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

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

You are the temple. Look at what the scriptures have to say.

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

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

2Cor.16:16

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

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

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

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

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

Dear friend,
       I hope you are well. I’ve been thinking about how awesome the scriptures are and it seems that the more the Lord reveals to me, there is the realization that there is so much more. There was a time in my early Christian walk when I read the Bible because that was what I was supposed to do. I would read my assignment, rarely getting anything out of it. The chapters and verses formed the boundaries of what I was to read. As I have grown in my walk with the Lord and I have seen the personal application for my life and the beauty of God’s truths interwoven together, the scriptures have become precious to me. Jesus said ,”My words are spirit and they are life.” In the original texts there were no chapter and verse breaks and so if you stop at the end of a chapter you may miss something important. There are several chapters in the writings of Paul that begin with the word “therefore” and we have to look in the previous chapter to see what it was “there for”. There is a harmony and flow to the scriptures and sometimes chapter breaks interrupt that flow. I want to give you three examples today that I believe will encourage you. I know they did me.
 
Then He said unto His disciples,” The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” Matthew 9:37,38
 
     Just as a side note, I spent many years praying for the harvest when one day an Evangelism Explosion instructor made the statement that Jesus didn’t tell us to pray for the harvest.He said that the harvest is already out there, so pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers. That changed my way of thinking.
That was The end of chapter nine, so what does Jesus do in chapter ten? He instructs them, gives them authority, and sends them out. Jesus is the Lord of the harvest and He is the one who sends laborers into the field. Paul said in Romans 10, “and how shall they hear except someone preach and how shall they preach except they be sent?” In chapter 9 he says to pray for laborers to be sent and in chapter 10, He sends them.
 
 
      When the rich young ruler walked away from Jesus very sorrowful. Jesus made the statement,” How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Luke 18:24, 25
Those who heard it probably equated riches with the blessing of God and asked, “Who then can be saved?” But He said, ” The things that are impossible with men are possible with God.” Luke 18:26,27 Now some have said Jesus was referring to small gates in the wall that a camel had to kneel to go through, but I heard a minister from Egypt say Jesus wasn’t talking about a gate; He was talking about a sewing needle. That would definitely be an impossibility, but all things are possible with God. So in chapter 18, a rich man getting saved was an impossibility, but look in the very next chapter. Now behold there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Luke 19:2  Zacchaeus opened his home to Jesus and pledged to give half his goods to the poor and restore fourfold that which he had taken wrongfully. And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. Luke 19:9  So we see the impossibility of a rich man getting saved in chapter 18 and in chapter 19 we see God saving a rich man. That which is impossible with men is possible with God. That old camel just slipped right through that needle eye.
 
   Let’s look at the third example and there are probably many others. I can think of some others; many you can probably do so as well, but this was the most recent. I didn’t get this directly from the Lord, but by way of another of His servants and it really blessed me. I could spend a lot of time here, but most of you know the story, so I’ll briefly summarize it. When Jesus first went to the country of the Gadarenes he encountered a highly demonized man that we call the Gadarene demoniac. He was incorrigible. He had super human demonic strength. He fell at Jesus feet. You know the passage well; it is in Mark chapter five. Jesus cast this legion of demons out permitting them to go into the pigs and the pigs ran down and drowned in the sea. The people who took care of the swine went into the city and country and spread the word about what had happened. The people came to see and saw the one who had been demon-possessed clothed and in his right mind and they were fearful. The eyewitnesses gave their account and the Gadarenes asked Jesus to leave. Jesus is not inclined to stay where He’s not wanted and when he gets in the boat to leave, this man begged Jesus that he might stay with Him. Jesus , However, did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how he has had compassion on you.” And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him and all marveled.” Mark 5:19,20 The Gadarene demoniac had now become the Gadarene evangelist.
 
     That is so awesome, but that was not the end of the story. Jesus crossed over a second time. We can’t be sure that it was the exact same place, but it was probably the same region. And when they had crossed over, they came to the land Gennesaret and anchored there. And immediately when they came out of the boat, the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was. Mark 6:53-55. If indeed it was the same region then we might ask, what made the difference in their response? I would like to believe that it was the testimony of one man who had been touched by Jesus. He wanted to go with Jesus, but he was sent to declare the good news.
 
