Oh, The Power Of Love!

This week I have been taken aback with shock and awe, when I’ve seen how God’s love works through us. Just look at how Jesus describes it through the example of being connected to the True Vine, John 15:1-8, “I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of Me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape bearing He prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.
 
“Live in Me. Make your home in Me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with Me.
 
“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with Me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from Me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with Me and My words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who He is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as My disciples.”
 
As you see in this Scripture, His love is the spiritual force that causes prosperity to flow through us. A result of this flowing producing good fruit that honors and exalts Him, it also brings extreme prosperity in our own lives. Mind you, this is not a one-time event. It is a day-by-day process of growth and blessing, growth and blessing.
 
Let me give you a simple example. Just yesterday my family went to a high quality establishment ~ but there was nothing available. Three months previously we had been in a similar situation at the same place, and we had blessed one of the employees. Now, that same employee walked over after seeing us, and said to an assistant, “Make a way for this family to have what they want.” She then continued on in her leadership role in the establishment.
 
About 30 minutes later we were able to bless one of her other assistants, and we saw the incredible results of the blessing. The fruit that had come from our lips a month earlier, was now allowing us to go for even more fresh fruit of God’s love in this establishment. Every person you meet, every person you greet, is a potential place for the love of God to flow through you into him or her!
 
Every single morning I am trying to perfect my skills, and you can do the same. It is done by simple commitment. Today I gave fresh words to my wife Sandy, so that the love of God pours out of her life. Then I prayed for my two daughters, Rocki and Misty, that today I would have words of life pouring out of my mouth into their ears to produce His love in them.
 
Then I prayed for my son Sunny, that the words of greatness in victory would come into his ears and through his life, so that he can experience the fullness of all the blessings that God has in store for him today. Then this prayer went to the church I pastor. I am praying every day that their lives express the love of God, and the river of life that is flowing out of my tummy will flow into the city of San Francisco, the nation of America, and to every nation on the planet earth.
 
This is the will of the power of God that is through you, if you are connected to Jesus ~ the True Vine.

Lord, Let Me Never Waver From Your Word

God’s word that is spoken and revealed in my heart, is the walk and foundation that I live on ~ and the Bible is my road map that teaches me, and ensures that the word that I am hearing is truly the word from the Good Shepherd. Jesus said, “To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.”
This Scripture has become so important in my life, especially in the last few months. Let me put it into perspective. Firstly, even though I am a pastor and I am responsible for many people spiritually, and also a father responsible for my family and their daily needs ~ I am a sheep. I am completely dependent upon the voice of the Good Shepherd, and my success in life is dependent upon my ability to hear the voice of Christ.
It is taken me a good part of the last 50 years to learn how ignorant I truly am about everything. That means that I am dependent upon the Lord for everything ~ every decision and every turn of the road. For example, this week I faced a major business decision that involves a lot of people ~ and everyone involved in the decision said, “Yes, go ahead.”
Then the Good Shepherd gave me a dream and it was a clear simple warning ~ “Don’t do it!” Then today my wife Sandy had a confirming dream that said, “Don’t do it!” I counseled with the prophets of God who have been counseling me, and they agreed this was a clear message from God. Though everything looked good and appeared positive ~ the Lord was saying, “Don’t do it!”
Those who are close to me know how important the business decision was, and what a great blessing it could be for all of us. But I also know that the Lord is the Good Shepherd and I am still His sheep. The sheep, by natural characteristic, cannot tell where he is at all. If you spin a sheep three times in a circle, he’s lost. This is a good description of how I have been. I do not trust my own flesh, my own schooling, or instructions from the wisdom of man that I have been given over my life.  Instead, I trust the voice, the daily voice, of the Good Shepherd.
Let me tell you, I am also smart enough to understand the flipside of this picture. Those who look at the decisions I have been making currently, could say, “He is foolish”, even, “He has lost his mind!” But when the Good Shepherd leads us to the still waters where we can all drink from, suddenly those same people will say, “He was a genius! Look at how smart he was!” ~ and they will try to give the praise to my flesh, as if I had calculated it all along. But nothing could be further from the truth. I was just a sheep listening to the Good Shepherd’s voice. No flesh can ever glory in His presence. And I would also advise you to listen to Him the same way.

I Want To See The Love

When you wake up in the morning, more than likely the first thought that comes into your mind is trouble. It is a time for us to not focus on the world news, or on our friend’s reports about the news. We need to not focus on anything except the love of God.
 
The Lord’s Spirit divides between the thoughts and intents of our hearts, so He knows exactly what we are thinking. That’s why every day we need to think on the love of God. Go back over every wonderful event in your life where God has blessed you, then rehearse them and think about His beautiful blessings.
 
