Becoming Who You Already Are-Cory Hallett

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How to Maintain a Lifetime of Spiritual Fire

How to Maintain a Lifetime of Spiritual Fire
by Sherry Tucker


1) LOVE GOD!

Duet.6:1-9__ v5) “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
Keep His commandments__ v2)”…all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.”

Paul defines God’s Love/Agapa in 1 Corn.13:4-13. but, all too often we overlook 14:1 “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.”

Study the books of John and 1 John to KNOW GOD for GOD IS LOVE! 1John 4:8


2) BELIEVE AND RECEIVE GOD’S SPIRIT!

Accept the indwelling Holy Spirit with your whole heart. Listen to His instructions and OBEY Him with blind Trust. Become ONE with Him to fulfill your purpose and destiny.

“TRUST AND OBEY FOR THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO BE HAPPY IN JESUS, THAN TO TRUST AND OBEY!”

3) STUDY GOD’S WORD!

Know both the written and spoken Words of God; Logos and Rhema

Seek to GET UNDERSTANDING! For the Lord told me you can have All Knowledge and All Wisdom, but without understanding of the purpose and timing for use, it is as nothing!

Know God’s voice and obey Him. It’s not hard, for most of the time it is His voice that puts the thoughts and ideas within our minds that are a benefit to ourselves and others. But be aware the enemy
can plant thoughts within also, but when you access them they will be negative, painful or hurtful ones, you should dismiss by and in the Name of Jesus Christ to cease!


4) BE DISAPLINED AND DELIBERATE IN ALL YOU DO AND SAY!

“Words mean things, so say what you mean!” was a favorite saying of my husband. He knew that life and death is in the tongue, especially in warfare! You are either blessing or cursing with your words. Think before you speak! For with the power of the Spirit is dwelling with you and your words carry God’s creative force! You speak with the tongue of Jesus Christ resurrected in and through you, to complete His work upon the earth!

1 Sam.15:22 declares that ‘Obedience is better than sacrifice!’ unto God.

The scriptures state that our words and actions reveal our true heart. And sometimes our actions may speak louder than our words.


5) PRAY WITHOUT CEASING! 1Thes.5:17

Prayer is communion and conversation with God. Involve Him in every aspect of your life. If you have questions, He is the only source of perfect answers! If you need wisdom, study the Proverbs for you will discover that the attribute of Wisdom and the Spirit are one and the same just as He revealed it to me! God Knows All, Sees All and is in All! He put Himself in your DNA.

It is in prayer that you can share the enemy’s attacks with God. He already knows about it, but he desires our telling Him and asking for His help. He loves to help His children and our asking gives Him the right to intercede on our behalf, upon the earth. At our asking, He releases Heavens might and provisions to defeat our enemy for us as he declares “the battles are His!” and we are to stand firm in Faith with Trust that He will perform His promises. But if we worry, fret or have concern, we have interfered with God having complete control of the battle; so leave your requests and needs at His Throne and ‘Wait; Rest with peaceful patience, as He provides in perfect time.’

6) PRAISE GOD FOR ALL HE DOES!

At all times gives thanks and Praise for what He has done, what He is doing and All that He shall do for you, your loved ones, friends and all mankind’s benefit.


7) WORSHIP AND ADORE GOD FOR WHO HE IS!

John 4:23-24; “But the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Worship with all your heart, mind body and spirit. You should sing, shout, be silent, be joyful or soulful, dance, clap, jump, walk, run, kneel, or fall prostrate before Him as the Holy Spirit leads you. In all your ways, let it be wholly unto Christ, our Lord of lords and King of kings as an expression of your all consuming love for Him!


8) SERVE OTHERS AS THOUGH YOU ARE SERVING CHRIST!

Remember that Christ is in all of us or He is drawing the lost, uninformed, the doubting and the wounded to Himself through your inter action within your sphere of influence.

Christ is our example, for He came first, as a Servant to serve our needs and express The Godhead’s unfailing and unmerited Love of merciful grace and forgiveness, that should we choose to follow Him we could have an intimate relationship with them for all Eternity!

It is my belief that when God’s Kingdom dwells for time and all time, these are the very things that we will forever be doing; Love; Trust; Obey; Know God’s Word and Voice; Converse and Commune to Serve Others needs, whenever we are not fully engaged in a heavenly Praise and Worship Service.

SO YOU MAY AS WELL START PRACTICING IN THE PRESENT!

Middle School Retreat 09 Video!

Fasting

Fasting

Well, I thought that fasting would be an appropriate topic since almost everyone participates in lent no matter your denomination. I think the explanation of fasting isn't given enough to the church body. For awhile I struggled with the point of fasting. IHOP says we're mourning for the return of our bridegroom. Yes, that is great but it doesn't motivate me to fast. So in this email I hope to encourage each of you and challenge you along the path of a fasted lifestyle.