     You know it’s nice to read the Bible through in a year or have a regular Bible reading, but it can become law or a work of the flesh apart from the Spirit. We would do better to meditate and read slowly asking the Lord to give revelation, and wisdom to understand and appropriate His truth. His words are spirit and life. Don’t let a chapter or verse become your boundary, but flow with author. There are golden nuggets which can only be panned from the river of Life. Be encouraged today my friend, the chapters of our lives are still being written and that which you are experiencing now is but preparation for something yet to be written. Hope is an earnest expectation of a desired end.
               Blessings,
               Herb Dean  

That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death… Philippians 3:10This was a prayer I prayed for myself and it is a prayer our Lord delights to answer. As a pastor there were any number of times I had been misunderstood, rejected, disappointed, and used. Hurts and wounds along the way made me sometimes wonder, “How many times can you have your heart ripped out and still function?” It occurred to me one day as I was considering some things that had happened that God was answering my prayer.There is an old gospel song that says, “Jesus knows your hurts; Jesus feels your pain.” When we pray to know the fellowship of His suffering are we not asking to enter into and identify with His pain. It is the natural order that the power of the resurrection follows the fellowship of His suffering. He suffered and was crucified and then He was resurrected. In a very real sense we have been crucified with Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. If in Him we died, then with Him we are resurrected. This is established fact; it is a done deal, but Paul in his writing is speaking of something he is aspiring to, looking to attain.That we may know Him is that desire for an ever increasing revelation of who He is, having an intimacy beyond human relationship. It will take eternity to experience and see the unfolding of who God is. I agree with Jonathan Edwards that heaven will be a continuing revelation of the awesomeness of our God. My vocabulary is not adequate to describe what I know of Him now. Paul surely knew Him as well as any one in scripture yet he was setting as His goal to know Him. We want to experience that knowing that continually changes and conforms us to His image.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hello friends,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

      In His love,

       Herb Dean

     Over the years I have found myself in what seemed like desperate situations, frantically trying to figure out what to do. Sometimes I made some wrong choices. On one such occasion, I was operating in anxiety mode exhausting all human possibilities, but still dutifully doing my bible reading, and the Lord brought this verse to mind along with a companion verse, “Cease striving and know that I am God.” I knew that it was the Lord speaking to me and I released the situation to him. I received His peace and shortly thereafter the problem was resolved.
    There have been other times that I was asking the Lord what I needed to do and I clearly heard the word “Wait”. When you feel like you need to do something or you feel like something needs to be happening that is a difficult word to hear. Peter wrote that God isn’t slack concerning His promises, but God doesn’t get in a hurry. When you have all wisdom and all power and know the end from the beginning, you know when the right time is and He does.
 
     As I was reading the Psalms this morning, I once again read Psalms 46: 10 and there it was,”Be still and know I am God.” I really felt I was to write something today, but there was nothing burning in my heart. Once again this verse leaped off the page, but I sensed it was not so much for me as it was for someone else. I had this sense that someone was in panic mode, that they were darting back and forth like a squirrel startled by a car on the highway. I have seen squirrels panic and run back under a wheel when they had it made. If that’s you, the Lord is speaking to you this morning, “Be still and know that I am God.” Stop and take deep breath, collect your thoughts (really you probably need to bring them captive to the obedience of Christ) and let’s wait on the Lord and get His mind in this situation. Often the Lord allows us to exhaust all human possibility bringing us to the end of ourselves so that all we can do is turn to Him. I often jokingly say, ” All we can do now is pray, oh no! has it come to that?” That is sad, but true, in so many instances. God wants us to turn to Him first.
 
    I just saw someone in my spirit treading water and they were growing weary, barely keeping their head above water.  I am reminded of a camp that I ran at a children’s home many years ago. It was on a tidal river and when the tide was in, we would take the kids skiing. The younger kids begged and pleaded to go, so I devised a test they had to pass before they could attempt to ski. It was a fairly simple test. They had to swim the length of the pool and tread water for a full minute before swimming back. One eight year old boy was very determined that he would pass so he could ski. After about 20 seconds he began to sink. I extended a broom for him to grab, but he wouldn’t take it; he was frantically paddling as he sank.  I had to go down and pull him out. Some folks are like that little boy; so determined to get what they want that they reject the lifeline even though they are sinking. Some allow pride to keep them from getting the help they need. There are others, who through no fault of their own find themselves sinking. Don’t panic and flail at the water, just rest in the Lord, and He will buoy you up.
 