This is so vital for every one of us, especially at this moment in time, because the Lord judges us ~ that if we are faithful in little He will make us ruler over much. God has promised us at “A Place To Meet Jesus” very many blessings ~ not only your dream mate, but your dream house paid in full, your dream job that you’ll never want to retire from, and your dream investment that multiplies and multiplies so that you can bless others.
 
The only way this is going to happen is if you focus on love ~ the love of God for you and the love of God for others. There is no room for hate, disgust, or anger. All of these things are works of the flesh and they should be dead within the first 10 minutes of you waking up in your bed each morning. I have to do this ritual every single day ~ to align my mind and thoughts with dependence on the love of God. You must do the same. Amen.
 
God is calling us now to pray for the nations of the world. You know the load that is upon you as you try to pray for America. You have all heard the negative news, gossip from friends, and just the spirit of evil that is trying to disrupt and divide America. This is the same spirit that has so long ruled in the world around us ~ and I’m talking also about other nations. God wants us to pray compassionate loving prayers for the other nations of the world, so that the love of Jesus can be brought to every one of them.
 
This is our task, this is our calling. Remember that God is going to take us here in San Francisco into His blessings, if we will pray what He wants to occur in the whole earth. A worldwide revival is the will of God, and I believe this is the renaissance that Brother Timothy, Brother Gershom Sikaala, Brother Vello Viam, and your pastor have seen in the Spirit. And it is happening even now!

“The Silent Voice Of Power”

During this great season of change I have been obsessed with learning and knowing the ways of God. This is in response to the Scriptural truth, “They do always err in their heart; and they have not known My ways.” Of course I realize that the understanding of His ways is past our intellectual ability to comprehend. Yet we are instructed in the Bible to know His ways.
 
A child may not understand how his father drives a car, but the child knows enough to get in the car, sit in the seat, and then let his father take him where he said he would go. So is it the same with us knowing the ways God. God has instructed us to pray and then to obey what He tells us to do. This simple instruction is like you getting into God’s will (or car), and letting Him take you where He promised was your destination.
 
But there is a new and very important element in this process that God has been speaking to me about. And that is keeping God’s instructions to me secret ~ the destination, the car I’m traveling in, even telling my friends about the trip. I keep referring to the child-in-the-car example, because this also is very important to your prayers that God is answering for you. You must keep them secret (some of them for the rest of your life) so the enemy cannot steal the treasure from you.
 
I’ll put this in simple language. Whatever God speaks to you, only tell someone if God tells you to. If He blesses you with something, no matter what happens in your life, it is a blessing ~ and it is your blessing! That’s why every word that comes out of your mouth should be verified by an instruction from the Lord, never because your pride or your flesh opened your mouth. Remember that your mouth can cause your flesh to sin, so spiritual secrecy is extremely important. It is the power of the blessings of God.

“The Birth Of The New Renaissance”

On Thursday night before the Presidential Inauguration, the Lord told me to listen for the word “space” (outer space) in President Trump’s speech. I only told my family about this word. The next day we heard President Trump’s speech and sure enough, he mentioned the word “space.” When I heard the president say that word I immediately felt chill bumps, though I did not know how important its ramifications were.

Then as I was praying the following day, I began to realize what the prophet Timothy Snodgrass had told me earlier: “Richard, the Lord is wanting us to explore space and if we don’t He will have to bring something even worse upon us.” I may not have quoted Timothy exactly word for word, but that’s generally what the prophet was telling me. Now I am starting to get a clearer picture of it, and I understand how real it is.

Over the last three months, even before the election, we have been praying for God to have mercy upon the earth and to stop three devastating earthquakes, or as Timothy referred to them, “three bells that are bringing the end of planet earth as we know it.” After praying across America and then traveling to the Far East while continuing our intercession, we saw God’s mercy as the “bell’s rings” were changed and the earthquake’s became minor events. The third bell rang in Chili on the day after Christmas, December 26th, with a 7.7 earthquake. God was merciful to us.

If you remember years ago, they did the film about our church’s ministry called, “Audience Of One.” At the end of the film I declared that America would colonize other planets. At that time I was saying it prophetically and I did not even understand how it could possibly be done. I did not even know that this subject was important to God. When my family and I sat in the theater for the screening, many in the audience began to laugh at me when I said those words. I realized how ridiculous it must have sounded to them.

But over the following years I began to discover how important this matter was to God. Look at the Scripture found in the New Testament, written by one of the great apostles (2 Peter 3:12-14): “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” I know I’ve presented a lot to think about right now, as the Scriptures are pretty big in their vision, their dream, and their responsibility.

There has been a great change that is happening in America, and now the Renaissance is beginning. Within hours of the inauguration, changes in our nation were already bring implemented on the government’s website. For instance, my wife’s family, who are farmers, now have free access to all of the water that their farm needs. This is just one small example of the changes that are happening upon planet earth, so that man can begin to fully utilize all of the available resources to fulfill God’s vision for mankind.

