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.