kairos oct-dec 2010

AAWWAAKKEENNIINNGG AA RREEVVOOLLUUTTIIOONN A NEW PARADIGM FORREACHING OUR CITIESBY BISHOP JOSEPH MATTERA

WH E R E T I M E A N D D E S T I N Y M E E T

C H E S H VA N / K I S L E V / T E V E T 5 7 7 1

O C T - D E C . 2010

OPENINGTHE

DOORS OFHISTORYRediscoveringthe Power of OneBY ROBERT STEARNS

LOVESICKFORJESUSOurPrimaryRewardBY MIKE BICKLE

HEALINGOURWORLDOpeningA Doorof HopeBY BISHOP JIM BOLIN

OCT-DEC 2010 vol.13/no.2

K A I R O S 2 C H E S H V A N / K I S L E V / T E V E T 5 7 7 1

14OPENING

THE DOORS OFHISTORY

Rediscovering thePower of One

Of the six billion or so people onthis planet, what business do any ofus have thinking our individual livesmatter? Robert Stearns looks at thisquestion in the light of biblical andmodern-day narratives that prove apowerful point in a day and agewhere the fate of humanity lies in

a precarious balance.

By Robert Stearns

20AWAKENING AREVOLUTION

A New Paradigm forReaching our Cities

Have you ever thought of‘taking’ your city for the gloryof God? Discover a little-knownparadigm for reaching your city,based on Jesus’ servant-leadershipand other biblical and early-churchmodels. Learn how to shine your

light in the darkness.By Bishop Joseph Mattera

26HEALING OUR

WORLDOpening a Door

of Hope

Bishop Jim Bolin has a messageof hope in this hour of darknessand uncertainity in our world. Inevery circumstance, no matter howbleak, God always sets a door of

hope. And once we walk through it,we have the privilege of leading

others there as well.

By Bishop Jim Bolin

6DO YOU HAVETO BE RIGHT?In ministry, at times,relationships are moreimportant than being

right.

Becoming the senior pastor ofa 1200 member church at age 35felt like I was doing everything

right. Now, 25 years later Judi and Ihave realized that success doesn’tmean we doing things right or evenhave to be right to be successful!

By Dr Larry Keefauver

13P.U.S.H.THROUGHPART II

Don’t become a statistic…makea plan today!

By Mark T. Loeber

30BETHLEHEMTHEN & NOW

Robert Stearns takes a new lookat an old, favorite Christmas carol.

What does it mean for ourlives today?

By Robert Stearns

8 LOVESICK FOR JESUSOur Primary Reward

Are you feeling empty? Exhausted? More and more depleted the more you pour out?Perhaps it’s time to reconnect with your Source of life and primary reward.

Be filled to overflowing with the love of God, and become a well that never runs dry!By Mike Bickle

CONTENTS

OCT-DEC 2010 vol.13/no.2

MB0A-KC00

CONTENTS

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kairos – (kiros) n. A Greek word for time. Specifically,a period of time characterized by good fortune, urgency,and favorable opportunity; a kairos moment is typically oneof short duration which must be seized or it will be lost.

WHERE TIME AND DESTINY MEET

Robert StearnsEXECUTIVE PUBLISHER

PAUL S. CARROLLCREATIVE DIRECTOR

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Kairos is published quarterly by Kairos Publishing, a division of

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MISSION STATEMENT: KAIROS is the official magazine of Ea-

gles’ Wings and the KAIROS Ministry Partnership. KAIROS exists for

the purpose of proclaiming prophetic themes and words that are

timely and relevant for the Church today. KAIROS serves to cross

communicate these essential themes through the various key min-

istries present in the KAIROS Ministry Partnership thereby ensuring

that each issue's message reaches many of the different streams

of influence present in the Body of Christ.

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(OPENINGTHOUGHTS)

IN MINISTRY, AT TIMES, RELATIONSHIPSare more important than being right.“I know I’m right and I don’t care what anybody

else says,” the indignant preacher stormed as sheepcontinued to come in the front door and leavequickly through the back door of the church. Always

having to be right can be an exit door for many relationships in ministry. Peo-ple who have to be right often become self-righteous, judgmental and con-demning. Jesus was always right but rarely condemning. In fact, He becamemost angry with the religious self-righteous.

In fact, I can be right without severing relationship. I can accept others evenwhen I disagree with their opinions and beliefs. Paul writes, “Accept one an-other, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (Rom.15:17 NIV). I value my relationship with you over being right and winningthe argument.There certainly are times when a friend in error continues in sinful be-

havior or beliefs that finally separate them from us. Even going to them withother believers and confronting them with the truth doesn’t bring repen-tance. Such relationships are severed not because we do not love them butbecause continual association will cause us to sin. We love the disobedientbut not at the expense of becoming disobedient ourselves.So, I must take a stand on biblical values, but I can do so without con-

demning or rejecting others. The challenge God faced with us was loving uswithout tolerating our sin. We have that same challenge today in family, busi-ness and church.Being right and being righteous may be at odds. Being right can be rooted

in me and not Him. In such an instance, I must die to myself so that Christ canlive through me. When disagreement arises, I must first consider: what priceam I willing to pay in order to maintain the truth? Sacrificing truth is too higha price to pay; sacrificing myself is never too great a price. Paul writes,For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might

win the more.(1 Cor. 9:19)At times, the relationship is more important that my personal “being right.”

