From the desk of Steve Shultz:
I've been hearing a lot of people talk about the miraculous and multiplication lately - that we are on the verge of incredible demonstrations of God's glory being poured out like never before.
In this article by Catherine Brown, she shares the story of Jesus feeding the multitudes and even shares a personal testimony of seeing God's multiplication.
We've also included a couple of resources by Catherine Brown and Dutch Sheets that will help you reach the deep and miraculous in your own life.
Blessings,
Steve Shultz
Catherine Brown:
"Accessing the Miracle Anointing: Jesus Feeds the 5,000"
"When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then He took them with Him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, but the crowds learned about it and followed Him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the Kingdom of God and healed those who needed healing." Luke 9:10, 11
The apostles had just returned from an apostolic assignment during which they had been sent out by Jesus with power and authority to preach the Gospel and to heal the sick. Having completed their mission, they returned to report back to the Lord all that happened. Although the disciples had experienced a phenomenal outpouring of anointing to heal the sick, Jesus knew they needed to make the transition and enter into creative miracle anointing.
Even as the apostles shared their experiences with the Lord, He preached to the gathered crowds about the Kingdom of God and demonstrated God's love to the multitudes and prayed for the sick. Jesus went one step further in praying for healing - when there was no food to be found save for a small boy's lunch, the Lord used this as an opportunity to model the way for the apostles to access the creative miracle aspect of God's glory.
Jesus gave the apostles (and us) a blueprint to follow:
Bring What You Have
"Taking the five loaves and the two fish..." Luke 9:16
Initially, the disciples wanted to send the people away, but Jesus said, "You feed them." Whatever we have in our hand, we must be willing to use all our resource, talent and gifts for Jesus. At this point it seems that the disciples didn't realise they had the ability by faith to access provision for the multitudes, but Jesus wanted to show them that they could do this by engaging with the Holy Spirit. Jesus gave God the Father precedence (first place), and in so doing He set a new precedent, and the miracle atmosphere of Heaven invaded the mountain causing that which was created (i.e. the bread and fishes) to be transformed and creatively multiplied by God's glory!
Believe in the Father of Creation
"...and looking up to Heaven..." Luke 9:16
Jesus focused on His Father for provision. When we look to Father, our perspective changes and we see our Provider - not the problem. Jesus understood that Father God is Creator; in the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the Holy Spirit was brooding over the waters. When we speak with faith, Holy Spirit moves in power to release creative miracles. Jesus wanted His disciples to get a fresh revelation of God as Creator and understand that accessing the miracle anointing is as simple as breathing in God's presence.
Bless God's Name and Experience Breakthrough
"...He gave thanks..." Luke 9:16
Jesus blessed the food and offered it up to His Heavenly Father, knowing and trusting that God was well able to multiply what was in His hands. When we give what we have to God, He causes it to multiply by grace. Praise opens the floodgates of Heaven to release the Father's abundance.
An attitude of thankfulness in our hearts becomes an altar of devotion upon which God can send fresh fire. We can be thankful that in the same way that the Lord Jesus provided for the 5,000 hungry souls, He also meets us in our hour of need today. Such meetings are never of the mundane variety, for it becomes a place of convergence of Heaven's glory with earthen vessels, causing an explosion of abundant provision.
Breaking: The Way of the Cross
"...and broke them..." Luke 9:16
It is in breaking that bounty flows - this is the message of the Cross. Our Lord Jesus' body was broken so that we might be made whole. Yet, as disciples, we will still experience our own personal time of breaking - when we reach a low point and have nothing left to offer but a rigorous determination to rely on the love of our precious Saviour. In such a place of humility God delights to meet us and pour out His favour on us. In this way we access the eternal atmosphere, causing a shift into breakthrough.
The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field (see Matthew 13:44). Sometimes we must search deeply in our souls before we finally access this hidden treasure and all the blessings it contains, but rest assured, as earnest seekers we will always have access to all areas of Heaven's resource.
When Jesus had prayed for the food, the miracle was not yet evident for anyone to see, but Jesus had expectant faith in His heart for God to cause a transformation in what lay before Him. He was right! Jesus also wanted to ensure that His disciples were fully engaged in the creative miracle because He wanted them (and us) to understand that we will do even greater things than He did. To be able to do "greater than," we need to at least do the same as, and for that to happen we need to look to the example of the Lord.
Building the Kingdom Together
"Then He gave them to the disciples to set before the people." Luke 9:16
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed." Matthew 13:31
A mustard seed is capable of exponential and explosive growth. Let's think for a moment about what was happening on the mountain - a minimum of 5,000 people have been instructed to sit down in groups of 50 to 100. They have been with Jesus all day and they are in a remote location. It's starting to get dark and everyone knows that the only food in the camp belongs to a little boy who offered it up to the Lord for all to share - so between 5,000 people there are five loaves and two fish.
Imagine the atmosphere. Jesus has been preaching for hours about the Kingdom of God. The people are caught up with His teaching, but the reality is their stomachs are grumbling loudly. They have been given instructions to sit and wait. Perhaps some were getting anxious or annoyed. Perhaps in others, a mustard seed of faith begins to sprout in their hearts.
The apostles are probably at their wits end. They've never been in this situation before and they don't know what to do next. All eyes are fixed on Jesus as He prays, blesses the food, and then gives the same five loaves and two fishes to the exhausted disciples to distribute. Everyone can see that the original food has been broken twelve ways, but they are all crucially aware that there isn't suddenly a huge pile of 5,000 loaves and fishes. It's still only two fish and five loaves! If you were a disciple at that time, what would you do?
