Resurgence
by traceyarmstrong on Nov.02, 2011, under Blog
Resurgence
This blog is about the ‘courage to stand out’. The power of God in our lives must cause us to stand out in the crowd. The followers of Jesus were recognized because they developed the characteristics of Jesus the more time they spent with Him.
God wants you and me to live a full and rewarding life. In order for us to do this we must have courage. Nothing in life comes easy. Everything that we desire comes with effort, energy, and most of all courage. It is easy to fit in. Yet fitting in doesn’t pay high dividends. Jesus couldn’t fit in because of His belief system. The disciples couldn’t fit in because of Jesus’ belief system. We can’t fit in because of Jesus’ belief system.
Acts4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
The disciples grew more and more bold, the more time they spent with Jesus. The more time that they devoted to Jesus, the more their belief developed into the same cause that possessed Jesus.
As Christians we have the responsibility to live courageously. One thing that people should notice about you and me is our courage. I fear that something has been lost in our modern Christianity. It seems that we are not nearly as bold as the early disciples of Christ. How can I say this? It is because people see Christianity as a religion for weaklings and/or socialization. Nowadays people don’t notice our boldness. Some refer to us as “freaks” or “out of touch conservatives”. I would say that the main thing that is missing in our modern Christianity is boldness and courage. The courage to stand out, the courage to live boldly for Christ, or the courage to be all that God has called us to be.
The lack of courage in a Christian is from lacking a belief system, and the lack of a strong belief system stems from the lack of intimacy with Christ. It seems that the early church majored on intimacy while the western church is beginning to major on strategy. Of course we need to have strategy, but the possession of strategy without intimacy is just as deformed as Christianity without Christ or a Bible. Intimacy was the reason for the early church’s boldness. No matter how much strategy or knowledge they lacked, they still excelled in intimacy. Intimacy transformed early Christians into men who deserved to be noticed. The apostles were called unlearned and ignorant, yet they were bold, courageous, and close to God. The disciples’ boldness caused the Pharisees to take note of their unique courage and associated the boldness of the disciples with the fact that they spent time with Jesus.
The Pharisees couldn’t help but recognize that the disciples’ conduct and mannerisms resembled Jesus’ conduct and mannerisms. When you see people who spend a lot of time together you will notice that they pick up some of each other’s mannerisms, speech style, and beliefs. It would be abnormal if this didn’t happen. The more time we spend with Jesus, the more our mannerisms will change, the more our speech will change, the more our beliefs will change, and the more courage we will have.
This year the word ‘resurgence’ has been on my mind. Resurgence means ‘to continue what has been interrupted’, it also means ‘resurrection’. I feel challenged that as modern Christians we need to resurrect the boldness of the original church and continue in it. In order for us to do this we must resurrect our thirst for intimacy with God. We must urgently desire a closer walk with God. In simple terms we must get back to reading the Bible everyday, praying everyday, inviting God into our lives to help us with our every day things, and finally to obey everything that we know that God desires from us. Returning to intimacy demands that we return to the basics: prayer, reading, and obeying. As you read this issue, may it instill in you a thirst for a closer walk with God and may you be built up, strengthened, and encouraged.
Followership Book
by traceyarmstrong on Mar.09, 2011, under Featured Product, Followership
1 Comment more...
Becoming a Pioneer of Success Book
by traceyarmstrong on Mar.09, 2011, under Featured Product
To many Christians, being successful and prosperous in the world means forsaking the purposes of God. In Becoming a Pioneer of Success, Tracey Armstrong shows that success isn’t just a godly calling– it’s a destiny that God desires for every Christian! This book will teach you how to draw upon the wellspring of divine creativity within you to fulfill the destiny of success and happiness that God has waiting for you. You will learn how to win at the game of business without sacrificing your morals or “selling out.” Are you looking for success but don’t want to lose sight of the Lord? Then you are ready to become a pioneer of success!
www.DestinyChannel.tv needs your help!
by traceyarmstrong on Nov.17, 2010, under Followership
Comments Off more...
