Faith & Trust

It was early on Saturday morning, July 17, 2010. I was sitting at my table, seeking the Lord as I do early every morning. Spending time with the Lord is of vital importance to me. Quite frankly, I won’t leave home without it. As I was studying, praying, and meditating the Word, I came upon a Prophetic Word that had been sent to me on June 25, 2010, at a conference, by a friend. While I was reading this prophecy, I felt very strongly in my spirit, the Lord impressed me to use this as a Word for all those involved in the Ministry of SEAPC in this monthly newsletter. I was also instructed to use the following scripture from the Message Bible.

1 Corinthians 1:3-9 (The Message)

“May all the gifts and benefits that come from God our Father, and the Master, Jesus Christ, be yours.

Every time I think of you — and I think of you often! — I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There’s no end to what has happened in you — it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives.

Just think — you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all! All God’s gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that.”

This is the Word for all of us whom have been involved in any way with this ministry that is taking nations.

“There are times when we have not always trusted Him. We have heard a little bit about faith, but when battles came we looked to our own ways of doing things, like Adam who tried the natural solution and failed big time because he did not go to God.

God says, ‘Get ready in these last days. I’m taking you on the ride of your life. I’m taking you to places where you have never been before.’ ‘I’m stretching your level of trust and your level of faith beyond your wildest dreams,’ says the Lord. ‘I have things that I want to accomplish in these last days. Don’t limit Me with your plans. For your plans take into account your ability and what you can accomplish. I am the Author and Finisher — of projects so big, so big that they look impossible to you. Yes, why did I do that? So that you would have no doubt that you cannot do it without Me. Now, your part in these projects will be your level of trust, your level of faith. You have seen it, for I have given you the vision. I did not give it to you to shrink. If you do that, I will look for someone else to accomplish and fulfill your call. I said I will provide and I will. But, you have limited Me by your level of trust in Me. You ask how have I limited you? By your actions and the words that proceeded from your mouth.

I am taking you to another level of faith. This is the time. This is the turning point. You are not going to be in it, you are in it right now. This is it. THIS IS IT!! You will walk in the fullness of faith, in the fullness of trust in Me, and, as you finally let go of the reigns, I can than fulfill. For yes, I, yes, I set aside the provisions already, but your faith restricted Me from getting it to you. And the people, yes the divine appointments with people. But no more. NO MORE. From this day forward, you shall walk and live and have your very being in faith, in trust. For I have knit you, I called you, I placed you in the Body of Christ, bought you with blood. I did it because I have a purpose that must be fulfilled in these last days and it calls for each one of you to trust Me more. Come up higher and walk with Me, for now is the time,’ saith the Lord.”

You are a person of destiny. God has a specific plan for your life! Before the foundation of the world, He chose you to live at this particular time. He made us all with a purpose, and you are a part of His divine plan to bring more people into the Kingdom of God. In order to fulfill your God-given purpose, you must be mindful of the choices you make and refuse to be led by anything other than the Word of God.

For God so loved you He gave. That is why we so love Him and, in turn, we give so that His plan can be fulfilled. Thank you for all you do to fulfill the destiny God has given you.

Jeff Swogger

July – Kingdom First Financial

This month, I wanted to touch on a subject that is burning in my bones – the current economic condition of the world. The scripture says in Ecclesiastes 1:9-11, ”That which has been done is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything which it may be said, ‘See this is new?’ It has already been in ancient times before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after.”

As we see here, Solomon reminds us that the situations we face are never new. They are always caused by man trying to make his way without any thought of God and what He says about the situation. The current world-wide economic situation is because of greed, usury and unjust weight and scales – all spoken against by God. It is a few, being led by evil, trying to satisfy a passion for unfathomable wealth. It has been said that 3% of the world’s population controls the wealth of the world. How they got it is the part that needs to be examined — whether by God’s way or the world’s way.

This financial cartel (those following the world’s way) has always been, and will always be, a violation of God’s covenant. You don’t create wealth by usury and unjust scales. The point I want you all to get is what the man of God did. Read Nehemiah 5:1-12. Nehemiah didn’t talk about the problem. He went into action. He called a great assembly and they came against these who were doing this evil. The result was that they put an end to it.

We have reached a point in time that we have to study scripture and do what great men of God in the past have done. We call for prayer and prayer is a powerful privilege – although, most times you are the answer to that prayer through your actions of obedience to say, “enough!” No longer can we sit back a remain silent. As God’s people, we must unite and move forward to take back what has been stolen from us.

In America, we celebrate Independence Day on July 4. I challenge each of you to go back and read the original constitution of these United States and the Declaration of Independence. See how far we have fallen off the path. Historians say that when these founding fathers wrote these great documents, they did it with the Bible in one hand and a pen in the other.