Jesus taught that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can move mountains; in other words, we can expect to see creative miracle acceleration in any and all situations we apply faith and the Father's heart to. Somewhere within the depths of these dear apostles and all the people with them, a mustard seed explosion was taking place! Jesus wanted His disciples to move from healing anointing into creative miracle anointing. He wanted them to know it wasn't a difficult thing. We just need to access God's presence, understand He is Creator God, and acknowledge the Holy Spirit moves on words spoken in faith!
Beautiful Manna From Heaven
"They all ate and were satisfied..." Luke 9:17
So the disciples walked tentatively towards the seated multitudes and began to hand out the bread and fishes and they just kept on giving. It took humility to accept the unchanged fish and walk towards the waiting multitudes with raw faith. It took true God-reliance to walk into the creative miracle flow, but yet it was only one small step for mankind and a giant blessing from Father! The flow of God didn't stop until everyone had eaten, and there was a whole lot left over too! God is able to satisfy and meet our every need in a way that no other can.
There are many reasons why miracles happen, and chief amongst them is God's love and His desire for all men to be saved. This was a golden opportunity for the apostles to partner with Heaven and see thousands swept into the Kingdom that day. Miracle meetings are about people having God-ordained encounters so that the Kingdom can be made known and God's love made manifest in our lives. God still loves to pour out miracle anointing today.
Mark's Gospel narration of the same miracle lunch presents a picture of the exhausted apostles returning from their busy mission assignment. Jesus was taking the men to get some much needed rest, but when the crowds followed He had compassion on them. Jesus loved the unlovely so deeply that He was willing to minister even when He and His disciples were in need of rest. Christ's compassion takes us beyond our human limitations into the limitless flow of God's glory.
John's Gospel presents a picture of the Lord testing the apostles' heart motivation, and in this we are challenged to purity of motivation and to be willing to pay the price no matter what the cost. New levels of anointing are preceded by new levels of breaking in us. As we learn to trust God more, He is able to entrust us with greater revelation of His love and power. Carrying such holy anointing places a stewardship responsibility upon us to ensure we administer such grace with the wisdom that emulates from the generous heart of our Heavenly Father.
Matthew reminds us that Jesus Himself had just heard about the death of his cousin John the Baptist. News of John's beheading must have caused the Lord to feel distressed. Matthew records, "He withdrew to a solitary place...(but) the crowds followed Him" (Matthew 14:13). In this we see the Lord's example as Jesus put His own needs to the side so that He might bless the needs of others.
Anchored to God's Heart
Did Jesus receive the creative miracle because He had more favour? More faith? More fullness of anointing? I believe Jesus received the creative miracle because of His focus on Father. When we press in to God's presence we receive favour, faith and fullness. Focus on God anchors us into the Father's heart. This is the foundation upon which miracles are made manifest.
When we are anchored to God's heart, our earthly perspective changes to one driven by the divine will of God and our circumstances bow to His creative intervention as we access the realm of eternal glory, causing a shift in the earth. If we look at potentially overwhelming situations with our "natural eyes," we will eventually feel overwhelmed. However, when we maintain a position of faith and don't allow intimidation and fear to defeat us, we will see miracles abound all around us.
God wants to meet us in our spiritual hunger and gift us with Heavenly manna to feed the multitudes. He is looking for a people who understand they have an apostolic mission to go into all nations and make disciples. We are healed for mission, anointed to share His love, and mantled with covenant miracle blessings. Our Father provides, protects, nurtures and encourages each one of us to step into the creative miracle anointing today!
My Testimony
A few years ago I was organising a "March for Jesus" in our village. We were on a tight budget and had purchased a certain number of leaflets to use as advertising fliers for the event. Unfortunately, we did not have enough to go round. As we sat and folded the fliers, I thanked God for His abundant and wonderful provision and by faith believed there would be enough. I just kept folding and praying and by the end when I counted up the fliers they had miraculously multiplied into almost twice as many as when we had begun. There is always enough in God's house.
Beloved, I encourage you today to press in for all that God has for you.
Let's Pray: Father, we thank You for the beautiful message of a little boy and his lunch and the creative miracle working power You released through the prayer of faith of Your Son. Father, help us to be like Jesus. Holy Spirit, come and guide us in our prayers of faith and usher in a global creative outpouring of miracle anointing to win the lost, to feed the hungry, to give water to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to heal the sick, to deliver the demonised, to comfort the prisoner and raise the dead. For Yeshua's namesake we pray. Amen.
Catherine Brown, Founder
Gatekeepers Global Ministries
Email: admin@gatekeepers.org.uk
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Catherine Brown |
One would be hard pushed to find a person who would not derive some significant enjoyment and
benefit from reading Catherine Brown's book, The Normal The Deep and The Crazy.
As the foreword indicates, it is written from the stuff of real life. Indeed the book is a welcome
companion on our journey.
From those who have bought and read this book come reports of people receiving great encouragement, fresh insights, and a new sense of hope and purpose for their life. Avoiding any sense of sensationalism, Catherine recalls and recounts a story of pain and humor, trial and error, depression and joy. Every story, like every life, is unique, yet we gain so much as we encounter a life that is shared .... (more)
You May Also Call Us With Your Order- 8am to 4pm- Pacific Time, Monday-Friday
1-866-354-5245 (USA) -OR- 1-541-926-3250
(Outside the USA) |
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Dutch Sheets |
This message is amazing! If you want prophetic insight into God's plan AND satan's strategy for the White House, then you will want to hear the revelation God has given to Dutch Sheets - and pass it around to all your praying friends!
Listen and discover how evangelism is going to differ in this time from the seasons we've read about or experienced before - in recent history .... (more)
You May Also Call Us With Your Order- 8am to 4pm- Pacific Time, Monday-Friday
1-866-354-5245 (USA) -OR- 1-541-926-3250
(Outside the USA) |
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