would dismantle the Constitution balance of power by taking authority that was not given to them.  He declared, “The germ of dissolution of our federal government is in the federal judiciary. An irresponsible body, working like gravity by night and by day, gaining a little today and a little tomorrow, and advancing its noiseless step like a thief over the field of jurisdiction until all shall be usurped from the states.”

[Quotes from Link: http://www.robgagnon.net/JeffersonOnJudicialTyranny.htm ]

Abortion (Choice vs Pro-Life) is no doubt part of the gradual waning of Christian and moral influence of the US due to the gravitation of liberal viewpoints taken by SCOTUS. The current judicial interpretation of the U.S. Constitution regarding abortion, following the Supreme Court of the United States’ 1973 landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, and subsequent companion decisions, is that abortion is legal but may be restricted by the states to varying degrees.  The State of Mississippi, represented through Dobbs and based upon new “scientific” and medical understanding is now challenging the Roe v Wade decision with a law that would curtail most of Roe v Wade and particularly restrict “late term abortions.”  Should the court rule in favor of Dobbs, over 20 other states are poised and ready to follow in the direction that Mississippi is establishing.  After 48 years of the shedding of innocent blood, this makes for a welcomed “awakening” in the United States where we have collectively murdered over 60 million babies in the womb.  This is more than any genocide in history including the holocaust of Hitler’s Nazi Germany.  This is an abomination before God and the time for a “course adjustment” has arrived.

Very obviously, the founders of the United States of America never intended for the Supreme Court to be the ranking branch of our government. Nowhere does our Constitution give them authority over the Executive and Legislative branches.

In 1860, at the beginning of the Civil War when the country was again divided over states rights and slavery, the 16^th President of the Untied States, Abraham Lincoln, was quoted as saying:

“…The candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the government, upon vital questions, affecting the whole people, is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court, the instant they are made, in ordinary litigation between parties, in personal actions, the people will have ceased to be their own rulers, having, to that extent, practically resigned their government into the hands of that eminent tribunal.”

I encourage all Americans to look closely at what is happening in the world around us.  This case before the Supreme Court is an opportunity to see justice for the unborn finally be rightly established.  Let’s pray and believe that the Supreme Court will rule justly in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization.  Make the voice of life and wholeness heard over the din of tumult.  The potential for a great nation’s return to its foundation blocks is coming at a critical time in history.  We are at a tipping point.  Do we continue on this path towards destruction or do we see a moral and a Christian awakening to the desires and purposes of the Founders.  The lawlessness, violence, injustice and other divergent issues of conduct need to be changed.  Let’s begin to not just talk about policy and issues—let’s start doing something about them.  Let’s grab those things that will turn our heads and our nation in the way once again of righteous and just patterns of life.  It is time for the prophesy of Isaiah 28:15-18 to be manifested for the United States of America.

“For you have said, ‘We have made a covenant with death and a pact with the underworld, so when the overwhelming scourge sweeps over us, it will not harm us. For we have made lies our refuge and find our shelter in falsehood.’ Here’s what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I set in place in Zion a Foundation Stone, fully tested and proven to be faithful and secure. And written upon this precious cornerstone is this: “Those who trust in Him will not act in haste.” I will set justice as the true measurement and integrity, its plumb line. My hailstorm will sweep away your refuge of lies, and My floodwaters will overwhelm your hiding place. Then your covenant with death will be annulled and your pact with the underworld will not stand. And when the overwhelming scourge sweeps over you, it will sweep you away!’” (The Passion Translation Bible)

