ted4leaders

    Greetings,

The house of God is the place of God’s love. It is a place where divinely joined members live for the life of one another. It is a place of life. True life is the testimony of true love. In the house of God I love others as I love myself. How do I love myself? When I am wounded, I make sure something happens to heal the wound.  I experienced this a couple of months ago when I broke my foot. Cells in my body came together to heal the wound in my foot, but I did not lose focus of being a body for the testimony of the life of Ted Hanson. My foot was loved and healed, but my body continued in the journey of life and destiny in the circumstance of pain and challenge in mobility.

We live for the health and blessing of the house of God. How do I live to give life to the body? I am going to make a judgment of love. Every judgment of love requires a response towards the one you love. There must be a tithe level relationship. It is for this reason that we even tithe our money. It has nothing to do with 10% of our money. It has to do with our relationship with the pillar, the rock. If you are with me, the true test of what is on the inside of me is how affected I am on the inside from what I see on the outside.

Cancer is a condition that happens when a body cell feeds on the cells of the body to feed itself. It no longer becomes a cell that gives life to the body. It takes life from the body. When you get cancer, a treatment must be sought that can destroy cancer the cells or the cancer cells will destroy the body. You must destroy what is destroying the body. I believe that a lot of cancers, physically and spiritually, can be prevented through the focus of our lives. Spiritual cancer in a body happens when a member seeks to take life from the other members for their own individual purpose. But when every member lives for the corporate purpose, the body is healthy. When a member lives for its own purpose, the body becomes cancerous in nature. If left untreated it can become aggressive and it can aggressively destroy the corporate focus, purpose, and destiny of a ministry. It becomes active. It seeks to grow faster than the body. It seeks to give all its energy and take energy from others for its own purpose. It becomes a self-consumer. That is called cancer. The body of Christ should be a place where there is no cancer of a spiritual nature. The cure for cancer comes when the cells of the body seek to give life to the other cells for the sake of being a healthy body. It is not merely about individual ministries or pleasures. It is about corporate health and destiny. To live for the other cells is to live for the purpose of being a living body.

God wants the real thing, He doesn’t not fake the real thing. What constitutes a family are members;­ a father, mother, children, brothers, and sisters that are in relationship with one another and they live for one another. In a marriage two individuals, who are totally different, decide to live for the purpose of being one. When a male and a female, a man and a woman, a man who thinks like a man and a woman who thinks like a woman, purpose in their hearts to live as a man/woman and a woman/man it is a miracle of one flesh. It is a mystery of one flesh. Marriage is when two individuals, who do not naturally think the same, live to overcome the natural obstacles supernaturally to bear the fruit of being one. You cannot be a marriage without a supernatural intervention. You cannot be the body of Christ without the supernatural presence of God. If you say, I have come to the church because I was looking for a place where my needs can be met. You can come with that confused thinking, but that thinking is cancerous thinking if it remains the focus, purpose, and destiny of your life. The body of Christ is not the place you come and your needs are met. It is where you are divinely joined to become the testimony of Christ. When all the members come together for that purpose, needs are met, but no one lives to see their needs met. This requires something supernatural When you as a parent, when you raise your children and you have two or three children, do you teach them that it is survival of the strongest in your house? Do you teach them to destroy one another with the hope that one of the children will succeed? Do you teach them to beat one another up, to destroy one another, to get into arguments and fights in the hope that one of the children will become the victor? This is called the animal kingdom, it is not the kingdom of God. That is the kingdom of flesh. In the animal kingdom, there are basically two ways to die. Almost no animal dies of old age. I am not talking about the world of pets. I am talking about the world of the forest. Almost all animals are ripped apart by other animals or harvested by some hunter. This is the real world of the forest. In the body of Christ, it is not the world of animals. There should not be two ways to die in the body of Christ. There should be no wild animals and there should be no hunters in the body of Christ. There should be no one who is seeking to kill in the body of Christ. In the body of Christ, we are proven to be the body of Christ. There are going to be misunderstandings. There are going to be offenses. There is more opportunity to be offended in the church than in the world. Why? It is the only way it can be proven for you to be the body of Christ. You have no power to change those around you, but you have Christ in you to prove you are a member of the body of Christ. This is my Father’s house. I am a part of a room in the Father’s house. God is with me here. He is changing me from the inside out. He gives me bread. He clothes me, He gives me testimony and it is proving to be the house of God.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

   Greetings;

Genesis 28:18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.

