Joel 2 Moment

I believe we are in a Joel 2 moment. I have been sensing this for the last few months. When I say a Joel 2 moment, I mean the latter half of Joel 2. For the past several years, but especially the past 2 years, we have been in the beginning of Joel 2,

Joel 2:12-18 NASB >"Yet even now," declares the LORD, "Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; (13) And rend your heart and not your garments." Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil. (14) Who knows whether He will not turn and relent And leave a blessing behind Him, Even a grain offering and a drink offering For the LORD your God? (15) Blow a trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, (16) Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out of his room And the bride out of her bridal chamber. (17) Let the priests, the LORD'S ministers, Weep between the porch and the altar, And let them say, "Spare Your people, O LORD, And do not make Your inheritance a reproach, A byword among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, 'Where is their God?'" (18) Then the LORD will be zealous for His land And will have pity on His people.

I believe God has heard our prayers. When we do things God’s way we get God’s results. That’s not to say the fasting and praying is over. That’s how you win the battle but it’s also how you keep the victory! Let us not grow weary in well doing but be always watchful and vigilant! You may look at what's happening on the political front, or the apparent darkness all around us, but we are to see with the eyes of faith. We are to set our minds on things above, not on the things of this earth (Col. 3:2.

The latter half of Joel 2 is about what God does as a result of the fasting, weeping and mourning,

Joel 2:19-32 NASB The LORD will answer and say to His people, "Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied in full with them; And I will never again make you a reproach among the nations. (20) "But I will remove the northern army far from you, And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land, And its vanguard into the eastern sea, And its rear guard into the western sea. And its stench will arise and its foul smell will come up, For it has done great things." (21) Do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad, For the LORD has done great things. (22) Do not fear, beasts of the field, For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green, For the tree has borne its fruit, The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full. (23) So rejoice, O sons of Zion, And be glad in the LORD your God; For He has given you the early rain for your vindication. And He has poured down for you the rain, The early and latter rain as before. (24) The threshing floors will be full of grain, And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil. (25) "Then I will make up to you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten, The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you. (26) "You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; Then My people will never be put to shame. (27) "Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am the LORD your God, And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame. (28) "It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. (29) "Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (30) "I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke. (31) "The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. (32) "And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As the LORD has said, Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.

If God allows you to see something from scripture and understand it, then you can have it! A prophetic people pull future promises into the NOW! Don't give up hope, the Lord wants to move. He wants His people to recognize their authority as kingdom people and to pray and move in accordance with His will, "Your kingdom come Your will be done ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN." When God's people get a hold of this truth and began to operate out of their identity as sons and daughters, we will see radical change come to our nation and the earth!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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God is Moving!!!

God is moving! Dr. J Edwin Orr said this, “Whenever God is about to do something new with His people, He always sets them to praying!”

I believe we are in a dramatic season of our history where we can change the course of our nation! One person said it this way, “History belongs to the intercessors!” There are 40 day fasts springing up all over the country. I don’t care if it’s one meal a day, lets join in and make history together. Change always starts with a few and then multiplies. Be the voice to ignite your campus in corporate fasting and prayer.

I felt God speak to me about a month ago to do a 40 day fast. I am 15 days into it. It is difficult at times but God has really released a grace in me to do this. ASK GOD FOR HIS GRACE AND THEN DO WHAT HE SAYS!

PLEASE MOBILIZE YOUR STUDENTS TO FAST AND PRAY, ESPECIALLY CONCERNING THESE UPCOMING ELECTIONS. I believe this is one of the most crucial elections in our day. It’s not just about the President, it’s about an agenda that is attempting to usurp religious and personal freedom in our country. The next president will get to appoint judges and possibly a supreme court justice that could tip things in favor of the sanctity of life. The battle must be won on our knees first.

I WILL BE SENDING OUT AN UPDATE SHORTLY, INSTRUCTING STUDENTS HOW TO REGISTER TO VOTE EVEN IF THEY ARE AWAY AT COLLEGE. WE NEED TO BE ENCOURAGING OUR STUDENTS TO GET REGISTERED, GET INFORMED (ON GOD’S CONVICTIONS FROM THE BIBLE AND ON THE CANDIDATES) AND VOTE!!!

Maybe you could devote a special time to talk about this in your group. God is very concerned over justice issues. We have also posted a voters guide telling the different convictions of the two candidates on our website at the bottom (www.basiclives.com)

Don’t let this moment in history pass you by. Now is the time to begin organizing prayer meetings, half nights of prayer and all night prayer vigils.

As this is happening, we are planning our conference about prayer and intercession called, “Prepare the Way.” Who could have known! We are praying that God would teach His people and give them grace to live a sustained life of prayer AND THAT PRAYER CULTURES WOULD BEGIN SPRINGING UP ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES EVERYWHERE!

Dear College Students

It has been on my heart for about the last week to do this. I want to encourage you, please vote! You and I have a responsibility in this country to help shape its destiny. The right to vote should not be taken for granted. You are now out of mom and dad’s house and old enough to fight in a war, you should be voting.

