Firm Foundation with Bryan Hudson

Mail Men: Guys That Deliver | Becoming Men of Steel

Mail Men: Guys That Deliver, Part 2
Becoming Men of Steel. Guys the Deliver
2 Tim. 1:13 Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 14 That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
Gen 49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall
The Greek word for “pattern” is “typos”
1) It is the mark of a stroke or blow, like old style printing. 2) It is a figure formed by a blow or impression 3) the teaching which embodies the sum and substance of faith and represents it to the mind.
Pattern defined: 1) pattern, plan, form, construction, figure, a) construction, structure
A pattern is an exemplar which is “a person or thing serving as a typical example or excellent model.” A “model” is a system or thing used as an example to follow or imitate.
Men of Steel are males who are transformed by God, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God. Like the process that transforms raw iron into steel, God transforms males into men.
Definition: “Steel is the most refined metal that can be made from iron. In the blast furnace, where impurities are removed from the iron, and other key chemicals are added, the iron becomes a much stronger metal.”
Eze. 22:30 "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.
God created men to get things done. Guys that sit around doing nothing, or doing harmful things, is contrary to God's nature and to His purpose for men and boys. Remember that boys are just little men in development. A male or man is not only matter of physical attributes or outward appearance. There are also factors in the soul that define a man.
The things I'm going to share may sound a little overwhelming. It will sound like a tall order. But this part of how God deals with men. He wants us to accept challenges that seem to hard to do. We have to be challenged to go higher and to do more. It's the only way to develop and grow.
The called NBA basketball player Karl Malone, "The mailman", because "He delivered."
I'm also thinking about mail carriers that also call mailmen. We know the motto, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”
We are living in a day that is not unlike the day that not unlike the day the Ezekiel lived in. In fact, because of fallen human nature, sin and corruption have always plagued our people and societies.
“I looked for a man.” This Hebrew word of man is not the word meaning person, man or woman. It is the Hebrew word meaning “Male.”
God said, “ 30 "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.” God looked for a man to “build up the wall” and “stand before Him” (as an intercessor, helper, and change agent) “in the gap on behalf of the land.”
Sadly and amazingly, God’s response to his own inquiry was, “But I found none!”
It was not that God could find no “males,” but that he did not see a MAN who was prepared, willing and able, through God, to be counted on in a time of need. There were plenty of males around, but not many men.
Why guys don't deliver:
1. Discouragement: Experiences that sap energy and courage
2. Lack of support or reliance: Men like to be needed and depended upon. When guys are neglected, overlooked or not called on, their God-given ability goes unused
3. Disrespect: Failure to acknowledge purpose and role. Overlooking position of honor
4. Bad habits: Things guy do that undermine themselves, their abilities, and their purpose
5. Misplaced or distorted identity: Unhelpful role models
6. Emasculation: Direct attacks on manhood; to deprive of strength, vigor, or spirit : weaken: to deprive of virility or procreative power: castrate: to remove the androecium of (a flower) in the process of artificial cross-pollination

Men of Prophetic Purpose Workshop | From International Covenant Connection conference

Men of Prophetic Purpose: “I sought for a man to stand in the gap”
Ezekiel 22: 30 So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.
Notes located at http://www.newcovenant.org/Men_of_Prophetic_Purpose_Notes.pdf