‘Jesus’ blood never fails me.’ His blood always speaks a better word

Psa 103:1-22  With my whole heart, with my whole life, and with my innermost being, I bow in wonder and love before you, the holy God! 2  Yahweh, you are my soul’s celebration. How could I ever forget the miracles of kindness you’ve done for me? 3  You kissed my heart with forgiveness, in spite of all I’ve done. You’ve healed me inside and out from every disease. 4  You’ve rescued me from hell and saved my life. You’ve crowned me with love and mercy. 5  You satisfy my every desire with good things. You’ve supercharged my life so that I soar again like a flying eagle in the sky! 6  You’re a God who makes things right, giving justice to the defenseless. 7  You unveiled to Moses your plans and showed Israel’s sons what you could do. 8  Lord, you’re so kind and tenderhearted to those who don’t deserve it and so patient with people who fail you! Your love is like a flooding river overflowing its banks with kindness. 9  You don’t look at us only to find our faults, just so that you can hold a grudge against us. 10  You may discipline us for our many sins, but never as much as we really deserve. Nor do you get even with us for what we’ve done. 11  Higher than the highest heavens—that’s how high your tender mercy extends! Greater than the grandeur of heaven above is the greatness of your loyal love, towering over all who fear you and bow down before you! 12  Farther than from a sunrise to a sunset—that’s how far you’ve removed our guilt from us. 13  The same way a loving father feels toward his children—that’s but a sample of your tender feelings toward us, your beloved children, who live in awe of you. 14  You know all about us, inside and out. You are mindful that we’re made from dust. 15  Our days are so few, and our momentary beauty so swiftly fades away! 16  Then all of a sudden we’re gone, like grass clippings blown away in a gust of wind, taken away to our appointment with death, leaving nothing to show that we were here. 17  But Lord, your endless love stretches from one eternity to the other, unbroken and unrelenting toward those who fear you and those who bow facedown in awe before you. Your faithfulness to keep every gracious promise you’ve made passes from parents, to children, to grandchildren, and beyond. 18  You are faithful to all those who follow your ways and keep your word. 19  God’s heavenly throne is eternal, secure, and strong, and his sovereignty rules the entire universe. 20  So bless the Lord, all his messengers of power, for you are his mighty heroes who listen intently to the voice of his word to do it. 21  Bless and praise the Lord, you mighty warriors, ministers who serve him well and fulfill his desires. 22  I will bless and praise the Lord with my whole heart! Let all his works throughout the earth, wherever his dominion stretches, let everything bless the Lord!

From the Sanderbeck house to your house, be of good cheer and BE THANKFUL.  He is worthy of all praise.  I’m just now remembering the praise song lyric “LOOK WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE!  He healed my body, He healed my mind, He saved me just in time.  LOOK WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE!”   

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I don’t think Dutch Sheets would consider himself a “prophet”, yet he flows prophetically.  He is a teacher, evangelist, and pastor with a prophetic gifting.  He is someone that I could easily call a friend.  We listen to his daily releases in Give Him 15 very regularly.  The last few releases were game-winning home runs and touchdowns.  So, I challenge you to listen to them (and/or read)–especially today’s (Aug. 25th).  Be the king you are called to be and “search out a matter.”

Give Him 15 Link: https://www.givehim15.com/post/august-25-2021

Intercessors for America – Praying for Our Leaders and Nation

https://ifapray.org/

Breaking News on The FAI Wire // FAI MISSION

https://www.faimission.org/wire

Pastor Jim Sanderbeck

July 12, 2021

I have been meditating on recent prophesies relative to the current hour and a personal prophesy of 7 months ago and how we, as the Ekklesia of this hour, are to prepare and conduct ourselves as the Lord manifests His Word of justice to and in the world.  On January 4^th of this year during our network prayer meeting, the Lord spoke very clearly that He was “preparing a table of justice and righteousness for us in the presence of our enemies.”  I have often referred to and released my faith for the manifestation of that Word.

Psa 23:5  You prepare a table [of justice and righteousness] before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.

[of justice and righteousness] is inserted into this scripture to match the prophetic word given to me on 1/4/2021

The recent prophesies being released by the most credible prophetic voices indicate that God is about to bring forth His justice and righteousness through judgements that are coming to both the church and the world—especially to leaders who have practiced and winked at unrighteous social behavior and have violated their levels of authority both politically and governmentally. The judgements within the church, which will be shocking to Christians, and the judgements to those who have violated governmental authority will clearly point to the fact that God is releasing judgement.  These prophetic releases, I infer, indicate that there will be signs in the earth (such as weather phenomena, earthquakes, etc.) and there will be apostolic judgments as severe and public as the Ananias and Sapphira judgments as in the 1^st generation church. (Acts 5:1-11) Prophetically, these judgments will come forth clearly in 2021.