Jacob woke up from his dream and poured oil on the rock. What was previously isolated and separated, became a place of corporate intimacy and habitation. It was a revelation that was yet to be made real in demonstration. He recognized that he was to be part of the gate of heaven in the earth. That gate was to be a place of connection with God and man as the house of God in the earth.

Genesis 28: 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. 22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

Jacob made a covenant with God. He made a confession before God with a promise of an action from his heart in the perpetual days of his life. Both his confession and his promised action were in recognition of the place that he was in the earth. It was not just a recognition of who God was, but of the place that he was to be a part of upon the earth. He was standing in and as the place of God’s heavenly gate for the influence of heaven in the earth.

If God will be with me and keep me in the way that I am going. If He gives me bread to eat, an internal change, and clothing to wear, an outward testimony, so I come back to my Father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar shall be God’s house. This stone, this standing rock, this is the gate of heaven in the earth. This is the place of God’s house. All you give me God, I will surely give a tenth to you.

This is the second time that tithe or tenth is mentioned in the Scripture. What is the significance of the tithe or a tenth? It is a symbolism that involves action, but is a level of relationship that can only be expressed in a place of corporate connection. It can only be expressed in the place of God’s house upon the earth. It must be expressed to the place of God’s standing pillar upon the earth, because it is a response to the calling, the inheritance, and the power of God in the earth. It has nothing to do with law. No law was written at this point in history. No Torah was written yet. No ten commandments were etched in stone. These things had not been expressed in written form upon the earth. This tithe response had nothing to do with any commandment. It had nothing to do with any sacrifice. It has nothing to do with any offering. Jacob’s action was fully and completely based upon a revelation of the place. It was a confirmation that the place that Jacob found himself in was the gate of heaven. It was in this place that the influence of heaven was given access to the earth. Jacob’s action presented a testimony of revelation from His heart.

This is the place! This is my confession! God is here! God is with me! God is keeping me in the way. God is causing me to become like Him. He’s keeping me in His character. His presence is here! He’s empowering me to be a covenant keeper. He is keeping me in the path of becoming who I am to be in Him. He is empowering me to be faithful; to be a covenant keeper. He is empowering me to be a giver and not a taker; to live for others and not for myself. If God keeps me in His way, I will respond to this place. I will give a tenth to this place.

Ten is a symbol of something. Tithe is ten percent and it is a symbol of something. The symbol is more powerful than the amount, but a different amount doesn’t demonstrate the prophetic symbol. It is a tenth. In prophetic language, ten is a symbol of a judgment of love. This why the written in stone commandments contained ten commandments, but in truth there are thousands or even millions of expressions in those ten honor values. If we simplify those commandments they can be expressed in two commandments. They can be expressed in loving God with all your heart, soul, and being. They can be expressed in loving your neighbor as you love yourself. In symbolism, it was ten commandments that said this. It was never about ten commandments. It is about a judgment of love; a judgment of love towards God and a judgment of love towards one another.

