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You may be wondering
what baobabs
and resurrection have in common. Well,
bear with me as I try to explain . . .
Streams in the
Desert
I took a
birthday trip with a friend a couple of weeks ago to explore
some of the places on the way to and near the Dead
Sea that either she or I had never been to
before.
This
picture is of a stream in Wadi Kelt which has its source from
springs near Jerusalem and flows down to Jericho.
We had the enjoyment of seeing life in the
desert! That's one aspect of resurrection!
Baobabs
At the
Botanical Gardens within Kibbutz Ein Gedi near the Dead Sea, we
enjoyed a magnificent display of desert plants from all over the
world.
The
picture on the left is of a baobab tree which
normally grows in the remote deserts of Australia, Africa or
Madagascar.
I had been especially anxious to see a baobab tree
ever since I read Antoine de Saint Exupery's delightful
book, Le Petite Prince, or The Little
Prince, in college.
If you
have never read this wonderful little book with its many
illustrations, you can read it online by clicking
here.
It will really touch your
heart and your children's, too!
It was
only after I was truly born again that I began to see the
spiritual and allegorical aspects of
it.
It
teaches in a poignant way the value of
relationships - something the Lord is trying to teach us in
this hour!
The
essence of this story is contained in what the fox tells the little
prince:
1. It is
only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is
invisible to the eye.
2. You
become responsible, forever, for what you have
tamed.
3. It is
the time you have spent with your rose that makes your rose so
important.
And there is a Resurrection at the end and the
hope of a Second
Coming!
Many have
thought that the baobab tree looks like it is upside down with
its roots sticking up in the air!
That is
very prophetic to me, especially at this time when many of
us in the Bride of Christ are examining our
spiritual roots in order to imitate the faith of those who have
gone before us.
(Heb.
13:7 NIV) Remember your leaders, who spoke
the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of
life and imitate their faith.
Our roots
go all the way back to Adam and beyond him to
Yeshua! And that's where the reproducible resurrection comes
in!
(The
baobab in this picture is in Madagascar.)
The
Reproducible Resurrection
On
"Resurrection Sunday," Pastor Shelley preached a very important
message entitled The
Reproducible Resurrection.
It is an important key for our Christian
walk.
The
Lord's resurrection actually took place on the Feast of
First Fruits, the day following the Sabbath after
Passover. This year, Passover begins the evening of
April 19th.
However,
we know that the Resurrection is not a day, but a
Person - "I am the
Resurrection and the Life."
Here are
some highlights from his message:
Phi 3:8) Yea doubtless, and
I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of
Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all
things, and do count them but dung, that I may win
Christ,
(Phi 3:9) And be
found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is
of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the
righteousness which is of God by faith:
(Phi 3:10) That I
may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship
of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his
death;
(Phi 3:11) If by any means
I might attain unto the resurrection of the
dead.
(Phi 3:12) Not as
though I had already attained, either were already perfect:
but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am
apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Paul said, "Not that I have already
attained." Doesn’t that seem obvious? He was definitely
alive when he penned these words, so why did he bother to tell
us? If this resurrection that he is talking about is something
we have to get after we die, then why should he say he has
not attained to it?
 I found a message. There is a resurrection that the Lord wants to
accomplish in our lives today. We don’t
have to be dead to get
it.
(Rom 8:11 KJV) But if the
Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he
that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your
mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in
you.
He wants to transform us from the
inside out. I believe we are
going to see some divine health in the Body of
Christ so that we don’t get sick in the first place.
The resurrection made something available that we can carry
in our lives that actually reproduces the same
power that brought Christ out of the grave and that changes
us from the inside out.
That is my prayer this morning – that I might
know Him and become acquainted with that reproducible resurrection
that sets captives free, that sets me free from
myself. Paul not only
wants to know Christ, but he wants to be
intimately acquainted with Him so that His resurrection life is
reproduced in him.
We see that we were in Christ that day
on Calvary. It was in
that day that we entered into the fellowship of His
sufferings. We are thinking that our pain now
is what is bringing us to resurrection. That is not the
truth. The apostle understood that on that day at Calvary we
entered into His fellowship of sufferings because we were in
Him.
You keep saying, "I need to die."
We are focusing too much sometimes on dying to self and that
leads to pride. You can’t die enough. We take
too many vitamins to die. We need to focus on His death.
We need to see ourselves with Him that day on Calvary.
In that spiritual reality, we have already
died.
