January 2011 A Monthly Publication of Impact Ministries 

What is

God saying in 2011?

A Word for Pastors

World Changer Weekend 2011

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What is God Saying?

For the last few weeks I have been bom-barded with emails asking this question, “What is God saying for 2011?” I am always a little reluctant to share what I believe I am hearing from God. The issue is not a lack of confidence in my abil-ity to hear God; every year we plan our efforts for the year based on what I believe God is saying and for over 30 years it has unfolded with impeccable precision. However, knowing what God is saying to me and knowing what God is saying to our nation is two completely different things. And, even if we know what God is saying concerning our nation as a whole, that is in no way a suitable substitute for what God is saying to us as individuals. Too many things are “prophesied” in the name of the Lord with no accountability and no basis for application. Since the year I completed my under-graduate Bible training I have witnessed some of the most popular names in Amer-ica give prophetic utterance only to see those words fall to the ground. As a young, impressionable believer and minister I was greatly affected by those prophesies. Year after year the same people prophesied the same things that didn’t come to pass, and those same people brought the same prophesies again for the next year. Many words given as prophesies are an utterance out of the person’s own heart. The Bible distinguishes between the prophesies spoken out of our own heart and those given by the Spirit of God. (Ez. 13:2, 17, Jer. 14:14) I do not want to be among those who speak from their personal issues, prejudices, and fears. For years in our church services we would follow the biblical instruction to judge prophecies. Following the example set by the late John Osteen, I realized that it is better to judge a prophesy before it is given to the congregation, not after. Over a period of many years we saw that most of what people felt to be prophesies for the congregation were actually things God was saying to that person about their own life. By helping them understand that before it was given to the congregation, they got help and the congregation avoided confusion! The role of the prophetic ministry in the New Testament doesn’t seem to follow the Old Testament model. One of the unique factors of the New Covenant is that God will speak to and teach each person indi-

vidually in their own heart. It is not only the right and privilege of every New Covenant believer to hear God for him-self, it is his or her personal responsibility. God does not deal with people from a wholesale perspective; He deals with us as individuals. God isn’t leading us as a na-tion; He is leading us as a group of indi-viduals whose decisions influence their nation. Our beliefs lead the way we vote, the way we spend money, and all of the other factors that bring about the outcome of a nation of people. The idea of God dealing with us as a wholesale group tends to focus our atten-tion for solutions in the wrong place. We must realize that what God wants to do through us as a nation is only done when enough individuals live as God would have us to live. Even farther reaching than how we live our lives, in a general sense the way we make decisions (especially social decisions) becomes the fabric of our nation. Every person must realize that the great American revival that so many are praying for may be more like an awaken-ing that happens one person at a time. With all that said, I will tell you what God is saying to me for 2011. The fate of our country is still up in the air. The deci-sions made over the next year will deter-mine, at least in the short term, the path our country follows. The Church is, for the most part, devoid of the scriptural principles for managing social and hu-manitarian issues. Couple that with the “party spirit” that is so prevalent and we have a recipe for eventual disaster. With no awareness of the issues in-volved, most Christians are going to vote Democrat or Republican because it’s their party. That mindset makes it virtually im-possible for one to be led by the Spirit in their own heart. As Jesus explained to the religious leaders, insisting you see will insure that you remain blind and captive to what is destroying you. (Jn. 9:41) The Church must realize, however, that without our vigilant watchfulness any party or group will always lead us into captivity by their own greed. Capitalism, Socialism, or any other form of govern-ment is not the solution. People knowing Jesus as Lord - not simply as Savior, but as Lord - is the only real solution to the dilemma. All political solutions are tem-porary at best. So, my word for you is: Let not your heart be troubled. (Jn. 14:1) If we allow the potential trouble in our future to take

