You Are Coming Out of Lo Debar!

A couple of years ago I posted a blog called "You Are Coming Out of Lo Debar!", which received a lot of views. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to preach the same message at my local church, and I wanted to share it with you all. Here's the link to the sermon. Hope you enjoy it! You Are Coming of Lo Debar!

Body and Soul

We have all heard statements like “beauty is in the eye of the bolder”, “beauty is only skin deep” or “beauty over brains”. Although we say them and may even agree with them, they are not Biblically sound. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God made everything beautiful. God made EVERYTHING beautiful. So beauty is in the eye of God not the beholder, and, if He made everything beautiful, that means beauty runs much deeper than the skin. If God made everything beautiful, He made us beautifully intelligent. Beauty is brains.

We have allowed the world to redefine beauty for us. A world where beauty is only skin deep. Is she pretty? She has a nice personality. Oh that means she’s ugly. Never mind. I don’t want to meet her. That means that her beautiful personality holds no value over her beautiful face.

This is a world where we, humans, spend $24 billion on plastic surgery worldwide, $55 billion on cosmetics and $1.2 trillion on fashion. We are fixated on having our hair & nails “did”, face beat and clothes slayed. This is the world’s focus and definition of beauty, but God’s focus is more holistic.

Esther 2:7 describes Esther as fair and beautiful. The Hebrew for fair used here is yapheh (YA FE), which means handsome or beautiful. The Hebrew word for beautiful used here is towb (TOVE), which means as follows:

good, pleasant, agreeable

A.                pleasant, agreeable (to the senses)

B.                 pleasant (to the higher nature)

C.                 good, excellent (of its kind)

D.                good, rich, valuable in estimation

E.                 good, appropriate, becoming

F.                  better (comparative)

G.                glad, happy, prosperous (of man's sensuous nature)

H.                good understanding (of man's intellectual nature)

I.                    good, kind, benign

J.                   good, right (ethical)

This beautiful as defined here does not once mention Esther’s outward appearance. Why? Because God does not look at our outward appearance. He looks at our hearts. Why because He already made the outward beautiful. We make the inside beautiful. The Bible says that the heart (mind, will and emotions) is deceitful because of our sinful human nature. Therefore, we must renew our minds daily. Esther had a renewed mind. She wasn’t just pretty on the outside.

In Esther chapter four Esther learns that there has been a decree to kill all the Jewish people in the Persian Empire. Her adopted father Mordecai begged her to ask the king to have mercy on the Jews. Esther responded to Mordecai, telling him that going before the king without being sent for would result in her death. Mordecai responded to Esther with a very famous Bible quote. He warned her not to think that just because she was the queen that meant that she alone would be spared. Then he said who knows you may have been chosen as queen for such a time as this.

Esther then asked Mordecai to have all the Jews to fast and pray with her for three days as she prepared to go before the king unannounced. Esther’s response was let’s fast and pray because she understood something that Jesus said thousands of years after she lived. Faith for some things can only be built by prayer and fasting. Sounds like someone who had a beautifully renewed mind to me. Someone whose spirit was in tune with God’s spirit.

Then we see how Esther strategically orchestrated everything. She does not go before the king and tells him everything. She requested two dinners with the King and Haman, the man who set up the plot to have the Jews killed. At the second dinner, she revealed to the king Haman’s plan to kill her and her people. The king ordered that Haman be hung on the gallows he had erected for Mordecai and that the Jews would be able to defend themselves when the day came when they were to be killed. Esther had a plan. She had a strategy. She used her beautiful brain.

In this narrative of Esther we saw more of her heart and intelligence than we saw of her beauty. Dressing up, wearing makeup, getting your hair and nails done are not bad. They are good things, but they are not the only thing. We must focus on making sure our minds and our emotions are as much on fleek as our hair and nails.

Forgive. Let go of baggage. Get rid of toxic relationships. Pray. Meditate on the word day and night. Fast when you need the faith for something that seems impossible to attain and fast when you don’t need anything at all. Exercise. Exercise. Exercise. Eat healthy. Put down the soda, fast food and sugary foods. Read something other than Face Book. 

We only get one body, one soul and one spirit. God has taken care of our spirit man. Our spirits are saved. Our body and soul are where the working out our salvation with fear and trembling comes in. We have to give everything we can, with the help of the Holy Spirit, of course, to make our bodies and souls beautiful.

Go To Grow

Luke 10:1 says, “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.” (KJV)

After what “things” did Jesus send out these seventy disciples? If we go back to Luke chapter eight we will see which things the author is referring to. Luke eight starts with a synopsis of what the chapter is about. It says, “Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him…” (NLT) The preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God entailed parables, healing and performing miracles. This chapter shares the parable of the different types of seed and the parable of the lamb. We also see Jesus perform the miracle of calming the storm, He cast out the legion of demons out of the man, He healed the woman with the issue of blood and He raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead. Yes, He did all of this in just one chapter of the Bible!

I believe that during this tour Jesus was showing the twelve apostles how to do ministry. Through His demonstration He was saying preach, teach, perform miracles, cast out demons, heal the sick and raise the dead. Do it just like this. He also showed them how to finance their ministry. Luke 8:2-3 talks about female disciples who used their own resources to support Jesus and His disciples while they were on these ministry trips.