Whenever we think that's tough, we simply look at the cross of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Larry & Judi Keefauver, Editorial Advisers, KAIROS

DO YOU HAVE TO BE RIGHT?

“I MUST TAKE A STAND ON BIBLICAL VALUES, BUT I CANDO SO WITHOUT CONDEMNING OR REJECTING OTHERS.”

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(OPENINGTHOUGHTS) WRITEIT NOW!

Write Your Book,Print, Publish, Market It,

Sell It to a Publisher…

Dr. Larry Keefauver

For 20 years,Dr. Larry Keefauver

has been editing, ghostwriting, developingproposals for manuscript submission,empowering authors like you to:Submit Your Book for Publication; Self-Publish; Partnership Publish

What do these authors all have in common?Josh McDowell, Gary Smalley, Bishop David Evans, Patrick Morley, Bishop Joseph Mattera,Chrystal Hansen,Robert Stearns, Ron Burgio, Rod Parsley, Dr. Reginald Cherry, Dr. Don Colbert, Bob Yandian, Winston Nunes,Benny Hinn, Benny Elon, Carman, Don Collins, Bill Wilson, Jim Hockaday, Neil Anderson, Dr. C. Peter Wagner

Robert A. Schuller, Dr. Linda Mintle, Dr. Ron Cottle, Dr. Buddy Crum, John Bevere, John Maxwell,and dozens others…

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curriculum pieces.


LOVESICKFOR JESUSOur Primary Reward BY MIKE BICKLE

Are you feelingempty? Exhausted?More and moredepleted the moreyou pour out?

Perhaps it’s time toreconnect with your

Source of life andprimary reward.Be filled to

overflowing withthe love of God,and become a wellthat never runs dry!

O C T - D E C ’ 1 0 9 K A I R O S

As I look back over 35 years of ministry, one of the most important truths that I canpass on to others is the absolute necessity of taking the time and effort to cultivate a vi-brant relationship with Jesus. Many leaders today confess to living spiritually dry,disillusioned, and burned out. This is the inevitable result of pursuing ministry with-out a vibrant relationship with Jesus.Abraham’s greatest reward was God Himself (Gen. 15:1). His primary reward was

to minister to God and to encounter Him. God promised Abraham wealth, honor, andimpact on the nations (Gen. 12:1-3; 17:2). However, Abraham viewed these divine bless-ings as his secondary rewards. When secondary blessings become our primary re-ward, then our spiritual life is weakened.Jesus corrected the church in Ephesus for working hard in ministry without main-

taining a fresh love and devotion for Him. He exhorted them, ““ You have labored for Myname’s sake. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Rev.2:3-4). They increased their ministry outreaches and networking while they decreasedin their love for Jesus. Growth in ministry is good, but it can never replace our rela-tionship with Jesus.The first commandment is to love God with all our heart (Mt. 22:37-38). It is the first

command, not the “first option.” It is God’s first priority and He wants it to be ours. TheSpirit is restoring the first commandment to first place in the Church worldwide. Thiswill empower us to love people more deeply and with more consistency. Ministryservice without the foundation of intimacy with Jesus inevitably leads to burn outand, thus, to far less ministry in the long haul. Lovers always outwork workers.Satan’s strategy is to distract from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Jesus


(2 Cor. 11:3). He knows that if we losethis, we will be much more vulnerableto other things. We minister to God asthe foundation of ministering on Hisbehalf to others. We must intentionallycultivate a responsive heart of love toJesus. It does not happen automatically.It is something that we must set ourheart to do all the days of our life.

THE CRY FOR JESUS

John reveals the Holy Spirit’s finalemphasis in God’s kingdom:And the Spirit and the bride say,

“Come!” (Rev. 22:17)The final paradigm of the kingdom of

God as a wedding feast releases divineromance. This is the most dynamic par-adigm for stirring the human heart tothe strong desire of extravagant Love.At the very end of natural history, theHoly Spirit will emphasize a revelationof our Messiah as a Bridegroom Godand transform our spiritual identityinto one of a cherished, lovesick Bride.The emotional implications are vast.

The Holy Spirit will use this revelationof Jesus to restore the first command-ment to first place in the Church. See-ing Jesus as our heavenly Bridegroomchanges the way we operate within ourown hearts. A dynamic of the Spirit isreleased in our inner man. We carryGod’s primary reward within ourhearts—a lovesick heart fascinated withthe beauty of Christ Jesus. Our primaryreward in this life is the ability to un-derstand and experience God’s love andto see God’s beauty; to be tenderized byHis love for us and then to be exhila-rated with love for Him in return. Alongside love, the beauty of God is

a dynamic preparation and reward ofthe Bride. In Isaiah 4:2 we read: “TheBranch of the Lord will be revealed in Hisbeauty.” This speaks of the Holy Spiritemphasizing Jesus’ beauty at the end ofthe age. The human race has a fascina-

tion with beauty. The secular entertain-ment industry has exploited the long-ing of the human spirit for fascination.Consider the most lovesick man in theOld Testament, King David. He wasstruck with the beauty of God. He saidin Psalm 27: “One thing I have desired ofthe Lord…to behold the beauty of theLord.”Often, today, the primary spiritual re-

ward we seek for is more anointing forministry, increased favor with people,or economic prosperity. Yes, these arethe blessing of God, but they are in-tended to be secondary. As the HolySpirit reveals the bridal paradigm to us,the primary reward of the kingdomcomes to the forefront. The anointing toexperience and receive God’s love andthen to love Him in return is the pri-mary anointing to glorify God.Imagine how glorious life in the

