Out of the Box, Out of Control

http://www.donnorisr.com/blog/2010/09/23/out-of-the-box-out-of-control/

We live in an environment created by our own choosing.

 We like this environment because it is safe for us.

 We think we may lose our identity if we allow ourselves to think out of the box.

 We evaluate what is around us, who we think we are, what others say we are, what the world says we are, We look at where we live, how much money we have, how much money we think we can earn. We look at our education, our skills the opportunities we have.

 From this list and from many more, we decide who we are and how we shall live. We create our own environment of living.

 I call this environment, our BOX.

 Each one of us live in a box of our own construction. The walls, the bottom and the lid to this box are made from the limitations we have put on ourselves or the limitations we have allowed others to put on us. 

‘Limitation’ is relative term. Limitation is also defined as our belief system. This belief system defines who we are.

We are taught to evaluate circumstances and make a decision based on how we interpret those circumstances with the five senses.

 It connects us to some. It separates us from others. Of course, we are right. Everyone else is wrong.

(We also pass this box down to our children.)

  My personal EXAMPLES:

  High School: Others said I would accomplish nothing

(Others tried to build a box for me)

 Giving my life to Jesus

(Religion will build a box for you)

 Starting Destiny Image;

(Well-meaning friends will build you a box)

How do we move out of the Box we have made for ourselves?

 This is where the true work of renewal and revival begin.

 Renewal is not fire or wind or a River, it is Him, it is Jesus drawing us to Himself, pouring his incredible love upon us.

 Our yielding to God’s Love and acceptance is our only hope of coming out of the box we have created for ourselves. 

  He is our identity. I am free to do and be anything if I have my identity as HIM!

 His Love for us is more than we can imagine. His Plan for us is greater than we could ever hope. His provision for us is greater than we could ever afford because it is not purchased with money.

 GOD HAS DREAMED A DREAM FOR US THAT NO MAN CAN TAKE AWAY.

THAT DREAM IS OUTSIDE THE BOX WE HAVE MADE FOR OURSELVES.

We must simply let Him love us to softness and repentance.

  GOD HAS TAKEN HOLD OF US FOR A PURPOSE

  Things of the past always want to keep us in our box, away from the calling God has for us. 

  Truly Pentecostal, truly spirit-filled people walk by the Spirit and allow God to say things to them that they have never heard.

 God speaks to us out side the box.

  (Gal 5:25 NASB) If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

  Move God!!! Pour out your Spirit!! The Lord says the same thing to us, but we can’t, because God is not out of control!!

This is the day of all-God- He is moving us to Himself, to the holiest place of all, His Presence.

  Vision of the fires and the rising Son.

Do you want food or do you want seed? The religious can't keep up with a God out of control.

 Religion of Jesus' day wanted:

 * A distinguished prophet to introduce to the bishops, instead they got John the Baptist wrapped in camel’s hair who the bishops snakes.

 * A king born in riches, instead they got a poor boy wrapped in rags.

 * A God to righteously condemn a prostitute, instead, they got a Jesus who forgives and restores.

 * Respectable healings, instead, they got mud made from spit and packed onto a blind man's face. They got a prophet who healed on the Sabbath and sat with drunks and tax collectors. Sinnfaers!!

 * They wanted to give Jesus a tour of the temple, instead, they got Jesus' wild encounter with the moneychangers. He was out of control.

 * A king to overthrow Rome, instead, they got a man nailed to a cross.

 Who would have predicted that God would deliver His people with frogs, locusts and blood splattered door posts?

 Who could have guessed that He would part the sea, rain food on their heads, give them water out of a rock?

 Would you have imagined a pillar of smoke and fire, shoes that never wore out and clothes that grew with them?

  This is where the true work of renewal and revival begin.

Our yielding to God’s Love and acceptance is our only hope of coming out of the box we have created for ourselves.

 

 

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Do You Fear the Presence of God, or Do You Love the Presence of God?

http://www.donnorisr.com/blog/2010/09/20/do-you-fear-the-presence-of-god-or-do-you-love-the-presence-of-god/

Sounds like a trick question, but it isn't. The question can also be asked in another way. "Are you a Levite, or are you from the priesthood of Melchizedek?" Another way to ask this question might be, "Can you minister in His Presence, or must you fall in His Presence?"

