A Word for the Body of Christ

Crystal Wade

Beloved, I speak to your spirit, listen as I read the Word of God to you.

Peter replied, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-for all whom the Lord our God will call.
Acts 2:38-39

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that the times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you-even Jesus.
Acts 3:19

Awakening Background

Several days after Jesus returned to Heaven, the Holy Spirit filled the disciples and they began speaking other languages. God had so timed this supernatural gift that lots of people from out of town were in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost. As the disciples spontaneously burst into speaking numerous other languages, it attracted a crowd, who, at first, laughed them off. However, Peter stood and seized the moment, and explained what had happened. With their attention captured by hearing their native languages in a foreign land, they stayed to hear the explanation. Peter did not hold back, but boldly told them the good news of the coming, sacrificial death, and resurrection of Messiah, and called them to repent. This, they did en masse.

Preparation

The time and events prepared the crowds to receive the message of repentance; the time with Jesus and set apart time prepared the disciples to seize the moment and to speak the right thing at the right time to effect this large conversion. It was an intersection of time, and everyone was ready.

Repentance then Refreshing!

The Lord continued to grow their numbers daily. Shortly thereafter, Peter and John went to the Temple for the daily prayer time, 3 p.m. There, they met a beggar to whom they released healing. Another crowd, both the secular and the sanctified, gathered to ascertain the meaning of the commotion surrounding this former beggar turned Olympic high jumper!

Again, Peter stepped up to the plate to build on the repentance message.
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that the times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you-even Jesus.
Acts 3:19

A Convergence in Time

Beloved, we stand at this intersection in time, again. The Lord has been orchestrating the back story of events, including the economy, the elections, turbulence both natural and manmade, and more, to effect a will to change, which is a large component of repentance, in the people.

In us, Father has created practice runs where we have had to manage on less, where we have had to press in just to stand, where we have had to release faith and still have not seen the mountain budge an inch. He has had us pull out of things, even good things we were involved in. He has had us set aside and growing, though we have not yet seen how this will help!

This has been the parallel preparation in the people at large, and in the people of God.

Blessing to Connect to Heavenly Plans

Beloved, I bless your spirit to connect to the sound of the plans of Father which will infuse you with great joy. As C.S. Lewis wrote in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, “Aslan is on the move.” Yes, Beloved, He is!

There is on the horizon the change we have hoped for, looked for, prayed for, and it comes from the hand of Father.

So, Beloved, I bless your spirit to stay steady, knowing it is from God that this intersection in time flows. I bless your spirit to tune into His frequency, which is a peace filled connection and has none of the negativity we hear in the news, and to use this time to strengthen your spirit in His Word and in His Spirit which are timeless and full of help!

I bless your spirit with expectancy because God is aligning things to bring in a great awakening of people to Himself. I bless your spirit with hope because your destiny moment is about to be activated! It is for such a time as this that Father placed you in history, at your age, in your locale.

I bless your spirit with faith and trust in Father when winds rise, whatever those winds are. He will speak to you even audacious things such as, Speak peace to the winds. Some winds will blow, and some we are to tell STOP. I bless your spirit to be activated in Christ so you will know when to do what, when to stop and pray, when to stand and speak.

Blessing of Fast Forward from Repentance to Refreshing

I bless your spirit with understanding that this is the time of convergence, leading to repentance, which means to turn back to the ways of God! I bless your spirit to lead your soul and body into shalom, shalom, perfect peace, flowing from the Prince of Peace, whose beloved son and daughter you are! Then, I bless your spirit to direct your body to stand, as you perceive the time like Peter did, and to proclaim the times to the people, to stand in peace, and to repent.

And then, Beloved, look, as the message of repentance is received and built upon, times of refreshing come! Turning back, starting with us personally, turns the tide from punishment to refreshing! Father always wanted us to turn, He never wanted us to come into dire punishment. That is why He sent the prophets, to call for the turning, that we may live always under the showers of His blessings.

Blessing of Hope for the Unseen

So, Beloved, the greatest days are just ahead. I bless your spirit with joy that they are coming and that Father chose you to be a conduit, with peace that He is in charge and moving us all to convergence, and with hope about what He is about to do that will change everything. I bless your spirit to rest in Him, and hear His words of life and preparation, physical and spiritual. I bless your spirit to know the time He calls you to pray, the times He calls you to speak, and the times He calls you to act. I bless your spirit with strengthened faith and trust in Him. I bless your spirit to bring leadership to your soul and body, and then to all those He gathers to you.

The day of convergence and repentance are at hand. Let’s work to make ourselves ready so we can effect massive change, as did Peter and the disciples.

When the crowds are ready, He wants you to be ready to speak life and good news, then repentance, like Peter did!

I bless your spirit with great hope from knowing God is at the helm of this ship, moving it into new waters, and that repentance proceeds refreshing. This is His will, not destruction on any level. So, encouragement, arise in your spirit, Beloved! You are the chosen of the Lord to live in a convergence which is historic. I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

Crystal Wade, with her son Jadon
HopeStreams.net

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Email from Crystal’s Mother: 8/29/2012

Dear Kent ~

I wanted to mention the “Building His Masterpiece” will be hugely life-giving and bring hope to many. We know the negative is being amplified right now and so to receive your exhortation was hopeful.

