A Call to War (prayer)

It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him.....

2 Samuel 11:2

Most of you know the rest of the story. David did not go to war, lusted after Bathsheba,. and committed grievous sins that brought great destruction in his life and the lives of others. Years ago, I felt the Lord speak to me through this passage that many who chose not to go to war would fall into great temptation and many would be overcome by lust. One may say that we are not kings, but as we wrote a few weeks ago that we are a nation of kings and priests. That fact is established, but how do we go to war? I believe the greatest weapon of warfare is prayer. Let's look at some scriptures that validate this truth.

If you have time read Ephesians 6:10-19. Of course part of this passage speaks of the armor of God which we have on in Christ. Each piece points to Christ. Why does a soldier put on armor? Because he is about to go into battle. Paul leads us through our being suited up in Christ and in verse 18 we see what we are to be doing. "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints--. We are suited up to pray. The battle is won in prayer and the going forth declaring (verse19) is the mop up operation, the claiming of the heathen for an inheritance.The gathering of the spoils, so to speak.

Look at Luke 18:1. Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. The amplified bible translates it this way: not turn coward (faint, lose heart, and give up) This passage implies that there will be temptation, battles, and pressure to give up.

James 5:16b The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Verses 17 and 18 talk about Elijah and how he prayed and it didn't rain for three and a half years and he prayed and it rained. It starts by saying Elijah is a man just like us. He had a temper, he got seriously depressed, and he got fearful, just to name a few of his human frailties. In other words Elijah was not a superman. In fact you have an advantage over Elijah. He had the anointing, but you have the Holy Spirit not only coming upon you, but indwelling you. Let me say this, too, you are righteous not by virtue of what you have done, but because of what Christ has done. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2Cor. 5:21 Therefore if you are in Christ you can pray with expectation. Pray also with perseverance. Elijah prayed until his servant saw the cloud coming. I won't take time to talk about the parable of the unjust judge or the friend who went to his neighbor for bread, but clearly there is a need for perseverance in prayer.

There are many passages we could look at, but we won't today. I want to get back to the word God gave me about going to war. In the model prayer of Jesus we see a number of requests made of God. The two focally I would like to mention are as follows: Matthew 6:13a And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. It is implied earlier in the prayer by the request for daily bread that this a daily prayer and Jesus says to pray that we are lead away from temptation and delivered from the evil one. When we are praying in Christ we are being guided by the Spirit and protected from the enemy. What an awesome weapon prayer is! Now, I wrote this because there is great conflict going on in the spiritual and natural realm. Personally, I can't remember when my mind has been under such assault. I know I am not the only one. I believe that this a call to war from the Lord. I heard one man say, "Pray or you'll become prey." This is the season when kings go to war.

In His love,

Herb Dean

Some One Hundredfold, Some Sixty, and Some Thirty

Dear friends,

I trust this note finds you well. I would like to revisit something that I shared a long time ago because the Lord has laid it on my heart really strongly. I sense that there are many who have received a word from the Lord in times past. They have held onto that word because it brought them hope, but they have never seen the fulfillment of the promise. There are those who are at the point of giving up on what they believed God had told them. I pray today that this word will encourage you to hold fast to the promise of God. Be encouraged today; the Lord is good and He is faithful.

A number of years ago I was sharing about "rhema" words with the church where I was pastoring at the time. I told them that when they received a word from the Lord that the word would be tested. I said that circumstances would align themselves against that word and sometimes it would look like just the opposite was happening. Later as I was recounting what I had taught, I was gently rebuked by the Holy Spirit. The Lord said to me that the word of the Lord is not being tested. It is the word that tests the heart. A verse came to mind that I had memorized many years ago: "The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. You shall keep them, O Lord, You shall preserve them from this generation forever." Psalm 12:6,7 If it is a legitmate word from the Lord it is not the word that is being tested. It is the receiver of that word who is tested. Yes, circumstances may align themselves against you; it may seem the opposite is happening but the test is yours.

As I pondered on what the Lord had said, He showed me other passages I was familiar with that validated this truth. Joseph had received some dreams he knew were from God. He would rule over his family. He received that dream as a teenager and went from the pit to Potiphar's house as a slave, falsely accused and thrown in prison, forgotten in prison and eventually to the palace. He was promoted at age 30, but it was probably at least ten more years before his family bowed before him. The psalmist said this about Joseph,"Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him. Psalms 105:19 Joseph waited approximately 23 years for the fulfillment of his dreams.

