Re: FRANCIS FRANGIPANE MINISTRIES

Admin Tue 15 Oct 2013, 11:17 pm

At the Threshold of Glory, Part 2
(En Español)
The God of Glory
Nearly every Christian I know believes we are in the closing hours of this age. How close to the end, no one knows; and when Jesus will return, none presume a guess. If our hope has truly come from Heaven, then the praying, hungering church of Jesus Christ is about to enter a season of extraordinary manifestations of God's glory. We are about to engage in what Bible scholars call a dispensational move of God's Spirit. During such times, the Lord has always manifested Himself in glory.
It is true that no one has seen the Father's glory, but God the Son has manifested Himself in glory numerous times in the past. Abraham saw Christ's glory while he was in Mesopotamia. Isaiah beheld Him in the year King Uzziah died. Ezekiel fell before the Living One by the river Chebar. Daniel, David, Habakkuk, Solomon, Zachariah, and Haggai all saw the glory of the Lord. In truth, the Bible was written by people who had seen God's glory!
Moses beheld God, then Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy Hebrew elders as well. Exodus tells us these men "saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself" (Ex. 24:10). Of their encounter with the Almighty, we read, "and they saw God, and they ate and drank" (v. 11).
Think of it: "They saw God!" Is there not a jealousy within you for that experience -- to actually gaze upon the glory of God? To behold the Lord's glory is not only scriptural, but it's also typical during dispensational moves of God. The fact is, over three million Israelites saw God's glory on Mount Sinai. Young men, old women, and little children -- people of every age and physical condition -- all saw "the glory of the Lord [as it] rested on Mount Sinai" (Ex. 24:16)!
Yet that unveiling of glory did not stop at Sinai. The entire Hebrew nation followed a cloud of glory by day and was illuminated by a blazing pillar of fire-like glory at night. This happened not just once or twice but every day for forty years! How much more shall the Lord of glory manifest Himself to us at the end of the age?
Jesus said that he who is least in His kingdom is greater than those under the old covenant (Matt. 11:11). In what ways are Christ's followers "greater"? Those in the Old Testament saw His glory from a distance, but He has chosen to reveal His glory in and through the church! Is it not written, He is coming to be "glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed" (2 Thess. 1:10)?
Indeed, Jesus has not only given us His name and His words (John 17:6, 14), but He has also granted us to partake of His radiant splendor! The very glory that was manifest in the Old Testament He now has deposited in the spirits of those washed in His blood. He said, "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them" (John 17:22).
Yes, God will again reveal His glory at the end of the age. The unsaved world will receive one last, legitimate opportunity to choose, not merely between the church and the sin, but between the radiance of Heaven and the horrors of hell. In truth, at the end of the age, both realms will be manifested in fullness on earth.
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This word was adapted from Pastor Frangipane's book, The Days of His Presence available in our bookstore. It is currently part of a three-book offer that also includes And I Will Be Found By YouFacebook and Holiness Truth and the Presence of God,. All three books sold separately are $38.50, but this week only they are available 50% off as a package for just $19.50 (plus shipping and handling).

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Admin Fri 11 Oct 2013, 11:03 pm

At the Threshold of Glory, Part 1
(En Español)
Before Jesus comes to be glorified in the Earth, He is coming to be glorified in the church.

Our salvation grants us more than just church membership and a conservative perspective. We have, in truth, become one with Christ. The Lord Jesus is our head; we are His body. He is our husband; we are His bride. He is the true vine from which we, His branches, draw our life and virtue. These images, and many more, speak openly and passionately of our eternal union with the Son of God.
Yet on a personal scale, only in brief flashes have we glimpsed God's mighty power working with us as it did with Christ, especially in these latter years. We pray, we ask, we travail; but we give birth, as it were, "only to wind" (Isa. 26:18). Miracles manifest, but they are rare. On a national scale, only during the heights of spiritual awakenings has the church truly seen society significantly transformed.
However, as we see the day of Christ's return draw near, this seeming absence of power is in the process of dramatic change. Indeed, the promise of the Father to the Son, which shall be fulfilled on the highest level prior to the Lord's return, is that God's people "will volunteer freely in the day of Your power" (Ps. 110:3a). There is a "day of [God's] power," and it is rapidly drawing near!

Yet not only this, but accompanying this time of power will be a glorious holiness, a radiance that will also appear upon God's people: "In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew" (Ps. 110:3b). As the day of the Lord draws near, we shall shine like the dew lit by the first rays of the millennial morning.
At the end of the age, the world will see the Lord Jesus Christ leading His church in ever-increasing displays of glory. Great power from God shall rest upon those who are humbling themselves before Him. Without hype or self-promotion, the Gospel of the Kingdom shall again be preached with power as a witness to all the world, and then the end shall come (Matt. 24:14).
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This word was adapted from Pastor Frangipane's book, The Days of His Presence available in our bookstore. It is currently part of a three-book offer that also includes And I Will Be Found By YouFacebook and Holiness Truth and the Presence of God,. All three books sold separately are $38.50, but this week only they are available 50% off as a package for just $19.50 (plus shipping and handling).

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Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations were taken from the NASB.

October 11, 2013
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Admin Thu 10 Oct 2013, 11:41 pm

Two Things,
Two Things Only
(En Español)
There are so many things to occupy our minds: so many books, so many examples, so many good teachings that deserve our attention, that say, "Here is a truth." But as I have been serving the Lord these past years, He has led me to seek for two things and two things only: to know the heart of God in Christ and to know my own heart in Christ's light.
Knowing the Heart of God
I have been seeking God, searching to know Him and the depth of His love toward His people. I want to know Christ's heart and the compassions that motivate Him. The Scriptures are plain: Jesus loved people. Mark's gospel tells us that after Jesus taught and healed the multitudes, they became hungry. In His compassion, Christ saw them as "sheep without a shepherd" (Mark 6:34). It was not enough for Him to heal and teach them; He personally cared for each of them. Their physical well-being, even concerning food, was important to Him.
A lad with five loaves and two fish provided enough for Jesus to work another miracle, but this miracle had to come through Christ's willing but bone-weary body. Consider: Christ brought His disciples out to rest, "for there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat" (Mark 6:31).
Consider: Jesus personally had come to pray and be strengthened, for John the Baptist, Jesus' forerunner, had been beheaded earlier that very week at the hands of Herod. It was in the state of being emotionally and physically depleted that Jesus fed the multitudes -- not just once or twice but over and over again: "He kept giving [the bread and the fish] to the disciples to set before them" (v. 41).
Thousands of men, women and children all "ate and were satisfied" (v. 42). Oh, the heart of Jesus! The miracle was for them, but we read of no miracle sustaining Him except the marvelous wonder of a holy love that continually lifted His tired hands with more bread and more fish. Out of increasing weakness He repeatedly gave that others might be renewed.
So, if my quest is to know Him, I must recognize this about Him: Jesus loves people -- all people, especially those society ignores. Therefore I must know exactly how far He would travel for men, for that is the same distance He would journey again through me. Indeed, I must know His thoughts concerning illness, poverty and human suffering. As His servant, I am useless to Him unless I know these things. If I would actually do His will, I must truly know His heart. Therefore, in all my study and times of prayer I am seeking more than just knowledge; I am searching for the heart of God.
Knowing Our Hearts
At the same time, as I draw closer to the heart of God, the very fire of His presence begins a deep purging work within me. In the vastness of His riches, my poverty appears. The psalmist wrote, "Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully" (Ps. 24:3-4).
We cannot even find the hill of the Lord, much less ascend it, if there is deceit in our heart. How does one serve in God's holy place if his soul is unclean? It is only the pure in heart who perceive God. To ascend toward God is to walk into a furnace of truth where falsehood is extracted from our souls. To abide in the holy place we must dwell in honesty, even when a lie might seem to save us. Each ascending step upon the hill of God is a thrusting of our souls into greater transparency, a more perfect view into the motives of our hearts.

It is this upward call of God that we pursue. Yet the soul within us is hidden, crouching in fear and darkness, living in a world of untruths and illusions. This is our inner man, the soul God seeks to save. Have you discovered your true self, the inner person whom truth alone can free? Yes, we seek holiness, but true holiness arises from here; it comes as the Spirit of Truth unveils the hidden places in our hearts. Indeed, it is truthfulness which leads to holiness.
God, grant us a zeal for truth that we may stand in Your holy place!
Men everywhere presume they know the "truth," but they have neither holiness nor power in their lives. Truth must become more than historical doctrine; it must be more than a museum of religious artifacts -- mementos from when God once moved. Truth is knowing God's heart as it was revealed in Christ, and it is knowing our own hearts in the light of God's grace.
As members of the human race, we are shrouded in ignorance. Barely do we know our world around us; even less do we know the nature of our own souls. Without realizing it, as we search for God's heart, we are also searching for our own. For it is only in finding Him that we discover ourselves, for we are "in Him."
Yet throughout that searching process, as I position my heart before the Lord, it is with a sense of trembling that I pray the prayer of King David: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way"(Ps. 139:23-24).
Let us wash the cosmetics from our souls and look at the unadorned condition of our hearts. I know God has created us eternally complete and perfect in Christ. I believe that. But in the first three chapters of John's Revelation, Jesus did not tell the churches they were "perfect in His eyes." No! He revealed to them their true conditions; He told them their sins. Without compromise, He placed on them the demand to be overcomers, each in their own unique and difficult circumstance.
Like them, we must know our need. And like them, the souls we want saved dwell here, in a world system structured by lies, illusions and rampant corruption. Our old natures are like well-worn shoes into which we relax; we can be in the flesh instantly without even realizing it. The enemies that defeat us are hidden and latent within us! Thus the Holy Spirit must expose our foes before we can conquer them!
Concerning man's nature, the prophet Jeremiah wrote, "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9). Quoting another of David's prayers, a similar cry is heard: "Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not rule over me; then I will be blameless, and I shall be acquitted of great transgression" (Ps. 19:12-13).
There may be errors inside of us that are actually ruling us without our awareness. Do we realize, for instance, how many of our actions are manipulated purely by vanity and the desire to be seen or accepted by others? Are we aware of the fears and apprehensions that unconsciously influence so many of our decisions? We may have serious flaws inside yet still be either too proud or too insecure to admit we need help.
Concerning ourselves, we think so highly of what we know so little!
Even outwardly, though we know our camera pose, do we know how we appear when we are laughing or crying, eating or sleeping, talking or angry? The fact is, most of us are ignorant of how we appear outwardly to others; much less do we know ourselves inwardly before God! Our fallen thinking processes automatically justify our actions and rationalize our thoughts. Without the Holy Spirit, we are nearly defenseless against our own innate tendencies toward self-deception.
Therefore, if we would be holy, we must first renounce falsehood. In the light of God' grace, having been justified by faith and washed in the sacrificial blood of Jesus, we need not pretend to be righteous. We need only to become truthful.
No condemnation awaits our honesty of heart -- no punishment. We have only to repent and confess our sins to have them forgiven and cleansed; if we will love the truth, we will be delivered from sin and self-deception. Indeed, we need to know two things and two things only: the heart of God in Christ and our own hearts in Christ's light.
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This word was taken from Pastor Frangipane's book, Holiness Truth and the Presence of God, available in our bookstore. It is currently part of a three-book offer that also includes And I Will Be Found By You and The FacebookDays of His Presence. All three books sold separately are $38.50, but this week only they are available 50% off as a package for just $19.50 (plus shipping and handling).

Visit our Special's page to order
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Copyright (c) 2013
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Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations were taken from the NASB.

Admin Sun 06 Oct 2013, 8:26 pm

The Stronghold of the Godly: Humility
(En Español)
Satan fears virtue. He is terrified of humility; he hates it. He sees a humble person and it sends chills down his back. His hair stands up when Christians kneel down, for humility is the surrender of the soul to God. The devil trembles before the meek because in the very areas where he once had access, there stands the Lord, and Satan is terrified of Jesus Christ.
Who Truly Are You Fighting?
You will remember that, at the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, the judgment of God against the devil was that he should eat dust (Gen. 3:14). Remember also that God said of man, "you are dust" (v.19). The essence of our carnal nature -- of all that is carnal in nature -- is dust. We need to see the connection here: Satan feeds upon our earthly, carnal nature of "dust." Satan dines on what we withhold from God.
Therefore, we need to recognize that the immediate source of many of our problems and oppressions is not demonic but fleshly in nature. We must contend with the fact that one aspect of our lives, our flesh nature, will always be targeted by the devil. These fleshly areas supply Satan with a ready avenue of access to undermine our prayers and neutralize our walk with God.
It is only our exaggerated sense of self-righteousness that prevents us from looking honestly at ourselves. As Christians, we know the Holy Spirit dwells within us, but we must also become aware of where we are tolerating sin if we will be successful in our war against the devil. Therefore, be specific when you submit yourself to God. Do not rationalize your sins and failures. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is a perfect shelter of grace enabling all men to look honestly at their needs. Accordingly, be honest with God. He will not be horrified or shocked by your sins. God loved you without restraint even when sin was rampant within you; how much more will He continue to love you as you seek His grace to be free from iniquity?
Before we launch out in aggressive warfare, we must realize that many of our battles are merely the consequences of our own actions. To war effectively, we must separate what is of the flesh from what is of the devil.

Allow me to give you an example. My wife and I once lived in an area where a beautiful red cardinal kept its nest. Cardinals are very territorial and will fight off intruding cardinals zealously. At that time, we owned a van which had large side mirrors and chrome bumpers. Occasionally, the cardinal would attack the bumpers or mirrors, thinking his reflection was another bird. One day, as I watched the cardinal assail the mirror, I thought, "What a foolish creature; his enemy is merely the reflection of himself." Immediately the Lord spoke to my heart, "And so also are many of your enemies the reflection of yourself."
Before we have any strategy for attacking Satan, we must make sure that the real enemy is not our own carnal nature. We must ask ourselves, Are the things oppressing us today the harvest of what we planted yesterday?
Agree with Thine Adversary
You will remember that Jesus taught:

"Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing" (Matt. 5:25-26 KJV).