So, on Sunday morning (7/11/2021) just after breakfast, the Holy Spirit gave me a picture of a 4-pointed balancing scale. On the 4 points of the balance scale were symbols representing the balance Christians will need to rightly display as these things unfold.  The symbols were:

• A Lion with the counterweight of a Lamb
• The ARK of the Covenant with the counterweight of the Word of God

The Lion represents the Warrior Messianic Spirit of Jesus and the Lamb represents the Loving and Peaceful Messianic Spirit of Jesus.

The Ark of the Covenant represents the Presence of God and the Word represents the written, rhema and prophetic Words of God.  For those with ears to hear, there is a correct balance that must be displayed at all 4 of these points of reference.  All 4 are collectively and perfectly represented in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Justice and righteousness are produced when these 4 points are in balance with one another.  Just as God is a Holy God of Love, He is also a Holy God of Judgment.  His judgment is included in His love.

The Ekklesia is now to be called upon to model this balance.  Ephesians 4:15-16 says “but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”   This means we must judge and react with mercy and compassion as well as judge with through righteous Kingdom ordinances.  We can not judge out of arrogance or emotional preferences.  We must war against evil without sinning ourselves—righteous warfare.  This means that the “shock-factor” of exposure can’t enter into true righteous justice.  Jesus was love-balanced.  Jesus said forgive “7 times 70” (Matt. 18:22) and Jesus said “I don’t come to bring peace but a sword.”(Matt. 10:34)  Modeling this behavior can only come through spending time in the presence of God (I.e. the Ark of the Covenant)  The Word (which we read, where we experience revelation and hear contemporary directives) must always pass through the windowpane filters of the Holy Spirit.  In the writings of James, who was not the Apostle James but most likely the brother of Jesus, we read:

Jas 2:12-13  So we must both speak and act in every respect like those who are destined to be tried by the perfect law of liberty,  and remember that judgment is merciless for the one who judges others without mercy.  So by showing mercy you take dominion over judgment!  (The Passion Translation Bible)

Finally, I quote Bruce Strom author of the book Gospel Justice:

“True justice is not found in a blindfolded Greek goddess, but in a real God who gives sight to the blind.” (The blindfolded Greek Godess Themis who holds a balance scale in one hand and a sword in the other is the typical symbol of justice in the judicial system of the USA.)  “Justice is not found in a sword, but in the Word of God, which is sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). And justice is not found in a woman holding scales, but in the Man who removes scales from eyes and who, with arms outstretched on a cross, bore the sins of the world that all who were willing might believe and receive His promises.” pp. 46-47

“My point in Gospel Justice was to demonstrate the shortcomings of relying on failed systems.  Social justice will always fall short.  Social constructs by their nature are sinful.  Only gospel justice can address the root causes of individual and systemic failure.  Only Christ provides hope in the midst of injustice.”

In the days, weeks, and months just ahead of us and again when we rule and reign in the Kingdom of God with Jesus, we must mature and perfect in our hearts and spirit the very nature of our God and of our Lord Jesus the Christ.  May we be so in tune with Father and Son through the Holy Spirit that righteous justice spills from our every word and every action.  All of the creation is now groaning for the revealing of the sons of God in this hour.  May the world know us by our love one for another.  The evil that has been demonstrated is about to be exposed and judged.  I truly believe this hour is upon us.  God grant us who are of your Kingdom the peace to know the things that you want changed in us, the courage to righteously judge the things that are unjust, and the wisdom to model the purity of your love for your creation.

GOD SPEAKS TO HIS SERVANTS

Pastor Jim Sanderbeck

June 1, 2021

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I had some time to listen.  I listened to my wife.  I listened to graduation speakers.  I listened to some prophetic messages.  And this morning, I listened to God, and He said write this blog.  Now, some people, when you say something like “God speaks to me”, they will say “man, you are nutso.”  I even had a preacher say to me one time when I mentioned that God was speaking and healing in our home group that “I was playing God.”  Nothing could have been further from the truth ‘cause I don’t play God—ever.  The point is that, if you pursue God, you step into what I call the ‘growth zone.’  It is a place contrary to where most people dwell.  People love the ‘comfort zone.’  They like to follow the course of water—the easy way.  But God doesn’t dwell there.  He is always on the edge of creation.  The edge of creation is a risky place for men.  However, if you want to be where God is and if you really want to hear from Him, then, I’m sorry, you will have to go into the ‘growth zone’—often referred to as the ’groan zone.’  (That is where most men and even Christians will say “not sure I want to go there” and “man, you’re nutso.”  You might even be labeled a fanatic.  Oh yeah.  That’s what they say.  I say bring it on!)