I make a judgment about you God. Here is my judgment. I love You with all my heart, all my soul, and all my strength. I love You with all my spirit, with my source of being. I love You all my soul; with every thought, every strategy, every emotion, every imagination, and every desire. I love You with all my life; all my things, all my works, and all that I will every do. I love you God with all my gifting, all my abilities, all my spirit, soul and body. I make a judgment. All that I am is yours and then I make a judgment about others as I make a judgment about you. I make this judgment in the place that I stand in covenant with others for your glory. I love You and I love those in this house, as I love myself.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

     Greetings,
Last week I presented the story of Jacob’s dream and his revelation of God in the place he had sought to sleep. Jacob said, How awesome is this place! The awesome place was the house of God. It was a place of God and man living together on earth. God joins us together in relationship with Him and one another for a heavenly purpose. We are joined together as a community to find our part of His calling. He joins us together for a heavenly inheritance in the earth. Not our inheritance, His inheritance. Jesus asked His Father for the nations to give them to His Father. We are here to give Jesus the nations all things might be summed up in Christ. We are here to give Jesus our families, our cities, and all of the inheritance of humanity. What does God want as an inheritance? He wants relationship. He doesn’t want our gold, our silver or any tangible thing. He wants a relationship. He wants us to know how much we are loved. God wants a family. He wants us to become like Him. He is a giver of life. In Acts chapter 17 we find that God doesn’t need anything from anyone. He gives life, breath, and all things. When He walks into the room the room comes alive. When He walks into our lives we become alive and we become expressions of Him. Everything we do and everything we are becomes a testimony of Him. God wants the earth to come alive. He wants the barren places of the earth to be filled with life. He wants us to prevail against the gates of hell. He wants the gate of heaven to prove to be stronger than the gates of hell. He wants the manifold expressions of the one gate of heaven to be stronger than the many gates of hell in this world and in all that is to come. It doesn’t matter how many gates of hell there are, when we discover the gate of heaven it is more powerful than all the gates of hell. He heals all our diseases. He delivers us from all our oppressors. He brings life. God wants us to discover what it means to be the gate of heaven. When Jacob awoke from his dream he realized how awesome was the place. God wants us to know that about the church. The enemy wants to blind us to what the church is. He seeks to distract us from the corporate place of purpose for some personal place of comfort and pleasure. It can even be disguised in the form of spiritual ministry at times, but it is something less than the full plan the God has for us as the church. The church is the house of God. The church is the gate of heaven.

Every congregation of Christ community is part of the gate of heaven. That gate brings heavenly provisions to the earth to change every earthly community. There are different gates of hell in different communities, but the gate of heaven is the same for them all. The gate of heaven is more powerful than all the gates of hell. We are in relationship with God as our Father and we are part of the place of His standing upon the earth. We are here to find our part in the hope of His calling, our corporate connection in the place of His inheritance. Our corporate connection in the place of His heavenly power is the key to the testimony of His glory. The same power that rose Jesus from the dead dwells in us, but only when we stand as the corporate expression of Christ can we release the greater measures of the testimony of Christ. We are here on the earth to find our place in that reality, the place that Jacob dreamed about.
Genesis 28:18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. 22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”
The oil on the rock is a testimony of Christ in and upon the body of Christ. It is a testimony of the anointing of heaven. Jacob poured oil on the standing rock. When the rock was laid down and there was no oil on the rock, but when the rock was standing there was oil on the rock. When we are in the place of standing, there is oil on the rock. The place of standing is a place of intimacy, connection, purpose, and inheritance. Where there is oil on the rock, the purpose of the rock is in effect upon the earth. This is a testimony of the rock of Christ. We are joined to the rock. We are part of the body of Christ, but to be part of the body of Christ we have to be able to touch the body. We must be joined as an active part of the body with other members in the body.
I love the church. It is the place of God standing upon the earth. I love Jesus, but I love who we are together in Christ. The mandate, the anointing that is upon us, proclaims that we are Bethel, we are the house of God.
John 14:2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
In our Father’s house there are many rooms. Every room in the Fathers house is a place where He is with us and we are with Him. It is a place of life and it is a place that never dies. Bethel, the house of God, is the Father’s house. We are expressions of part of that house, part of that body. Who we are corporately is more powerful than who we are individually because together we fulfill a measure of the hope of His calling. Together we fulfill a measure of the riches of His inheritance. Together we manifest an increasing measure of His power that is above principalities, powers, thrones, dominions, and names. We stand upon them. We destroy their influence. Together we stand, but individually we can sleep. The house of God is the place of God standing in the earth. Bringing the influence of heaven to the earth. The enemy doesn’t want us to stand. He wants us to sleep.