I have attached a ~ “Convergence in Time Blessing” that Crystal released thru her network on Friday. I was encouraged by what God gave her to release and thought it might encourage others who are not understanding this time we are in.

It should be noted that Crystal attributes much direction in her writing to her personal prophecies from you. May this encourage you.

Thank you for your deposit into the lives of my children. Please feel free to share.

Blessings upon you and your family,
Sue Sparger, Crystal’s mother

Jill’s Journal

Suffering is a rich topic about which much has been said and written, both in the Bible and without. The wisdom of God’s purposes through suffering is so far higher than our human thoughts that we could spend our entire lives on earth contemplating its glory and never exhaust its infinite layers of beauty, wisdom, and power for the one who knows Christ.

We were born for war, Kingdom warfare – so suffering goes with the battle even though the victory has been won. At the same time, suffering is an instrument of our metamorphosis from the old into the new man, and from the natural into the supernatural person.

Jesus told us to expect tribulation as His followers: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Looking at the life of Jesus, many would say that He did not overcome, but that He died in indescribable pain — shamed, despised, betrayed, forsaken, and utterly defeated. This is the apparent reality that paralyzed with fear and sorrow the hearts of the men and women who had believed and followed Him – until they saw the Resurrected Christ!

Unbelief blinds the heart from the truth that Jesus was not impotent in suffering. Faith knows that death to self is actually the place of power and victory that brings true life.

Jesus dreaded the experience of becoming sin for us, but He sought and received the spiritual strength and courage to pass through it. He had no impulse to protect Himself from others. When one of Jesus’ disciples cut off the ear of a servant of the high priest who brought Roman soldiers to arrest Him, Jesus said, “Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:52-53)

Jesus had such intimacy with and confidence in His Father’s love, that He knew angels would be sent to deliver Him if He asked. The same is true for all of those who live in the Presence of God and know Him intimately. Many of us go in and out of this realm of faith, not yet having learned to abide in God. I believe that a time is soon coming in which encounters with God’s love for us will so capture our hearts that we will do whatever is necessary to remain close to Him all the time. In that place of perfect love, there is no fear, because “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18).

The love of the Father for the Son and of the Son for the Father sealed their agreement before the foundation of the world on a plan to redeem mankind. God’s holiness demands that all His sons be holy as He is holy. God knew that sin would enter the human race. How could the precious ones whom He predestined before the foundation of the world be redeemed and made holy after being corrupted by sin and evil? According to God’s eternal moral law, He had ordained that only by the shedding of sinless blood could the sin of mankind be remitted. Whose blood could possibly be worthy as a sacrifice for sin?

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit put themselves in unity with a plan. Together, in one accord, God willed to enact the plan knowing that each Person of the Godhead would suffer beyond our comprehension. The wise counsel of the Godhead agreed that the Blood of Christ would be shed to buy back the sons and that the Resurrection of Christ would birth totally new creations. What a plan! But was God not afraid of the pain He would endure?

The Father would watch His only begotten Son live as a human man, suffering and dying, even receiving the fullness of His wrath for sin as Jesus bore the punishment for mankind. The Son would suffer unspeakable pain and torment in His spirit, soul, and body, not only at the hands of man, but also being separated from His Father when He would become sin for us. The Holy Spirit would be grieved and sorrowed to His depths, along with the Father and the Son. The Creator of the Universe, the One who is pure Love and pure Holiness volunteered to suffer and die in our place. He chose to “endure the cross, despising the shame…for the joy set before Him” (Hebrews 12:2).

What if Jesus had chosen to avoid the cross, and to ask the Father to send those ten legions of angels? Do you believe that He had a choice about whether or not to obey Father God? Yes, Jesus did have a choice. He was “tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).His will was free, as the will of every Christian has been made free. When He came to earth through Mary’s womb, He “emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7). “Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). There is no doubt but that Jesus was like us, wholly dependent on the Father’s power by faith. He learned to trust and obey His Father. His victory was in the faith that He developed through a life of prayer and intimate fellowship with the Father.

Also before the creation of the world, the Godhead agreed on a life plan for each of us. He destined us in love (Ephesians 1:5), created us “in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). We are not to choose the good works that we want to do, but we choose whether or not to do the good works that God has planned for us. Will we go with His plan and stay on the path, or will we take detours or even an about face when we see suffering ahead?

Each time I hit an event of pain and suffering I am want to plead, kick, and protest, as if some strange ordeal were happening to me. I have been gripped with such powerful fear at times during persecution, physical pain, and crisis that trauma has found entry. Where is the peace guarding my heart and mind! In hindsight I see that it’s too difficult to get into the Presence of God during pain and fear if one has not developed the discipline of practicing His Presence all the time. I am learning to do this, but only as a result of years of great need. Fear and anger are still present, but they no longer manipulate my heart and decisions. Psalm 91:1 has become a reality to me: I see that if I dwell in the shelter of the Most High, I am able to abide in the shadow of Almighty God.