 When Solomon dedicated the Temple, the Scriptures say that the cloud of glory was so great that it spilled out of the Most Holy Place to the Holy Place, where it was technically not supposed to go. The Levites, who ministered in the Holy Place, were accustomed to the Presence behind the veil. They did not know what to do with the Presence when He did not stay where He was supposed to stay. They were therefore overcome with fear. When the Lord was behind the veil, He was contained. The Levites knew what to expect from Him as long as He stayed there. The Levites could get away from Him by staying in the Holy Place, with eleven layers of curtains separating them from their Lord. But when His glory spilled out into the Holy Place, everything was different. None of the rules seemed to apply anymore. Certainly God was not following the rules He Himself had established. His Presence was no longer limited, or shall I say, no longer controlled?

 Since the Levites were not accustomed to the Presence of God in their sphere, they fell on their faces with fear, unable to do the work of the priesthood. They loved to do the work of God in their own realm, under the control of the five senses and according to very defined rules of engagement. But this was something else altogether. God was moving out of His own parameters. Unlike Melchizedek, the priesthood of the Presence, the priesthood of the Believer, you and I, the Levites could not become accustomed to sensing His movements and changing their plans as the Lord moved among them.

 The Levites were not and are not the priests of the Presence. They didn't know what it was to abide in the Presence of God. Since they did not know Him, they never could have imagined that He wanted only to be close to the ones He loved. This was a most compelling foreshadowing of David's Tabernacle and the tabernacle of the Lord within the hearts of His people under the New Covenant.

 Only Melchizedek, the priest of the Presence, you and I, can stand in the Presence and worship in the Presence. Melchizedek represents the only priesthood that can minister in the Presence of God without fear. In fact, this priesthood ministers in His Presence with joy unspeakable! His Presence brings strength and peace. His Presence brings wisdom and sonship. But here is the best news. Melchizedek is the priesthood of the New Covenant. It is for everyone. There is no one turned away! All may freely enter and experience His manifest Presence moment by moment.

 There will emerge a generation of Melchizedek who minister in His manifest Presence. The world, as we know it now, cannot be won with the charismatic parlor tricks by which the faithful are so easily amused. If the world is going to be won, and it will be won, His Presence will manifest Life through a people who can freely walk in His Presence and minister His Presence to a world now in the grip of the enemy.

 Before Christ, the Melchizedek of God, came, the Levites had to do the work of the Most Holy Place, for He had not yet appeared.

 The Levites did the work of a priesthood that was not their own. No wonder they were filled with fear when they had to enter the Presence. They feared the Presence, for they were not called or anointed to do the work that is required there.

 But Melchizedek loves His manifest Presence. Because Melchizedek was and is the Priest of the Presence, He freely entered the Presence, not out of obligation but out of the sheer joy of experiencing His appearing.

 The fear of death also haunted the Levites who attempted to enter the Most Holy Place. They did not belong there. They were in a dimension of Spirit for which they were not prepared to live. So death was a real fear for them.

 Melchizedek, on the other hand, was not afraid to die because He had already died, and rose from the dead. He belonged in the Presence. He was at home in the Presence. He was and is a friend of the Presence. In fact, Melchizedek, once entering the Presence, never left but took His seat at the right hand of His Father, on the Mercy Seat, where He ever lives to intercede on behalf of you and me, who are also seated there with Him.

 I love His Presence. I covet His Presence. I am part of the company of priests that forms a new royal order of believers under the banner of Melchizedek. But this is nothing special, for the Blood washed everyone and prepared each one of us to be seated with Christ within the veil of the Most Holy Place.

 If you chose "I love His Presence," you are probably living in the Most Holy Place.

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Why Pray in the Name of Jesus?

http://www.donnorisr.com/blog/2010/09/14/why-pray-in-the-name-of-jesus/

 In the past, when I have gone to the Lord in prayer, my prayers were somewhat different. The first ten minutes were ususally spent in a counseling session. I wanted the Lord to understand what the problem was and what I wanted Him to do about it. Then I followed this counseling time with a plea for Him to accept my analysis of the situation. Then I asked Him to do what I had decided was the correct course of action.

