Yet

Greetings in Great Gratitude for The Finished Work of the Cross AND the fellowship that YOU, the saints, have given to me and the Beloved Team this most glorious year!

This past year has presented some of the greatest opportunities for me, the team, (and I pray) you have experienced in Divine intervention and interaction in your life as well. I sit here still stunned at all of the amazing and wonderful things this last year has so graciously presented us all from Heaven. I am fully aware that the kingdom of darkness has been more purposeful and fervent in tormenting, killing, and destroying people, institutions, and nearly entire nations. BUT… not successfully. Here we are! Standing stronger than we ever have, more active than we have ever been, and more anticipatory than we have ever been.

I can see the beginning manifestations of our Divine Prophetic declaration of being the, “Healthiest, Wealthiest, and Most Influential Church in the Region!” Some of you may not know this, but it was declared to us many years ago that this was our destiny as a church family. At the time it was released, there was nearly NO EVIDENCE that the word was from God. We were just barely keeping our head above water financially, to the point that Kay and I were not even being regularly paid… much of the Divine Health through the Finished Work of the Cross was not manifesting (even in our leadership team) to the point that there were literal grumblings among some about the veracity of that message… we were barely known in Lena, let alone the region, for little more than, “that weird cult church group who believes that crazy stuff with that fanatical pastor.” Then, we received this Word that was like water on parched ground… but the ground was hard, and the Word was almost too good to be true, and most folks kinda choked on it, and some even criticized the Word and the one’s who were believing it.

THEN! It got ten times worse! (You thought I was about to do that thing where I tell you everything got awesome, really quickly, without any problems, pain, tribulation, or persecution… NOPE!) Shortly after this Word comes, we get into a pandemic (scamdemic) and what was once, “ok,” gets literally terrible. We lose a third of our church (many who have never returned), half of our Board of Directors (who didn’t even want others to know they were associated with us), and half our staff (who couldn’t serve THAT pastor at THAT church). We eventually have a church split (again…) and have to sit back and watch more people be hurt and destroyed… people that we poured into for years. We had to purposefully secure our hearts with the Lord like never before. That’s something to point out about the prophetic: much of it requires us to persevere and believe when it seems contrary and impossible.

It is important to highlight a very important truth about the prophetic and this can also apply to some biblical promises as well, so I hope this blesses you.

Two types of, “prophetic words,” and/or Biblical promises:

1. The Passive word or promise.
   • What I mean by, “passive,” is that it is just our good, loving, and gracious Father telling us what has happened, is happening, and will happen regardless of our belief, interaction, or participation. Here are a couple examples:
     • Hebrews 13:5b “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
     • Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
       • Notice these are promises/statements that have nothing to do with any of us. I will admit that to truly experience the joy, power, and benefit of these blessed truths, it will require us to possess them in a deep and personal way. But, in the simplest reality, you and I have literally nothing to do with these two truths, being eternally true and how God’s nature is unaffected by us.
   • Sometimes God will show us things to come, so we have information on what we could or should do about things that are coming.
     • 2 John 1:7 “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”
     • 2 Timothy 3:1 “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.”
   • A passive word or promise is very important because it makes it possible for us all to navigate in any time, under any circumstance, with solidified spiritual reality. This is what MOST believers think EVERY prophetic word or promise is… that is egregiously incorrect and dangerous.

1. The Active word or promise.
   • What I mean by, “active,” is that it REQUIRES the targeted hearer of the Word/promise to understand it (to some degree), believe it is Divine in origin, and receive it as a personal gift or release of grace. Another way to state this is that these words/promises can FAIL to manifest in one’s life because they did not believe them, receive them, and activate them. All of which God is NEVER to be accused or blamed for (but how often He is!). Here is a couple of examples:
     • Hebrews 4:2 “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard [it].”
     • Act 13:46 “And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.”
       • You should be able to clearly see that here were words/promises that were directly given to some, but they did not do, “their part.” So, these are folks that were destroyed by the enemy in direct contradiction to the Lord’s will and heart. In a simple explanation, God desires that ALL MEN are saved (2 Peter 3:9) and we all should clearly recognize that many, many folks go into their day AND the afterlife hopeless and lost.
   • These Active words and promises are, by far, the majority of what I have seen. Many people do not know or recognize that, but it is true nonetheless. The reason many, if not most, of the promises and words I have seen and heard are not manifested in people’s lives is because they do not recognize that it came as an invitation and not just a declaration. God invites us into a better life, but does not sovereignly force us there… we have to use our power of choice to accept or reject what God desires for us.

What this means for us is that when a word is given, or a promise is read, the first thing you should do is recognize what part or role you need to accept. Do you just rejoice that God told you His Divine plan so you had insider information about what is to come, OR do you take those words and commit to passionately believe and cooperate in a way that will bring them into manifestation?

With the word for Beloved to be the, “healthiest, wealthiest, and most influential,” I had to force myself to believe when EVERYTHING was literally the exact opposite in the natural. Long story short… for those amazing, authentic, beautiful, and faithful people who went through the fire with us, and joined us while the fires were still burning… they have seen and experienced: Greater Health (while the world is sicker than ever), Greater Wealth (not just finances, but whole-life prosperity), and Greater Influence (local and in some cases, international).

If you are reading this and thinking, “that is not my experience,” then let this whole letter encourage you to engage with what Jesus has ordained for us ALL to walk in. So, change your thinking and response just a smidge by adding the word, “yet,” to the end. This may not be your experience, yet, but God and this message is not done with you YET!

This is a time of GREAT Thanksgiving, not just as a Holiday, but as a way of life. Let today’s celebrations be an inspiration for you to build a lifestyle of gratitude for all the things that the Lord HAS done and for the things He IS doing!

I love you and pray an amazing time for you as you celebrate, with gratitude, on this Thanksgiving Day!
Steve