Jesus is speaking here of more than avoiding lawsuits. In fact, He speaks in such a way as to indicate that, in regards to this particular adversary and this particular judge, we will always lose our case and end up in prison.
This parable explains God's view of human righteousness. In the narrative, the adversary is the devil and the Judge is God. Satan, as our adversary, stands as the accuser of the brethren before God, the Judge of all. The truth Christ wants us to see is that when we approach God on the basis of our own righteousness, the adversary will always have legal grounds to "cast [us] into prison," for our righteousness is "as filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6 KJV).
When Jesus says, "Agree with thine adversary quickly," He does not mean obey the devil. He is saying that when Satan accuses you of some sin or flaw, if the devil is even minutely right, it is to your advantage to agree with him about your unrighteousness. If he accuses you of being impure or not loving or praying enough, he is right. The key is not to argue with the devil about your own righteousness because, before God, your righteousness is unacceptable. No matter how much you defend or justify yourself, you know inwardly that often the accusations of the devil have morsels of truth in them.
Our salvation is not based upon what we do but upon who Jesus becomes to us. Christ Himself is our righteousness. We have been justified by faith; our peace with God comes through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1). When Satan comes against you, he tries to deceive you by focusing your attention upon your own righteousness. The more we recognize that Jesus alone is our righteousness, the less the adversary can assault us in the arena of our failings.
Thus, when the accuser comes seeking to condemn you for not having enough love, your response should be, "That is true, I do not have enough love. But the Son of God died for all my sins, even the sin of imperfect love." Step out from the shadow of satanic assault and stand in the brightness of your Father's love. Submit yourself to God and ask for Christ's love and forgiveness to replace your weak and imperfect love.
When Satan seeks to condemn you for impatience, again your response should be, "Yes, in my flesh I am very impatient. But since I have been born again, Jesus is my righteousness and through His blood I am forgiven and cleansed." Turn again to God. Use the accusation as a reminder that you are not standing before an angry God but rather a throne of grace which enables you to boldly draw near to God for help (Heb. 4:16).

A vital key, therefore, to overcoming the devil is humility. To humble yourself is to refuse to defend your image: you are corrupt and full of sin in your old nature. Yet we have a new nature that has been created in the likeness of Christ (Eph. 4:24), so we can agree with our adversary about the condition of our flesh.
But do not limit this principle of humbling yourself to only when you are involved in spiritual warfare. This precept is applicable in other situations as well. The strength of humility is that it builds a spiritual defense around your soul, prohibiting strife, competition and many of life's irritations from stealing your peace.
A wonderful place to practice this is in your family relationships. As a husband, your wife may criticize you for being insensitive. A fleshly response could easily escalate the conversation into a conflict. The alternative is to simply humble yourself and agree with your wife. You probably were insensitive. Then pray together and ask God for a more tender love.
As a wife, perhaps your husband accuses you of not understanding the pressures he has at work. More than likely he is right, you do not know the things he must face. Instead of responding with a counter-charge, humble yourself and agree with him. Pray together, asking God to give you an understanding heart. If we remain humble in heart, we will receive abundant grace from God; Satan will be disarmed on many fronts.
Remember, Satan fears virtue. He is terrified of humility; he hates it because humility is the surrender of the soul to the Lord, and the devil is terrified of Jesus Christ.

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[b][b][/b][/b]
This word was taken from Pastor Frangipane's book, The Three Battlegrounds, available in our bookstore. It is currently part of a three-book offer that also includes This Day We Fight! and The Shelter of the Most High. All three books sold separately are $39.85, but this week only they are available as a package for just $19.85 (plus shipping and handling).

[b][b][b][b][b][/b][/b][/b][/b][/b]

Sale extended through
October 7, 2013

Visit our Special's page to order

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Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations were taken from theNASB.

Admin Thu 03 Oct 2013, 10:32 pm

Army of Worshipers
(En Español)
When the Scriptures refer to the "heavenly host," we usually think of "choirs of angels." The word "host" in the Bible meant "army" (Josh. 5:13-14). It is an important truth: the hosts of Heaven are worshiping armies. Indeed, no one can do warfare who is not first a worshiper of God.
The Central Issue in Tribulation: Worship
One does not have to penetrate deeply into the Revelation of John to discover that both God and the devil are seeking worshipers (see Rev. 7:11; 13:4; 14:7, 11). Time and time again the line is drawn between those who "worship the beast and his image" and those who worship God.
In the last great battle before Jesus returns, the outcome of every man's life shall be weighed upon a scale of worship: In the midst of warfare and conflict to whom will we bow, God or Satan?
Yet, while this warfare shall culminate in the establishment of the Lord's kingdom on earth (see Rev. 11:15), we must realize the essence of this battle is the central issue in our warfare today. Will we faithfully worship God during satanic assault and temptation? True worship must emerge in the context of our lives now. For no man will worship through the great battles of tomorrow who complains in the mere skirmishes of today.
You will remember that the Lord's call to the Israelites was a call to worship and serve Him in the wilderness (see Exod. 7:16). Indeed, when Moses first spoke of God's loving concern, we read that the Hebrews "bowed low and worshiped" (Exod. 4:31). But when trials and pressures came, they fell quickly into murmuring, complaining and blatant rebellion. Their worship was superficial, self-serving and conditional -- an outer form without an inner heart of worship.
This same condition of shallow worship prevails in much of Christianity today. If a message is given that speaks of the Lord's great care for His people, with eagerness do we bow low and worship. But as soon as the pressures of daily living arise or temptations come, how quickly we rebel against God and resist His dealings! The enemy has easy access to the soul that is not protected by true worship of the Almighty! Indeed, the Lord's purpose with Israel in the wilderness was to perfect true worship, which is based upon the reality of God, not circumstances. The Lord knows that the heart that will worship Him in the wilderness of affliction will continue to worship in the promised land of plenty.
Without true worship of God, there can be no victory in warfare. For what we bleed when we are wounded by satanic assault or difficult circumstances is the true measure of our worship. You see, what comes out of our hearts during times of pressure is in us, but it is hidden during times of ease. If you are a true worshiper, your spirit will exude worship to God no matter what battle you are fighting. In warfare, worship creates a wall of fire around the soul.
Worship: The Purpose of Creation
We were created for God's pleasure. We were not created to live for ourselves but for Him. And while the Lord desires that we enjoy His gifts and His people, He would have us know we were created first for His pleasure. In these closing moments of this age, the Lord will have a people whose purpose for living is to please God with their lives. In them, God finds His own reward for creating man. They are His worshipers. They are on earth only to please God, and when He is pleased, they also are pleased.
The Lord takes them further and through more pain and conflicts than other men. Outwardly, they often seem "smitten of God, and afflicted" (Isa. 53:4). Yet to God, they are His beloved. When they are crushed, like the petals of a flower, they exude a worship, the fragrance of which is so beautiful and rare that angels weep in quiet awe at their surrender. They are the Lord's purpose for creation.
One would think that God would protect them, guarding them in such a way that they would not be marred. Instead, they are marred more than others. Indeed, the Lord seems pleased to crush them, putting them to grief. For in the midst of their physical and emotional pain, their loyalty to Christ grows pure and perfect. And in the face of persecutions, their love and worship toward God become all-consuming.
Would that all Christ's servants were so perfectly surrendered. Yet God finds His pleasure in us all. But as the days of the Kingdom draw near and the warfare at the end of this age increases, those who have been created solely for the worship of God will come forth in the power and glory of the Son. With the high praises of God in their mouth, they will execute upon His enemies the judgment written (see Ps. 149). They will lead as generals in the Lord's army of worshipers.

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This word was taken from Pastor Frangipane's book, The Three Battlegrounds, available in our bookstore.

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Last two days - sale ends October 3, 2013

[b][b][/b][/b]

It is currently part of a three-book offer that includes This Day We Fight! and Shelter of the Most High. All three books sold separately are $39.85, but this week only they are available as a package for just $19.85 (plus shipping and handling).

Visit our Special's page to order

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Please feel free to forward this message to others; acknowledging our website (and publisher) would be kindly appreciated.

To send this message to a friend or print this message, use our
Printer-friendly version.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sign up to follow Francis' Facebook page

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A service of Frangipane Ministries, Inc.
Copyright (c) 2013
All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations were taken from theNASB.

Admin Sat 28 Sep 2013, 11:53 pm

A Word to the Women of God
(En Español)
Before I begin this message, let me provide a short disclaimer: although I do encourage women to move freely within the order provided by God in their local churches, my goal is to exalt and celebrate a primary grace that God has placed specifically within women, which the Lord Himself has used in past times to release revival.
The Genesis Distinctions
When the Lord created humankind, He placed unique graces in man and separate but equally unique graces in woman. He told Adam to name the species of life on earth "and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name" (Gen. 2:19). This "naming" was much more than calling the dog "Spot." Adam was created with an organizational, administrative capacity that enabled him to identify and define the world around him. By naming the living things, Adam not only brought them into his consciousness, but he introduced order and structure to the human experience. Adam did not create the world, of course, but by defining the things God brought to him, he helped establish reality.

Within the genetics of this original man, there also existed the powerful, but dormant, qualities of the woman. While Adam slept the Spirit took from the man a rib. Fashioning it into a woman, the Lord created for Adam a companion. Not only was she suitable for him, but she powerfully expanded man's creative capacities. Indeed, the woman brought many new graces into Adam's world that did not formerly exist -- the foremost of which was the power to conceive and give birth.
It is important to remember: God created male and female in His image, according to His likeness (Gen 1:26). Of course, in certain ways, both Adam and Eve as individuals possessed reflections of the divine nature. They each could think, speak, dream and create. However, it was in the union of Adam and Eve, in their mutual respect of one another's strengths and graces, that mankind would possess a more perfect expression of the fuller nature of God.
As Adam beheld this first female, he said, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man" (Gen 2:23). The term woman was a delineation used by Adam, identifying her as a unique variation in the species of man. My wife says, "Think of her as the upgrade." In some ways, she is right, for the nature of the woman was twice refined. Adam was created of earth; the woman emerged not from the earth but from the man. She is both more complex and emotionally sophisticated.
Soon Adam began to understand the greatest power of his counterpart: her ability to conceive and bring life into the world. Recognizing this quality, Adam named her Eve, which meant "life." Eve would play an integral part in the unfolding of life's new beginnings. "She was the mother of all the living" (Gen. 3:20).
The Power of a Woman's Prayer
The Lord gave Adam a primary ability to name and establish reality; He gave to woman the unique capacity to conceive and then birth reality. The primary strength of each gender is that man establishes, woman births. Remember, these qualities are not merely "human": they are reflections of the divine. Man's ability to bring order to one's world, to take what was random and give it definition and structure, is a divine facility. Woman's ability to conceive and incubate life, and then deliver life through birth, is also an aspect of the divine nature.
Note also that Adam named the woman Eve (or "Life") before they had children. God gave the woman an ability not just to have babies but to release life in a variety of its expressions. In fact, one translation says that Eve means to "enliven." Alone, Adam had been downcast; it was not good that Adam was alone. Eve enlivened Adam in ways no other creature on earth could. Adam could build a house; Eve made it a home. When Adam named Eve "Life," he was not only speaking prophetically of the first mother, but he was speaking out of his own experience: Eve brought life into the structure of Adam's world.
We are speaking in generalities here, but when we observe the spiritual realm, we see this same divine encoding replicated in the ministries of men and women. Jesus laid the foundation of the church with twelve men whom He called to be apostles. This didn't mean there would never be women in leadership, but that one of the better skills given man from God was the ability to bring order and structure. By the same token, prior to Christ's birth we find Anna, a prophetess, engaged in much prayer and fasting. In my opinion, it is quite possible that this woman was not alone in her intercession, but the leader of a prophetic prayer ministry that lived in anticipation of her times. Women excel in intercession, in spiritual sensitivity and the release of new beginnings. Note: this does not excuse men from prayer! Actually, some of the Bible's best examples of intercessors are men! We are speaking in generalities in reference to the spiritual tendencies of both genders. Neither distinction is more important than the other. Both are absolutely vital for the unfolding of God's will upon the earth.
Today we are fighting the advance of Satan in many arenas. Whether the topic is wars and terrorist attacks or the ever-increasing expansion of iniquity in our world, we need revival. To possess a national awakening, the "birthing" power God has placed in women must be released. All the efforts of man to establish laws and govern righteously will not truly transform our culture. We need something greater; we need the presence of God poured out. I believe the Holy Spirit is raising up a prayer army of women who are rising in power on behalf of their families and nations.
My Mother's Prayers
I personally know the power of a woman's prayer: my mother’s. In the late sixties, I was a very lost young man living in sin and rebellion. Judging from my appearance, I looked hopeless. Yet in spite of my outward condition, my dear Catholic mother stood before God for me. Resist as I did, divine power, uniquely escorted to Earth through her prayers, began to hunt me down. Her cries were relentless and unceasing; often she would pray through the night for me. She was pregnant with prayer for her son. In 1970 God finally answered, and during the Jesus Movement revival, I came to Christ.
Years later I asked the Lord about the Jesus Movement revival. As you may know, it has been part of my assignment to help engender citywide unity and establish prayer, things that precede revival. Yet, to my knowledge, no citywide unity or organized prayer fueled the Jesus Movement. So I asked the Lord how revival could occur without a prayer movement at its source. The Lord quickly corrected me, saying that there was a great prayer movement: He had heard the prayers of a million praying mothers, each crying to Him for their children.
From all denominations, in a "unity of desperation," God heard the cries of believing mothers. His heart was touched, and as a result, multitudes of sinful kids found repentance and salvation in Jesus Christ. This is the army God desires to release again today, but now with more vision, more power from the Holy Spirit, and with the support of men as well!
Women of God, the fact is, Heaven needs you! You have been created by the Almighty to birth breakthroughs on planet Earth! God has uniquely designed you with a latent ability to release life through your intercession. Together with you, we men can build and establish, and we are learning to pray, but you have a special grace to release new spiritual beginnings. Whether your prayer focus is for your husband or church leadership, whether you are interceding for your children, city or nation, you possess in your spirit the seed-realities that, through prayer, can release God's life into the world.
Yes indeed, a battle rages; there still exists "enmity between [the serpent] and the woman" (Gen. 3:15). Satan especially hates you because it was your seed that bruised the serpent's head. It is amazing to me that God chose to bring His Son into the world, not through the heavens nor even through a woman impregnated by man, but through a woman made pregnant by God! God Himself came to earth through the woman's power to give birth!
Today the Lord is giving women a new grace, a new confidence against the powers of hell. Out of their oneness with Christ, these godly women will prayer-birth powerful ministries on earth, both male and female. They will release new beginnings to the body of Christ.
I also want to commend and personally thank the many women's ministries and prayer groups that have stood with me, interceding for my life, my family and my ministry. Many, many times I have suddenly experienced divine protection or unexpected spiritual breakthroughs. When I questioned the Lord, He's said, I'm answering the prayers of [such-and-such] ministry. To each of you, I say a special thank-you. In a unique way, you have been a mother to me. May the Lord multiply His grace toward you and give you the desires of your hearts!
Finally, Revelation 12:1 speaks of a "woman clothed with the sun." This word is not only talking about Israel or the church. It also reveals how the Most High sees spiritual women: They are honored and crowned with distinction -- pure and clothed with the glory of God. With confidence, they tread upon the powers of night. Dear army of praying women, it is your inherent destiny to birth that which shall rule the nations.