Jesus said that if we are thirsty we can come to Him and drink and life-giving water will flow from within us. He didn’t say we would be merely satisfied, our needs will be met and we will be blessed. He said we will become a source of life to the earth. We become a giver of life to the world. The last thing the enemy wants is for us to stand. Being a part of the body of Christ is being a part of the destiny of Christ. Sometimes it appears to look like an invitation to become a target. The truth is we really are a target, not so the enemy can have victory over us, but so we can demonstrate our victory over every enemy. It is easier to seek out the isolated separated place. But it is greater, it is more awesome, to be the place that stands. Paul even said having done all to stand, stand! We stand to prevail against the influences of hell.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson

    Greetings,

God has always wanted a body. God’s whole plan is about His presence being in the earth and changing the world. He is interested in being in our lives and changing our lives. He wants to be in our families and change our families. He wants to be in our community and change the community by the influence of the community of God. God wants to be in the earth and in heaven at the same time. His headship is in heaven and His body fills the earth.

In Genesis chapter 28 we find a story of Jacob on his journey in life. Jacob was destined to become Israel. The name Israel means, Prince with God. If God is King and you are a prince hat does that make you? It makes you a son or a daughter of the King. I am using the word prince to also imply princess, as I use the word son to also imply daughter. It is a term of inheritance. In Christ there is no difference between male and female, all are sons. God always wanted to establish His sons and daughters in the earth because they fulfill His calling. They are the fullness of His inheritance. They exercise the fullness of His power. God has never wanted servants. He has never desired slaves. He has always wanted a family. The earth was destined for the family of God – for the Israel of God. He never desires a nation called Israel, but a kingdom of sons and daughters called Israel. The family of God is the expression of the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, a heavenly kingdom among the kingdoms of the earth. It is an eternal kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. It is an internal kingdom that consumes the external realities of the kingdoms of men by an internal transformation of hearts and minds.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were the testimony to the fullness that could only come in Christ. A first, second, and third generation would lead to a fourth generation that would be the shadow of what God had in mind for all nations. Jacob was destined to become Israel, but he had to find the keys to becoming before he could wear that testimony. On his journey, Jacob came to place and he decided to go to sleep. He found a stone and he set it up as a pillow for a night of sleep.

Genesis 28: 10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.

Jacob did not have a revelation at this point of who he was. He did not have a full revelation of his purpose. He didn’t have a revelation of God’s full plan. He just had a desire in his heart for God. He went to sleep on the rock. He was no doubt tired. You must be tired to us a rock as a pillow. Is the church a place of comfort? Is it a place to go to sleep? Is it a place that gives you rest or is it a place where God rests? Jesus told Peter you are little rock, but on the huge rock I will build by church. The rock that the church is built upon is not a place of sleeping. It is a place of God’s presence and purpose.

Genesis 28:12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

Jacob went to sleep on the rock and he dreamed a dream. He saw a ladder that was on the earth but extended to heaven. The bottom was on the earth and extended to heaven. He saw angels ascending on the ladder and then descending upon the ladder. Those angels were bringing things from heaven to the place where Jacob is sleeping. Jacob heard God speak.

Genesis 28:13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”

God told Jacob that his descendants would be as the dust of the earth. They would be numerous. They would spread to the east, the west, the north and the south. In Jacob’s seed the families of the earth were going to be blessed. God promised to be with Him and to bring him back to the place He had promised.

Genesis 28: 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

Jacob was in awe of the place! How awesome is this place! This is the house of God! This is the gate of heaven! This is the open entrance of heaven to the earth. This the gate of heaven’s influence to the earth. This is how heaven gets into the earth. This is the place that angels go into heaven get what is needed and come back with heavenly provisions for heavenly purposes upon the earth.