Matthew 9:15 "Jesus answered, 'How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, then they will fast." Fasting is our way of mourning for His return. In movies after a couple breaks up they'll say, "I can't eat...I can't sleep." This is what I think of when I read this verse, our longing for Him is so strong that we can't eat...and we can't sleep. The truth is we don't fast because we don't really miss Him. We're ok with the life we're in right now, because we don't know how great it is going to be in the age to come. So we can eat and we can sleep. If we push ourselves into a life of fasting it starts to cultivate in us a longing for His return. As a result of your fasting you'll begin to desire His return. John Piper (I'm pretty sure) said, "The absence of fasting is the measure of our contentment with the absence of Christ."

My main motivation for fasting is how it tenderizes my spirit. I encourage everyone to fast 2 days instead of just one, because the first day is just your body detoxing and it's miserable. But when you get to that second day your spirit is so tender. You may have a growl in your stomach, but it's worth it because when you open up the Bible it's like the lights come on. You begin to receive revelation on verses that before have not made any sense to you. God's love becomes something that touches your heart, not just something that you know. Fasting is our voluntary weakness. "For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10). It's out of our weakness that we are made strong, because we see that we really can't do it on our own. We fully lean upon God and we allow His strength to be made perfect in our weakness.

The last reason I'm going to give as an encouragement to fast is very important. We have been taking a class on the book of Daniel. While studying Daniel we noticed that food was the first thing he took a stand against. They changed his name, taught him about their gods, taught him astrology and other things, but he took a stand against food. Why? Because Daniel didn't want to get sucked in by the spirit of this age. He wanted his inner-man to be alert. He knew that eating the delicacies of the kingdom would make his spirit grow dull. He also knew that they did not follow the same rituals that they were supposed to follow before eating meat and other foods. So Daniel took a stand and refused to be defiled by their food. We don't realize how much of a hold food has on our lives. We constantly think about food...what are we going to eat? How much is it going to cost? How fast can I make it? How hungry am I? Food food food it's what fuels our society.

What are you going to do when the antichrist comes into power and takes away all of the food? Are you going to be able to get the hook out of your stomach and take a stand and say, "NO, I will not take the mark...I would rather starve!" Your children are starving and they haven't eaten in days, and all you have to do is go get a mark so that your children can have food. What will you do? This is the reality that we have to look at. I don't think that this is an over exaggeration at all. This will be a reality if not for you, then for your children. Food is one of the biggest temptations we face today, and it will be the deciding factor for many people when the antichrist comes into power. When Jesus was tempted by Satan during His 40 day fast, the first thing satan tempted Him with was food. He tempted Jesus with food before he tempted Him with power. Why? Because even Satan knows the hold that food has on our lives. So we have to stop it now and make it our goal not to make food a god in our lives. We live for God, we don't live to eat.

It's all in what you EXPECT

We had Scott Thompson and a ministry team from Bethel Church Atlanta come Sunday night. It was incredible! We were completely blown away by how good God is! They spent some time encouraging our leaders with prophetic words that were very strong and accurate. In fact, there were some things spoken that were impossible for them to know in advance, it was so obvious that the Father was speaking-and loving on His kids. The team also had some time where they spoke "words of knowledge" and we prayed for the sick. We received several emails the next morning about confirmed and genuine healing that took place. Scott also shared a dream that he had that was powerful (described below), and we ended the night with a fire tunnel of prayer. God is on the move at Riverstone Church. It is blowing us away how He is opening up doors and He is pushing us into deeper things.

Lord, we surrender everything to You-come and have Your way.

Check out the article below from Scott Thompson:

About a month ago I had a dream. In the dream there was a woman in a large room. The walls of the room had strips of dark, rich fabric lining them. Immediately I knew that the woman in the room had given her self completely to making that room look the way it did. I knew that she had really spent time decorating and making everything in the room just right. There was no furniture in the room yet. The woman was looking around and there was something missing. The room was not quite finished. Then some people came in carrying a gold colored couch. The woman got all excited and I knew this was what she was waiting for. The people put the couch right in the middle of the room. The whole room was prepared just for this one piece of furniture. The woman walked around the couch looking at it and I could tell by the look on her face that it just wasn’t right yet. Then John the Baptist came walking in. I knew the women was married to him. John the Baptist represents preparing the way. The woman was married to preparing the way. Right when John came in he pointed at the couch and said, “It’s supposed to be like this.” When he said that, the couch turned to liquid gold. The woman was so relieved. Finally, everything she had prepared was for a reason and the reason was sitting right in front of her.

Then some time went by in the dream. The woman was standing in front of the couch with a look of dissatisfaction on her face. There were other people around her that were also looking at the couch. The couch was no longer liquid gold. It was just an ordinary gold colored couch again. The people around the woman were looking at the couch and saying things like, “Well, at least its gold, right? That is the color we were going for.” Another person came up and sat on the couch. They got up and said, “Wow, you should try that out, it is really comfortable.” The woman nodded her head and said, “Yeah, at least its gold, and it does look comfortable.” Right then John the Baptist came walking back in shaking his head. The look on his face was one of anger. He looked at the woman and said, “You just don’t get it do you!” Then he pointed at the couch and said, “It’s all in what you EXPECT!” When he said the word expect, it was so real that the letters of the word came out of his mouth and filled the room. Right then the couch turned back to liquid gold again. The woman was so relieved and at the same time she was disappointed in herself because she had started to settle for less than she had poured her life out for.