Admin Sat 21 Sep 2013, 10:14 pm

Becoming a People of Mercy
(En Español)
Throughout His life, Jesus reached to those rejected by others. He loved the outcasts, those who were despised, scorned, and excluded. Yet His practice of dining with known evildoers offended the Pharisees, and they confronted Jesus' disciples with this question: 'Why is your Teacher eating with the tax-gatherers and sinners?" (Matt. 9:11).
When Jesus heard their question, He answered, 'It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Matt. 9:12-13).

Jesus told the religious Pharisees to go and learn what our heavenly Father meant when He said, 'I desire compassion [mercy], and not sacrifice." So many today are religious without being compassionate. Compassion in the Greek language means a 'yearning in the bowels." It is something that cannot be easily ignored.

You see, a religion without love is an abomination to God. The church needs to learn that God desires love and compassion, not merely an adherence to ritual and sacrifice.

It is right that we should be troubled by the sins of our nation. But we must remember, all nations sin. All cultures have seasons of moral decline and spiritual malaise. Yet these periods can become turning points if, in times of distress, leaders and intercessors cry to the Lord for mercy. Thus, Christlike prayer brings redemption out of disaster.

Mercy Not Wrath
The church was created not to fulfill God's wrath, but to complete His mercy. True prayer is born of love and comes in the midst of sin and need. It comes not to condemn, but to cover.

Jesus said His Father's house would be a 'house of prayer for all the nations" (Mark 11:17). Consider passionately this phrase: 'prayer for." Jesus taught His disciples to 'pray for" those who would persecute or mistreat them (Matt. 5:44). When Job 'prayed for" his friends (Job 42:10), God fully restored him. We are to 'pray for the peace of Jerusalem" (Ps. 122:6), and 'pray for" each other so that we may be healed (James 5:16). Paul wrote that God 'desires all men to be saved" (1 Tim. 2:4). Therefore, he urged 'that entreaties and prayers…be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority" (vv. 1-2).

The nature of our calling is to pray for people in difficulty, in sin, in sickness, and in need of God.

Conformed to the Image of God
Consider this: the only being in the entire universe worthy to 'open the book" and release God's wrath on sin is the very One in all the universe least likely to do so. His commitment to man's redemption was a total sacrifice, an offering that abides eternally at God's throne. Yes, He is the lion of the tribe of Judah, but He is also the Lamb slain for men's sins. He is the only One to whom authority is given to open the book of divine wrath (see Rev. 5).

Because Christ paid the highest price for redemption, we can be confident that He will not release divine fury until He fully exhausts divine mercy. Even then, when His judgments finally come, they will continue to be guided by His motive of mercy, giving time for sinners to repent.

God's Word tells us plainly, 'As He is, so also are we in this world" (1 John 4:17). Our pattern is the Lamb. Our goal is not merely the exposure of sin but also the unveiling of the sacrifice for sin. Our great commission is to bring healing and the message of God's mercy to the nations. Until Christ breaks the seals that ultimately will lead to wrath, we must stand in intercession before God as ambassadors of the Lamb.
May the Lord give us a clear vision of this truth: intercession is the essence of Christ's life. Not only is He now at the right hand of the Father interceding for us (Rom. 8:34), but His coming to earth and dying for sins was one extended act of intercession. Jesus beheld the depravity of mankind's sin. He examined it carefully in all of its offensiveness, perversity, and repulsiveness. Yes, He rebuked it when necessary, but the wonder of the Gospel is that, in spite of mankind's sin, God so deeply loved the world that He sent His Son to die for us (John 3:16-17).
We are called to follow this same amazing pattern of mercy.
We are not minimizing sin when we maximize Christ's mercy. There is a difference between whitewashing sin and bloodwashing it. The reality that compels God's heart -- that is an underlying principle of life -- is "mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13). To live a life of mercy corresponds perfectly with God's heart. Mercy precisely fulfills the divine purpose: to transform man into the Redeemer's image.

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Adapted from Francis Frangipane's book, The Power of One Christlike Life, available at www.arrowbookstore.com.

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The Power of One Christlike Life

FRANCIS FRANGIPANE MINISTRIES - Page 28 Book_powerchristlike_sm

Updated and revised, The Power of One Christlike Lifecarries a cargo of gold from the heart of a man after God's heart. This book by Pastor Frangipane contains the nectar of his walk with God. It is packed with revelation about the nature of God in Christ, and how the key to everything spiritual is found in the pursuit of Christ's likeness. View Francis introducing this book

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Admin Sun 15 Sep 2013, 9:42 pm

Beware of the Stronghold of Cold Love
(En Español)
Is your love growing softer, brighter and more visible? Or is it becoming more discriminating, more calculating, less vulnerable and less available? This is a very important issue, for your Christianity is only as real as your love. A measurable decrease in your ability to love is evidence that a stronghold of cold love is developing within you.
Jesus warned of our era. He said, "Many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold" (Matt. 24:10-12). So, let us honestly ask the Lord to examine us: Is our love hot or cold? Another's thoughtlessness may have wounded us deeply, but instead of forgiving the wound or going to them and discussing it according to Matthew 18, we go to others with our complaint. The wound then begins to germinate into a root of bitterness, and many are being defiled (Heb. 12:15). What is growing in us is not love but bitterness, which is unfulfilled revenge.
Again, Jesus warned "that stumbling blocks [would] come" (Matt. 18:7). There will be times when even good people have bad days; there will never be a time when "stumbling blocks" cease to be found upon your path. Remember also, people do not stumble over boulders but over stones -- little things. When you have stumbled over something, you've stopped walking.
Have you stumbled over someone's weakness or sin lately? Have you gotten back up and continued loving as you did before, or has that fall caused you to withdraw from walking in love? To preserve the quality of your love, you must forgive those who have caused you to stumble. Depending on the issue itself, it may be that you legitimately cannot trust them, but you do not have a reason to stop loving.
Every time you refuse to forgive or fail to overlook a weakness in another, your heart not only hardens toward them, it hardens toward God. You may still think you are open to God, but the Scriptures are clear: "The one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen" (1 John 4:20). You may not like what someone has done, but you do not have an option to stop loving them.
What do I mean by love? First, I do not merely mean "tough love." I mean gentle, affectionate, sensitive, open, persistent love. God will be tough when He needs to be, and we will be firm when He tells us to be, but beneath our firmness must be an underground river of love waiting to spring into action. When I have love for someone, I have predetermined that I am going to stand with them, regardless of what they are going through. I am committed.
We each need people who love us, who are committed to us in spite of our imperfections. The fullness of Christ will not come without Christians standing with each other in love. We are not talking about salvation but growing in salvation until we care for each other, even as Christ has committed Himself to us.
The goal of pulling down the stronghold of cold love is to see our hearts restored to the heart of Christ. You will be challenged in this, but if you persist, you will discover the height and depth and breadth of Christ's love. You will become "a body filled and flooded with God Himself" (Eph. 3:19 Amp).

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FRANCIS FRANGIPANE MINISTRIES - Page 28 Book_3battlegrounds

Adapted from Francis Frangipane's book, The Three Battlegrounds, on sale this week - Visit our Special's page to order.

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Admin Wed 11 Sep 2013, 9:07 pm

The Three Battlegrounds Introduction (En Español) Among the many things to learn about God's Kingdom, we must also learn principals of spiritual warfare: how to war and how to win. First, though, I have two concerns. The first is our need for wisdom. There is an old European proverb worth heeding. It reads: "Age and treachery will always defeat youth and zeal." Before we engage in spiritual warfare, we should know this about Satan: he is an ancient and extremely treacherous foe. On the other hand, the strength of most Christians lies primarily in idealism and untested fervor. It is not long, usually five to ten years in the ministry, and most zeal has waned. Without warning, the minister's call has deteriorated from a walk of vision to a mere job. What occurred was that zeal, by itself, challenged the treachery of hell and lost. The brightness of youthful dreams dimmed under the dark cloud of relentless satanic assault. Under the weight of growing frustrations and discouragement, compromise increased, and with it came iniquity and spiritual bondage. Yet the real villain was not sin but ignorance. We put the devil in a doctrinal box and expected him to stay there. He did not. He undermined relationships, and our love grew cautious. He resisted us in prayer, and our faith turned weak. Disillusionment set in. After spending much time with struggling pastors, I have seen a common trend in most: They failed to discern the assault of the devil. They stood unprotected against an ancient, treacherous foe. Jesus prepared His disciples for everything, including war. They saw Him casting out demons. In fact, He sent them forth doing the same. But before He sent them out, He charged them to become wise "as serpents" yet innocent and harmless "as doves" (Matt. 10:16). This fusion of divinewisdom and Christlike innocence is the taproot of all spiritual victory. Indeed, we can defeat the enemy, but wisdom must precede warfare and virtue must come before victory. Consequently, the goal of this book is to train the church in wisdom and call the church to innocence. We will not disregard what we have previously learned; we will still live by faith. But we must learn the ways of God, which means we must think with wisdom. And we must be pure of heart, that we may see God and gain discernment. Indeed, it is this very ignorance that has left us vulnerable to satanic attack. Of my second concern, let me say that there are no shortcuts to successful warfare, only ways to make it longer and more perilous. One way of peril is to enter battle blinded by presumption. When it comes to waging war effectively, consider carefulness to be the essence of victory. Whatever lofty spiritual plane you imagine that you are on, remember: Adam was in Paradise when he fell. Before your increased knowledge and religious experiences make you overly self-confident, recall that Solomon wrote three books of Scripture; he actually gazed upon the glory of God, yet he fell. Yes, even in your deepest worship of the Almighty, do not forget in long ages past Lucifer himself was once in Heaven pouring out praise to God. We all have seen many who have fallen. Jesus warned that the love of many would grow cold. Do not presume it cannot happen to you. Our enemy has been deceiving mankind for thousands of years. Our experience, on the other hand, spans but a brief moment. It is wisdom to recognize that we do not know all there is to know concerning warfare. Therefore, be bold but never brash or arrogant in your prayer life. Use your spiritual authority administratively and compassionately, but never presumptuously. Multitudes of well-meaning but ignorant Christians have approached the field of spiritual battle with flippant attitudes and have suffered greatly for it. Study several books and seek confirmation from the Lord for your strategies. As it is written, "Prepare plans by consultation, and make war by wise guidance" (Prov. 20:18). Thus, our purpose here is to help equip you for battle in each of the three primary battlegrounds: the mind, the church, and the heavenly places. There are other fields or subcategories of spiritual warfare; however, these are where most of us will face conflict. One last note. A few of you will be instrumental in actually turning your cities toward God. Our prayer is that these chapters will help guide and equip you for that goal. The promise of the Spirit speaks thus: "There was a small city with few men in it and a great king came to it, surrounded it and constructed large siegeworks against it. But there was found in it a poor wise man and he delivered the city by his wisdom" (Eccl. 9:14-15). While many are predicting the destruction of our nation and the collapse of our cities, they have not considered the power of Christ in you. But remember, "Wisdom is better than strength. . . . Wisdom is better than weapons of war" (Eccl. 9:16, 18). ---Francis Frangipane, July 1989 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Adapted from Francis Frangipane's book, *The Three Battlegrounds ,* on sale this week athttp://www.arrowbookstore.com/category/Specials.htm Book - $6.75 (Retail $11.75) Ebook - $5.75 (Retail $11.75) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Pulling Down Strongholds - Audio Series CD series $24.00 (Retail $32.00) MP3 series $12.00 (Retail $16.00) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ [b] The Three Battlegrounds - book and Pulling Down Strongholds - CD series[/b] Package $28.75 (Retail $43.75) Visit our Special's page to order ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Please feel free to forward this message to others; acknowledging our website (and publisher) would be kindly appreciated. To send this message to a friend or print this message, use our Printer-friendly version. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Sign up to follow Francis' Facebook page What did you think about this message? Tell us on Facebook or Twitter If you are financially unable to purchase a product by Pastor Frangipane, he would love to give you your choice of any one of his eBooks for free, or for whatever you can afford. One free eBook per household please. (Visit our FAQ page for more information.) A service of Frangipane Ministries, Inc. Copyright (c) 2013 All rights reserved. Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations were taken from theNASB.		September 10, 2013 Subscribe to receive FREE email messages and bookstore specials ____________________ In Christ's Image Training Ask about our free online course! Registration begins soon for the January Level I class Available also in Spanish / Español ____________________ Online Bookstore Be sure and visit our Specials page at Arrow Publications Inc.____________________ Ministry Support ____________________ Website Resources www.frangipane.org ____________________ Comments and Questions If you wish to contact us with comments or questions about this email, you may do so by writing us atcomments@frangipane.org ___________________