 We clutter the air with prayers born out of frustration, fear, and uncertainty, as though He needs our wisdom and advice on how to deal with an issue. Then we pray all these things in the name of Jesus. We are certain that if we pray in the name of Jesus, He will do exactly what we want Him to do. After all, we did pray in His name.

 But the name of Jesus is not a magic word. His name cannot be used to invoke the power of God to do what we want.

 When you pray in the name of Jesus, you are praying in the name of the King. You are praying as a messenger of the will of the King. You are announcing something to the world, both natural and spiritual, that the King wants to happen.

Those who pray in the name of Jesus, the King, are like medieval criers who walked the highways of the kingdom announcing the will and intentions of the king who rules the kngdom. "In the name of the king, vacate these premises, for the king will build a new castle here!"

 Everyone believes the crier because he comes in the name of the king. 

  "In the name of the king, all subjects must be on the castle grounds for the coronation of the new queen. In the name of the king, all are expected to attend!"

 The one who pronounces those words represents the king. He knows the will of the king and is announcing the king's will with authority and assurance. He is not coming with his own message, he is voicing the desire and intentions of the king. 

 " I come in the name of the king" is the testimony of the medieval crier.

 For the most part, we live in the Holy Place, that is, the place of selfish desire and personal greed instead of the Most Holy Place, the realm of selfless surrender and the realm of all God. In the Holy Place, our fantasies are in constant conflict with the will of the King, who will always put His plan above our own. For He knows that His plan will lead to life, peace, and personal fulfillment beyond our wildest imagination, but our selfish, fleshy plan will only leave us short of His glory.

 The Holy Place is a place of personal struggle. It is where we develop our doctrines according to our own hidden desires. These personally contrived beliefs give us assurance that we will be certain to get what we want, at least among men. In the Holy Place, the will of man burgeons out of control, financed by weak and volatile believers who have no strength of discernment or wisdom within themselves. Of course, these Holy Place kingdom-builders count on ignorance to succeed. If true discernment broke out, they would be out of buisness in a moment of time.

 There is only one way the crier can come through town announcing with confidence in the name of the King. He must truly have been in the King's presence. He knows what he is supposed to say because he heard it from the King's lips for himself. Those who have heard the King for themselves will recognize His voice in the words of the crier, and they will be quick to respond to the message he brings them.

 When you hear the voice of the King, you can announce His will with confidence.

 This is the secret to having every rayer you utter answered. Listen carefully to hear what our Lord is praying. Then join in His prayer to our heavenly Father, who is waiting for the prayers He will most certainly answer - His own.

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Will You Risk a New Beginning?

http://www.donnorisr.com/blog/2010/09/09/will-you-risk-a-new-beginning/ 

  There is a new beginning to those who are willing to say ‘yes’ to get out of their box. The box of religion, the box of traditional bondage. Get out of guilt and the box of fear, their box of comfort. Sometimes our life is hard but it is comfortable because we know what to expect. We know what will come today and tomorrow. It is boring, it doesn’t fulfill God’s plan for us but it is comfortable and it is a very small box to live in. The Word of the Lord today is ‘Get out of your box.’ Get out of your box

and take a risk. Risk hearing what God is saying and then risk doing it.

The harvest is ready now and when the harvest is ready it means that people are hungry. People are hungry for the spiritual; they are hungry for inner fulfillment. This prophetic word swept the nation and no body did anything. Today there are more than fifty million people in the new age religion in the United States. The new age people went in and took the harvest. God put hunger in the hearts of people so that the church could reap the harvest. We did not go into the fields, but somebody did. Now their granaries are filled, their silos are full and the Christians are standing around complaining about all of the new age people. And it is our fault. The harvest is ready in this country. You must get out of the box to harvest it. You must be willing to change anything that is needed to change so that your light can truly shine. You must be willing to let God test everything in your life and I dare say everything you believe to be sure your heart is open to what God wants to do.

We are always used to building walls to separate people but God is not a separating God, God is a gathering God. “Come unto me all you who are weary and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for my load is easy and my burden is light.” Boy, that doesn’t sound like our religion. Light burden, easy burden, that doesn’t sound like us. We must be willing to let Him change us from the very heart of who we are because He wants to shine His Love through us. Religion says, “Just be good.” But Jesus says, “Let me live my life through you. Let me shine through you. Let me Love through you.” You have a great opportunity directly in front of you. Let’s get out of the box

so we can do the will of God. 