In the very next chapter Jesus then sent out the twelve on a ministry tour. “One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. Then He sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Luke 9:1-2 (NLT) In the remainder of chapter nine Jesus continues teaching, healing the sick and performing miracles. Then in chapter ten Jesus sends out 70 disciples just as He had sent out the 12. Jesus sent them out ahead of Him in pairs to the towns He was going to visit. [Jesus did not send them out individually. He sent them out in teams of two. I believe that this is God’s design for this journey in life and our Kingdom assignments. Life is not meant to be done solo or single, and neither is our Kingdom assignment. I believe that our spouses (not in every instance but in most instances) is the person that we are paired with for God’s assignment. We do not often think about it but when God instructed Abraham to leave the land of his fathers and go to the promise Sarah was with him. As his wife, she had to be instrumental in his assignment. The same goes for Joseph. He was Mary’s partner for the assignment of birthing and rearing the Savior.]

When the seventy disciples came back (Luke 10:17) the Bible says that they were very happy. They reported to Jesus that the demons even obeyed them when they used Jesus’ name. Jesus responded to them by telling them that He saw Satan fall from heaven like lightening, meaning that Satan is already defeated. Jesus went on to say that He gave them power that is greater than the power of the enemy, but He warns them that they should not be happy because evil spirits obeyed them. They should be happy because there are saved!

Jesus’ ministry lasted three and a half years. I believe that His ministry’s mission was to prepare His disciples to spread the message of the Kingdom. In those three and a half years He had to get the disciples ready for the work of taking the message of the Kingdom to the world. In Luke 8-10 we see that the disciples are at the point where Jesus is testing them to see if they are ready to go out. He sent them out and they come back kinda surprised by the things they could do. Perhaps they did not think that they were ready to go out. Maybe they had to go out to be able to grow to the place of doing the types of miracles, signs and wonders that Jesus performed.

Sometimes we may feel trepidation about a task or even lack confidence and the only way to grow past those feelings is to just do it. We may think we’re not ready. I can even use the example of Jesus first miracle of turning water into wine. When Jesus’ mother brought the situation to Jesus He responded by telling His mother that it was not his time (He was not ready). His mom’s only response was telling the servants to do as He said. Well, you know the rest of the story. We may think we’re not ready and it’s not until we get into the situation or it’s presented to us and we must act or are forced to act that we realize that we are ready. We are capable.  Sometimes we have to go ahead and do a thing to grow in that area.

Hiding God's Word In My Heart

David wrote, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and enter His courts with praise (Psalm 100:4)." I have said before that the key to God's presence is thanksgiving and praise. Thanksgiving and praise gets you an audience with the King of kings. When you worship Him He reveals His glory. Thanksgiving, praise and worship allows us to have an experience with God.

Philippians 4:8 says that we should think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, good, vitreous and praiseworthy. When I woke up this morning the devil whispered in my ear all kinds of things that are opposite of what the apostle Paul instructed the church at Philippi to think about. Things that I was not feeling thankful for, but the Kingdom of God is an upside down kingdom. It's a last shall be first kind of kingdom.

I said, "No, devil! I will bless the Lord at ALL times and His praise will ever be on my lips." I started to meditate on all of things in my life that are pure, lovely, good, vitreous and praiseworthy - all the things that I am thankful for. As an old church song says, "When I look back over my life and all He has brought me through my soul cries hallelujah."

Yet I am not only thankful for the past blessings. I am also thankful for future blessings, the promises of God and prophetic words spoken over my life. And I am not just thankful for blessings. I am thankful for grace. I know without a doubt that I am only because of God's grace and mercy. There is no way that I am because of anything that I have done. It is truly God's unmerited favor operating in my life. And I am not just thankful for grace. I am thankful for salvation. I am thankful for His protection. I am thankful for His faithfulness. I am thankful for His revelation. I am thankful for His truth. I am thankful for His healing power. I am thankful that He is God and has chosen me to love, nurturer, empower, disciple and send out.

Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17)

So the devil's plan to depress, stress and regress my thinking this morning did not work! He didn't get the memo that I cleanse my mind with the washing of the Word of God. Moral of the story is that we battle the enemy with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Your sword should always be accessible to you to battle with your enemy. Now I know that your Bible will not always be accessible to you. For this reason we must hide God's word in our hearts. Your heart is your soul. Your soul is your mind, will and emotions. We must hide the word in our minds so when the attack comes our swords are ready and accessible to decapitate the devil and any demon from hell that tries to attack. Always have your sword battle ready. I will.

Kendy Ward
Kingdom Warrior

No Other gods

"Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." (Exodus 20:3) This is the first of the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai.  In a time when idol worship was prevalent this command would make sense. Today, though, we may tend think that no one worships idols any more. The dictionary defines an idol as an image or representation, but really an idol is anything that we place above God.

An idol in our lives could be a spouse, a job, a hobby, money, or a fear. If  we turn to any of these things before we turn to God, it has become an idol in our lives. It must be removed from first position, and placed in its proper position, which is after God.

The Key of Thankfulness

The Key of Thankfulness

In Matthew 16:19 Jesus says, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom…” The Greek word used here for kingdom is basileia. Translated in English it means rulership or authority not a geographical territory. Jesus goes on to say, “…the things you don’t allow on earth will be the things that God does not allow, and the things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows.”

Jesus said these things right after Simon Peter had the revelation that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus said I give you these “keys” and these keys give you access to the authority of heaven. I believe that one of the keys that allow us to access the authority of heaven is thankfulness.

A few chapters before in Matthew 14 we see the story of the feeding of the five thousand. It says in verses 19-20, “Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish and, looking to heaven, he thanked God for the food. Jesus divided the bread and gave it to his followers, who gave it to the people. All the people ate and were satisfied. Then the followers filled twelve baskets with the leftover pieces of food.”

Jesus thanked God before the miracle took place. His thankfulness gave access to the supernatural. This is the principle that Jesus was teaching us. David said in Psalm 100 that we enter “His gates with thanksgiving”. Access to the glory and presence of God is thanksgiving.