We could look at Abraham who waited 25 years for the birth of Isaac not considering his own body which Paul described as dead, or impossible for him to reproduce in the natural ( but God). I thought about this as I've been writing and I'll put this out there for your contemplation. God instructed Abraham to sacrifice the promise. I think sometimes the promise and the desire for the promise obscures our vision of the Promiser. I know when I surrendered to the call of the ministry there were no open doors for a long time and there were times my desire to preach obscured the one's whose word I was to proclaim. I had forgotten that my primary call to ministry was to the Lord. Anything that we cannot lay on the altar of God becomes an idol. Someone once told me that the greatest test of faith was to put the promise to death at the command of the Promiser. Abraham was tested , but his faith had grown to the place that he knew he would come off the mountain with the Promise even if God had to raise him from the ashes of the altar. It may seem that your promise has been put to death, but take heart, God is able to raise it from the ashes of the altar. I thought about the seeming contradiction and it reminded me of an old joke about a person struggling at the altar. One group was shouting "Hold fast" and another group was shouting "Let Go". Sometimes both are necessary.

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells the parable of the sower going forth sowing his seed. The word "seed" in the Greek is the word "sperma" from whence we get the word sperm. The seed contains the DNA of the plant from which it originated. As the sower went forth sowing, the seed fell on different kinds of soil. Some fell on fallow ground or pathways and was eaten by birds. Some fell on stony gound and sprang up quickly and withered away because it had no root. Others grew, but were choked out by thorns, but the one who received the seed on good ground, these were the ones who heard the word and understood it. In Luke it says they kept the word and with patience bore fruit. This is what I want you to hear; it was not the seed that determined the harvest. Jesus called the seed the word of the kingdom. All of the seed had the same potential. It had the DNA of God. It was the condition of the soil that determined the harvest. The seed tested the soil. The seed, the word of God, tests our hearts.

When we receive a word from the Lord we have what is necessary for faith. For faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word (rhema or spoken word of God) Romans 10:17 The word is the seed, our heart is the soil, and faith is the response. James says that the trying or testing of our faith produces patience. You may have been waiting a long time, but do not give up; it is a great work that God is working in you as the old song says "It will be worth it all." One of my favorite Proverbs says, "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, but when the desire cometh it is a tree of life." Proverbs 13:12. May the Lord bless you richly.

In His love,

Herb Dean

Chosen to minister to the Lord

"My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense." 2Chronicles 29:11

Dear friends,

I pray that things are well with you. I would like to look at our role as priests in the new covenant and pray that this will be an encouragement to you.

First , you may ask the question, "Am I a priest?" If you are a believer, you are a priest. Peter says,"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9 Revelation calls us kings and priests. So now that we have established that we are priests let's look at some of the new covenant application.

A. You have been called and chosen. God reached out to you. Jesus said that noone could come to the Father except he was drawn. You have received the spirit of adoption. An adopted child is one who was chosen by his parents. Jesus said to His disciples that they didn't choose Him; He chose them. You are a chosen vessel unto the Lord.

B. You have been chosen to stand before Him. I believe to stand before Him speaks of our standing with Him. We can only stand before Him if we are in Christ. In Christ we are righteous or in right standing with God. We are righteous, not by virtue of what we have done, but by faith in what He has done. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2Cor. 5:21 I believe it also speaks of waiting before the Lord for instruction. As I was writing this I got this picture of a soldier standing before His commanding officer awaiting His orders.

C. You have been chosen to serve Him. I think of a waiter in a fine restaurant; he is attentive to the needs of those he is serving. To serve the Lord is to be attentive to His desires, to walk in humility, and submission before Him. It speaks of obedience to His voice. Worship is more than a slow song in which we praise the Lord. That is part, but worship is also our service to the Lord. Paul says, "I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you yield your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God which is your reasonable act of worship. Romans 12: 1 Most translations translate that word worship as service. To give Him who gave Himself for us anything less than our complete submission would be unreasonable.

D. You have been chosen to minister to Him. We minister unto the Lord with our praise. I believe a heart expressing gratitude blesses the Lord. Fellowship with Him blesses Him. Putting Him in the place He belongs in the order of our lives ministers to Him. The priests of the old covenant would make sacrifices unto Him. No, we are not to sacrifice sheep, bulls, or goats as in the old covenant, but as we saw in the previous point there are sacrifices to be made in the new covenant. We saw above that we yield ourselves as living sacrifices and in Hebrews 13: 15 Therefore by Him continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. We must also understand that when we minister to one another, we minister to the Lord. Jesus said,"In as much as you have done unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto Me. When Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus, He did not ask ,"Why are you persecuting my followers?"; He asked, "Why are you persecuting Me?" How we treat each other is how we treat the Lord. When we bless others it blesses Him. When we minister to others, we minister to Him.

