Forgiving Others

I've found that one of the great issues among Christians today is unforgiveness. Paul tells us to forgive as we have been forgiven. Jesus says in the model prayer to pray for the Father to forgive us as we forgive others. He said to not even give our offering until our heart was right with an offended brother. He gives a parable saying the kingdom is like and tells the story of a servant owing a massive debt and the king forgiving him. He then goes and shakes down and puts in jail a fellow servant for a very small debt. The king found out and threw him in jail turning him over to the torturers until the debt be paid. Many Christians are dealing with the torturers because they have not dealt with the unforgiveness in their heart. They have been entrapped by the enemy and they have lost their peace and short circuited their destiny.

The word offense is "skandalizo" in the Greek. We get our word scandal from this word. The noun that relates to this word actually means a bait stick. John Bevere wrote a book called The Bait of Satan in which he describes how the enemy uses offense to take Christians captive. I would recommend that book.  When we are offended we have a choice to receive God's grace to forgive or we can reject the grace of God and take the bait and the trap is sprung. Why do we allow hurt to keep us from God's best? The cross of Christ was both vertical and horizontal. Our forgiveness was purchased, and the enabling grace of God was extended that we might forgive others. Someone said that holding offense was like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.

Many people are offended with people that are close to them. This is especially true in marriages. Rather than truly forgiving they just stuff it and move on. Walls are gradually built and their spirit is shut down. If they keep stuffing stuff eventually they'll be overstuffed and will explode and quite often vitriol will spew out. Often times their health will be affected. Unresolved offense will result in a root of bitterness and it defiles everyone around them. It becomes increasingly destructive and the torturers are at work. We must truly forgive from our heart those who offended us.

I could go on and on about the necessity of forgiveness. It is the foundation of all deliverance; there is no freedom apart from it. I want to leave you with some practical application for ridding yourself of offense. I am not into formulas, but I have found these steps to be helpful. Remember that forgiveness is an act of the will. It is the blood of Jesus and washing with the water of the word that cleanses our conscience from dead works and renews the mind. Here are the steps of a forgiveness prayer:

1. Father, by an act of my will I choose to forgive _______________ for _______________ (Be Specific)
2. Father, I ask You to forgive me for the offense I have held toward _________________.
3. Father, I choose to forgive the debt I felt was owed to me and I release ______________ to you.
4. Father, I speak blessings over __________________ in Jesus name.

Take a red pen and line out the offense as you pray specifically through each one. That is just symbolic of it being covered by the blood of Jesus. Satan may try to remind you of the hurt for a season, but resist and dismiss. I hope this will be helpful to someone.
                            In His service,
                            Herb Dean

Full Circle: Back to the Altar

    As a young man I ran from the call of ministry. I couldn't see myself preaching nor did I want to do so. Finally, at the age of 30 as a broken man, I said, "Here I am Lord; whatever you want to do with me, do it." At that place of surrender, He filled me with a peace that I had never experienced. The circumstances that had brought me to my knees did not immediately change, but I now had purpose and direction for my life. In those early years opportunities were few and far between. I ended up preaching in jails and nursing homes and taught Sunday School. The thing that I had feared had now become a burning desire and my joy. I seized every opportunity I had. I begin to put out resume's to churches, but because I did not have a seminary degree they would not consider me. The desire to preach had become the greatest focus of my life.

    It wasn't long before God dealt with my heart about idolatry. My desire to preach had become greater than my desire for Him. Isn't it amazing that God can take something I didn't want to do, change a heart, and the thing that was feared becomes a passion so great that I slip into idolatry. I had to lay my Isaac on the altar and kill it. I laid it down. Someone once told me that the greatest act of faith was to put to death the promise at the request of the promiser. I continued to preach and teach as given opportunity, but my focus was no longer on my desire to preach, but my desire for Him. It was ten long years before God would send me out to plant a church. Still, there was ego that had to die. I thought He was sending to a place to set it on fire for God when, in fact, He was sending me there to kill "Me".

    Over the last two years I stepped away from pastoral duties only to find myself in that place of few opportunities to exercise the gift God has given me. I attempted to begin a prayer ministry only to become frustrated because there is still such exclusivity and insecurities that many churches won't come together for kingdom building. Then there were a number of serious issues which developed, some of which I have shared and others I don't have liberty to mention. Very sporadically I would get to speak somewhere and God was always faithful to show up, but invitations were far and few between. I could see my finances draining away and I so missed preaching, teaching, and praying for folks. I began to send out resumes'. I have probably sent out over a hundred. I sent a cover letter to help weed out churches where I knew I would not fit. I found the same rejection I had found early on with an added reason now. Not only did I not have a seminary degree, I was 62 years old. I put my name on a couple of search engines and was contacted by a few churches. Some were not a fit and some thought I was too old. You can probably understand my being a bit frustrated and discouraged. I have realized in the last few days (and I probably knew it all along but it has just now hit my heart) that I had come full circle. I am headed back to the altar with Isaac. When the exercise of one's gift becomes a greater focus than the Giver we are in trouble. When our service for God becomes the thing rather than our service to God, we have missed it. He is to be the object of our passion. So just as God told Moses to throw down his rod, today again I throw down the ministry. God gave the rod back to Moses, but it was never again the rod of Moses, it was the rod of God. I know God has made a deposit in me, but after all it is His deposit and His vessel and He can do with it as He pleases. That being said after thousands of hours of preparation, teaching, and preaching I am back at the altar. I am open to whatever He wants me to do, but my first and greatest priority is Him.