Genesis 28:18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. 22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

Jacob rose up and took the rock and stood it upright. He transformed it from a pillow into a pillar. He poured oil on it. He renamed the place. It was called Luz, meaning isolated or separated place. He renamed it Bethel. Bethel means, house of God. The enemy wants you to sleep in the isolated separated place. He wants you to seek for a place of your own personal comfort. He wants your personal needs to be met. He wants you to feel at rest. He wants you to go to sleep. He wants you to seek out an isolated separated place and he wants you to lay down and think about you. He wants to tuck you in and say, sweet dreams. Sleep well. Good night. See you in your dreams. Something inside of you is calling for you to wake up. The Holy Spirit within you calling for you to know who you are and to know who we are. We are sons and daughters of God. We are members of the body of Christ. We are the place where God’s presence and purpose invade the earth with His life and glory. We are the gate of heaven. We are the place of influence of heaven in the earth called the house of God. We are the church!

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

    Greetings,

Traditionally the church has become more about structure than about life. When the church holds stronger to structure than the presence of Christ it tends to invoke revolutions. People want life. God doesn’t desire a church that is structurally bound or a church that is deprived of the presence, power, and intimacy of Christ. The enemy is not entirely stupid. If the enemy cannot destroy us structurally, he will destroy us relationally. If he cannot destroy us relationally, he will seek to destroy us structurally. My body has both structure and life. It is filled with cells that are in relationship with one another, but the purpose is not merely relational. It is functional. To be my body it must have cellular relationship, but it must also rise up and walk a path of destiny in life known as purpose. That purpose will bring life to the world.

At the beginning of May I broke my foot and I had to go through several weeks of healing and recovery. Part of my structure was hurt when I broke my foot. I had to wear added structure until the structure healed, because I needed structure. Structure holds my body together. My body parts are joined for the purpose of my whole body, not for the purpose of themselves. To be me, I need all of me. I care for the parts of my body, but I don’t live for the parts of my body. The parts of my body live for the fullness of me. We need relationship in the structure to be the living body of Christ. We must be the body of Christ to fulfill the hope of His calling, become the riches of His inheritance and demonstrate the working of His power in this earth in a place that is more influential than the gates of Hades in the earth. The greatness of His power, not ours, is the testimony of the purpose of the body of Christ. It is His mighty power! It is the same power that rose Jesus from the dead! It is the same power that seated Jesus at the right hand of God! This is the power that is meant to influence the world with the life of the kingdom of heaven.

Ephesians 1:21… far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

In verse 21 we see that Christ the head and Christ the body is far above all principality, power, might, dominion, and every name that is named. This was not only true in the age that Paul was writing, but in every age to come and even in the age that is beyond this world. In verse 22 we see that He put all things under His feet. The feet are the place of the body of Christ standing in the earth.

The church is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. The body of Christ is the fullness of Christ that fills all in all. Underneath the feet of the body of Christ are principalities, powers, thrones, dominions, and names. These are all places of influence. These are all influences of death. They are destroyers, thieves, liars, deceptions, and other forms of death. They inspire self-seeking and self-living. These are things that seek to destroy life, but they are underneath the feet of the body of Christ.

The body of Christ is more than the body of anointing. It is the body of life. It is the place of heaven standing upon the earth. It is the place of heaven’s influence. It is the place of the authority of the fullness of Christ. What makes us influential today? What gives us the authority to bring life to our cities or nations? It is Christ in us, not just as individuals but Christ in us as a body. As a member of the body I am a powerful member, but I am not a powerful body. As a few members we are powerful members, but we are not a powerful body. The more we become a body, the more powerful we become in our city. It does not just include intimacy with God as our Father, but it includes intimacy with one another. We stand as the body of Christ for the purpose of His calling, the testimony of His inheritance, and the working of the demonstration of His power in the earth to destroy the influencing gates of hell. We are anointed to destroy the gates of hell. We are anointed have victory over the influences of death. Do you think the enemy likes that? He doesn’t want that. He forms weapons against that. We have stronger weapons than the enemy! What are our strong weapons? Our strongest weapon is being the body of Christ. The more we become the body, the more influence we bring into this world. It is not merely about becoming intimate with God or with Jesus. It is about me being a member of the body of Christ. It is about being a life-giving contributor to the body. We are in relationship with one another for the purpose of God.

