It has been a while since I last wrote an update. I hope that this letter finds you well and encourages you to persevere. I am blessed among men; the Lord has brought me out of the snare of deception that plagues a high quantity of my peers, family and my generation for that matter. For this reason I have a strand of joy that flows through me and all of the saints of God; eagerly pursuing the joy that is fulfilled through the righteousness of our God and king I press on towards the hope that abounds greatly in our Lord Jesus Christ!
The Question that I want to press upon the reader today is the question of reality! Do you have it? If you have some reality, are you pressing forward under the weight of that reality that you might experience the “Fullness of God’s love” mentioned in Ephesians 3:16-19? Has religion caused your heart to burn and come alive or has your religion buckled you at the knees and left you to suffer and die?
I don’t want to communicate to you that the form of ministry I am involved in is the solution or is better than another! For there are those in every ministry and church organization that are dead of heart or even bought in through hype. I can successfully say that the hype of 24/7 prayer has officially burnt off of me and the only One thing sustaining me is the Holy Spirit who beckons me to go deep in the word of God and in the place of prayer; if I do not have the Spirit of God than I am on a flight home to pick up with something else, but this is not the case for my sake! The Lord is gracious and knows better than us on how to restore and mature His bride.
1. Do you have reality? Unreality is a plague that sits comfortably next to you and I in pews all across the earth. Unreality smiles, shakes our hands and in many cases even speaks to us from the pulpits. We tend invite unreality over for dinner and to the theater; coffee dates and roads trips to the finest of conferences are the themes of his schedule.
A man may be a Christian by outward profession: a member of a Christian church; baptized with a Christian baptism; an attendant on Christian ordinances; yet, in the sight of God not a Christian at all! Christianity is a religion that is founded upon the Spirit of God entering the heart of the cherished participants only because a man named Jesus Christ was crucified so that the full wrath of God’s hatred for our sin would be lifted away from us, making us a new creation! After salvation we go through a honey-moon phase! The honey-moon is amazing and can last long for some and short for others! But the cold hearted fact is that once the honey-moon is over you have a responsibility to work together with the Spirit to fully renew your heart, mind, soul and strength towards this thing called love. Everyday divorce papers are being signed, because in the natural realm man is incapable of sustaining real biblical love. No offense to my grandparents generation, but, the ones I know from that generation who have been married for 50+ years either have some biblical reality of love or they are obligated through the religious spirit of that generation that labels divorce as the highest sin; and still there are a few who may have obtained a sense of strong love for one another, fully committed from beginning to end; yet a judgment seat in heaven screams at them from eternity to direct their hearts to the true and only true love-Jesus Christ.
When the honey-moon is over you are suddenly struck (Hopefully) with the concept that you know very little about the triune God. This is where many fail. You either recognize your need to remain alive in God or you back off and wait for God to come drop off the reality package. All the while satan stops buy with the package of bitterness and offense; which has a funny way of choking any good seed that was planted during the honey-moon. So, unless you like being choked to the point of hopeless defeat, waiting for your inevitable death; I suggest you fight for the position of being a laborer in prayer! Prayer is where reality is formed! You can read a thousand books on all the burdens in the earth and of all the glory of God and still lack real reality for yourself and for what God is actually saying and doing openly in our present time.
2. This brings us to the second question; If you have some reality, are you pressing forward under the weight of that reality that you might experience the “Fullness of God’s love” mentioned in Ephesians 3:16-19? Please turn now to the scripture and meditate upon the goodness of this text. I specifically would like to point out verses 3:18-19: [That You]… “May be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
We can know enough information to write books and books that will go on and bless all that would put effort into reading them; the Lord uses many books to help the saints; the Lord knows if we were all ignorant we would be hopeless. In fact read this and see how important getting knowledge is; “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being a priest to me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.” Hosea 4:6. So in all thy getting, get the knowledge of God! But for the sake of your soul I beseech you, do not forget 1 Corinthians 13:1-13: without the love of Christ you are nothing more than another noise that all of heaven moves to make silent.
If you have a little reality I would say to you fight for more; persevere and fight for more. Reality in God is not a box to check off-it is a stream of life sent from the Holy One to strengthen and awaken you on a daily basis! Reality is where you will find rest, peace, hope and joy! You and I must fight for a reality in God each day, lest we ignore the little fire we have and it burns out. What are you left with in this religion if your heart is not constantly seeking a deeper measure of reality? Why do so many pour themselves into a life in ministry and church organization only to be miserable? We need to awaken from sleep and seek a greater measure of His truth and love everyday or we will stumble in all areas of our life. A man who does religion without experiencing the floodgates of affection that is there for the taking is one of the most miserable men on the earth; he is a slave to the system of dead religion.
