Christ’s Ascension

Christ’s Ascension

By Dwight Cunkle

Christ ascended—What effect has this today?

Truth creates the new order and kingdom: On the third day Christ arose; He appeared to many over 40 days, speaking to them of the kingdom of God; He commanded them to wait for the promised Holy Spirit and was seen by many as he ascended to heaven ten days before Pentecost. 

Mark 16; Acts 1:1-11; 1 Cor 15:1-3

Luke 24:50-53

And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple praising God.

WHO? What would it have been like to see the resurrected Jesus? To watch Him ascend to heaven? To praise God and wait together. for the promise to be fulfilled? What would it have been like to be filled? 

__________________________________________________ 

WHAT did the apostles immediately and continually do immediately following the ascension according to Luke 24:53? __________________________________________________ 

WHY? According to Acts 1:8 and Acts 2 what was the purpose of Holy Spirit in filling the believers? 

__________________________________________________ 

HOW? What did God do in response to their "doing" recorded by Mark 16:20 and in the book of Acts.

__________________________________________________ 

WE know what it CAN BE LIKE to be filled with joy like new wine and to share Jesus stories with others and see God confirm the word with signs following us. Is this our purpose?  Do we wait with praise and prayer? Do we share Jesus with others? What effect?

What effect does all this have?

Are we waiting on God? Praise and prayer.  

The Forerunner

The Forerunner

He will turn the hearts of fathers to children, and the

disobedient, the incredulous, and unpersuadable to the knowledge and holy love of the will of God, to make ready a people for the Lord [perfectly] prepared [in spirit, adjusted and disposed and placed in the right moral state].

(Mal 4:5-6, Is 40:3 and Luke 1:17 AMP)

    This week read how John came preparing the way of the Lord.  Pray the fulfillment of this amazing promise above—the turning of hearts of fathers and children and unbelieving, in preparation for His second coming.  WOW!  What a prayer to pray!
    Who do you need to speak that promise over?  Does your heart need turned toward your children or toward your parents?  Are you praying for a prodigal?  Look how John
fulfilled the prophecies about him, and let your faith and hope be encouraged this week!

Who:  Elijah must come first.  Mal 4:5-6 & Lk 1:17, 76-79

About his birth:  filled with the Spirit in the womb.  Lk 1:15 & 41

What will he be like:
    - A hairy man with leather belt:  2 Kings 1:8 & Matt 3:4
   
    - Eating locusts:  Lev 11:22 & Mt 3:4

    - Where from:  the wilderness.  Is 40:3 & Lk 1:80 & 3:2

What message:  Repent for the kingdom of God is coming.
    Lk 3:7-14; 7:27

Messiah will purify with fire:  Mal 3:1-2, 4:1-2; & Lk 3:16-17

So that:  the glory of the Lord be revealed.  Is 40:5 & Jn 1:14

The end of the old and the coming of the kingdom:  “No prophet greater than John but the least in the kingdom is greater than him”  Luke 7:28

Report from our KMI conference 

 

We (Covenant Life) are members of a spiritual family of leaders and congregations worldwide called Kingdom Ministries International.    

  

This week Steven White and Pastor Dwight attended out annual gathering with the theme of Koinonia: that we would hear with new ears and connect with new hearts to God and one another, and the fellowship of sharing life would be for His purpose, not just about us. We want to reflect God's likeness of covenant and community to the world, especially now so that in the continued shaking of all things, people will know God is present and powerful in his people, and they can come and become united with Christ and experience his love and life in spiritual family.

This year was our largest and most inspiring time yet as we heard testimonies and met leaders and pastors from the nations: a pastor from India who oversees 500 churches; one from France who is responsible for nearly fifty churches and ministries in six nations; our host this year Pastor Randy Howard brought pastors from Central America that he leads representing hundreds of churches there and in Africa.

A highlight was hearing our founder Dennis Peacocke speak, having just recovered enough from his life-threatening illness, then cancer on his vocal chords and just resuming ministry. His book on economic principles we need to know now is  at the publishers, and he spoke with prophetic clarity about the current world conditions.