For many years He has been teaching and strengthening me in preparation for this season we are now entering of more widespread Christian persecution. Will I respond as Jesus did? “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23). He was hidden in the heart of the Father through prayer.

It was just last week when I was asked to lead an hour of intercession for my city that the Lord prompted me to focus on the revelation of His Glory through the city church, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). As I began to consider this truth, I asked for more scripture and was directed to 1 Peter 4, the entire chapter. My attention was caught by the opening verses, and then by verses 13 and 14:

But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

This is the mindset that I am asking the Lord to work in me. I have read and agreed with these scriptures all of my Christian life, but I cannot say that I do them. I am able to praise God for Who He is during suffering, but I do not truly rejoice in the sufferings. That capacity is resident in us by the Spirit, so I am now singing to the revelation and joy in me to rise up. I am asking for deeper renewal of my mind in the area of suffering and fear.

The morning following the time of intercession for the city last week, I received a daily scripture by email, from a ministry to which I subscribe. It was the opening verses of 1 Peter 4, from The Message translation:

Since Jesus went through everything you’re going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you’ll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want.

Jesus was honest to ask the Father in Gethsemane to let the cup pass from Him, but His hatred of suffering did not deter His resolve to do the Father’s will, and complete the plan (Luke 22:42). He had already made that decision before the suffering was upon Him. Just prior to Gethsemane He prayed:

I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began (John 17:4-5).

Then Jesus prayed for us:

I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are one: I in them and You in Me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent me and have loved them even as You have loved Me (John 17:22-23).

If we agree with Jesus’ prayer and plan, then with certainty we have the same joy set before us as Jesus. I am still pondering the marvels and facets of this glorious promise.

Will we suffer together as one body during times of trouble? “Ifone member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26). The strength to glory in suffering seems to be rooted in love: the love of the Father for the Son, the Son for the Father, our love for Them, and our love for one another. In the oneness of love there is joy, and the joy of the Lord is our strength.

Lord, thank you that you have given us everything we need to walk with grace and courage through suffering, in fellowship with You. And thank you that as we do, Your glory will be revealed in us.

Jill Thrift
August, 2012

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In HIS Service,
Kent Simpson, Prophetic Pastor

Prophetic Ministries Tabernacle
PO Box 774
Gainesville, Texas 76241

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Did you watch the Olympics? Wasn’t it awesome? I have learned something from the Olympics that impressed me as a great life lesson. I have admired the athletes and what they sacrifice, how they train,SandyLandryandSun what character they display. But what I noticed this time was the way many of them dealt with defeat. I admired their ability to accept defeat without becoming defeated and their winning attitudes even when they fail.

Did you happen to see one of the American divers last dive of his career? His first name was Corey. I don’t know his last. He sprang into the air, landed to the left of the board, and the whole dive was ruined. He couldn’t execute the somersaults or spins or whatever it is divers do. He had medaled twice before in previous Olympics, but when the pressure was the greatest, he failed. What impressed me was his lack of frustration with himself and his coach’s praise for what he had accomplished in his career at the second of his failure. There was no condemnation at least in those early moments, and his poise in the midst of failure was amazing. Now if you had trained for four years and it was your last dive, you might think you would want to beat yourself up a bit. Or that your coach would grant himself at least permission to roll his eyes, or shake his head, but they didn’t grant themselves that kind of permission to make the pain any worse than it was.

I couldn’t help but admire that kind of disciplined thinking and compare it to what the Bible tells us to do about disciplining our minds. Remember when Paul said in Philippians that he forgot what was behind and strained towards what was ahead which was the high calling. I watched these athletes that have disciplined their minds to know that while they might fail at a race, a game, or a dive, they are not failures because of one dive. They are the best in the world, even when they fail. Even when it is a dramatic tumble. Not even if was the most important one in four years.

I like that. I like the ability to train your hardest and do your best and then give yourself grace if you fail. I like the far sightedness of athletes who train for something four years in the future, as though it were tomorrow, and who all know that one day their climb for success will be over. And yet at a pinnacle event, their minds are so well trained to stay positive, they rarely allow themselves to wallow in negativity. Michael Phelps lost, and then came back to win, and win, and win, even though the announcers washed him up after his first defeat. There are times when a diver has two chances and he busts on the first one, and then he comes back to do it perfectly the second time. But we have all seen gymnasts or ice skaters or someone in some event, that once they fall, they can’t get it back. They continue to make mistakes, and once they allow the “Oh no, I have messed up” thoughts to come they go on to perform way below their abilities. Like once they start going down, they can’t stop. So what is the difference? I believe it is practiced ability of renewing of the mind. Paul had it right: forgetting what is before and focusing on what is ahead. That takes practice and practice and practice. It is pretty awesome to watch for the ones who do it the quickest go on to be champions.

And so it is for us. There is no condemnation for those are in Christ Jesus. Our great coach knows we are champions and that if we bust, we can instantly find grace to forget what is behind and press on, looking to what is ahead, the high calling of champions who over come: winners on this earth and winners forever more.

