The Kingdom Cowboy

Getting in the Game #17

Summary:
It's easy to compare sports with God's kingdom. Alot of us start when we are young and, just like parents who encourage us and cheer us on, the Kingdom is full of people that do the same, to see us grow and become all that we can be in God. It's just getting off the bench and getting in the game that makes all of this start to happen. 
 
Show Notes:
There's a time that we have to get off the bench and get in the game, but many are afraid to step on the court or field, especially when it comes to doing any type of ministry. 
Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers were given to the church to build up, edify, and for equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry. It's the job of these five fold ministries to equip you to go out and do the ministry to God's people. 
We're all being equipped for the work of the ministry. Opportunties come up if we are looking for them. Just be ready for it and open to it. 
Being pushy and manipualitve dosen't work. That's not God's way at all. Nobody likes someone who tries to push Jesus on them. That's a bas look on the whole body of Christ. 
Ministry is best done through relationships. That makes it a lot easier. Then, when you do feel the spirit of God leading you to so that, put it out there. Something like, I believe that God can fix your problem."
So, what's the next step for all of us? The first thing is to lean into a relationship with the Father. From His standpoint, it's always been about the relationship. "You search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, but you are not willing to come to Me, that you might really have life." 
The way that you get in the game is to build that relationship with the Lord. YOu have to give Him some time, and I would encourage, really encourage you, to get in the Word. 
The church will never be the true church until we recieve and understand this thing about being equipped for the work of the ministry. 
 
Quotes:
There's a stigma associated iwth the word "minisrty." People think about standing up on a stage, giving thier testimony, preaching a message or sonething like that. It's one of those things in the Bible Belt, where we are so used to those poeple...the pastor and a few elders, doing all the ministry and the rest of us just sitting around. We are all called to mnistry. 
I always had the thought in my mind that when I would go to church, hear things and would sit through messages on Sunday morning, I didn't know anything at that time, but I took notes and took notes. But from the jump go, I was always in the mode of being trained, being raised up, being equipped for something. 
We have the mentality that only a few are called to the ministry. That's not true. Accoursing to the Bible we are all called. And if we get that, then the ministry gets outside the church service, out there on the golf course, at your palce of business and those kinds of places. 
We are made by God to be sensitive and to recieve information, input, leadership from the Holy Spirit. So we need to take Him up on that and ask for people to be healed, to be set free, for marriages to be put back together, all those kind of things. 
Get in the game and find out how you are gifted, vecause there are ways that you are gifted and anointed. That's a supernatural endowment from God and that helps you go far beyond what you could do. 
References:
Ephesians 4:11
 
Takeaways:
It's not nearly as hard to reach out and bless people in some way as you think it is. The queastion is, "will you?" But we all have to get off the bench at some point, start connecting with the Father and letting Him lead us by His spirit to move in our anointing to bless others and see them have an experience wiht the Lord. 

The awakening - Watch Out For Pride #16

Summary:
Pride is a very ugly thing, especially when it attaches to those who feel like they have received a lot from the Lord, or have accomplished much in the name of the Lord. The only antidote for pride is to have a close relationship with the Father, where you are spending time together, both communicating and listening to what He is saying to you.
 
Show Notes:
It’s so important for people, especially church leaders that are buying into and are hearing this, and are getting confirmation from the Lord, to make adjustments to facilitate what it is that God is doing. That is going to be a challenge for many churches.
If you are submitting to this process of listening to the Lord and are spending time with the Father, it’s likely you will get challenged by the enemy, because he doesn’t want you to succeed.
Spiritual warfare is not a myth. It is real, and we can’t be ignorant of satan’s devices. This isn’t just useful information, but it is something we are going to have to do.
The Kingdom Cowboy Podcast promotes the gospel of the kingdom that the Bible talks about, which most churches are not focusing on. So, leaders need to be pressing in and finding out what the gospel of the Kingdom really is, which some consider to be the new frontier.
Desperation and hunger for the word of God triggers God’s voice to you. He will take you seriously at that point. We will be so desperate to hear God’s voice that He will start speaking to us, which He wants to do so badly.
When you start growing in the Lord, it’s easy to start taking some of the credit, especially when you start getting compliments. If you point that immediately right onto the Lord, that’s one of the safeguards.
True spiritual pride is the worst kind of pride. It’s like having bad breath; everyone knows you have it except you, and it’s ugly.
God disciplines us, even though it can be painful at times, so we aren’t so prone to buy into pride and the consequences that follow.
When it comes to pride, the Holy Spirit is faithful to point that out to you if you will let Him. When you do hear those things from the Holy Spirit that need to be adjusted or tweaked, then by faith, with the Holy Spirit’s help, let God touch your heart about those things. The Pharisees were great examples of pride, because they were “doing” the law, and that caused them to be prideful and puffed up.
 