Of course we bring greetings from pastors and leaders who have ministered here and also have sent us Masters Commission students or received ministry from us, like David Shay. David and Emily are going to have a baby — due on the exact anniversary of the fire that destroyed all their possessions. His report and words of thanks from others who have passed through times of suffering made us more aware and appreciative of the Koinonia (covenant community and love) we share in KMI.

    He has given marvelous comrades to me-
the faithful who dwell in the land.…
my inheritance is delightful to me.
Psalm 16

Welcome Happy Advent (Four Weeks of Preparing)

Welcome Happy Advent (Four Weeks of Preparing)
Thanksgiving Casts Out the Stronghold of Familiarity

Today begins the four weeks of Advent, which means "to Come." Thanksgiving not only looks back on our history but helps prepare for God's presence to be manifested (incarnated) both among us and through us in the world. The Kingdom of heaven is begun - heaven is where God fully manifests his presence to bless. Joy to the world.... He comes to make his blessings known. His presence brings blessing which gives purpose and momentum in life. His purpose sharpens our spiritual focus the sharpened spiritual focus leads to accomplishment and that accomplishment leads to contentment and contentment must be expressed with Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is not only response but also a great weapon. As we give thanks for God’s grace in our nation and our personal history, we become even more thankful for looking ahead for God’s coming in new ways to us. God came again and again in American history bringing revival and awakening, and we need Him again-not to take us away but to restore. One of the ways we get ready for his coming is to use thanksgiving as a weapon against an enemy called Familiarity. Familiarity breeds contempt because we take one another and God for granted. It is a stronghold for demonic lies, division, sin and pain.

A stronghold is a thought that has a strong hold on your life. Thoughts are like seeds. If received and nurtured they produce fruit in our life after their own kind. Fear, self-pity, envy, resentment, etc… cannot produce love, joy, peace or righteousness. In this Year of Proper Planting we must block negative and familiar seeds that rob us of a full life in God’s presence.

Use the weapons of Thanksgiving to break down the strongholds of familiarity being thankful for God's history in saving us and our nation and looking ahead to God coming to us and giving us purpose and sharpened spiritual focus that will lead to new accomplishment vision and faith and hope for the coming year.

Although we live with mixture and imperfection of God incarnate in our weak, human condition, remember that “we have this treasure in jars of clay,” 2 Cor 4:7. In Matt 13:53-58 people devalued Jesus’ ministry because of familiarity, but when we honor God and one another we receive and give blessings. God have mercy on us and help us to be thankful and fruitful.

Testimonies and Exhortations

Testimonies and Exhortations

Gloria Bohn received an “all clear” from the Dr on her heart one year after her heart surgery.
Glen and Dorla’s granddaughter is cancer free.
Dick and Karen are doing well following their surgery.

Wilma has this testimony of God bringing healing deliverance: As I was praying about various things, and feeling SO TIRED of making all the decisions(!!!) (widows know what I mean!), I started coughing - and then felt relieved. The Lord told me the spirits (see, no capital "s"!) of dread, indecision and loneliness had been kicked out! PTL! My prayer was then, "Thank you, Lord and come in Holy Spirit, fill me with Your love and everything I need! Isn't that wonderful that God can deal with us one-on-one! This has happened before and probably will again one day. - Wilma Cabaniss


From Attractional to Incarnational
Glen Beaty took Gary Cake’s story and exhortation and did it: he joined a group of remote controlled car racers and is potentially building relationships for the kingdom.

Below are a few of the various words and prayers last Sunday confirming that we are on track with God as we pray for our neighbors and seek to build relational bridges into the kingdom as we love and serve them.

Ryan received this word last Sunday about us bringing life:
If we are the Body of Christ and in this neighborhood we are the heart, then what are the people and places surrounding this place? They are the other body parts. And the job of the heart is to give life to the other body parts. And that is our job as the heart, to bring life to the people around us, and it is also our job from Jesus Christ.
- Ryan Ellis

Tim Cunkle had a word that the front door was not for the kingdom to come in to us, but us to go out to bring the kingdom.


