The SOPD Report June 2013

8/11/2019 The SOPD Report June 2013

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THE NEXTSOPD ISJUNE 15,

2013

TIME:

6 to10 PM

WHERE:

THE BOYS& GIRLSCLUB

560 NRupple Rd.

Fayetteville,AR 72701

www.sopd.us

My own prophetic training andbackground consisted of anemphasis of speaking to people inchurches about the immediate andpersonal areas of their lives andthe corporate life of the church but that started to change and myvista began to expand. I rememberone day in 1995 I rushed into themall in suburban Atlanta, eager toget to the bookstore and buy a newrelease. The book was written byRobert McNamara, the Secretaryof Defense under Kennedy and

Johnson who was responsible for

the escalation of the Vietnam War(McNamara died two months agoat age 93). He played a formativerole in historic U.S. decisions buthe hadt poke much icehis retirement from governmentservice 25 years before. I hadseen him on TV interviews in theprevious month doing a publicitytour for his new book, and sureenough it was displayed in the

frot of the tore, eay to d admarked as a NY Times bestseller.As I paid the cashier I commented

Guest Author:

Scott Webster

You probably have sold a lot ofthese, eh?

It was her response that reallystuck with me: Not many, weactually sell more romance novelsad ciece ctio. I thik my jadropped and I must have had alook of shock on my face, I knowI certainly felt stunned though ithappened in 1995 it is still clear inmy mind because it was a part ofa process in my life of becomingmore aware of important historicaleet, omethig that jut eemedto happen through an internaldesire to become more informed.

It ot that I a eer a great hitorybuff and I certainly have never beenaccused of being an economist

THE SOPDREPORTEMPOWERING PEOPLE TO HEAR AND OBEY THE VOICE OF GOD

WHAT DOES IT MEANTO BE PROPHETIC?


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my college classmates who suffered with methrough Economics 101 & 102, macro and micro,could attest to my pointed disinterest and generaldullness in those matters.

I fact I haet thought of thoe clae i a log,long time. They were required classes so severalhundred freshmen & sophomores gathered in alarge theatre style room with massive chalkboards.The boards were built into the wall but they wereon tracks that allowed them to slide back and forthand up and down to reveal another chalkboardbehind it. Our econ professor I think his namewas Bergstrom had an amazing penchant fortalkig i a droe oice hile he lled up rt

oe chalkboard the the ext, ad jut he youthought he a ally ihig he lid the boardlled ith cribble aay to reeal a freh oeready for more of his hieroglyphics. I rememberit as agonizing and painfully boring, and considerit a minor miracle that I escaped with a passinggrade.

Bergstrom had a scratchy looking beard andwore the same suit to class every single day of thesemester; the only variance being sometimes it was

the full uit ad other jut a hirt ad tie ith theuit pat. O the day of the al exam the clatook bets on whether he would be wearing the fulluit or jut the pat, ad hile I cat rememberwhich it was I do recall that it was the same exactsuit and the class erupted in laughter when healked i ad he had o idea hy. Poor guy, Imsure all economists and those who teach it are notlike him but he certaily ruied the ubject for mefor a long time.

I happeed to get bor agai jut a I a ihigmy degree program and I pretty much put asidethose studies and immersed myself with study ofthe Bible. My worldview was totally focused on

the church and informed by my cultural norms, butas I said sometime later something clicked insideof me. I began thinking about things like politicaldecisions, leadership models, economic ideologiesand philosophies. The Word of God took ona whole new level of understanding for me as Ibegan to realize that all the prophets had insight

into their wider environment, and to my shock Idiscovered that they were used by God to speakinto political social and economic realities thattranscended the limited scope of the church whichhad been my primary involvement and exposure.

I began to think about John the Baptist when hetold the tax collectors to moderate their demandon the people, and the soldiers to not use theirmilitary force to extract from the local populace.

Joh didt go to college, did he? Doet it ay

that he lived in the wilderness and ate locust andhoney? How did he know anything about taxpolicy and international relations? The dam ofignorance began to crack and new understandingtarted to ood my heart ad mid. I looked atIsaiah, who ministered to four kings of Israel andpronounced woes to Ephraim and Jerusalem fortrusting in foreign alliances (Isaiah 28-31). Thiswas a prophet who looked into the ethics of hownations inter-related and had an opinion from theLord about the matter. I suppose today he wouldhave some very clear insights regarding the EUfor example, or about the war in Afghanistan.

Hosea denounced the unethical and dishonestpractices of business people (Hosea 12:7), and hemost certainly would have some pointed propheticiight regardig the acial meltdo icludigthe structure of compensation for executives in thebakig ad acial idutry. Amo declaredthe dispersion and then the restoration of Israel,indicating there were geopolitical consequencesfor sin. Today he might be anointed by God todeal with immigration issues, and he would haveno problem correcting kings and presidents ontheir policies.

Haggai dealt with a culture that was consumedwith its own economic interests and thereforeneglected the work of the Lord. The same Spiritof God that spoke through all of these prophetsis emerging within the global Church in our day,and we must become more informed and awareof hat i happeig i the earth from Godperspective. A prophet is not a historian, but heunderstands history from the mind and viewpointof God. They may not be an economist

Prayer to obey Gods word waspowerful at the May SOPD.


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nor even have pursued studies past the high schoollevel, but they can see into the economic realm asa primary aspect of human life and understandthe requirements of God.

