A Prayer for You

Dear friends,
Another year is coming to an end. It has been a somewhat challenging year for many of us. There are many who are hurting and discouraged. Looking ahead to the new year there are so many negative possibilities that it is easy to get under the circumstances. The psalmist asked the question, "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" The next verse says,"The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven." God has not moved; He has not abdicated. He is not wringing His hands or fretting over the condition of our economy. He is perfectly secure in who He is. Yes, there is a great shaking going on and it appears the foundations of those things we have held fast are being shaken. Remember, we are citizens, not of this world, but of a kingdom which cannot be shaken. The King of this unshakeable kingdom has said that it is the Father's good pleasure to give us this kingdom. Be encouraged today, the Lord is on His throne and nothing escapes His notice. He loves you and His plans have not changed. He is not making it up as we go along. He knows the beginning and the end.

Do not give up! It is a time for war. The Kingdom is an ever advancing kingdom, but it does not advance without resistance. May your resolve be strengthened to push through, though the pressure may seem unrelenting at times. It is a kingdom that is worth everything. The most important thing you can do in preparing yourself for the battle is to spend time with the King. Refreshing comes from the presence of the King.

Know this, God loves you. There is nothing that can separate you from His love. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. You are not forsaken. The Lord is near.

I wanted to send out a Merry Christmas to you, but as I wrote I felt impressed to pray this prayer for you:

I pray that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height--to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. In the Name of Jesus.
Amen prayer taken from Ephesians 3:16-21

Thank you for your friendship. May you have a Christ-filled Christmas and may the ever advancing kingdom be revealed in you and in this earth as it is in heaven in the year of our Lord 2011.

In His love,
Herb Dean

From: rborvitae5@aol.comTo: rborvitae5@aol.comSent: 12/14/2010 11:49:56 A.M. Eastern Standard TimeSubj: Kingdom Keys: Joy to the world! The Lord is come.
Dear friends,
I pray that things are well with you. In years past I have written some thoughts concerning Christ's birth and today I'd like to remind you of some things that I believe will encourage you.
Years ago as I heard the Christmas story being read, the Lord dropped something my spirit. In the part in Luke 2 where it speaks of the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night and then the glory of the Lord shown round about them. The Lord spoke these words in my spirit,"The shepherds who are faithful in the darkness of night are the ones to whom I will reveal My glory." Be encouraged you faithful shepherds. I hear the words from Isaiah 60. "Arise shine for the light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you, for out of deep darkness there has shone a great light." God is faithful; don't give up.
God gave me a revelation of His sovereignty one Christmas as I pondered the Christmas story. I thought about a very much pregnant woman and her espoused husband making a seventy mile journey on foot to be counted for the purpose of taxation. God used a tax notice and a pagan emperor to position Joseph and Mary for the fulfillment of prophecy.He used external circumstances to position them for blessing. He used a pagan emperor to have the Bread of Life born in the "house of bread as prophesied." It may well be that the difficult circumstances you find yourselves in are positioning you for blessing. God is able to bring redemption out of everything that comes in our lives.
A couple of years ago, I did a study on the wise men. It was very revealing. God revealed Himself to these men in powerful ways. I am sure that you have probably seen the statement on church signs,"wise men still seek Him." It was true then and true now. As I thought about writing this morning, this verse came to mind,"And I will be found by you when you search for Me with all your heart."
I pray that during this season with all hustle and bustle, that you will make time to worship Him. I know some believe that the Christmas celebration has pagan roots. I respect that, but every day is His day and I choose to celebrate the fact that God so loved the the world that He gave His only begotten Son. He may not have come on December 25th, but praise God! He came. Joy to the world! the Lord is come.
I hope these little reminders were an encouragement to you. I pray that you will receive a greater and greater revelation ofm who Christ is to you, in you, and His life through you. May you have a wonderful season of celebration and a new year of hope, expectation, and prosperity; body, soul, and spirit.
In His love,
Herb Dean

In Everything Give Thanks

Dear friends,
I pray that things are well with you. Some of you have asked why you haven't received anything from me in a while. I haven't posted a "Kingdom Keys" since June. I feel I should share one of the reasons, because I do covet your prayers. A few months ago I began having severe blood pressure spikes at night and some heart irregularities. I won't go into all the details, but for the last seven or eight months I have been very tired. It is not an accident that I had just given a word to our church about God renewing the strength of His people. When we make a declaration we become a target. In 1 Timothy 1:18 Paul exhorts Timothy to wage the good warfare with the prophecies concerning him. I confess I have not warred as much as I should. Also, a word from the Lord tests the soil. (Psalms 105:19-22; Matthew 13:4-9) In Luke 8:15, it is those who hear the word and keep it that bear fruit. I believe the waiting on the Lord in Is. 40:31 speaks of great intimacy and oneness with the Lord. The primary root of the Hebrew word means "to bind together" perhaps by twisting. Think of it, bound together with Christ, entwined in Him, the three fold cord that is not easily broken. You can't move unless He does. For me part of this struggle is a call to a renewed intimacy with Him. I believe God will renew my strength. I believe there is some travel I'm to do, and that the latter end of the ministry to which God has entrusted me will be greater than the former. I would like to ask you to war with me if you feel so led. It may be that you are going through a trial in your life. I would be honored to pray for you and with you. I have a brief thought I'd like to share in keeping with the season and I hope it will be an encouragement to you.

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thess. 5:18

I have often heard people debate whether this verse means to be thankful for everything, every circumstance that comes in our life or just be thankful to God in the circumstance. I must confess that I don't know enough about the Greek construct to definitively answer the argument. I have looked at it in various and sundry ways. In my personal experience I have thanked God for what He would He would show me in or the redemptive purpose He would bring out of the circumstance. It was in one of those times He spoke as clearly to me as I have ever heard Him.

Back in 1981, I was going through financial difficulties.God used the area of finances to get my attention. I had surrendered to the call of the ministry and felt great peace about God's purpose and direction for my life, but I still was in a financial hole. I had been writing checks on money I didn't have knowing they would debit my Mastercard. One Friday, I went to my box and found three bounced checks. I panicked. I called the bank and the Mastercard people and finally got things straightened out. Over the next two weeks the Lord was doing so much in my life when it happened again I had a different response to the situation. It was a Saturday and I couldn't do anything until Monday. We were having a big lay witness revival at our church that weekend and I was not going to let it steal my joy. I went home and knelt beside my chair. I prayed, "Lord I know there is something You are showing me through this situation and I thank You for what You are showing me. I have never heard the audible voice of the Lord, but His voice so resonated in my spirit that it could not have been any clearer if it were audible. He led me to take the Mastercard out of my wallet and look at it. As I looked at it, He said, "Herb, where is your trust? Is it in Me or that little plastic card?" I was deeply convicted and cut it up. That was the beginning of my financial healing as I purposed to operate on a cash basis.

I have thanked God in advance for my deliverance in the situation and I have for a season even thanked Him for situations. I cited the verse above one time while preaching and encouraged people to thank God for the circumstance. A guy on the first row tried to correct me. Then I read Ephesians 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He couldn't say anything about that one. I don't like trials and have had difficulty thanking God in some difficult circumstances. If I really believe Romans 8:28,29, then I know that God will bring good (redemptive purpose) out of everything that comes into my life. He didn't say He necessarily caused the circumstance, but promised He would bring good out of it. So, if I am in difficult circumstances, whether I am thankful for the circumstance or not, I can thank God that He will bring good out of it.

I have heard the different sides of this debate and I know I am not providing a definitive answer, but there is one thing I can say of a surety, it is God's will that we give thanks, that we live lives of thanksgiving. I had this thought some time back, "Gratefulness leads to great fullness." Are you not blessed when your children express gratitude to you. Gratitude blesses the Father. Let us live with an attitude of gratitude. In a few days we will celebrate the wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving. That is great to set aside a day to be thankful, but to us who are in Christ, every day is a day of thanksgiving. "Thanks be unto God for His indescribable gift! 2 Cor. 9:15 He has given us a future and an unshakeable hope.