Quotes:
The Awakening is actually here, and it’s happening right now. So, the church in America should be adjusting, as no longer “business as usual”.
God has a plan, and He’s working that plan. So, start paying attention to what is happening in your heart and what you are hearing from the Lord. Ask the Lord to show you what you need to do about this Awakening.
The enemy knows how to attack and the only guarantee for us to not get swayed, and not get sucked in, is to walk in the spirit.
You can do this. You’re geared to do this. You just have to train yourself to do it. You have the benefit of the Holy Spirit helping you, so just pay attention to what God is doing in you individually.
People who are at greatest risk for pride are the people who are deepening in their relationship with the Lord and have made that the most important thing in their life.
When you start communing, listening and interacting with God, then you light up on the enemy’s radar. And, when you get your focus on the Awakening, then you have become a threat to him.
Jesus came to restore the relationship with God that Adam and Eve had in the garden before sin ever entered to picture.
 
References:
Proverbs 3:5-6
Proverbs 16:18
 
Takeaways:
It’s much easier to humble yourself than have the Lord humbling you. You will find that pride is one of your worst enemies, especially as you start to grow and mature in the Lord. The only way to avoid it’s trappings is to stay close in a relationship with the Father, and pay attention to what He is speaking and showing you.
 
 
 

The Awakening What do I Do? #15

Summary:
So many Christians today are focused more on what they know conceptually, rather than what they have actually experienced in a real relationship with God, the Father. That’s why God puts us through trials and testing (if we allow Him to), to form us, shape us and perfect us into our true identity in Him. The big questions are, how badly do we want this relationship with Him? And, how deeply are we going to allow Him to work this within us? If the answer is “YES”, start paying attention to where you are spiritually and start submitting to the process.
 
Show Notes:
There are many indicators concerning the Awakening happening, if you are aware of them, such as many people coming to the Lord, and many salvation's in our house, our neighborhood, this region and in the world. Things are happening in third world countries, even at a greater rate than in America. That is embarrassing, because America is founded on Christian values.
God is after our heart. He won’t take it. It must be given to Him willingly. So, the safest and most productive thing you can do right now is to open the door of your heart and say, “Lord, have at it”.
We are being conformed into the image of Jesus, both individually and corporately as the Body of Christ is shaping up, which is this Awakening.
Everything is being shaken; the financial system, political system, school system, education, business and commerce, but it’s not a thing to be discouraged about. Start looking with kingdom eyes, because God is causing a lot of this to happen.
Christians are so used to letting others do their thinking for them, and just taking things as they come. That’s why we have to shake ourselves of our passivity and go to the Father for His understanding of what is happening. Jesus is standing at our door and knocking, but we have to get up and let Him in.
God is very serious about perfecting His bride, which we are becoming. Judgment, change and repentance all start at the house of God, and that starts with its leaders.
As we grow in God, it is easy for an element of pride to creep into our spirits. That’s why spending true time with the Father becomes such a safeguard for us.You never have to stand in line with Him. He always has the time for you. It’s not what He tells you or shows you. The prize is actually HIM.
 
Quotes:
Since 1984, I have believed that there was a time coming where the church would be as powerful and as full of agape, unconditional love as what I have seen depicted in the Bible. Now, I’m starting to see the Kingdom of God emerge at a level like I’ve never seen before.
If the true church doesn’t rise up, and rise up quickly, the human race is in for some dark times.
Four years ago, I wasn’t hearing about the Awakening from anybody. Now we’re hearing it and it’s happening all over, and you don’t have to be extremely spiritual to pick up on it.
The Awakening is here, but the church is asleep, so it’s time to wake up and pay attention to what God is doing and saying to your own heart.
There is a trend where a lot of people are going through some of the hardest things they’ve ever been through in their life. God is dealing with our imperfections and our inconsistencies to mature us in Him. If we submit to the process, it shortens the duration of the test. “Count it all joy, when you fall into various trials”.
These hard things that we go through in life are designed by God to perfect us by revealing our strengths and weaknesses.
 
References:
Hebrews 12:27      1 Peter 4:17      John 1416
Philippians 2:5       James 1:2         Philippians 3:13
Revelation 3:20     John 3:20         Romans 8:28
 
Takeaways:
 
God wants to shape us and form us into the image of His Son. He uses trials and tests to make this happen, if we are willing to open our hearts to His perfecting process. The actual prize in all in this is not what He shows us or what He speaks to us. The actual prize is Him, and the enjoyment of just being with Him.
 

The Awakening - Who is it for? #14 / Part 2

Summary:
It is really important that the church wakes up to what God wants to bring on the earth at this time. The Awakening is happening now, just like what happened when Jesus came on the scene with the religious organization of that day. We can all be partakers of this Awakening, but we must shake off the old traditions that have been holding us back. It’s through our opening up to being born again and being baptized that we are able to see, and start experiencing, this new Awakening and the Kingdom of God that is springing forth on the earth.
 