Tim Tebow and the Plan of God

Dear friends,  

     I hope things are well with you. As a sports fan who pulls for Christian athletes I was not happy when Tim Tebow ended up in New York. I didn't feel like it was a good fit and they never really gave him a chance. Even when it was obvious they were going nowhere with Mark Sanchez, they didn't let him play. When I heard he was cut yesterday I was disappointed that they would do him they way they did. I wanted him to go somewhere and excel and to show all the critics. The Lord gently reminded me that this is not about football. Ultimately it is about Tim Tebow being conformed to the image of Christ. God reminded me that he was perfectly capable of handling Tim's situation and that I was to pray for him as a brother.

 

     There are times in all of our lives when we like Moses must throw the rod at God's feet and see it turn into a snake. Anything we are not willing to throw at God's feet has a snake in it that can ultimately destroy us. When God told him to pick the snake up by the tail and he did, it became a rod again. No longer was it the rod of Moses, it had become the rod of God and was used in the working of miracles. For you it may be your job, your church, ministry, etc. We must be willing to throw it down and whether we pick it up or not depends on God. If He tells us to pick it up it is no longer ours, but God's. If He tells you to pick it up, He will bless it. Abraham grew in faith to the place where he was willing to sacrifice the promise in obedience to the promiser knowing full well that God was faithful. There are times we must be willing to place our Isaac on the altar. This could well be a chairos moment in the life of Tim Tebow. Pray for him that he will remain steadfast and that He will know that God will bring good out of this, and for discernment to make the right choices.

 

    As always my desire is to encourage you. If you have prayer needs, I will be honored to pray for you. I also am available to minister at your church or ministry group. Thank you for your encouragement.  May God bless you richly.

 

                                                     In His love,

                                                     Herb Dean

Deliverance from the Cave

Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low; deliver me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your name; the righteous shall surround me, for You shall deal bountifully with me. Psalms 142:6,7 For all you cave dwellers out there, of which I am one, this was David's prayer in the caves. The cave was a place of hiding, but it was also a place of preparation. It was in the cave that people began to gather unto David. These people were in distress, in debt, and they were discontented but it was out of these malcontents that the mighty men of David arose. One day as I prepared to teach on David and those who gathered to him and the Lord impressed me with this thought. "If you want to come out of the cave as a mighty man you must deal with the issues in the cave." The issues that brought you to the cave will keep you there if not dealt with. God is able to take the malcontents of this world and make them mighty men of God.

Bells and Pomegranates

The robe of the high priest had bells and pomegranates sown around its hem. There was a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate alternating around the hem. The high priest had to go into the holy of holies once a year to sprinkle the blood of a lamb upon the mercy seat for the sins of the people. Tradition said that a rope would be tied around his ankle in case he was smitten dead in the presence of the Lord. No one else could enter. They knew the high priest was still alive because they could hear the bells ringing. I believe that the bells represent the gifts of the Spirit and the pomegranates represent the fruit of the Spirit. There is an individual application and a corporate application. If the bells stopped ringing they knew the priest was dead and they had to pull him out by the rope. If the gifts are not active in the church the church is dead, but the gifts must always be balanced by the fruit. Both are necessary for the church to come to maturity. We are out of balance if we emphasize gifts and not the fruit and we are out of balance if we emphasize fruit and make no room for the gifts. The robe of the priest is a wonderful example of God's order. Paul says in the letter to an out of balance Corinthian church chapter 13 verse 1," Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I have become a sounding brass and a clanging cymbal." Let everything be done in love.

Pray for Our Nation

Dear prayer warriors,

     We find ourselves as a nation at a critical juncture. On the one hand a man who is intent on destroying Israel and the U.S. is developing nuclear weapons and is unstable enough to use them and on the other the leader of North Korea has basically declared war on South Korea and the United States. A weak economy has millions out of work. 600,000 gave up looking for work just this past month.  The national debt is like a burgeoning monster threatening to consume all productivity and  the quality of life we have come to enjoy. The news mediums spend little time on the threats to our nation and instead promote gun control and same sex marriage. What shall we do? The psalmists asks a similar question saying, "When the foundations be destroyed what can the righteous do?" The next verse says, " The Lord is in His holy temple...."  God has not abdicated His throne. He is not in heaven ringing His hands. Nothing has taken Him by surprise.

