THE REST by Ben Peters

THE REST

The Spirit of God is hovering over His church, powerfully and graciously wooing her and leading her into the place of rest, which Hebrews 4 declares is available to all of His children.  This invitation to this seemingly mystical rest is increasing in its intensity.

The phrase, “The Rest,” has two different meanings.  One meaning is: “that which remains,” as in “The Rest of the Story.”   The other meaning is “stopping our work and getting refreshed.”  But “The Rest” of Hebrews 4 involves both.  Hebrews 4:9 declares, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.”  Thus, Scripture is telling us that there is more – the rest – of what God has given us that we need to possess.  In other words, WE NEED TO POSSESS THE REST OF WHAT GOD HAS FOR US, WHICH IS THE REST.

Israel had some amazing blessings in the wilderness, which followed an amazing victory over Egypt, but the greatest blessings had not yet been claimed and “The Rest” of their blessings were still waiting for them.

The word, “REST,” in both Hebrew and Greek actually means, “ABODE,” which, I believe, has huge significance for the church today.  This rest is more than just stopping work, but also being able to fully enjoy possessions.  Israel did not enter into their “Abode” because of unbelief.   The Promised Land was their “Abode.”   

It’s like getting to go home when you’ve been on a long trip.  You don’t really rest until you get to your own house and your own bed, etc.  We’ve stayed in some nice motels and hotels, as well as some very nice homes on the road, but we don’t really completely rest until we get home to what is our own, as humble as it may be.  Our soul longs for that complete emotional rest that only comes when we are where we feel we can be totally ourselves.

Our rest in God is something like that.  We may know we have eternal life, but not fully possessing what He has provided for us.  He wants us to be led into the fullness of His promises and go in to possess the land that has been waiting for us. 

The King James Version translates Hebrews 4:11 this way:  “Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

The word, “labor,” actually means “do it quickly and diligently.”  Israel’s sin of unbelief caused them to delay action, which led them to wander in the wilderness without entering their rest for forty years.  When God is ready to bless you, take quick action and trust Him completely. 

Israel had possession of their freedom from slavery.  It was much better than slavery, but God wanted to give them the fullness of His blessing in their own land. They missed out because of fear and unbelief.  Fear and unbelief always partner to rob us and to rob God.

What we may miss when we read Hebrews 4 is the application for the church.  Even as Israel, under Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, had possessed the land of Canaan for three generations, so the church was in possession of its territory in the early days of their history.  Whereas “Natural Israel” was given a natural piece of land to possess, “Spiritual Israel,” the church, was given a spiritual territory to possess.  That wonderful gift was the fulness of the manifested presence of God, which produced incredible fruit and power, after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2.  The spiritual fruit was the amazing level of unselfishness and generosity.  The power was miracles of healing, deliverance and raising the dead, resulting in thousands of souls saved. 

This was the Promised Land of the early church.  Jesus gave them the promise repeatedly in John 14-17 and then again in Acts 1:8, when He told them they would receive power after the Holy Spirit had come upon them, causing them to be witnesses at home and abroad. 

Israel had lost their possessions for over 400 years before they were able to reclaim it through many battles in their Promised Land.  In like manner, the church had lost its possessions for over a thousand years, and it has taken several hundred years, beginning with the Reformation to get to where we are today in reclaiming our spiritual possessions.  Like Joshua, before his death, I believe Jesus, whose Hebrew name is actually Joshua, is calling the church to finish taking back their possessions from the enemy.  He wants to strike a death blow to false doctrines, such as Cessationism, which claims that miracles are not for today, by demonstrating His power and might to the nations.

Are we, His church, ready to go in and possess our inherited “Abode?”

I hear the voice of God exhorting us:  “Go in and possess the land.  I gave it to you 2000 years ago.  Don’t fear the giants in the land, whether they be religious, political or leaders from any mountain of society.  I have given them into your hands.  Just listen and obey.  When I tell you to march around Jericho seven times, do it.  Trust me and I will show you my right hand of power.  Did I not instruct Joshua to be strong and of a good courage?   So now, I am instructing My church.  Rise up and possess your possessions, so you can truly enter into your perfect rest.  Only then, can I demonstrate to the lost, how much I love them and how mighty a God I AM.  Listen and obey, and I will use you to build My Kingdom.

Ben Peters

ohmint@gmail.com

GETTING GOD'S ATTENTION AND FAVOR IN 2018 by Ben & Brenda Peters

Greetings Friends,

It’s been too long since my last letter.  I’ve posted a lot on Facebook, but realize that not everyone is on Facebook.  Please forgive me.  Life, as usual, has been a bit crazy.

For those who haven’t heard, Brenda slipped on an unseen curb coming out of church, going into the parking lot.  She fell and twisted her foot and ankle.  X-rays showed a couple of small bone chips or fractures in her foot in two different places, plus the ankle was sprained.  We’ve had hundreds of people praying for her and she is walking, or limping on it.  She got through some last minute shopping and all the Christmas gatherings.  She’s not without pain or discomfort and the foot has turned black and blue, but she’s thankful that she can still function and didn’t have to have a hard cast.  We do appreciate continued prayer for her.