Church will be when the Holy Spirit re-stores the first commandment to firstplace. As this transformation occurs,our efforts to serve the Great Commis-sion will be less bruising. Working hardfor God without the tenderizing workof being a lover often bruises us, breaksus, and causes us to burn out. We werenever meant to function best as work-ers for God; rather, God designed us inHis image as lovers of God.A believer fascinated with God soon

becomes a lovesick worshiper, one whois able to maintain an overflowing heartin God no matter how difficult their cir-cumstances. When we are living with afascinated, lovesick heart, our naturalcircumstances no longer dominate ourthinking, even when people treat uswrongly. We find that the sacrifices wemake to obey God have a new sweet-ness in them instead of being burden-some.It takes God to love God. This issue of

holy affection brings us to the highestheights known in the created order,

where we’re exhilarated and lovesickfor God. Oh, the glory of possessingholy affections! The capacity to feeldeeply and love passionately is one ofthe great expressions of being createdin God’s image.

LOVERS OUTWORK WORKERS

God’s people will emerge as volun-tary lovers of Jesus. This is the crowningglory of humanity as the Bride of Christ:a bride far below the transcendent Godin glory, yet exalted beyond the angelichost in intimacy with Jesus. God’s peo-ple will not merely be His messengers,nor simply His servants who fulfill im-portant tasks. When we see Jesus as aBridegroom God, it causes us to re-define our own spiritual identity. Wesee ourselves as lovers of God, not justtask-doers who sacrifice to obey a dis-tant God. Lovers are far more effectivethan workers. Workers have limits thatlovers don’t have. My brother broke his neck many

years ago. I stayed with him for monthsat a time in various hospitals and reha-bilitation centers over the years. Onemarvelous thing I have seen every nowand then is when a nurse falls in lovewith her patient; she becomes a loverand not just a worker. When a workerbecomes a lover, then they throw awaythe obligatory checklist. Why? They nolonger need it. The rule of their lovesickheart is a higher and more trustworthyrule to live by.A holy lovesick heart that empowers

us to do the work of the kingdom is thesecret of the martyrs. They are lovesick,lost in love. They don’t care what they

do; they just want to do it with Him.They want to love and obey Him,whether it’s on the earth or as a martyrushered into heaven. Their hearts areconnected to a primary reward, whichis to live overflowing in the experienceof the love of God—experiencing lovefrom Him, loving Him in return, andthen overflowing with love for people.This is the secret power of unity in theChurch and it will be the key to theGreat Harvest. The Great Commissionwill be fulfilled by people whose com-passion for others flows from a heartthat is full of love for God. K

Mike Bickle is Director of the Inter-national House of Prayer of KansasCity, a 24hr-a-day ministry of “Worshipwith Intercession” in the spirit of theTabernacle of David. They have con-tinued non-stop in intercession and

worship since September 19, 1999. Mike has authoredseveral books including Passion for Jesus and ThePleasures of Loving God .

O C T - D E C ’ 1 0 11 K A I R O S

“LOVERS ALWAYSOUTWORK WORKERS.”

Sharing Jesus…at Gunpoint

The Miami Herald reports an unusualand happy ending to an attemptedrobbery in Pompano Beach, FL. Ayoung woman who was working aloneat a cell phone store was held at gun-point when a man entered the storedemanding cash. Nayara Goncalves,age 20, calmly responded, "You cando whatever you want, but I'm justgoing to talk to you about Jesus, myGod, before you leave." As she spoketo the man, he confessed that hebelieved in God, apologized, and leftthe store without stealing anything.

KAIROS MOMENT #1

MB01-KC00MB07-KC00

(KINGDOM LEGACY)

P.U.S.H. THROUGH!TO FIND YOURLEGACY (PART II)BY MARK T. LOEBER

Please consider

furthering the cause

of the Gospel by

remembering Eagles'

Wings with aLegacy Gift

in yourestate planning.

IN THE JULY ISSUE OFKairos, I discussed the acronym forpush that I had heard during a churchservice. The pastor broke the worddown to mean plan until something hap-pens. Planning is a process that requiresan action. Nothing can be accomplishedunless we take the next step. Often thatnext step presents itself as being bothmentally and emotionally challenging.The Bible reveals numerous parables ofthose who had to make a plan, chart acourse, and continue on until some-thing happened. One of my favoriteparables is that of Abraham and Isaac.God gave Abraham a mission thatcaused him incredible anguish, but hisobedience to God was carried out andsomething happened; his son wasspared and the ram was sacrificed.I believe individuals deal with stew-

ardship planning in a similar way tohow God spoke to Abraham about sac-rificing Isaac. We know God commandsus to be good stewards of our finances,but the struggle to create your planseems daunting. I recognize that veryfew people wake up in the morningthinking about how to go about creat-ing their plan. In fact, only 6% of allAmericans even have a will or trust inplace, so you are definitely not alone! Ipromise if you take the time and pushthrough to create your plan, somethingwill happen. You will have a sense of ac-complishment, peace of mind, and com-fort that comes with completing the

process.By providing guidance, we can create

a plan that deals with your family andfinancial concerns, as well as the King-dom initiatives that God has placed onyour heart. A good plan can maximizethe amount of funds to your family andminimize the costs associated with es-tate settlement. So when you decide thatyou are ready to p.u.s.h. through to findyour legacy, make the Eagles’ WingsStewardship Department part of the ed-ucational process. We can provide youwith a planning kit to help gather yourthoughts on the subject, and provideyou consultation over the phone, web,or in person. For more information contactEagles’ Wings at 1-800-51-WINGS.Making a bequest through your will or

trust is a way to support the work of Eagles'Wings. Please see below for the languageto provide to your advisor to modify yourwill or trust. Please consult with your ad-visor for legal and tax advice.I give and bequeath ___________ (dollar

amount or percentage of my residuary es-tate, etc.) to Eagles' Wings (federal Tax I.D.16-1462696), located in Clarence, NY. K

