November Edition
November is traditionally known as Thanksgiving month. A time when family gatherings provide a time for expressing thankfulness to God for the harvest season. It is a beautiful time as the seasons change and is marked with a tapestry of vibrant colors. I for one am looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday and spending time with two new families. One by marriage and one by the Spirit.
I hope for you that the Thanksgiving holiday is a positive time and a time you are looking forward to. I encourage you with this scripture.
“Rejoice always, pray constantly, in everything give thanks;
for this is God’s will for you in Messiah Yeshua.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Do you want to know God’s will for your life?
Paul just told us God’s will for each one of us who chooses to follow Him. When our eyes are off ourselves and on Yeshua, when our hearts are joyful and rejoicing, our attitude is vertical and not directed inward. Then, we are being obedient to this scripture’s mandate when we are always rejoicing, praying constantly, and giving thanks.
Wishing you a thankful Thanksgiving!
Rolland
EKKLESIA:
For those who have been receiving our newsletter, there are those who understand and embrace the declaration of Yeshua (Jesus) and those who are still new to the concept. Regardless of where you are at in this journey, I came across an additional resource which will help us expand our understanding of Ekklesia.
I will list the three books which I regularly recommend at the end of this article. For now I want to introduce you a book by Dutch Sheets titled, Authority in Prayer: Praying with Power and Purpose. While I encourage you to read the entire book, I am going to focus on chapter six, which is focused entirely on Ekklesia.
I found it interesting, that while Dutch questions the interpretation of the King James Version on certain words, he doesn’t make the connection to the KJV using the word church in place of Ekklesia. He does, however, affirm and underscore the necessity of Yeshua followers to understand their identity as Ekklesia and become the (act as) Ekklesia to our nation and world.
“To the Greeks in Christ’s day an ekklesia was an assembly of people set apart to govern the affairs of a state or nation—in essence, a parliament or congress. To the Romans, it was a group of people sent into a conquered region to alter the culture until it became like Rome. Realizing this was the ideal way to control their empire, they infiltrated government, social structure, language, schools, etc., until the people talked, thought, and acted like Romans.”
Dutch is acknowledging that we have a purpose as declared by Yeshua to act as His ruling agency on earth. We have been given authority by the One who has all Authority (see Matthew 28:18b). He (Mr. Sheets) refers to the Matthew 16:18 scripture where Yeshua declares, “upon this rock I will build My community” (ekklesia, traditionally translated ‘church’).
Then he writes, “When Jesus said He would build His (ekklesia) church, He was without question speaking of a body of people that would legislate spiritually for Him, extending His kingdom government (rule) over the earth. His statement that “the gates of Hades will not overpower it” makes much more sense when we understand this. These “gates” are not physical gates, but rather the governmental plans of hell.” He goes on to say, “In this first decree about the (ekklesia) church, Jesus is saying that the kingdom government (rule, decrees, councils) of hell won’t prevail over His kingdom government on earth—the church (ekklesia). He follows this declaration by saying He would give to His ekklesia “keys” (Matthew 16:19), which also bring to mind authority. Keys lock or unlock, in order to close or open, doors and gates. Christ’s (ekklesia) church would have the keys (authority) to lock the gates (government) of hell and release the gates (government) of heaven.”
Dutch asks the questions I have asked for several years now, “Where have we been in our thinking? How have we missed this truth?”
I’ll speak for myself. I have been taken hostage. I have been lied to. I was indoctrinated. We have been told we are the church, which we are not. It was approximately seven years ago when the Spirit began to stir within me a discontent about my identity as being the church. Something just was not right. Diligent Bible study and investigation with the Spirit’s prompting brought me to the truth.
Here is what Dutch further explains about Ekklesia. “The church (ekklesia) of Christ is not supposed to be a group of harmless, irrelevant, mind-your-own-business worshipers who gather once a week, tucked away from anything public, just to practice their particular mode of religion. This is, of course, what many unbelievers think is appropriate. I frequently hear statements from the media, political leaders, and others, that religious beliefs should be kept “private” or that they “have no place in the public arena,” and especially that they “have no place in government.”
“Nothing could be more unbiblical. The purpose behind this satanically inspired dogma is to keep the church (ekklesia) from being the church (ekklesia)—the ekklesia. The Bible brims with examples of God and godly individuals involved in government and other public arenas, intentionally representing God and His will while doing so.”
He states that if he were satan, “and wanted to stop evangelism, the spread of biblical morality, or the rule of God into the earth, I couldn’t think of a better way than convincing Christians NOT to be the ekklesia.”
One of his closing statements encapsulates the gravity of being ekklesia. “We are to invade our culture, workplace, city, nation, etc., the might of God’ kingdom and spread His life and rule everywhere. That is what praying with authority is all about.” Jesus declared us to be Ekklesia. How far we have drifted away from His declaration. Notice that in essence, Dutch is speaking to the Seven Mountains of Influence when he speaks of “invading” every arena of our culture, our society as Christ’s ekklesia.
If you have never read these additional resources: Leaving Church, Becoming Ekklesia by Tim Kurtz; Ekklesia Rising by Dean Briggs; or Ekklesia Declared by Rolland Wright, I encourage you to consider these as well.
We must discover who we are declared to be by Yeshua, or we will never become who He declared us to be.
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Choose Life Journal
First Place Ministries is seeking to help you establish a daily time with the Scriptures and the Spirit! Available now on our website or through Barnes & Noble or Amazon, is our latest book, Choose Life Journal.
o If you have never read or studied the Bible for yourself, this book is for you. The how and why of personal Bible study time is contained in this book.
o If you have used devotional material before, please consider journaling and discover how the Holy Spirit will mentor you.
o If you have participated in inductive Bible study with directed questions, please consider journaling and allowing the Holy Spirit to direct you into all truth.
o If you have sought a deeper walk and relationship with Adonai, the Choose Life Journal plan is the study aid for you. Each chapter is designed to equip you with the skills to participate in the inductive method of Bible study, journal at the leading of the Holy Spirit, and create an action plan for applying the Word of God.
I have utilized the inductive method of Bible study for over seventeen years. Your thoughts, your actions, your attitudes will be challenged by the Word of God. You will see the transformation which your interaction with God’s Word causes as you become conformed to His image. The Bible is a powerful book! It is “living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword…and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).” I challenge you to try the Choose Life Journal study methodology for 21-days through the book of John.
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