We are expecting twin boys to be born in the next few days, now that they are over 37 weeks old in the womb.  I call them womb-mates.  We’re looking forward to seeing them and Kimberley is looking forward to carrying them outside the womb.

Our schedule keeps us busy with personal ministry, writing, babysitting, etc.  We have a few meetings scheduled in early 2018, but we’re wanting to stay pretty close to home most of the time to help with these twins.

Here’s my New Years Message, which will also go on Facebook.

HOW TO GET GOD’S ATTENTION AND FAVOR

Brenda and I just watched an episode of Sid Roth’s It’s Supernatural, with guest James Maloney.  We were impacted heavily by his testimony and message. 

What stood out the most was the fact that having already had an amazing miracle ministry, God brought him to a place of greater brokenness and humility, where he now has more compassion and more faith for the impossible.  He has found that he also has instant access to the heavenly realm and the manifested presence of God and angelic assistance.

The important point I want to make, which is confirmed all throughout Scripture is this:  God isn’t looking to see how great our accomplishments are, how big our ministries are, how skillful we are in interpreting Scripture, etc.  What He is looking for is a broken and contrite heart. 

Isaiah 57 tells us He dwells in a high and loft place with the person who has a contrite and humble spirit. 

Psalm 51 tells us that a broken and contrite heart He will not despise. 

Isaiah 66 says that God will notice and pay attention to “him that is poor and of a contrite spirit,” rather than someone who has built Him a beautiful temple or palace. 

James 4 tells us God resists the proud but gives grace (or favor) to the humble. 

Jesus taught us that the sinner asking for mercy would have more favor than the Pharisee who had meticulously kept the letter of the law. 

MY NEW YEARS RESOLUTION

I can think of no greater New Year’s Resolution than to resolve to seek His face and ask Him to give us that place of brokenness and humility before Him.  The promises and rewards of brokenness and humility are so incredible that any sacrifice would be worth it to receive the benefits that are promised to us.  After all, David told us in Psalm 103 not to forget all His benefits.

Both Brenda and I have experienced these benefits following times of deep brokenness before God.  We share these experiences in some of our books.  Without these intense and exhilarating experiences, we would not have the ministry we have today.  But how easy it is to forget the true source of God’s favor and blessings, and begin to think in terms of a performance mentality.  We begin to look at our accomplishments and giftings and compare ourselves with others, which God says is not wise. 

The good news is that we don’t have to go through major pain and suffering to humble ourselves and find that place of brokenness.  We can ask for a revelation of Jesus through His Word and the Holy Spirit.  He can show us where we fall short and yet how great His love is for us.  We can ask for His heart and confess our own selfishness and pride.  His Holy Spirit will convict us if we ask Him to. 

More good news:  Being humble and broken before the Lord doesn’t mean we go around sad and mournful.  Just the opposite.  My experience is that immediately after an hour or two of carrying the burden or heart of the Lord in intercessory prayer, the joy of the Lord would flood my soul and His love and peace carried me through the day with victory and vigor for life.  The fruit of the Holy Spirit flowed out of my life like a river, and I knew it wasn’t me.  I was living in a supernatural realm I had never known before.  For more details, read “Humility and How I Almost Achieved it.”  E-book downloads are free on many e-readers.  Write me if you want more information. 

My personal and glorious revival followed one simple act of humility and obedience, and the long-term result is over 50 years of ministry, where God has provided all our needs, over 20 revelatory books written, over 20 international ministry trips and tens of thousands of hearts touched with the love of the Father.  Brenda’s testimony is similar, but different as yours probably is as well.

Let’s believe for God’s grace to empower us to keep our New Years Resolution throughout 2018 and the rest of our lives.  God isn’t looking at our performance record.  His eyes are searching for humble and broken hearts who feel His pain for souls without Christ and kids without food or clean water to drink, etc., not to mention those that are slaughtered in the womb.  May God take us lower so that He can lift us up and powerfully use us without our pride and selfishness getting in the way and messing things up.

There is so much more we could say, but this is getting too long.

Have a very blessed New Year with family, friends and with souls you will have impacted for eternity.

Much love,

Ben and Brenda Peters

 

A NEW LOOK AT THE PRAYER OF JABEZ by Ben Peters

Greetings Friends,

I just posted on FaceBook the following short word.  I believe this is from the Lord and we will be seeing some great things in the coming year.   Please accept this as my prediction and exhortation for 2017.

 

ANOTHER LOOK AT THE PRAYER OF JABEZ

I believe the Holy Spirit is saying, “It’s time to take a deeper look at Jabez’s prayer.

Jabez name meant pain, because his mother said, “I bore him in pain.” 

Obviously, his name bothered him because he “called on the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!’  So, God granted him what he requested.”  I Chronicles 4:10.

Jabez made four requests, which were expounded on by Bruce Wilkerson.  They were:

  1. Bless me indeed.
  2. Enlarge my territory.
  3. That Your hand may be with me.
  4. Keep me from evil.

What I would have liked the author to pay more attention to was the declared motive for this prayer.  Motives are based on the condition of our heart, and that’s what God is always looking at.  I’m wondering how many who prayed these four requests failed to receive their answers, as Jabez did, because they didn’t have the purest motives.