Mark T. Loeber is President of The Advancement Group,Inc., an outsource planned giving company specializing in the

areas of Estate, Financial and CharitableGift Planning. He authors articles in nationalpublications as well as serving as a facultyspeaker. Mark and his wife Michelle livewith their two children, Brittany and Luke inTulsa, Oklahoma.To schedule a free,

no-obligation, confidential consultation with Mark,simply contact Joel James at 1-800-51-WINGS.

O C T - D E C ’ 1 0 13 K A I R O S

O P E N I N G

T H E D O O R S

O F H I S T O R Y

R E D I S C O V E R I N G

T H E P O W E R O F O N E

Of the six billion or so people on this planet,what business do any of us have

thinking our individual lives matter?Robert Stearns looks at this question in the light ofbiblical and modern-day narratives that provea powerful point in a day and age where the fateof humanity lies in a precarious balance.

O C T - D E C ’ 1 0 15 K A I R O S

�

M


Men and womenthroughout history andtoday have chosen tomake a difference intheir world - both forgood and for evil. Haveyou ever thought abouthow the monumentalevents of history are in-extricably linked withthe names, faces, andlife stories of common-place, flesh-and-bloodpeople? No one can telltheir children the storyof the American Revo-lution without mention-ing the name of PaulRevere. It's impossibleto remember the eventsof 9/11 without envi-sioning the passportphotos of the 19 hijack-ers who flew the planesinto the Twin Towersthat Tuesday morningin New York City.

One individual life matters. One in-dividual's choice makes a difference.My life, your life, our lives, and thechoices we make every day about howwe use the gift of the life we have beengiven make so much more of an impactthan we realize. For better or worse, his-tory really does change because regu-lar, everyday people- mothers, fathers,workers, teachers, grandparents- makedecisions to use the resources they havebeen given to effect change in the worldaround them. The doors of historyhinge on the extraordinary decisions ofordinary people.

TINY SPARK, GREAT FIRE

We all think of Dr. Martin LutherKing Jr. as the towering prophetic leaderof the civil rights movement. A power-ful, well-educated orator, he had thecharisma to lead perhaps the most mas-sive social justice movement in our na-tion's history. But don't forget that it isRosa Parks who is nationally recog-nized as the mother of the modern-daycivil rights movement in the U.S. Bornthe daughter of a carpenter and ateacher, Rosa grew up to also become ateacher and married Raymond Parks, abarber. Together, they worked behindthe scenes through organizations to im-prove the conditions of their people.

Rosa Parks' refusal to surrender herseat to a white male passenger on aMontgomery bus in 1955 triggered awave of protests that reverberatedthroughout the country. The simple,courageous act of a commonplaceschoolteacher changed America, itsview of African Americans, and redi-rected the course of world events.

When she made that decision, did sheknow the implications of her action?

O C T - D E C ’ 1 0 17 K A I R O S

Obviously not. Could she even haveimagined the events that were to follow?Probably not. She probably expectedsome sort of legal action -or worse- to beperpetrated against her. Yet somethingwithin this humble little "nobody" con-cluded that this was something shecouldn't not do. The rest is history.

ONE LIFE

We tend to think of the lives of thosewe read about in Scripture as beingstatic; forgetting that they were as realand troubled and complex and flawedas you and I are today. The biblical Es-ther is one such character whose life hascaptured my attention in recent years.We're apt to focus on the fairy-tale as-pects of Esther's story, neglecting to no-tice the glaring pain and turmoil thatmarked this young girl's life.

Esther had three 'strikes' against her,which had the potential to make her lifedifficult, at best, and quite painful, atworst. Firstly, Esther was an orphan.Secondly, she was a woman in a man'sworld, and last but certainly not least,she was a Jew - three strikes against herin the Persian world of 500 B.C.

Yet somehow, in a twist of fate thatcould only be attributed to God, thisdisadvantaged youth rose to the high-est eschelons of world power, poised tosave her people from complete annhil-iation at the hands of their enemies.

Esther, like us, was on a journey.

When she first learned of what was fac-ing her people, she responded in aselfish and cowardly way. It was herUncle Mordecai who laid the situationout plainly before her.

He lets her know, in no uncertainterms, that while God can- somehoweven in the midst of this impending dis-aster - save a remnant of Jews throughwhom He can continue His coventantalpurposes; unless she acts immediately,entirely, and courageously, all hope forher, for him, for their people wil be lost.He tells Esther that this time, there is noangel coming to save them. There is noplague that is going to ambush their op-ponents. There is no fire that is going tofall from Heaven and smite their ene-mies. These things had happened in thepast and they may happen in the future,but Mordecai's unequivocal message tohis niece is: This time, Esther, it comedown to you…

- Lonely, insecure, apprehensive, just-wanting-to-be-loved-and-at-peace you.