What are you hearing and how are you praying?

Trading my Kingdom for His!

By Richard Lineberry

“For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves." Colossians 1:13

The call to be a disciple of Christ involves a trade-in. My stuff for His. A kingdom has “ways.” It has a culture, policies and rules that reflect the will of its king. As a subject of King Jesus, we learn to see life as He sees it and live it as He did.

The kingdom of darkness, from which we all defected as Christians, ignores the King. It is preoccupied with things of this world and promotes selfishness. It is full of shakings that are the consequences of rebellion against the true king and His effort to get our attention. When we are born again, we are then introduced to the clash of the two kingdoms.

Under the government of King Jesus, He gradually moves towards the throne of our hearts. Getting saved is the getting started part, but the experiencing of it in all facets of our lives is a lifetime operation. God trades us our old views about God for the right views. Our hearts begin to go after His desires for us rather than our own (His are better, by the way). During these changes, we often ask, “Why things can’t stay the way they were?” The answer, of course, is that we are now under new management. The only thing here to stay is CHANGE.

An old story tells of two preachers visiting about the fall of man. One asked, “When man fell into sin in the garden, just how far did they really fall from God?” His friend responded, “Well, just ask God to make you the way He intended you to be and you’ll find out.”

True repentance brings about a revolution starting deep within with our decision to follow Jesus and travels to our outside world that will change everything about us. If we let His Kingdom grow, it will affect everything we touch. That’s how God sets things in divine order. Painful for us along the way, but that’s how the Prince of Peace brings peace. If something new is going to happen, something old has to go. But when it does, we discover we’ve traded in our rags for His riches.

My prayer for us today is that we keep our eyes on the throne. Jesus is making a better future for us because the future is His. Look to Him who makes all good things possible. He heals what no one else can, breaks down the evil powers of this world and will not stop until He, alone, is pleased. That’s the Good News!

Can We Live From the Unseen Into Seen?

Seeing and Living From Kingdom of Heaven in the Here and Now
Preview of the next series of messages beginning July 25 and continuing August 8

How do we walk in not only miraculous life but practical application of God’s love and grace in daily life?

It’s far easier to believe you can speak to a mountain to move out of the way (as Jesus said to disciples) when you are 30,000 feet up seated in an airplane than when underneath it and overwhelmed by it. Do we see reality by looking at the outward first or by seeing from within the kingdom? (From a resurrection and ascension seat with Christ - Eph 1:18-2:6 6 God raised us up with Christ. He has seated us with him in his heavenly kingdom because we belong to Christ Jesus.)

Can we live from the unseen into seen?

We're present in this world but the source of our life is by His presence, His purpose, His power, and the principles of His eternal Kingdom revealed both in His Word and in the natural laws at work all around us. We have jobs, responsibilities and roles here and now, but our life and destiny come from the there and then of Christ’s spiritual kingdom. Both natural and spiritual wisdom helped our founders establish a government with checks and balances. So we need balance and wisdom today, especially to discern and resist the evil of this present world and enemy.

What are we do? Rise above by practicing the celebration that is already going on in heaven. Practice praise and loving service. Hear and sing heaven’s music in your hearts now. See and hear the spirit-love-language of heaven’s covenant now. Then you can speak as if practicing how to think & live there.

If you don't plan on going to hell don't practice what comes from there: fear, worry, unforgiveness, unbelief, negativity, living under our circumstances...

Instead bring heaven here by beginning the day and conversations and work and relationships from the Kingdom within instead of reacting to things and people from without.

Matt 22:33 Lord, that our eyes may be opened.

Eph 1:18 By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones),

Acts 26:17 "'I'm sending you off to open the eyes of the outsiders so they can see the difference between dark and light, and choose light, see the difference between Satan and God, and choose God.

Ps 36 You're a fountain of cascading light, and you open our eyes to light.

Ps 119:17 Open my eyes so I can see what you show me of your miracle-wonders. I'm a stranger in these parts; give me clear directions. My soul is starved and hungry, ravenous!— insatiable for your nourishing commands.

~Pastor Dwight