The last part of the dream is the most interesting to me. After the couch turned back to liquid gold, people started coming in the room one at a time and sitting on the couch. When they would sit down they would disappear into the couch. They were completely consumed by the liquid gold couch. It was no longer just comfortable. The woman in the dream represented us, all believers from past to present. Generations before us have poured themselves out to prepare the way. Some have even given their lives. Some generations have seen the liquid tangible presence of God show up. Some have only dreamed, but all have prepared. There have been moves of God in the past where things start to happen on a large scale; healing, miracles, salvations and it effects the masses. There have also been times where the church has just gotten comfortable. We started making sure we gave our new visitors a spoon full of sugar with every bite of the gospel. We wanted to make sure our message was not uncomfortable or offensive. By doing that we lose focus of our call to prepare the way for the real thing. We have to make sure as a body of believers that we are continually married to preparing and expecting. When we pray we have got to expect power. When new people come we have got to expect that they will be consumed by the liquid love of Jesus like they have been starving for. We have got to create a culture of expectation, because with expectation there is faith. I do not believe you can separate the two. There is no faith without expectation. If we cannot expect what we believe, then how can we expect the world to believe with us? The world is waiting for a church that is expecting, and seeing what they expect in a real way. All we owe this world is an encounter with God. Lets expect the tangible presence together. Lets go for a habitation of God’s presence instead of a visit. I believe God is looking for the ones that will expect. I believe the word expect has left the mouth of God and is so real that it is filling our surroundings waiting for someone to grab hold of it. This world is looking for God. High school and university campuses are looking for God. Your friends are looking for God. Let’s begin to prepare and expect like we never have before. When we expect, the message is no longer comfortable, it is consuming.

Onething Conference 08

On December 28th, we took over 50 people from Riverstone to the Onething Conference in Kansas City. God showed up in a huge way. The worship times were powerful and the conference really challenged us to prepare ourselves for the return of Jesus. I used to be very distant and hardened when people brought up the endtimes. In fact, it brought alot of confusion and fear to my heart. It used to bother me that people would get so obsessed with studying the endtimes. I thought that was crazy. I used to think that it was just a side issue and that it would all just work out in the end somehow. Well, my thoughts are dramatically changing. Why? Not because Onething says, and not because a preacher has convinced me. But I really believe that God is speaking to me personally about the importance of this issue and the urgency of being prepared and preparing others for what will go down at the end of the age. I'm beginning to realize that if Jesus is coming back in the next 100 years or even 50 years, that I must prepare NOW. I can't pick and choose what I want out of the Bible, and I can't ignore things because I don't understand them or they make me uncomfortable. The Bible talks about the return of Jesus and the end of the age in a very significant way. In fact there are around 150 chapers of the Bible that have the endtimes as their main theme.

In 2009, I am resolving in my heart to passionately pursue the Lord with intentional prayer and fasting in order to get understanding of the hour in which we live. If what the Bible says about the end times is true-If there is a possibility that I might be in the generation of the Lord's return-then how could I not give myself to prayer, fasting, the Word to prepare myself and the church for His return.

High School Fall Retreat 2008 Video

Praise Is A Weapon of Mass Destruction

by Doreen Russ

Cory had asked me to speak to the youth at "Access." The title above is what the Lord had given me to share with them. Not only is praise a weapon of destruction but...it is a weapon of MASS destruction. How cool is that!! I am not sure if many of you have thought of praise as being a weapon but believe me, it is and God wants you to use it as such. Here are just a few of the things that happen when we praise:

• PRAISE GREATLY PLEASES THE LORD Psalm 69:30-31. David noted, "I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs."
• PRAISE DRIVES BACK THE ENEMY & RELEASES POWER Psalm 149:6-7. "Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples.
• PRAISE SILENCES EVIL FORCES/SATAN Psalm 8:2. "From the lips of children and infants (meaning the weak) you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the enemy & the avenger.
• PRAISE BRINGS DELIVERANCE & VICTORY 2 Chronicles 20:21-22. "After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever. As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated."
• PRAISE COUNTERS THE SPIRIT OF DESPAIR Isaiah 61:3. "and provide for those who grieve in Zion-to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness, instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

So knowing the above, what does that mean we should do? Well....how about this:

• Praise and sing to the Lord. Psalm 33:1-2
• Praise the Lord continuously. Psalm 34:1
• Praise the Lord together. Psalm 34:3
• Praise the Lord with singing, music and dancing. Psalm 92:1, Psalm 149:3
• Praise the Lord because He made you. Psalm 139:14-16
• Praise the Lord with thanksgiving whenever we approach Him. Psalm 100:4-5

Ok...so after sharing all the above, I believe the Lord wanted us to put this to the test. Not testing in a condescending way, but a test as to say, ok guys, let's see if the above really works. So with the help of "Eddie James", who is a great worship leader, we broke out into a Holy Ghost Partay!!! Yes, that is what I said, a HOLY GHOST PARTAY!!! We were dancing, singing, jumping, clapping, raising our hands and PRAISING the Lord. It was so much fun. I believe God was very pleased with all of you youth! I don't believe you held back anything from him and that is what He asks from us. I think the students had fun and I know God did. And I know I did. For any of you who could not come, believe me...there will be plenty more Holy Ghost Partays!!! So don't feel bad that you missed out. God has so many more planned for the RiverStone students!