Thankfulness is a form of praise. We see in the book of Joshua that the Israelites shouts of praise brought down the Jericho wall. Our thankfulness gives us access to the supernatural power of the kingdom of heaven. In adverse form, the opposite like complaining, bitterness and ungrateful takes us out of the realm of the Holy Spirit. It puts a barrier between us and the supernatural.

Too often we wait until we receive something to say thank you. Jesus gave thanks before the miracle, and to the observer of the day that may have seemed odd or maybe even crazy to thank God for five loaves and two fish when there were 5,000 men not including the women and children that needed to eat.

I challenge you for the next twenty one days keep a gratitude journal. Daily write down ten things that you are thankful for. A friend told me that a study showed that people who daily wrote down things they were thankful for had better health than the people in the study who wrote down their complaints. See if being thankful will improve your quality of life and give you access to the power of kingdom.

In His service,

Kendy Ward

Kingdom Ambassador

In Everything Give Thanks!

When we truly understand who Jesus Christ is and what He did for us on the cross everyday becomes a day of Thanksgiving. David said in Psalm 100, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and enter His courts with praise." Our access through the gates and into the Holy of Holies is our thanksgiving.

When Jesus healed the ten lepers only one came back to thank Him. For every ten things God does for us we only thank Him for one. Today let us thank Him for all that He has done for us, and even if God never does anything else for us, He has already done the most. He loves us unconditionally, unequivocally without restraint or stipulations.

"Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." I Thessalonians 5:16-23

In His Service,

Kendy Ward
Kingdom Ambassador

It Is Well

Second Kings 4 tells the story of Elisha and the Shunammite woman. The prophet Elisha would often visit Shunem, a small village located in the tribe of Issachar. While in Shunem Elisha would have dinner with a wealthy woman and her family.  The woman saw that the prophet visited the area regularly so she asked her husband if they would make a room on their roof for the prophet so he would have a place to stay when he came to town.  Elisha was grateful for the woman's opening up her home to him, and asked her if there was something that he could do to bless her because she had been a blessing to him.  She told him that her family took good care of her, and she didn't have need of anything.  This answer did not satisfy the prophet because he really wanted to bless her.  He asked his servant, Gehazi, if he knew of something that she was in need of. Gehazi told Elisha that the woman had no son.  Elisha called the woman to him, and told her that by that time the following year she would have a son. It came to pass as the man of God said.  She became pregnant and gave birth to a son.

One day the son was in the field with his father when he began to complain of having a headache. The father instructed a servant to take the son to his mother.  The mother held her son in her lap, and around noon he died.  She laid her son on the bed in the room she had made for Elisha.  Then asked her husband if she could go to see the man of God.  Her husband agreed for her to go.  Elisha saw her coming in the distance and sent Gehazi to ask her if it was well with her husband and child.  When Gehazi asked the Shunammite woman what the prophet asked she replied, "It is well." When she got to Elisha she expressed her sorrow because of her son's death and told him that she was not leaving unless he returned to Shunem with her.

When Elisha got to Shunem he went to his room in the Shunammite woman's house and found her son on his bed.  He laid on the dead boy, his mouth to the son's mouth, his eyes to the son's eyes and his hands to the son's hand.  The dead body began to become warm.  He got up and began to pace. After which he laid on the son again.  The son sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.  Elisha told Gehazi to call the Shunammite woman.  When she came he told her to pick up her son.

Romans 4:16-17 says that when God spoke of the promise of Abraham being the father of many nations despite him being 100 years old and Sarah 90, God was calling those things that be not as though they were. The Shunammite woman did the same thing when Elisha sent Gehazi to ask about her family.  Despite her son being dead she replied "it is well". She did not see what was in her present or in the natural realm.  She saw by the spirit into the future and it was well.  It was not but she saw it as it was.  

That statement may seem like an oxymoron, and a bit unrealistic.  It was not but she saw it as it was. We live in the natural or earth realm, but should not forget that there are things in another realm, the spirit realm, that affect what is manifested in the earth realm.  In Daniel 10 the angel told Daniel that God answered his prayer from the day he prayed it, but he was caught up in the second heaven for twenty one days fighting with the spirit Prince of Persia. It wasn't until the archangel, Michael, came to help the angel that he was able to leave to bring God's message to Daniel.  

God had already answered Daniel's prayer, but it took twenty one days for it to get from God to Daniel because of what was going on in realm that we are not aware of (but should be).  To Daniel it appeared as though his prayer was not answered.  It was answered in the spirit realm, but had not yet manifested in the natural realm.  

Three things that bring manifestation of spiritual things in the natural realm are God's promise, faith and prayer.  Although Abraham did not see and did not live to see the promise God had given him come to pass, it was his faith that made it come to pass.  He is a father of many nations.  He could not see it when God said it, but the fact that God said it meant that it could be seen first in the spirit and then in the natural. 

When Jesus was brought the report that Lazarus was sick He said to His disciples that Lazarus would not die from his sickness (John 11).  Two days later Jesus said to His disciples that it was time for them to go to awaken Lazarus from his sleep.  Jesus saw both in the natural and spiritual realms.  In the natural He saw that Lazrus died, but in the spirit He saw that Lazurs was raised from the dead so that God could be glorified. 

In Psalm 23 David said that God prepared a table before him in the presence of his enemies.  At the time his enemy, King Saul, was hunting him to kill him, and he and his mighty men of valor were hiding in caves in the wilderness.  Despite his current situation David had a promise from God that he would be king, and he called those things that be not as though they were.