Admin Wed 04 Sep 2013, 10:51 pm

An Unguarded Heart
(En Español)
I know a few will regard the following remarks as coming from "the deep end." Others will take what I'm presenting and exaggerate it beyond its legitimate boundaries. But I want to focus on one reason why some leaders have serious moral failures. I want to offer an insight into how all of us, as Christians, can protect ourselves from a similar failure.
The idea that a leader whom we've known and loved should suddenly be exposed in a devastating scandal seems incomprehensible. Certainly these who have taught others could teach themselves. Is there not resident within them saving knowledge that would protect them from worldly passions?
What is it then that can worm into an individual's thought-life, burrow into his heart, and then grow so compelling that a leader is willing to risk everything he's loved and attained for a mere fulfillment of the flesh? Is it just sin? Or is there something deeper -- a lack of spiritual discernment -- that left the heart of that leader vulnerable to demonic manipulation?
Their heart was unguarded to the exploitation of hell.
An Unparalleled Warfare
Please note that I am not blaming the devil for every sin we commit. The fact is, selfishness and self-indulgence, which produce sin, are basic instincts of our fallen nature. At the same time, let us also discern the unique warfare of our times. Our world has been flooded with hyper-sexuality and excess. The "red-light district" has moved from the city and entered our homes via the Internet, movies and television. We deceive ourselves if we think we can accommodate an immoral imagination and it not contaminate how we act out our lives.
You see, an unguarded mind that willfully harbors darkness will have spiritual predators cultivating and probing our moral weaknesses. Indeed, through modern technology, an alternate reality -- a fantasy world created by our mind's imagination -- can be created and accessed by the demonic realm. We don't just watch movies; we are absorbed by them. We actually have sports "fantasy leagues" and computer games and apps that guarantee their programs will be addicting.
There is much within the fallen human nature that can be exploited and plundered for evil. When we do not guard our hearts and avoid what is sinful, this fantasy realm unfolds into darkness, leaving our thought-processes open and unprotected against demons that build strongholds in the human soul.
Listen well: what entertains us actually enters us. If you are entertained by pornography or sexual fantasy, perverse or corrupting thoughts, you are opening your soul to hell. You must confront this battle honestly, repent of sin, and set a guard over your heart. If you don't, your battle will advance from temptation to serious, hidden sexual bondage, which in turn will advance to secret attempts to openly fulfill your heightened passions.
People of Destiny, Take Heed
Jesus reveals that a major source of this sexual manipulation is the Jezebel spirit (Rev. 2:20). The rampant immorality we see manifested in Western culture underscores the increasing influence of this ruler of darkness. Indeed, compare our world today with cultural standards of just fifty years ago and it's easy to see that Western civilization is under siege. Too many Christians have their defenses down, and many otherwise good people have slipped into bondage.
Yet Jezebel's arsenal includes more than lust; there is also witchcraft, which attacks and works to disarm the conscience. Remember Jehu's words? "What peace, so long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?" (2 Kings 9:22).
We are fighting the harlotries" and "witchcrafts" of Jezebel. Those who have been defeated by this spirit often feel they were drugged by their own passions. They did things that were flagrantly sinful, almost daring God (or the devil) to expose them. I am talking about the war against church leaders. How many more must fall before we realize the need for repentance and discernment?
The Subtle Attack
The Jezebel spirit is a "man whisperer." Its approach typically is not bold but enticing -- seducing and stimulating the degrading thoughts of human flesh. Its quiet power overwhelms and then disarms the human conscience. In your desire to walk upright before the Lord, what you may actually be fighting is Jezebel -- in particular, her many "witchcrafts."
One may argue, "My battle is just sin, not warfare." Perhaps that is true for you, but for others it is a spiritual attack on an unguarded heart. Its power may be aimed at Christians in general, but its specific target is church leaders and those called to places of authority in God's kingdom.
There are times when I think the world has greater discernment than the church. Consider these select words from the old Frank Sinatra song, "Witchcraft":

Those fingers in my hair
That sly come-hither stare
That strips my conscience bare
It's witchcraft
And I've got no defense for it
The heat is too intense for it
What good would common sense for it do?
'cause it's witchcraft, wicked witchcraft
And although I know it's strictly taboo
When you arouse the need in me
My heart says "Yes, indeed" in me
"Proceed with what you're leading me to"
---C. Leigh, C. Coleman
The song did, in fact, reveal characteristics about the effect of witchcraft. The composers wrote, "[It] strips my conscience bare." It continues, "I've got no defense for it/The heat is too intense for it/What good would common sense for it do?" And then, "When you arouse the need in me/My heart says, 'Yes, indeed' in me/'Proceed with what you're leading me to.' "
Of course, we do have a defense for it in Christ, but that defense begins with guarding our hearts from the opportunities and deceptions of the Jezebel spirit.
Set a Guard
I don't want to make too much of the possibility of witchcraft, for becoming overly focused on this type of warfare can itself become a swamp of darkness. Let's keep things in perspective. However, this article is from a book on discernment, and we need to be aware of the spiritual realm around us. Whether witchcraft is what you are fighting or just natural weaknesses of the flesh, you need to close the door to the hyper-sexuality of our world. Indeed, the world has "no defense for it."
However, for those in the kingdom of God, "the weapons of our warfare are … divinely powerful" (2 Cor. 10:4). Our weapons and defenses are mighty, but we must use them. Scripture commands: "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life" (Prov. 4:23). The NIV says it this way: "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."
A guard is one armed and trained to recognize an enemy and turn away that enemy's attack. We are in war and must stay militant in attitude throughout our lives. We cannot be casual with sin or temptation. When you use the Internet, use a filtering software program as a guard. Be accountable. Don't feed your sexual appetites, for these kinds of addictions only go from bad to worse (Rom. 1:24–28).
If you are currently in bondage to sin, as powerful as the sin seems, the enemy will also work to isolate your battle from others. The efforts we spend hiding sin are the very tools Satan uses to entrap us in it; so, talk to someone (Eph. 5:11–13). If you have a history of sin, then begin a process of cleansing, of washing your "robes … in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev. 7:14). Confess your sins one by one to God and one another.
Now would be a good time to build yourself up spiritually. Take the next step in your spiritual journey. Get back in the Word, for the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. Use the authority of God's Word to defend your heart against spiritual attacks.
The most important thing you can do is to return wholeheartedly to God. The Lord promises, "Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name" (Ps. 91:14).
Beloved, it is time to set a guard over your heart.
Lord God, this day I humble myself before Your throne. You see my heart and the battle I have faced. I ask that You restore me; make me wiser. Let not my enemy triumph over me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and grant me the grace to walk with a pure heart, a guarded heart, before You. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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FRANCIS FRANGIPANE MINISTRIES - Page 28 Spiritual-discernment-single_sm

Adapted from Francis Frangipane's book,Spiritual Discernment and the Mind of Christavailable at www.arrowbookstore.com.

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The Jezebel Spirit - Audio Series

FRANCIS FRANGIPANE MINISTRIES - Page 28 Cd_jezabel

The Jezebel Spirit often comes against church leaders and prophetic ministries. It's intimidating power is a form of witchcraft. It also manifests as immorality, rebellion and control. Learn how to discern and fight this spirit.
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Stand Firm   |   Led by the Spirit into Battle
Discerning Jezebel   |   Its Goal is Control
Confronting the Enemy |  Jezebel Among the Prophets
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Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations were taken from theNASB.

Admin Sat 31 Aug 2013, 9:04 pm

When the Crop Permits
By Francis Frangipane
(En Español)

Certainly, the period prior to Christ's return will be both difficult and perilous. Scripture warns that God's voice will shake all things, things in the heavens and things upon the earth. Everything that can be shaken, will be shaken and removed (Heb. 12:27).

Yet there is more on the calendar of God than increasing judgments and the Rapture. There will also be the advance and a significant, though still partial, re-establishing of God's kingdom (Dan.2:44; Matt. 24:14; Matt. 13). A spiritually mature people will serve as the vanguard of His kingdom. Before the Lord is glorified in the earth, He shall be glorified in the church (see Isa. 60:1-3; Eph. 5:27). Indeed, the attainment of Christlike maturity in those who pursue the Lord shall not be a mere sidebar on the scroll of end-time events; it will be the main attraction.
Listen carefully to what Jesus taught. He said,

"The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows -- how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come" (Mark 4:26-29).

Jesus likened the kingdom of God to a farmer waiting for the maturing of His crops. During the harvest season, farmers are concerned about two primary things: the quantity and quality of the harvest. I lived in eastern Iowa. Some corn and soybean fields, which may have started strong, fail or are stunted due to unusually high or low temperatures or lack of rain. As a result, farmers plow under their fields because their crops did not reach maturity. There was no "mature grain in the head."

Just as the farmer will not harvest without the grain becoming mature, so God is seeking a crop of Christ-followers that have reached spiritual maturity. God is after full stature not just full numbers. Take note: Jesus said, "when the crop permits," God puts in the sickle. The return of Christ isn't about a certain "day or hour," for it is the spiritual stature of the harvest that triggers the great unfolding of end-time events. You see, God is not looking at His watch; He's looking at His crop.

What does spiritual maturity look like? Recall Paul's words. He wrote, "We are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete" (2 Cor. 10:6). What does complete obedience look like? It looks like Christians taking "every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5). Again, God is looking for Christlikeness to ripen within us as we approach the end of the age. Indeed, our maturing can actually hasten the coming of the day of the Lord (2 Peter 3:12).

"Man...in the image of God" is the seed-idea purposed by the Almighty from before time began (Gen. 1:27). The release of divine wrath is not the Father's highest priority. It does not in any way mean we think we are gods or that we take Christ's place; it means Christ has truly taken our place (Gal. 2:20). This is what the "mature head in the grain" looks like: mature Christlikeness.

For too long we have assumed that only the numeric size of the harvest was the focus of the Father. Certainly, the number of people saved is pivotal: "the fullness of the gentiles" must come into the kingdom (Rom. 11:25). However, the Almighty does not just want numbers; He wants spiritual maturity.

Thus, the Lord is not looking at a calendar thinking, "Oh, it's the year 2013 (or 2020, etc.). I have to destroy the world on that date." No. A farmer does not reap his crops without first walking his fields, holding samples of the grain, and studying the moisture and integrity of the seed head before he begins his harvest. Again, the maturity of the crop determines the day of the harvest.

So many Christians are frozen in spiritual immaturity. They are easily offended, often distracted and without prayer or spiritual discipline. We think God is requiring of us simply to hang on, yet the Lord is looking for more. Paul says the goal of God in the church is that "we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13).

Even now, believers around the world are becoming increasingly more Christlike. They live in India and China, Africa and South America, Europe and North America, and places beyond. Yes, they are comparatively a little flock, yet "with unveiled face," they are "beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord" and "are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory" (2 Cor. 3:18). When this crop permits, the Father shall put in His sickle, for the harvest has come.

Let's pray: Lord Jesus, as You continue looking for spiritual completeness in the harvest, help me to grow to full stature, that I may truly represent a planting which has grown up into Your likeness.

Adapted from Francis Frangipane's In Christ's Image Training available at www.icitc.org.

