Excerpt: Loose That Man & Let Him Go (1)

Here is an excerpt from one of the last chapters of T.D. Jake's book, Loose That Man & Let Him Go.


3. Live Beyond Intimidation

"Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom had been raised from the dead.
But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus."
John 12:9-11

Nothing threatens a dead man. People only fear what they have not faced, and those like Lazarus have already faced the ultimate challenges of life. They are seldom intimidated.

Men of less experience would have stayed in hiding. Powerful enemies were not glad he had survived, but Lazarus wasn't moved. He didn't budge. Fear no longer worked with him because he had looked death and failure in the face and walked away into new life. He knew the cold terror of lying with other rotting corpses in the tombs. He was familiar with the stench and decay of the decomposed and the sneering grimace of skeletal remains.

Now what were these men threatening him with? Death? What planet did they come from? Lazarus had discovered a Savior Who could call him back from the grace in a split second! Threats were a waste of breath. Lazarus had been through too many challenges to take his marbles and go home just because someone didn't like him!

You are a loosed man! You have already passed your survival course, and you have been through boot camp. You are a combat-hardened career man complete with battle scars, memorials, and trophies of your personal survival. When you face opposition from the enemy, you don't panic anymore. You don't even think about breaking rank or running away. Things have changed this side of the grave. This time, your enemy can feel his scaly knees knocking together. There is something very familiar about the glint in your eye and the cool, underlying strength he can perceive in your heart. It is ironic that the most frightening enemy you had to face was the enemy within. Now it has become the trophy you hang high in your heart!

Once you develop the tenacity to survive, you are ready to do great things for God. You become unstoppable when you learn how to buffet your body and deny your desires. Resurrection changes the way you react to fear and death. It doesn't mean that you will never fear again; it means that you will forever react to fear differently. Survival breeds confidence.

Once the blaring scream of fear has pierced your consciousness, you will know things that others do not know. When you taste the salty tears of bitter frustration and everything within you says, "I give up; I can't go on!" you will know things that others do not. When your heart has pounded its way through numbness and continued to pump blood although it seemed to be broken by the aching pain, you will know things that others do not know.

You have survived the terror of feeling unseen weights on your chest and have fought the night armies of inner torment and wars within. I know you understand. You have stumbled and staggered from bad news to worse news without breaking pace. You are a voice from the grave of failure sent back to speak to your generation! You have been freed from the grave clothes and given as a living gift from God to this generation.

You and I are "proof positive" of answered prayer simply because we are alive!

No one can threaten me with death. I have already been dead. I was pulled like a cold corpse from a rushing river and resuscitated on the banks until I loved again by the breath of the one who rescued me. I will not run and hide simply because my critics are embarrassed by my progress or upset by those who surround me! Like an ex-convict, I declare that I have served my time! Release me quickly and let me go - I am loosed!

The End Has Come...Intimate Portraits

Today...
Ladies and Gentlemen I finished the book that is probably the most intimate painted picture of myself I have ever seen. I would like to say that I have written or shared things about myself that are more intimate than this book but I don't know if I can honestly say that. You see, I have so much inside of me, so much that I don't know if I will ever be able to communicate clearly, so much stuff that I wish I could convey but I don't know if I can....as I read the pages of this book it was as if I had been the one writing it. It was like I was transcribing on the pages of this book all of my feelings, all of my hurts, all of my failures...everything...and I didn't even know it.

It was like there was just a great discovery of all of these things that I felt in my heart, that I had felt God had been saying to me for years. Reading this book was like taking a shot of the prophetic voice of God right to the heart.

God and I have been having quite the heart to heart. His love and truth pouring into my gasping lungs, my fractured heart, my wounded spirit. It has been a beautiful things.

As I now recommend this book to everyone (women you need to read it too!!! If you want to know men, especially ones that have been broken, and you desire to see the truth of who God has designed us to be, you NEED to read this book) I must say that I am a little nervous. You see, as I read this book it was like I was reading my life. I don't know if you will have the same experience. One thing I do know is that you should never look at men, especially men who have been through the fire, the same again! You, man of God, are destined for greatness!

I pray that as you read the book you will encounter the same God I have encountered. The things I was reading were not new, but some were clear for the first time. The words of the Lord were not new; however, they were fresh, they were reminders of things I had forgotten, things that had been lost in the pain.

There is a word from the Lord waiting for you. There is new life for you. There is a fresh fire waiting. Women, there is a divine revelation waiting for you in the pages of this book.


Loose That Man & Let Him Go - T.D. Jakes

Ian McIntosh

I was working on a blog for today but I have decided to postpone posting it....I don't know if it will ever be posted. Probably not actually.