This is only the beginning of what God is doing to fulfill the complete prophecy of Isaiah 45, which talks about the Cyrus anointing: “And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel”. Posted on the government’s website, within seconds after President Trump finished his pledge for the office of President, was information that the United States has $50 trillion dollars of untapped oil on government land, and these future finances will be used to rebuild America’s infrastructure.

God called us to pray about all these things until today, January 20. Now the Lord is doing the same thing to other nations around the world. He is restoring their economies, their infrastructures, and their people back to Jesus. What an exciting day we live in, that we can see such glory and wonder around the earth!

Last summer God gave me a vision of the earth being covered with a wave of love and I saw the 24 angels that are all around the throne, leading this wave of love ~ as God’s unity came upon the earth and every nation was restored to its greatness. I now realize that God’s plan is greater than anyone of us could have ever imagined (not that I can understand or even comprehend the immensity of what is going to happen on planet earth in the next 20 to 30 years). But I pray that I can fulfill whatever little part I have in this great future God has for us!

Time, God’s Gold

All throughout society, when people talk about time, it’s always “If I only had enough time!” The wealthy complain they don’t have enough time ~ if they could only purchase some time to extend the day. The poor claim, “If only I had enough time, then I could get things done that I want to do.” We are surrounded by everyone, from the news media to governmental leaders ~ even preachers, who say, “I don’t have enough time to say what I really want.”
Even Satan values time, because he knows he has absolutely no control over it. That’s why he pressures you so much to jump ahead of God ~ because our belief in the shortness of time is his weapon. But this also reveals why God is so willing for us to take time to slow down and wait for His wonderful treasures that He’s about to give us. Because the most valuable thing in the universe right now is time itself ~ and God controls it completely.
When you value time, you slow down, take your time, and never rush to any decisions. I am literally amazed at how dangerous jumping ahead of God about a decision (or even “trying to help God out”), can ruin not only your life, but your whole future. For example, look at the life of Abraham.
He had already waited 20 years for God to keep His promise and give him a promised son. He finally decided to help God and do something that in his culture was totally permissible. Being over 90 and not having an heir to give his inheritance to, to have a son by a servant lady would’ve been culturally normal.
Through Abraham’s mistake we see how valuable time is. It is a treasure that is beyond price. Abraham could not wait that extra five years for the promised son Isaac to come. Because he jumped ahead, Ishmael’s descendants live on today and torture Isaac’s descendants every single day. Even now, the United Nations works constantly to destroy the Jewish people.
I hope all of you can picture the value of waiting on God’s perfect will, and never jump ahead to try to help God or assist Him. Let God do exactly what He promised. Right now A Place To Meet Jesus is waiting for our Isaac promise. We do not want to jump ahead and create an Ishmael that will torment us forever.
Yes, we do have to worship on the sidewalk outside the 1970 Ocean Avenue property. Yes, it looks terrible. But God promised us that He would give us that building and we would have a church there for over 400 years! Don’t forget His promise. Don’t think that we should jump ahead of God and do something on our own. Just wait upon the Lord, because “Isaac” is going to come exactly the way the Lord promised it.
Last week we saw the movie, “Sing”, and we personally witnessed God’s public testimony that our building will be remodeled. We watched how, at the end of the film, the contract was resigned and the building again belonged to the original owners (us!) The reason God gave us such a clear message was because He doesn’t want us to lose our faith and have an Ishmael. Isaac is coming! Just be patient and enjoy the wait because God controls the most valuable thing in the universe ~ time.c

“It’s Time To Sing”

If you’ve already seen the movie, “SING”, I do not have to explain anything to you. But if you haven’t seen it, make sure you see the film ~ especially if you are going to come to church Sunday morning January 8, 2017 at 1970 Ocean Ave, at 12 o’clock service. I will see you there, and a photo will be taken of all of us so we can remember this special day.

P45 Comet

As you look at the title of this blog, you are wondering what the P45 comet means. NASA has just announced this comet will appear on New Year’s Eve. I believe this comet (which will be passing by our moon) is a physical sign by God of a spiritual turnaround. Sometimes when God gives us a sign like this it is very simple. All we have to do is believe to see the sign.
God has told me that on January 20, 2017, there will be a birth of something new in the earth ~ a “New Renaissance”. He gave me this word on April 20, 2015 and said this renaissance will start exactly nine months to the date. This of course was before the presidential election, and all of the things that have since happened concerning our country and this election.
Then God spoke to me that there would be a comet in the sky that would be a sign to the earth. Our next president will be the 45th president of the United States, and the Lord said to me, “To confirm that He is the right choice, Isaiah 45 speaks about the prophecy concerning Cyrus His anointed.” And now suddenly, before New Year’s Eve, we see that NASA has named the comet P “45”.
It seems that God is sending a message to the earth, and we all are privileged that He has given us advance knowledge that something mighty is about ready to happen ~ and that it is going to be a blessing to everyone of us!