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Hebrews 13:15

I pray that you will have a wonderful Thanksgiving and that your hearts would abound with thanksgiving throughout the year. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement.
Blessings,
Herb Dean

The Glory of the Latter House will be Greater than the Former

"The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. "And in this place I will give peace," says the Lord of hosts. Haggai 2:9

As in times past we have talked about the glory of the latter house exceeding the former and that the shaking preceded the glory of the latter house. If we cross reference verse 6 in Haggai with Hebrews 12:26,27, the shaking precedes the revelation of His unshakeable kingdom. The former house was Solomon's temple, but the latter house is the saints of God.

You are the temple. Look at what the scriptures have to say.
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 1Cor. 6:19

And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God.
2Cor.16:16

Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:20-22

The former temple referred to in Haggai was Solomon's temple which was considered one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. It was an unbelievable structure and in terms of today's money it was estimated to be valued at 5 billion dollars a number of years ago, so I am sure that figure has gone up. It was glorious. During the time of Ezra when the temple was being rebuilt, the elders wept remembering the former glory of the temple. So when God says the latter glory will be greater than the former, He was not speaking of physical value; He was speaking of the Spirit. As I was pondering this I thought of Moses on the mountain receiving the law. When he came down his face glowed and he put a veil over his face to cover the fading glory. The scripture goes on to say if that which was passing away was glorious then how much more glorious would be the ministry of the Spirit.

If we look at the temple in the old testament as a type of us, we can make some interesting and I believe applicable observations. In Ezekiel 47 we see the water from under the threshold of the temple becoming a huge body of life giving water. He who believes in Me as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. John 7:38 Also at the dedication of Solomon's temple there were the 120 trumpeters who blew in unison and the shekinah glory of God filled the temple so that the priests were not able to stand in the flesh to minister. Sounds kind of like Pentecost with 120 in one accord in the upper room and when they were filled they ministered by the Spirit.

Jesus said that He had given us the glory that the Father had given Him, so that we might be one. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of glory and He has been given to us to be in us and upon us for empowering us to
"re-present" Jesus. We are called to be carriers of His presence. Even as the ark of God was to be carried upon sanctified shoulders, the presence of God is to be carried by the sanctified (saints). Collectively we are the temple and individually we are temples of the Holy Spirit. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit and the glory revealed in you is the glory of the Father via the Son. You are the latter house.

We have spoken in times past of the shaking and surely there is a shaking in many of our lives right now. If you are one of those being shaken, you can be encouraged in the fact that the shaking preceded a greater revelation of His glory and the receiving of an unshakeable kingdom. I pray you will be encouraged today by the Lord's presence.

Don't Stop at the End of the Chapter

Dear friend,
I hope you are well. I've been thinking about how awesome the scriptures are and it seems that the more the Lord reveals to me, there is the realization that there is so much more. There was a time in my early Christian walk when I read the Bible because that was what I was supposed to do. I would read my assignment, rarely getting anything out of it. The chapters and verses formed the boundaries of what I was to read. As I have grown in my walk with the Lord and I have seen the personal application for my life and the beauty of God's truths interwoven together, the scriptures have become precious to me. Jesus said ,"My words are spirit and they are life." In the original texts there were no chapter and verse breaks and so if you stop at the end of a chapter you may miss something important. There are several chapters in the writings of Paul that begin with the word "therefore" and we have to look in the previous chapter to see what it was "there for". There is a harmony and flow to the scriptures and sometimes chapter breaks interrupt that flow. I want to give you three examples today that I believe will encourage you. I know they did me.

Then He said unto His disciples," The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." Matthew 9:37,38

Just as a side note, I spent many years praying for the harvest when one day an Evangelism Explosion instructor made the statement that Jesus didn't tell us to pray for the harvest.He said that the harvest is already out there, so pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers. That changed my way of thinking.
That was The end of chapter nine, so what does Jesus do in chapter ten? He instructs them, gives them authority, and sends them out. Jesus is the Lord of the harvest and He is the one who sends laborers into the field. Paul said in Romans 10, "and how shall they hear except someone preach and how shall they preach except they be sent?" In chapter 9 he says to pray for laborers to be sent and in chapter 10, He sends them.


When the rich young ruler walked away from Jesus very sorrowful. Jesus made the statement," How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Luke 18:24, 25
Those who heard it probably equated riches with the blessing of God and asked, "Who then can be saved?" But He said, " The things that are impossible with men are possible with God." Luke 18:26,27 Now some have said Jesus was referring to small gates in the wall that a camel had to kneel to go through, but I heard a minister from Egypt say Jesus wasn't talking about a gate; He was talking about a sewing needle. That would definitely be an impossibility, but all things are possible with God. So in chapter 18, a rich man getting saved was an impossibility, but look in the very next chapter. Now behold there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Luke 19:2 Zacchaeus opened his home to Jesus and pledged to give half his goods to the poor and restore fourfold that which he had taken wrongfully. And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. Luke 19:9 So we see the impossibility of a rich man getting saved in chapter 18 and in chapter 19 we see God saving a rich man. That which is impossible with men is possible with God. That old camel just slipped right through that needle eye.

Let's look at the third example and there are probably many others. I can think of some others; many you can probably do so as well, but this was the most recent. I didn't get this directly from the Lord, but by way of another of His servants and it really blessed me. I could spend a lot of time here, but most of you know the story, so I'll briefly summarize it. When Jesus first went to the country of the Gadarenes he encountered a highly demonized man that we call the Gadarene demoniac. He was incorrigible. He had super human demonic strength. He fell at Jesus feet. You know the passage well; it is in Mark chapter five. Jesus cast this legion of demons out permitting them to go into the pigs and the pigs ran down and drowned in the sea. The people who took care of the swine went into the city and country and spread the word about what had happened. The people came to see and saw the one who had been demon-possessed clothed and in his right mind and they were fearful. The eyewitnesses gave their account and the Gadarenes asked Jesus to leave. Jesus is not inclined to stay where He's not wanted and when he gets in the boat to leave, this man begged Jesus that he might stay with Him. Jesus , However, did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how he has had compassion on you." And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him and all marveled." Mark 5:19,20 The Gadarene demoniac had now become the Gadarene evangelist.

That is so awesome, but that was not the end of the story. Jesus crossed over a second time. We can't be sure that it was the exact same place, but it was probably the same region. And when they had crossed over, they came to the land Gennesaret and anchored there. And immediately when they came out of the boat, the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was. Mark 6:53-55. If indeed it was the same region then we might ask, what made the difference in their response? I would like to believe that it was the testimony of one man who had been touched by Jesus. He wanted to go with Jesus, but he was sent to declare the good news.

You know it's nice to read the Bible through in a year or have a regular Bible reading, but it can become law or a work of the flesh apart from the Spirit. We would do better to meditate and read slowly asking the Lord to give revelation, and wisdom to understand and appropriate His truth. His words are spirit and life. Don't let a chapter or verse become your boundary, but flow with author. There are golden nuggets which can only be panned from the river of Life. Be encouraged today my friend, the chapters of our lives are still being written and that which you are experiencing now is but preparation for something yet to be written. Hope is an earnest expectation of a desired end.
Blessings,
Herb Dean

That I May Know Him

That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death... Philippians 3:10

This was a prayer I prayed for myself and it is a prayer our Lord delights to answer. As a pastor there were any number of times I had been misunderstood, rejected, disappointed, and used. Hurts and wounds along the way made me sometimes wonder, "How many times can you have your heart ripped out and still function?" It occurred to me one day as I was considering some things that had happened that God was answering my prayer.

There is an old gospel song that says, "Jesus knows your hurts; Jesus feels your pain." When we pray to know the fellowship of His suffering are we not asking to enter into and identify with His pain. It is the natural order that the power of the resurrection follows the fellowship of His suffering. He suffered and was crucified and then He was resurrected. In a very real sense we have been crucified with Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. If in Him we died, then with Him we are resurrected. This is established fact; it is a done deal, but Paul in his writing is speaking of something he is aspiring to, looking to attain.