_______

Below is a video of Eddie James @ the OneThing Conference last year. Enjoy this video--also remember that we are going to OneThing this year-sign up now!

Videos from the High School Fall Retreat

A Taste Of What It Might Be Like

Below is a testimony written by Amy Carpenter on her experience of Fall Retreat. We would love for you all to post what the Lord did in your life on this retreat--and what He is continuing to do! Please feel free to share!

"A Taste Of What It Might Be Like" by Amy Carpenter

So today i just arrived back home from a youth retreat I took with my church (Riverstone) to Cohutta Georgia. The entire weekend was amazing, the theme being surrender, and we just had these awesome times of worship where God came and moved in powerful and unexpected ways. But I want to zero in on one such worship time in particular: Saturday night.

Before the band even came up, I could feel the sense of expectancy, anticipation, and almost urgency of the people around me, myself included. There was an unspoken need within all of us to worship our Creator and when the worship began our prayer might not have read "please, God wreck me tonight, mess me up for you Lord, please God when this is over I pray I will be undone" but it happened anyway.

I'm new to spontaneous, or prophetic worship when the worship leaders just sing what the Holy Spirit is placing upon their hearts and this weekend our group was exposed to and began to accept that we didn't have to know the words being sung to praise our King, but that we could sing our own, we could sing our own personal praises to God. The IHOP Atlanta band however, were old pros and they led us into a new realm of worship that our youth isn't exposed to very often, or at all.

I remember sometime that night just looking around and taking it all in, it was like God whispered in my ear, take a mental picture, because the people who aren't here tonight will want to know how it all went down. People were jumping, spinning, shaking, punching for God. In time with the heavy percussion in the background, the body of Christ was worshiping as one, dancing for joy in the throne room of the Most High. People who I never thought would get up and go for it did, leaving all insecurities behind. No one was concerned about what the people around them looked like, they were only searching for one approval.

It was such an atmosphere of joy and acceptance and light. It felt like the angels had come down from Heaven to join us in our revelry because of the party-like atmosphere. We were no longer crying out to God for help, to break us and help us heal, we were healed and we were celebrating his goodness. And suddenly I realized that, this is what Heaven is going to look like.

I felt so privileged, God chose to let us taste it, how awesome and fun praising his name could be-I believe the term was 'Holy Ghost party'. It was all that and more. Because all the while we were praying for God to move, praying for gifts, praying for our generation. That we would be awakened. That we would be delivered from addiction.

Heaven is the closest I can come to accurately describing what happened. But there was a shift and a confirmation that God. Is. With. Us. We no longer have to live in fear, but he has empowered us to go out and live radically different lives.

My prayer is that it won't be a one night occurrence, but that like wild fire that joy and fervor will spread and we can experience a taste of heaven daily. That the satisfaction of being in God's magnificent presence will take root and we will expect that when we meet with the Lord in the secret place. We don't need a band, or loud music to reach a deeper place with the Lord, we need to be willing to meet with him because he longs to take us there.

Continue To Pray...

As we continue to pray for India, continue to press on in the Spirit--In the words of Alice last night, "As we press on in the Spirit-pray for a great awakening in India. As we bind the enemy--God's spirit will be released."

The following are things we felt led to pray during our Wednesday night prayer meeting. Please continue to pray for these things:

• The God of the Impossible can do anything He wants in a split second
• He can send revival to India
• He chooses to partner with us
• Through prayer we have the power to shut down the kingdom of darkness, and the power to advance the Kingdom of God.
• The Vision for Tammy's Home: "To raise up children who are radically committed to Jesus Christ, who empowered by His Holy Spirit, will spread the Gospel."
• Protection & strength for Tammy's home
• Protection & strength for Christians in India
• Hindu party would have a road to Damascus encounter with Jesus
• Revival to be released in India

The fast continues till tomorrow night. Please continue to pray! As the Lord leads you, show us what the Lord is showing you by commenting on this post!

For info on Tammy's home, visit her blog: http://www.lifeatkhomes.blogspot.com/

A Call To Fast For India

This week our church is being called to a time of prayer and fasting for India. To our youth, We strongly encourage you to participate with the corporate body as He leads you! Our weekly ACCESS meeting this week on Wednesday will have a prayer focus for India. Come at our normal time of 6:30pm.

Over the past several weeks great persecution has broken out against Christians in isolated areas of India ruled by an extreme Hindu party. As a church, we support a missionary in one of those areas. One of our missionaries has been living in southern India for the past 10 years serving the needs of at-risk, marginalized children. She gives them a family offering hope and unconditional love. The vision of her home is to "raise up children who are radically committed to Jesus Christ, who, empowered by His Holy Spirit, will spread the Gospel and change the nation of India."