Admin Sat 24 Aug 2013, 7:44 pm

Your Appointment Still Awaits You

Appointed Times
In spite of escalating turmoil in our world, there still remains one last, great outpouring of mercy before the time of the end (Matt. 24:14; Acts 2:17). This supernatural season is not something for which we must beg God. No, its coming has been predetermined. It is the "appointed time" of the Lord.
An "appointed" or "fixed" time is an open display of the sovereignty and power of God, whether it is in calling a person or calling a nation. In it we discover with absolute certainty that nothing is impossible for God. It is a season when God fulfills the hopes and dreams of His people.
As it is written,
"But You, O Lord, abide forever, and Your name to all generations. You will arise and have compassion on Zion; for it is time to be gracious to her, for the appointed time has come" (Ps. 102:12-13).
During an "appointed time" it is as though the Lord physically rises and moves in unfailing compassion on behalf of His people. It is the time when divine promises, dreams and spiritual hopes are fulfilled. Recall: Abraham and Sarah had waited in faith for a quarter-century for the promise of God. Finally, as they neared one hundred years of age, the Lord told Abraham, "At the appointed time I will return to you . . . and Sarah will have a son" (Gen. 18:14). One year later, "at the appointed time" (Gen. 21:2), Isaac was born to aged parents!
While there are, indeed, appointed times of judgment (Mark 13:33), this phrase most frequently represents a time, preset by God, when He invades mankind with "wonders, plans formed long ago, [that unfold] with perfect faithfulness" (Isa .25:1).
Demons may stand arrayed against the Lord; nations may align themselves to fight Him. It does not matter. "He who sits in the heavens laughs" (Ps. 2:4). For He makes all things His servants (Ps. 119:91), even His enemies' plans for evil are reversed and made to serve the purpose of God (Gen. 50:20; Rom. 8:28; Acts 2:22-24).
If God gave you a vision, a spiritual hope or dream for your future, there will be an appointed time when that which God spoke comes to pass. Thus the Lord assures us, "Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run. For the vision is yet for the appointed time. It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay" (Hab. 2:2-3, italics mine). Though your vision may tarry, wait for it. For it will certainly come to pass at the appointed time.
Appointed Servants of God
Consider the Lord's word to His disciples. He said,
"You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain" (John 15:16).
The disciples certainly felt that they had chosen Christ. Yet the deeper truth was that God chose them before the foundation of the world. Likewise, He chose us and predestined us to come to Christ (Eph. 1:3-5). We could not even come to Christ had not the Father drawn us (John 6:44). Yet He who chose us also appointed us to bear fruit. The same power that worked in us our surrender and faith continues to work in our hearts, appointing us to bear fruit. Do you believe God has chosen you? Then believe also that He has appointed you to bear fruit.
The Enemy's Work
One may argue, "But I know people who were good Christians who have fallen away." Yes, but in most cases you will find that prior to falling away they fell into deep disappointment about a failed spiritual expectation.Disappointment is not just a sad emotional state of mind; deep disappointment actually can sever our hearts from faith. It can "dis-appoint" us from our appointed destiny.
I have known many who were doing well, moving toward their destiny. The future God had for them seemed close enough to taste. Then they became disappointed in someone or something. By accepting a demonically manipulated disappointment into their spirits, and letting that event germinate and grow into a disappointment with God, a bitter cold winter overtook their souls and their destiny went dormant.
When one is dis-appointed, he is cut off from his appointment with destiny. Their appointed breakthrough remains in the heart of God, but the individual is isolated by unbelief. Hope deferred has made their heart sick. It is here, even in the throes of disappointment, that the righteous must learn to live by faith (see Hab. 2:1-4).
Listen well my friend: Satan will stop your destiny if you accept the power of disappointment into your life. Disappointment cuts us off from our vision, and without a vision people perish.
Therefore, let me ask you: Are you carrying disappointment in your heart? Renounce it. Forgive those who have let you down. Have you personally or morally failed? Repent deeply and return to your Redeemer. Right now, I ask the Holy Spirit to remove the paralyzing sting of disappointment from your heart! Holy Spirit, deliver your people this day from the effect of the disappointment. Let them know that their appointment with destiny is still set.

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Originally a chapter in This Day We Fight! (Chosen Books); rewritten and updated for Spiritual Discernment and the Mind of Christ.

[b][b][/b][/b]	[b][b]Spiritual Discernment and the Mind of Christ[/b][/b] Available for a limited time for just $10.50 (Retail $12.85) at www.arrowbookstore.com
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Admin Sat 17 Aug 2013, 9:52 pm

Goliath Had a Brother
(En Español)
Here's the scene: You are in a battle against sickness, oppression or some similar struggle. You seek God, and in some way the grace of God touches your life. Your victory may have come through a word or prayer or some other encouragement, but you absolutely know the Lord has delivered you. Using the five smooth stones of divine grace, you defeated your Goliath.
But then, a few weeks or months or perhaps years later, all the old symptoms suddenly return with a vengeance. If you were struggling with an illness, it manifests worse than ever; if your battle was regarding a relationship or a particular sin, it seems as though all progress has been lost. You are back to square one.
Have you ever been there? These negative experiences can drain the faith from your heart. You lose the anticipation and power of faith, and a spiritual paralysis immobilizes your soul. You may still attend church, but your faith is unresponsive. When others testify of deliverance, you worry secretly that they, too, will "lose their healing."
For many, the result is one of faith-shaking disillusionment. Scripture says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Prov. 13:12). This "heartsickness" is a spiritual disease that can cripple your walk with God. Remember, faith is the substance of the things you hope for; if you lose hope, your faith becomes hollow. How can you trust God when it seems as though He let you down? You wonder: Did I lose my breakthrough, or was I only deceiving myself and never really had it?
Dear one, it is very possible that what you are experiencing is not a loss of God's blessing but an entirely new spiritual battle. This new war is a very clever and effective deception that Satan uses to try and worm his way back into the lives of those delivered by God.
I had been praying about this very thing, this recurring battle, when the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart: "Goliath had a brother." I was immediately reminded of David's war against the Philistine giant. We all know that David became a great hero by trusting God and defeating Goliath. However, things changed as we see in 2 Samuel 21:

"Now when the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David went down and his servants with him; and as they fought against the Philistines, David became weary. Then Ishbi-benob, who was among the descendants of the giant . . . intended to kill David. But Abishai the son of Zeruiah helped him, and struck the Philistine and killed him" (2 Samuel 21:15-17).
Years after David conquered Goliath as a lad, after he became king he had to face other giants. In fact, 1 Chronicles 20:5 reveals that at least one of those warring against David was "the brother of Goliath," and four were his children (2 Sam. 21:22). We can imagine that these giants, being Goliath's kin, looked like Goliath, boasted like him, dressed like him and probably even smelled like him. The Scripture says that while fighting one of the descendants of Goliath, "David became weary" (2 Sam. 21:15). The Bible is silent as to what might have been going through the king's mind as he battled these giants. Perhaps he wondered, I thought I killed Goliath. What is he doing back? But Goliath had not come back; he was dead! David was actually fighting the giant's kin. It just looked like the same battle!
Likewise, you also have had many successful victories. Just because the current giant you are facing looks like one you defeated in the past, do not accept the lie that you never really won the first battle! By the strength of God's grace, you trusted the Almighty and conquered your Goliath. The first giant is dead. Satan is masquerading as your former enemy so he can slip past your shield of faith and thus regain entrance into your life. Resist him. Do not accept the lie that you were never delivered. Stand in faith. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4).
The living God who helped you conquer Goliath will empower you to overcome his brother as well.
Father, I come to You as Your servant. Like David, I have become weary with fighting an enemy I thought I had defeated. By the power of Your Holy Spirit, however, I expose the lie that this is the same foe I previously conquered. In Jesus' name, I rebuke the enemy. I ask You, Lord, to send angels to strengthen me supernaturally, just as angels often strengthened Jesus. In the name of the Lord, Amen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Adapted from a chapter in Francis Frangipane's newest book Spiritual Discernment and the Mind of Christ.

[b][b][/b][/b]	[b][b]Spiritual Discernment and the Mind of Christ[/b][/b] Available for a limited time for just $10.50 (Retail $12.85) at www.arrowbookstore.com
[b]~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ [b] [/b][/b] Book and CD series also available

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Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations were taken from theNASB.

Admin Sun 11 Aug 2013, 6:32 pm

Level I classes begin September 6, 2013
Accepting registrations through August 29, 2013

There are qualities of heart that actually attract the pleasure of God. If we possess unoffendable faith in our pursuit of Christ's likeness; if we walk humbly with our God; if we position ourselves in the intercessor's gap; and if abide in Christ-centered unity with the local body of Christ -- we will attract the pleasure of God, and when we awaken His pleasure, His power soon follows. Sign up today for our next In Christ's Image Training course starting September 6. www.icitc.org.

In Christ's Image Training is a six-month, online course developed by Pastor Frangipane. It is based on 40 years of seeking God, study and revelatory insights. These are proven truths that break chains and lead to power in our Christian walk.
ICIT provides focused training in four essential stages of spiritual development:

The vision of attaining Christ's likeness,
Possessing Christ's humility,
Developing a strong prayer life
and becoming one with other Christ believers.

The course comes right to your home via email and audio messages and is designed to lift one's focus toward the actual presence of Jesus Christ. The complete course not only includes 44 lessons and 39 audio messages, but the discerning student will actually find the Lord using the weekly lessons to stage opportunities to deepen the truths found in the training.
For those with limited funds, the entire text is free by email. Just enroll in the Free Lesson Plan.

Student testimonies | Video of Francis introducing the course

For more information on all our training programs start at www.icitc.org and read through the
Level I page and then the Tuition page for a full list of enrollment plans.

1.) Go to to www.icitc.org and read through the Level I page, FAQ page,
Level I Syllabus page and Tuition page.
2.) Choose an enrollment plan.
3.) Next, complete the Level I Registration form.
4.) Submit the registration form before August 29. Class begins September 6, 2013.

Training also available in Spanish / Español

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Admin Sun 04 Aug 2013, 9:09 pm

Righteous Judgement
(En Español)
In my various writings and public speaking, I have urged the born-again church to resist the trends of self-righteous anger and bitter cynicism that exist in our world. Instead, let us seek to possess the "higher . . . thoughts" of Christ (Isa. 55:9).
In truth, our calling is to serve God as ambassadors of Christ (Eph. 6:20). A true ambassador is not only pledged to represent his or her leader; the ambassador is one who knows what that ruler actually thinks and what he would say. He receives regular communication with that leader and is current on his leader's short-term and long-term goals. Should the ambassador be ignorant of the ruler's view, he is trained to not offer his own opinions; he is to wait until he hears from the one he represents. The world doesn't want to know what we think. There are some seven billion opinions in the world today; what the nations need is not to hear our opinion, but to hear the One we represent: our King, Jesus Christ.
I have also endeavored to put a roadblock in front of false discernment. We must avoid the self-righteous, religious approach of the Pharisees. When I urge people to not be judgmental, I am not saying don't discern. Spiritual discernment is an art form, while judging by outer appearance is an instinct of the flesh. I am saying we must learn how to wait, listen and, in meekness, discern the higher way of Christ.
Judgment That Is Righteous
Yet inevitably there are still questions. What about the Lord's admonition calling us to "not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment" (John 7:24)? What is righteous judgment?
In discussing this with others, I've noticed that the words righteous andjudgment seem to be all that some see in the verse. However, the first part of the verse explains, at least partially, the second half: righteous judgment is that which is "not . . . according to appearance." Righteous judgment comes from another source, that which is higher than the instincts of the flesh.
You see, there is a difference between discerning a need that you are determined to pray for and, in contrast, simply finding fault which often degrades into gossip and slander. God does not call a person into a "ministry of judging others" just because one has always been fearless to "tell it as it is." Faultfinding is not a gift of the Spirit.
If your judgment is truly from God, it will not be an isolated gift. You will also have humility from God, love, and lowliness of mind as well.
Righteous judgment proves itself genuine by the virtues that support and present it.
All the virtues of the Spirit -- love, joy, peace, gentleness, etc. -- should be functionally evident in your character. If so, you will have been known to be gentle, loving, lowly of mind and wise. When you bring a righteous judgment, your character affirms that your judgment is not an emotional reaction, but you come as one sent from God -- like Christ, you are typically full of grace and truth. You speak as an individual who is seriously concerned with bettering the life of others.
As John wrote,
"By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world" (1 John 4:17).
Yes, the day of judgment is coming. Our goal should be that "love is perfected with us." In the seasons of judgment, we are called to a life of perfect love, for "as He is, so also are we in this world."

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[b][b][/b][/b]

Adapted from a chapter in Francis Frangipane's newest book Spiritual Discernment and the Mind of Christ, available this week for just $10.50 (Retail $12.85) www.arrowbookstore.com

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Admin Mon 29 Jul 2013, 2:01 pm

Love Just One
(En Español)
The Upward Call
It is sad, but many Christians muddy along, hoping for nothing loftier than a short reprieve from sin and self-condemnation. Should the lowliness of our sinful state have veto power over the enormity of God's promises? May it never be! For Scripture assures us that our call, even as lowly as we feel sometimes, is an upward climb that relies upon faith in God's abilities and Christ's redemption. We are not harnessed to our flaws and weaknesses; rather, in spirit-to-Spirit fusion we are united to the resurrection power of Heaven! Our call is not merely to attend church but to walk with God, whose eternal goal has predestined us to be "conformed to the image of His Son" (Rom.8:29).

Yes, let us deeply repent for our sins and learn to walk humbly with our God, but let us not assume faith must depart so humility may arise. No, our adoption as sons and daughters has made us joint heirs with Christ. You see, everything concerning our salvation and the gifts of God in our lives comes to us not as something we attain by works but as an inheritance we receive by faith.

"The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ" (Rom. 8:16-17).

Therefore let us set our hopes high upon the promises of God. Though we fall, the Lord will lift us (Prov.24:16; Micah 7:7-8). God's grace will not wilt because we're weak. In ever-increasing degrees He will work in us conformity to Christ the Redeemer. Let us take faith: God will help us.

The Voice of Love
Let me take our statements of faith further and make our quest for discernment as practical as possible. If we seek to know Christ's motives we will soon perceive His thoughts, for thoughts exist to fulfill motives. Christ's motive for coming to mankind is to reveal the Father's love. If we obtain His motive, we will increasingly hear His thoughts.

Thus, as we seek true discernment, let us make our steps practical by turning our focus upon Christ's love. Indeed, God's Word tells us that "faith work[s] through love" (Gal. 5:6). Our discernment is made more sure as we rest our heads upon Christ's breast and listen to His heart.

Yet I also acknowledge that, for some, to love as Christ has loved us remains an ideal too far to reach. Therefore let's start small and bring this task close to home. Rather than attempting to love everyone, let us reduce our challenge and determine to love just one person. Now I do not mean stop loving family or those you already love. I mean add just one person and love that individual in a greater way.
This person may be a lost neighbor or a backslidden friend; he or she might be a sick acquaintance or an elderly person from church or a child in pain. The Lord will lead you and help you reduce your goal to genuinely loving just one soul.