I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I believed I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say on the Lord! Psalms 27:13,14
 
I believe this is a word for someone this morning and it it’s not for you, then you may know someone who is panicking, fretful, or anxious this morning. Feel free to pass it along. May these additional verses encourage you:
 
Commit (to roll) your way to the Lord (over on Him), Trust also in Him and He will bring it to pass. Psalms 37:5 (parentheses mine)
 
Casting all your cares upon Him for He careth for you. 2 Peter 5:7
 
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Matt. 11:28
 
Be blessed,
Herb Dean

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dear friends,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I have great hope and expectancy for this year. Prayer over these words and where the Spirit gives witness claim them for your own. Confess them in the midst of your situation; we war with the rhema. In closing the abbreviated points are as follows:

1. Double for your trouble. Is.61:7

2. Renewal of strength. Is. 40:31

3. Doors and gates opened. Is. 45

4. 20/10 vision

Thank you for allowing me to share with you. Be exceedingly, abundantly blessed.

In His love,

Herb Dean

Greetings,

There is awakened in me a great need of being led by the Spirit. Jesus, did only what He did by the power of the Spirit. So it must be with us as well. He told the disciples He was sending them someone just like Him. He said it was to their advantage that He went away so that the Helper could come, the one just like Himself. It is of necessity that God’s people be filled and continually filled with the Spirit of God. We cannot walk in the government of God unless we are led by the Spirit. The kingdom of God is in the Spirit, so if we are to walk the kingdom walk we must walk in the Spirit. The kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit. So if we allow ourselves to be led by our flesh, we do not experience His government which is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit.

The absence of power in the church is due to the Holy Spirit not being given proper place in our lives. the kingdom is in the Spirit and Paul says that the kingdom of God is not in word, but power. Jesus told His disciples that there were many of them who would not die until they saw the kingdom of God come in power.

There are many today who have projected the coming of the kingdom far into the future. If that is so, some of those guys must still be alive somewhere. In Acts one Jesus told His disciples that they would receive power after the Holy Spirit came upon them. In Luke 24, He told them to tarry in Jerusalem until they were clothed with power, so obviously the kingdom came in power at Pentecost. We don’t believe in tarrying much anymore, but whatever it takes we must be filled with His Spirit. In Acts chapter 6 those who were chosen to wait on tables had to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. Should any less be expected of us who serve the Lord and especially, we who preach the word.

What would happen in the church today if everyone from the nursery to the greeters at the front door were filled with the Spirit?  Look at what happened immediately after they set the deacons apart.   Act 6:7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

   I have shared many times how I asked the Lord one morning to give me something from His word that day and He led me to 1 Samuel 16. It’s a great chapter and one I was extremely familiar with. In my pride I kind of thought, “what can the Lord show me in that passage?”  I had not finished the first verse when a sentence in the very middle of the verse leaped off the page. “Fill your horn with oil, and go.”  How many times have I gone out to minister and the horn was empty. The Lord showed me that intimate with His Spirit was necessary in keeping my horn full. He has made provision for us to be continually filled to overflowing, that there is a river. Jesus timing and choices all flowed out of intimacy with the Father.

Our communication, our fellowship is with the Spirit. If you do a careful study of God speaking in the new testament, other than Jesus speaking to Paul on the road to Damascus, it was always the Holy Spirit that spoke to them and gave instruction. The scripture was written by holy men of God who were moved by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is a person. He is not a force or power. He can be insulted;He can be grieved; He can be quenched; He can be blasphemed; He can be ignored. As I said earlier, the reason for the absence of power in our people is because we have not given the Spirit His proper place. We have forfeited our advantage and quenched Him by our ignorance and fear. The Spirit is Lord and we must submit ourselves to the Spirit of God in us and bring this flesh under subjection. If you touch a live wire you are in for a shock, unless it is adequately insulated. We have so insulated the Holy Spirit with our flesh that the power is not being released. Many cannot tap into the Spirit’s power because they are so afraid to be out of control. Oftentimes we have more desire to be respectable than powerful. Many times Jesus offended minds to reveal hearts.