The cry of Jabez’s heart, was, “that I might not cause pain.”  Somehow, Jabez connected his lack of blessing, territory, God’s hand and protection from evil with causing pain to others.  I don’t really know what his situation was, but this I do know.  The opposite of causing pain is being a blessing.  I can clearly see how the fulfillment of these requests would be helpful if he wanted to be a blessing to others. 

So simply put, he could have worded it more like this:  “Lord would you help me to be a blessing by showing me Your favor in blessings and enlarged territory.  Would you show that you are with me by doing miracles for me and by keeping me from sin and from trouble in my life.  Lord, I just want to be a blessing to others and a good testimony of your faithfulness, love and power.”

FRESH TIMELY APPLICATION

This prayer should now be prayed by the church, as the whole body of Christ.  I believe God wants us to pray this prayer with an intensity and with pure motives, so that we, as Christ’s physical body on this earth, do not bring unnecessary pain to the unbeliever, but, like the early church, bring great joy, love and healing to a lost and hurting world.  We are clearly in a time of Kingdom Advancement.  It’s time to seize the moment.  It’s a window of opportunity that the church hasn’t seen in a very long time.

  1. LORD, BLESS US INDEED.  I believe there are huge material blessings coming very soon – a transfer of wealth – not for selfish reasons, but to help us fulfill the Great Commission.
  2. ENLARGE OUR TERRITORY.  God wants to increase our sphere of influence and promote us to preach the gospel of Jesus’ love and power – the gospel of the Kingdom.
  3. LET YOUR HAND BE WITH US.   God’s hand speaks of His power and healing anointing.  God will release a major healing anointing to activate faith in unbelievers, so He can reap His harvest.
  4. LORD, KEEP US FROM EVIL.  This can mean keeping us from sinning, as well as keep us from disasters or troubles.

But, the most important part of our prayer is declaring boldly our motives.  “Lord, we are not asking these things for selfish reasons.  We want to see revival.  We want resources to send many harvesters into your harvest field.  We want a platform to preach your gospel.  We want your miracles to attract the unbeliever and encourage every weary warrior.  We want to walk in a way that’s pleasing to you and without the distractions of unnecessary attacks.  We want to seek first your Kingdom and see Your name greatly glorified.  We want to see the knowledge of the glory of the Lord cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

May God give us one heart and soul to love and serve our God with all our heart – our motives – and with our whole being.   Blessings to all!!!

Ben and Brenda Peters

HEADS UP by Ben Peters

Dear Friends,

Here's a message I'm sending to the Elijah List.  Trust it will bless you!!!

HEADS UP!

Ben R Peters

 

On the evening of February 8, 2016, God visited me with an unusual revelation regarding His plans to set free, empower, equip and beautify His warrior bride.  It started while I was reading a news article on my computer.  Next, I felt impressed to open my Bible and read what was in front of me from the book of Isaiah.  Finally, I felt nudged to open my phone app Bible and read where I had last left off reading in the book of Luke.  It was one news story, one Old Testament passage and one New Testament passage, and they were like a three-fold cord, speaking the same message, loud and clear.   

The news story was about Yazidi women, who had been captured and sold as sex slaves to ISIS fighters.  Many of them escaped, thanks partially to US airstrikes in the region, and have since chosen to train themselves to fight their former ISIS captors.  Here are a few quotes from the article:

Some 2,000 Yazidi women who were captured in the brutal August 2014 attack on their mountain stronghold have escaped and have taken up arms against their former tormentors. Driven by the fresh memories of unspeakable atrocities and the survival of their people, hundreds have signed up to fight the black-clad terrorist army.  ”Now we are defending ourselves from the evil; we are defending all the minorities in the region," Capt. Khatoon Khider told FoxNews.com. "We will do whatever is asked of us."

Of the number of Yazidi women who have been trained and are fighting alongside their male counterparts, Khider is one of 123. Their ages range from 17 to 37, and there are at least another 500 awaiting their training.

"Women were throwing their children from the mountains and then jumping themselves because it was a faster way to die," Khider said. "Our hands were all tied. We couldn't do anything about it.

"Our elite force is a model for other women in the region," she said. "We want to thank all the other countries who help us in this difficult time, we want everyone to take up weapons and know how to protect themselves from the evil."

After reading this story, I opened my Bible to Isaiah 52 and immediately read:

Shake yourself from the dust, arise; Sit down, O Jerusalem!  Loose yourself from the bond of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion! (Isaiah 52:2)

After a little meditation on this verse and the verses before and after, I felt nudged to read from my Bible app on my phone.  Here’s the story which followed where I had last left off reading;

And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.  But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”  And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.  (Luke 13:11-13)

In verse 14, we are told the ruler of the synagogue objected to Jesus healing on the Sabbath day.  Jesus responds:

“Hypocrite!  Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?  So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound – think of it – for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?”  (Luke 13:15,16)

I have been meditating on these three stories for several days, knowing that God was speaking a prophetic word to me for His Bride, His Church.  I don’t feel I have yet fully mined the prophetic treasure hidden in these stories, but this is what I know that God is speaking to us all.