Sandy Landry,
Teacher/Author

Accept What Is

What does that mean? Is it a cryptic Chinese proverb? New age psychobabble? Actually, I picked it up from an Oprah life class. Now, don’t laugh. There is truth in it.

What does it mean to live in reality and how do I do that and live in faith? Well, I can tell you from personal experience that I have lived in denial before and called it faith. I wanted reality to go away so badly, that I thought if I didn’t think about it, it would. I think living in reality is like the saying accept what can’t be changed and change what you can and know the difference between them. Some things have happened and we can’t change them. The pain comes when we can’t tell the difference, or we won’t let go of the one that can’t be changed and we won’t change the one that can.

Recently I talked with a young woman who didn’t want to forgive her father because he had never wanted her. She had been shortchanged. The reality is that she had been shortchanged and he really hadn’t wanted her. He had added some to her life, not a lot, and she was angry about it. I think she felt if she let him off the hook by forgiving him, she would be saying that hurting her was okay. She seemed to finally be able to let him go when I helped her see that although she had not gotten the Dad she wanted, we could never change that. She had married a man who was a wonderful Dad to her children and she had a good life. She was holding on to an expectation of her Dad that he had not measured up to. He was less than she had deserved; however, when she accepted that reality, she let him go. When she recognized that by holding him in prison, she was in one, and that sooner or later she would have to acknowledge that reality is reality. He was who he was and the past was the past. She couldn’t change the past, but she could accept it and move forward. Trying to change the part that couldn’t be changed was hurting her.

When a parent loses a child tragically, it is a long journey to healing and it is usually accomplished by accepting a new reality. Often it is thankfulness for whatever time the child was on earth and letting go of the expectations that all of us have that our children will outlive us as parents. Most of our suffering does come from wanting what we don’t have, wishing for what we’ve lost, believing we could have done something differently or they could have, and we wouldn’t be suffering. But the truth is that is where all the suffering lies. Accepting the reality, as hard as it might be to accept, sets us free. Peace comes when we accept the new reality. This happened. It was hard. I accept grace to deal with it. I even give myself grace if I caused it to happen in some way. Forgiveness and grace are all about accepting the reality first. We suffer when we won’t accept it and we want it altered. Forgiveness and grace say it is what it is, but I am using forgiveness to let it go and grace to endure it. They are free gifts, but they are supernatural, empowered to create a new reality. Amazing.

Jesus walked in reality. By that I mean that he said he knew exactly what was in man’s heart. He knew all about our motives and our ways, and he didn’t put expectations on us to measure up to the new and better laws He was handing down to us. He came to give us grace and to tell us God loved us. Wow. Think about it. That is quite something. Go find the hurting, broken, messed up masses and give them a message from God. That is what is so compelling about his message. He asked us to love one another as He loved us, which I guess when you get down to it is even when we see each other’s weaknesses, because He loved us first when we were at our most broken and most defiled.

He went to the cross, knowing the pain. He remained intimate with men who were set on denying and betraying him. He set his heart to endure the cross while his closest men fought over who would be first in the new kingdom. I would say He was pretty good at dealing with reality. But then he knew that dying was going to give us the power we would need to really change down deep. Peter was going to come out on the other side a fiery evangelist instead of a flake, and that is also reality. So, I guess we stand beneath two realities as people of faith: the reality is that Joe is who Joe is and I can find grace to love him broken, and the reality is also that Joe is not yet all that Joe might be and I can pray for him. We have a present reality and a hope for a new reality. Believing anything in between those two places will cause us to suffer for we will expect Joe to be somebody he isn’t, and Joe will disappoint us and make us sad. The more we expect Joe to straighten up, the worse he seems to get. We talk with Joe, and that hurts his feeling. Now Joe is sad because he hasn’t met up to our expectations and he is tripping over himself trying to change his ways. We are obsessed with Joe and now we judge poor old Joe to be willfully out to annoy us. If only Joe would straighten up, we could be happy. What is wrong with selfish old Joe? Doesn’t he see how he annoys us? Why doesn’t he change? Aren’t you tired all ready? Let’s give Joe grace. And while we are at it, Sue and Rachel too. And then I am going right up to the throne and get some for myself.

Sandy Landry,
Teacher/Author

In 1995, we opened up the airwaves for prophecy to be broadcast from radio and television across the Islands of Hawaii. LeSea Broadcasting made it possible for us to touch many lives and introduce many people for the first time to New Testament prophecy. Apostle Paul Roberts had introduced us to Reverend Gary Holcombe, who was later placed as a staff member at LeSea Broadcasting and opened the door for us to prophesy live over television.

After returning from our first three week and three day ministry trip to the Islands of Hawaii we began to receive calls and letters from Norway, Denmark, Sweden, England, Thailand and a number of states within the U.S.A. For the next two and a half years I spent three weeks or more out of each month traveling overseas, ministering in prophecy and teaching on the prophetic gifts.

On one of my trips to Jerusalem, which I earlier mentioned in one of our e-Newsletters, I prophesied from various holy sites in the Holy Land. I had carried with me over 300 blank audio cassette tapes and VHS tapes with the names on each one who had requested to receive His Word from the Holy Land. It was not too long after returning from this trip that I received a message that Dr. Lester Sumrall wanted to meet with me.