us to the place of fear, be assured we will individually, and eventually collectively, make all the wrong decisions. We’ve all read the end of the Book; we should know how this will all end, and we shouldn’t be surprised at the course the world has chosen to run. In the end, the thing that will give the anti-Christ oppor-tunity to rise to power will be when people filled with fear look to a man, a govern-ment, or yes, a political party to bring the solutions that can only come by believers following God in their own heart. If I can’t find peace with God in my own heart in times of trouble, I will look to some out-side source to give me that which God alone can give. This year, more than ever before, I will minister on the heart. The one ultimate solution for believers is to come to know and experience God in their own heart. The whole idea of following God as a group tends to falsely relieve us of know-ing where God is leading us. Our natural tendency is to find out what everyone else is doing; but if disaster were to befall our country as it has so many other nations, your survival would depend on following God for yourself. God be-ing able to save your life in a time of natu-ral disaster is totally dependent on your ability to hear and follow His leading with no hesitation. God’s ability to lead us through economic disaster can hinge on a single decision; and God’s ability to pre-vent any of those disasters is dependent on your willingness to follow Him and make decisions every day based on the Word of God and the voice of the Spirit! Last year I spent nearly the entire year teaching about the New Covenant. This year I hope to help people discover how to live in the New Covenant by following the voice of God in their heart. The Lord is our Shepherd. He is attempt-ing to lead us away from lack and into abundance. He desires that we feel His protection even in the most threatening and dangerous circumstances. He invites us to a celebration of His goodness and provisions. He surrounds us with mercy and goodness. (Ps. 23) There is an incredi-ble strength, quietness, and confidence that comes from feeling safe in the Lord. (Is. 30:15) Knowing Him in your own heart is what it means to stand on the Rock, run to the High Tower, and hide under the shelter of His wings. God is call-ing us to a more intimate place than we have ever known.

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The Anatomy of a Miracle  I saw Dr. Richards on It's A New Day and I was very blessed by his talk on "The Anatomy Of A Miracle." I needed to hear a Christian message connecting the law of attraction to God. I always felt that the law of attraction is a true law created by God, and it makes sense that these laws can be used by even non‐believers.   Many thanks and God Bless You! SB

How to Stop the Pain I believe Dr Richards’ book "How to Stop the Pain" saved my life. After several years of living in denial, I realized that my older daughter was attracted to the same sex. She always denied this when confronted and on occasion would even date men. I went through a depression that I could actually feel when the dark cloud would come. It consumed me. I reached out for help from a counselor in our area through “Focus on the Family “counselor finder. He gave me the name of a book and said I should get it and read it right away. I did purchase the book “How to Stop the Pain “that very day. I immediately started feeling better after just the first few chapters. The depression lifted and I have my life back. I wish i could say that my daughter has left the homosexual life, but she has not. We continue to love her unconditionally and pray for her. Just a few years ago I didn't care if I lived or died, but because of this ministry I know that I want to live. I don't think I would be where I am today without the materials and the Cyber Church that you all produce. Thank you for helping me change the way I see God and the world around me. MG

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Heart Physics Abundant Living After doing Heart Physics Essential and New Beginnings, Abun-dant Living was hard for me to get into. The other two modules were very directed and the start and finish were somewhat de-fined. I did a lot of putting off after I had completed New Begin-nings, but it was still perhaps in the box. This module was more ambiguous and I had a hard time finding a way to listen and meditate that worked for me. I tried it at night and when Dr. Richards counts to five I would wake up and have a hard time falling asleep. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I had a lot of focus for the other two and I had trouble changing gears. I finally found I could listen in the morning before getting out of bed. It has been a great way to start the day. I love the fact that it hits on several different points and I like the changes that I am seeing. It seems like a different sentence catches my attention each time I listen and my focus is different each time I meditate. I am getting ideas and my perspective is changing. I was so excited in July after attending the Heart Physics conference and I was disappointed I stumbled on this module. Once I started the Counseling 301 course I realized that I was having trouble because my C behavior style couldn’t figure out the rules. Now I am learning to be com-fortable without rules. I enjoy the way the different modalities support and complement each other. I have some heart beliefs that are causing havoc and unrest in my life, but they have been hidden for such a long time I don’t know where they are or where to find them. Listening to this medita-tion has put things in my heart. It seems one of the by-products in that the areas where I have a conflicting belief that belief coming to the surface. I have the tools to let go of obsolete and false beliefs and that is very freeing. I am experiencing increased motivation and freedom to be who God made me to be. I am becom-ing more of who I already am. I have been in a hurry to get beyond the hurt and chaos. Now I am enjoying the journey of a lifetime. CJ