  1. We have a vicious enemy, who wants to victimize us, torment us and take away all hope of freedom or fulfillment of dreams or destinies.  He wants to put chains around our neck, keep us bent over with our heads down and fill us with feelings of shame and worthlessness.
  2. We have a God who loves us and has the power to set us free and rebuke every physical, spiritual and emotional spirit of infirmity.
  3. Those who have suffered most under the diabolical enslavement of our evil enemy, will become the most determined and fearless fighters against him, in order to free others still living under his insidious control.

UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM

The harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few.  The reason for that is that so many potential laborers are all bent over, feeling unusable to God because of either secret or not-so-secret spiritual, physical or emotional bondages. 

When people are all bent over and cannot lift their heads up, they will always be looking down.  You don’t get a great perspective on the future, when you can see nothing but dirt.  Your eyes are not on the horizon or on the heavens.  You are seeing nothing but the same old dirt day after day.  The sex slaves in Iraq had been feeling like dirt every day that they were help captive.  We can’t imagine their anguish and sorrow, knowing family members had been murdered or tortured, etc, and that they have nothing to look forward to but being repeatedly raped by evil men. 

Like the Yazidi women, millions of Christians, and others who would become Christians, who would otherwise love to serve God and help bring in the harvest, are hopelessly held in chains of addiction to alcohol, drugs and sexual perversion.  Others suffer the torment of depression, fear and anxiety, as well as many other forms of addiction.  These bondages are real.  They are not easily cured by people preaching at them or quoting trite slogans.  They need a strong and anointed word and touch from Jesus, Himself, to break the chains that keep them in bondage.

It was heart-breaking to hear the news during the New Hampshire primary season, about how many people were dying from drug overdoses in that state.  It was of more concern, for many people, than the economy or personal security.  Certainly, addictions are a powerful means of enslavement, both in the world and in the church. 

Probably, the greatest addictions in the church, especially among men, are the many forms of sexual addiction.  The evil spirit of seduction is so emboldened in western society today, that its victims must continually find more perverted ways of expression.  Like drug addiction, what was cutting edge before is now too mild to adequately stimulate.  The bondages of addictions are leading our culture into a death spiral.

UNDERSTANDING GOD’S POWERFUL AND AMAZING SOLUTION

Yes, our enemy is bad to the bone and has a lot of things working for him today.  BUT GOD!!!  What God was and is speaking to me about this situation is this:

“I AM RELEASING A FRESH ANOINTING ON ISAIAH 61 FOR MY CHURCH, MY BODY ON THE EARTH.” 

What Jesus read in his hometown synagogue about Himself, He is now proclaiming from Heaven and pouring out the anointing oil on His own body, His church.  Here is the passage the Holy Spirit is highlighting to me right now:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion.  To give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.  And they shall rebuild the old ruins; They shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. (Isaiah 61:1-4)

This was the job description the Father gave to Jesus to fulfill on his mission to Planet Earth.  He faithfully fulfilled His Father’s assignment.  Today, Jesus is giving us, His Body on the earth, the same job description.  But He is not asking us to do it in our own giftings, or our own strength.  No, He is pouring out the same Holy Spirit on us today, that was poured into Him at His baptism. 

We, His Church, His Body and His Bride, will feel that surge of supernatural energy within our spirits to take down principalities, powers and spiritual wickedness in high places.  We will not do this in foolish presumption, but together with other members of His body, we will hear His voice, feel His anointing power, and proclaim, touch and break chains. 

As we begin to bring freedom to those both inside and outside the church, we will observe the fearless passion of those who have been liberated.  They will boldly enlist in the army of the Lord.  They will learn how to use spiritual weapons of warfare, which are not carnal, but mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds (II Corinthians 10:4).   They will take the power of freedom to those still enslaved by the chains of bondage and there will be an incredible domino effect created.  We are about to see this unfold over the next couple of years.

The power of the testimony of delivered people cannot be overestimated.  Since satan has done such a thorough job of bringing people into captivity, it creates an amazing opportunity for those who bring keys to unlock their prison doors.  Captives will be crying out for their own freedom when they hear the testimony of others.  The result will be countless conversions to Christ.  Hope will arise and the excitement will spread like a prairie fire in dry stubble.  

OUR ASSIGNMENT

We must cooperate with God in this strategic plan to prepared His harvesters.  So what must we then do? 

  1. Humble ourselves before God, confessing our need for His touch and His anointing.
  2. Read the passages quoted in this article over and over, and if possible, memorizing them.
  3. Pray earnestly for the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit to be empowered in our lives.
  4. Pray for and diligently seek for unity in the body of Christ, for His sake.
  5. Identify our own bondages, small or great, and present them before God.
  6. For purposes of prayer, ask the Holy Spirit to identify bondages in others, whom you want to experience freedom.
  7. Commit to obey God, no matter what He asks you to do, and listen to His still small voice.
  8. Lift up your head and look forward to your future in His Kingdom!

I also hear God speaking to me now as I write: 

Fear not!  There is nothing that can separate you from My love and protection, as long as you abide under the shadow of My wing.  I don’t just want to use you to build my Kingdom, I want to know you intimately and for you to know Me, that I am a God who is full of compassion, love and mercy.  Your sins, which you have confessed to me, are hidden in the Sea of Forgetfulness, never to be remembered again.  I did this for you.  Now, I’m asking you to share this good news with others, so they too can know My goodness.