When you are in the middle of a messy situation and it completely envelopes you it is hard to see pass the mess.  When there is no money to pay the bills it is hard to see that God will supply all of your needs through His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  When sickness over takes your body and the doctor's prognosis is not good it is hard to see that you are in good health and prosper even as your soul prospers.  When adultery enters your marriage it is hard to see that what God has joined together no man can put asunder. When life happens it is hard to see that He came that you might have life and have it more abundantly.  

Despite all that is happening and all that can happen it is well because you have faith and prayer and a promise.  You may be broke, but it is well.  You may be sick, but it is well.  Your spouse might have left you, but it is well. It is well because of all of the promises in God's word that you must stand on in faith and pray in faith to see manifested in your life.  It is well.

Easy as 1, 2, 3

Several weeks ago as I was in a parking lot about to get into my car when I saw a man with a brace on his elbow.  I distinctively heard the Holy Spirit instruct me to pray with the man for healing.  I was hesitant in responding because I did not know the man, and I was uncertain about how he would respond to my asking to pray with him.  While I was debating these points with the Holy Spirit the man began to approach me.  Well, there it was, a sure sign that I had to pray for him.  So I asked him what was wrong with his arm. He shared with me that he had actually hurt his back and now his arm was being affected.  I then asked if I could pray with him for healing of his back and arm.  I laid my hands on his arm and back (I asked him first if it was okay if I laid my hands on him. As a person who does not like random, strangers touching me, I am always very mindful of this.).  Then I simply said, "I command all pain in your arm and back to go right now in the name of Jesus."  He thanked me. I got in my car and left.  

Three days later I was back in the same parking lot when the man, who is the parking lot attendant, came running toward me.  He said, "Three days no pain." I was not shocked or surprised that the man had been healed; however, I was shocked and surprised that it had been so easy.  There was no fanfare, no tarrying, no fasting, no group of intercessors petitioning to the Father.  It was simply two people who believed. I believed that God could and would heal this man.  If I didn't believe that, I would not have even prayed. He believed that when I prayed he was healed because after I prayed he said that he believed that he was healed.  

Two weeks ago we had a School of Healing at my local church.  The man of God taught about a lot of things in regards to supernatural healing, miracles, signs wonders and salvation. The thing, though, that stood out for me during the three days of services was what he taught about the "Five Second Prayer".  It was very similar to the prayer I prayed for the man.  That's when I realized that God is really easy.  He is so easy and we make Him so hard.  We receive salvation it a pretty simple manner. We believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths and we are saved.  It's pretty easy.  It's the same thing with divine healing or sharing our testimony or leading someone to Christ.  We think it's hard so we don't do it.  I'm in the category too.  I'm always uncertain of how people will react to me, and more times than not this causes me not to approach them at all. The fact is, though, that the majority of the time people always welcome my prayers.  I have only had one person tell me that they didn't want to hear anything about Jesus.

The point is that God equips us with everything we need to do the job He has for us to do.  He has made it easy.  Jesus said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  I am daring myself and I dare you to do that thing that seems hard, and prove to yourself that it is easy.  Share the gospel with someone.  Share your personal testimony with someone.  Pray for someone.  Do it.  It's easy.

A Completed Work

God says in His Word that He has given each of us a measure of faith (Romans 12:3).  That faith is directly correlated to belief.  Jesus said that if we have faith that measures the size of mustard seed we can say to a mountain “move”, and it will move (Matthew 17:20).  How does that happen?  It happens when we believe.  We must not believe that it can happen or even that it will happen. We must believe that it has already happened.

Before Jesus was even born as a man, before His ministry, before His death and before His resurrection, the prophet Isaiah said, “by His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).  Isaiah did not speak in a future tense even though he was prophesying about something that had not yet happened in the earth realm  We are healed.  It has already happened in the realm that God lives in.

God lives in realm that is devoid of time.  Everything in the realm God lives in is a completed work.  Jesus said in His prayer “Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).  In the beginning God “created” the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).  When we as humans think of creating something we think of making something out some materials that already exists to “create” this a new thing.  For example a painting - we take a canvas and paint to bring forth a vision or image that is in our head.  We create a painting.  That’s not how God created the world in the beginning. He spoke and it was.  That is because in the realm that God lives in the heavens and earth already existed.  His words pulled the world out of the heavenly realm into the earthly realm. 

Jesus said ask anything in my name, believing you will receive it (John 14:13).  The key is belief.  Jesus said ask anything.  He didn’t say ask for some things or most things.  He said ask for anything and when you believe you will receive it.  The things that we ask for, whatever it is, is completed in heaven.  Our belief that it is, pulls it out of the heavenly realm (out of eternity) into the earthly realm (time), and we see it manifested or materialized. 

Faith and belief are the foundation of our relationship with God.  The word says believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and though shalt be saved (Acts 16:31).  We can’t receive salvation without believing.  We receive salvation, and then walk with an unseen God by faith to make the unseen seen.  I have heard several times of testimonies where people say they have seen visions of a storeroom of sorts in heaven that has human limbs and organs.  For the person with a heart condition, praying for healing that new heart already exists in heaven.  When they pray, believing in faith, that thing which already exists in heaven becomes a real heart on earth.

Belief is a principle that transcends Christianity.  How many times has a successful person responded when asked how they became successful, “I believed in myself”.  We can even trick ourselves into believing negative things and they become reality.  That is why it is so important that we believe in Jesus to access the Father because His ways and thoughts are perfect.  Also his power, ability and domain far exceed anything that exists period.  I’d rather plug into Him as my source and get the optimal power because anything or anyone else pales in comparison. 

God has given each of us a measure of faith.  That faith allows us to speak to the mountains in our lives, but when we speak to the mountain we must believe that what we are saying is already done.  Then we will see our faith, our belief and our words make our reality.