I made arrangements to meet with Dr. Sumrall when I returned home. As I waited for him to come out of his DC-10, the senior pilot came to me and informed me that Dr. Sumrall had been taking a nap and would be out in just a few minutes. The pilot also shared with me his own negative thoughts about personal prophesy and was not too kind with his words. As he continued to spew his disbelieves he turned to find Dr. Sumrall standing right behind him. The pilot quickly stopped talking and stormed away. Dr. Sumrall settled into my vehicle and we drove to a local restaurant to have lunch and discuss his problem.

The decision needed to be made right away whether to allow the minister to keep broadcasting his program on the network or to pull the plug and break ties with the minister. Dr. Sumrall told me he could not find his answer, because he was just too close to the minister. He said God told him to find me and he would find his answer. So he asked me to tell him what God wanted to do. Immediately, I felt totally helpless and inadequate in seeking God for a man of such faith and power, but, suddenly, I felt the weight of this problem come upon my shoulders, knowing that whatever came out of my mouth could possibly damage Dr. Sumrall’s ministry or totally destroy the ministry in question. In just a few seconds our Lord said to me, “Whatever you say I will do.” Somewhat relieved I gave a real lame word, “God will give you a sign before you land in New Orleans.”

The next morning Dr. Sumrall and the crew loaded up the plane and took off for New Orleans. To my surprise I received a phone call from Houston, Texas. It was the pilot who had earlier shared with me a piece of his mind regarding personal prophecy. Painfully, he said, “Doctor Sumrall wanted me to call and let you know that he had received his sign.” I questioned him about the sign; he explained as they called into the tower on their approached to land they were informed of a tropical storm bearing down on the gulf coast so they made a quick detour to Houston. The decision was made not to land and Dr. Sumrall took this to be his sign to stay away from the minister in question. Within just a few days the minister’s daily television program was replaced by another ministry.

Kent Simpson
Prophetic Pastor
Comments and Testimonies
For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. ~ Rev. 19:10b

Prophecy is the testimony that Jesus is not dead but Alive and Speaking to you and I.
Kent Simpson,
Prophetic Pastor

Dear Prophet Kent,

Your article today in the newsletter hit the ball out of the park.

It was very transparent and real, and powerful.

It was very clear and understandable, and made the distinction well between a desire of the heart, and want of the heart.
Thank you.

We are looking forward with you, as the vision the Lord gave you unfolds. Like a newsroom it sounds, but different.

Prophetic and worshipper intercessors CHANGE history, not just report the news.
Shabbat Shalom!

Blessings
Crystal Wade

Jill’s Journal

A year after Jesus captured my heart and began to redeem my life, my Presbyterian pastor talked with me about considering going to an interdenominational evangelical seminary. I had gone through every Bible study the church had to offer, and wanting more, had taken two courses at a local Catholic seminary. I was grieved to discover there that some Christians, even seminary professors, consider the Old Testament and parts of the New to be myth rather than history. The Holy Spirit in me knew that was utterly false. Already having three graduate degrees from secular institutions, my view of the world was thoroughly brainwashed and I knew I needed to renew my mind with the Word of God.

At the time I was working as a Child Develop mentalist on the Pediatric faculty at the University of Texas Health Science Center. I was looked upon as an expert, but I soon realized that everything I had been taught about human nature and child development was based on assumptions that opposed God’s Word. How could I possibly move forward in this or in any vocation without being transformed by the truth myself? I wanted with all of my being to please God, to live the life that He had planned for me, to learn how to live in relationship with Him, and to teach my young son how to do the same.

I was ravenous for the Word of God, to know God, not as I imagined Him to be, but as He is. Jesus had encountered me and made Himself up close and real. I was enthralled by Him and longed to really know this gracious God who had shown Himself to me in the midst of a failed marriage. He was my daily portion for many decisions living as a single again, but now with the responsibility of a young boy who had just turned five. It was both a time of despair, living through the consequences of divorce, and a time of absolute joy and hope for a future.

Many seminaries have strayed from a reverence of the authority and inerrancy of the Word of God. My pastor recommended three that he thought would be trustworthy. For two years I prayed and asked God to help me surrender to His plans. I did not want the stress of more change and needed prayer to get into a neutral position which would allow me to hear God. I visited two of the three seminaries during summer of 1987.

While at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, in prayer one afternoon about whether or not to go to seminary, the Lord spoke to me,

Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear:
Forget your people and your father’s house;
Then the King will desire your beauty.
Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him.
Psalm 145:10-11

I understood these words as a call to leave my family in San Antonio and go to seminary. I thought of Abraham being called to leave the Ur of the Chaldees and follow the Lord to a land God would show Him:

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he became a sojourner in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.”
Hebrews 11:8-9, ASV

I looked up the meaning of “sojourn:” a temporary stay, a brief period of residence. I did not know how long this sojourn was to be, or still even which direction to head.