Pray with me…

Lord Jesus thank you for Your Love, thank you for Your Word, thank you for Your care. Lord Jesus we confess that we live in a box that we have made for ourselves and we repent of it. We do not want to live a self-centered life we want to live a Christ-centered life. We repent of living in our box, we repent of letting our fear our sorrow our bitterness our tradition and our religion of keeping us in the box. And now Lord Jesus, thank you for forgiving me and I step out of that box. I step out of the box and I pray not my will but Your Will be done. Open my ears open my eyes open my heart so that I can hear things that are being spoken from Heaven and then give me the courage to do it. All to Your Glory in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Beacon of Glorious Light

 http://www.donnorisr.com/blog/2010/09/02/beacon-of-glorious-light/

Do you know that the only hand that God has is your hands? The only eyes He has are yours? The only smile He has is your smile? The only hug that God has is your hug? The only hope that people have is the hope that you bring them. There is a call of the Holy Spirit. There is a move of the Holy Spirit to come out of ourselves and into Him. Out of our concern and into the Spirit. You know as Pentecostal people we have a great advantage over everybody else, but we have turned our Pentecostal experience into a legalism that is worse than anyone else’s. We are more concerned about the physical things than we are about the Spiritual things. We are more concerned that our arms are covered than we are hearing the Spirit of the Lord. Sometimes we are more concerned about having a tie on than we are concerned about being touched by Him. We worry about covering about heads but don’t care about having our hearts covered with His Presence. Our Pentecostalism has turned into a legal death trap. Instead of being a life giving fountain of glorious love we have turned it into a list of rules and regulation that makes us wonder if we are even saved.

Who will have the courage to step out of that and become the glorious witness of His Spirit that we are intended to be? The city set on a hill that cannot be hidden is a city that explodes with the Light and the Love of Jesus. That is the city that the nations will run to. They are not going to run to a list of rules and regulations, they are already condemned, they are already living in death, they are already burdened with guilt and fear, they don’t have to come to Christ to experience more of it. They need to come to Christ to be freed from the pain and the suffering that the world has put on them. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free and we should not come under again a yoke of bondage. Most of this nation as all of you know lives in incredible darkness there are only a few flickers of light, you are part of that light. God wants to take you out of your box

, free you from the bondage of religion so you can become the beacon of glorious light that the nation will run to. If the nation is not running to our light there are only two reasons why:

1. The gospel is not true; the bible is not true. When the prophet said the nations will run to your light, that is simply not true…OR…

1. We are not the light that we think we are.

I wonder which one it is? See, if we always do what we have always done we will always be what we have always been and what we have been is not working. I am sorry to say this to you. I love you but I say this to you because I can see the plan of God in your heart. I can see His love for you. I don’t have to give you anything you already have Him in your heart. I just want to pop the corks so the spiritual champagne can fizz out all over the nation. But it will take courage and it will take honesty and it will take persistence. Courage to change what needs to be changed. Courage to risk being something different. Courage to attempt things that have never been done and to hear things that you have never heard. It will take courage to see things you have never seen and it will take honesty to admit that ‘yes, I am not the light that I know I should be. Yes I have to change. Honesty to know there is something more than I am experiencing. And it will take persistence everyday you wake up and your confession is simple, His Mercies are new every morning, this is a new day, this is a new day to serve Him. Whatever I did yesterday the Lord forgives me. Today I am free; today I will serve the Lord. But many of us wake up with fear; many of us wake up with great uncertainty. There is a prayer that a friend of mine used to pray, he would say this to the Lord, “Lord today I am doing pretty good so far I have not been angry with anybody. So far I have not committed any sin, I have not raised my voice to my children, I have not cheated. I have not lied, today I have done pretty good but in a few minutes I am going to get out of bed and things are going to get tough so help me.” That is not the way to start the day. We start the day with, “His Mercies are new…” Do you know how His Mercies are new every morning? Because we live in repentance when we fail we repent. We don’t blame the boss; we don’t blame the police or the government. We don’t blame our wife or the dog. We blame ourselves and we repent and when we repent our slate is wiped clean it is as though we have never sinned. He takes away the guilt so we can go on and serve Him. His Mercies are new every morning when we remember to live in repentance the day before.

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