Just imagine what it would have been like for the two disciples that Jesus sent into Bethphage to get the colt on which He was to ride into Jerusalem.  It would be like saying today, “Go into downtown Sharon (local town here) and there will be a brand spanking new Lexus parked in the town plaza.  The fob will be in it.  Just get in and bring it back to me.  And, oh by the way, if anyone questions you, just tell them the teacher has need of it, and they will send you on your way.”  Risky?  Scary?  Yeah, right!  Everyone say “GROAN ZONE!”

I have found in my life that not only is it good to hear His voice but that instead of it being a risky place it is also a place of safety.  Here is how the Scriptures combine His voice and His protection.  Psalm 95:7a tells us who we are: “For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.”  Jesus Himself tells us in John 4-5 & 27-28: “4  And when he [a good shepherd] puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. 27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

When I was in critical condition in the hospital in 2005, after walking in the courtyards of heaven and then being sent back, Jesus spoke to me and said “speak to your heart and tell it what you want it to do.”  He was guiding and protecting me.  He would not let some low-level devil take my life.  When I obeyed, my heart returned to normal function and all the damage and related coronary issues were reformed and made whole.  That critical condition couldn’t be solved by doctors but He would not let me be plucked from His hand.

Today, we, who are ‘groan zone’ enthusiasts in current events, should be practicing to hear His voice—not just to know He is there but also to know what to do and where to go next in our lives.  It is essential to life and the advancement of the Kingdom because there are no ‘How To’ books out there.  I have been encouraging everyone to listen and to stand firm to what God speaks to them and what He is speaking through trusted prophets and teachers.  One of the messages I heard over the weekend was from Dutch Sheets.  In this message, he talked about hearing the voice of the Lord for yourself.  He talked about how many don’t really believe God will speak to them, as individual sons of God.

An excellent message that can be found at this link:

( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1_u3zCDJ-s  Please listen to it.) 

In days past, trust has often been handed over to those who stand in places of visible leadership.  Not in this hour!  You must hear the voice of God for YOU!  I know God has spoken to me in words of knowledge that have alerted me to danger and how to circumvent that danger.  He has spoken prophetically in ways that I have seen manifest just as it was proclaimed.  He has spoken through the Holy Spirit to teach me things I had never even heard of before.  He has shown me error that if followed would lead me into a place of spiritual jeopardy.  He has directed me into things that were scary but obedience proved it to reformative and positioning for the plans He had for my life.  Who am I to have deserved such lavish care?  Just a man after His heart.  Just a man desiring above all else to be in His presence and positioned to serve.  By the way, just a man like you.

God is speaking and He wants to speak to you.  Certainly, listen to those who cover you spiritually and to whom you submit BUT never substitute their voice for God’s.  You are called to Him first and foremost.  He provides covering for your protection and your direction but His voice is the only voice that is infallible.  It is not ever wrong.  Men, even those who are well-intentioned in your life, will miss it sometimes.  Yes, you may miss it.  That’s the risky part.  But when your heart is pure toward Him, He will work that error for good.  On the other hand, God never misses it.  Intentions can evolve into error.  Truth doesn’t evolve into something else.  Truth is truth—forever and always!  God is speaking to us.  He told me to write this blog.  Hey, welcome to the ‘growth zone.’