That we may know Him is that desire for an ever increasing revelation of who He is, having an intimacy beyond human relationship. It will take eternity to experience and see the unfolding of who God is. I agree with Jonathan Edwards that heaven will be a continuing revelation of the awesomeness of our God. My vocabulary is not adequate to describe what I know of Him now. Paul surely knew Him as well as any one in scripture yet he was setting as His goal to know Him. We want to experience that knowing that continually changes and conforms us to His image.

Knowing the power of His resurrection was Paul's objective that he might attain to the resurrection in His own body. We have been resurrected, but we shall be resurrected. We have resurrection life dwelling in us in the person of the Holy Spirit. See Romans 8:11 We want the power, but we don't want the suffering. The suffering came before the resurrection. I believe an essential key to walking in the power of the resurrection is the putting to death of the flesh. Isn't interesting that the first place the Spirit led Jesus, after He came upon Him, was the wilderness where He was tempted 40 days of the devil. Scripture then says Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. To know His power there must first be a death that takes place.

So what about the fellowship of His sufferings? Once again Paul, just as we have been, was baptized into Christ's death, so there must be more to the knowing of it than our spiritual position. Some of you have suffered persecution. Some of you have experienced rejection. Probably all of us have known the pain of disappointment. If we are experiencing these things for Jesus sake and His righteousness we are entering into or having communion with His sufferings. Jesus does know our hurts; He does know our pain. Look at just a small portion of the sufferings of Christ.

Rejection: 1) He came unto His own and His own received Him not.
2) After His discourse on bread from heaven where He spoke of them eating His flesh
and drinking His blood, all but the twelve left Him.
3) The rich young ruler ,whom Jesus loved, chose his riches rather than Christ.
4) From eternity past to that moment in time when Jesus took upon Himself our sin and
felt separation from the Father.
Betrayal: 1) Judas turned Jesus in for thirty pieces of silver.
2) Peter, one of the intimate three denied the Lord three times.
3) They all fled for their lives when He was taken captive.
Pain: There was both the physical pain and emotional pain of the beatings, the mocking, and
shame Christ endured on our behalf.

I think often about the Last Supper and how Jesus demonstrated servant leadership. I think about when He came to Judas and knowing fully well that very night Judas would turn Him over to authorities, He washed Judas' feet. He was serving and showing kindness to his betrayer. Later, He would suffer unbelievable abuse on behalf of not only you and me, but the ones who put Him to death. He died for the one who held the whip, the one who hammered the nails. There is key to how Jesus could so freely give of Himself in John 13.

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, rose from supper, and laid aside His garments: and taking a towel, He girded Himself about. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples's feet... John 13:3-5

Jesus knew what He'd been given and He knew where He was from and He knew where He was going. How about you? Do you know you been made to be joint heirs with Christ and that He gave you authority and that your ultimate end is with Him? Do you know you have been born of God and you will go to God? If you know who you are, you can be a servant, even to those who would betray you. You can bless those who curse you and pray for those who despitefully use you.

But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation. I you are reviled for the sake of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit and glory of God rests upon you. 1Peter 4:13-14

After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10

I can pray with confidence that if I want to know the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, He will answer and not necessarily in that order. The answer might not always be pleasant, but it will have a good work. May Christ give you an ever increasing revelation of Himself.
Amen

The Fear of the Lord is Clean

Dear friends,
I pray that you are well. I have been preaching through the book of Acts and it has been very eye-opening. I have been in chapter 5 for three weeks now and in dealing with the passage on Ananias and Sapphira it became increasingly apparent that in the 21st century church we have lost the fear of the Lord. I want to talk a little about that today. As always I pray this will be a blessing to you.

Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. Acts 5:10,11

Can you imagine, one of those young men goes home and tells his family, "We had an exciting time at church today, two people dropped dead!" I am not sure what that might do to the next weeks attendance.
Was that fear a good thing or a bad thing? Look at the following scriptures with the understanding that there were no chapter or verse breaks in the original. What do we see in verses 12 through 16?
1. Many signs and wonders were done among the people by the apostles.
2. They were all in one accord.
3. Even those who did not join the church had great esteem for them.
4. Multitudes were saved.
5. All the sick and demonically tormented that were brought to them were healed.

I'd like to add a few thoughts on what we see there. Years ago I heard a couple of preachers speak of a coming revival which would come in four stages. The four stages were:
1) Intimacy
2) Purity
3) Unity
4) Power
I believe these stages were evident here and that the fear of the Lord is the catalyst in each of these stages.They were in one accord. In the verse used for the title, the fear of the Lord is clean, the word clean in Hebrew means pure, clean, purified, unalloyed. We cannot have unity without purity of heart, purity of motives. Do we dare assemble in the presence of a holy God with impure motives in our heart. Tradition says a rope was tied around the ankle of the priest so He could be dragged out if he died in the Holy of Holies.
Intimacy and purity are closely related. How can I get close to God if I refuse to walk in purity.
The psalmist asks in Psalms 15, "Lord who may abide in Your holy tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?" Again, he says in Psalms 24,"Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He that has clean hands and a pure heart...."

It seems that David's greatest fear in his psalm of contrition, Psalms 51, was losing the Lord's presence."Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Psalms 51:11. It seems to me that one of the facets of the fear of the Lord is fear of losing intimacy with Him. I am thankful, that I can come boldly before His throne and receive mercy and find grace in my time of need and if I confess my sin He is faithful and just to forgive my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. We have a loving and forgiving Father who is approachable, full of mercy and grace, but He is holy. Where sin abounds grace does much more abound, so what shall we say then, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid! How can we who are dead to sin live any longer therein? Can we continue in sin and it not affect our relationship with the Father? I think not. We reject grace if we continue to sin. Consider this for example, unforgiveness is rejecting God's grace. Jesus clearly states if we do not forgive, we'll not be forgiven. To harbor unforgiveness is to reject grace and the fear of the Lord.

Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit...? ......you have not lied to men but to God. Acts 5:3a;4b

It seems that Ananias had allowed the enemy place in his heart. The deception he devised could be categorized as the lust of the flesh and the boastful pride of life. He wanted the money and the praise of men as well. In his impure motives he lied to the Holy Spirit. We can quench the Spirit and we can grieve the Spirit. It grieves the Spirit to give anything else His place and to quench the Spirit is like crimping a water hose. the Spirit gives life, but any place we give to the enemy in our heart, he will work death in. I hate to say this but there are those who have quenched and grieved the Holy Spirit for so long that they are like Sampson when his hair was cut; he did not know the Lord had departed from him. There are many who are not walking in the fullness that God has for them. There are many in the church in whom the enemy is working death.

Friends, I say this in fear and trembling, but I feel I must say it. Much of the American church has lost the fear of the Lord. Notice that those who wouldn't dare join them had high esteem for them. It seems that our society has lost its esteem for the church. Over the last few years our church has been broken into many times, we have lost thousands of dollars from people stealing copper from our air conditioning units, and have often been vandalized. When I tell someone about it, they are stunned and often respond,"They'd do that to a church?". This is what I feel God is showing me about our society. Much of society does not esteem the church because the church has lost the fear of the Lord. What the church fails to teach and model before the world will not only be absent in the church, but its absence will be multiplied exponentially in society.

In Proverbs it says the fear of the Lord tendeth to life. Psalms 34 says the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. In both the Psalms and Proverbs it says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. There are many promises for those who walk in the fear of the Lord. the fear of the Lord is a reverential awe. The awesomeness of God brings terror to our flesh. I have come to see the fear of the Lord as not allowing anything that would in any way hinder my relationship with Him. The fear of the Lord is pure; it is clean and it positions me for His power to flow through me.