Now, think about where the enemy has hit you. Has your heart every been shot at by the enemy? Does he try to get to your heart? Where does he try to get to your heart the most? Does he try to get to your heart in the world or in the church? Often, I hear people say, I don’t like the church. It is easier in the world than it is in the church. The truth is, it is. Why? There is no destiny there. There is no greatness there. Ok, you need a smaller group. When my foot was broken it needed the smallest group possible. It needed immediate cell connections so it could receive the life-flow to be healed. The closest relationships were next to the foot, but those relationships serve the fullness of who I am. They don’t serve the ministry of the foot. They serve the ministry of the body of Ted Hanson. The body of Ted Hanson is the fullness of Ted Hanson. The body of Christ is the fullness of Christ meant to influence this world with life. The enemy seeks to destroy relationships in the body because the enemy seeks to destroy the body. He is not after you. He is attempting to take you out of purpose. Offenses lead to judgments and judgments lead to defilements. That is where we begin to see ourselves as an individual rather than a member of something corporate. When we become defiled we disconnect from one another. We don’t stay in connection in relationship. We don’t stay under authority or in authority with one another. Only authority produces life. Power alone will empower us to be self-seekers, but corporate authority empowers us as God inheritors. When we don’t live for corporate purpose we separate and lose our care for one another. Our hearts, our vision, and our passion becomes dead to one another. We don’t want to go down that path. We want to be the body of Christ!

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

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      Greetings;

The church is a place of relationship. It is a place of hearing the voice of the Father and of bringing heaven’s influence into the earth. The gates of the realm of the dead cannot prevail against the church. The church is the gat of heaven in the earth and the influences of death are not more powerful than heaven’s influence of life. The enemy seeks to kill what is alive so that it is no longer a threat to the realm of the dead. I want to be a part of the church. I want to be joined to the Father and I want to be joined to others in the body in the most powerful way possible. My connection cannot just be as a prophet or some anointed minister. It cannot just be in becoming like Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Our place in the body is not just a demonstration of power that makes us the church. It is a testimony of relationship with the power of Christ that makes us the church.

My relationship with the Father and my relationship in the church as a member in a body is huge! It is the huge rock Jesus refereed to. By myself I can be a little rock, like Peter (GS4074. Πέτρος – Petros; a rock or a stone). Only in relationship with God and one another can I be a part of the huge rock: (GS4073. πέτρα petra; a (mass of) rock (literally or figuratively), a huge rock. That rock is the mountain of God that is destined to fill the whole earth. It is the place of God growing and increasing influence in the earth. It is not just me and Jesus. It is me as a part of the body of Christ.

In the book of Ephesians, we find some significant truth concerning the church. Paul was writing about being the body of Christ. Paul began in the chapter one by talking about the blessings that are ours from the Father. Then in beginning in verse 18 we see some words of Paul’s prayer for the church.