Followership is a Best Seller on 4 lists
by traceyarmstrong on Sep.01, 2010, under Followership
1# Movers and Shakers
# 59 Overall Best Sellers List
#48 Leadership Best Sellers List
#71 Pentecostal and Charismatic Best Sellers List
Room Makers-Special Partners Letter
by traceyarmstrong on Aug.26, 2010, under Blog
As I was praying this week for a financial breakthrough, it felt like God was challenging me to be a better steward with the partners whom He has sent me. Many of you have been a support to my wife and me over the years and called by God to do so.
The Lord put a scripture on my heart to bring this to light for me, Proverbs 18:16 says, “A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before the great.” The Lord said that He has sent me partners to help make room. Your partnership with Lionheart Ministries and my wife and me is a gift from God to expand the Kingdom of God on earth.
Last year we pulled back on our TV ministry because of the economic crisis that affected many of our partners. The global drought caused a famine of sorts in our ministry, which caused us to take a healthy inventory of our operations. We wanted to make sure that we were good stewards of the Kingdoms finances and cut off anything that was not absolutely necessary. After many months and many evaluations, we have a lean and mean running ship ready to be launched into deeper waters.
The Lord also spoke of three other things. The first is that the famine is almost over. He didn’t say that the drought was almost over, but that the famine is almost over. My wife brought to my attention that Joseph was sent as a partner to Pharaoh to help sustain Egypt through a famine. Even though the famine was happening in Egypt, Joseph had a plan, which prevented the famine from destroying Egypt’s economy and society. All of Egypt was preserved because of the children of Israel. The famine and drought may be in the world but God still wants to bless and provide for His children and His work in the earth. He’s had a plan again!
The second thing that I received from the Lord was that there is a special blessing to be released to our partners who help us make room. What you make happen for someone else will also happen for you. God is going to make room for you, as you help make room for others. The Lord has given me instruction to pray 2 Corinthians 9:10 over you, our partners. When you send in your prayer request and/or your financial support we will pray and believe that scarcity and famine will be stopped, and Kingdom provision and prosperity will be released. We will agree in prayer with you that God will give more seed to sow, provision, and to multiplication of all of the seed that you have sown in the past, based upon 2 Cor. 9:10 ‘Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness; KJV ”
The final thing that the Lord spoke is that He was sending us an Angel of prosperity. That may sound strange to some. I have a biblical teaching that I just recently taught to our leadership team that gives understanding and instruction on how to activate this powerful minister of heaven who has been sent to help the children of God. I will mail this teaching to you for any size love gift that you are able to send to help us make room. The famine is over!
Make room today!
Followership as a Moneymaking Principle
by traceyarmstrong on Aug.12, 2010, under Blog, Followership
Followership as a Moneymaking Principle.
A good reputation is better than a fat bank account… Ecc. 7:1
There is only one thing that both precedes and follows you. What is that you may ask? It’s your reputation. A world-class reputation is far better than a fat bank account, and without a solid reputation it is difficult to amass wealth.
The culture of Followership demands that we focus on both reputation and perspective in order to achieve great success. We must be concerned about the image that we leave behind after any conversation, business meeting, or ministry opportunity. The image that people are left with when we leave their presence will determine how they receive us in the future. This understanding is vital in order for us to be able to maximize every moment that God sends across our paths.
Reputation
Two things create our reputation. The first is a report of us; what is being spoken about your ministry? What is being spoken about your business? Whatever is being said about you and your organization is very important to the hearer. Some of the things said may not be true and completely out of your control. But if the same negative statement is being said over and over, you will have a reputation, forged by the repetition of those statements. A report plus repetition equals reputation, it’s that simple. So it is very important that you have power over the report as much as possible through marketing. You may have to change your perspective of marketing to do this. You and I are marketing every moment of every day. A resume is marketing. The clothes you wear are marketing. In business, if you perform well, your customer will tell one person. If you perform poorly your customer will tell eleven people! Word of mouth is dangerous as a single strategy for building a reputation. Tell your own story.