Will you partner with us to pray and fast for our missionary and her home? Although they have not experienced persecution, they are in an area where threats have been made against local pastors and an area where threats have been made against local pastors and seminaries. One church was attacked and burned to the ground.

Please pray with us that:

• God would keep our missionaries home safe from persecution.
• The Hindu party would have a powerful encounter with Jesus.
• That the national government would step in and intervene and stop attacks.
• That our missionary and her children would be empowered to fulfill the stated vision of the home.

Please consider fasting a meal, a day, or the week, as the Lord guides you. The prayer room will be open from 7-9pm each night this week, starting Sunday (last night)...please join us when you can. The prayer leaders for each night are as follows:

Sunday, September 28th-Tom Tanner
Monday, September 29th-Tom Tanner
Tuesday, September 30th-Mark Nysewander
Wednesday, October 1st-Cory Hallett
Thursday, October 2nd-Terry Cantrell
Friday, October 3rd-Steve Hambrick

I have put MY words in your mouth

Jeremiah 1:5-9, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." "Ah, Sovereign Lord, " I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child." but the Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the Lord. Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth."

Do you ever feel like Jeremiah? The Lord calls you to do something and you think, no, Lord I'm too young. There's no way I could do that. What a beautiful promise we can pull from this Scripture. Jeremiah doubted himself (how many times do we do that?)--but the Lord not only told him not to be afraid, that He is with him....but the Lord reached out His hand, touched his mouth, and said "Now, I have put my words in your mouth." We eventually read in Jeremiah 20:9 how Jeremiah is referring to the Lord's Word. "His word is in my heart like a fire." Jeremiah had the presence of the Lord burning inside of him. He had the words from the Lord on his mouth and the fire of God burning inside of Him.

This is what we have to have to become "world changers". To be a world changer we must allow God to burn HIS presence in our hearts.

Wednesday night we had a special visit from our very own Kurt Miller via "satellite". Kurt is a man that has his heart set on fire by God. He shared with us what the Lord is doing on his campus at Lee University. The Lord is breaking through with fasting and a prayer movement. How exciting! We asked Kurt what it meant to him to be "set on fire." He had a few words of wisdom for us.

Being set on fire is:

• Being hungry. Never settling for anything less.
• Luke 24:32, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" We must be hungry for the Word. A continual burning in our hearts for the Word of the Lord.
• In His own personal experience, the Lord started showing him His love. Kurt said, "Me & Jesus loving each other....that's what it boils down to." Kurt longs for a glimpse of His love-"Show me your love Jesus."

We asked Kurt, "We want our hearts set on fire. What do we do?"

In the words of Kurt:

• Time Management
• Praying in the Spirit-builds up your inner man
• Fasting-Christianity 101. Matthew 6:16, "When you fast.." Jesus did not say if you fast, but when you fast.--whatever it is, even if it's one meal a day--the Lord honors it. To be hungry for God-you gotta be physically hungry.
• Meditation on the Word. Get your heart on one verse, read it, pray it.
• Read the Word as a whole.

Kurt is an example for us today...as there are many in the Word--James, Elijah--they all gave themselves fully to God. They made themselves available.

God sets His people on fire--not through methods, not through buildings. God sets His people on fire by anointing His people. God anoints you. God uses you. He will do this as you allow Him to set your heart on fire. Ah, to be filled with His Inner Presence. Ah, to be in that place is what my heart longs for. How about you? God uses one man, one woman, set on fire for Him. Oh, Jesus would you baptize us with your fire.

Are you overwhelmed yet? May you be encouraged today that you do not have to "do" things to gain His favor. He just wants your heart. May you be encouraged to spend time encountering the God of fire--as we do, we are set ablaze by Him. As we spend time with the God of Power, He will release the power of God.

Bend Us Lord!

Imagine this scenario--someone hands you a blank check and tells you there is $1million in the account--and you can write the check for as much as you want...What would you do? What if you only filled it out for $100...when you could have had up to $1million! I know that might sound absolutely ridiculous...but what's even worse--that's exactly what we do to Jesus.

Jesus has everything--we can't even begin to realize how big He is and how much He has to offer us. We sell ourselves short. God wants us to dream big. That is God's heart for us--He can do anything and the problem is we dream to small.

Let's read Mark 11:24 and Mark 9:23 together. Mark 11:24 says, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 9:23 says, "Everything is possible for him who believes."

What if God gave you a blank check? What if He said, I will give you whatever you want? What would you ask for?

Our natural tendency is we think of temporal/physical/seen things. We are wired for wanting something for ourselves...God wants us to ask for things of His Kingdom-things that are unseen-things that are eternal. "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2Corinthians 4:18.