Too long, we have brought men’s methods into the church to make up for the absence of power. We have come to a time in the church where we must return to the power of the Spirit. We cannot do the work of the ministry apart from Him. We must return to the basics. Whatever we need to do to be clothed with power from on high we need to do. We are being summoned. There is a lost and dying world crying for help. If Jesus, being Who He was was dependent on the Spirit. How much more so should we be? It takes more than programs and rhetoric to change the lives of people.

Now is the time to seek the Lord. Repent of those things which have quenched the Spirit, remove hindrances, and ask Him to fill you up. Fellowship with Him; He is your friend, the one along side, the comforter, the Helper, the enabler, the standby, your counselor, your guide. He is your advantage.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen 2 Cor. 13:14

                       Be blessed,

Herb Dean

Dear friends,

I pray that you are well. I have not written in a while, but we are well. We have seen God wonderfully answer some of our prayers that we had persistently prayed for a long time. I am thankful I have a Father who hears and answers our prayer at the appropriate time. Though these are difficult times for many in the body of Christ I believe we are on the threshold of a great spiritual breakthrough. He is calling us to Himself, calling us to prayer, and when He calls us to pray, we know He will answer. I hope you will be encouraged by this message today.

As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools.

Psalms 84:6

How often I have read this psalm and on many occasions have sung parts of it, but the passage about the Valley of Baca never meant much. The Lord really spoke to me through it recently. I had never really thought about the Valley of Baca. As this passage of scripture was illumined to me I began meditating on it and looked up the Valley of Baca. Baca is actually a type of plant known for its ability to survive dry places. So what we see being described in Psalms 84 is the pilgrimage of life for those who have found the intimacy with God that the psalmist begins the psalm yearning for. It describes those who intimately know their God and are continually praising Him. In this pilgrimage of life heading toward the New Jerusalem we pass through dry places. Some of you may be in a wilderness or dry place in your lives right now.

A year or so ago, I was visiting a church in another city and I was complaining about how dry the area where I was living was. One of the elders who is very prophetic said that he was familiar with the area and that it was indeed a dry place and that the Lord was calling us to dig new wells. How do you dig a new well? As I pondered on that, I felt that it was pressing into God, seeking Him whole-heartedly, and developing an intimacy with Him. I believe that is true, but oftentimes the natural is a picture of the spiritual. To dig a well, you have to remove a lot of dirt to get to the water; sometimes you have to move or go through stone.

One morning in my quiet time, the Lord asked me, “Is it Middle Georgia that’s dry or is it you?” I thought about it and  came to the realization that it was both me and Middle Georgia that was dry, but it was not the fault of Middle Georgia that I was dry. Maybe it was dry because I was dry. I could give many reasons or probably better said excuses like hurts and disappointments in ministry, unfulfilled prophetic words, betrayals, and misunderstandings that  had made me less and less intimate with the Lord. My prayer life was not what it had been at one time. It was necessary to redig the well in my own life that I might begin to dig new wells in Middle Georgia.

I cannot say that it is my responsibility to bring revival to this area, but I do have a responsibility to be a conduit through which the Spirit of God flows. Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38  It is obvious from what Jesus said that other scriptures make reference to this. There are many scriptures that talk about rivers and water. In Ezekiel 47 we see the small stream of water flowing from the threshold of the temple that became a huge body of life-giving water. Are we not the temple of the Holy Spirit from which this live-giving water flows? In the Psalms 46:4 it says “There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God.” Are we not tributaries of that river?

The kingdom of God came in power when the Spirit of God was poured out at Pentecost. The kingdom is in the Spirit. Jesus said the kingdom of God is in you. He told his disciples that when they entered a place to heal the sick and to say that the kingdom of God has come nigh. If we have become conduits of the Holy Spirit then the kingdom comes wherever we go. We must all pass through our Valley of Baca and we will either impact it for the kingdom or we will be impacted by it. If we are not flowing in the Spirit we will be drained dry and become like our surroundings, but if we are flowing in the Spirit we make springs in it. I have heard it said that water attracts water. We make it a spring, but look at the second part of the verse. The rain covers it with pools. The Spirit of God within us attracts the presence of God. God promises to make streams in the desert and pools in the wilderness and He chooses to pour Himself out through you.