Are you happy? True happiness is not perfect freedom from the sorrow of this age-though the perfection and ultimate reality of joy and happiness will never know sorrow again, on this end of eternity we find joy through Christ alone; this joy must persevere and triumph over toil through longsuffering-contending in the grace given to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So we contend in the spirit and the joy manifested in us is fueled by the hope of our eternal joy in the next age. I urge you even now, if you are miserable in your religion than question the reality you live in! Petition the throne of heaven night and day and do not stop until your joy is made complete by Him who bore the cross for you, that you may have this hope of eternal life and eternal joy with Christ in Heaven. The man who walks around in melancholy despondency is miserable because he fails to trust in text such as John chapter 15! Abide in Christ that your joy may be complete.
If you have even the slightest bit of reality I urge you this day to awaken to the concept that your little reality is but a flicker of light in an ocean of fire. Awaken to the concept that you can never have to much reality in Christ; no matter the outward look or responses-get a reality in the triune God!
Direct your heart into the love of Jesus friend. If you are reading this and you know that you are lacking a reality in the love of Christ and what His heart for our generation is I beseech you to enter into prayer! Unashamedly pursue Jesus over all other nightly pursuits. J.C. Ryle, Leonard Ravenhill and A.W. Tozer are 3 of my favorite writers; each man petitions greatly our need to be awakened to the depths of Christ Jesus. These men would scream at us, saying, “Tell me what a man does with his evenings and I will tell you if he is really a Christian or not.” The expression’s in which you conduct most consistently will easily define what is in your heart; this doesn’t mean you never watch a movie, etc; it just means how much more you rely on such worthless activities to remain comfortable.
I will end this letter petitioning you always that you would look through the veil that allows all of us to say my position this day is right before God; you and I both know that each of us are utterly wicked to the core and if we relent in our pursuit we each will fall miserably into filth and decay. Even our righteousness is as filthy rags to the righteousness of our Holy God. Be careful that you are not sucked into the formality of religious culture that is a horrid spectacle for the myriads of unbelievers to scoff at. Even the good expressions of ministry in our day are futile and feeble in the sight of an all consuming pleasure that is available to us through communion with God.
Are you weighed down by dead religion? This day I hope to encourage you to awaken out of this hopeless reality and fight for communion with God. Does your heart yearn like it did in the season of your salvation? Do you know that so much more is attainable through Christ Jesus than even the faint taste of your best season in the Lord? Are you being robbed even now? Do not settle for garbage when a brilliant feast has been prepared for those who will come and eat. I pray for you and for me that we would no longer conform to the image of dead religion that has been placed before us; knowing full well that our forms of religious duty were only meant to be an onramp into glory unknown. Soak yourself in the word of God and persevere in prayer my friends. The day is drawing near to your judgment! Jesus is coming back to establish an eternal throne founded by righteousness and justice and His reward is with those who persevered against all odds. And if He doesn’t come back in your earthly life and you die before His coming you will still face the same judgment.
I hope that this letter meets you with encouragement today. Everything that I say is flowing out of self awareness and self examination. I need Jesus! I am a hopeless mess without Him! I am wicked and filled with hatred unless He daily establishes His gospel in my heart. I don’t know what your current state is at this moment, but I do know that the whole body of Christ is under forms of sufferings. Press into the only One who can do anything for you. Amen!
Monday, July 20, 2009
2009 Impact-Discipleship Training School
In an age so coated with options for us to eat and drink of we rarely stop to see what our options have done to our spiritual health-not to mention our physical health. God is calling a generation to leave the cesspool of unfulfilling fast food buffets and in to a feast of finer and highly superior options! Satisfaction and comfort are a big deal to mankind-yet we continually feast upon the things that bring temporal satisfaction and we find comfort in the things that can never bring real comfort or long term satisfaction.
Your desire to be satisfied comes from God! God put in each of us a yearning desire to be satisfied. The problem is that we turn our backs daily to the only solution; we settle for small fixes here and there to get us through the day (drugs, sex, entertainment...). We fill ourselves day and night with things that only bring us hurt and pain. There is this calling placed in you by God that yearns and longs to taste of the superior pleasures of God; the cry for eternity and for true love that comes only from God is bent up within you crying for its release-How long will you suppress this burning desire? How much more will you take in before you realize that you are being destroyed by the very things you lean into for comfort and satisfaction??
You will never find answers or freedom if you stay tolerable to the world around you. You must seek an alternative that fills the desires of your heart on a daily basis. The following is just one of many ways that the Lord is using to raise up a beautiful and confident bride! It doesn’t matter what you are ultimately called to, with out training you will be ignorant in the hour of trial; whether that be personal or cooperate!
11 months ago Josh and Misty Cole (School Directors) launched a Discipleship Training School (DTS) with the desire to see God impact the lives of both students and those that they would come in contact with in the future. With a handful of upper staff, 2 team leaders and 16 students (I was a student) we all started an amazing 5 month journey! For 12 weeks we learned different attributes of God's character as well as different ways to engage with His character. The school was ran alongside the Tauranga House of Prayer (THOP); we were given the opportunity to take the things we had learned in the classroom and then go to the place of prayer and contend for the truth of God and the glory of His nature as a supreme being!