How to Be God’s Response to Our Times

Romans 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
Those who are in Christ are a prophetic people. If you are in Christ, you are a prophetic person! What does that mean? It does not mean that you prophesy, tell the future, or say things that sound profound to some people. Prophetic people don’t just say, “Yea, and again I say Yea!” Prophetic people and preachers don’t just say and do things in the moment. Prophetic people are God’s response to their times and to their generation.
The Scriptures state that we were created in God's image and likeness. That statement carries the full creative purpose and power of God. Have you thought, "Why was I born?" The better question to ask is "Why did God create me in His image and likeness."
I define “prophetic” as: God accomplishing His purposes by declaring his will and purpose in advances and then performing His will through willing people and ordered circumstances.
There is a great difference between the propheticness God and the doctrine of fatalism which says that all events are determined by fate and are therefore inevitable and unalterable. In God’s scheme of things, He does not exclude the human will. He gives us the ability to accept or reject His plan for our lives (Deut. 30:19).
Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
The ability of choice also includes the responsibility to accept the consequences of every decision. We cannot blame God for our failure to walk in His revealed will.
Again, if you are born again, you are a prophetic person. The fact that you have a “testimony of Jesus” proves that you are a prophetic person (the spirit of prophecy).
John 1:13 says that we were born again “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Jesus said in John 8:44 that no one can come to Him except the Father “draws him.” The point is this: The events that led to your repentance and acceptance of Jesus as your Lord and Savior were all prophetic in nature. Those were events prescribed by God from the foundation of the world. Though our names do not appear in the Bible, we do prophetically appear in promises such as, “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:12). You became that “whoever” when the Holy Spirit convicted you of sin and you believed the Gospel of Jesus. God had you in mind when “whoever” became a part of the Word.
We do not fully understand the reality of predestination, the simplicity is when we become aware of a prophetic call of God, we must choose to respond.

Birthing and Nurturing Your Purpose in God

Gal. 4:22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all...28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

Patricia Hudson | Listen, Hear, Do, Receive

Listen, Hear, Do, Receive

Kingdom Ethics & Integrity

Link to message notes: http://www.newcovenant.org/Kingdom_Ethics_Integrity.pdf
Our conduct in the house of God should be governed by the Word of God and by biblical standards and ethics that are the generally accepted in the Body of Christ. According to John 15, Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches. We are a like a vineyard with vinedressers who manage, prune, and purge the branches of the vine. These beneficial “cutting” actions provide:
1) The best growing experience for all the branches
2) The removal of dead “branches” and the improvement of fruitful “branches” of our lives
2) More fruitfulness for the vine as a whole
Biblical standards and ethics also provide a basis for excellence and success in the workplace and within the greater, better part of society.
Ethics defined: Rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, culture, etc.: Such as medical ethics; Christian ethics.
Integrity Defined: Adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

Blessings of the Sixth Day, No More Veneers

God made man (male & female) on the sixth day. Our original design gives insight on our purpose and best destiny. We don't have to live superficial lives because something great lies within. Gen 1:26-31
God’s original design for you:
1. Be fruitful: Fruitfulness
2. Multiply: Multiplication
3. Fill: Remove void, bring fullness
4. Subdue: Overcome negative factors for yourself and others
5. Dominion: Maintain control through appropriate authority, responsibility, and accountability. Care for others. Maintain good order. Lead.
6. It is God who provides “I have given you every herb...”
7. God said that man (as He intended us) was: "Very good"

Principles for Increase

Mark 4:26 And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, 27 and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. 28 For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.
Four Principles from Mark 4:26-28:
1. The kingdom of God, and your life, functions on the principle of Seedtime and harvest.
a. Gen. 8:22 “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and nigh hall not cease.”
b. “...a man should scatter seed...”
c. The harvest, or results, we get from life come from the seeds of action that we plant, or of what others plant for us.
d. This is also true for financial blessings for ourselves and our church.
2. A seed, once planted, gains the power to produce and increase.
a. We don’t know how this happens, since we cannot see and it is not possible to be aware of every process.
b. One thing is certain, if we have not planted any seed, we won’t have any harvest.
c. None sowers only benefit, or leach, off the efforts of others
d. This is what the Lord meant by asking this question, “Will a man rob God? Question: “How have we robbed you?” Answer: “In tithes and offerings.”
3. Increase comes in stages. “For the earth yields crops by itself.” Expect and look for signs of increase. When you see the “blade” make your plans for increase and continued sowing.
a. We don’t how this happens, since we cannot see and it is not possible to be aware of every process.
b. Don’t let fear and stinginess keep you from your greater blessings and, more importantly, greater benefits for God’s work.
4. Our goal is not only to have success and more money, but to have “good success” and to establish God’s covenant in the earth
a. Joshua 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
b. Deuteronomy 8:17 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ 18 “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