Isaiah 61:4 talks about restoring and rebuilding what was destroyed in former generations.  I believe we will see that both in the church and in the life of our society.   The church will be restored to the place of intimacy, unity and love that was so manifest in the early church.  For America and other nations, who once had a Biblical foundation, there is coming a reformation and restoration to Biblical values, which will change all mountains of society.  May God help us to cooperate fully with His plans and may we be blessed to see it fulfilled in our day.  Amen!

HEADS UP, EVERYONE!

THEY THOUGHT SHE WAS DRUNK by Ben Peters

Greetings Friends,

This Tuesday (1/19) we fly to Orlando for another conference with House of Hope.  We will be sharing a message on unity and encouraging some amazing people who have given their lives to help troubled teens and their families to appropriate the amazing grace and healing power of God.  We appreciate your prayers.

MOZAMBIQUE IS CALLING AGAIN

We still have room on this July's ministry team to Mozambique with Heidi Baker.  We especially welcome any men, young or old, who want to bless some of Heidi's children in a special way, and help assist and watch over the lovely ladies already planning on going.  We do have space for a few more ladies as well. I know you will have experiences you could probably never have anywhere else in the world.  It's worth any sacrifice you would have to make togo.  For more info, you can check our website or respond to this email.  We will supply you with the vital information to help you prepare.  It's not too soon to get started.

A SPECIAL REVELATION

While reading I Samuel I, I realized something I had missed before.  There are two places in the Bible where people were thought to be drunk when they weren't.  Instead they were just filled with emotion and passion about something very important to them.  In the story of Hannah and Eli, we find a barren young woman, who was desperate for a child, praying a passionate and emotional prayer to God.  Eli, the High Priest, saw her emotional response and assumed she was drunk.  Hannah responded by saying that she had not touched strong drink, but rather was of a broken heart.  Eli prophesied the answer to her prayer and she went home at peace with her promise.

In Acts 2, we read about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and Disciples of the early church.  Their response to the moving of the Holy Spirit led some to suggest they were drunk.  Peter responded by saying, "These men are not drunken as you suppose."  Rather, he declared, this is the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy.

Hannah experienced the fruit of her intercessory prayer when Samuel was born.  The early church experienced the fruit of their joy and Holy Spirit fire, when three thousand souls came into the Kingdom that same day.  In both cases, the emotional responses to the various manifestations of the Holy Spirit were part of the process in which the destiny of the people of God was radically changed for the better.  Samuel became a great spiritual leader, who eventually anointed King David.  The outpouring at Pentecost changed the course of history as it kick-started the Church and transformed the face of the then-known world in a very short period of time.

EMOTIONS IN GENERAL GET A BAD RAP

In my book, Go Ahead, Be So Emotional, I described how our society and education system honor intellect, but do so very little to honor the more "emotional" gifts and talents, such as are used in music, drama, art and public speaking, not to mention the gifts of compassion, wisdom and understanding.  Christians are told, "You can't trust your emotions," implying that emotions and emotional people are of little value.  As we discuss in the book, it's the people with passionate emotions that are the leaders that motivate us and empower us the most. 

In both stories above, the subjects of the story were emotional or passionate under the influence of the Holy Spirit to the point that they were suspected of being drunk.  In both stories, God used their emotional responses to attract the attention of people, who would then become a positive part of what God wanted to do. 

IT'S TIME FOR PEOPLE WITH EMOTION AND PASSION TO RISE UP AND BE SEEN AND EMPOWERED

I'm not hoping that people will get weird and in the flesh to get attention.  I'm believing for people who will be so filled with the Holy Spirit, who only wants to exalt Jesus and the Father, to stop suppressing their passion out of fear that people will think they are overly emotional.  Let the fruit of the Holy Spirit manifest in purity and power. 

Hannah was passionate and broken about her barrenness.  It's time for the church of today to follow in her footsteps. 

The early church was filled with the fire and joy of the Lord.  It's time for the church of today to follow in her footsteps. 

I was pretty much a person who minimized the value of emotions, but I married a young lady who was quite emotionally expressive.  In fact, it was part of what attracted me to her.  Today, thousands of those who know her are very much attracted to her because of the feeling of value that she gives them.

But, what inspired me to write the book, Go Ahead, Be So Emotional, was when our daughter, Andrea, was growing up and I saw the same emotional tendencies as her mother possessed.  Today, our sweet Andrea is blossoming into her own amazing and fruitful ministry, because of her Holy Spirit anointed emotions of love, joy and peace, as well as her Holy Spirit anointed spiritual gifts.

Though my strongest gifts are wisdom and teaching, I believe those who are gifted to love, laugh and cry with people, will produce every bit as much fruit, if not more, as any preacher or theologian.  Every gift and ministry is needed, but we must begin to honor those who have been pushed back into the shadows and let them know how valuable they are to all of us in the Kingdom. 

God showed me long ago that He wants to express His emotions through us. When I broke down speaking to a crowd, I asked Him what that was all about. "Why was I so emotional about that point?" He said, "Because I am emotional about it."