Since I don't want to work on writing another blog I have decided to introduce you to a new worship artist that is amazing!

If you are a fan of Sigur Ros you will love this guy!

Here are links to where you can find his stuff. Enjoy.


http://www.purevolume.com/ianmcintosh
http://www.myspace.com/ianmcintoshworship

The Call DC

Join us on the National Mall in Washington DC on August 16, 2008 for a massive gathering of united generations desperate for revival and real change in our nation. More than an event, TheCall is a fast, not a festival. Come and be a part of the cultural reformation.

There are moments in history when a door for massive change opens. Great revolutions for good or evil occur in the vacuum created by these openings. It is in these moments that key men and women - sometimes entire generations - risk everything to become the hinge of history. That pivotal point determines which way the door will swing.

"When there is no hope, when there is no remedy,
God still has a holy prescription"
- Lou Engle

I encourage everyone to check this out and make it a primary goal to make it to Washington on August 16 to cry out to God with 1 Million other men and women of God. Our God is alive, His ears are open, His eyes are blazing love...will we cry out to Him?

August 16th!!!

thecall.com

DUI= Hilarious!

This is what can happen if you drink and drive!

June 10, 2008...as we remember, it was on this day that "the accident" took place. Since then many things have come into the light, but none come even close to the hilariousness of this next story.

Once upon a time in a house not too far away from a certain author of this blog's house there lived an alcoholic. On June 10, 2008 this certain alcoholic, we'll name him LeRoy, was up at 3:30 AM mowing his lawn, because let's face it, that's what alcoholics do at 3:30 AM on June 10ths.

Now LeRoy despite being incredible inebriated was very observant. So, when a certain chase went down leading to the carnival of commotion mentioned in this author's June 10th blog, LeRoy noticed! This was a huge improvement for LeRoy as before this day LeRoy had noticed many flies and things in his grass, as concluded from passer-byers who noticed him drinking a beer and swinging at flies or staring at things in his lawn, but never took too much notice to big things (this cannot be proven).

Following the commotion, and a vast array of wonder from LeRoy, LeRoy decided he wanted to descend from his high hill to go and see what all the excitement was about. Now, not being too fond of walking considerable drunken distances LeRoy decided that he was just going to go ahead and hop on the road with his good ol' John Deer (i.e. the mower he had been mowing his grass with)!

When he reached the police barricade located one block before the accident LeRoy was greeted with a surprise, considerable attention from the police men enforcing the road block. It didn't take much time until LeRoy was given a three letter gift, DUI, and had had his good ol' trusty lawn mower impounded by the nice police men. Ouch!

So children the moral of this story is:

Don't drink and drive your lawn mower!

Addictions.

Alone With God (an excerpt from the play-by-play)

A few days ago I talked about a book that has been doing a play-by-play of my life lately. Here is the first excerpt.


Alone with God

"And he [Jacob] rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. And he took them, and set them over the brook, and sent over that he had.

And Jacob was left alone...."
Genesis 32:22-24

Jacob wasn't necessarily lonely; he was alone. When God starts calling you away to himself, you may want to surround yourself with people. Unless you realize what is going on, you will gather people around you so you won't be alone. That won't help. You can be surrounded by people and still be alone if God is after you. You can experience intimate relationships and still be alone.

Who are you really? Who are you when nobody is looking? That is the real you. Who are you when all the camouflage is off, when you don't have an ego to defend, when you have nothing to prove at the office? Who are you when you aren't concerned about who is driving the nicest car, who owns the biggest house, or who makes the best business decisions? Who are you aside from all the imitations of life?

If you ever go through a real life-or-death situation or recover from a life-threatening disease, you will discover the "real you." You will find that most things people say are "important" aren't really important at all.

I'm alone anytime I am surrounded by people who don't know who I am. Anytime I am in a situation where I cannot fully be myself, I am alone. Anytime I have to put on a facade or camofloauge who I really am, I am alone. I am isolated. I watch people through a glass becasue they really don't know me.

God wants you to be alone because that is when He really operates. Nobody recievess guests in the operating room. I don't care how many loved ones you ave around you, when you get ready to go through surgery, the doctor puts them all out -- even your wife and kids. God put this book in your hands because he wants to do surgery.

"And Jacob was left alone...." (Genesis 32:24). Jacob was not just alone -- he was left alone. The word left implies that somebody who was there departed. Somebody he thought he could depend on moved. Someone he fellowshipped with abandoned him.

"And Jacob was left alone...." He was left alone, isolated, and separated by God for a divine purpose. "...and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day" (genesis 32:24). Are you ready? God Himself is coming down to fight with you.

Alone to wrestle with God

Jesus is so Beautiful

This is one of the most beautiful things I have heard in a while.