The Government Shall Be Upon His Shoulders

Ho Saints,

 

 

Remember the text in Isaiah 9:6-7; 6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever.  NKJV 

 

 

As long as I have been alive the focus has been on the bad news and not the good, this is true with news from Christians as well secular news outlets.  There is a lot of good news to share both in the realm of Christianity and in the secular realm.  Here are a couple of examples of Good news:

 

 

Example 1. My friend Harold Eberle shared with me that the rate of people being saved now exceeds the birth rate.  This means that with each and every day there are less and less people who are not born again.  The effect of the Gospel wherever it is preached is to bring life and prosperity and this truth is being noticed even by those outside Christianity.  

Example 2. There is a video you can watch on You Tube that clearly demonstrates the progress of humanity in the last 200 years. I do not believe that it is merely coincidental that where Christ is preached the world improves. It is also true that where the church ceases to declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ, substituting a gospel of false religion in its place the health and welfare of that places begins to slow down and ultimately it will recede if revival doesn't come. Watch The Video by clicking the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo 

Isaiah the prophet was right.  The Government is upon his shoulder.  For 2000 years the stone cut out of a mountain without hands has been crushing the kingdoms of men while at the same time establishing HIS own Kingdom (Dan 2:27-45).  Every Born Again Believer carries within him the Kingdom of God (Lk 17:20-21) The numbers of born again believers have increased exponentially across the face of the earth. The Kingdom of God is expanding and the Government is upon HIS shoulders.  As a minister of the Gospel who has been a Pastor for over 30 years I can say to you with certainty that in most churches the Government is not upon his shoulders. It is upon the shoulders of those who lead with their own understanding on by being led by the Anointed One, Jesus the Christ. They are too busy doing things for HIM that they have missed out on His invitation to do things with HIM.  The end result is that HIS Holy Spirit is given very little room to do HIS will in the saints within the Church. I know their have been times when the saints have messed up in the name of God, but the answer to that is to deal with the individual who made the mess, not to make rules that prohibit the moving of the spirit in others.

Right now the Holy Spirit is brooding over the waters of the church and He is calling out to all who are in leadership and beckoning them to come and ride on the wings of HIS Wind. It is time for Jesus’ words spoken to Nicodemus in John 3:8 to be fulfilled in the lives of all the saints - The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." NKJV

The Government shall be upon HIS shoulders, the saints are going to be governed by the Lord. They are going to ride on the wings of the Holy Spirit winds led by God, leaning not on their own understanding, Consider this passage in Zechariah 10:2-5. “… the people wend their way like sheep; They are in trouble because there is no shepherd. 3 "My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the goatherds. For the Lord of hosts will visit His flock, The house of Judah, And will make them as His royal horse in the battle. 4 From him comes the cornerstone, From him the tent peg, From him the battle bow, From him every ruler together. 5 They shall be like mighty men, Who tread down their enemies In the mire of the streets in the battle. They shall fight because the Lord is with them…” NKJV

A mighty church is about to arise, they will not arise as lost sheep who need a shepherd they will arise as HIS Royal Horse in the battle.  Yee Haw! Even so come Lord Jesus!

Catching up on Christmas Posts from Isaiah 9

Ho Saints;

Wow, I got hit with a cold virus right before Christmas I am just now coming out the other side.  I am going to complete the Christmas Posts today and hopefully get a final post giving an overview of 2010 and what it has meant to me and others who are connected to Cornerstone Church.

Blessings,

Api Dale

Unto us a Son is given

Ho Saints, 

Don't you just love the Christ Mass (ie Christmas) season.  All over the world minds are turned to the birth of Jesus Christ some for good and some for other reasons.  But even in the latter we can rejoice, for no one can consider Him without being impacted by Him.  I choose not to worry about all that is wrong with Christmas, and there is plenty.  I choose to celebrate what is right wherever I can find it! I am not God, it is not my job to argue with those who think differently.  Why would light even want to argue with darkness?  I will do my best to shine and let the darkness deal with it.  I am the light of the world and so is every believer who chooses to walk in the light.  (Mt 5:14) I will let my light shine and I pray you will too.

 

Thanks for letting me get that out of my system.  Now on to the topic of the day.

 

Unto us a Son is given  (Is 9:6)-- “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (Jn 3:16-17) 

 

Here is more good news about the message of Christmas, "Unto us a Son is given..." and Oh what a Son He is - the Son of God sent into the world to redeem the world. Why did our heavenly Father send His one and only son into the world?  So the WORLD will be saved.  Think about it - Not a few here and a few there, not a small fraction of humanity, but rather the world. 

 

 

In order to accurately say the world is saved there would have to be a majority of mankind saved.  I believe it will be way more than a simple majority, I believe billions of souls will be saved and then the end will come. I used to believe that we were doomed to watch the world slip deeper and deeper into darkness until at the very last minute, just in the nick of time, Jesus would come and rapture us out of the whole mess leaving behind everyone else to the nightmarish rule of the Anti-Christ.  I no longer believe this.  I do believe in the soon coming of Jesus Christ but I also believe there is a great revival that will precede His coming.  He is coming back for a multitude, Jesus died to save the world not a chosen few (see Lk 14:16-24).  As a careful student of scripture I can tell you without hesitation that this great end time revival is clearly stated in scripture, both Old and New Testaments. Someone might say, “but what about the great falling away.”  Church history clearly records a great falling away that engulfed all of Christendom for over 1000 years.  During this millennium of time there was very little light shining anywhere for the gospel of Jesus Christ. The great falling away has already happened!