You may be in a very dry place. God has put you there to make a difference. You may have to re-dig old wells or dig new ones. There may be a little dirt or a lot. There may be some stones that have to be removed, but there is an abundant source of water sufficient to turn your dry place into a well-watered garden. You may be the stream that your dry land is waiting for. We had close to a nine inch rainfall deficit since the first of the year and over the past three weeks we have had so much rain we made up the deficit. Last Wednesday at our prayer meeting a young man said, “The drought is over.”  I inquired as to whether he was talking about the natural or the spiritual and he said the spiritual. The next night the local meteorologist declared that the drought was over. I could not help, but believe that was a confirming word. If the Spirit of God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead dwells in you, He can change the environment through you. May God fill you with Himself today that all who encounter you may encounter life-giving water.

In his love,

Herb Dean

Dear friends,

Grace and peace be multiplied to you. Having already entered the second half of an election year, things have really begun to heat up. As I listened to a little of the morning news and much of it being political rhetoric, I had this thought, “God is not a republican or a democrat.” There would be those who would say He favors republicans and others would say He favors the democrats. Those who care what He thinks might be tempted to ask Him whose side He is on. That brought a few scripture verses to mind that I thought might be appropriate for this season.

“Whoever is on the Lord’s side___come to me! Exodus 32:26b

These were Moses’ words after he had come down from the mountain and broken the tablets of the law in anger. Only the Levites gathered to him. He sent them forth with swords to slay those were caught in sin. 3000 men were slain. The day the law came and was broken 3000 died by the sword. The day the Spirit came in power at Pentecost 3000 were saved. The letter kills but the Spirit gives life. The kingdom came in power just as Jesus had told His disciples.

And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with his sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” Joshua 5:13,14

As one brother put it, the Lord didn’t come to take sides, He came to take over. If we are asking the Lord whose side He’s on then we are asking the wrong question. We should ask ourselves “Are we on the Lord’s side?”

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” John 18:36

We serve a government that is not from this world. The kingdom we serve is in the Spirit. So what do we know about the kingdom.

Flesh and blood cannot inherit it. 1Cor. 15:50

Those who practice the works of the flesh cannot inherit it. Galatians 5:19-21

It is not in word, but in power. 1Cor. 4:20

It is not eating or drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17

The Kingdom of God is simply the domain, the rule, reign, dominion, of the King. The Kingdom of God is here and Jesus is the king.

We are citizens of a spiritual kingdom. Does that mean we should not have anything to do with earthly government? No, in 1 Peter 2, Peter gave some instruction as to how we are to live here, though we are sojourners and pilgrims. Should we neglect the privileges of citizenship because we are subject to the King of Kings? No, exercise those privileges and heed especially the exhortation of Paul. Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 1 Timothy 2: 1-3

If we are citizens of the kingdom we will be exemplary citizens here.

Can a political party solve a nation’s ills? Absolutely not, our nation is kind of like Humpty Dumpty and Obama and his party, nor McCain and his party can put it together again, but the King can. As we look at soaring oil prices, inflation, deflating home values, war, and division; what must we do? Two passages come to mind:

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

The things in the context of this verse is our physical needs. If we put the rule of the king first in every area of life, then your need will be met in that area. In every area of life that the King reigns there is the provision of the King.

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon who will commit to your trust the true spiritual riches? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Luke 16: 10-13.

What are true spiritual riches? Wisdom, peace, understanding, love, and joy to name a few. Could it just be that the reason these guys go to Washington and then act like there is something funny in the water up there is because they have wrong priorities? Just a thought. Many have not been faithful with what they have been given. It is time to seek His reign; his righteousness. Righteousness exalts a nation.

Yes, why don’t we ask ourselves, “Are we on the Lord’s side?” The great thing about being on the Lord’s side is that you always win. Love never fails. And the other great thing about being on the Lord’s side is that when you are on His side, He’s also on yours.

If it had not been the Lord Who was on our side, let Israel now say–”If it had not been the Lord Who was on our side, when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive, when their wrath was kindled against us; then the waters would have overwhelmed us, the stream would have gone over our soul; then the swollen waters would have gone over our soul.” Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalms 124

Lord, we choose to be on your side.

Blessings,

Herb Dean