I believe that as we see God move again in the church, the days of Ananias and Sapphira will return. There will be intimacy, purity, unity, and power. We choose the fear of the Lord.

Be blessed,
Herb Dean

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Dear friends,
I pray you are well. I, as many of you, have a cry in my heart for revival in our nation. So what is revival? I really feel that revival comes as a result as a greater revelation of God's glory. The revelation of His glory reveals our lack thereof. I believe that is why the revivals of the past were marked with repentance and confession. I am convinced that what the church needs today is not more preaching and teaching and I am by no means lessening their importance. Too often there is a lack of understanding of the word and a lack of spiritual depth. Those are essentials, but what we really need in our churches today is a God encounter. Let's look at a few "close encounters of the divine kind."

Jacob- Jacob had a couple of God encounters. The first was through a dream after he had left home and was heading to Haran. The dream was of angels ascending and descending upon a ladder into heaven. It is interesting that Jesus said to Nathan that he would see angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. I can't help but believe that ladder represented Jesus who is our access to heaven and the Father. Jacob set up a pillar there, poured oil upon it, called the place Bethel (House of God) and made a vow unto the Lord. That was in Genesis 28. In Genesis 32 he wrestled with the Angel of the Lord believed to be the pre-incarnate Christ and he was changed. He received a name change from heel-grabber to Prince with God. A God encounter can change your name.

Job- Job was described as a blameless and upright man, and one who feared God and shunned evil. In His distress he refused to speak evil against God, but he held fast to his own righteousness. It seemed he had things figured out despite his friends' objections, when God showed up. After the Lord had challenged Job, this man among men could only admit that he spoke of things he knew not and finished his response with these words, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see You. Therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes." A God encounter will quickly expose any pride or self-righteousness.

Isaiah- Isaiah was an established prophet when in a sad and desperate time, he received a vision of the Lord. In Isaiah 6 we read of what he saw and heard. What was Isaiah's response to seeing God? "Woe is me, for I am undone! (ruined) Because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people with unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts. A God encounter revealed his iniquity. He was cleansed, commissioned, and sent.

Peter- Jesus got in his boat. They had already stopped fishing and were cleaning their nets.They had caught nothing. Jesus sat in the boat and taught the multitudes and after a while Jesus told them to launch out into the deep and let down their nets for a catch." Reluctantly they obeyed Him and when the haul was so great the boats were in danger of sinking, he didn't say, "Wow! Jesus how about joining up with us and be our fish finder." I think he realized at that point that Jesus was more than a teacher and he was broken before Him.
Luke 5:8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" Instead of Jesus departing, Peter would change his pursuit and become a fisher of men.

In looking at moves of God in the past, they may have manifested themselves in slightly different ways among different groups of people but the common factor in all of them was the manifest presence of God. The essence of His glory is His goodness. Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? Romans 2:4
It is not only the extension of His goodness to us, but also the revelation of His goodness that reveals man's lack thereof. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 Lord, we ask for a greater revelation of your glory in Your church and this earth. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength

Dear friends,
I pray that you are well in body, soul, and spirit. In meditating and praying this morning I was reminded of this sentence: The joy of the Lord is my strength. What does this mean to you? I can remember many years ago singing the little chorus whose only lines were this sentence. I had a pastor once who chided the congregation with "If you have the joy of the Lord, you need to tell your face!" It's sad, but true that many of the faces in the church do not radiate the joy of the Lord. Do people want what you've got or are they afraid they'll catch what you've got? If you'll indulge me this morning I would like to share a few thoughts on joy.

The Joy of the Lord is your Strength.

Let's analyze this sentence for a moment. I've found it helpful to diagram it like we used to in fifth and sixth grade. "The" is an article modifying "joy". "Joy" is the subject. It means to rejoice and be glad." "Of the Lord" is a prepositional phrase modifying "joy". It tells whose joy it is. It is the Lord's joy. "Is" is a linking verb and in this case equates "joy" with "strength" which is a predicate nominative. That means the subject, joy, is equivalent to strength. "Your" is a possessive pronoun used as an adjective telling whose strength. So let me simplify it by writing it this way: The Lord's joy equals or is my strength. Strength in the Hebrew means "fortified place". Think about that. His joy is my place of security, safety, and protection.

The psalmist writes ,In thy presence there is fullness of joy and at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore." As I have said on a number of occasions that according to Paul that is our position. It may be that our condition doesn't always line up with our position, but it should increasingly do so. There is fullness of joy in His presence because the Lord is joyful. He is not up in heaven looking down with a fly swatter waiting for you to mess up. You are not a child of wrath; you are in Christ. If you are in Christ and Christ is joyful then how ought we to be?

As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

If Jesus' joy remains in you your joy is full. If we walk in sadness then it might be that our joy tank is empty. So how do we get our joy tanks filled? We might ask another question, "How is your love life?" This may be an over simplification, but the key to your joy tank being full is abiding and walking in His love. Some of you can relate to this. Think back to when you fell in love. Were your steps a little lighter, the skies a little brighter and an overflow of joy in your heart. Could it be that what had happened in the Ephesian church in Revelation that they lost their joy. As the old song goes they lost "that loving feeling." They were faithful, they were still doing the stuff, but Jesus said they had left their first love. Had they lost that passion of young love? Were they operating with empty joy tanks?

God has not called us to sadness, but to joy. When the birth of Jesus was announced the angels heralded, "We bring you glad tidings of great joy!" The kingdom of God is not eating or drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you look up the word wickedness in the Strong's you will find it is a very broad term and one of the definitions is actually prolonged sadness. There may be times when weeping endures for a night, but we are not to live there for extended periods of time.

Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies...Deut. 28:47,48a

They were cursed because they did not serve the Lord with joy. In the new covenant we have been delivered from the curse, but we still give the enemy access if we do not appropriate His provision. I know myself that there have been times when I allowed the weight of ministry to bring me low, and it was in those times that I took my eyes off the lover of my soul and focused on the problem. There was a season in my life that I lapsed into the idolatry of worshipping at the altars of disappointment. If our joy tank is empty we lose our protection. There was a season when I was extremely sensitive to my immune system. When I was full of joy in the Holy Spirit, I felt I could have walked through a den of disease, breathed diseased air or drink contaminated water and nothing would jump on me, because the Lord's joy was my fortified place. There were other times when I was angry, frustrated, or depressed that I felt my body's immunity was at the same level my joy tank was and I could feel my susceptibility. The enemy knows when to pounce.

Abide in His love and His joy will remain in us and our joy will be full. The Lord's joy is your place of safety. He loves you, so much.
Blessings,
Herb Dean

The God of Resurrection

Dear friends,
I pray you all had a glorious Resurrection Day and that you are experiencing His life in you. I'd like to share a word of encouragement with you this morning. We have all had dreams and visions that have died. Some are so dead that we may have given up any hope or possibility of them coming to pass. As I was praying in preparation for my message this past Sunday, I felt strongly impressed of the Lord that He was resurrecting dreams and visions in the lives of His servants. Is there a dream that you have had that has died. If so, this word may be for you. These words were quickened in my spirit, "Remember Joseph."

The dream of every Hebrew girl was to be a wife and mother. Barrenness was considered a curse and a shame. When Sarai married Abram, I am sure that having children was her dream and expectation. Many years passed. Her husband responded to the call of God and obediently followed God's direction away from the house of his father. Later Abram would enter into covenant with God and God changed his and Sarai's names. God gave Abraham great promises concerning his descendants when he as yet had no child.

When the promise tarried Sarah tried to bring the fulfillment of God's promise through her handmaiden, Hagar and indeed a child was born, but he (Ishmael) was a product of the flesh and would bring grief to her. Trying to fulfill's God's plan man's way reduces our faith to dead religion. Approximately 24 years after the promise of a son God visited them. When God reiterated His promise to them Sarah laughed within herself. She did not laugh out loud, but still God asked the question," Why did Sarah laugh?" He also asked another question, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" What is our answer to Him? Circumstantially speaking, they were old. Not only were they old, but Paul makes it pretty clear in Romans that medically speaking, child-bearing for them was an impossibility.