 

Good New!  In the late 1800's our heavenly Father began pouring out His Spirit on all flesh once again.  Since then He has continued to do so with greater and greater frequency.  I believe there is about to be an outpouring of His Spirit that will be at least twice as powerful as Pentecost.  This outpouring of the Holy Spirit is spoken of throughout scripture.  It is often called "The Latter Rain" and coincides with the prophesied last days feast of Tabernacles.  This outpouring will result in a worldwide revival that will change the world.  Revival is coming to your town!  Revival will sweep across the face of the whole earth.  Many of you will see this in your lifetime. 1 Peter 1:5 says there is a Salvation ready to be revealed in the Last Time. 

 

Unto us a Son is given.  For what purpose was He given? Please consider the following scriptures:

1 John 3:8 For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. NKJV (What was the first work of the devil on earth?  He stole from Adam the authority and control over the earth that God had given him. Thus making all mankind his slaves. Jesus destroyed this work and restored dominion over the world to Himself.

Hebrews 2:14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, NKJV

Colossians 2:15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. NKJV

John 12:31-32 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples  to Myself." NKJV  Was Jesus right is the ruler of this world being cast out? Is He drawing all peoples to Himself?

1 John 2:2 … He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. NKJV

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. NASU

WOW!  God was in Christ RECONCILING “THE WORLD” to Himself and He's NOT COUNTING THE WORLD'S SINS AGAINST THEM! He is not keeping track of reasons why He should destroy the world because he is going to save it! This is the ministry of reconciliation - This is the Gospel!

I close this post with the same scripture I opened with:

“John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” Selah!

Unto us a child is born

Ho Saints!
For about a week I have repeatedly heard in my spirit, "Unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given;" as many of you will know, this is from the prophet Isaiah.

The complete text in Isaiah reads:  "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." (Isaiah 9:6-7  NKJV)

As we count down to Christmas it will benefit us greatly to remember and muse on the simple truth that 2000 years ago a Child, Jesus of Nazareth, was born surrounded by mysterious circumstances.  There are few who deny his actual existence. More than one religion claims him as a prophet of their own.  The fact that “unto us a Child is born,” Jesus of Nazareth is rarely disputed.  The glaring lack of dispute is a resounding testimony that He was born in Bethlehem, born of a virgin, surrounded by supernatural events, observed by kings, nobles, commoners, and paupers.

There are over 40 detailed prophecies concerning the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ (Messiah). All of these prophecies were written over 400 years before Jesus’ birth.  Pause for a moment and think back 400 years what was happening in your nation, in the world. It is impossible to predict the life of a child the day he is born, let alone 400 years or more into the future. The only way anyone could do it is if they transcend time.  It was God our heavenly Father that spoke through the mouths of His prophets foretelling events that would surely come.  God chose to send his only son into this world as an infant, totally helpless, totally dependent on His heavenly Father to watch over him.  But that is not where the risk was, our heavenly Father sent his son into the world a man child born with the natural needs and desires of man and born with the freedom to chose his own way.  Where the first man child (Adam) failed, heavenly Father knew that this man child (Jesus) would not fail. Our heavenly Father declared this way in advance by Isaiah saying; “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. 15 Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. (Isaiah 7:14-15 NKJV)

Tomorrow I want to share with you more about this amazing event, this divine intrusion into earth. But for today please allow me to leave you with the words of a song that captures some of where I am going with this:

WHAT CHILD IS THIS?

 

 

What child is this who laid to rest
On Mary's lap is sleeping
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While shepherds watch are keeping

This, this is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
Haste, haste to bring him laud
The babe, the son of Mary

Why lies he in such mean estate
Where ox and ass are feeding
Good Christian fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading

So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh
Come peasant king to own Him
The King of kings, salvation brings
Let loving hearts enthrone Him

This, this is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
Haste, haste to bring him laud
The babe, the son of Mary

The first Apilog

Ho there saints,
This is my first apilog.  It is my prayer that many will be blessed by the posts that they find here.  I have been in ministery since 1976 and have experienced and learned many things along the way.  It is my intention to share those things with all who are interested.  I will be sharing things both new and old in keeping with what Jesus said in Matthew 13:52 "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."
My desire is to help remove the heavy yoke of false religious ideas that keep the Sons and Daughters of God, oppressed under laws and rules which Jesus never intended for them.  His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Mt 11:30).  His yoke is the the yoke of loving God and we bear the yoke of His love by being in a loving relationship with our heavenly Father.  When God created man he did not create slaves or servants he created sons and daughters (see Lk 3:38)  This is our heritage and continueing destiny.
I will share much more about this in the days which lay ahead.  I pray that you will join me as we journey into understanding our amazing relationship with a loving God.
Api Dale