Come to this experiment without seeking to correct him or her, unless they themselves ask for advice. Pray daily for the individual. And as you listen to the voice of God's love, something inside you will flower and open naturally toward higher realms of discernment. Inspired by God, impulses and ideas born of love will increase in your relationship with others as well, and the knowledge and insights you gain from loving just one will become a natural part of your personality in loving many.

Yes, discernment will grow as you love just one.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Books by Francis Frangipane - www.arrowbookstore.com

Adapted from a chapter in Francis Frangipane's newest book Spiritual Discernment and the Mind of Christ, available this week for just $9.75 (Retail $12.85) www.arrowbookstore.com
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Admin Tue 23 Jul 2013, 7:03 pm

~ New Book ~ Spiritual Discernment and the Mind of Christ

	How can you defeat your enemy if you don't know who or what you are fighting? Pastor Francis shares biblical insights on the gift of discernment and what it means to possess the mind of Christ. A few of the chapters are classics from Francis' previously published books; they have been rewritten, updated, and included here as foundational to our understanding of spiritual discernment.
	Chapter titles: A Society of Redeemers Because He Lives in Us What Does Jesus Say? The Gift of Discernment Eliminating False Discernment Love Just One Fast from Judging Purity of Heart: Open Vision Righteous Judgment Remember Job Holy Spirit Radar	Discerning the Spirit of Jezebel Exposing the Accuser of the Brethren The Enemy’s Weapons An Unguarded Heart Goliath Had a Brother Your Appointment Still Awaits You Oneness: the Measure of Maturity The Battleground of Division Truth Is a Person Prophetic Passions and Protocols True Ministry Reveals Christ

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Admin Sat 13 Jul 2013, 7:48 pm

"This Time I Will Praise the Lord"
(En Español)
We cannot pass through life without getting hurt. Pain and disappointment in this world are inevitable. How we handle our setbacks, though, shapes our character and prepares us for eternity. Our attitude is the pivotal factor determining the level of our protection from strife. Regardless of the hardships we have faced, and in spite of the mistakes we have made, the end of our lives can either be full of praise and thanksgiving or full of misery and complaint. In the ﬁnal analysis, what we have experienced in life will be as rich as the desires we have had fulﬁlled or as painful as the things we regret.
The Bible tells us, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Prov. 13:12). Deep disappointments in life have a way of never leaving us; they enter our hearts like ﬁre and then harden into our nature like lava. Setbacks can leave us cautious about new ventures and suspicious of new friends.
Our woundedness restrains our openness. We are fearful we will be hurt again by new relationships. Gradually, unless we learn to handle heartache correctly, we become embittered and resentful cynics. We lose the joy of being alive.
The Source of Fulfillment
It is our own desires and the degree of their fulﬁllment that produce either joy or sorrow in our lives. Even basic desires for marriage or friends can enslave us if they consume our attention. Are these desires evil? No, but if having our desires fulﬁlled is the main reason we have come to Christ, it is possible our lives simply will not improve until our priorities change.
The Lord is concerned about fulﬁlling our desires, but to do so He must pry our ﬁngers off our lives and turn our hearts toward Him. Indeed, the reason we are alive is not to fulﬁll our desires but to become His worshipers.
Personal fulﬁllment can become an idol; it can develop into such an obsession that we are living for happiness more than living for God. Thus, part of our salvation includes having our desires prioritized by Christ. In the Sermon on the Mount, He put it this way: "Seek ﬁrst His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself " (Matt. 6:33-34). God wants to, and will, satisfy us beyond our dreams, but not before He is ﬁrst in our hearts.
A wonderful example of this can be seen in the life of Leah, Jacob's ﬁrst wife. Leah was unattractive, unwanted, and unloved by her husband. Jacob had served Laban, Leah's father, seven years for Rachel, who was Leah's younger sister. On their wedding night, however, Laban put Leah in the nuptial tent instead of Rachel. Although Jacob actually did marry Rachel a week later, he had to work another seven years for her. So Jacob had two wives who were sisters.
The Scriptures tell us that Rachel was loved by Jacob, but Leah was hated: "When the Lord saw that Leah was hated . . ." (Gen. 29:31 KJV). We must understand this about the nature of God: the Lord is drawn to those who hurt. "The Lord saw . . . Leah." What wonderful words! In the same way water descends and ﬁlls that which is lowest, so Christ reaches ﬁrst to the afflicted, to ﬁll the lowliest and comfort them.
The Lord saw that Leah was unloved. He saw her pain, loneliness, and heartache. Leah, though unloved by Jacob, was deeply loved by the Lord, and He gave her a son. Leah's reaction was predictable. She said, "Surely now my husband will love me" (v. 32).
Worse than living your life alone is to be married to someone who hates you, as was Leah. How Leah wished that Jacob would share the love he had for Rachel with her. Who could blame her? Leah's desires were justiﬁed. She had given him a ﬁrstborn son. In her mind, if the Lord could open her womb, He could also open Jacob's heart. But the time was not yet; Jacob still did not love her.
Twice more Leah gave birth to sons, and each time her desire was for her husband. She said, "Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons" (v. 34). Yet, Jacob's heart still did not desire her.
For Leah, as well as for us, there is a lesson here: you cannot make another person love you. In fact, the more pressure you place upon others to accept you, the more likely they are to reject you instead. Leah's concept of fulﬁllment was based on attaining Jacob's love and now her problem was worsening. Not only was she unattractive to Jacob, but also her jealousies were adding to her lack of loveliness.
Three times we read in this text that the Lord saw and heard that Leah was unloved. He saw her affliction. Through all her striving for Jacob and her disappointment with her marital relationship, the Lord was tenderly wooing Leah to Himself.
As Leah became pregnant a fourth time, a miracle of grace occurred within her. She gradually became aware that, while she had not been the focus of her husband's love, she was loved by God. And as this fourth pregnancy drew near to completion, she drew nearer and nearer to God. She became a worshiper of the Almighty.
As she gave birth to another son, she said, "This time I will praise the Lord" (v. 35). She named that child Judah, which means, "praise." It was from the tribe of Judah that Christ was born.
Leah had been seeking self-fulﬁllment and found only heartache and pain. But as she became a worshiper of God, she entered life's highest fulﬁllment: she began to please God.
It is right here that the human soul truly begins to change and enter God's stronghold. As Leah found fulﬁllment in God, He began to remove from her the jealousies, insecurities, and heartaches that life had conveyed to her. A true inner beauty started growing in Leah; she became a woman at rest.
Likewise, we each have character defects that we are reluctant or unable to face. Others have seen these things in us, but they have lacked the courage to tell us. Both physically and personally, these ﬂaws in our nature are what leave us anxious, threatened, and unfulﬁlled.
It is not counsel or classes on success or self-esteem that we need; we simply need to discover God's love for us. As we begin to praise Him in all things, we simultaneously put on the garments of salvation. We are actually being saved from that which would otherwise have destroyed us!
Disappointments and heartaches cannot cling to us, for we are worshipers of God! And "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God" (Rom. 8:28). If we continue to love God, nothing we experience can ultimately turn out harmful since God takes all we pass through and, in His redemptive power, works it for our good

The Tree of Life
You will remember the verse we quoted, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Prov. 13:12). The verse concludes with, "But desire fulﬁlled is a tree of life." As our desires are fulﬁlled, we are fulﬁlled. Since it is the fulﬁllment of our desires that ﬁlls us with satisfaction, the secret to a rewarding life is to commit our desires to God.
Let Him choose the times and means of our fulﬁllment, allowing the Lord to prepare us for Himself along the way. The truth is that in ourselves we are incomplete; but in Christ we have been made complete (Col. 2:10).
You say, "That's easy for you to say. You have a wonderful wife and family. You are blessed. But you don't understand my problems." Yes, I do. My wonderful marriage was very difficult for the ﬁrst few years. We struggled with many things in our relationship. My wife and I both came to the place where we were unfulﬁlled in each other. But, like Leah, we both looked to God and said, "This time I will praise the Lord." In fact, we named our second child the very name Leah gave to her fourth: Judah.
For us, as for Leah, our lives were turned around as we chose to delight in God in spite of being unfulﬁlled with each other. As we became His worshipers, He began to work on our hearts until we were not only more pleasing to Him, we were also pleasing to each other! What I am relating to you is the very thing that saved and blessed our marriage!
Psalm 37:4 reads, "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart." As you delight in God, you change. The negative effects of disappointment and grief fall off. As love and joy from God begin to fulﬁll us, our very souls are restored and beautiﬁed. Yes, delight yourself with Jesus and your self-destructive tendencies will actually begin to vanish. Christ will beautify your life from the inside out.
The Outcome of Leah's Life
What happened with Leah? Well, the long years came and went. In time, Rachel and then Leah died. Jacob, on his deathbed, spoke to his sons: "I am about to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave . . . which Abraham bought . . . for a burial site. There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah" (Gen. 49:29-31).
Jacob had buried Leah in the ancestral place of honor! Oh how those words, though few, say so much! They tell us that God had, in some marvelous inner way, beautiﬁed this afflicted one with salvation. After Leah found fulﬁllment in God, God gave her fulﬁllment in Jacob. Over the years, inner peace and spiritual beauty shone forth from Leah; Jacob was knit to her in love. It is not hard to imagine that when Leah died, she left smiling, with the praises of God upon her lips.
Become a worshiper of God! As you surrender your desires to Him, as you put Him ﬁrst, He will take what you give Him and make it beautiful in its time. He will take what has been bent and imbalanced within you and make you stand upright in His light and glory.
Therefore, this day speak to your soul. Tell the areas of unfulﬁllment within you that this time you will praise the Lord!

Lord, I am a Leah, unlovely and always seeking the love of those who have rejected me. How foolish I have been. How blind. There is no love, no fulﬁllment in this life apart from You. You are the Tree of Life that satisﬁes all desires; You are the Healer of my heart. I love You, Lord Jesus. Amen.

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Adapted from a chapter in Francis Frangipane's book And I Will Be Found By You, available this week for just $6.95 (Retail $13.50)www.arrowbookstore.com

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A service of Frangipane Ministries, Inc.
Copyright (c) 2013
All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations were taken from theNASB.