Impact Magazine I really enjoyed the most recent Impact newsletter. I liked the way Jim described how hard work combined with the natural timings of seasons and opportunities in life produces good fruit, rather than a belief that God will randomly decide to bless some people some of the time. And in my mind hard work is an approach to anything with integrity, honesty, trans-parency, and a desire to be good at what you do - which are all godly attributes. So it's like saying the active working of godly attributes, through choice, combined with the natural timings of seasons and opportunities will bring good results. To me that says God is good, all the time, to all people, and has set the world in motion to the advantage and blessing of mankind. We just need to make good choices in the smallest and largest of ways. On that positive note, please can we give … to Impact? Read-ing such positive messages from Impact reminds us that we want to help get such good messages out to the world to help free people from beliefs that limit them and make them afraid of God. CP

How to Write, Publish & Market Your Own

Bestseller I published my first book in 2005 and am getting ready to publish my sec-ond book now. I wish this information had been available years ago. I feel so empowered by understanding the pub-lishing world better through the information in this book. I am on my sec-ond read-through and this is invaluable. I see now that I had begun to allow doubt and unbelief to influence me in this "writing, publishing, and market-ing" area of my life and I now know it was because I didn't have the under-standing I needed. Now I do! Thank you, Dr. Richards!

Impact Live! I have turned into a Jim Richards junkie. Every Friday night thru the onine services I get to shoot up with a new truth on how good and awesome God is. It is so refreshing after 30 years of being a Christian that God does not want to smash me down and teach me a lesson. He is for me and not against me. I turned 60 last year and I have an awesome husband and 5 grown children. How wonderful it is to pass on to them grace and love instead of fear, shame, and guilt. In spite of operating in those areas God's love and grace did flow through and redeemed all the areas where I messed up. My kids love us so and are grateful ,but man, if I had known what I know now we could have saved ourselves a pile of grief. When our little girlie group Bible study started doing Heart Physics my reality was so tenderly altered forever. I couldn't believe it when I started my meditation and Jesus walked down the quiet path to greet me. I felt like I had been such a colossal disappointment, an epic failure to Him, that He most surely wouldn't show. Oh, I cried when He showed up and, for the first time, I felt His absolute, pure, unconditional love for me. It is so true, pure love does cast out all fear. I am loved, I am worth protect-ing and now I want everyone to get this message. So thank you for this ministry that has saved my soul life, I finally see my precious Jesus in the way I was meant to, the way all of us were meant to. Now I am a force to be reck-oned with! I am so sad He is given such a false character image at our churches. God bless all of you and thank you, thank you,

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A New Era In Personal A New Era In Personal A New Era In Personal ProsperityProsperityProsperity