And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead since he was about a hundred years old and the deadness of Sarah's womb. Romans 4:19

It sounds like Abraham was impotent and Sarah had already gone through menopause. It was impossible for her to conceive, but God resurrected her womb and made Abraham alive as well. In fact, we know Abraham went on to father other children after Sarah was gone. Abraham was 100 and Sarah about 90 when Isaac was born. Look at what Sarah said when he was born: "God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me." Laughter was a sign of joy. In Psalms 126 it says: When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream. then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Sarah was joyful and when people heard about what God had done, it made them joyful, too.

I wish I could look back and see what Joseph must have been thinking at the different stops along the way. Did his faith waver when he was in a pit, probably hearing his brothers talking about killing him? Did his dream die when he was tied to a camel on the way to Egypt to be sold as a slave. What must he have thought as he was being auctioned off? What about when he was arrested and thrown in jail? What did he think after the butler forgot him and he languished in jail for another two years. I don't know what he was thinking, I only know how I may have responded. His dreams were dead, but at God's appointed time they were fulfilled. At God's set time Isaac was born. At David's worst moment, he was days from being king of Judah. I know I have shared these things before, but I believe there is a set time coming for many of you.
There are many concerned about our nation because we have forsaken God and they believe we are headed for bondage and judgement. They might ask," How can we be successful with things like they are?" Don't you find it encouraging that as slaves in the most powerful empires of their day that Joseph and Daniel both ascended to high levels of leadership in pagan cultures? We have a future and a hope. There is nothing too hard for the Lord.

Do you have God-given dreams that have died? Our God is the God of resurrection. Jesus said, "I am the Resurrection and the Life." Our hope is in Him. Is anything too hard for the Lord? For promotion comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south, but God is the judge; He puts down one and exalts another. Psalms 75:6,7
Be blessed,
Herb Dean

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

Love your Neighbor as Yourself

My friend said, "The Christian life is not that complicated; you just love God with all your being, love yourself, and love your neighbor." Something about the way he said it, did not ring true. I had never heard it said like that. For most of my life I had heard the verse love your neighbor as yourself, but truly I had never really thought about the fact that if I didn't love myself, then how could I love my neighbor? I have written about this before, but as I was listening to the Lord this morning I realized there are still areas of struggle in my life and I am sure I am not the only one.
In religious thinking we are taught to hate ourselves. We draw errant conclusions about who we are. We think self-deprecation is an act of humility. We constantly focus on our insufficiencies and think we are spiritual in our self-loathing. We beg and plead with God to make us something He says we already are. We set standards for ourselves and others that neither us nor them can achieve.

This morning, I felt the Lord was speaking to me and I felt this wrestling in my soul and spirit. The things I was hearing were things that God had said in the past and I had not seen them fulfilled. It was like the Lord was saying to me I am going to restore and fulfill dreams that I have given you in the past. My soulish thinking was, "Lord, I'm old"; "Lord, I don't have the strength or energy anymore"; "It's too late", etc. You get the idea. What I realized was deep down inside there were doubts that I was worthy of such a blessing. I'd rather be known as a man of faith and power for the hour, but I'm trying to be real here because someone needs to hear this. Let me express a few thoughts that came to mind this morning:

1. Self-deprecation is not humility. Tearing oneself down does not build you up. False humility is a coverup for pride. Humility is not weakness. It is the recognition that apart from Him we can do nothing.

2. Self-exaltation is not loving oneself. Exalting oneself is often a compensation for one's perceived lack or attitude about themselves. Pride is not loving oneself. That kind of love is destructive. God resists the proud. Pride goeth before a fall. Pride keeps us from grace.

3. If I don't know who I am, then I will be who I think myself to be. As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.

4. If I cannot receive myself then I cannot receive others.

5. Self-hatred and self-rejection leads to rejection by others. That which I project upon myself will be projected to others. Not only will I minister rejection, but in the principle of sowing and reaping, I will reap it in greater measure than I sow.

So what is loving oneself? It is not the "all about me" syndrome; it is the ability to receive myself as God has created me. Accepting myself just as I have been accepted in the beloved. If I can receive myself I can receive others. If I accept myself, I can accept others. What you see in the mirror does not determine your acceptance. It is the heart. Remember little David. God looks at the heart. Paul said that we regard no man according to the flesh.

I am having difficulty expressing what is on my heart today, but there is something I saw in my own life that I need to express. I saw that if I cannot receive myself; I cannot receive the promises of God. Unworthiness will keep you from receiving the blessing of the Lord. I know that apart from God none of us are worthy of God's blessing, but it is not about you; it is about the Father and the Father loves His children and desires to bless them. As parents, you know your children are not perfect, so do you choose to do them harm or do you desire to bless them?

Guilt, condemnation, self-hatred, rejection, and pride are very destructive forces in the lives of a Christian. They keep people from their potential in God. They keep you from God's best. Self-rejection rejects the grace of God.

So often people come to God like the man whose son was demonized and said to Jesus "If You can". God says that is not the right question. The leper came to Jesus and said "If you are willing You can make me clean." Jesus said, "I am willing, be cleansed." I know there are areas in my life that unwittingly by doubting God's ability to do it in me, I have said, "can you?" I must get past the question "Can?" and even the question of "Are You willing?" to the place of hearing Jesus say, "I am willing, be released into your destiny."

I am thankful for a Father who is infinitely patient with me and is still teaching me and bringing things to mind that I had forgotten. God loves you so much. Be blessed today.
In His love,
Herb Dean

You Shall be Called by a New Name

Dear friends,
I trust you are well. I have been teaching out of Acts for several months now and I haven't quite finished chapter 4. I was reading about the apostles giving Joseph a new name, Barnabas, which is often translated "son of encouragement or consolation". Bar means son and nabas means encouragement, consolation, or prophecy. I personally believe he was given that name because he was operating prophetically, but that's another message. I want to talk about name changes today. I believe this will encourage you.

You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will name. Isaiah 62:2b

Back in the 90's I heard that Paul Yongi Cho had changed his name to David because the Lord told him to. As has happened to me a few times over the years my religious perceptions were disturbed. I was familiar with the success of his ministry and that he was a man of prayer, but this just didn't seem right. Over the next few years I would discover that God was in the name changing business. In the mid nineties I heard Jack Taylor do a teaching on destiny names which impacted my life. Jack had first heard the teaching from a young man pastoring in Vermont, Jim Sneyder. I preached at a campmeeting sometime later with Jim and heard him do the teaching and God confirmed some things for me. You don't have to search the scriptures long to find that God changing one's name was not too uncommon. In Genesis we see Abram's name changed to Abraham, meaning "father of multitudes" and Sarai to Sarah meaning "princess".
Then we see Jacob wrestling with the angel of the Lord. Jacob refused to let go (even in great pain) until he was blessed.

And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said,"I will not let You go unless You bless me." So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob." And He said your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." Genesis 32:26-28

Jacob's name meant "heel grabber, supplanter" and the Lord changed his name to Israel meaning "the prince that prevails with God." God's names are prophetic; they speak to our destiny. God changed Abram's name to Abraham before Isaac was born. Our parents may have named us according to a name in the family, or a whim, or a name that was popular. I'm sure some people really pray and listen to God concerning their children's names, but that is probably the exception rather than the rule. In Hebrew culture children were usually named according to some circumstance regarding their birth or the time of their birth. I've come to believe that the most impactful name is not the name given at our birth, but the names and labels, put on us by those close to us, the world, and yes, even ourselves. Let me give you a few examples:
Some people wear the name "Rejected" like a banner. What does this name do? It just sets them up for further rejection. Some people have the name "Stupid", some "You never do anything right", "You'll never amount to anything". They really become ungodly mindsets that destroy your faith and your destiny in God.