Admin Sun 07 Jul 2013, 9:45 pm

Unoffendable, Part 2
(En Español)
"Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. . . . And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold" (Matt. 24:10-12 KJV).
The Sequence That Leads To Apostasy
In our last teaching we looked at offenses and examined the lethal effect an offended spirit could have upon our lives. We discussed how the only way to not be permanently offended was to attain the unoffendable heart of Jesus Christ.
Attaining Christ’s heart is not a minor issue. Remember, Jesus warned that in the last days "many" would be offended. A wounded spirit is not the same thing as an offended spirit -- an offense occurs when we do not process our wounds in a Christlike manner. Indeed, an offended spirit, left unattended and brooding in our minds, will soon manifest as betrayal, hatred and cold love. Jesus said offenses would be the ultimate cause that leads many to fall from faith. Listen well: in the above verse, Jesus linked the real cause of apostasy not only to wrong doctrines, but wrong reactions.
Aren’t right doctrines important? Of course, but we can have right information and still have a wrong response. Doctrinal information can be upgraded and refined, but Proverbs warns that someone "offended is harder to be won than a strong city," and "contentions" between people "are like the bars of a castle" (Prov. 18:19).
Yes, beware of false leaders, but more deceitful than false prophets or teachers are our own hearts when they are offended (Jer. 17:9). Are you living with an offended heart? If so, you are gradually slipping away from true Christianity, which is known for its agape love.
Thus, dealing with an offended heart is vital in maintaining ongoing spiritual maturity. For this reason, we need to look again at the things that offend us.
False Expectations
The unrealistic or exaggerated expectations we sometimes put on others will, at some point, cause them to fall short and offend us. Some expect their spouse or pastor or friends to meet their every need -- and yes, they will meet some of our needs. However, at the deepest level, our souls were created to find security in God, not man. When the Almighty truly becomes our source of peace and provision, our well-being is defined by our awareness of God's love. As we put our confidence in God, we can live more comfortably with the people around us.
Still, the very power of our expectations can choke out the sweetness of a personal relationship. Suppose that, instead of burdening people with our expectations, we simply learned to appreciate them for themselves -- no strings attached. What if we approach family and friends with gratitude for what they are doing rather than disappointment for what they failed to do?
Suppose that a husband, instead of expecting a full-course dinner from his wife each night, learned to appreciate whatever she was able to offer him? Then instead of his failed expectation degrading into an offense, there would be a living, sincere appreciation for the food his wife prepared. I know we have arrangements by common consent, but in reality, a wife is under no obligation to cook special meals or do housekeeping. You did not marry her to be your housekeeper, but to become one with her.
Or imagine a husband who works a long, tiring job. However, his wife expects that he will work another two hours at home or go shopping with her or listen attentively about her problems. What if instead she welcomed him at the door and sincerely thanked him for daily giving himself to support their family? What if she met him not with demands but with appreciation? Perhaps she might even massage his shoulders and, because of love, have his favorite meal prepared.
You see, expectations can seem like legitimate aspects of a relationship, but they can also cause us to be disappointed and offended when people fall short. I have known situations in the past where my expectations actually blinded me to the efforts being made by a loved one. They were trying to improve in an area I was unaware of because my focus was preset upon a different expectation. I should have been grateful and encouraging.
Of course, today I discuss issues and expectations with those close to me, but the weight of my expectation is not on others, but upon myself to be Christlike and sensitive to those around me. I put a premium upon enjoying the uniqueness of others, sincerely thanking God for their contribution to my life.
When God Himself Offends Us
The fact is that false expectations can become a source of many deep offenses. However, one of the worst offenses we can suffer is when God Himself purposely offends us.
In 2 Kings 5 we read the story of when Naaman, a Syrian general, sought to be healed of leprosy by Elisha, the prophet. When Naaman and his entourage arrived at Elisha’s house, Elisha didn’t greet him personally but instead sent his servant with a word/cure for Naaman. It was a simple assignment for the military leader: wash seven times in the Jordan River. However, the cure offended Naaman. Why didn’t the prophet himself come out? Why this muddy Jordan? Scripture says that "Naaman was furious."
An offended spirit is an angry spirit. In this case, Naaman was beyond mad; he was furious. Do you find that you are always mad at a particular person? It’s because they have offended you and you haven’t forgiven them. Naaman was offended at Elisha, but what was the real cause of Naaman’s offense? Listen to his words. He said, "Behold, I thought, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper’" (v. 11).
Catch the phrase, "Behold, I thought . . ." In truth, Naaman was not offended by Elisha but by his own failed expectations. He probably spent many hours envisioning the moment of his healing. He even pictured himself testifying of how the man of God healed him. When it didn’t happen according to his plan, he was offended.
Friends, before the Lord heals you or assigns you some new, elevated position of service, He will often offend you. Why? What is it that gets offended in us? Usually it is our pride. We come to God desiring physical healing, but the Lord wants us not only to be healed but to be humble. Yes, God heals us through our faith, but there our times when our own pride keeps us from receiving the method of God’s healing. The Lord offends us to humble us so He can give us grace. Faith works through grace, but God only gives grace to the humble.
Look at how often Jesus offended people before He healed them. Once, He actually spit on the ground, made mud and put it on a blind man’s eyes, and then told him to walk across town that way! Imagine if you were next in the healing line and saw what the guy before you had to do. Admit it, we each would be looking for another healing ministry, one that is a little less offensive! On another occasion He told a woman who came seeking her daughter’s healing that she was an unclean dog; another time He stuck His fingers in the ears of a man to heal his deafness. The Lord often offended people before He healed them.
If we would learn to humble ourselves in the offense, we would discover that the apparent offense was, in realty, a door that led into the manifest power of God. When Jesus called the Canaanite woman a "dog," instead of being offended, she said, "Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs" (Matt. 15:27). When Jesus told the man to walk across town with mud in his eyes, the man didn’t argue or ask for a more dignified healing; he humbled himself and came back seeing. When Elisha told Naaman to dip in the Jordan seven times, the offense wounded him. Yet when he humbled himself, his leprosy was replaced with the skin of a little child. His skin became as a child because his heart, through humility, became as a child.
Maybe you haven’t received your healing or breakthrough yet because to walk the path set before you is beneath your dignity. Maybe you need to get rid of your dignity and go to that Pentecostal or Baptist church you’ve been making fun of, then ask them to pray for you. God wants to heal you, but He also wants to renew and transform you with His grace.
Overcome Offenses
When we study what Jesus taught, it is obvious that He came to make us "unoffendable." Consider: He says that if someone slaps you on one cheek, offer him the other. He said to love our enemies and bless those who curse us. What He’s really doing is showing us how an unoffendable heart of love overcomes all adversity.
We pray, "Lord, I want to change." To answer our prayer, He sometimes must put us in situations that perfectly offend us. The offense itself awakens our need of grace. Thus, the Lord precipitates change by first offending the area of our soul He desires to transform. He does not expect us to merely survive this adversity but to become Christlike in it. Ask Joseph in the Old Testament: the "land of offense" became the land of his anointing and power. Listen my friends: the destiny God has for man unfolds or dies at the junction of offense. How we handle offense is the key to our tomorrow.
"Those who love [God’s] law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble" (Ps. 119:165).
Lord, grant me that new creation heart that can walk as Jesus walked, through a world of offenses without stumbling. I want to see everything as an opportunity to pray, everything as an opportunity to become Christlike. Lord help me to interpret offenses as opportunities that lead to transformations. Grant me, Lord Jesus, the pulse and beat of Your unoffendable heart. Amen.

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Adapted from a chapter in Francis Frangipane's book A House United, available at www.arrowbookstore.com.

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Admin Sat 29 Jun 2013, 10:36 pm

Unoffendable
(En Español)
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh"(Ezek. 36:26).
God has a new heart for us that cannot be offended -- an "unoffendable" heart. Beloved, possessing an unoffendable heart is not an option or a luxury; it is not a little thing. An offended heart is in danger of becoming a "heart of stone."
Consider: Jesus warns that as we near the end of the age a majority of people will be offended to such a degree that they fall away from the faith. Listen carefully to His warning:
"Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. . . . And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold" (Matt. 24:10-12 KJV).
"Many" will "be offended." The result? The love of "many" will grow cold. My prayer is that we will hear His words with holy fear.

The Danger of Harboring Offense
When we allow an offense to ferment in our hearts, it causes serious spiritual consequences. In the above verse Jesus named three dangerous results: betrayal, hatred and cold love. When we are offended by someone, even someone we care for, we must go to them. If we do not talk to them, we will begin to talk about them. We betray that relationship by whispering maliciously behind their back to others, exposing their weaknesses and sins. We may mask our betrayal by saying we are just looking for advice or counsel, but when we look back, we see we have spoken negatively to far too many people. Our real goal was not to get spiritual help for ourselves but to seek revenge toward the one who offended us. How is such action not a manifestation of hatred? For an offended soul, cold love, betrayal and hatred are a walk into darkness.
People don’t stumble over boulders; they stumble over stones -- relatively small things. It may be that the personality of someone in authority bothers us, and soon we are offended. Or a friend or family member fails to meet our expectations, and we take an offense into our soul. Beloved, if we will "endure to the end" (Matt. 24:13), we will have to confront the things that bother us.
When Jesus warns that we need endurance, He is saying that it is easier to begin the race than finish it. Between now and the day you die, there will be major times of offense that you will need to overcome. You might be in such a time right now. Do not minimize the danger of harboring an offense!
No one plans on falling away; no one ever says, "Today, I think I’ll try to develop a hardened heart of stone." Such things enter our souls through stealth. It is only naiveté that assumes it couldn’t happen to us. I know many people who consistently become offended about one thing or another. Instead of dealing with the offenses, praying about them and turning the issue over to God, they carry the offense in their soul until its weight disables their walk with God. You may be doing fine today, but I guarantee you, tomorrow something will happen that will inevitably disappoint or wound you; some injustice will strike you, demanding you retaliate in the flesh. Will you find more love, and hence, continue your growth toward Christlikeness? Or will you allow that offense to consume your spiritual life?
Lord, forgive me for being so easily offended and for carrying offenses. Father, my heart is foolish and weak. Grant me the unoffendable heart of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Adapted from a chapter in the In Christ's Image Training course that begins July 5.

In Christ's Image Training
~~Registrations accepted through June 27, 2013~~

Registration extended through Monday, July 1, 2013

[b][/b]In Christ's Image Training is a six-month, online course developed by Pastor Frangipane. It is based on over 40 years of seeking God, study and revelatory insights. These are proven truths that break chains and lead to power in our Christian walk.

The training comes to your home via email; the accompanying audio messages are mailed. The entire course is designed to lift one's focus toward the actual presence of Jesus Christ, creating those heart attitudes that lead to an open heavens. The complete course includes 44 lessons and 39 audio messages. Yet, the discerning student will find the Lord using the weekly lessons during the week to stage opportunities to deepen the truths found in the training.

1. Go to to www.icitc.org and read through the Level I page, FAQpage, Level I Syllabus page and Tuition page.
2. Choose an enrollment plan.
3. Complete the Level I Registration form.
4. Submit the registration form on or before July 1. Class begins July 5, 2013.

Training also available in Spanish / Español

For more information on all our training programs start atwww.icitc.org and read through the Level I page and then the Tuitionpage for a full list of enrollment plans.

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In Christ's Image Training

What did Jesus have in mind for His followers when His ministry began? I am convinced that Christ not only came to seek and save the lost, but to actually replicate Himself in us. And whether we are just beginning our spiritual journey or we are seasoned servants of many years, true Christianity is nothing less than the living manifestation of Christ in and through us (Gal. 2:20).

Level I classes begin July 5, 2013

~~Registration closes June 27, 2013~~

Registration EXTENDED through Monday, July 1, 2013

[b][/b]In Christ's Image Training is a six-month, online course developed by Pastor Frangipane. It is based on 40 years of seeking God, study and revelatory insights. These are proven truths that break chains and lead to power in our Christian walk.

ICIT provides focused training in four essential stages of spiritual development:

The vision of attaining Christ's likeness
Possessing Christ's humility
Developing a strong prayer life
Becoming one with other Christ believers.

The course comes right to your home via email and audio messages and is designed to lift one's focus toward the actual presence of Jesus Christ. The complete course not only includes 44 lessons and 39 audio messages, but the discerning student will actually find the Lord using the weekly lessons to stage opportunities to deepen the truths found in the training.
For those with limited funds, the entire text is free by email. Choose the Free Lesson Plan when enrolling.

Student testimonies | Short video of Francis presenting the course

For more information on all our training programs start at www.icitc.org and read through the
Level I page and then the Tuition page for a full list of enrollment plans.

1. Go to to www.icitc.org and read through the Level I page, FAQ page,
Level I Syllabus page and Tuition page.
2. Choose an enrollment plans below.
3. Next, complete the Level I Registration form.
4. Submit the registration form on or before July 1. Class begins July 5, 2013.

Training also available in Spanish / Español

www.frangipane.org

Admin Tue 25 Jun 2013, 7:11 pm

A Society of Redeemers
By Francis Frangipane
(En Español)

There exists a certain degree of hypocrisy among us. What I mean is, without qualms, we condemn the world for not being Christian, yet without remorse we accept we are not Christlike.
I am not saying we shouldn't cry out against evil; sin exists and we must reprove it. However, at some point we must recognize there is more to our destiny than judging sin. God is looking for the perfection of mercy within us. "Mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13), and to follow Christ is to walk the path of mercy toward full redemption.
Recall the words of Paul. He tells us to "have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5). He goes on to explain that Christ existed in the form of God, yet He emptied Himself, took the form of a man, and died for our sins. In other words, He saw the need, but instead of condemning man, He died for man. Paul says we are to have this same attitude in us.
I do not want to be a typical American Christian. I am hungry for more. I want to "grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head [of the church], even Christ" (Eph. 4:15). Our call is to attain "the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ" (v. 13).
Jesus said, "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you" (John 20:21). As Christ was sent into the world to pay the price for sin, so in following Him we become a society of redeemers. When wounded, we forgive; when forced to go one mile, we go two. We bless those who curse us and turn the other cheek to those who strike us. As Christ hung on the cross at Calvary and prayed, "Father, forgive them" (Luke 23:34), so we stand before God, and on behalf of our sinful world, we pray the mercy prayer as well.
I am convinced that the more Christlike the church becomes, the greater will be the backing of Heaven. The more we become a society of redeemers, the more hope we have to see our nation turned back to God.
Adapted from Francis Frangipane's ebook, Spiritual Discernment and the Mind of Christ available atwww.arrowbookstore.com.

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[b][b][/b][/b] In Christ's Image Training

Level I classes begin July 5, 2013

Registration closes June 27, 2013

The focus of In Christ's Image Training is to bring the church to the threshold of its destiny, which is nothing less that full conformity to Jesus Christ. If we will awaken the Father's pleasure, we will awaken the Father's power.
• Read testimonies from other students that have gone through this training
• Here's more information about the training itself: Level I Information
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• Also available in Spanish
Remember, no one will ever be refused for lack of funds. We have several options for those unable to submit full tuition for the complete Level I training. We'd love to discuss these options with you. Email us at training@inchristsimage.org.
We offer Level I every January, April, July and October.

1. Go to to www.icitc.org and read through the Level I page, FAQ page,
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3. Next, complete the Level I Registration form.
4. Submit the registration form on or before June 27. Class begins July 5, 2013.