The school brought all types of characters of many different ages. Many different denominations were represented; as well there were some who had never really made a commitment to Christ at all. The school challenged all-some knew things about God and even had an intimate relationship with God, while others knew nothing about God and had but on occasion even spoke to the Lord; it didn't matter!! Through the thick of it all God showed up and met every student on the level that each one was at. The school not only had an impact on the students but it also had an impact on the leaders and staff.
After 12 weeks of lecture and 16 hours a week in prayer at THOP we traveled to the Philippines for 8 weeks. The stories of this trip could fill a book. We were partakers of great transformations, healings and salvations. The impact of prayer centered mission had an impact to deep to communicate.
On August 31, 2009 we will kick off another school based here in the beautiful city of Tauranga, New Zealand. The school will be run alongside THOP and has the same vision as the last. We want to serve New Zealand and the nations of the earth with a training center that allows men and women to learn about themselves, God and how to enter into communion with God through prayer!
I am gladly helping out with the staff this year and I am very excited to see all that the Lord will do in the lives involved in this upcoming school.
If you are tired with life as you know it and would like a fresh chance to lay everything down at the feet of Jesus I highly recommend this school. Please pass this along to anyone who you think may be interested. This is a last chance call for this year. Do not hesitate to pray, fast and seek info concerning your life and whether or not God would desire that you come and set this season out for His purpose in your life.
Please check out the following websites for more information:
www.iwt.co.nz
www.thop.co.nz
Feel free to contact me through Face Book or robbins.britton@gmail.com.
Have an awesome day,
Britton Gail Robbins
Your desire to be satisfied comes from God! God put in each of us a yearning desire to be satisfied. The problem is that we turn our backs daily to the only solution; we settle for small fixes here and there to get us through the day (drugs, sex, entertainment...). We fill ourselves day and night with things that only bring us hurt and pain. There is this calling placed in you by God that yearns and longs to taste of the superior pleasures of God; the cry for eternity and for true love that comes only from God is bent up within you crying for its release-How long will you suppress this burning desire? How much more will you take in before you realize that you are being destroyed by the very things you lean into for comfort and satisfaction??
You will never find answers or freedom if you stay tolerable to the world around you. You must seek an alternative that fills the desires of your heart on a daily basis. The following is just one of many ways that the Lord is using to raise up a beautiful and confident bride! It doesn’t matter what you are ultimately called to, with out training you will be ignorant in the hour of trial; whether that be personal or cooperate!
11 months ago Josh and Misty Cole (School Directors) launched a Discipleship Training School (DTS) with the desire to see God impact the lives of both students and those that they would come in contact with in the future. With a handful of upper staff, 2 team leaders and 16 students (I was a student) we all started an amazing 5 month journey! For 12 weeks we learned different attributes of God's character as well as different ways to engage with His character. The school was ran alongside the Tauranga House of Prayer (THOP); we were given the opportunity to take the things we had learned in the classroom and then go to the place of prayer and contend for the truth of God and the glory of His nature as a supreme being!
The school brought all types of characters of many different ages. Many different denominations were represented; as well there were some who had never really made a commitment to Christ at all. The school challenged all-some knew things about God and even had an intimate relationship with God, while others knew nothing about God and had but on occasion even spoke to the Lord; it didn't matter!! Through the thick of it all God showed up and met every student on the level that each one was at. The school not only had an impact on the students but it also had an impact on the leaders and staff.
After 12 weeks of lecture and 16 hours a week in prayer at THOP we traveled to the Philippines for 8 weeks. The stories of this trip could fill a book. We were partakers of great transformations, healings and salvations. The impact of prayer centered mission had an impact to deep to communicate.
On August 31, 2009 we will kick off another school based here in the beautiful city of Tauranga, New Zealand. The school will be run alongside THOP and has the same vision as the last. We want to serve New Zealand and the nations of the earth with a training center that allows men and women to learn about themselves, God and how to enter into communion with God through prayer!
I am gladly helping out with the staff this year and I am very excited to see all that the Lord will do in the lives involved in this upcoming school.
If you are tired with life as you know it and would like a fresh chance to lay everything down at the feet of Jesus I highly recommend this school. Please pass this along to anyone who you think may be interested. This is a last chance call for this year. Do not hesitate to pray, fast and seek info concerning your life and whether or not God would desire that you come and set this season out for His purpose in your life.
Please check out the following websites for more information:
www.iwt.co.nz
www.thop.co.nz
Feel free to contact me through Face Book or robbins.britton@gmail.com.
Have an awesome day,
Britton Gail Robbins
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