In Isaiah 62 God is speaking to His people and telling them that He is changing their name. In the eyes of the world and even in their own eyes they had been named "Forsaken" and their country "Desolate". The Lord says I'm taking that name away and giving you the name Hephzibah, "The Lord delights in you" and your land will be called Beulah, "Married." The Lord delights in you and your country is His bride. He dances over you with joy. You know it is hard for so many to think that God feels that way about them. I just thought about Luke 10 where the 70 returned so excited because demons fled in the name of Jesus. In verse 21 it says, In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit.... The word rejoiced there is much more graphic in the Greek. It is the word, "agalliao" which means," To exult, leap for joy, to show one's joy by leaping and skipping denoting excessive or ecstatic joy and delight." He got excited and when you walk in truth He gets excited about you!

I believe the Lord wants to give some of you a new name today. It maybe that we have to recognize what we have been named so we can renounce it and receive our new name. I don't think the angel of the Lord , believed to be the preincarnate Christ didn't know what Jacob's name was. He came to ambush Jacob. The Lord is asking you, "What is your name?" He's not asking for Tim or Jim, but what is that name that's been put on you which keeps you from your destiny in God. Be honest. Renounce it and ask God for the name He wants to give you. Hephzibah, "my delight is in you". There is so much more we could say about names, labels, and ungodly beliefs, but I am sure you see what I am saying. God wants you to have a new name. He talks in Revelation about us being given a new name which no one know except to whom it is given. God is into names. His name represents His character and there is a name for you that speaks destiny and potential. Be blessed today.
In His love,
Herb Dean

Before they call, I will answer

Dear friends,
I pray you are well. God is calling us to war. There is a mighty prayer movement taking place across our nation. It is yet behind the scenes, but like the kingdom of God it is growing in scope and measure and the results will soon be evident. I want to encourage you today with some scriptures and a thought or two that the Lord is giving me.

It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking I will hear. Is. 65:24 God knows your prayer before you pray it.

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things we you do not know. Jer. 33:3

So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Luke 11:9 The verbs here are present imperative so ask and keep on asking.

If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. John 14:14

If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. John 15:7

And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 1 John 3:22

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. 1 John 5:14

Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and cast into the sea' and does not doubt in His heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive your trespasses. Mark11:22-25

We would all agree that those are wonderful promises, but we could probably agree as well that has not been our experience. Are there conditions to answered prayer? There are some things we see here in these scriptures directly or indirectly. I'll list the things I see.

1. We must ask. James said you have not because you ask not.
2. You must believe. I confess I have prayed many faithless prayers over the years and I have also found myself begging for things He has already given me.
3. Forgiveness. Unforgiveness is rejecting God's grace. I personally believe unforgiveness is the one of the most or possibly the most common reason for unanswered prayer.
4. Obedience
5. Persistence
6. Praying His will
7. Abiding in His word

You may say, I have walked in those things and I still don't see my prayers answered. It could be a matter of timing. It maybe that God is developing something in you and He knows the time for what you have asked is not yet.

What I am sensing in my heart is that there is a dynamic tension right now in the earth. Wickedness is being exposed; the assault of the enemy has intensified, yet the kingdom of God like the leaven in the lump is expanding and beginning to become more evident. There is a greater sense of God's presence and we are about to see many of the promises that God has given personally and corporately fulfilled. Prayers that have been prayed for years will be answered and you will begin to see answers to prayer that you have just prayed. There will be those that before they finish voicing their prayer, there will be a phone call revealing that the prayer has already been answered. There will be those who have prayed for a financial need and after praying they will find a check in the mailbox. The answer was dispatched before it was even voiced. There is coming a quick turn around in prayer. We are entering a season of acceleration and especially in the area of prayer.

Spring is a time when I usually clean out the gutters on my house. If the gutters get full of leaves and trash the water does not flow and it can cause leaks and water damage. I think of our spiritual lives that way that the heavenly conduit needs to be kept clean for the Spirit to flow. I believe the Lord is saying that it's time for spring cleaning, because there is the sound of the abundance of rain.

Be encouraged, our Father is attentive to our prayer and He will answer. He is always with us, He is not distant or aloof and He will answer our prayers. The psalmist said,"No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly." Be blessed of the Lord, my friend.
In His love,
Herb Dean

God is Our Refuge and Strength

Dear friends,
I pray that you are well. These are challenging days in our nation and the world. Someone after hearing about another powerful earthquake in a month or so, asked,"What in the world is going on?" Some would answer using their eschatological beliefs. I am not going there; my desire is to offer hope to the fearful. In these difficult times we are being summoned into the presence of Father God. As I was praying this morning Psalms 46 came to mind. I sent out a devotional from Psalms 46 a few weeks ago so I wondered was the Lord laying this on my heart or was it in my mind because it was familiar. I picked up my Bible and read Psalms 46 again and it so spoke about the present situation in the world that I felt the need to share it.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. Psalms 46:1-3

As I read this I thought of earthquakes and tsunamis. The scripture was so timely for what is going on now in Haiti and Chile. A leading seismologist said that in the U.S., it is not a matter of if but when. The psalmists says that though these things happen we will not be afraid. Why? Because God is our refuge and strength. A refuge is a place of safety and protection, a shelter, security. God is our place of protection. Our security is in Him. Strength is power and might. As we said a while back there is nothing outside of us that is greater than He Who is in us.

A very present help in trouble. Where is God when trouble comes? Did He leave you by yourself? No, He is very present. Did He not say that He would never leave or forsake and He is with us always? Is not His Spirit in us? He is very present; He's more than just present, He's very present. We have discussed before, the difference between omnipresence and manifest presence. Very present is like manifest presence; He is present to do something. God does not promise that we won't have trouble. If the apostles had been a little more mature in their faith they probably would have let Jesus sleep when the storm really got bad. Some think that if we walk in obedience we won't have trouble. The night Jesus walked on water they were doing exactly as they were told, but there was a contrary wind. You will encounter resistance. Those who live godly lives will suffer tribulation. It is through much tribulation that we enter the kingdom of God. You will have trouble but you have a helper who is along side.

Both of the earthquakes were devastating. In Haiti over 200,000 people died. Many were left homeless. The earthquake in Haiti registered 7.0 on the Richter scale. The earthquake in Chile measured 8.8 on the scale. You may or may not know that on the Richter scale as the number goes higher the amount of power registered increases exponentially so that the earthquake in Chile was over 500 times more powerful than the one in Haiti. It was deeper in the ground and the epicenter was further from the population but it was still much more powerful. Yet in Chile less than 800 have died. What made the difference. In Chile they had much stricter building codes. They knew there was a threat of earthquakes and they built their buildings accordingly. I am reminded of Luke 6 when Jesus said,"Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded upon the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and it immediately fell. And the ruin of that house was great." Luke 6:47-49.
I am not drawing a conclusion about the spirituality of either nation and I am not using either man to represent one of those nations. I am just using the example to make a point. Let's look at the two men:
1. They both heard the word.
2. They both built a house.
3. They both encountered a storm.
The difference was what they did with the word. One laid a foundation in obedience. The other did not act upon the word and had no foundation. Our foundation for whatever we build in our lives must be laid in obedience. Yes we have a very present help in trouble. As I looked at those scriptures again I saw that not only does He take us through the storm, but prepares us in advance for it. However when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and he will tell you things to come. John 16:13

The Holy Spirit is in you. That is about as present as you can get. He is our helper, the paraclete, the one along side.

In closing I would like to encourage you with some good news. For over a month millions have bombarded heaven on behalf of the nation of Haiti. Apart from this terrible catastrophe Haiti would probably not have been on many of their minds. I read a report this morning that there have been over 40,000 recorded decisions for Christ and I suspect the numbers are much higher. There has been a cry of repentance coming from that nation and I believe God is rebuilding it. Continue to pray for them and for Chile. There are over one half million whose homes were destroyed in Chile. We pray that God will move mightily there as well and that redemption will come out of this tragedy.