Pastor Jim Sanderbeck

May 5, 2021

Two of the greatest spiritual weapons you have in your arsenal are prayer and worship. With these 2 avenues of approaching the throne of grace, the power of God becomes resident in your very being.  I suggest to you in this season of time, that you employ them both with passion. Without that daily connection to the King and Lord of your life, you will become depleted and positioned as vulnerable to attack. With them, you are empowered to be His witness in the earth.
Prayer has become the anchor and operational cornerstone of our ministry assignment. We are tapping into the anointing and power of God where the Holy Spirit is our compass and our point of empowerment. We have grown relationally and we have found ourselves surrounded by His vision and strategies for our individual and corporate lives.
I have always described worship as an “outward expression of an inward work.” I love to worship and I worship to release my love to the Savior and God of my life. It is a place of victory. It is a place of comfort. It is a place of shelter. It is the “place of meeting” where He is rightfully, reverently and rigorously placed on the throne of my heart.
Recently, Dutch Sheets on his Give Him 15 made these comments: “In an interview for Today’s Christian Woman, writer and speaker Carol Kent says:
“One day when [my son] Jason was young, we were eating breakfast together. I had on an old pair of slacks and a fuzzy old sweater. He flashed his baby blues at me over his bowl of cereal and said, ‘Mommy, you look so pretty today.’ “I had not yet gotten ready for the day and didn’t even have makeup on. So I said, ‘Honey, why would you say I look pretty today? Normally I’m dressed up in heels and a dress.’
“And he said, ‘When you look like that, I know you’re going some place; but when you look like this, I know you’re all mine.”
Dutch goes on to say: “I do much of my praying in the woods. I love to walk there for hours, communing with the Lord. I usually wear grubby jeans, old boots, t-shirts or sweatshirts – depending on the weather, hats and other worn-out, non-professional attire. When I go to the office, I change into my nicer clothes. I think God prefers me in my grungy uniform. When He sees me dressed that way, He knows I’m all His.”
“My experience in the woods is often like that described by A.W. Tozer.” “There are occasions when for hours I lay prostrate before God without saying a word of prayer or a word of praise – I just gaze on Him and worship.”
Here is a prayer and worship video link by Jesus Image Worship that will not only “knock your socks off” but it will lead you to the throne as you surrender to the Spirit of God.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCz-AN6tO-c

HISTORY & SCRIPTURE POINT THE WAY

Pastor Jim Sanderbeck, AIM President & Overseer

As network overseer and one whose great desire is to support and to promote the Believer and all ministries in an hour when we are fast approaching social and cultural “critical mass”, the Lord has emboldened me and mandated me to become a voice and example of a full-out uncompromising Kingdom son.  I don’t believe that as sons of the Most High God we can continue to sit in the bleachers while others labor in the arenas of the world.  I hope you are feeling that way as well. Now don’t get me wrong–I don’t believe we should be obnoxious nor do I believe that we should become so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good.  But, to be lukewarm, complacent and lethargic has no place in God or the Kingdom–especially right now!  Jesus does not live in the comfort zone.  He lives in the growth zone–which I have often referred to as the “groan zone”.

I love history and recently I’ve been drawn to it more because, as Solomon said in Eccl. 3:1, “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.”  He elaborates more in the following 14 verses.  He states in Eccl. 1:9 “That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.” So, you may have noticed, I am no longer about floating on my innertube on the sea of life but, more and more, I’m butterfly stroking on the water.  For some reason, God has placed us over ministry assignments and people of God in a season of great turbulence and daily flux.  I am now intentionally doing things, subtle and overt, like flying a flag, making more pointed comments, and quietly but forcibly letting the world around me know for what and for whom I stand. History, both Biblical and natural is speaking and providing avenues of action.

Edmund Burke was an Irish statesman, economist and philosopher.  He was born in Dublin and served as a member of parliament between 1766 and 1794 in the House of Commons of Great Britain with the Whig Party.  He was a proponent on underpinning the virtues with manners in society and of the importance of religious institutions for the moral stability and good of the state. He is attributed with the following quote:  “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”  Boy has the “church” fit that label– at least since just around 1960.

A full research of the quote reads thus: “Whilst men are linked together, they easily and speedily communicate the alarm of any evil design. They are enabled to fathom it with common counsel, and to oppose it with united strength. Whereas, when they lie dispersed, without concert, order, or discipline, communication is uncertain, counsel difficult, and resistance impracticable. Where men are not acquainted with each other’s principles, nor experienced in each other’s talents, nor at all practised in their mutual habitudes and dispositions by joint efforts in business; no personal confidence, no friendship, no common interest, subsisting among them; it is evidently impossible that they can act a public part with uniformity, perseverance, or efficacy. In a connection, the most inconsiderable man, by adding to the weight of the whole, has his value, and his use; out of it, the greatest talents are wholly unserviceable to the public. No man, who is not inflamed by vain-glory into enthusiasm, can flatter himself that his single, unsupported, desultory, unsystematic endeavours, are of power to defeat the subtle designs and united cabals of ambitious citizens. When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.”