When I visited Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in Hamilton, Massachusetts, I cried through my interviews with each of two professors with whom my pastor had suggested I meet. Both men were of such inspiring character. When the Holy Spirit is working in me sometimes I cry. I have come to understand this as the Spirit groaning within me, interceding with a deep burden when I do not have the words. While at Gordon-Conwell, I could see my son and me living there among other families right on campus. I felt a strange sense during this visit of coming home, as if I had been there before though I had not. Although it would be an enormous loss to leave my parents, brother and sister, and their families, especially on the heels of the loss of a husband, there was a compelling sense of promise in yielding to what God had woven into my heart. Would I trust my new Husband to care for us in a strange land where we knew no one?

I returned from the trip knowing what I was to do, and excited and in awe that Jesus had made it all so clear. My pastor and his wife were thrilled, and my home Bible study friends were very positive and confirming. However, neither my family nor my son’s father were happy at all. My mother told me that I was being selfish and not thinking of what was best for my son who needed his extended family more than ever. Was I being selfish? She said she hoped I would not decide to become a pastor and expected me to return by the first cold winter. My father said that I would come to my senses and admonished me not to do anything radical, like becoming a missionary.

My ex-husband filed an injunction against our leaving, even though he had no legal basis for a favorable judgment. He called my mother and told her I had gone off the deep end and was becoming religious as a reaction to the divorce. He told our son that I was taking him away because I didn’t want them to be together. This contradicted the facts that as often as not my ex-husband had not shown up at the times he had reserved to be with our son when he had opportunity.

My father was kind enough to come over a few times to help me pack, but my mother would not speak to me. My parents were broken-hearted that their grandson was leaving and my mother seemed to view my decision as a rejection of my need for her. They saw it through natural eyes and were not able to see it as a call from God. I understood this and did not blame them, but I sorrowed and felt very alone. It was a stressful departure that could only have been made with the joy of Jesus calling me to follow Him. During a farewell dinner hosted by my sister, my son escaped outside to scavenge little tiny frogs from around her house. Frog and lizard collecting were his favorite activities and I supposed he had to have one last fling, not knowing if there were frogs where we were going.

Another member of my church had been accepted at the same seminary and offered to caravan with me so that I would not be travelling the 2000 miles alone. He tried to be very patient, but drove long hours without stopping. He seemed not to be able to remember that small children need more frequent stops, and there were no cell phones in those days. I just followed behind him trying not to lose sight of the bicycle he had mounted on the roof of his car. My son was a good sport about it during the day, playing car games and listening to audiotapes, but at night he cried himself to sleep vowing to return to Texas as soon as he earned enough money to buy the plane ticket.

The second day of our trip we began to notice a putrid smell from the air conditioning vents of my station wagon. I couldn’t figure out what it could possibly be. It smelled like some type of dead life form. My son finally acknowledged that he had kept the little frogs from Texas in his pockets to carry with him in case Massachusetts did not have frogs. There were dozens of them, and many had slowly made their way out of his pockets for air and crawled up into inaccessible parts of the AC. We travelled with this smell of dead frogs for three of our four days.

It seemed to take forever to get to Massachusetts, but I was so elated when we entered the campus that we stopped and got out by the lily pond to take it all in and say a prayer of thanks. My son immediately found a little yellow wildflower and gave it to me in celebration (see the photo above). I was so encouraged to see his joy, though I knew he was still hurting. It was such a tender and loving gesture to rejoice with me even though he did not want to be there. A few minutes later he spotted the pond and ran to drop his fists in every hole that might be hiding a frog. He was not disappointed to pull out the biggest bullfrog he had ever seen. He held it up in glee like a trophy. He knew from this first landing at our new home that God would provide for him too.

“The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless.”
Psalm 146:9, ESV

Jesus was true to Himself over the 18 years of sojourn in Massachusetts. He never left us through these years during which we were spiritually formed and prepared for our destinies in Christ. My son committed his life to Jesus and was baptized. He blossomed in His love for the Lord and for the Word. He went through the rites of passage of manhood without an earthly dad, which precipitated a serious crisis that was finally miraculously resolved in spiritual revival. A few months before graduating from high school, he visited a Christian college in Michigan and returned saying, “This is God’s choice.” He chose this college over some excellent secular universities that had already accepted him the previous fall.

In 2001 the Lord told me I would be relocating. After much prayer and a few years of painful mistakes, I sought the Lord for greater clarity about the move. Not knowing where I was to move, I felt I was to paint the house and get it ready for sale. In the fall of 2004, before I told anyone that I might be selling, a man came to my front door and expressed the desire to buy the house. When he learned that I had no definite plans, he gave me his card to contact him when I was ready to sell. Nine months later, in the spring of 2005 the Lord gave me clear instructions to return to Texas: “Return to the land of your ancestors and to your kindred, and I will be with you” (Genesis 31:3). Within the same week, I was able to sell our home in Massachusetts to the man who had come to my door the previous year and purchase a condo in San Antonio near my elderly parents’ home.