E. You have been chosen to burn incense. How does this apply to us today? Incense was a picture of prayer. Incense was to be burned upon the incense altar which was positioned in front of the veil of the tabernacle. The priest was to light it every morning and evening so that it burned perpetually before the Lord. In Revelation 5: 8 the scripture speaks of the golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. The incense was to burn perpetually before the Lord. Paul said in 1Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing. Luke 18:1 He (Jesus) spoke a parable to them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. If there was ever a time in our lifetime when we need to be praying, it is now. You have been chosen to pray.

I pray that was a blessing to you. You are a chosen vessel and the Lord loves you so much. If you are experiencing difficulties we would love to pray for you. Write me an e-mail and I will pray for you. God answers prayer. I covet your prayers as well as we began a new phase of ministry. I have stepped out of my pastoral role to pursue other areas of ministry. I am now free to travel, if i could be a blessing to your church or group, please write at this e-mail addresss or call me at 478-960-6582. May God bless you exceedingly.

In His love,

Herb Dean

Encouraging Word for Today

Now this 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. 1John 5:14,15

That is an awesome promise. I think there are many prayers prayed in which there is no expectation of getting an answer. Unfortunately, we most often get what we expect. Do you believe God hears your prayers? Jesus walked in that confidence. As He stood outside Lazarus' tomb in John 11:41-43 He said, "Father, I thank you that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me." He had absolute confidence that the Father heard His prayers. He expressed that in the people's hearing for their benefit and it is recorded for our benefit as well. He knew that the Father always heard Him. He could be confident in knowing His prayer was answered because He knew the Father heard Him.

In the first John passage there are only two requirements to answered prayer: 1) Praying the will of the Father and 2) Confidence.   When we speak of the will of God in this passage it is not broad generalities, but specifics. The type of prayers mentioned here are petitions (specific requests)." If it be Thy will is not a specific confident prayer." In the Lord's model prayer Jesus says to pray, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done. That is not an iffy prayer; it is a confident prayer expressed in aorist tense, imperative mood. His kingdom invading a situation is His will.

One might ask , "How do I know His will?" Without getting into a long teaching, let me bring Romans 12:2 to your attention. It is the renewing of the mind that gives us transformation and the ability to discern the will of God. How is the mind renewed? It is renewed by the washing of the water of the word and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

Be confident when you pray that your Father hears and that He will answer. Jesus' thanking the Father for Him was an example for us. He knew that the Father heard Him and that Lazarus was coming forth from that tomb because the Father had heard Him. John is saying we can have that same confidence and know that our prayers are answered. 

Encouraging Word for Today

I am often encouraged by the Psalms. I guess that's because in the writings of David I find a man who experienced great trials and great triumphs and we find him going through every range of emotion. So often he was grieved, rejected, or in pain and we see him pouring his heart out before the Lord. If we are honest we all can identify with many of David's feelings. Some of you may be dealing with discouragement today. I remember a time years ago when going through a time of discouragement, that I received Psalms 27:13, 14 from three different sources. I knew the Lord was speaking to me.  So as you read these verses today, let them stir hope in your heart.

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that 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  

      As we look at what's going on in our nation, there is opportunity to be discouraged. I have fallen prey to that discouragement on occasion. I guess one of the things that disturbs me most is that there are so many who are not even aware of the course of destruction we as a nation have embarked upon. Many place their hopes in a political party, or a politician. The government has become their answer, their source. The answer is not in the democratic party or the republican party. In the natural the damage done cannot be fixed. Many in the church are asleep; it is almost as if they think the United States is exempt from suffering. Others look to the rapture as the great escape. I am not a prophet of gloom and doom, but just looking at things logically there is no avoiding economic collapse.

      I am not going on a long discourse today, to expound on the problems of and the threats to our nation. I am more interested in putting my focus where it belongs. As we have said already politics is not the answer. So, what is the answer? The psalmist said, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth." He was not looking for the hills to help; he was looking to the one who created the hills. It is time to recognize that it's broke and the best of men can't fix it. Yes, we need to be informed, responsible citizens and vote for men and women who adhere to godly principles, but the best of men cannot save our nation. It is time for our nation to call upon God. Our hope is in God and God alone.

Encouraging Word for Today

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of
these is love. 1Cor. 13:13

I woke up thinking about this verse today, so I'd like to share this
thought. Hope will sustain you,
faith will make you an overcomer, but love will make you more than
a conqueror.
Hope doesn't disappoint because God's love is being shed abroad in
our hearts. (Romans 5:5a).
Faith works through love. (Gal. 5:6b) Love never fails and the
other two which abide are dependent upon it.

God's love is the greatest; it never fails and the best news of all
is that He loves you. Have a good day.