–Edmund Burke, Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents 82-83 (1770) in: Select Works of Edmund Burke, vol. 1, p. 146 (Liberty Fund ed. 1999).

With that posture and quote as a background or foundation, I again stress how important it is for us in these times to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to do what He came to do in and through us the true believers–the Ekklesia.  In the very first chapter of Acts is where we must find ourselves today:

Act 1:6  So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

Act 1:7  He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;

Act 1:8  but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Act 1:9  And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

This is how our Power Cell Initiative can prepare a table for us to touch the world around us: A world in which you have influence.  It doesn’t have to be a big production or be in lights in order for your witness to be impacting.  In fact, when you do something out of a pure heart, you have no idea that you’re doing something special but it is in those instances when a life is changed because the undefiled heart is power on steroids.  Just watch for the opportunities and doors that God opens and then just walk through under the leading of His still small voice.  Let that act, “breathe” life upon the situation.

A practical example of a quiet but visible act of witness is the displaying of the Appeal To Heaven Flag.  My time reviewing history has again spoken to me of how I can make a statement that opens the door to those who are, shall we say, hungry and unaware.  Amazing how these examples opens doors of opportunity without anger or confrontation.  This is what that flag is all about:

The Tree Flag (or the Appeal to Heaven Flag) was one of the flags which was used during the American Revolution. The flag, which featured a pine tree with the motto “An Appeal to Heaven,” or less frequently “An Appeal to God”, was originally used by a squadron of six cruisers which were commissioned under George Washington‘s authority as commander in chief of the Continental Army in October 1775.

The design of the flag came from General Washington’s secretary, Colonel Joseph Reed. In a letter dated October 21, 1775, Reed suggested a “flag with a white background and a tree in the middle, the motto AN APPEAL TO HEAVEN” be used for the ships Washington commissioned. The pine tree had long been a New England symbol being depicted on the Flag of New England flown by colonial merchant ships dating back to 1686. Leading up to the Revolutionary War it became a symbol of Colonial ire and resistance.

This flag, is a symbol of solidarity, conviction and encouragement to fight for liberty. The Appeal To Heaven flag has now become the emblem of a movement aimed at putting “conservative, Biblical” principles into public life.

The Appeal To Heaven flag root comes forth from the writings of the English political philosopher by the name of John Locke (1632-1704).  He argued that when all other political and individual methods of resisting tyranny are exhausted, only an “appeal to heaven” remains.

“And where the body of the people, or any single man, is deprived of their right, or is under the exercise of a power without right, and have no appeal on earth, then they have a liberty to appeal to heaven, whenever they judge the cause of sufficient moment. And therefore, though the people cannot be judge, so as to have, by the constitution of that society, any superior power, to determine and give effective sentence in the case; yet they have, by a law antecedent and paramount to all positive laws of men, reserved that ultimate determination to themselves which belongs to all mankind, where there lies no appeal on earth, viz. to judge, whether they have just cause to make their appeal to heaven.”

In summary, Locke’s contention was that no man had inherent power to regulate or restrict divine arbitration in civil affairs. Even in dire circumstances, he alleged, natural rights transcended the political process.

Historical Narrative Article Link” https://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/washington-cruisers-flag.html

What an avenue into discussions of which even most Christians are not aware.  We have been quiet too long.  If we do not begin to do as Burke and Locke suggest, the critical mass of today’s national and international balances will spill over into disaster.  We are experiencing the spirit of Babylon just as it is depicted in Scripture.

Mic 4:1, 10  And it will come about in the last days That the mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, And the peoples will stream to it.   10  “Writhe and labor to give birth, Daughter of Zion, Like a woman in childbirth; For now you will go out of the city, Dwell in the field, And go to Babylon. [representative of the world’s systems that place man equal with or above God] There you will be rescued; There the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.

