Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
A city of escape and refuge creates a culture of survival and thus it cannot develop and change for a greater glory. A city of refuge is a need-based society, and it can create a fellowship, but not an ecclesia. An ecclesia is an assembly of kingdom influence to the world. To be a community of joined believers in Christ that brings heaven’s influence into our world, we must establish a purpose focused culture. Each member of the community will have a specific role to play in bringing heaven into their part of the world, but we must know the general will of the community to understand what any specific will can be. Knowing the general will can give each community member freedom in their specific role in the community. What is the VISION of the community – Where are we going? What is the CULTURE of the community – What are the principles, patterns, and values that will get us there? What is the PURPOSE of the community – What is the result when we get there?
The general will of a community fulfills the purpose of that community. The purpose of every community expression of God is determined by God. It is determined by God, and it is only discovered through His manifest presence within it. A community of God is dependent upon being the temple of God’s Holy Spirit. The temple is not dependent upon the community. The community is dependent upon the temple. A temple is what holds a higher value than the earthly members of the community. For believers in Christ the temple is the place that is inhabited by God’s presence. The temple of the Holy Spirit will activate, facilitate, and release the community of Christ. Build a temple and you will build the city. Build the city and you may never build the temple. In the Old Testament, King Cyrus made a decree to build the temple of God and that decree was in reality a decree to build the city of God (Ezra 1:2; Dan. 9:25). The city of God had to be built because the temple was built (including the law and proper offerings). The word sent to build the city was the physical manifestation of the temple. The temple was the word gone forth. Build a temple and there will be a city. It is just like our Christian walk. If Jesus is in our heart, if there is a temple, then the work of the city (Christian community life) can be completed. Once Jesus is in our hearts we are new creations, but it is yet to be further manifested in our lives. God spoke the word to call us, but it didn’t become ‘the word sent forth’ until we received Jesus into our hearts. We had to become a house for His Spirit to dwell in and we had to receive His Spirit to dwell in us to write His law upon our hearts and minds. We had to become proper ‘burnt offerings’ through the one offering Jesus Christ (Rom. 12:1 – members of the body of Christ). Christian community doesn’t make us the testimony of Christ. Christ in us empowers us to become the testimony of a Christ-like community. As leaders we must lead for the culture of Christ before we can activate, facilitate, or release Christian community. Our personal needs are not the center of our community, Christ is!
Part of the culture of a city of influence is to continually educate, train, equip, and send members of the community in their specific roles of influence. What are the values of the community? What is the general vision of the community? What are the foundations of that community vision? Just as the church is built upon the foundations of the apostles and prophets, every community is built upon the foundations of that community.
Matthew 13:52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
Our path in life is connected to who we are in life and who we are is connected to who others have been before us. The will of God doesn’t come from what we want to do or what we think God wants us to do. It is found in the continuity of our lives. Wisdom, the direction to the future, is connected to who we are. We are the will of God and the things we do in life are connected to who we have become because of the foundations and the ceilings of the past. What God declares our community to be determines who we are to be in that community. Our lives are like a highway and our lives are meant to go somewhere in God for the sake of others and for the will of our heavenly Father. Each successive generation must be educated, trained, equipped, and sent to go another measure in the destiny of a God-birthed community.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
As we conclude the year of 2023, please consider making a contribution to House of Bread Ministry. We have increased our input to many parts of the world and your contribution will help us equip, train, equip, and send many for the purpose of God’s New Covenant Life and Grace in the nations. Thank You – Ted J. Hanson
Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:
Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:
House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225
To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.
Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728