In and out
Marketing your reputation is making sure that your internal picture matches your external perspective. The best example of this is bad acting. We have all seen a movie where we didn’t believe the performance. Why? The actor didn’t generate a believable internal picture to herself. She didn’t believe, so we did not believe. We must make sure that what we believe inside is the same perspective that people have of us. If your organization culture describes ‘friendly’ and your employees make people feel bad, you have a marketing problem. What your customer says is the real picture. When your external matches the internal, then you will see great success.
Perspective
When building a great perspective that will help you generate wealth and achieve success, you must keep the following statement in mind. People do business, ministry, and life with people that they know, like, and trust. All successful people build in their lives a Followership culture based upon keeping a reputation and maintaining the right perspective with people they know, like, and trust. You do the same.
Big Love
by traceyarmstrong on Jun.07, 2010, under Blog
Acts 7:47- 50: But it was Solomon who built a house for him. Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, “‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?’
Over the last few years I have been meditating on the idea that we, as children of God, are also the temple of God. It is mind shifting to think that we have been entrusted with such a job as to be the house of God. Reading Acts 7:47-50, you get the feeling that God is so BIG that it would be impossible to build Him a home if the universe is His throne. God uses the earth as a resting place for His feet. What does that say about us to have such a ginormous God who feels at home living within us? We are not His footstools, we are not His thrones and in fact He calls us His dwelling place, His resting place, and His place of worship.
How huge did God make us on the inside? The ratio of demons that lived in one man called the demoniac was eye opening to me. A legion of demons filled a single man. Some of my research has lead me to understand that a legion would be upwards of 16,000. Jesus under great authority was big enough to command the legion to leave the man. Once the legion left, they were stuffed into a herd of nearby pigs numbering about 3000. I get the feeling that we are HUGE from the story of the legions.
Jesus was not only the Son of God but He was also the Son of Man. He was the greatest and most powerful man who has ever lived. In Ephesians we read that Christ the Son of God and the Son of Man dwells within our heart. What an interesting thought that such greatness dwells within us. The word dwell means to house permanently. Christ the God man has found a permanent home within us.
Ephesians 3:17 says, “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Eph 3:17 just answered the mystery of how a huge God could live in such a small container. We can see clearly that we are planted and grounded. Planting is something that is intentional. God intentionally planted us in the soul of love.
God so loved the world that He gave His only son to be our savior, a pure act of love. We are rooted and grounded into a generous act of love. The only reason that a plant has a root system is to keep it securely in the source that nurtures it. God gives us both security and nutrition through love. We cannot experience the fullness of the love of God without being rooted and grounded. In addition to planting us and grounding us, God has also filled us with His love. Like a seed is planted into the ground, grows roots, and is nurtured from the ground to bear fruit; Christ as the seed of God has been planted into our hearts to grow, fill, nurture, and to bear fruit within and through us. Christ is going to expand high and low, left and right, close and near until we have been completely consumed by His full capabilities and aptitude. This power of love growing within us will expand beyond our own personal power and abilities. God will use this love to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all we can ask or think according to the love of God that dwells within us.
Love is not common and cannot dwell just anywhere. Meaning, love can’t live in a home, it must reside within the people who live in the home. Love can only live within a heart. The reason God can’t live in a house is because He is love. I John 4:8 says, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” God is love! God is not a type of love, nor is He a form of love, nor does He just love, but He IS love. How can we have God living in us? Only by allowing love to live within us; not just live, but to dwell within us. It seems safe for me to say that if God is love and Jesus is His seed, then Jesus is the seed of Love and He, the Christ, the Son of Love, lives in us. Then we too are growing and developing into a love being, into God’s image.
Love is denser than hate. Only a legion of darkness could live in the heart of the demoniac. But all of God can live in our hearts in the form of love. The bible says that love never fails. Whatever pursuits we start with and from love will always be finished. Hate, darkness, fear, all have an expiration date. But love never ever spoils. You and I truly have the greatest force on the earth dwelling within us.
I Corinthians 13:13 says, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” The biggest force on the planet is love. The first force in the order of the powerful virtues on the planet is love, even higher on the list than faith and hope. Love tops the charts.