This Scriptural passage was integral to our last prayer meeting and Holy Spirit lit upon it (pagah) and propelled us into a powerful time of prayer.  It is my hope that you will take the exhortation of this blog and let it propel you and encourage you in this hour.  We must all look beyond the natural conditions, hear what the Spirit is saying and then act obediently to His voice.  Can you hear the voice behind the word?  Let’s become vessels of power and begin to be His foot-soldiers right here right now.  Let the Kingdom come on earth just as it is in heaven.  Let’s open our mouths and raise our flags (whatever that is) as He directs us in this appointed season.

“Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things”

Dutch Sheets & Quin Sherrer with Jamie Buckingham

Reprinted from the Elijah List April 15, 2021

From Dutch Sheets: The revival God is about to bring will require the efforts of all Believers. Holy Spirit “added” thousands of Believers to the Church in Acts chapters 1-5. However, the word used to describe their growth changed to “multiplied” from chapter 6 onward. What caused this? Ministry shifted from the apostles only to including deacons and Believers in general. Holy Spirit wants to use us all. Our dear friend, Quin Sherrer, speaks powerfully of this:

“Shadow Ministry” by Quin Sherrer with Jamie Buckingham

By inviting God’s abiding presence to overshadow and help us, we can make a difference in the lives of many people. Who knows when you may discover a result of your “shadow ministry” – one that may totally surprise you. You go along doing what you always do. Then boom! Someone tells you how your life impacted him or her, and you had no idea.

Several decades ago my writing mentor, Jamie Buckingham, author of more than 40 books, was the keynote speaker at an Aglow International conference; he told this unusual story about a trip he’d made some years earlier to the Sinai Peninsula for book research. He called the book “Shadow Ministry.”

When Jamie had reached the summit of Mt. Sinai – almost 7,500 feet – he walked over to a white man who was standing around with about a dozen Aborigines and inquired about them. The man said he was a missionary accompanying these men – the first Aboriginal tribe from Papua New Guinea who had ever come to Israel; they came to see where Jesus walked and to Mt. Sinai where Moses received the Ten Commandments. These Aborigines wanted to discover if the places mentioned in the Bible were real or not and would take their report back.

They had worked to earn the money to come and had elected these representatives to make this trip. Through this missionary’s ministry in New Guinea, there were 700 to 800 Aborigines in this tribal area who now knew Jesus Christ as Lord. He told Jamie he had been in a motorcycle gang in Australia when he read a book by an American author, received the Lord, and was eventually led to going as a missionary to Papua New Guinea.

“You wouldn’t know an author by the name of Jamie Buckingham, would you?” he asked.

“You aren’t going to believe what I am about to tell you: I am Jamie Buckingham,” he replied.

There was much rejoicing and handshaking. The missionary took Jamie over and introduced him to these people he’d won to Jesus. The 83-year-old chief of the tribe, who had tattoos across his cheeks, looked up into Jamie’s face and said, “Thank you for casting your shadow over us.”

Jamie continued his story. “I had sat in my office in Florida with my Bible open. In solitude, I wrote words. Someone gifted in editing worked on it, passed it to another who printed it, then someone else gifted in distribution got it. And the shadow went up across the world, ending up in New Guinea.” Notice, it took people with various talents to get the book into the hands of a gang member in Australia, who then became a missionary for Christ. (Photo of Jamie Buckingham)

Jamie challenged us saying, “I wonder if so much that we think is insignificant may not be the most important thing in God’s eyes. The Kingdom of God is carried on the shoulders of people who occupy their shadow ministry.”1

The Bible reference the chief referred to came from Acts 5:15; it’s about Believers who laid their sick on beds and mats so that when Peter passed by, at least his shadow might fall on them. All of them were healed. Earlier in Christ’s ministry, He took Peter, James, and John on a high mountain where He was transfigured, and a cloud formed, overshadowing them. Father God spoke from that cloud saying, “This is my beloved Son, listen to Him” (Mark 9:7 NASB).

“Overshadowed” by Dutch Sheets

I explain these two references in my book, “Intercessory Prayer,” along with a third passage:

Our third example of Holy Spirit’s bringing forth life as He hovered or brooded over is found in Luke 1:35, the conception of Christ in Mary. The angel of the Lord came to Mary telling her that she would bear a child. She responded by asking, “‘…How can this be since I am a virgin?'” (v. 34).