- You with all your shortcomings andweaknesses and excuses as to why youcan't be involved.

- You with all your dreams for a calm,easy, comfortable, life.

- You with the divine favor and bless-ing that has gotten you this far.

You, Esther, must act; and you mustact now. You have been loved, cared for,and blessed for a reason. None of thiswas about you; it was about what God

“The doors of history hingeon the extraordinary decisionsof ordinary people.”


wanted to do through you. And thetime for action is not some far-off day inthe future. The time is now. Right now.In fact it's now, or never.

Something clicked into gear for Es-ther, and she recognized that she waspart of a much greater plan, a muchgreater story. Suddenly her personalcomfort and security were no longer thedeterminants in how she would live herlife. It was what she could give to thisworld, not take from it, that would fromthis point forward, establish her as theheroine of faith she came to be. Thistime she would be the angel. She wouldbe the miracle. She would be the voicethat changed darkness into light.

She gave up her excuses and deter-mined that, even though she was a no-body, she was a nobody who was goingto do something.

YOUR LIFE

So, what are your excuses?

Are you too old? Too young? Toopoor? Too rich? Or, perhaps you feelyour disqualification lies in the fact thatyou are altogether too ordinary - too av-erage to do anything that could make adifference in this world.

Whether or not we are making whatwe feel is a huge difference in the worldaround us, we are contributing to thestate of the whole either by what wechoose to do or choose not to do. We areeither part of the audience or part of thecast; part of the crowd or part of theforce. We are either awake or asleep.

God, today, is looking for one life tomake a difference in a world ever dete-riorating into a state of havoc and de-spair. He is looking for one life that Hecan work through to chart the coursefor His eternal plan, and through whichHe can show that He is still on thethrone. Esther's (the orphan queen) wasone such life. Why not yours? K

Robert Stearns’ ministry flows outof a deep passion for Jesus that is char-acterized by a distinct prophetic edge.As founder of Eagles’ Wings, he, alongwith the Eagles’ Wings team, is dedi-cated to bringing unity and awakening tothe Body of Christ. They have ministered

in 25 nations around the world and maintain a significantburden for the Eastern United States and for Israel.

“This time, there is no angelcoming to save them.”

KAIROS MOMENT #2

Islam encounters the Light

More than 3,000 Saudi Arabianstravelled to the University cities ofOxford and Cambridge this summerto develop English language skills,opening an enormous opportunity forBelievers to impart the light of Christ.Dozens of Christians intentionallyinteracted every day with thesestudents, sharing the good news ofa God of love. One Muslim woman,who entered a church for the firsttime in her life, in Cambridge, England,broke down in tears when the imageof a glorified Christ from a stainedglass window was explained to her.Deeply moved, she shared, “I neverknew who Jesus [really] was…”

MB0A-KC00

AWAKEN-ING A REVOLUTION

A New Paradigmfor Reaching our Cities

Have you ever thought of ‘taking’ your cityfor the glory of God? Discover a little-known paradigmfor reaching your city, based on Jesus’ servant-leadership

and other biblical and early-church models.Learn how to shine your light in the darkness.

By Bishop Joseph Mattera

O C T - D E C ’ 1 0 21 K A I R O S


Prior to the 1776 American Rev-olution, the thirteen originalcolonies experienced the “FirstGreat Awakening” led by thepreaching of George Whitfield,John Wesley, Jonathan Ed-wards and other Evangelicalpreachers.[1] . Whitfield’s exten-sive traveling throughout thisburgeoning new nation was es-pecially effective in uniting thecolonies under God, which pavedthe way for their stand against thetyranny of King George of Eng-land. Consequently, this Christ-centered awakening led to the

colonies approving the Declara-tion of Independence in whichthey officially cut their ties to theKing so they could have religious,economic and political freedom.The influence of these Evangeli-cal preachers and numerousother colonial pastors led many tocall George Whitfield the father ofthe American revolution and theBritish to call this uprising “TheParson’s Rebellion.” Thus, even inAmerican history, we see thatawakening precedes revolution. In my new book, Kingdom Awakening,

I deal with the kingdom awakening thatprecedes the revolution and comeswhen believers join hands birthingSpirit-inspired synergistic strategiessufficient to transform their communi-ties. What we are speaking about is arevolution of love prompted by a HolySpirit awakening to serve. Jesus demon-strated that the way to lead and have in-fluence with people is to serve them.

Not Taking Cities—Reaching Them!

It concerns me when I hear Chris-tians talk about “taking theircities.” We are not called to “take”or “buy” our cities but to “reach”our cities by serving in everyrealm of society with a spirit ofexcellence. In a post–Christian,postmodern, humanistic societyour model for cultural transfor-

mation must be the prophet Daniel whogained prominence and became the sec-ond in command under the King ofBabylon by serving his city with excel-lence and wisdom. Even though he wastrained in all the wisdom, literature andmagic arts of Babylon, we have norecord of him denouncing the King or

the pagan culture he lived in – he simplyimmersed himself in his city and waitedon God to give him a divine opportunityto minister. His platform to ministerwas not his gift of interpreting dreamsor prophesy, but his internal integrity,fidelity to God and love for fellow hu-mans. He remained faithful to God bydoing his job better than anybody elseuntil God set him up with a divine op-portunity to minister to the king duringhis personal crisis.[2]

Unfortunately, many leaders use Eli-jah rebuking King Ahab as their modelfor cultural and political engagement.[3]

But like other biblical Old Testamentprophets serving before the Jewish exileto Babylon, Elijah was serving as God’scovenant prosecutor in calling Ahabback from his backslidden state. Elijahwas called to minister in that mannerbecause Israel was supposed to functionunder God’s Law as a theocracy. At-tempting to employ that mode of min-istry in a post modern, humanisticcontext (like most of the North America

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“AWAKENING PRECEDES REVOLUTION.”


and Europe), will only marginalize andrelegate you to just preaching to thechoir!