I was with Him when
he died and when He was raised up from the dead. Now I am seated with Him in heavenly
places.
We think we have to suffer to be more like Him,
but His is a finished work. He has already paid the
price. We have already entered into His death.
We must get our eyes off of us and onto
Him.
All that Jesus has done is for this
resurrection – for the life of Christ to be
reproduced in us.
Baobabs and the Reproducible
Resurrection
So what
do baobabs have to do with the reproducible
resurrection?
They look like they are displaying their
roots!
Our roots are the Lord Y'shua!
We were
in Him on the cross and in Him in His resurrection. Now we are
in Him at the right hand of the Father.
And we
are daily being transformed from the inside out, becoming more and more like Him in spirit, soul
and body as we fellowship with
Him.
More and more, our roots are beginning to
show! Hallelujah!
Exciting Testimony from
Indonesia
Here is a
wonderful testimony from Harry Setiono, one of our good friends
in Indonesia who preaches in many churches there:
In August
2007, we started a fellowship that ministers
especially to Indonesian celebrities. Today some of
them are on fire for God and are already ministering as
well.
In January, the Lord
sent to our fellowship a lady who was a medium to one
of the strongest principalities in Indonesia. Many
people in the government, army, and past presidents got their
power from her. Indonesians believe this principality is
the ruler of the Indonesian South
Sea. Its name is Nyi Roro Kidul
(princess of the South Sea).
Now this lady that
came to us used to be the medium. No one could get to
Nyi Roro Kidul unless through her. Recently, while
she meditated and fasted for 9 days and 9 nights, instead of Nyi Roro Kidul, it was the Spirit of the
Lord that came to her. A few days later,
she received Jesus as her Lord and Saviour, and now
she has become one of my spiritual children.
Last month, she
arranged a crusade in Javanese style in the area
where she used to worship Nyi Roro Kidul. The crusade
started at 10 pm and over 2000
people (all Nyi Roro Kidul
worshippers) came. Almost all of them received
Jesus. In one of the Javanese biggest kingdoms,
Solo, all of them accepted Jesus.
Next month, we are
planning to do crusades and praises & worship in the Java Island
South Sea area. We want to make sure this Nyi Roro Kidul knows
that she is completely beaten and has no
chance. Our King
Jesus rules in Indonesia.
Open
Heavens Prophetic Conference in Jerusalem - June
6-10
While
praying and fasting in Jerusalem a few months ago, Sadhu
Sundar Selvaraj had heavenly visitations instructing him
to organize a prophetic conference in
Jerusalem.
Per his
instructions, he has invited Sis. Gwen Shaw,
Paul Keith Davis, Neville Johnson
and Steven L. Shelley as guest
speakers.
The
Open Heavens Prophetic
Conference will be June 6-10
with a tour following for those
interested.
In
this picture, Bro. Sadhu is recording an announcement for the
conference to be broadcast on Angel
TV.
There, Bro. Sadhu
shares what the Lord told him about the
mandate for the conference and prophetic
revelation regarding Israel.
Pastor Shelley's Speaking Itinerary
(For details, click
here.)
Awakening the Gulf Coast Conference, Pascagoula, Mississippi
May 18 - 22
Open Heavens Prophetic Conference, Jerusalem, Israel
June 6 - 10
Tucson Ablaze: Recapturing the Glory, Tucson, Arizona
June 19 - 21
NHRM International Campmeeting, Smiths Station, Alabama
July 13 - 20
Rivers of God's Love Campmeeting, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
July 27 -
August 2
Fusion Church, Auckland, New
Zealand
November 6 -
9
In
Closing
We extend
our sincere appreciation to those of you who have donated to
help us in Jerusalem! We are able to carry out our
divine mandate because of you!
A new month brings new
expenses, so we are depending on the Lord to
use whoever will respond to His Voice to meet our
needs!
May the
Lord richly bless you as you sow in
famine (recession) like Isaac did:
(Gen
26:12) Then
Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a
hundredfold: and the LORD blessed
him.
May the Lord reproduce His
resurrection in us more and more as we
fellowship with Him in the knowledge
that we were and are in Him!
As Pastor
Shelley often says these days, "It's all about
relationship!"
May we let our roots show!
(Rom 8:19) For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the
manifestation of the sons of
God.
Blessings, Grace and Shalom from
Jerusalem!
Nancy Bergen
Jerusalem Revival Center
PO Box
1402
Jerusalem 91013, Israel
Tel. & Fax:
972-2-5825301
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