Again, I was deeply grateful for the clarity of Jesus’ direction. I needed that sure word to make a challenging move back during a period of poor physical health and weakness. The timing was good because my son had recently found his first post-college job. He was moving into an apartment in Boston at the very same time that I was packing to return to Texas. Though my son will always have a heart for Texas, he considers the Boston area his home. He has friends from grade school through college who still live in the area and is grateful for the work opportunities in that part of the country that are uniquely suited to his interests. Yet I hope he sees now that we are sojourners, and that we belong to the Lord, to live where He plants us.

When I obeyed God for my own life, He took care of my son also. He is a family God. His will for the parents is always also the best for the children. This truth was tested many times in many ways, but looking back over these past 25 years; it’s evident that God has the end in mind from the beginning. The wisest route is to obey His voice and follow Him wherever He says to go.

We are strangers and sojourners on earth, but citizens of a permanent place of dwelling. I cherish this current time closer to my family and becoming restored in health. Already I see that this season back home has many good purposes and I am in awe of God’s ways. I believe I would be happy living in San Antonio for the rest of my life, but I want to become so united with Jesus that I am always willing and not fearful to trust in His leadership.

Jill Thrift

What is grace? Grace is God’s kind of forgiveness for our sins, because He is really the only person who gets to say how the system of justice works for a believer. He is the only one with the perfect right to be offended because He can see our hearts, our motives. He lets His right go to punish us and He refuses to take our sin personally. Why? Because He is training children and He is the ultimate Father. Is God a pushover? He laid out right and wrong for us, now didn’t He? He has as many hopes and dreams for us as any good Father ever could, and He watches us as we repeatedly do less than our best, fail, sin, outright mess it up for many reasons because we are LEARNING. So why in the world would we get grace when we mess up? Wouldn’t it make more sense to get sent to our room and go without our dinner until we get it right? Isn’t He dedicated to our getting it right? Doesn’t He care?

I think the key is what getting it right means? Is getting it right about law or love? What is Grace able to do that punishment doesn’t do? If I get it wrong as I am wont to do, and I go to the Law giver, the perfect one, the one who knows me best, and I tell Him that I am sorry, He gives me grace. He forgives me. I can take it instantly and walk away absolved , or I can refuse to take it and do penance or beat up on myself as long as I want, believing He is so disappointed with me that He is pacing the Golden Streets wringing His hands in utter despair and exasperation. But if I think long enough, I know He is not wringing His hands because He is perfect peace, and He is not exasperated, because He knew my imperfection was out there and He even knew I was headed for a fall. I bring him the broken law, and He covers it with love. That is grace.

So what does grace teach me? It teaches me the ONE thing that He wants me to know more than any other thing. HE LOVES ME UNCONDITIONALLY. His love is more powerful than anything. It covers a multitude of sins. It casts out fear. It scoops me up and cradles me every time I choose to receive it. There is no other way for me to know that. If He punished me, I would then believe that I had to perfect myself to earn his favor. I would go back out, trying to get it right. I would strive and work and sweat and try and cringe and fail. But instead, He gives me grace.

He must say something like, “Bless her heart, I know she’s trying. She thought she’d take a shortcut, and now she has a set back. I’ll give her more love because that’s what she needs. More of my love will make her more secure and she won’t need a short cut next time because she can rest in my love. My love will make her more stable and more able. That is precisely what she needs: more of my love. I AM LOVE and I have lots to spare and I don’t want to hurt her or discourage her, so here honey, take more of my love. Every time you see a weakness, and you come and show me a hole you have found that makes you hurt or weak, I’ll pour love in there until your heart is filled with my love. And stop fretting about your weaknesses. We will overcome them together. I will give you grace and you will overcome. You just keep coming to my throne asking for grace, the stronger you will get and the more able you will be to jump the hurdles in your life. I like to call it overcoming, conquering with grace. It is my plan. It was why my Son came and died for you, so you could have a transfusion of grace anytime you needed it. I am so sorry for you, sweetie, when you think you are under the law, trying hard to keep it together, obey, get it all right to please me. Stop wearing yourself out. Enter my rest. My grace is sufficient for you. Remember? And one other thing, when you don’t take my grace, my unconditional love, you will judge everyone around you because you think I am judging you. When you know I am not judging you, then you will also be able to love other people even when you see their weaknesses, because you will want to give them grace. Grace receivers are grace givers. Law abiders judge others.

The next time you get a speeding ticket, if such a thing were possible, would your driving skills be more improved by a ticket or by grace? I don’t know about you, but grace makes me feel way happier and I feel myself wanting to obey traffic rules for a totally different set of reasons. I love the state patrolman who offered me grace, and I love the other drivers as I pull back out on the highway. I am ready to drive more carefully, extending grace up and down the highway, grateful for grace.

We are told to go boldly to the throne of grace. Boldly. Can you imagine? How can we approach God boldly when we are wrong and He is right and ask to be exonerated? Jesus paid for this great privilege. It is THE PLAN. Because grace is what makes us able to live this life of love and there isn’t one other way to do it. If we have figured out another way, we aren’t playing by God’s rules. We come for grace. Period the end. Grace makes us strong. Grace abounds. There is plenty of it.

Grace changes us. Grace loves others. And there we have it, in a nutshell. Today, let’s celebrate grace. A plan way too good to be true, and yet it is!