Embracing the Culture with Love

The present evangelical(Roman) method makes aninitial contact with the sur-rounding community bypresenting the gospel and at-tempting to get folks to makea decision for Christ beforethey welcome them into theircommunity. Instead, we need

to mimic the Celtic saints of old whoevangelized people groups by first hav-ing their community of faith embracethe pagan community around them.This effectively led to opportunities topresent the gospel and lead folks tomake decisions for Christ. In otherwords, we need to send believers intothe community before the communitywill want to come into our churches! Wehave to move from church-centric tocommunity-centric. We have to trainpeople for life in the marketplace –notjust church life! Pastors should be thechaplains of their community –not justthe spiritual leader of those who attendtheir church on Sundays! We need tohave favor with men before we canpoint them to God.Even Jesus healed the sick and fed the

multitudes as part of His ministry. Heserved the people by meeting theirphysical needs before He attempted toconnect them to the Father spiritually.We have to use the same strategy as theearly church. They influenced thewhole Roman Empire by loving andserving one another and the heathenpeople around them. The church gainedthe ascendancy in the Roman Empireby giving human corpses left in garbagedumps a proper burial, utilizing bandsof Christian mothers to nurse infantsleft to die in the streets, and by taking

care of the poor and the widows. Whenthey gained political influence after Em-peror Constantine’s conversion in 313A.D., they used it to disciple whole peo-ple groups.[4]

When the Kingdom Awakeningbeginsto permeate an area, it will lead believersto go from individual gospel centric toKingdom centric; from merely preach-ing individual salvation to working toredeem whole communities and citiesin accordance with Isaiah 61:1-4. Awak-ening the Church in a city like New Yorkthrough infiltration and influence is notsomething a pastor or spiritual leadercan attempt to do in their own strength.“Not by might, nor by power but by MySpirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”[5]

The Power of Intense Prayer

From January 2, 1998 to theend of 2000, I resolved topray and intercede daily formy city and its inhabitants. Ibegan to experience suchtimes of intense burden that Iwould need to alter myschedule and get alone withGod until I had prayed the

burden through. If I tried to speak withanyone other than God during thesetimes, I found I was distracted and un-able to focus because of the intenseyearning on my heart to intercede andtravail for my city. In the same way Ne-hemiah and Jesus wept over Jerusalem,we are called to pour our souls out untoGod for our specific region. It is onlyafter we do this that God will grant usauthority over that region and equip usto effectively advance His Kingdom inour sphere of influence.One of the direct results of this intense

travail was the birth of the CityCovenant Coalition, a large network ofinter-denominational ministers in theNew York City region who began towork together for the common good of

the city. The City Action Coalition wasbirthed from there which is a multi-cul-tural clergy-led organization that isstanding against unbiblical principlestrying to permeate our society likesame-sex marriage. We experiencedgreat victories in defeating same–sexmarriage in New York State and NewJersey in December 2009. God hasgiven us a common goal to educate theBody of Christ so that together we canapply biblical principles to public pol-icy and infiltrate all areas of society forGod’s Kingdom.My prayer is that you will gain in-

sights as to what God would have youdo to bring His kingdom influence toyour city. I Corinthians 12 explains howGod intends for the Body of Christ tofunction. “The body is a unit, though itis made up of many parts,”[6] and allparts are of equal importance so thereis to be no division or jealousy amongus. We must learn to partner togetherfor the good of the whole, “preparingGod’s people for works of service so thatthe Body of Christ may be built up untilwe reach unity in the faith and in theknowledge of the Son of God and be-coming mature, attaining to the wholemeasure of the fullness of Christ.”[7] K

FOOTNOTES:[1] from 1739-1744[2] read Daniel chapters 2 and 4[3] I Kings 17[4]For more reference material on allthis Read How the Irish Saved Civi-lization” by Cahill, , “Why You ThinkThe Way You Do” by Glen S. Sunshine

, The Celtic Way of Evangelism byGeorge Hunter III, “The Urban Chris-tian” by Ray Baake

[5]Zechariah 4:6 NIV[6] 1 Corinthians 12:12 NIV[7]Ephesians 4:13 NIV

Bishop Joseph Mattera pastorsResurrection Fellowship in New YorkCity and provides apostolic leadershipfor the Christ Covenant Coalition. Thisis excerpted from his upcoming book tobe released by Destiny Image in 2012,

Kingdom Awakening. For information on this and his cur-rent title, Kingdom Revolution, visit www.josephmat-tera.org.

KAIROS MOMENT #3

Yeshua Superstar!!!