A New Thing

“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”  Isaiah 43:19

Eleven years ago today, God did a new thing in my life.  At that time I had been unemployed for about eighteen months.  My father was supporting me while I looked for a job.  I strongly believed that God had called me to live in the city where I was living, but I could not find employment in the city He had called me to.  My dad told me that he would not be able to support me anymore and asked that I return home.  I went home, as he asked, but inside I had no intention of staying.  I knew that my Heavenly Father would take care of me.  This did not stop the fear or anxiety of the whole situation, yet I remained with my faith firmly, staunchly, almost stubbornly, on the word the Lord had given me about where I should be.

While at home with my parents I received an email from a young lady that attended my church about a part time  position at her mother’s company.  I didn't ask her any questions about her mom, her mom’s job or the position because I was sure that this was the door that God had opened for me.  Now how was I going to get back?  It wasn't like I could walk there.  I needed plane ticket, but I had no money. I could not dare ask my parents.  I had already spoken with the young lady’s mother and had already made an appointment for an interview on Friday, August 8^th.  I needed to get back.  Within a day two friends came to me and each gave me $100.  I did not solicit this money from them.  One of them actually said to me that I needed to get back soon. She had no idea about the job interview.  With $200 I had just enough money to purchase a plane ticket, but my God is not a God of just enough.  He is a God of more than enough. 

Later that same day my mother came to me and asked me a very simple question.  Although a simple question, my answer was one of those answers that became a defining moment in my life.  She asked me why was I so adamant about this.  I answered because God said so.  She said that was the answer she needed to hear.  She then told me that she would buy my plane ticket.  She also had no clue about the job interview I had set up.

At the time I had no car so I had to catch the bus to my 7:00 am job interview.  Well, I lived quite a ways from the company location.  It would take me two buses to get there, and I would have to be at the bus stop at 5:00 am to get there by 7:00 am.  I was not deterred.  I had to get there, and I was going to get there.  When I arrived at the building at 7:00 am it was locked.  No one was there.  I would wait.  At 8:00 am a young lady arrived and opened the building door.  I told her who I was there for.  Obviously since the door was locked, the person had not arrived yet.  She was an hour late.  That’s okay.  I waited.

I took a seat in the lobby.  I picked up the July issue of Black Enterprise Magazine.  There was an interesting article in the magazine about a black female general contractor.  The article talked about her role in the construction industry and also her interest in teaching youth about investing.  Her teenage daughter appeared to be an investing guru.  As I was reading the article, someone walked in so I looked up, and to my surprise and astonishment it was the lady from the article standing right in front of me. 

She was the person I was interviewing with.  It was a construction company. I had so many questions for God.  I followed her upstairs to the office where she had me complete an application, after which the interview began.  She asked me if I had read the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Thanks to my mother I was “tricked” into reading this book while I was in high school.  So my answer was yes.  We talked a little bit about the book and then she said, “Okay, when can you start?”  No questions about my experience or about my education or about anything other than that book.  Strange. 
“Today,” I said.   She sat me at a desk and then said that she had to leave for a meeting.  I didn't know anything about anything. I remember someone called and asked for the fax number, which I didn't know, but thank God for quick thinking.  It had to be on the business card right? And I had the business card so I was able to give them the fax number. 
From that day to this I have been there.  The journey has not been easy.  At times, it continues to have some rough terrain, but I am so thankful and grateful to God for positioning me at this place.  I have learned a lot about the industry, but I have learned so much more about life.  At times, most times, I do not understand my boss. To say that she is unorthodox is a tremendous understatement, but she is so wise in so many ways.  The greatest lessons that I have learned on my job, of course, have nothing to do with work.  Learning about the Mastermind principles from Think and Grow Rich, and living them out to help me set and achieve goals is probably one of the greatest life lessons I have learnt.  There are many more, though, and they are too many to list.
I've learnt a lot and I continue to learn, but now that I have been poured into, for the last couple of years it’s been about pouring into the others, who just like I did, come in for an interview.  I ask them the same question about what books do they read.  I find myself telling them the same things, and just like I didn't get it, they don’t get it, but they will get it one day. 

You just never know what God has for you.  It wasn't exactly what I wanted, but it was what I needed.  It was an unusual opportunity.  I wasn't going to blog this.  I was just writing because I like to write and today is 8/8 again so I needed to journal about my “anniversary”, but I feel that God wants me to share this testimony because He has an unusual opportunity for someone reading this.  It may not look like what you want, but it is what you need.  Look for His signs. He’ll show you them.  Eleven years ago, which was 8/8 and in the Bible the number eight is symbolic of new beginnings, He was doing a new thing with me.  Be encouraged He wants to do a new thing with you.

God's House

In Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth he says, "What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" (I Corinthians 6:19 KJV) In Acts chapter seven Stephen quotes the prophet Isaiah saying, "However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.  What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord.  Or where will my resting place be?  Has not my hand made all these things?" (Acts 7:48-50 NIV)

As Stephen said God does not live in houses made by human hands.  He lives in each believer in the person of His Holy Spirit. What?  Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost?  God asks in Isaiah 66:1-2, "What kind of house will you build for me?"  If our bodies are the temple of Holy Ghost what kind of house (temple) are we building for God?  Is it a house built on the foundation of the word of God?  Is it a house where love lives? Is it a house where compassion lives?  Is it a house where grace lives?  Is it a house where mercy lives?  What lives in our temple?

What foundation is your temple built on?  Jesus gave a parable about a wise man who built his house on the rock.  When the storm came his house withstood the storm because its foundation was the rock.  Jesus is the rock.  Jesus said to Peter that on this rock (revelation that Jesus is our savior) I will build my church (that's you and me) and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18).  The foolish man, however, built his house on the sand, and when the storm came his house was destroyed.  If we build our houses on any foundation other than who Jesus is when the storms of life come our houses will crumble.  