I put together this email to help you know how to vote. I have listed several websites that will help you. If you are away from home, you can still vote! If you are a resident of the place where you go to college, you just have to re-register there. If not, you can do an absentee ballot. The first step is to register to vote.

Below are several websites that will help you with this process. There is even a specific one for college students.

Lastly, I want to encourage you to vote your values. Not necessarily values you have learned through television or your college experience but convictions. Convictions are defined as “fixed or firm beliefs.” Our fixed and firm beliefs must be founded on the authority of God’s Word, otherwise it’s based on a “good idea” and good ideas don’t always last. Think of all the good ideas you have had over the course of your life. How many of them have come and gone? Our convictions must be based on the unchanging authority of the bible! Here are my personal values I hold dearest when voting, in order of priority:

1. The sanctity of life – Psalm 139, Ezekiel 35:6 and many other passages
2. The protection of the institution of marriage as one man and one woman (This starts all the way back in Genesis)
3. Justice Issues – the poor, immigration issues, etc…
4. The War
5. The Economy (no matter what happens we are under God’s economy and these other issues above can affect the state of the economy)

Specific Websites to Help You

1. Register to vote - http://www.rockthevote.com/rtv_register.html
2. How to Vote - vote bible based convictions, not learned or accepted values of the day - http://www.ivotevalues.org/
3. Here is some info specifically for those who have just moved away to college and how to vote either in your college town or by absentee ballot. - http://www.declareyourself.com/voting_faq/voting_faq_449.html#moved
4. Other websites that walk you through how to register and the ins and outs of voting:
http://www.declareyourself.com/home/home.html
http://www.ivoteyouvote.com/
http://www.registertovote.org/?gclid=CKGKvYGq9JUCFRqiQQodhHKwiQ

Together lets rise up and change the course of our nation!

Holiness

It's funny, after years of grace teaching and understanding justification (that we are rendered innocent by what Christ did and it has nothing to do with us), I still find my heart and my mind thinking I am going to "do holiness" and once I have it THEN I can ascend the hill of the Lord.

Psalms 24:3-4 ESV Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? (4) He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.

In reality, it's the opposite. Listen how Bob Sorge puts it in his book, Secrets of the Secret Place, "Holiness is not an inherant quality we carry; it is a derived quality we take on. Holiness has but one source, the Holy One. Holiness has to do with proximity to the throne. I am holy only to the extent I abide in His holy presence." He goes on to say, "I used to define holiness by what we don't do, but now I define it more by what we do. Holiness is found in drawing near to the holy flame of the trinity."

In other words, how can we become holy if we are not in the presence of the Holy One? We often think we are going to do this holiness thing. If only we could become holy, then we would have better fellowship with God. But grace and justification tells us we were not and are not worthy but because of Jesus shedding His blood to pay for our sin, we are made righteous, rendered innocent, and able to come into His presence any time day or night without shame.

Now please don't misunderstand me, we need to be holy. I am just suggesting that the way become holy is not be working on it in our own strength or by human efforts. Instead, we must daily draw near to the Holy One, surrender our hearts, digest His Word and let Him do His work on the inside. The more time we spend with the Holy One, the more holy we become as we put off the old ways and put on Christ.

Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (9) not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

The same concept applies to anything in the kingdom. Grace is a gift that we access through faith! It's not our works that justify us or that make us holy, it's the grace of God, the empowerment of His Spirit to be right and do right. It's believing by faith in the work that He has already accomplished on the cross!

Romans 8:32 ESV He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

I like to say it this way, "God already gave us the best, why would He withhold the rest?"

Let's renew our minds today with the word of God, put aside the notion that we are going to "do this holiness thing," and receive the grace of God flowing to us. Let's get in His presence (how can we know and become like someone that we don't spend time with?) and be conformed to the image of His Son as we come into His holy throne room and fellowship with Him at the highest possible level. IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE! I leave you with this,

Colossians 2:6 ESV Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.

YOU RECEIVED HIM BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH, SO WALK IN HIM!

The Elisha Generation

August 1, 2008

Dear Friends, Pastors, and Leaders,

I am so excited to announce the launch of Elisha Generation Seminars. The concept of the Elisha Generation has been a dream in my heart for some time now.

The focus and thrust of Elisha Generation Seminars is two-fold:

1. To empower and equip you and your church or ministry to reach the 18-30 generation through The Catalyst Project (see website).
2. To impact the whole body of Christ through teaching and preaching as well as Word-based and experiential encounters with Jesus Christ.
3. To personally minister to the 18-30 generation.

As you can see from the brochure, we are focusing our efforts on a few specific areas but we are willing to “tailor” these seminars for your church or ministry.

I love to minister to youth, young adults and college students, and to the whole church body. I could come for a day, a weekend or a multi-day trip to minister to all three groups if you like. My wife Gina may also be available to minister in worship (contact for details).

Please contact me at kent@elishageneration.org or 585-624-7930 if you would like to hear more about these seminars or speak with me personally.

The website is also now online. You can visit us on the web at www.elishageneration.org where you can get more details and listen to ten-minute segments of different seminars.

For a generation,
Kent & Gina Murawski