Do you remember how last week we talked about how God wants us to be World Changers? This week, lets look at one together. His name was Evan Roberts. He was saved at the age of 13 and at the age of 15 he began to dream big dreams. At this young age he had a vision of God hitting his country with revival. His country was Wales and this time in history Wales was very, very dark. The bars and the prisons were full. Evan Roberts dreamed a big dream, "What if God gave us 100,000 souls for Jesus?" Evan didn't just do good things for God--he prayed! He prayed for 11 years. Can you imagine this? From the age of 15 to the age of 26 he cried out to the Lord--not on things that are temporal--but things that are eternal. He cried out on behalf of his country! When he was 26 years old he went to what we would call a Christian conference with Seth Joshua and this man started praying "Bend us, Oh Lord, Bend us." The Holy Spirit spoke to Evan--he started praying for himself "Bend me, oh Lord, Bend me." He kept praying that prayer-and God gave him a deep burden for souls. He even had sweat and tears when he cried out with agonizing prayers.

Can you imagine that? Can you imagine putting sweat and tears into prayer for souls? I want to be like that, don't you? I want a burden for revival like that. I want a passion for Jesus to change this city. We must catch this vision. When we do, God will release a true burden in the hearts of your generation--and that is the beginning of revival. We must ask God to bend us to break us.

Here's the deal-we don't want just a cool youth group. We need an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. What we need is a prayer movement. At the age of 26 (remember this was following 11 years of agonizing prayer) Evan Roberts began speaking to teenagers and after a testimony of a young girl-revival broke out. History books talk about what happened during this time in Wales and they give all the credit to prayer. Sometimes there was no preaching, people just walked down the streets and people were convicted and converted. In Wales, the community was completely changed. The bars were closed, the crime rate dropped, the police lost their jobs, and judges wore white gloves. The revival swept through the country and over 100,000 souls were converted to Christ. This revival literally changed the world!

The world was changed because of one mans dreams.

Dream a dream bigger than you.

God gives you a blank check. How big are your dreams for your life? How big are your dreams for your friends? How big are your dreams for your school? How big are your prayers?

Evan prayed his dream. Begin to pray your dreams. Get to that place of burden.

Oh, Jesus-Bend us! Break us! May my heart break the way your heart breaks Jesus.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine." Ephesians 3:20

The Heart of a World Changer

What is your dream? If you could do anything,what would you do?
If you could be anything what would you be?

While you ponder on that question...lets look at the Word together. Psalm 139:16 says, "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Interesting huh? As you ponder over what your dream is...know God has big dreams for your life. He knows you better than anyone else. He knows what will make you come alive. He knows what will give you deeper joy.

Here's where some of us (okay most of us at some point in time in our lives) struggle. We need our dreams for our life to match His dreams for our life. The second part of Psalm 37:4-the second part-is often quoted, "and he will give you the desires of your heart." The first part is often not-"Delight yourself in the Lord." When you delight yourself in the Lord (hang out with Him, honor Him, worship Him, give Him your everything) your desires line up with His desires. Also, Jeremiah 29:11 is a verse most of us could quote, but lets look at the two verses that follow it, "vs.11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. vs.12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. vs. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart."

So what is God's dream for your life? HE WANTS YOU TO BE A WORLD CHANGER.

God uses ordinary people-All throughout history he used ordinary people, often teenagers to change the world. GOD WANTS TO USE YOU!

We have two choices. We can live for ourselves or live for God. If you choose to live for God-your mandate is to be a world changer.

So what makes you a world changer? You don't run from things--you run to things. Obviously this doesn't mean you run to and partake in sin, but you believe your prayers matter as you pray for these things. You must guard yourself, but believe you were created to be light to darkness.

Being a world changer is not about being a superstar. To be a world changer you must set your heart on certain things. Let's briefly look at them together. In the weeks to come we will learn more about each one of these characteristics of being a world changer.

1. Intimacy with Jesus: Getting to know Jesus. Falling in love with Him.
2. Wholehearted Worship: It's all about the heart. It happens on the inside-not the outside.
3. Confidence in Identity: Don't care what everyone else says. You only care about Who God says you are.
4. Awareness of God's Presence: Holy Spirit living in us. We don't have to beg for Him to be with us. We have an awareness that His Holy Spirit lives in us.
5. Being filled with the Holy Spirit: Everyday-we empty ourselves and invite Him in.
6. No compromise-Life of holiness and surrender: You will not tolerate darkness at all. You will not dabble in sin. You pay attention to the music you listen to, the books you read, how you spend your time, etc.
7. Lifestyle of prayer and fasting: Spend your life praying-not to earn favor, but to sensitise your heart.
8. Brokenness for people: Don't look at people with judgement. You have a genuine care for them.
9. Burden for revival and awakening: You want to see it!
10. Supernatural ministry in power and authority: For example, treasure hunts. He is going to release you to do greater things.

Bottom line--How do you become a world changer? Start asking God-What is on your heart? What is your heart for my school? What is your heart for so and so? My family? What is your heart for my youth group? What is your heart for my city? God will show you His heart for your situation-here is what you must grab hold of-You should feel a burden (burden=a burning pain in your heart for God's Kingdom...when your heart says, it is not okay!!!) so, you should feel a burden between the current situation and God's heart for a new situation. HE WILL BEGIN TO GIVE YOU HIS HEART.