This nation has always been, and will always be, a lighthouse to the nations of the world, leading the way in giving — IF we awaken from our slumber and put God first in our nation again. If we don’t take back what’s been stolen, we won’t have anything to give. I just read an article this morning, on MSNBC, that 40 million Americans are totally dependent on food stamps. Where did all our wealth go? Where did all the prosperity go? Read Psalm 112 and you will see. Judge our nation today versus what that scripture says. We can be a great Christian nation again if we all do our part.

Read on in Nehemiah and you will see how everyone, doing their part, was able to accomplish great things. Come join with me as we re-declare our Declaration of Independence through our total dependence on God, our Source.

God Bless America !!!!!!!

Jeff Swogger

Please pray for the righteous man whose families are prospering justly.

June – Kingdom First Financial

“So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’

But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” Luke  5:1 -10

This month, I thought I would take one of my favorite passages of scripture, meditate the passage, and reveal all the Kingdom principles that are in it. In this passage, we see Jesus begin to teach the people prin-
ciples that would build their faith. The people were pressing in to hear. This is the first principle we need to see — they pressed in! Why did they need to hear? Because faith comes by hearing the Word of God. To get faith in Jesus’ words, they needed to hear. Jesus sees Peter’s boat is not occupied, so he gets in it and asks Peter to push him out a little and he begins to teach. It is very important that we get the significance of what Peter had done to accommodate Jesus. He sowed a seed. His boat was his seed into Jesus’ ministry.

Today, I hear Christians in business that feel as though you shouldn’t bring Christ into the workplace, but watch the results that he gets by sowing the seed.

Jesus finishes and tells Peter to launch out into the deep and let down his nets for a catch.

Jesus was exercising his God-like faith of calling things that are not, as though they were. It appears as though Peter doubted what Jesus said. He began to tell Jesus about how they toiled all night and had caught nothing. I could just hear him thinking, “what does this preacher know about fishing,” but he decides that, nevertheless, he would humor the Rabbi by throwing in an old worn out net. Let’s be honest folks, Peter never expected what was about to happen. In fact, he didn’t believe anything would come near that net.

Well, you can read the rest of the story as they filled three boats to the point that they were sinking. Some Biblical scholars say they caught enough to sell that it was sufficient for all their needs during the time they followed Jesus.

The Blessing of the Lord had come on Peter and his partner’s business. Why? Because the Kingdom Principles were in operation. Jesus had just become a partner in their business and they became partners in His work, a work that still changes the World.

I operate with these principles in our business every day and have enjoyed the greatest two years since I have been in business. All this, in the middle of what the world calls recession. I pray that you would study out the ministry of Jesus and get these Kingdom Principles in your heart. Join Him in His business and He will Bless you. SEAPC is a good place to join Him. He’s at work here.

Blessings,

Jeff Swogger

May – Kingdom First Financial

Think about these facts: Jeremiah 17:5, “Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his strength. Whose heart departs from the LORD.”

I recently received a report via e-mail and here is a summary:

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Will the economy recover in 2010?

Man’s Economical Outlook

Dramatic Loss of Wealth — People not only feel poorer, they are poorer. Personal wealth will continue to decline in 2010 as home prices fall even further, fueled by a wave of 7 million homes that will go into foreclosure in the next 12-18 months.  Foreclosure rates will remain above historical norms well beyond that. More foreclosures means more downward price pressure in the housing market and homeowners will experience a commensurate loss of wealth as the value of their homes decline. This is on top of all the money that had previously been lost in the stock market — as much as 40% of accumulated consumer wealth.

The Jobless Recovery — The pundits on CNBC get all giggly when we lose “only” 550,000 jobs – a true sign of the times. Uber analyst Meredith Whitney, one of the few people on Wall Street who has been worth listening to during the past three years, is forecasting 13% unemployment in 2010 or 2011. Officially, unemployment currently stands at 9.8%. But if you add in part-time workers wanting more work and the people who are so discouraged they have stopped looking, the number is a shocking 20%. Unemployment puts pressure on wages (which are stagnant) and hours worked (which are decreasing). This all adds up to falling national income, which means …

Consumers are Afraid to Spend — A fear of a loss of income will continue to squelch consumer spending. Most people I know are fearful about their futures, i.e., losing their jobs or seeing a cut in commissions, profits or wages. This means they will hang on to their pennies in 2010. Bottom line: Consumers drive 70% of GDP and a meaningful re-covery will not happen without their dollars to aid the falling national income, which means …

Changing Consumer Attitudes — Not only are consumers not spending, their actual attitudes toward spending have changed. Is it a passing fad? Just ask Grandma, or a neigh-bor who remembers the Great Depression, how their parents changed after living though years of a terrible economy. Changes in  spending became permanent and re-shaped the economy until the boom following World War II. Frugal will be the norm in 2010 and beyond.