I shared last week from a very short book called The Boaz Blessing and again got very emotional trying to speak that blessing over some women of God. I realized that God felt very deeply about that message as well. I'd like for you to receive that blessing and learn how to share it with others. It's free and you can also give it away for free to those who can read books on the internet. You can use smashwords.com, Ibooks.com, Kobo,com, B & N, etc.  Kindle charges .99/book. Go Ahead, Be so Emotional is also available for free. Just click on "name your own price" and write in 00.

God bless you!!!

Ben and Brenda Peters

YOUR FATHER HAS ANOTHER SPECIAL GIFT FOR YOU by Ben Peters

Greetings Friends,

God gave me a significant word for this Christmas and coming year.  I would love to get your response.

Here it is:

YOUR FATHER HAS ANOTHER SPECIAL GIFT FOR YOU

While the enemy of our souls uses his brainwashed and evil spirit-controlled captives to terrorize and to take away our freedoms, our peace of mind, and even our very lives, our ultimate gift-giving Father is using His renewed-minded, spirit-filled lovers of Jesus to bring comfort and to give freedom, the peace of God and eternal life to desperate souls everywhere.  The way that our Father in Heaven is able to accomplish this is through His incredible gift-giving generosity to His servants on earth, not just at Christmas, but all year long.

God began to download His heart concerning spiritual gifts and ministries in a very clear and strong way in the past two or three years.  It started when Brenda and I were ministering to an apostolic training center in Washington State.  There were several pastors attending and a strong anointing was flowing as we spoke and prophesied over them.  Then the Lord gave me a clear and instructive word for them all.  It went something like this:

GOD’S STRONG WORD TO MINISTRY LEADERS

It’s time to take a look at your team and make sure you don’t have any major weaknesses that the enemy can exploit.  Use the football analogy and see if you have a strong defensive line and backfield, as well as the offensive line, wisdom-filled quarterbacks and gifted ball carriers and receivers.  These positions can only be filled by those who have received and developed their spiritual gifts and ministries. 

The important point the Holy Spirit was making was that we need every single gift and gift-ministry properly functioning on our ministry teams, or the enemy will continue to mess with us and defeat us in our battles against him.  The positions on a football team can be easily compared with the five-fold ministry gifts mentioned in Ephesians 4, and their use of the spiritual gifts listed in Romans 12 and I Corinthians 12-14.  God was using American football as an object lesson that most of us could understand.  For more information, read Folding Five Ministries Into One Powerful Team.

Here are the gifts mentioned in I Corinthians 12:

“For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit.  To another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit.  To another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues.” (I Corinthians 12:8-10)

At that point, the Lord clearly highlighted the gift of discerning of spirits.  There had been very little focus on this gift, but the need for it was extremely obvious.  Church ministry teams everywhere had suffered incredibly from the enemy’s attacks.  These attacks were successful to such a large degree because nobody was discerning the enemy’s diabolical influence and subtle methods of warfare.  I began preaching and teaching the body of Christ everywhere I could, challenging people to ask God to increase this gift in its purest form in every ministry team to prevent the enemy from taking away what God had given.  Satan still comes to steal, kill and destroy.  His favorite target is your ministry team.  If he can bring misunderstanding, strife, selfish ambition and jealousy in your ministry team, he can steal, kill and destroy the effectiveness of your ministry or church.  Tragically, we’ve seen this scenario repeated over and over and over again.

GOD’S SPECIAL CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR 2014

Late last year well before Christmas 2014, I heard the Lord say that He wanted to give His people an increase in the gift of faith.  I shared this with as many as possible, both in writing and speaking as well as with impartation of laying on of hands.  I believe God said He was giving an increase in the gift of faith so people would walk through the doors that He was opening for them.  They would need faith, because they were going where they had never gone before, and were leaving their comfort zones behind them.  To enter a new place, you have to leave the old behind.

GOD’S SPECIAL CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR 2015

I actually wasn’t expecting God to highlight another gift for this Christmas and the New Year, but while I was ministering to someone on the telephone, the words flew out of my mouth and I knew it was a word for the body of Christ.  The Holy Spirit is going to especially empower people with gifts of healings (I Corinthians 12: 9). 

As I have meditated on this word, I can see the divine logic in this order.  First, we need to discern spirits, so we don’t allow false gifts to operate and deceive the church.  Next we need a stronger gift of faith, not only to walk through new doors, but to help us believe for the healings we are called to release through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

AN EXTREMELY NECESSARY GIFT FOR THE CHURCH AND FOR KINGDOM EXPANSION

1. IN THE CHURCH

The need for a greater healing anointing should be very obvious.  Churches are not only filled with people who are physically sick, but the majority of Christians are just beginning to become aware of the need for emotional healing, in order for them to function to their full potential.  Without the healing of their soul, they have real openings for the enemy to cause more pain to themselves and to others. 

Without that healing, we can never have real deep unity, which we desperately need in order to bring in God’s great harvest.  Unhealed emotional pain prevents us from seeing others through God’s loving eyes, because past pain invites the constant fear that the pain will be repeated again.  Fear causes defense mechanisms to be set up and opens the door for contention, anger and bitterness.