I pray that these letters encourage you. I always get something in the writing of them. Thank you for allowing me to invade your computer space. Be blessed of the Lord.
In His love,
Herb Dean

More Than they That Watch for the Morning

Hello friends,
I pray that you are well. As I began to pray this morning the phrase came to mind, " more than the watchman for the morning." I read the Psalms often so I have read Psalms 130:6 many times and had never given a whole lot of thought about those watching for the morning. The more I study the scriptures, the more I realize that there is inexhaustible revelation. I know I often read the word too fast as if the more quantity I get the better off I am, but there are precious nuggets to be found in meditating upon the word. So this morning when this phrase comes to mind, I ask what is its spiritual significance? Here are a few thoughts I hope will encourage you.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning--- Yes, more than those who watch for the morning. Psalms 130:6

The psalmist finds himself in the position of waiting on the Lord for deliverance. It seems that he is placing his hope on promises he has been given by the Lord. He was probably in a position where some us of now find ourselves or have been and that is recognizing that God is our only hope. He is more desirous of God's hand moving on his behalf than the watchmen are for morning. The implication here is that the watchmen long for the morning, but even more so he longs for God's deliverance. So why is it that watchmen long for the morning?

Let's look at the responsibility of the watchmen. In those days there were usually three watches in the night.(Remember Jesus walking on water in the third watch of the night.) The last watch was usually 2am to sunrise. The watchman usually had a place on the wall in a tower so that he could see for distance in all directions. He had to be observant and alert for he was given the great responsibility of warning the city of an approaching enemy or enemy activity. An incompetent watchman could put his entire city at risk. If he failed to warn his people they could be overrun and easily defeated. A watchman who fell asleep during his watch could cause the destruction of his city. The competent watchman kept his eyes and ears open and was sensitive to unusual sights or sounds. He was not ignorant of enemy operations and knew what to look for.

It was an indispensable duty. You can imagine that there were times when it seemed morning would never come. Word may have come that there were marauding bands in the area or possibly invading armies so there were nights of stress. There were times where they were worn out from the pressure and concern they felt. They were awake when everyone else was comfortably in their beds.

It is not difficult to understand why they were anxious for the morning. Most of us must admit that even if we love our jobs we look forward to quitting time and even if we don't you still have to rest. With the dawning of the new day comes the sunlight and with sunrise there would be the release from duty. They could see clearly now and there would be an opportunity for rest.

As we look at the church today some of you have been called to be watchmen on the wall. Some have recognized this calling and have been there faithfully seeing things in their spirits and hearing the sounds that are coming forth. You have intercepted things through prayer and there have been times when you have had to speak forth warning. You have worked in the obscurity of night with few recognizing the importance of your calling. There have been times when you have grown weary on the wall and you have hoped anxiously for the morning. You have longed for the light that you might have clarity and vision. Friend, it is not yet time to come down from the wall, but know that the Father is sending reinforcements and refreshment. Some of you have a hot cup of coffee coming your way. Your morning will come soon, but there must first be those who are young in the Spirit who you must train to have eyes in the darkness and then you will see with clarity the purpose for which you were stationed on the wall and you will enter into your rest.

I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Is. 62:6,7

The watchmen are the intercessors. In their intimacy with Lord they are often given prophetic understanding, discernment, and authority. As a pastor I would like to personally thank those who have faithfully stood on the wall crying out on be half of the church. Thank you for praying for me.

So in closing if I am waiting on the Lord, hoping in His word, more desirous of His deliverance than a watchman on the wall, I have would have to say I have gotten serious with the Lord. There are promises for those who wait on the Lord. Enter a season of renewed strength.

I bless you today. As I write this I know I don't see or know who'll read this, but I just feel the Lord's love for you welling up in my heart. He loves you so much. He loves you so much, it bears repeating. Be blessed today my friends.
In His love,
Herb Dean

Be Still and Know That I Am God

Be Still and Know that I Am God

Over the years I have found myself in what seemed like desperate situations, frantically trying to figure out what to do. Sometimes I made some wrong choices. On one such occasion, I was operating in anxiety mode exhausting all human possibilities, but still dutifully doing my bible reading, and the Lord brought this verse to mind along with a companion verse, "Cease striving and know that I am God." I knew that it was the Lord speaking to me and I released the situation to him. I received His peace and shortly thereafter the problem was resolved.
There have been other times that I was asking the Lord what I needed to do and I clearly heard the word "Wait". When you feel like you need to do something or you feel like something needs to be happening that is a difficult word to hear. Peter wrote that God isn't slack concerning His promises, but God doesn't get in a hurry. When you have all wisdom and all power and know the end from the beginning, you know when the right time is and He does.

As I was reading the Psalms this morning, I once again read Psalms 46: 10 and there it was,"Be still and know I am God." I really felt I was to write something today, but there was nothing burning in my heart. Once again this verse leaped off the page, but I sensed it was not so much for me as it was for someone else. I had this sense that someone was in panic mode, that they were darting back and forth like a squirrel startled by a car on the highway. I have seen squirrels panic and run back under a wheel when they had it made. If that's you, the Lord is speaking to you this morning, "Be still and know that I am God." Stop and take deep breath, collect your thoughts (really you probably need to bring them captive to the obedience of Christ) and let's wait on the Lord and get His mind in this situation. Often the Lord allows us to exhaust all human possibility bringing us to the end of ourselves so that all we can do is turn to Him. I often jokingly say, " All we can do now is pray, oh no! has it come to that?" That is sad, but true, in so many instances. God wants us to turn to Him first.

I just saw someone in my spirit treading water and they were growing weary, barely keeping their head above water. I am reminded of a camp that I ran at a children's home many years ago. It was on a tidal river and when the tide was in, we would take the kids skiing. The younger kids begged and pleaded to go, so I devised a test they had to pass before they could attempt to ski. It was a fairly simple test. They had to swim the length of the pool and tread water for a full minute before swimming back. One eight year old boy was very determined that he would pass so he could ski. After about 20 seconds he began to sink. I extended a broom for him to grab, but he wouldn't take it; he was frantically paddling as he sank. I had to go down and pull him out. Some folks are like that little boy; so determined to get what they want that they reject the lifeline even though they are sinking. Some allow pride to keep them from getting the help they need. There are others, who through no fault of their own find themselves sinking. Don't panic and flail at the water, just rest in the Lord, and He will buoy you up.

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I believed I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say on the Lord! Psalms 27:13,14

I believe this is a word for someone this morning and it it's not for you, then you may know someone who is panicking, fretful, or anxious this morning. Feel free to pass it along. May these additional verses encourage you:

Commit (to roll) your way to the Lord (over on Him), Trust also in Him and He will bring it to pass. Psalms 37:5 (parentheses mine)

Casting all your cares upon Him for He careth for you. 2 Peter 5:7

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Matt. 11:28

Be blessed,
Herb Dean

For the Word of God Is Living

Dear friends,
I pray things are well with you. As I woke up this morning the Lord was speaking. He brought to mind Hebrews 4:12. I want to share with you this morning what the Lord was giving to me. Prayerfully consider these things.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

In 1 Kings 3:16-27 we see a spiritual picture of this verse in action. Two harlots came before the king for him to make a judgement. One had lain on her baby during the night and accidentally killed him. She took the other ladies' baby and claimed it for her own. These were ladies of the night and a nursing baby was a means of birth control. They came before Solomon wanting a decision as to which woman the baby belonged. The king asked for a sword and then gave orders for the child to be cut in half with each woman getting half. The one lady would rather give the child up than for it to be killed while the woman who had stolen the baby would rather the baby die than be exposed. The sword revealed the thoughts and intents of the heart. The baby was given to the woman who was willing to give him up rather than see him die. The truth was revealed by the sword.