Faith is the tangible form of hope; love is the beginning of hope. There is no need for faith if you don’t have hope; in like manner there is no need of hope if there is no love.
When we stretch out our hands to feed the poor because we love them; our kind act of love gives them hope. We witness to our family, friends, and neighbors because we love them and they gain hope and believe in God by faith.
So just to recap, we are big people who are rooted into a big God who has filled us with a big love that will increase everyday within us until we do big things founded in love producing big hope resulting in big faith. We are the temple of God, the permanent dwelling place for the Son of Love.
Only a human can intentionally manifest love. Do your part as a part of humanity to manifest God in the earth. Passion is a sign of love. Let your heart beat with passion because you are exploding with unquenchable love and a craving to change someone’s life. God so loved the world that He gave YOU to the world.
Captain of the Host
by traceyarmstrong on May.05, 2010, under Followership
2 Kings 5:1
Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man with his master, and highly respected, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but he was a leper. NASU
Sometimes we think of stewardship as something that we manage for ourselves. Our thoughts about managing money or opportunity surround what we possess. Stewardship is most definitely about the power to manage money or a position or resources, but it is not necessarily about managing your own goods or services.
The dictionary gives the definition for a steward as “a person who manages another’s property or financial affairs; one who administers anything as the agent of another or others”. Stewardship is the function of a steward.
Naaman, the captain of the host, was a steward of the army of the king of Aram. Naaman as the captain of the host was a steward of the kings royal army and authority. Even though he himself was not the ruler, Naaman, was given delegated authority to rule and steward with a certain level ruling power as the captain of the army.
Aram entrusted Naaman with authority and power to enforce his ruling authority. Yet Naaman who be an unjust steward if he did not treat his position with respect and by squandering the opportunity. Even though Naaman must have a since of ownership he could never confuse his followership as leadership. He would be completely confused to think that he actually owned the troops, the horses, chariots, or event the countries in which he led his troops to conquer.
Naaman’s importance came from serving the king in the capacity of a captain of arms. His importance would end at whatever level Naaman’s ability to steward the kings military affairs ended. Naaman’s position afforded him royal favor. I would think that the steward of the army would have more royal favor than the steward who managed the royal horses. America is not a kingdom so we may misunderstand kingdom customs. What I am trying to convey is that many who have not been born into a royal family can adhere to and live under royal favor because of whom you belong to and who you serve. Belong to the king and serve the king as a royal subject and you will know royal authority in fulfilling your duties as the kings servant.
Naaman was faithful to the duty of the king and God used Naaman to bring victories to Aram the King whom he served. Jesus says in Luke 16:12 “And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?
NASU The biblical pattern for success is very different than any other kingdom. Jesus also said in Matt 18:4 “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (NASU) What an amazing contrast, greatness actually is obtained through humility and servant hood. The bible is full of wisdom, which undermines self-promotion and induces humility as the greatest function.
It was Naaman’s master who consider Naaman great. If Naaman had proclaimed himself as being great than that would have been the opposite of childlike and humble.
Naaman had to have been a very good steward to state in the bible about him the following accolades, “was a great man with his master, and highly respected, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior”. Naaman had influence with his master, gained respect from all, had favor with God and was a valiant warrior; all of these accolades as a servant to someone else, as a second man, as a follower. We often think that greatness comes from being the royal one, when true greatness comes from serving royalty.
Many of us have experienced things in life that seemingly could give us a disadvantage of being royalty or keep us from rising to greatness. Our own type of leprous disease like Naaman had in his life. Naaman didn’t allow his shortcoming of leprosy to stop him from royal favor, respect and greatness.
I encourage you never to allow leprous limitations to stop you from achieving through or leadership. If God can use Naaman, a leper in a society where lepers lived in isolation and rejection, than we can use you. The law was clear about lepers, yet God by passed His own law to use Naaman as a valiant warrior and to give victory to Aram the king. What does that say about how God looks at those who serve the King. Serve the king and gain royal favor as you rise to greatness as the captain of the host.