Encouragement for Today

But you, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who
lifts up my head. Psalms 3:3

There are many who go through life believing that there is
something that the acquisition of would make them happy. They think that if they
had money it would make them happy; if they were married they would be happy;
if they had this position they'd be happy; etc. Their thoughts go like this," If
only.... "; or "I wish....". Some live their lives longing for these things and
never obtaining them while others strive for and obtain them only to find they
are still unfulfilled. Everyone was born needy. When I say needy, I am not
speaking of our physical needs to live, but our spiritual need that brings life.
We've heard people speak of a God shaped vacuum in the soul of every man and
every man created has the need of God's life in Him. I believe Adam and Eve had
a covering of glory prior to their fall. Sin brought shame and nakedness, but
the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ brought restoration. Jesus said, "And
the glory You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are
one." The Lord is our covering and our glory. He is the one in whom we find our
joy, peace, and fulfillment. There is only One who can satisfy the longing of
our heart.

Encouragement for Today

I will lift my eyes to the hills----from whence comes my help? My
help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalms121:
1,2

The psalmist is not looking at the hills for help. He
is asking a question," Where is my help coming from?" He then answers his own
question, "My help comes from the Lord the maker of heaven and earth." Look to
the one who made the hills. I don't know about you, but too often I find myself
looking to someone or something else before I take my problem to the Lord. Why
is it that we first exhaust all human possibilities before we seek the Lord with
a problem? I really thought I had gotten better about seeking the Lord first
with my problem, but I had another reminder a few days ago.
My son who is working temporarily in Palm Springs, California has his
mail coming to our house. The things that were important I collected and sent to
him. There two large envelopes containing very important information. One
arrived normally, but the other and the most important of the two, he did not
receive. A week later it still hadn't been found and it could have been a very
bad situation and at the least a lot of aggravation. Finally, after rehearsing
possibilities for several days Danna and I seriously committed to pray for it to
be found. It turns out that the very same night my son who was very concerned
committed it to the Lord in prayer. The next day he sent me an e-mail that
simply said, "Hallelujah! the package came." Kind of reminds me of an old song ,
"O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do
not carry everything to God in prayer". Our God is an ever present help in time
of trouble. He neither slumbers nor sleeps. Our help comes from the Lord, maker
of heaven and earth.

Encouraging Word for Today

Remember the word to your servant, upon which You have caused me to
hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life.
Psalms 119:49,50


A leading psycholgist at a mental facility shared that if they
could somehow infuse the people kept there with hope, they could send them home.
Hope is a powerful thing. Biblical hope is not wishful thinking, but a confident
expectation of a desired end. Our hope is as sure as the object of that hope is
faithful. I sense that there are those this morning that are feeling a sense of
hopelessness. Bodies racked with pain, broken relationships, stacks of bills
piled high with little or no means to pay them, and countless other situations
steal one's hope. This is exacerbated by the enemy of our souls saying to us,
"There is no hope for you in God." The psalmist says to the Lord, "Remember". Do
we have to remind God of His promise because He is absent-minded? Has He
forgotten His promises? No, He hasn't, but in our reminding the Lord we remind
ourselves, we give the promise value, and we set ourselves in agreement with
what He said.
It is easier to endure hardship when we know there is a desired
end. Our hope is sure because our God is faithful.
Hopelessness is the lie of the enemy. Just as lies bring hopelessness, the word
of God gives hope. Hope is the soil in which faith is planted. Has the Lord
given you a word? Hold fast to that word. God is not a man that He should lie.
You can safely trust in Him. His words are spirit and they are life. A word from
the Lord can change your life. As the psalmist said we, too, can say,"Your word
has given me life."

Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it
is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12

Encouragement for Today

The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief
cornerstone. Psalms 118:22

At times in our lives we all deal with rejection. Rejection can stem
from many things, personality, looks, race, financial status, etc. The rejection
mentioned in this verse was man's rejection of Christ. If we are the chosen of
God rejection comes with the territory. Paul's goal was to know Him and the
power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings.(Philippians
3:10) If we know Him we will know the fellowship of His sufferings. Part of that
suffering is the rejection of men and it may even come from those who are close
to us. Knowing this does not necessarily remove the pain, but it helps us
understand that it is part of the process of being conformed to His image.
I began praying Ph.3:10 over myself years ago. After being extremely
hurt by some people, I questioned the Lord as to what was going on. This is what
I believe God said to me (you can test it with your own spirit), that this was
an answer to my prayer, that I could not know the power of the resurrection
without knowing the fellowship of His sufferings. I am not saying God caused
this thing to happen, but our God who is able to bring redemptive purpose out of
everything that comes into our lives is redeeming it now even as I write. We
cannot know the power of the resurrection except something first dies.
Rejections will come, but remember you are accepted in the beloved, a
son of the most high God, a choice vessel of the Lord. He came unto His own and
His own received Him not. He experienced rejection and so will we, but that
which has been rejected by the world is chosen of God.

Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but
chosen by God and precious, you also as living stones, are being built up a
spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable
to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4,5