And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:13

Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Matthew 10:26

This is what the Lord put on my heart: The hearts of men will be laid bare. Wickedness will be exposed. That which has been hidden will be revealed to all. The intents of the heart will be revealed. We will again see the days of Ananias and Sapphira as the fear of the Lord is restored. 1Kings 3:28 And all Israel heard of the judgement which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice. Godly justice brings the fear of the Lord. It is a time of purifying our hearts; it is a time of purifying our motives. Though I had a sense that the primary application was to leaders in America it certainly applies to the Christian community.

For the time has come for judgement to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 1Peter 4:17

It begins first with us. This is not a message of gloom and doom. The heart must first be revealed before it can be healed. God desires to bring healing. His peace is everything set right. The revelation of His glory exposes that which is not glorious. Wickedness must first be exposed before it is destroyed. When the wicked spring up like grass, and when all the workers of iniquity flourish, it is that they may be destroyed forever. Psalms 92:7 It truly is a message of hope.

I have often looked at 2 Chronicles 7:14 as a formula for national revival, but as I was studying for a teaching the other day I saw it in a different light. I remembered how a great teacher, Alan Vincent, who had once been an atheistic scientist before getting saved, shared the fact that an element such as copper will always test copper whether it is a bar, a crystal, or a molecule. He went on to say that everything that is kingdom will apply at every level whether it be an individual, a family, a church, or a nation. We can apply that verse to ourselves individually. If Herb Dean who is called by My name will humble himself and pray and seek My face, and turn from His wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive his sin and heal his land (soul). parentheses mine. Some may say that's old covenant; that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. I say, yes, and amen. I am not wicked; I've been given a new heart, but there are still areas of my life where I struggle with my flesh or am I the only one? There are times I've had selfish motives, times when I have rejoiced at the fall of my enemies, times when I envied the success of others. Yes, it is true there is wickedness in my flesh and sometimes carnality in my thinking. This must be brought into the captivity of Christ. Humility, prayer, seeking, confession, and turning are as relevant now as in the old covenant and praise God we have the Spirit inside us and His enabling grace to do it. Can we expect the heathen to change if we are unwilling or unable ourselves. I had not intended to get into all that, but just to say we are entering a season of the revealing of hearts.

As I said earlier, weigh these things prayerfully. God is moving. It is a time of transition and God is desirous to move each of us to new levels of glory. I appreciate all of you and am always thankful for your encouragement. If I can be of any assistance to you send me a note.
In His love,
Herb Dean

Prophetic words

Dear friends,
I am sorry that I have not written. I was hoping that I would be able to send prophetic words out on a regular basis, but then life got busy. Most of my prophesying has been relegated to our prayer groups. There has been such a sense of His presence in our prayer groups of late that it becomes easy to prophesy. Many of you received the last Kingdom Keys about 2010. I thought this morning that I would send you the word I received New Year's eve and one from this morning. I do not claim to be inerrant. Try these words; hold fast to that which is good; receive with faith that which is witnessed in your spirit, and ask the Lord for confirmation. The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. Be blessed.


December 31, 2009 11:50pm

For there will be difficult times ahead, but know even as I restored the fortunes of Job, I will restore the fortunes of my people. In tragedy, I will reveal myself and I will reestablish the fear of the Lord. Yes, I grant unto you double for your trouble and 2010 will be the year of the double portion. This will be a season in which there is a paradigm shift from the local church dynamic into a kingdom dynamic. Hear the word of the Lord. It is those who have persisted who can ask Me for the double portion. (See 2 Kings 2) Even this year there will be a shift economically in which the wealth of the wicked begins to be transferred into the accounts of the righteous. You, son, will see it. You have sown faithfully and now I will bring home the waves. (parentheses mine)


January 29, 2010

For this indeed is a new season; there is an air of anticipation. You who live expectantly will not be disappointed for I do not bring conception and not bring to birth. That which is birthed will come forth quickly and the time of travail is at hand. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. That which I bring forth will be so far beyond your expectation and your experience that you will be as one who dreams. There will be a coming together of my people and there will be realms of worship that you have yet to experience. There will be a shaking in the heavenlies and principalities will be displaced. There is a great harvest coming. It will be a time of reaping what many of you have sown for years. There are some who have sown faithfully and not seen increase and I say your time is at hand. Prepare yourselves; this is a time to be seeking my face for that which I do will be a suddenly. Be prepared.

As I was typing about being prepared, I pictured a young couple with the lady being almost nine months pregnant. They have prepared a nursery. The bed , the linens, the little outfits, blankets, diapers, and other paraphernalia are all in place in anticipation of the new birth. That is the kind of expectancy we should have. We used to say that of someone who was pregnant, "Their expecting."

Test it. It is my desire to hear the Lord and encourage His people. Be blessed.
Expecting,
Herb Dean

Double for Your Trouble

Dear friends,
It has been a while since I have written. I pray all is well with you. Things have been busy or seemingly so, and I don't function too well in the cold. I would like to share a few thoughts with you concerning the new year. Every year I pray and ask the Lord for a word for the new year and today I am finally getting around to sharing it with my e-mail friends. I believe this will bless you.

I awakened very early one morning and I heard the words "trouble" and "double" . My first thought was, "Oh no! this is going to be a year of double trouble." Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but when I inquired of the Lord He gave me something different. Isaiah 61:7 came to mind and I heard the Lord say, "double for your trouble." Here are some confirming verses:

Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy will be theirs. Is.61:7

As for you also,because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to the stronghold you prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you. Zech. 9:11,12

And the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Job 42:10 I believe there is a word in here as well. His fortunes were restored when he prayed for others. We must take our eyes off our own difficulties and intercede on be half of others. If our problems become our focus we will take our eyes off God and others and we are effectively out of the ministry.

Also, as an elder was sharing at disciple class about Bill Johnson's message from Isaiah 45. I looked at Isaiah 45 and this part of verse one was quickened in my heart: To open before him the double doors, so that the gates will not be shut. In fact, you would do well to read the whole chapter. I have often desired to go other places and minister and yet for many years have labored in relative obscurity. I felt like the Lord was saying to me, I am opening doors for you. That is a word for someone who will read this message. The Lord is saying ,Obscurity, no more! I am releasing you and going before you opening doors and breaking away the gates of bronze and bars of iron that have kept you captive.

For over a month now the Lord has been giving me Is. 40:31 and with that a promise of renewed strength. Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired. Is.40:31 is a promise to you. The word wait in Hebrew implies being entwined. Those who are wrapped up in Jesus will have their strength renewed and they will rise to new heights in the Spirit.

Let me say this as a word of admonition. These words may require something of us. We must mix it with faith and take the appropriate action. The word God gave me last year was about sowing in the time of famine. There must first be a famine before we can sow during it and with the word this year there has to be trouble before you can get double for it. Now some of you have been through and the blessings are being released while others may be going into trouble shortly. Last Wednesday, I arrived early at the church to get it warmed up for our pastors' prayer meeting only to discover that we had been broken into for the third time since Christmas. Immediately, I felt a wave of discouragement roll over me, but then I remembered the word of the Lord and began to confess it. God will be true to His word.

Finally, I would like to share something my wife received and it bore witness with me. As she looked at the number 2010 she began to think about vision and felt impressed that the Lord said He was going to give us 20/10 vision. She asked me if 20/10 vision was good and I told her it was very good. To have 20/10 means we will see things quicker and more clearly at greater distances. I see this as the ability to see the vision with greater clarity. Ted Williams, one of baseball's all-time greats, was said to have 20/10 vision and it allowed him to pick up the rotation on a curveball a fraction earlier than someone with normal vision. That helped to make him a great hitter. We will see quicker and intercept things in the spirit.

I have great hope and expectancy for this year. Prayer over these words and where the Spirit gives witness claim them for your own. Confess them in the midst of your situation; we war with the rhema. In closing the abbreviated points are as follows:
1. Double for your trouble. Is.61:7
2. Renewal of strength. Is. 40:31
3. Doors and gates opened. Is. 45
4. 20/10 vision
Thank you for allowing me to share with you. Be exceedingly, abundantly blessed.
In His love,
Herb Dean