God’s promises are not subject to current events. His promise to prosper His people is as real today as it has ever been. As Paul reminded the Corinthian believers: For no matter how many promises God has made, they are all yes in Christ. (2 Cor. 1:20) He is still Jehovah –Jireh even in the hardest of times. He does not change! He still gives us the power to get wealth. (Dt. 8:18) God wants you to know how to pros-per, no matter what happens in the econ-omy! Before we look at some of the primary factors for prosperity in this new era, let us be reminded of two things: The desire for wealth should always be coupled with an equal commitment to, and passion for, generosity. Prosperity without generosity is always a formula for personal destruc-tion. Greed or avarice has long been viewed as the most destructive of all vices. In the early Church’s commentary on the seven deadly sins, they indicated that of all the deadly sins, avarice was the most de-structive. This brings us to the second critical fac-tor in prosperity. God gives us the power to get wealth as a vehicle for establishing His covenant in the earth. (Dt. 8:18) The message that influences the world is the one that the adherents passionately fi-nance. If what we have isn’t precious enough for us to finance then it is obvi-ously not affecting our life in any great way; or it is, but our selfishness closes up our bowels of compassion. Before reading further, this may be the moment that you bow your head and re-new your own commitment to a life of personal generosity and review what you are doing to get this Gospel to the world! Having dealt with that, let us move on to the issue of prosperity in this era. Many people have contacted me seeking advice about how to survive in these troubled times. With unemployment much higher than the official numbers we are seeing on the news, inflation eroding our paychecks, and the continued devaluation of the dol-lar, we are facing what few people in this nation have ever seen. BUT GOD IS STILL GOD AND HIS PROMISES ARE STILL SURE! While this may be the first time our gen-eration has faced these hardships it is not the first time the family of God has faced them. The Church has outlasted every dic-

tator, mass murderer, and political party that has existed during our time on Earth! In time the Church not only prevails but prospers; so it is essential that you don’t make God’s promises contingent upon the political or economic environment. Paul explained to Timothy that the rea-son we should pray for kings and rulers is so we could live quiet and peaceable lives. (1 Tim. 2:1) The political environment, like the economy, doesn’t change God’s promises; it does, however, make life eas-ier or more challenging for us. You must realize the impact of these factors but they cannot be the contingency for your faith to operate! My road to prosperity has never been the product of a keen business mind. There are not really many aspects of business that I enjoy, and probably more that I do not understand. My prosperity has always been linked to my willingness to follow God in my heart. Remember, the heart is about you per-sonally: who you are as a person and as a child of God. The heart combines who I am in Christ with who I am as a person. That is the real me. God is then able to lead me down the paths that are perfectly suited for who I am. This is why I have always found myself in things that I enjoy and are a perfect fit for my skills and per-sonality. God wants to lead us down a pathway of life that is a perfect fit. He has no generic paths, but unfortunately, we do. Most teachings about success are very formula– oriented and often filled with gimmicks, and shortcuts. There is very little character development in modern success strategies. This has resulted in a plethora of formulas. The thing about formulas is they work IF all the factors are present. In a good economy success is fairly easy: find something you are good at, be diligent, and observe some generic rules for success. The economy in America has facilitated easy success for so many years that we have forgotten the real secrets of success - the ones that work anytime, any place! When things are hard and the economy is weak generic rules for success will not apply. Referring to the advisors that sur-rounded King David, the Bible says they understood the times and knew what Israel should do. ( 1 Chron. 12:32) There are many people today who do understand the times, but not most of us. We are oblivious to the deals made by the banking community, the political powers,

and captains of industry. Who can know the “dark dealings” that determine our fate? Whose political opinion is really accurate? Whose economic plan is really designed to recover our economy and whose is de-signed to take us into a one-world econ-omy? That is beyond the scope of what most of us can know! Most of us will attempt to plan our finan-cial future based on the interpretation of the times provided by whoever we follow or whose party we belong to. We will cre-ate our plans and at the end of our decision we will bow our head and pay a token homage to our Lord by tacking “in the name of Jesus” at the end of our prayer. Rather than asking God to bless the plan we have created, wouldn’t it be easier to follow His plan from the beginning? If you are following Him there is no need to ask Him to bless your plan - it is blessed! Our tendency is to lean to our own understand-ing and ask God to bless it. His instruction is to trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. (Pr. 3:5) In this new era, when times are challeng-ing and money is tight, I cannot lean on my understanding; I need to trust and follow the One who sees the end from the begin-ning. I need to be led by the One who knows me better than I know myself. I need to be protected by the One who knows all the plans made in darkness. I need to walk with the One who can make the crooked way straight and the rough places smooth! My new book, Wired For Success, Pro-grammed for Failure was written for the very day in which we live. It is a resource book for following God into a tailor-made success from your own heart. It is loaded with teaching about the heart, principles for success, and ways to apply these principles to your own heart. I believe it will be one of the most valuable tools you can have as you face an uncertain future. God created you to succeed. Everything about how you were originally wired will take you to the place of success and pros-perity. Unfortunately, life has programmed us for failure. Even those who enjoy suc-cess have often been programmed that it should be difficult. Wired for Success gets you in touch with the hidden man of the heart, connects you with the God of power and might, and shows you how to gain ac-cess to the infinite wisdom of God. See the ad on page 3 to order your copy today!