“The Voice Of God: The Servant’s Voice”

Through all of my journey through the arenas of life I, like most people, expected God’s voice to be the loudest voice in the arena. But this expectation turn to intense frustration as I became more desperate to actually hear the authentic voice of God ~ especially when I knew only God could deliver the information that I needed. It is this observation that has brought me to this simple revelation: His voice speaking in my heart is acutely like that of the gentle heir with the classiest butler or concierge, who speaks with the voice of a servant.
The dilemma of the human experience in responding to the voice of God is so aptly described by the story of Elijah: “And He said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”
This example in Elijah’s life has been referred to by ministers when describing the shock and awe of God, who is the ruler over the entire universe ~ but chooses to be observed as using a still small voice. In this description you see the revelation of how someone so great and mighty can do something so still, quiet, and unobtrusive.
But today this revelation has come to new level of understanding. The premise of this view is found in Jesus’s words, when He said, “But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.” Suddenly it hit me that Jesus was showing us by gentle hint or design, how to actually recognize the voice of God Himself. What I mean by this, is that each day I’m amazed at how quiet, gentle, and non-obtrusive the voice of God is in my heart. When His voice does speak in my heart, it is with such a whisper that I have to strain to hear it, and rehearse it many times ~ repeating it to even clarify it’s existence.
I realized I had heard the same kind of gentle nudging that comes from a servant who is trying to help you and direct you to do the right thing ~ but also not embarrass you if you choose to do the opposite of what they suggested. Queen Elizabeth was sitting at her beautiful table in Buckingham Palace, when a gentleman from another country, who was not familiar with British ways, reached with his hands and began to eat his food with his fingers.
Queen Elizabeth solved the problem ~ which caused the entire room full of sophisticated guests to collectively gasp. She simply reached down with her royal fingers and began to eat her food like her honored guest! Suddenly the entire group followed suit so there was no embarrassment. This was the act of a true Christ-like leader. And this is how God Himself actually is ~ if we can learn to know His voice. God’s patience and willingness to serve us is beyond our comprehension. But His voice is so quiet because He’s waiting to see if we show even the slightest amount of self will to disobey what He said.
If you are praying with me on the Periscope application, then I’m sure you have seen signs of His gentle quiet voice. Today, while we were in the middle of praying, a rainbow appeared in the sky. It was a gentle nudge that His promise to us would be fulfilled. If you remember, the subject of our prayer at that time was you receiving your dream house ~ and having no mortgage. Just think of how great the Lord is, yet He chooses to speak to us in our hearts as the voice of a servant! (Obviously one doesn’t have to listen to that Servant’s voice in their heart, and that’s why so many have gone astray.) But as Bach so aptly put it, Jesus is the joy of my desiring!

The Power Of The Mind Of Christ

On Thanksgiving Day I woke up from a profound dream. In the dream God took me through a metaphoric symbolic journey relating to the advancement of technology ~ it’s cost, convenience, and accessibility that I have already seen in my lifetime. In the dream I saw myself, in 1978, renting a satellite truck for $20,000 (which really happened) to broadcast for only 20 minutes on Trinity Broadcast Network. Then in my dream God took me to my own current broadcast on periscope from Yosemite Lower Falls. It costs me zero dollars to broadcast instantly for 35 minutes to over 1000 people in as many as 50 countries ~ from Africa, to China, and islands of Indonesia ~ simultaneously!

In the first half of my dream I was teaching about this journey to a large audience. Suddenly the Lord took over the teaching of this great metaphoric truth. The Lord was teaching me a truth that was beyond what the current audience I was speaking to in my dream could understand. A lot of it had to do with experiences I had been witnessing in my personal prayer life. Let me paraphrase what the Lord said to me: “Richard, over the last two years I have been teaching you to control the thoughts that you allow to reside in the sanctuary of your mind. You also have been learning to slam the door in the face of doubt, and intents of the heart that might consider inviting doubt for even a casual visit.” The Lord then showed me what I could do with this new type of thinking ~ the power of faith.

I suddenly realized that we are at the beginning of the next Renaissance, and the power of the future resides in each one of us. Remember that Jesus said, “If you say to this mountain, ‘be thou cast into the sea,’ it shall be done.” Well that’s just an introduction to the power of faith God is releasing to us during this time. The key to all of this is to walk in faith, think in faith, talk in faith, and make the intents of our hearts line up with God’s faith.

When I woke up I actually realized that the trial our church is going through collectively is designed for the very purpose of perfecting our skills in the Spirit. What an honor and a privilege we have to be His children at such a time!