What's inside our temple? If there is doubt in our temples, God cannot live there.  If there is mistrust in our temples, God cannot live there.  If there is hate in our temples, God cannot live there.  God allowed the Babylonians to destroy the temple that King Solomon had built because the children of Israel chose to worship other gods.  The very first commandment that God gave Moses on Mt. Sinai was "thou shalt have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3).  Whether we realize it or not, anything in our lives that overshadows who God is we have made a god in our lives.  It could be hate, resentment, unforgiveness or fear.  When we let those things take up residence in our houses, God's temple, we are destroying the house.  
In Isaiah 66:2 it says that the ones that God favors are those who are humble and contrite in spirit and who tremble at His word.  God is seeking those who reverence Him with humility.  Who ask Him to help them build His house. It is no coincidence that Jesus was a carpenter while He was here on earth. He is the master builder, and He will help us build a temple that is pleasing to the Father where His presence lives always.

My Brother's Keeper

"Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?" Genesis 4:9

To answer Cain's question, yes, we are our brother's keeper.  My Brother's Keeper Foundation was started by my sister, Denise Ward, in 2007, and has led her on a journey (several journeys actually) to Rwanda.  Over one million Rwandans were killed over a three month period in 1994.  This genocide is the worst in modern history.  So you can imagine the aftermath of such a horrific tragedy.

My sister's travels to Rwanda led her last year to a year long stint at the Akilah Institue For Women, where she taught hospitality and tourism to Rwandan women at the school.  I wanted to share the success story of one of her students, Vestine Ukwishaka, so you understand what happens when we become our brother's keeper.  Please see the link below for this amazing story.

http://www.akilahinstitute.org/my-winning-business-proposal/

Kendy

Where is Adam?

WHERE IS ADAM?

"God said, 'It’s not good for the Man to be alone; I’ll make him a helper, a companion.' So God formed from the dirt of the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the Man to see what he would name them. Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name. The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he didn't find a suitable companion.  God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man. 'Finally! Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh! Name her Woman for she was made from Man.”  Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh.  The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame." Genesis 2:18-25 (The Message)

Very often I hear my single, Christian sisters posing the question, "Where is my Boaz?"  Boaz is the kingsman redeemer that marries Ruth, who is a widow living in a foreign land with her mother-in-law.  I suppose Boaz was the first "prince charming" type.  He came in, saved the day and got the girl.  He was her provider and her protector.  

I have also asked the same question, and I think that when single, Christian women ask this question about "their Boaz", there may be some blame being placed on Boaz.  Subconsciously, we may attribute Boaz's absence to him not being in church or living the Christian life that he is supposed to be living. The thought may be that we are ladies in waiting while Boaz is getting his act together.

I think the more appropriate question to ask is, "Where is my Adam?"  In the scripture above God recognizes that Adam is lonely before Adam realizes that he is lonely, and God declares that it is not good for him to be alone.  God puts Adam into a deep sleep, and takes a rib from his side.  God uses that rib to create woman.  While Adam is sleeping God is working on the woman. When God is finished creating the woman.  He presents her to Adam, which means that Adam is now awake, cognizant and aware of the woman, and recognizes immediately that she belongs to him. 

Where is your Adam?  God has put him into a deep sleep while He is working on you.  When God has completed the work He is doing in you, He will present you to the man, who will recognized immediately that you belong to him. How long Adam sleeps depends on how long God has to work on you, and how long God works on you depends on how much you allow Him to work on you.

Good is preparing you to be the helper that Adam needs.

Only a Boy Named David

I grew up in a Christian home and attended church services with my family VERY regularly. I also attended a Christian school. In both Sunday school and our daily class devotions at school the students could often be heard singing a song about a boy named David and his prowess against the giant, Goliath.



The lyrics are, "Only a boy named David. Only a little sling. Only a boy named but he could pray and sing. Only a boy named David. Only a rippling brook. Only boy named David but five little stones he took. And one little stone went into the sling and the sling went round and round. And one little stone went up in the air and the giant came tumbling down".



As children singing that song, we probably never thought about what stood between David and the Giant. As I was in Bible study yesterday, I was led to study about David. I Samuel 17:3 says, "The Philistines controlled one hill while the Israelites controlled another. The valley was between them."



Like David, to move from one mountain top to another mountain top, we must go through the valley. In the valley there will be giants like Goliath. Do not be afraid because the valley is inhabited by giants. You must go through the valley because the valley is where you battle and where you win!



The song suggests that David was only equipped with a sling and five stones, but scripture shows us that he was equipped with much more. I Samuel 16:13 says, "...From that day on, the Lord's Spirit worked in David." God's anointing was with David and so he boldly faced Goliath. David selected five stones, but he only used one. Five in the Bible is symbolic of God's grace. As David faced Goliath, he was equipped with God's anointing and God's grace.



As you go through the valley know that as long as you are equipped with God's anointing and God's grace the giant will come tumbling down.



Kendy

Daughters of Zion

This morning I was looking for some Bible study notes I am doing on King Saul, and stumbled across this Word from last year.  Thought I would share it.  

March 10, 2012

Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart. (Song of Solomon 3:11)

I am the Lord.  I change not.  My promises are yea and amen, and I will do what I said that I would do.  Daughters of Zion it is time to come out of hiding and possess the throne room.  It is time to take your rightly places alongside King Adam to be his right hand, his assistant, his help meet.  Adam does not slumber nor does he sleep.  He waits for the rightly appointed time to take his queen and the appointed time is now.  It is the season of manifestation. 