The Credit Crunch Will Continue — By year-end 2010, we will see a more than $4 trillion pullback in credit lines. And we are a country that runs on debt.

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I am thankful that I don’t have to live by this report and you don’t either.

The report of the LORD is:

Jeremiah 17:7, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is in the LORD. He shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of the drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.”

Put your trust in God and become the Psalm 112 blessed man.

Jeff Swogger

April – Kingdom First Financial

The Blessed Man Vs. the Religious Man
Part 2

Mark 10:17 -22

“Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?’ So Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: “Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother.”’

And he answered and said to Him, ‘Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.’

Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.’

But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”

Last month, we looked at the blessed man in the 112th Psalm and the characteristics that He has. This man is a man who understands that, were it not for God, his source of all things, he would have nothing. The blessed man does not have a form of religion that denies the power there of, he truly worships God with his whole life.

This month, I want to look at another man who had an encounter with Jesus, but wasn’t willing to commit to a covenant relationship with Jesus and the Father because of what it would cost him. The sad thing about this story was that Jesus was trying to get something to him, not from him.

Like many today, the rich young ruler  obviously had a form of religion. You see this as he comes to Jesus that day with a question, “What shall I do, that I may inherit eternal life?”

Interesting was the answer that Jesus had given him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is God. You know the commandments.” And then Jesus told him exactly what he was doing to perform his religious duty. It was quite obvious that this rich young man had been trapped in this form of religion as he said “all these things I have kept from my youth.” Look closely at this scripture and we can see ourselves today saying, Well Lord you know I go to church every Sunday, sometimes even Sunday school. I try to make Wednesday night but sometimes I’m just too busy. By the way I am grateful that you spoke to the pastors about no longer having Sunday night services. That really was asking a lot of the congregates to do all those services. Can you and I see ourselves in this story? What commandments did Jesus not mention?

“One thing you lack” were the next words that Jesus spoke. Here is where many miss what Jesus was trying to get to him … and me, if I will listen.

It wasn’t that he had great wealth that kept him from Jesus. It was that the great wealth had him. He wasn’t willing to sell it all and give to the poor because he feared what it would cost him. Here is where he really missed it and I pray that I don’t. Whatever we aren’t willing to give for the sake of the Kingdom is what we lack. In the rich young ruler’s case, it was his riches and accumulated wealth, but I have to ask myself what keeps me from the life that this rich young ruler was inquiring. Could it be my work, school or children activities? Maybe there is a great TV show on and I just can’t miss it. What is the one thing I lack?

Enough of that conviction stuff, my toes are hurting. Let’s look at what Jesus was really offering to this rich young ruler that his great wealth, controlling him, caused him to walk away from.

1 – He was offering him apostleship. Look at the scripture and see the words He used. “Take up the cross and  follow Me.” Follow Me was His standard invitation to become a part of the inner circle of disciples.

2 – He was offering the opportunity to enter the Kingdom of God system where you trust in God not riches. 3 – He was offering him the opportunity to get a 100-fold return on all he gave away. (I know this is a choke point for most, but look it up. Mark 10:29-30 says exactly that.) Religion teaches that wealth is wrong, but that is not what Psalms 112 says about the blessed man. Wealth and riches shall be in his house.

4 – He was offering him eternal life.  Eternal life starts the day we decide to fully follow Jesus. It is the Greek word zoe. It refers, not only to duration of life, but to quality of life. It is a present life of grace and a future life of glory.

I see too many Christians who fall into the same category as this rich young ruler – especially here in America. They are so busy doing life that they don’t take the time to ask the question, ‘What one thing do I lack?”

Recently, I was sitting and talking with some friends who are wonderful people. We began to share with them about the church that God has assigned us to fellowship in, one hour from our home. The questions were, “you mean you travel an hour both ways to go to church?” My answer was, “I have traveled to ball games, paid twenty dollars to park, sat in cold conditions for three to four hours then took hours to get out of the parking lot, and what did that gain for me?” The answers was, “I never thought about it that way.”

As I close this letter, I ask the question, what would you do today if Jesus posed that same opportunity to you? Would you do it? Do you trust Him? Well, He is offering you that same opportunity. The Bible says in Proverbs 19:17, “He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, and He will pay back what he has given.”

Try that this month as we celebrate the resurrection. Give your best offering to this great ministry and watch how the Lord will bless you. Have a blessed and wonderful resurrection celebration … HE’S ALIVE!!!!

Jeff

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