Ephesians 1:18 …the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Traditionally, the church lost the point, the plot, and the purpose of being the church. Even saints were redefined. Whether it be the Orthodox church, the Catholic, or some other form the traditionally structured church, something was lost in being the church and a called out member of that church. You could not be a saint until after you died. But the word saint means, set apart one. A saint is a believer who is joined to God. A saint is someone who is one with God. They are joined to Him and set apart for His purpose and His will in the world. Only living people can be saints. You must be alive to be a saint. You must be a saint before you die to be a saint after you die. You have to be joined to the living while alive so that death cannot destroy you when you die. Paul was praying about this revelation in the hearts of each believer in the church. He was praying that each member of the corporate influencing place of heaven would know the hope of Christ’s calling. It is not the hope of an individual’s calling. It’s not the dreams of people, but the Father’s dream in life. When God looks at the nations. what is He thinking? What does He desire? What does He want to happen? What is His plan? What is our Father’s plan for such a time as this in the earth? What is our Father’s plan for the church? What is His inheritance in the saints? What does His inheritance look like in the nations in the family of God? What does His inheritance look like in the family of God? It is a corporate place. We cannot discover it on our own. We can’t discover this place of influence by ourselves. The enemy knows this. The last thing the enemy wants is for the church to have a revelation of who she really is. He seeks to deceive, devour, and destroy the threat of life known as the church ­– the ekklisea of God. He seeks to destroy the church, the place where the realm of life from heaven is made manifest in the earth as the body of Christ. The enemy seeks to destroy the place of life that has the destiny to influence the world with life.

We are part of the greatest influence in all the world. We are members of the church and principalities, powers, thrones, dominions, and names are under the feet of our corporate standing. We stand to possess the ground upon which we stand and give to God the glory due His name. Wherever the soles of the feet of the church walk it is part of the inheritance of God for purpose of His will.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

     Greetings.

What is the purpose of being a part of the Church?

One day Jesus was with His disciples and He asked them; Who do men say that I am? The perception of the people concerning Jesus was that He was a powerful man and even a prophet. Their view of him was one of ministry. God’s view was that He was the Son. When people from the outside looked at Jesus they perceived He was a prophet. They saw that He was anointed. They saw that He demonstrated power. Things happen because of Him. He had all the indications of being a prophet or a mighty minister of some sort. In the story, Jesus turned to His friends and asked them who they perceived Him to be. These were the men who had been walking with Him for several years. Peter responded, You are Christ, the son of the living God. He was saying, You are the Messiah, the Deliverer, the Redeemer, the Healer and the Giver of Life in all things. Peter’s perception of Jesus was more accurate than the crowds, but there was a purpose in the revelation given by God to Peter. Jesus explains why Peter had this revelation.

Matthew 16:17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

The response of Jesus to Peter was like this: Peter, you have a connection with God, My Father. You have experienced something that is relational. It is not an observation by what you can see from the outside looking in. It is not a conclusion you can make by what you see. You have an understanding in your heart. You are relationally connected to what is really going on. Something has come by the voice of God inside of you. Blessed are you Peter (little rock), but upon this rock (huge rock) I am going to build My church.

What was the huge rock? The huge rock was the ability for Peter to hear the voice of God the Father in his heart because of an internal relationship and a corporate connection. Upon this “rock” I will build My “church”. Jesus used a word that is not a Jewish word. It was actually a Gentile word. It was a Roman word.

It is literally a called out assembly for governmental decision. It’s a political term. To call people together to make a political decision concerning the community. In an ekklisea everyone comes together in a place of public view, a decision is made, and a change happens. An influence happens. Wherever there is an ekklisea, a church, a heavenly influence impacts the realms of the earth. Jesus choice of word is important here. He didn’t say temple, synagogue, house group or place of fellowship. A church is a place of God’s presence, the people’s presence, and God’s purpose implanted through an assembly of God’s people. It is a place of governmental decision. It is a place of the family of God making a decision that influences the world of and around the family. Jesus was making a point by His use of the word here that is essential for changing the world. The gates of hades will not prevail against it. It will not prevail against the ekklisea – the church. The word Hades means, the realm of the dead. Most of the world lives in the realm of the dead, but the church is stronger than the influences of death. The church is the realm of life from heaven made manifest in the earth as the body of Christ. It is the place of life that influences the world.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Thank you so much to those of you who have been able to contribute to our cause. In this past month I have been in the Netherlands, Ireland, Wales, England, Spain, and again in England. This week I head to Bulgaria and after that I will be in Luxembourg. Without your prayers and support we are limited in our ability to do our part in the place of our calling in Christ. If God blesses you to bless us, please consider supporting House of Bread Ministry. Checks Payable to: House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA  98225

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