In this season there will arise any army of families who will fight for the restoration of families and the family structure and family morals.  Husbands will return to wives.  Wives will return to husbands.  Fathers will return to sons and sons will return to fathers.  It is a time of restoration and reformation of families.  Families of God will be the example.  Godly marriages will be the example.  Godly wives will be the example.  Godly husbands will be the example.  The world will envy and covet what the people of God have.  Your message to them will be “oh taste and see that the Lord is good”.  You will always give praise, honor and credit to God for blessing and ordaining your marriage and your family.

Holiness and purity will be your platform.  It is from that perspective you will speak to families, to husbands, to wives, to children about being that “perfect”, Godly prototype.  Daughters of Zion arise, go forth and possess your husbands in the throne room. 

In Genesis we see that God said that it was not good for Adam to be alone.  It was the first time in the creation story where He said that something was not good.  Everything else was good.  So He made Eve.  Adam was already made, ready and waiting for Eve.  After God finished making the woman He brought her to the man. So the woman came to the man.  Also in the book of Ruth, the heroine, Ruth, goes to Boaz.  Lastly, in the Book of Esther, again Esther approaches King Xerxes in the throne room. 

These men, all three of them, were ready and acted quickly once the woman came to them.  God brought Eve to Adam, and Adam immediately says this is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.  Ruth goes to the threshing floor and lays at Boaz’s feet.  Boaz immediately agrees to be her kinsman redeemer and goes the next day to do what he promised he would do.  When Esther entered the throne room before she could even make her request to the king he told her that he would give her whatever she wanted. 

These men were ready and Daughters of Zion your Adam is also ready, but he is waiting on you to step out.  Not in the physical, but emotionally to step out by letting go of whatever is causing you to refuse to believe that Adam is ready.  If you need to forgive a man, forgive him.  If you need to forgive yourself, forgive yourself. Adam is ready, but it’s not like he is waiting on you.  He’s not even aware that you’re coming.  Adam, Boaz nor King Xerxes were aware that the women were coming to them, but she when arrived they were ready.  Likewise when you “arrive” he will recognize you and be ready.

Kendy Ward

"You are coming out of Lo Debar!"

As I was about to take out my Bible for study time this morning, God spoke these words to me, “You are coming out of Lo Debar. The enemy has exiled you to a place where God’s presence is absent, but God is taking you out of that place to the place where His presence is. You are coming out of Lo Debar!”

I Samuel 20:17 says that Jonathan loved David as much as he loved himself. Their friendship was something that defied the odds because of Jonathan’s father, Saul’s, obsession about killing David; nevertheless, the two were best friends. In I Samuel 31 Jonathan dies, along with Saul, in battle. In II Samuel 9 David remembers the covenant he made with his best friend, Jonathan, and asks is there anyone left from Saul’s family (who fled in fear when David became king because they thought he would take retribution out on them for the way Saul had treated him).

Siba, who was a servant of Saul, tells David about Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth, who was crippled as a child when he was dropped as Saul’s family fled the palace in fear. Mephibosheth now resided at Makir’s house in Lo Debar. David tells servants to bring Mephibosheth from Lo Debar. When Mephibosheth arrives David says, “Don’t be afraid, I will be kind to you for your father, Jonathon’s, sake. I will give you back all the land of your grandfather, Saul, and you will always eat at my table.” (II Samuel 9:7)

Lo Debar was a city in Manasseh. The name means no pasture, no word, and no communication. God’s promise in Psalms 23:2 is that we are to rest in green pastures. Pasture as defined by the dictionary is grass or other vegetation eaten as food by grazing animals. It’s ironic that this place Lo Debar also means no word. The spiritual food we eat is the Word of God. There’s no spiritual food in Lo Debar. God tells us to rest in the freshness and abundance of his Word, but when we let fear drive us to Lo Debar we get no rest in God’s Word because we can’t hear God’s Word when we live in fear.

Fear not only prevents us from hearing God’s word, it takes us out of position. Mephibosheth’s rightful position was not in Lo Debar. His rightful position was at the king’s table. It take’s you out of God’s presence. Ephesians 2:6 says, “He has raised us up with Christ and gave us a seat with Him in heaven.” He has seated us in heavenly places, yet, we instead, sit at the table of depression or the table of oppression, or the table of grief, or the table of sickness or the table of lack.

David’s first words to Mephibosheth were, “do not be afraid”. David cast out that spirit of fear out of Mephibosheth. Then Mephibosheth was able to be restored to his rightful position at the king’s table (seated in heavenly places) and received his rightful possessions. In I Samuel 30:8, after the Amalekites had kidnapped David’s family and stolen all his possession, God told him that he would recover all. Now David was telling Mephibosheth the same thing. David gave Mephibosheth back everything that belonged to Saul, but he couldn’t receive the possessions until he was in position.

You can’t receive the possessions if you are out of position. The right position to be in is seated in heavenly places. The right position to be in is in the presence of God because it is the only way you will be able to hear His Word. You get in position by prayer, fasting, worship, studying your Bible, exercising your faith, walking in obedience and loving your neighbor as yourself. The Word says to seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness and then (and only then) will everything else be given to you. Also the reason Mephibosheth was restored was because of David's covenant with Jonathan. Restoration comes only comes when you are in covenant with God (like the covenant of paying tithes).

God is bringing you out of Lo Debar, a place of desolation, isolation and separation from Him. He is bringing you out of Lo Debar and into a place where His presence is abundant. It is a place of rest and a place of green pastures. A place where there is no fear nor condemnation. It is a place of anticipation, restoration and restitution. You are coming out of Lo Debar.