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Admin Sat 22 Jun 2013, 9:54 pm

An Unveiled Face
(En Español)
We will not find the glory of God by copying techniques or studying books. His presence cannot be entered by following manuals, but by learning to follow Immanuel.
In our immaturity, the church has sought to be known for many things. We have sought to be known for our uniqueness and particular emphasis. Some have sought to be known for speaking in tongues; others desired recognition through their buildings or evangelistic programs. Still others have publicized unique combinations of church government or a regular agenda of special speakers.
To Be Known for Knowing Him
This desire for human recognition and significance has created many church traditions that are unbiblical. They have not only separated us from each other, they have separated us from God. Today's disciples, however, will be known for just one thing: They will be known for truly knowing Jesus. His presence -- not just doctrines about Him but His very Spirit and likeness -- will uninhibitedly accompany those who follow the Lamb.
Because their focus is upon Him and Him alone, God will ultimately accompany their lives with great power. They will lay hands upon the sick, and instantaneous healings will be common. These miracles will be but a minor reward to a life that majors on loving Jesus.
Our salvation is not based upon what we do but upon who Jesus becomes to us. Christ alone is our righteousness, our virtue, and our strength! As we minister, it has to be in Jesus' power, or we are actually wasting time. Our confidence has to be in Him and not in our own ability. We must be settled in the knowledge that, while all things are possible for those who believe, apart from Him we can do nothing.
The Sacred Presence
Our noble quest is to awaken from the sleep of our cultural traditions; it is to seek and find the living presence of God. To each of us, the Almighty has a heavenly calling, an upward call into spiritual fulfillment.
Our hope is not based on speculation or unreasonable expectations. It comes to us directly from the Word of God:
"Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:17-18).
This is the glorious hope of our calling: we each gaze upon Christ with an "unveiled face." Paul said, "We all . . . behold . . . the glory of the Lord." The plan of God includes you and me, not just apostles and prophets, visionaries and saints. The opportunity -- the holy privilege -- is to remove the veil that separates us from God's presence. Our inheritance is to behold His glory.
The old covenant speaks of two veils. One was the thick curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies within the temple. In the Holy Place, daily sacrifices were offered in ritual obedience to God; but in the Holy of Holies dwelt His sacred presence. Into this small room, the high priest entered but once a year on the Day of Atonement. It was a fearsome experience.
When Jesus died, this veil was rent in two from top to bottom. It signified the new openness that had been secured by Christ into the Holy Presence. The fact that it was torn from top to bottom tells us that Christ's sacrifice purchased us complete redemption. The urgency of the rending -- that it tore at the exact moment of Christ's death -- speaks to us of the Father's passion to receive us back into His family (Matt. 27:51).
However, there was another veil that Moses used to put over his face when he left the presence of God. This was done at the request of a nation who could not bear to look upon God's glory, fading as it was from Moses' face. The need for this veil was also removed in Christ. No longer would God have one man who dwelt in the sacred place while the nation lived separate. The new covenant has made us a community of glory -- "But we all, with unveiled face behold . . . the glory of the Lord" (2 Cor. 3:18).
But what exactly is a veil? It is something that hides what would otherwise be visible. As mentioned, our religious traditions that do not accommodate the presence of God can become a veil. How terrible that the very things we are doing for God might be the obstacles that are keeping us from Him!
"Their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ" (2 Cor. 3:14).
How can we discern when our traditions have become a veil between us and God's presence? Indeed, how can we break out of the false or cultural traditions that we have been taught to venerate and honor? The answer lies in the measure of our love for God's Word and the softness of our heart toward His voice. As we yield to His voice, our return to God begins.
"But whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away" (2 Cor. 3:16). Right now, you are alone with God. The simple act of turning toward the Lord removes the veil.
The Scriptures tell us that no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. Say it: "Jesus, You are my Lord."
Turn your heart toward Him. Do not be afraid. Remember, the rending of the veil in the temple was His idea; He desires you to come near. The moment you turn your heart, "the veil is taken away."
Lord Jesus, forgive me for my many traditions. Especially, Lord, forgive me for living separate from Your voice. I take off the veil. I turn my heart to Your living presence.

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Adapted from a chapter in Francis Frangipane's book The Days of His Presence, available at www.arrowbookstore.com.

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Admin Sun 02 Jun 2013, 7:13 pm

Taking Every Thought Captive to Christ
(En Español)
While we may find comfort in being Christians, being a Christian has not made us perfect. There are still many strongholds within us. Therefore, let us identify some of these spiritual fortresses. Rare is the Christian who is not limited by at least one of the following strongholds: unbelief, cold love, fear, pride, unforgiveness, lust, greed, or any combination of these, as well as the possibility of many others.
Because we excuse ourselves so readily, it is difficult to discern the areas of oppression in our lives. After all, these are our thoughts, attitudes and perceptions; we justify and defend our thoughts with the same degree of intensity with which we justify and defend ourselves. As it is written, "As [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Prov. 23:7 KJV). In other words, the essence of who we are exists in our thought-life. Therefore, before any deliverance can truly be accomplished, we must honestly recognize and confess our need. We must stop pretending everything is all right. We must humble ourselves and seek help. Indeed, as previously mentioned, the first stronghold that God must remove is pride. For until one is willing to admit that he needs deliverance, he will never be free from strongholds.
In order to recognize what is wrong in us, we must perceive God's standard of right. David in the height of ecstasy and Job in the pit of misery, as well as all who have pondered life, faced the same question: What is man? The writer of Hebrews also asks this question, but the answer he receives lifts us up to see the face of God, and "We . . . see . . . Jesus" (Heb. 2:9). From the Father's view, the mystery of man's identity is unveiled in the life of Jesus Christ. Christ is the "firstborn among many brethren" (Rom. 8:29). He is firstborn of a heavenly genesis; He is the Father's plan for mankind. When we consider the mystery of humanity, we find our answer in beholding Jesus Christ. He is not only our Savior; He is also the indwelling One who conforms us to Himself (Heb. 2:10; Rom. 8:29).
Let us also realize that only Jesus can be Jesus. As we yield to Him in increasing degrees of surrender, as we abide in Him and His Word abides in us, He brings forth life that is not simply like His own, but is His very life! Christ Himself living within us fulfills God's eternal purpose, which is to make man in His image. It is the presence of the Lord Jesus coming forth in us that makes the weapons of our warfare mighty, empowering our words with authority as we pull down strongholds.
Therefore, you must learn to look objectively at any thoughts or attitudes that fail to conform to the likeness and teachings of Jesus. Those thoughts must be captured and wrong attitudes crucified. We must make way in us for the coming of the Lord. We must allow the increase of His presence to be so absorbed into our spirits that we not only believe in Him, we believe like Him. His love, thoughts and desires flow out from within us as naturally as fruit from a vine.
Consequently, when we seek to identify and destroy demonic strongholds, the second fortress that must be annihilated is the stronghold of unbelief. It is this scheme of thinking, which tells us attaining Christlikeness is impossible, that holds all further spiritual growth hostage. This lie and the chains it places upon our hearts must be broken from our lives, for Christlikeness is not only possible, it is our destiny.
Accordingly, let us take this moment to pray. Let the Holy Spirit rise and flood your heart. If you suffer from the stronghold of unbelief which says you will never be like Christ, that deception can begin to break right now.
Lord Jesus, I submit to You. I declare, according to the Word of God, that because of Your power to subject all things unto Yourself, the weapons of my warfare are mighty to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Cor. 10:3-4). I repent for using the lie, "I will never be like Jesus," as an excuse to sin and compromise my convictions. In Jesus' name, I renounce my flawed, sinful old nature and by the grace of God and the power of Your Spirit I pull down the stronghold of unbelief that exists in my mind. Because of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, I am a new creation. And I believe that I will go from glory to glory, being continually transformed into Christ's image as I walk with Him in His grace.
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Adapted from the book The Three Battlegrounds , by Pastor Frangipane. This book with associated audio resources are currently on sale. Please visit our online bookstore.
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The Three Battlegrounds

Any time the Spirit of God's kingdom is truly manifested in the earth, it will ultimately confront the strongholds of hell. Indeed, wherever evil spirits have either a foothold or a stronghold, you can expect that the overcoming church will be engaged in warfare, and expect also that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church that Jesus builds.
In this book, Francis Frangipane explores the three arenas of spiritual warfare that the maturing Christian will face: the mind, the church and the heavenly places. It provides a foundation of insight, wisdom and discernment on the nature of the battle and the keys to victory.
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The Jezebel Spirit - CD Series

The Jezebel Spirit often comes against church leaders and prophetic ministries. It's intimidating power is a form of witchcraft. It also manifests as immorality, rebellion and control. Learn how to discern and fight this spirit.
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Stand Firm | Led by the Spirit into Battle
Discerning Jezebel | Its Goal is Control
Confronting the Enemy | Jezebel Among the Prophets
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Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations were taken from the NASB.

June 1, 2013

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Admin Sat 25 May 2013, 10:20 pm

A Better Way
(En Español)
A man might be a nominal Christian, mostly unaffected by spiritual things, until one day he reads the Bible and the Holy Spirit ignites in him a fire. If that person remains steadfast in his inspiration, he will increasingly pattern his life after Jesus Christ - that is, he will become more loving, more forgiving, and more ready to give his life for the redemption of others. Spiritual gifts will accompany his life as He becomes Christlike. As Jesus said, "The works that I do, he will do also" (John 14:12).
However, if a nominal Muslim begins to read a Koran, if he continues his daily reading and feels an increasing zeal toward obeying the precepts of Mohammed, if he continues on, this man will ultimately desire to possess true Islam – that is, total submission to Allah. The works Mohammed did the follower will also do. The zealot will police his community, seeking to preserve obedience to Islam. He will seek to convert unbelievers by all means, including violence and terror, and he will consider it his duty to kill those who resist the spread of Islam. If one carries true Islam in his or her soul, but does not use violence, they will at the very least sympathize with those that do.
Thus, the radicalization of at least some Muslims is inevitable, for the normal growth of an unrestrained zealot will eventually conform him to the founder of his religion. This means that as long as there are people reading the Koran there will be a small percentage who pledge their lives to Islam’s spread even by use of violence. We who live in the predominantly non-Muslim world will have to cope with the violence of these "true believers."
It also means that the moderate Muslims must realize, unless they desire war with their non-Muslim neighbors, they will have to expose and denounce the radicalized Muslim, especially in communities where Muslims and non-Muslims live together.
Are you Muslim? Do you want the radical extremist to represent you and your people? If not, then you must find ways to direct the radical Muslim into a spiritual jihad against the sins of his soul rather than a violent jihad against the people of a community.
Are you Christian? You must guard against prejudging all Muslims, for many people turned to Islam as a reaction to the sinfulness of the West. In a real way, they were seeking Christ and stability and the church failed them. But in this present atmosphere, they are doubting the choice they made to follow Islam. Therefore, we must reveal Christ and the love He has for all men if we hope to win Muslims.
And finally, as Christians, we must forgive and pray for Muslims. My wife and I pray daily for Muslims, that the Lord of the harvest would send laborers into the Muslim world and that Jesus would be revealed to them, including the most radical who are ready to kill.
The radical Islamist will only be won by the radical Christ follower. We must show them a better way.
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Admin Sat 27 Apr 2013, 8:08 pm

Prayer Warriors, Part 1
(En Español)
In our rapidly changing times, people are desperate to know the future. Barely do we adjust to the last changes when totally new realities explode into our world.
In answer to the common fears spawned by change, society has been inundated by a plethora of occult and demonic sources -- fortune-tellers, astrologers, psychic hotlines -- all pretending to be able to peek into the mystery of tomorrow. Indeed, how many otherwise intelligent individuals glimpse, at least occasionally, at their "astrological signs" and try to get an edge on knowing the future!
Why anyone would consult someone who cannot predict his or her own future is beyond me. These fortune-tellers almost always live in poverty. Their ability to predict the future should at least work for themselves, should it not? They could invest in the stock market or pick the right lottery numbers. They cannot even predict or better their own fortunes, yet people go to them for discernment.
Tremendous Power in a Christian!
Christians must realize that God condemns this demonic, fleshly probing into the unknown. He has called intercessors not to wonder about the future, but to create it through the knowledge of His Living Word and prayer! Our Father gives us access to the future right now. You ask, "How do we know what to pray" The Lord Jesus told us plainly, "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:9-10 KJV).
We can look at the conditions of the world and faint or look at the possibilities of God and take faith. To bring revival is to pray for the reality of God's kingdom to be made manifest on earth. Jesus was not offering His disciples a millennial prayer focus, for that rule of God's kingdom is coming whether we want it to or not! No, Christ calls us to pray for God's kingdom to manifest itself in our world today.
How will tomorrow look if God answers the prayer Christ gave us? Read the gospels. What we see in the life and power of Jesus Christ is a faith picture of God's kingdom. Jesus said that we can have that same full manifestation. In fact, He actually commanded us to pray for Heaven's release!
The Prayer Womb
The reality that God has planned will always manifest first in the prayer life of His intercessors. When you hear from God and then pray His Word, you are having an impact on the as-yet-unformed essence of life with the Spirit of God Himself! This is why God calls us not only to know His Word, but also to pray it. We must go from intellectualizing God's Word to being impregnated by it.
I know that many churches have special areas where intercessors can pray or people can meditate. Maybe we ought to change the name of such places from "prayer room" to "prayer womb." Everything good and holy that we see manifested in people, in churches and in life is first conceived and then birthed in the womb of prayer.
We have answers to prayer all around us. The place you are living in is an answer to prayer. When you asked God to lead you to the church you should attend, your current church became God’s answer to your prayer. Similarly, your attendance and participation are answers to the prayers of your pastors and intercessors.
Paul wrote, "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might" (Eph. 1:18-19).
If you are a Christian, a power accompanies your life that is greater than great: the "surpassing greatness of His power." It is not human power but the actual "strength of His might." God demonstrated this "power toward us who believe" first "in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places" (Eph. 1:19-20).
In other words, the power of God’s might is His resurrection power. What does resurrection mean? It means that things that look dead, smell dead and act dead can be touched by God and raised to life!
Now think about it: The resurrection power God has given us is the same potency He demonstrated when He raised Jesus out of the grave. Right now, because the strength of God Almighty is attached to our prayer lives, we can look on things that are absolutely dead and pray forth eternal life!
Our mission is to bring resurrection life to situations that are dead. If the devil challenges your prayer, remind him that you are seated with Christ "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come" (Eph. 1:21). Christ's authority is final. But not only did the Father put "all things in subjection under His feet," He also "gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (Eph. 1:22-23).
Notice how the Lord uses anatomical metaphors to explain the downlink of authority: Christ is the "head" of a "body" that has all things put under its "feet." This is a most profound understanding of our role: What the Head, Christ, has attained, the feet of the church walk out. In other words, God has positioned the church as the living bridge between the terrible conditions on earth and the wonderful solutions from Heaven!
As we truly, passionately and accurately submit to Christ in prayer, the kingdom of Heaven steadily enters our now prayed-for world. The key, of course, is to know Christ's Word, for our authority does not originate from ourselves, but from the "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17). What we have is revelation and submission. But as we submit to the Word and persevere in prayer, the future is changed and conformed to God's will.
The devil knows that if he can keep our prayer lives silent, he keeps God’s hand distant.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The preceding excerpt is from the book This Day We Fight, by Pastor Frangipane. This book with associated audio resources are currently on sale. Please visit our online bookstore.
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Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations were taken from the NASB.

April 26, 2013

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