What an exciting mandate God has on our lives. Enjoy Him this week. Enjoy seeking His face. We look forward to seeing you again on Wednesday night @ 6:30pm to see where God takes us.

Camp Reunion Pictures

Kiddy Pool Theology

We so enjoyed seeing you all at Summer Camp Reunion last night--for those that missed it-we missed you!! You can still catch it on line: Go to: http://www.riverstonesummercamp.tv/ On the bottom of the tv screen, click the "on demand" button. In the new window, click RiverStone Summer Camp 08. Scroll all the way down to Summer Camp Reunion 08.

Let's recap together what the Lord showed us last night through Kevin shall we?

What is kiddy pool theology? They might not have had kiddy pools back in Jesus’ day, but it is what the religious leaders did back then and what we have the tendency to do today. We treat Christianity like a kiddy pool. We treat Jesus as if he lives in Covington or even RiverStone…aka we have to go to the kiddy pool to encounter Him. It’s the mentality that Jesus resides in one place and we have to go there to encounter Him. Can you relate?

When we read the Scriptures, these in particular: Mark 1:14-15, Matthew 6:33, Luke 9:1-2, Luke 10:1, 5-9, Acts 1:3, Acts 28:31, (I'm not going to type those out for you--get into the Word!) we come to know Jesus' core message--which is, the Kingdom of God.

The Gospel tells us that the Kingdom of God is here--Heaven has come to earth. When Jesus died on the cross-it is no longer about the place. It's no longer about going to the Kiddy Pool. It's not about the place-it's about carrying the kingdom--it's about carrying that Kiddy Pool!

Do you worship at home? Wherever you go? Do you carry the Kingdom of God wherever you go? When you carry the Kingdom-people know!

During the past 8 weeks since camp, have you left Jesus in Covington?

Let's take a second and look at Genesis 25:24-34 together.
When we read about Esau and how he sold his birthright (his destiny) for a bowl of lentil soup (ew) we see that he traded everything for just a moment, a single temptation, for an appetite. It's our story too-how are you going to carry the kingdom? Are you going to carry the pool (insert picture of kiddy pool over your head here) or the empty bowl of soup? Are you going to trade your destiny--all that Jesus has for you--your inheritance-- for one temptation, for one bowl of soup-which soon becomes an empty bowl?

The reality of how we value the kingdom is how we carry it. Do we carry His kingdom like an empty bowl of soup that we just simply discard or do we carry it like it is everything to us? When you crave the kingdom more than anything else--stuff happens!

How are you today? Are your arms tired from carrying that kiddy pool above your head? :-) May I encourage you today to carry His Kingdom with every ounce of your being. Don't leave anything on the table. I'm praying the Lord would release you from the rut-the religious routine and the rot-that hold you have on sin. Release it all now at His feet. Let Him speak those tender words to your heart. Lay down that empty bowl and lets see where He takes us!

--kristin

Renew your mind with TRUTH

The primary strategy of the Enemy is deception. He is a liar. He wants us to believe lies about God and about who we are in Christ. People are in bondage according to the lies they believe. We must break free from the lies that we believe. Satan doesn't want Christians to understand what really happened at the Cross, and he doesn't want us to know the benefits of the cross. Satan doesn't want Christians to know who they are IN Christ. Because of the finished work of the cross-we have victory and darkness and death were defeated!! The enemy has been defeated forever! You don't have to let sin rule your life.

We must verbally reject the lies in our life- and announce the TRUTH.

Take time and sit down and ask the Holy Spirit to fill your MIND with these truths below.

Say these truths out loud, and ask God to help you RECEIVE truth.

Since I am in Christ, by the grace of God…

• I have been justified-completely forgiven and made righteous (Rom. 5:1).
• I died with Christ and died to the power of sin’s rule over my life (Rom. 6:1-6).
• I am free forever from condemnation (Rom. 8:1).
• I have been placed into Christ by God’s doing (1 Cor. 1:30).
• I have received the Spirit of God into my life that I might know
the things freely given to me by God (1 Cor. 2:12).
• I have been given the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16).
• I have been bought with a price; I am not my own; I belong to God
(1 Cor. 6:19, 20).
• I have been established, anointed and sealed by God in Christ,
and I have been given the Holy Spirit as a pledge guaranteeing
our inheritance to come (2 Cor. 1:21, 22; Eph. 1:13, 14).
• Since I have died, I no longer live for myself, but for Christ (2 Cor. 5:14, 15).
• I have been made righteous (2 Cor. 5:21).
• I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live,
but Christ lives in me. The life I am now living is Christ’s life (Gal. 2:20).
• I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3).
• I was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy
and am without blame before Him (Eph. 1:4).
• I was predestined-determined by God-to be adopted as God’s son (Eph. 1:5).
• I have been redeemed and forgiven, and I am a recipient of His lavish grace
(Eph. 1:7, 8).
• I have been made alive together with Christ (Eph. 2:5).
• I have been raised up and seated with Christ in heaven (Eph. 2:6).
• I have direct access to God through the Spirit (Eph. 2:18).