The answer was this: “Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” “Overshadow” is the Greek word “episkiazo,” which means “to cast a shade upon; to envelope in a haze of brilliancy; to invest with supernatural influence.” It is, in some ways, a counterpart for the Hebrew word “rachaph,” translated “moving” or “hovering” in Genesis 1:2. Thayer says it is used “of the Holy Spirit exerting creative energy upon the womb of the Virgin Mary and impregnating it.”

The word is only used three times in the New Testament. At the transfiguration of Jesus in Matthew 17:5, the passage says that the cloud of the Lord “overshadowed” them. It is also used in Acts 5:15 when people were trying to get close to Peter – in his shadow – that they might be healed. Have you ever wondered how Peter’s shadow could heal someone? It didn’t. What was actually happening was that Holy Spirit was “moving” out from Peter – hovering – and when individuals stepped into the cloud or overshadowing, they were healed.2

“An Invitation to ‘Cast Your Shadow'” by Quin Sherrer

Quin goes on to say:

When we invite the Lord to overshadow us, like Peter, we can cast a shadow – have supernatural influence – on those with whom we have encounters or connections. To cast is to “send out, radiate, hurl, fling, give off.” Let’s do it!

Maybe you are saying, “I can’t do what a well-known author did.” No, but you have your own sphere of influence. Years ago, a teenager shared on a Sunday night at our church, teaching us a big lesson. She had been in a juvenile detention facility in our town, she explained, but on weekends had been allowed to visit the homes of our various church families. Now, she was rehabilitated and going home.

“You fed me, clothed me, loved me, and best of all, you introduced me to Jesus. I am so thrilled with what Jesus has done for me. I want to thank Him. But you are Him here, so I will thank you,” she said. “You are Him here,” she repeated over and over, as her index finger pointed out across the congregation.

Going home, indeed. She was going home to her parents. One day, she will go to an eternal home with her heavenly Father…because they cast their shadow.

Our pastor had dozens of plaques made that read “You Are Him Here” for those of us who wanted to display them in our homes as a reminder that we are Jesus’ hands extended to anyone who knocks on our door. (Photo of Quin Sherrer)

“Christ has no hands on Earth but yours. No feet on Earth but yours, no eyes of compassion on Earth but yours. He has no body on Earth but yours,” said Teresa of Avila, a 16th-century nun.

Who are we influencing for God? Each of us casts a shadow by the way we live our lives, what we say, how we act toward those with whom we have connections. Someone, somewhere is watching, listening, observing.

The great harvest of souls expected soon in America could happen over backyard fences. For years, my New York City friend Janet talked to Sue about Jesus that way. Sue said she wasn’t ready to make a commitment. But on the September night, after the Twin Towers fell, she called Janet. She was ready. Janet led her in prayer and discipled her. Soon their weekly prayer meetings included other neighborhood women. I do not think it takes a tragedy to win others to Christ. We can just stay faithful to Holy Spirit’s leading and, in time, our shadow ministry will be fruitful.

In closing, let’s hear Jamie Buckingham’s take-away. “You look back across your life and you will remember numbers of people who have let their shadow fall on you. Because of that, you are who you are today.” I want to encourage you. Your shadow, perhaps unbeknownst to you, is falling on a number of other people. God is healing and God is blessing because your face is toward Jesus. Ordinary people, doing extraordinary things, through God, for God.

“Live under the protection of God Most High and stay in the shadow of God All-Powerful.” (Psalm 91:1 CEV)

Prayer with Dutch Sheets:

Lord, overshadow me with Your presence. Help me, in turn, cast my shadow over those whom You choose. Give me creative ways to do this when there are still areas where social distancing is in effect. Help me not be bashful or intimidated, but give me boldness to speak and act as Holy Spirit guides me.

Just as You did with Mary, hover over me until I carry Your presence. I want to radiate the power of Holy Spirit in such strength that lives are changed and Christ is formed in people. Remind us daily, Father, that we are Him here.

I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Our decree: I will be conscious of my influence for Jesus wherever I go.

Portions of today’s post were contributed by Quin Sherrer. (1 Excerpt from Quin Sherrer, Cast Your Shadow, Influence On Purpose, (Amazon, 2018), pp2-5. Taped message by Jamie Buckingham, New Orleans, 1991.2 Dutch Sheets, Intercessory Prayer, (Ventura, CA., Regal Books,1996), p141)