 

     In the Old Testament one of the duties of the priest was to burn incense. The altar of incense was in front of the veil. The incense was to be lit every morning and every evening and was to burn perpetually before the Lord. So day and night the sweet aroma of incense was wafting over the veil. This is a picture of our prayers rising to God. The golden bowls in Revelation are the prayers of the saints. As Paul said that we should pray without ceasing. Jesus made this statement after telling the parable of the unjust judge, " And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.  Luke 18:7,8a  God  has called us to prayer.

 

    Please be in prayer for our nation and our national leaders. The agendas of men won't fix the problems. In most cases they just exacerbate them. We need the intervention of God. North Korean pastors of the underground church have requested prayer and have said the nation is in a state of preparation for war. I am sure there is much prayer in South Korea and we must stand with our brothers. Pray for our courts to make the right decisions on same sex marriage and abortion. Pray for each other. I covet your prayers. As I was trying to link intercessors I kind of met an impasse, but sometimes we have to go through the death of a vision so that God can resurrect it in His time. I will be posting requests and sharing a word from time to time but I am looking to pastor again whether here or in a new location. I miss preaching and teaching very much and God has put that in me. Thank you for your prayers. Let us set our hearts in agreement for a great revival and restoration in our land. May God richly bless you.

                                       In His love,

                                       Herb Dean 

Earthly Kingdom or Kingdom Within

This past Sunday was Palm Sunday. I believe it is a day of great spiritual significance. If we look at the text in Luke 19:28-44 we see what is often called the triumphal entry. It came on the heels of the parable of the minas given to the servants and being called to give an account. He told this parable because His disciples were expecting the kingdom to appear immediately. As often happened with the disciples and myself, it flew right over their heads. As they headed to Jerusalem, the disciples were excited. There had already been a power struggle as they had argued among themselves who would sit at His right and left hand when He came into His kingdom. When Jesus gave them instruction concerning the donkey colt on which He was to ride, it confirmed their expectations. It was prophesied in Zechariah 9:9 that the King would come riding in on a donkey colt. David had Solomon ride his personal mule to Gihon to show the people that Solomon was his successor, not Adonijah. The disciples probably had their chests puffed out, walking with a swagger thinking, "This is it, He's going in to take over and we are going to reign with Him." Little did they realize He was not going in to takeover, He was going in to die.

The crowds gathered, many spread their clothes on the road. The multitude began to rejoice and praise the Lord. They shouted ,"Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." The Pharisees told Jesus to rebuke them. Jesus replied, "I tell you that if these keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." I know we've heard songs about not letting a rock out praise us or heard people say," No rock is going to out praise me." but my daughter got a revelation and searched it out. Jesus was saying if these people are silenced, the rocks will cry out in protest. Then as Jesus saw Jerusalem, He began to weep. I'm sure the disciples must have thought He was overcome with joy, but His words were daunting. He declared that the city had missed its time of visitation and prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem which would take place in 70 a.d.

His disciples had been expecting the immediate establishment of His earthly kingdom. As Jesus was interviewed by Pontius Pilate, he told Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world or His servants would fight. Many wars have been fought to preserve, protect, establish, or expand kingdoms, but His kingdom, the kingdom of God would not be established by violence. The kingdom of God would be established on earth by love. It is a spiritual kingdom in the Spirit. For the kingdom of God is not eating or drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17 In 1 Cor. 4:20 it says ,"For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power. The kingdom of God is not established by the decrees of men; it is established by the power of the Spirit or in the words of the Lord to Zerubbabel, "Not by might nor power, but by My Spirit."

The expectations of this crowd were based on what their eyes could see. The crowd had on at least one occasion sought to make Him king by force. They thought he would deliver them and provide for them. They had only a fleshly perspective not realizing that what He was about to do would bring deliverance to the captives and provide for their spiritual need. Their carnal expectation was not met and it is quite likely that some of these same people would be in a crowd a fews days later shouting something other than His praises. In just a few days, the crowd would be shouting, "Crucify Him."

There was a sense in which there was a war that took place that day on the cross. This was greatest act of spiritual warfare that ever took place when the completely sinless Son of God demonstrated God's love by dying for His enemies.(See Romans 5:1-10) Satan was defeated, principlaities and powers were spoiled, and captivity was led captive. Our certificate of debt was nailed to the tree that we might be freed from captivity. We were reconciled to God through the death of His son and have been made to be ministers of reconciliation. There is so much that was accomplished on that cross that I have not the time to write it nor would you have time to read it. This Sunday we will celebrate His resurrection, but every day we are living in the resurrection power. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:11 Sunday is a special day of remembrance and praise, but we celebrate His resurrection every day.

I know a couples of months ago, I said that I would posting these teachings directly on my blogsite and posting a link on facebook. I had a couple of responses which indicated they preferred the e-mails. Also facebook has changed its format again and you may or may not know I have posted anything so I am resuming the e-mails. I know some of you may not have signed up for these teachings and may not want to receive them; if that is the case just respond to this e-mail expressing your desire to unsubscribe. I thank the Lord for each one of you and appreciate so much your prayers and encouragement. As always if you have a prayer need I would be honored to pray for you. May God bless you exceedingly.

In His love,

Herb Dean