A Generation of Boldness and Strength

The CALL-pray and fast for revival

Hey guys, this weekend is a historic gathering called the Call. The Call is a gathering of thousands of young people in Washington DC to pray and fast for revival. You can watch what is happening this Saturday on GOD TV channel 365 from 10am-10pm. I believe that this gathering is very significant, so please be in prayer for God to release break thru in our nation.

You can learn more at www.thecall.com

God lives in you-that is huge!

Col 1:26-27

the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

The mystery is that God lives in you! In order for that to really move us, we must get a true concept of who God is. We need revelation of how BIG God is, and we need revelation of what His heart is like. Read this next section over your life and believe it!

He is the Uncreated, Self existent, Eternal God- He has always been, and always will be. He had no beginning, and has no end. He sees the beginning and the end simultaneously. He is the everlasting now. He lives in you.

He is Infinite, Limitless, and Unfathomable- The depths of who He is-is Inexhaustible. He goes on and on and on and on-forever! He is the God of more, and He lives in you.

He is Omnipresent- He is everywhere at all times-nothing can be hidden from Him. If I go up to the heavens, He is there; if I make my bed in the depths, He is there.

He is Omniscient- He knows ALL things. He is the genius of all geniuses. He is the most brilliant. He is the most intelligent being ever.

He is Omnipotent- He is the source of all strength and power. He is the strongest and the most powerful. He accomplishes all His works without effort. He is perfect in power, and perfect in rest. And He lives in you.

He is Sovereign- He alone has all authority. He has all dominion. He is the ruler of all things. He is in complete control of everything. He sits on the throne as the King of kings and Lord of lords. He reigns over all creation. And He lives in you.

He is Wise- All His acts are done in perfect wisdom. His plans are perfect, and connot be improved upon.

He is Unchanging- He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is steady. He is constant. He is consistent. He is unwavering. He stays the same at all times. And He lives in you.

He is Holy, Holy, Holy-totally other than, transcendent, boundless, matchless, incomparable, unequaled, unrivaled, He is exalted above ALL. This is who God is.

We haven’t even started talking about the great things that He has done throughout history. Creating the universe, Making man in His image, The miracles in the OT like Parting the red sea, the miracles in the gospels like feeding 5000, the miracles in the book of Acts when someone’s shadow healed the sick. We haven’t even mentioned the greatest miracle of Jesus giving his life on the cross and being raised from the dead. I want to say to you that our God is Great!!! This is a huge God, but also a personal God who is a perfect Father.

The pinnacle of a study of God is the study of His Heart, emotions, nature, His affections.
His heart is-love, passion, mercy, compassion, grace, desire, good, faithful, kind, patient, joy, and on and on. God desires you. He wants you! Did you know that this Great God is ravished for you?

Just Be with Me...

Did you know that God wants you? Let me ask you that question again. Did you know that the God of the Universe wants you? It's true-God wants you! Right now-just as you are-He wants you! You must BELIEVE it! In fact-He likes you. He really likes you. He is calling you to Himself before He is calling you to anything else. You might say-but what about my weakness or what if I'm not perfect? The fact is that we are all weak and we are all far from perfect. God doesn't wait for you to be absolutely perfect before He wants you. If you are a Christian, then He has put the righteousness of Christ in you. (2 Cor 3:17-21) In other words, the Father looks down upon you and sees the righteousness of Christ and that makes you acceptable in His sight. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus and your faith in Him- You have been stamped with the words-holy, blameless, accepted, and righteousness of Jesus. Now you just have to believe these things. Apply them to your life. Ask God to help you believe these truths and walk in them. Circumstances will change, life will move fast, obstacles will come-but God's TRUTH never changes!! No matter how you feel, His truth is constant and unchanging.

Today you must receive the truth that He wants you. He doesn't want you to do more for Him. He just longs for you to be with Him. In John 17:24 Jesus said, “Father, I desire that they whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

Take some time and just BE with God. Sit at His feet and BE with Him. Don't strive-Just be with Him.

God, teach us to come before you and BE with you. Amen

THERE’S GOING TO BE AN AWAKENING! 

There is no doubt that God is on the move in a huge way after summer camp!! I’ve never seen or been apart of such a genuine move of God with teenagers. We are seeing with our very own eyes that God is raising up a generation of students who are falling in love with Jesus. That is beautiful!! We are seeing hearts that are surrendered 100% to Jesus, and they are beginning to operate in the power of the Holy Spirit to bring about an awakening in their generation.

WE SAY-YES LORD! AWAKEN THIS GENERATION

By God’s grace, pursue these things:

• Fall in Love with Jesus
• Bury His Word in Your heart
• Pray for God to awaken this generation
• Be filled with the Holy Spirit
• Release His power through you-GO!
• Surround yourself with other teenagers on fire

By God’s grace, we will continue to see:

• Many 1^st time salvations
• Genuine brokenness for the lost
• Freedom and deliverance from sin and addictions
• Physical, emotional, relational healing
• Teenagers being filled with the Holy Spirit (dynamite)
• Students praying and prophesying (treasure hunts)
• Schools experiencing an authentic awakening

 Fall in love with Jesus, and let Him lead you today