Kendy Ward

The Masters of the Universe

As a child my Saturday mornings were reserved for watching cartoons like Thunder Cats, Transformers, G. I. Joe, Gem, and I could go on and on.  I reminisce on those days, and I am reminded of how simple life was.  Admittedly, I sometimes long for the simplicity life offered me as a child, where my only concern was be deciding which cereal to eat while I watched my Saturday morning cartoons.  

The other night I was up unusually late and turned on the TV.  I was flipping channels and stumbled across Qubo, a children's network.  I do not have any kids so I seldom pay attention to children's programming, but what made my hands freeze on the remote control this particular night was the fact that one of my favorite childhood cartoons was on this channel.  I had not watched He-Man since I was maybe eight or nine years old.  I cannot explain how excited I was to be watching this cartoon because it brought back so many great memories of Saturday mornings that my sister, brother and I shared.

As I watched the episode of He-Man that had an underlying message to kids about social responsibility and taking care of the Earth, God gave me a spiritual message.  Of course, as a child I never noticed how many spiritual principles are wrapped up in He-Man, but as I watched I began to get revelation after revelation of the symbolism in this cartoon.

Adam is the prince of Eternia.  He and his twin sister Adora were separated by birth by the wicked, Skeletor, whose mission is to overthrow Eternia so he can rule and reign instead of Prince Adam.  Firstly, the prince's name is Adam just like the first man that God created in the Garden of Eden (Eternia) where he ruled and reigned until Satan (Skeletor) came along and separated Adam from his destiny.  Just like Skeletor in the cartoon, Satan's main mission is to rule and reign over the Earth instead of man.  

Prince Adam cannot battle against Skeletor's evilness by himself.  When he is confronted by Skeletor's evilness he takes out his sword.  Just like Prince Adam we also have a spiritual sword, which is the Word of God (I just noticed that sword without the “s” is word).  Prince Adam raises his sword and says, "By the power of Grayskull I have the power".  As a kid, I would be running around the house repeating these words, as I pretend to be a part of the cartoon also, not realizing how powerful what he was saying really is.  

Grayskull in the cartoon holds many secrets and great power that must not be accessed by Skeletor because if he gets his hands on those secrets he would be unstoppable.  Our Grayskull is heaven and all that is in heaven, which includes God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  When Prince Adam utters the words by the power of Grayskull I have the power he is then transformed into a super human being with extraordinary strength and ability.  This alter ego is called He-Man.  When Prince Adam holds up his sword and makes a confession he is supernaturally transformed and can perform super human feats.  

I'm sure by now you can see where I am going with this.  God has given us the Word as our defensive weapon against the enemy.  Jesus wielded His spiritual sword in the wilderness when Satan attacked Him with temptation and the enemy retreated in defeat.  Jesus spoke the words of scripture from the Old Testament.  That is how we defeat the enemy in the spirit realm.  It is by speaking the Word of God.  When we hold fast to the Word like Prince Adam held fast to his sword and call on the power of Jesus we too will see a supernatural transformation in our lives.  

By the power of the Holy Spirit we have the power also, and when we make this confession we will see the manifestation of His power in our lives.  In John 14:14 Jesus says, If you ask anything in my name, I will do it."  From this scripture the church began to say after their prayers "in the name of Jesus", but what does that really mean?  I think when we say this phrase we focus on the word "name" instead of the word "Jesus".  We quote "it's a name above every other name", but what makes it that?  Is it those five letters strung together?  It’s really the power of Jesus himself.  Jesus was saying if you ask anything in my power I will give it to you.  Call upon my power and I will give it to you. Just like Prince Adam said by the power of Grayskull I have the power, we too must say by the Power of Jesus I have the power.  In Jesus we have the power! 

When we say in Jesus’ name we are invoking the power of Jesus, and should be cognizant of that fact every time we say those words so that we expect the supernatural to follow.  When Prince Adam uttered those words he always expected something supernatural to happen (we all did too as we watched the cartoon), and it always happened. 

God wants to transform us by His power to regain power and authority over the Earth.  In Jesus’ name we have that power, and as we speak it fully aware and expectant of the supernatural we will see the manifestation of Jesus’ promise to us.  “Jesus said, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Listen, I have given you power to walk on snakes and scorpions, power that is greater than the enemy has. So nothing will hurt you’.”  (Luke 10:19) 

He is waiting for us to walk in that power, and now is the time to walk in that power.  It is time for us to be the masters of our universe.  We have the power!

God Esteem: Preparation for the Promise

Jesus prepared for 30 years to carry out a three and half year mission.  Preparation takes time.   We do not like when things take too much time.  We lack the patience and at times feel like we are not doing what we are supposed to be doing.  We must look at Jesus’ example again.  While in preparation I am sure Jesus was still doing meaningful things like cultivating relationships and I suppose He had a very fulfilling career as a carpenter.  While God is preparing us to be immersed into our destiny we should still be content where we are.  Paul says in Philippians 4:12 that he learnt the secret of being content in all situations.  Of course, he got that example from Jesus, as he said in I Corinthians, he follows Christ’s example.

Copyright 2011 Kendy Ward

God Esteem: The First Commandment

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the Earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the Earth.” Genesis 1:28 (NKJ)  

Genesis chapter one, God gives us instructions.  He tells us that we are in charge of the Earth, but it is like we did not get the memo.  Instead of us being in charge, it seems as if the world is in charge of us.  God told us to subdue the Earth and take dominion over it.  Yes, man has subdued the world at large in many ways, but when it comes to our own personal world (our personal Garden of Eden) it does not seem as if we get it.    We must walk in obedience to God's command, subdue and take dominion of our Garden of Eden, our personal domain.

Copyright 2011 Kendy Ward