Secular Israeli News Source proclaims“Yeshua Superstar!” For many years,the Messianic community in Israel hasbeen marginalized and persecuted be-cause they hold to belief both in Jesusas Messiah and their own identity asJews. A major stride in their battle foracceptance was made recently when amajor Israeli news source did a fair andastonishingly positive article highlight-ing the misunderstood but growing Is-raeli Messianic community. (Readarticle on ynetnews.com)

O C T - D E C ’ 1 0 25 K A I R O S

WE HAVE TO MOVE FROM CHURCH-CENTRICTO COMMUNITY-CENTRIC.

Healing our WorldOpening a Door of HopeBy Jim Bolin

Bishop Jim Bolin has a message of hope in this hour ofdarkness and uncertainity in our world. In every circum-stance, no matter how bleak, God always sets a door ofhope. And once we walk through it, we have the privilegeof leading others there as well.

O C T - D E C ’ 1 0 27 K A I R O S


In order for the Churchto be God’s hope forthe desperate peopleof America and theworld, we must knowwho we are and have avision of what our fu-ture holds. God spokethrough the prophetHosea in Hosea 2:14-23, addressing the na-tion of Israel with Hispromise of hope forher future.

WHAT IS HOPE?What is hope? Hope is the confident

expectation that what God says He willdo, God will do. In Hosea 2:15, God said,“And the Valley of Achor, II wwiillll ggiivvee as adoor of hope.” What is the Valley ofAchor? Back in the book of Joshua chapter

seven, Israel had just defeated Jericho.God told all the people of Israel to takeall of the spoils of Jericho and give themto Him. Jericho was the first city thatwould be given over into Israel’s hand,and it was there that God reestablishedthe principle of the first fruit. He com-manded the people of Israel to give Himthe spoils from the first city of conquest.Then, He would give them the spoilsfrom the later conquests. So Jericho be-longed to God, but there was a guyamong the people of Israel namedAchan, who just could not understandwhy God would want all that. God doesnot need all that! My gracious! God haseverything anyway. So really, Achan’sattitude was one of greed and distrustof God.

So many times we Christians havethis same mindset. We try to spiritual-ize and rationalize it, but we are simplysaying that we don’t trust God. We holdon to things because we don’t think Godcan really take care of us. So, withoutJoshua or the people of Israel knowingit, Achan took and hid some of the spoilsfrom Jericho’s victory under his tent.The nation of Israel then went on to bat-tle the next community, called Ai, weredefeated, and lost 36 men in battle(Joshua 7:5). Whenword of the defeat and loss of life

came to Joshua (Joshua 7:6-9), he tore hisclothes and wept. There was one thingJoshua did not do between Jericho andAi. That was to pray. Joshua wouldnever forget to do that again because helearned a very important principle: onevictory over here does not mean an-other victory over there, unless you talkto God in between. So, the city of Ai defeated Israel and

Joshua sought God. It was then that Godrevealed to Joshua that there was sin inIsrael’s camp. The sin of Achan and hisentire family was exposed, and theywere taken to the Valley of Achor andput to death. It was at this place that Godencouraged the children of Israel inHosea 2:15 when He said, “And the Val-ley of Achor, II wwiillll ggiivvee as a door ofhope” (emphasis added). He told themthat at this place of their trouble, theirgreatest mistake, their worst catastro-phe, sin, failure, defeat, despair, andhopelessness, He set a door. He put adoor of hope right in the midst of trou-ble. If Israel had stayed where she was,without recognizing her need to hope inGod’s promises, she would have neverreceived her destiny. Likewise, if we Christians stay where

we are, living without hope, we willnever achieve our destiny, our promise,our purpose in God. That is why it is im-portant that we understand where weare and recognize what is in front of us.

O C T - D E C ’ 1 0 29 K A I R O S

God has put a door right where we are.Will we stay on this side and die at thethreshold of the fulfillment of all thatGod has promised? Or will we reach upand take hold of the handle and stepthrough? That door we are about towalk through is going to lead us into ahopeful situation.

HEIRS OF THE PROMISEHebrews 6:17-18 says, Thus God de-

termining to show more abundantly tothe heirs of promise [[wwee aarree tthhee hheeiirrss ooffpprroommiissee]] the immutability of His coun-sel confirmed by an oath. That by twoimmutable things, in which it is impos-sible for God to lie, we might have strongconsolation who have fled for refuge tolay hold of the hope set before us. Thishope we have as an anchor of our soul.Both sure and steadfast, and which en-ters the Presence behind the veil.Get ready! Get ready! Get ready! We,

the heirs of promise, are going to walkinto the hope which God has promisedfor us! Prophetically and spirituallyspeaking, we have come through thedark night, the wilderness. We havebeen out there with our back against thewall, everything falling apart, everyonewalking out on us, death and destruc-tion everywhere, but something is hap-pening on the inside of us. We hear thevoice of God beckoning us to come nearto Him. He has a hope that is secure andsteadfast. He has answers! We haveevery reason in the world to move for-ward. We have every reason in theworld to get up and try again. I believe America and this world are

so pressured right now, and just one

event could pierce the bubble that isready to burst. Our nation, as well as theworld, is in great need of hope. Theymay not know what they are lookingfor, but we Christians do, because weknow who we are. We are the heirs ofpromise and we know what we are sup-posed to be giving, hope. I believe God is saying to us Chris-

tians that this is the time for us to be-come a door of hope for America andthis world. It is time for us to walk intosomeone’s broken and devastated lifeand become the hope they need. God isbringing them a door by sending us, thebelievers with hope. Just like the nationof Israel in the book of Hosea, we Chris-tians and the nation of America haveencountered a valley of trouble. In theplace of our sin, despair, isolation, ca-tastrophe, and war we have the awe-some opportunity to hear God’s Word,repent of our sins, receive His forgive-ness, and experience His door of hopefor our future. As the heirs of promise,we can stand together in humility andprayer, seeking the face of AlmightyGod. He has promised to hear us andheal our land (2 Chronicles 7:14). America and the world have this door

of hope. We, the heirs of promise, aretheir door of hope! K

Bishop Jim Bolin is an internation-ally-respected leader, and has pastoredTrinity Chapel in Powder Springs, GA forthe past 25 years, touching over 10,000lives each week. He writes out of a placeof deep conviction born of the trials heand his family have experienced. Bishop

Bolin's life is a testimony that “hope does not disappoint”(Ro 5:5).