The Prophetic is BroadenedEvery prescription for human life can be found in

the Word of God. He has a view on economics,political ideologies, social systems everything.When Amos declared that God would do nothingexcept He rt reeal Hi ecret to prophet, Hewas indicating that we have a right to go to Godand receive insight the broad scope of human life(Amos 3:7). Being prophetic is enlarged beyondthe arro coe of church miitry (hich inecessary and appropriate but not the entiretyof prophetic operatio), ad it become lled

with correct insight into history, assessment ofideology and an ability to evaluate our cultureby comparing it to the culture of the Kingdom ofGod. When we understand this we begin to readthe Word of God differently, and realize that wehave a rich legacy of prophetic operations thatdramatically impacted society.

Abraham was given intelligence by Godregarding the social conditions existent inSodom & Gomorrah, and from a place of

prophetic accuracy petitioned God for thedestiny of those nations. Moses had clear insight into the nature of

Egyptian political, economic and socialsystems, from which he addressed the PrimeMinister and his primary advisors in a seriesof diplomatic iteractio. Moe propheticinsights and radical obedience to God releasedan entire nation from servitude, producedreparations for 400 years of slavery, anddestroyed the dominant military force in the

earth at that time. Joeph prophetic capacity produced an

accurate national economic forecast, and theexecution of an international food distributionprogram that both prospered the host nationand fed the surrounding region.

Elijah confronted the economic idolatry ofthe agrarian driven economy of Israel bygoverning the climate from the place ofpowerful prayer that both opened and shutthe heavens based on the dictates of God,affecting the GDP of Israel so drasticallythat the king himself resorted to the choresof a menial servant searching for grass for

hi table of hore. Elijah alo judged theking for collectivizing private property (andmeans of production) belonging to Naboth,ad perertig the legal/jutice ytem i theprocess.

Daniel served multiple Babylonian kingsand counseled them about affairs of state,

the nature of empire, the requirements ofGod among a heathen population, and thetimetables by which God would work with Hispeople and the nations of the earth.

Agabus received insight from God into afuturistic natural disaster that provided timefor the apostolic company to arrange theirglobal acial iteret i uch a ay a tobe prepared to care for those affected by thefamine.

Individual and SystemicGod is both over all systems and nations butHe is also very committed to individual humandeelopmet. He laid the earth foudatio admarked off its dimensions (Job 38:4), but he isalso aware and concerned enough to number thehairs on each head and to know when a sparrowdrops to the ground (Luke 12:6-7). If we have tobe like God then we must be able to pray fora family in the church and give them a personal

ord from the Lord, ad the jut a readily haekeen insight into the wider social construct whichthat family exists within. Our prophetic insightsallow us to see into the structure of internationalrelations and the true causes of war, while we alsohave compassion for those killed and woundedi the ghtig. A a mature prophetic people emust engage in all aspects of what it means tohear the voice of God.


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QUESTIONSTO CONSIDER:

Assessing yourwalk with God,have there beentimes when Hespoke and youwere absent of

understanding ofHis divine intent?

If so, do youunderstand now?

What are someof your greatest

hindrances toobeying the voice

of God?

After seeingthe connectionbetween rank andobedience, can youidentify areas ofyour life where

adjustments mustbe made so as

to come under agreater reality of

command?

How doesre-defning

freedom froma biblical position

change yourperspectives?

UNDERSTANDING THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE PROPHETIC

SESSION 4 -- THE PILLAR OF OBEDIENCE

REVIEW A core premise is that the will

of God is dominant, and that asbelievers, our position is to hearand obey God.

Man being prophetic is not forthe purpose of showcasing aspecial gifting, but in orderto receive instructions for life toenable him to fulll divine intent.

Divine Intent touchesareas such as: IDENTITY,FUNCTIONALITY,GOVERNMENT and PURPOSE.

To disconnect hearing fromobeying is satanic.

There must be works and actionsof obedience which we offer toGod as evidence of our belief inHis speaking. Ex. Abraham

There is a great danger incelebrating the manifestation

of the prophetic without acommensurate emphasis on acorrect response which leads toobedience.

Any culture which emphasizesmanifestation without anunderlying value system ofobedience is susceptible tomisalignment and eventuallyPhariseeism.

To dene the mentalities & heartpositions that produce obedienceis to dene the correct innerworkings of humanity.

THREE INTERNAL PRINCIPLES/ISSUES WHICH FUNCTIONWITHIN THE PILLAR OFTHE ARCHITECTURE OFOBEDIENCE: Self-will; Rank;Redened Freedom.

LOOKING AHEAD...THE NEXT SOPD

WILL BE:

June 15, 2013...Scott Webster of Scott WebsterMinistrieswill be speaking atthe next SOPD June 15, 2013.

We shall continue in our serieson the Understanding theArchitecture of the Prophetic in

July.

TC will be hosting a familyseminar

June 14, 15 and 16withScott and Kathy Webster

titled:

STRENGTHENING THE COREOF THE FAMILY

Friday, June 14: 7pm-9:30 pm

@ The Courtyard Marriott in Fayetteville, ARSaturday June 15: 9am-12pm

@ The Courtyard Marriott in Fayetteville, AR

Sunday June 16: 5:45-8:30@ The Boys and Girls Club

REvIEw OF LAsT MOnTHs

TEACHING SESSION

Documents

The SOPD Report June 2013