Preparing Your Heart and Life for Increase

Jesus spoke a parable describing the conditions of the people’s hearts in relation to God’s word, or the seed. How you handle the seed of God’s is the most important thing that you handle.
Matthew 13:1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Look at what Jesus said in regard to The Purpose of Parables:
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
Notice the characteristics of “them;”
14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
15  For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should[a] heal them.’[b]
Characteristics of “you”
16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
Hearing and receiving is a matter of both conditions of the heart and God’s timing (Kairos).
He describe four conditions of soil, or of the heart: Three bad and one good.
1) Wayside is an unreceptive place: In Palestine the fields were in long narrow strips; and the ground between the strips was always a right of way. It was used as a common path; and therefore it was beaten as hard as a pavement by the feet of countless passers-by
2) Stony was shallow. It is a then layer of soil over limestone rock
3) Thorny was full of weeds and distractions. Luke 8:14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. The thorny ground was deceptive. When the sower was sowing, the ground would look clean enough. It is easy to make a garden look clean by simply turning it over; but in the ground still lay the fibrous roots of the couch grass and the bishop weed and all the perennial pests [like crab grass], ready to spring to life again. Every gardener knows that the weeds grow with a speed and a strength that few good seeds can equal. The result was that the good seed and the dormant weeds grew together; but the weeds were so strong that they choked the life out of the seed.
4) Good ground was tilled and ready to receive seed. Which condition describes your heart?
Operating in your authority requires a heart prepared like a good garden or farm field. There’s a lot that God wants to do through us and with us.

How to Live in Resurrection Power Everyday

L.G.S.
1. Jesus died for our sins | “Look up”
Jesus didn’t suffer and die for anything He did. Jesus suffered and died for everything we did against God and every sin we have committed.
Zech 12:10 And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
John 19:36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”
1 Cor 15:45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
Jesus, the last Adam, did not only die for Christians, he died for the sins of all people and to also redeem all of creation. Jesus death has prevented greater trouble and calamity than we have already seen.
Jesus death balanced the scales of divine justice. People who commit crimes produce an imbalance in society that can only be rectified by justice and dealing with criminals, both in punishment and reform.
Sin creates an imbalance, pain and impending trouble. Like a bad diet imbalances the body. He took the punishment that all of us deserved.
As a child, everyday I woke up, I found myself in a warm bed, in a nice house. I could get up, go into the kitchen and get some food out of the refrigerator. I could turn the tap and receive cold, clear water. I could turn another tap and draw hot water for a bath.
As a child, I was oblivious to the sacrifices that my father and mother made for me to able to live a carefree life. As I child, I thought that my father went to work everyday because it was something he liked to do, and had fun doing it.
Here's my point: Many people walk around drawing breaths, thinking thoughts, making money, living mostly sickness and disease free, enjoying life, overcoming difficulties, but, like naive children, never stop to consider that it's the mercy and grace of God that keeps them.
People are unaware that because of Jesus sacrifice, there is, especially in Christian nations, a measure of peace in life that we would not have, if Jesus had not died for the sins of all humanity.
2. He was buried | “Give up”
Jesus burial was proof of his death. Being buried signaled the giving up of His life. When people die, they have to give up everything…even if they didn’t want to. You’ve never seen a U-Haul truck in the funeral possession carrying of the stuff of the deceased.
Either you “Give Up” your old selfish life voluntarily, or it will be taken away involuntarily and all kinds of ways.
He burial also symbolized the end of our old lives and the permanent removal of our sins. Once someone or something is buried, it is gone. All activity ceases. All power is gone.
1 Cor. 15:21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
Jesus burial represented the breaking of the power of sin, and satan.
Have you have a car or something that simply could no longer be repaired? A sinful nature cannot be repaired, it has to be reborn. That car is beyond repair, it has to be replaced. It's totaled!
3. He rose from the dead | “Stand up”
1 Cor. 15:12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
Jesus resurrection validated and activated every promise and every benefit of salvation. His resurrection also broke the power of death, the deception of Satan and the reign of sin over humanity. Because of Jesus' resurrection, no one has to live in sin, dwell in defeat, or spend eternity without God in Hell. We receive a spiritual resurrection when we are born again.
Resurrection” is from the biblical Greek word: “Anastasis” which is a combination of two words meaning: up and to cause to stand.