Sandy Landry,
Teacher/Author

After a few days re-arranging our calendar, we made contact with Reverend Gary Holcombe and accepted his offer to come to Hawaii for three weeks and three days. Before our departure I had been contacted by my friend Glenn Landry, and he told me about a prison in Argentina where 3,000 prisoners would be forming a 24 hour prayer chain for us while we were ministering on the island of Oahu. I felt very special having that many people praying for us.

As the four of us stood at the curb with a ton of luggage a two door car pulled up. I was wondering how were going to get all our luggage and us in the car, but Reverend Holcombe showed all the faith in the world that it was not a problem, for he had brought some rope. Looking like a pack of Hawaii hillbillies, we headed for our new temporary home.

Each day for the next three weeks we ministered either in a church building, someone’s garage or on television. It did not take very long before we had hundreds of people hungering for a His Word. Reverend Holcombe had asked if I would minister live on his television program called Prayerline Hawaii, and prophesy to people who called in for prayer. It was then that we and the owners of the television station realized that delivering God’s prophetic word was a strong evangelistic gift. Out of curiosity the owners of the station contacted the telephone company to find out how many calls the station had received during the twenty minutes I prophesied to the callers. When they heard the count was 73 calls they were very excited; then the agent for the telephone company said, “Hold on there is more. Another 256 calls were unable to get through because the phone lines were jammed.” The owners opened the doors for me to return to Hawaii another 25 times and have our own television program that expanded into other states: Louisiana, Wisconsin, Colorado, Oklahoma, Indiana, Ohio and Hawaii. Dr. Lester Sumrall was the founder of LeSea Broadcasting, and a few years later he and his crew flew down from South Bend, Indiana to visit with me.

When it was time for Dr. Sumrall leave I drove him back to his private jet. As we sat in the car next to his plane I asked him if it were true that Smith Wigglesworth had laid his hands upon him and imparted the gift of faith into him and prophesied. He confirmed this to be true, and I asked if he would do the same for me, which he did. Then Dr. Sumrall asked me to seek God for him about an urgent matter in which he needed an answer from God…….

(To be continued next week)

I accredit the success of this ministry to the supernatural networking of God’s people and the prayers of the Saints of God. Gary Holcombe was my friend and we had many experiences ministering in Hawaii, Thailand and Television.

Kent Simpson, Prophetic Pastor

Comments and Testimonies

For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.       Rev. 19:10b

Prophecy is the testimony that Jesus is not dead but Alive and Speaking to you and I.

Kent Simpson
Prophetic Pastor

 

I like the quote that you have started posting on your newsletter: “A true Prophet of God will not tell you what to do, he will only tell you what to expect.”

That is such a good answer to the objection that I hear from misinformed people. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard otherwise spiritual people make the statement concerning prophetic words, “That a prophetic word will only confirm what you already are feeling the Lord leading you in. But never be directional.”

While I would agree with them that sometimes a word will contain in it a word of confirmation, as they say, but I also would argue that a prophetic word can and should give glimpses into their future of some of things that God has made available to them. Otherwise, why would it even be called a “prophetic” word?

It is wrong of them, I believe, to assume that a prophet is trying to control them somehow when he or she is delivering a prophetic word that points to the future.

Having been on the receiving end of prophetic words myself that opened a window into my destiny, I can attest to the blessedness that such a word can bring. Kent, you were one of the first of many mouthpieces that God did use for many such words in my life early on in my pursuit of the prophetic and spiritual gifts. And I can honestly say that not once in all of those many times did I ever feel anything but thankful, edified, and blessed; with a greater assurance of my place in God; with more clarity and certainty about those circumstances that were present in my life at the time.

(Now as I write this, I am painfully aware that there have been some instances where misuse or abuse of the gift of prophecy has happened in certain places at some points in time by a few would-be prophets. But that is the exception rather than the rule. But we should not throw out the baby with the wash.)

In my opinion, if a prophetic word does not, at least sometimes, have an element of a futuristic destiny awaiting the one or many who are receiving that word, then it should not be considered to be prophetic at all. That it does have futuristic ramifications is inherent in the very meaning of the word “prophetic.” What is prophetic about a word that is limited only to that which is already known, I ask? It would seem to me, that a word that is not prophetic in any way should rather be considered merely, at best, just perhaps “good advice,” or “opinion,” and at worst, a waste of time.

Thank God, though, that a true prophetic word is “proph-it-able” for all. (I Cor. 14)

Anyway, what started out to be merely a commendation to you, my brother, on the use of the aforementioned slogan has turned out to be a somewhat lengthy ranting of my heart. I love the gift of prophecy and the prophetic word, and all those who exercise it in the scriptural way.

I love you brother. Keep up the good work.

Dale West

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Thank you for sharing this story.

You are such a blessing to so many. I love that you are all about sharing Father’s heart with His people. Yes, one word from God can change your life in ways you never imagined. Thank you for ministering those razor sharp words of encouragement in so many of those “end of my rope” situations.

May God bless you this day & always.

Liz Hickman

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In HIS Service,
Kent Simpson, Prophetic Pastor