God certainly wants us healed physically, but His priority is the healing of our soul and spirit.  Our priorities are usually the physical healing, because we can bury the emotional pain easier than we can the physical pain or disability.  But God will always prioritize the eternal over the temporal.

2. OUTSIDE THE CHURCH

There is no doubt that God wants His people healthy in every way.  He loves us and does not wish pain upon us.  But God knows this life is short and eternity is forever.  Thus, there is no doubt that He is more concerned with the spiritual health of every person in the world that He created, than with their physical health.

The great and wonderful news is that the gifts (plural) of healing not only bless people with a better quality of life on earth, but God loves to use these gifts to transform the hearts and souls of men and connect them with the eternal source of Life Himself.  This is an overwhelmingly wonderful truth that should touch our hearts with deep gratitude to God.  He really does want us to have a full and joyful experience in this life and He also wants us to help others to experience it both here and in Heaven.

God is giving us His amazing spiritual gifts to use for both purposes, but the greatest blessing is that we can use these gifts to reveal God’s love and transform the hearts of people to give them eternal life.  Healing bodies is one of God’s preferred ways to reveal His love to the lost, and I believe He is asking us, “Do you want this gift?”

I’ve seen how this gift works in powerful ways to bring the lost to Christ.  I’ve seen it in Canada, Argentina, India, Africa, South Korea and America.  I’ve seen it under the ministry of other men and women of God as well as our own ministry.  A number of years ago, I did extensive research in Scripture and church history and discovered that over 90% of conversions have resulted from supernatural occurrences, of which most of them were physical healings.  At that time, I wrote the book entitled, Signs and Wonders – To Seek or Not to Seek.  It clearly reveals the power of miracles to bring people to faith in God. 

A PROPHETIC CHALLENGE

I believe God wants me to challenge people all over the world at this season – the season in which we remember the greatest gift ever given to the human race – the gift of a Savior, Jesus Christ, who was born in a humble stable, but has been highly exalted as King of kings and Lord of lords.

God is speaking to me that He is now inviting us to join His medical team.  He is preparing to send us out to do clinics, house calls and stadium healing events.  He will empower us as individuals, but even more powerfully when we form divinely orchestrated medical teams who will carry the various gifts of healings.  These gifts include pretty much every other spiritual gift God has given us. 

Sometimes words of knowledge and/or words of wisdom are released to bring healing.  The gift of faith is, of course, a very frequent contributor to the healing ministry.  Many times the healing comes through the gift of miracles.  Other times, a prophetic word can open the mind and heart to the fact that God knows and cares.  As Jesus demonstrated, the gift of discerning of spirits can also be frequently used to bring the miracle healing.  Tongues and interpretation of tongues can also be used like prophecy, so we can see why Paul wrote it was the “gifts of healings.”

Do you want to join God’s medical team?  Are you willing to leave your comfort zone and take up the Heavenly challenge to do house calls, clinics and/or stadium healing events?  If so, here are some practical ideas to prepare.

  1. Educate yourself in the realm of healing.  The Bible is your chief textbook.  Read about the healings in the Old and New Testament.  Then read stories of more recent revivals and healing ministries.  Grow your faith in prayer and worship and deeper intimacy with Jesus.  Attend healing services and listen to the teachings offered live or on electronic media.   Learn about all the gifts, especially those you are the strongest in.  
  2. Take the first steps as God opens doors for you.  Pray for everyone you can.  Learn about spiritual treasure hunts – asking God for words of knowledge about people He wants you to minister to.
  3. Join a ministry team in your church or ministry or neighborhood.  Practice develops your gifts.
  4. Give God all the glory and stay humble when you see people healed.

It’s time to get excited about the opportunities God is opening up to us.  We have been given the ability to give the gift of hope to people living in fear and anxiety over the threat of radical terrorists, who want to destroy us.  Instead, we have the supernatural power of God given through His Spirit-empowered gifts, with which we can expose and defeat every attack of our enemy.  It’s the church’s privilege and the church’s responsibility.  Will be take up the challenge, or will we cringe in fear?  It’s time to embrace our destiny and God’s amazing adventures prepared for us, His beloved children.  Shalom!!!

Ben & Brenda

ohmint@gmail.com

P.O. Box 25, Genoa, IL 60135

THANKSGIVING, BIRTHDAYS AND CHRISTMAS by Ben Peters

www.kingdomsendingcenter.org         ohmint@gmail.com

P.O. Box 25,  Genoa, IL 60135            November 29, 2015

Greetings Dear Friends

November and December are very eventful for Brenda and me.  Brenda's birthday is in November just before Thanksgiving and mine is in December, two weeks before Christmas.  It makes for a lot of special times with each other and family.  This Thanksgiving, we were with our firstborn son, Ken and his wife, Valencia, who pastor two churches in Washington State, plus four totally awesome grandkids.  Just before that we spent a little time at the assisted living center where Brenda's 93 year-old mom lives.  We don't know how long she'll be able to stay there with the level of memory loss, etc. she's experiencing, but we do appreciate your prayers for her.  Her name is Joyce Pinkerton.