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Pastoring is one of the toughest jobs in the world! Several years ago Tom Peters, a business guru, said that it takes incredible skills to lead volunteers. I believe, if done wrong, it is a near impossibility! For the past year pastors have talked to me about their decline in finances. One source cites 191 church foreclosures in Atlanta alone. Foreclosures for churches have tripled since 2007. As people lose their jobs and inflation soars, giving to the local church has decreased. I first began to warn of this as far back as 2006. In fact, we sold our property and downsized our overhead in preparation of this day. While the economy could possibly turn around, there are still many challenging times ahead. Here is what I have been sharing with pastors: 1. The church is the people, not the property. Keep them first in all you do. Do not squeeze the people for finances just to keep property. The people need ministry, comfort, and exhortation. 2. Be cautious about building/expansion. Traditionally, if you are growing numeri-cally that is a sign that it is time to build; but remember, in difficult financial times people with little resources may turn to the Lord. This means they will come with great needs and little to give. The past rules for building and expanding do not apply. 3. Develop non-paid staff. In the world of professional church we have not only vio-lated the biblical model of developing leaders, we have robbed the people of one of the most important aspect of personal growth: the opportunity to serve. 4. Develop a new leadership paradigm. It is impossible to develop a non-paid staff with the past paradigm of leadership. The day of the dictatorial “anointed” leader is gone. People do not serve from their heart because it is demanded; they serve because they are inspired. 5. Invest in people. Create programs that give the people the skills, support, and help they need to face the current life demands. Make your ministry relevant by knowing the needs of the people and equipping in

real ways to face the challenges in a godly, faith-filled manner. 6. Lead from the heart. It doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing or how they do it. Learn all you can from everyone. Ob-serve what they are doing, learn and apply the principles, but follow your own path. God alone knows you, your city, and the people you are reaching. He alone is capa-ble of showing you what to do and how to do it in a away that will work for you. 7. Develop the heart of the believer. Most ministry is unintentionally focused on behavior to the total ignoring of the beliefs of the heart. This is why our people struggle and repeat the same failures. We teach them to modify their behavior but we do not teach them how to develop their heart. We must inspire people to connect with God on their own. We must give up any thought of fixing them, controlling them, or any other codependent effort done in the name of ministry! 8. Get out of debt. The borrower is ser-vant to lender. (Pr. 22:7) Debt, both per-sonal and ministerial, is probably in the top three reasons we don’t follow the path that God would have us follow. The need to pay bills limits the options for revolu-tionary ministry. You may not be able to get completely debt free, but do what you can to be ready for any possible changes in the economy. If the worst doesn’t come you have still found ministerial freedom. 9. Get your family back in love with one another. In a state of conflict and strife it is nearly impossible to hear God. Your most important ministry is to your family, not to your church. If your family is held together because of the ministry, when the ministry isn’t prosperous the reason for being together will no longer exist. 10. Be open to a new model of church. No one in the ministry likes to hear this, but the North American model of church only works for a very small percentage of the population. Because we don’t know how to do it any other way, we cling to what we know and alienate the world. The church in America is built to func-tion in a culture and economy that is evaporating before our eyes. But, like the Jews in Nazi Germany, we keep thinking, “Things can’t get worse!” Even if they don’t get worse, they will get different! To find your own success you have follow your own heart down your own path!

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