“GOD IS BRINGING THEM A DOOR

BY SENDING US.”


(THE PUBLISHER’SLETTER)

DEAR FRIENDS, It's the most wonderful time ofthe year. …Or so the song goes. Christmas songs and car-ols play such an important role in the celebration of thebirth of our Lord. And I love the holiness and beauty that

feel so much closer during this season.

But there is one song that always seems to make an unintended impressionon me. 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' does make me think of Bethlehem, but notof an idyllic pastoral scene from milennia past. I think of the war-torn city inwhich many of my friends now live, which is anything but peaceful this holi-day season.

I'm reminded of a question my Israeli friends have approached me with.

“Robert,” they say, “Bethlehem, the birthplace of the one you call Savior, wasfor 2,000 years a Christian city. We had safety and peace and cooperation withthe Christians living in Bethlehem. Now, in just ten years’ time, Bethlehemhas shifted from being 90% Christian, to less than 10% Christian. The cityyou call the birthplace of your faith has been given to Muslim extremists whohave driven out the Christians through horrific violence.”

“How is it possible,” they ask, “that you Christians, after 2,000 years of cel-ebrating Jesus' life in that city, care so little for His birthplace that you're will-ing to hand it over to jihadists without so much as a second thought?”

And I don't have an answer for them. I don't know how it's possible. Howis it that we have so completely divorced the spiritual from the natural? Whenwill we realize that the "little town of Bethlehem" is not a Christmas carol, buta city besieged? Suffice it to say that those living in Israel do not have the lux-ury of divorcing spirituality from everyday life. They do not have the luxuryof reducing their spirituality into a metaphor.

Friends, if we are anesthetizing ourselves from the reality that is tied upwith our faith - that is to say, the reality of Israel - what do we expect to gainfrom our Savior... metaphorical salvation?

I wish you every joy as we share in this blessed holiday season. And I wantto challenge you, as you're gathered with friends and family around the tree,around the fire, celebrating what God did in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, re-member Bethlehem today, and pray for the peace of that city. Pray for the peaceof Jerusalem; that God's work of life and redemption would be birthed in Is-rael again.

Shalom,

Robert Stearns, Executive Publisher, KAIROS

BETHLEHEMTHEN AND NOW

FAIRLESS HILL, PANew Year’s Eve ServiceRobert Stearns ministeringCalvary Full Gospel ChurchHost: Pastor David Farina215-736-2366www.calvaryfullgospel.org

DECEMBER31

ORLANDO, FL40th Annual HomecomingWorld ConferenceRobert Stearns ministeringwith Dr. Morris Cerullo andmany othersHilton OrlandoHost: Dr. Morris Cerullo858-277-2200

JANUARY2-8

O C T - D E C ’ 1 0 31 K A I R O S

BOSTON, MABoston Night of WorshipRobert Stearns worshippingalong with top Christian artistsAgganis ArenaHost: Zenzo Matogawww.bnow2010.com

BUFFALO, NYThe River ConferenceRobert Stearns ministeringwith other special guestsLove Joy Gospel ChurchHosts: Pastor Ron & JudyBurgio1-800-51-WINGSwww.lovejoy.org

NOVEMBER4-6

BUFFALO, NYNight to Honor IsraelRobert Stearns ministeringwith other Christian and JewishLeadersThe Full Gospel TabernacleHosts: Tommy and Wanda Reid1-800-51-WINGSwww.thetab.org

NOVEMBER7

BOLINGBROOK, ILThe River ConferenceRobert Stearns ministering alongwith many other special guestsLiving Water Community ChurchHosts: Pastors Ken and ChrystalHansen1-800-51-WINGSwww.eagleswings.to

NOVEMBER11-13

DALLAS, TXUnlimited AnointingConferenceRobert Stearns ministering withKeith & Janet Miller, Chuck Pierce,Bill Johnson, and many othersHosts: Keith and Janet Miller817-545-8777www.sfwm.org

NOVEMBER28-DEC 1

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OCTOBER29

PENNSYLVANIAKairos Leadership SummitRobert Stearns ministering withspecial speaker Pastor RobertMorris from Gateway Church inSan Antonio TX“By-Invitation Only” gatheringfor Senior Leaders1-800-51WINGS

FEBRUARY7-9

FORT MYERS, FLWord of Life ChurchRobert Stearns ministeringHost: Pastor Gaspar Anastasi239-274-8881www.wolm.net

FORT MYERS, FLNight To Honor IsraelRobert Stearns ministeringalong with other Christian andJewish LeadersWord of Life ChurchHost: Pastor Gaspar Anastasi239-274-8881www.wolm.net

DECEMBER6

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kairos oct-dec 2010

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