Christmas is coming in less than four weeks and for Brenda, this is the greatest time of the year.  It's her excuse to give and give and give some more.  But, it's also our reminder of the Giver of Life, Himself, who gave His only Son, so that we could be forgiven and accepted into eternal life.  Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we should have no lack of reminders to be thankful for what God has given us. 

If you'd like a unique gift for someone, I have a great suggestion:  My dear friend and son in the faith, Jonathan Seiver, has written a wonderful book, based on a series of visions that God gave him.  It reads much like Pilgrim's Progress, and would be great for older children and adults.  It's called, THE PALACE.  I wrote the foreword and Randy Clark and others gave endorsements.  You can go online to smile.amazon.com and type in The Palace, Jonathan Seiver, and you'll find it for sale, both real book and Ebook versions.  If you haven't registered to support a charity like KSC, you can do that first and then we'll get a wee kickback from your purchase, which won't cost you a penny more. 

If you prefer, you can just click on this long link: 

http://www.amazon.com/Palace-Prophetic-Journey-through-Cultures/dp/1517048257/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448862599&sr=8-1&keywords=Jonathan+Seiver

ALSO, would anyone like a good deal for books for your pastor or leader, I'm working on a pastor's packet, that would be very inexpensive (basically our cost) and something they might really appreciate.  Please reply to this email if you are interested.

(Special Note:  KSC has now added the Pastor's Christmas Gift Pack to our Books section under the RESOURCES tab for only a $14.95 donation)

Stay thankful and watch and pray and God prepares this nation and the world for the greatest harvest we've ever seen.

Yours for the Kingdom,

Ben and Brenda Peters

SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE by Ben Peters

Dear Friends everywhere,

My apologies for the long delay in getting another newsletter out.  I was hoping to switch to a better service, but haven't made it happen yet, so we'll us this one again.

Brenda had her birthday yesterday and about two hundred wrote her on Facebook to wish her a happy birthday.  Thanks so much to all her precious friends.

Before I forget, let me just say that if you use amazon.com for any reason, including Christmas shopping, you can bless KSC by using the smile.amazon.com website, which has the same products and prices as the regular amazon.com website.  You can register once with the charity of your choice and about .5% will go to our ministry account every time you order through smile.amazon.com.  Of course, you might want to check out our books on that service as well.  Hint, hint!!!  Of course they can be downloaded for free on most ebook sites, but if you prefer the real book you can hold in your hand and underline etc, smile.amazon.com would be a great place to shop.

SEEING THE BIG PICTURE

It's very easy to get fearful and lose hope when you watch the advance of ISIS, the acceleration of the war on Christianity, and the moral decline of America and the Western World, etc., etc.  The recent ISIS attacks in Paris not long after the downing of an airlines jet, highlight the dangerous world we live in and the fact that satan's forces are in full press mode. 

However, if we can step back and ask God to open our spiritual eyes of understanding, we will be filled with not only faith and hope, but also with excitement.  Many have been taught that the excitement is about the fact that Jesus is coming to take us out of the troubles via the rapture.  Actually, my excitement is that while the enemy is at work, God has a bigger plan and sees the bigger picture. 

The frightening events happening on the earth are going to be used by God to bring people to a position of need and desperation for protection and deliverance.  Israel didn't come out of Egypt until they were groaning in slavery.  Jews didn't return to their homeland until after the Holocaust.  America didn't become a free nation until they were severely oppressed by Britain.  God didn't cause the pain and suffering, but he turned the devil's worst attacks into something that brought great blessing to those who inherited the land.

God wants to bring America and the world out of the slavery to atheistic education and immorality.  He will use the fear and anxiety to open hearts to some good news from Christians who have their gifts ready to serve others.  We are seeing it happening more and more. 

God is increasing His anointing on His servants - those who really want to build His Kingdom, not their own.  He is raising up ministry training schools everywhere.  We have ministered in several of these this past year.

He is using more and more women leaders.  Women tend to be more servant-hearted than men.  We have close relationships as spiritual parents to at least a dozen women pastors and leaders in ministry these days.

But whether He uses a man or a woman, He is increasing the anointing on their gifts and preparing them to minister to hungry, thirsty souls who don't know where to turn.  Even the coming transfer of wealth will create needs for some who will lose their wealth and have nowhere to turn but to their Christian neighbors.

The BIG PICTURE then, is that the church of Jesus Christ is going to be empowered to combat the fear and dread of the enemies advances.  In fact, great victories over the enemy and radical Islam will be accomplished through prayer and miraculous answers to prayer.  Many more Muslims will be saved and many violent attacks will be thwarted by gifts of knowledge and wisdom and supernatural interventions. 

Instead of escaping the living hell on earth via the rapture, we will bring more of Heaven to earth and bring in the Great, Great Harvest of souls and prepare the Bride for her Bridegroom.  We will see more miracles in the days ahead than ever before in our lifetime, and we will experience God's powerful presence and consuming love in unprecedented ways.  If some of us die a martyr's death, it will be a great honor and highly rewarded in Heaven.  We can't lose, and the devil can't win.  Hallelujah!!!

God bless you all and have a great Thanksgiving!

Ben and Brenda Peters