Power and Authority to Honor the Lamb or the Beast 7-25-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of kings and Lord of lords, rule and reign in my heart and life today. ... "And the ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These are united in yielding their power and authority to the beast, they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with Him are called and chosen and faithful" (Revelation 17:12-14). Through the victory of the cross and the glory of the resurrection, You declared to Your disciples, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me" (Matthew 28:18). Yet in the matchless sovereignty and eternal wisdom of God, You have chosen to create us "in the image of God" and entrust "dominion" over Your creation of the earth to us (Genesis 1:27-28). Despite Your foreknowledge, now confirmed and established by all generations of man since the first generation, that we would miserably fail in our exercise of dominion, You continue to entrust power and authority to us with the calling and commission to use it for Your purposes and Your glory. "Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal" (Luke 9:1). In a sense, You have made us all to be the kings of the earth. "The heavens are the Lord's heavens, but the earth He has given to human beings" (Psalm 115:16). We can use the power and authority You have entrusted to us to wear our crowns and exalt ourselves and build our own kingdoms or we can cast down our crowns at Your feet and exalt Your name and proclaim Your kingdom. Some will be "united in yielding their power and authority to the beast" driven by demonic lust for their own power, positions, and pleasures. But some will be united as one with You, using all the power and authority You have entrusted to us to serve the Lamb who loves us and laid down His life for us and now sits enthroned in the heavens and in our hearts within us. "Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing" now and "forever and ever" (Revelation 5:12-13). The choice is ours, but You give us all the grace we need to choose well. "Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of His glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever" (Jude 24-25). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please keep us in prayer as I lead our Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry intensive course which started last night (equipping and empowering spiritual leaders to bind up the brokenhearted and set the captives free in the name of Jesus and power of the Holy Spirit for the glory our Father -- Isaiah 61; Luke 4). We're holding this one at our ministry base at my home church in Lexington, Kentucky Thursday night through Saturday night. This is part of our ministry calling to "Prepare the Way of the Lord." We'll be teaching and equipping again in Winchester, Kentucky in August. Write for details if you'd be interested. The DVD's from our last one in January, The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry, are available now from our web site: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Please feel free to use these in your personal ministry, for group studies, and in helping equip prayer ministry teams in your church. Friends, please sign up soon to come join Laura Beach and me for the overnight spiritual retreat we are leading August 2-3, 2008 near Lancaster, Kentucky, in the country just south of Lexington -- "The Shepherd's Pen" -- Come away with the Good Shepherd to learn to hear His voice and be comforted in His embrace. Through Tommy's teaching and Laura's leading of creative prayer experiences, "The Shepherd's Pen Retreat" will explore the beautiful passage of John 10 -- We will delve into what it means to: 1) Truly hear and discern the voice of God, our good shepherd, 2) Identify the broken fences that allow the wolf and the thief to disrupt our ability to hear the Good Shepherd, and 3) Experience the healing and restoration that occurs when we enter into the safe "pen" of God's love. There will be times of worship, teaching, practice hearing the voice of God in different ways and, of course, prayer to equip and nurture all who attend.Please contact Marilyn Walker, our Director of Ministries, for more details and registration (859-317-1591 or DirOfMinistries@aol.com). Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com Please Click Here to Order our Ministry Resources On-Line -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502