Show Notes:
The church should be a moving, changing, evolving organism, but unless a church has apostolic influence somewhere along the way, they’ll set up camp, and that’s where they will stay. That’s who they will be. That’s why we need the five fold ministry operating.
We baptized more people in 2023 than we had probably baptized in any 5-6 year stretch. Other churches in our area are experiencing the same thing. That is one of the big signs of people coming into the Kingdom of God.
Tradition is not a bad thing unless it’s standing in the way of what God wants to do. For instance, in Jesus’s day, religious tradition wasn’t just a bad thing, it was the most evil thing there was. It was what was hindering Jesus from doing what He was supposed to do.
In baptism, we identify with the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord. We go under that water immersed, and we come out of the water to a new life. So, water baptism is really important. John baptized with water, but Jesus baptizes you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
The Awakening is not here in it’s fullness yet. It’s going to depend on what the church does with it. So Leaders, wake up, get your focus on the Lord, and listen up. At that point, He’ll give you instructions and what, how, when, and who, and all that, to do in your house. It’s going to look different everywhere.
 
Quotes:
The ministry of the apostle sees where the church needs to go and has a good understanding of where the church is now; and then God gives practical steps on how we get from where we are to where we’re going. Sometimes it takes a real blast of some kind to get the church off high center, but I think that’s happening in today’s church atmosphere.
There’s one church. We are all part of it in Christ. There’s neither Jew nor Greek, slave or free, male or female; and we can carry that on to Baptist or Pentecostal. So, we are all one in Christ.
If you want God to do something in your church, first off, let Him start to do something in you. And if everybody will do that, then this Awakening won’t be just one or two people. It’ll be that whole body of Christ.
God wants the Awakening to last all the way until Jesus comes back, but it depends on what the church does with it. So the church has to come out of its traditional mindset, elements of tradition that is keeping us from being what God wants us to be.
The Word says to believe and be baptized. That was what signified someone who had made a decision in their heart to trust and follow Jesus, so the first step of obedience that we take is to be baptized.
The Awakening is God moving on the hearts and spirits of mankind. Your purpose and your life wont’ be fulfilled until you lock onto what God’s purpose for your life is.
 
References:
Galatians 3:28
Acts 1:5
 
Takeaways:
The Awakening and the Kingdom of God are coming forth, whether we are aware of it or not. That’s why it is so important for the spiritual leaders of this day to wake up and get focused, so that they are able to bring their groups into this new day that the Lord wants to bring now.

The Awakening - Who Is It For? #14 Part 1

Summary:
This teaching on the Awakening is both practical and simple. It is bound to bring changes to what the church has been used to doing for so long, and none of us should miss it. Therefore, the church, especially its leaders, must wake up, or the churches they are pastoring and leading could very well miss what God wants to do in this hour.
 
Show Notes:
The Lord has given Andy the ability to speak to a group where everyone in the group feels like he is talking directly to them.
This podcast series starts out with just two people talking, and then is handed off to others who have different roles to help produce this, but if there is anything good about this podcast, it’s the Holy Spirit doing that.
We all are gifted in different ways and it’s up to each of us to figure that out, so we can find our place and how we fit into the whole body.
There are so many folks around who can throw a lot of stuff out there that is so deep spiritually that no one can understand, but the Lord spoke this recently, “I’m about to bring the prominence to simplicity that it has always deserved”.
When asked if the church is ready, I have to say, “NO, not even close”. But it seems to be coming closer.
 
Quotes:
When I read the word, study the word, when I hear someone else teach or preach, it needs to be practical, something that people can sink their teeth into and then find an easy way to apply that to their lives.
The Lord has given me a gift of simplicity, to take something pretty complex and break it down and make it simple.
I want to be a good steward of what God has gifted me in, and allow the Lord to use that.
In my time with the Lord, I’m just saying, “God, I don’t know anything”. I’ve learned a lot, but I don’t know how to get us to the next place, to the next level, to the next juncture. It’s got to be the Lord and we have to be desperate for that.
Is the church ready for this Awakening that’s here? The Lord showed me that the church is asleep. I’ve spoken to groups outside of here about the Awakening, but it’s almost like it falls on deaf ears sometimes, because the church in America, and maybe around the world, is stuck in doing the same things that we’ve always done.
I’m not criticizing, but now’s the time to change what we are doing.
God always does it with unlikely people and unlikely groups. God loves to use the unqualified to do the impossible. We are just living proof.
 
Takeaways:
God wants to bring about new ways of thinking and new ways of doing things. A good portion of the church worldwide is not readily getting that, because they are too used to doing things the way they always have. God is using the message of the Awakening to literally wake up the worldwide church to what He wants to accomplish now, and not put it off for some future time.

What Is The Church #13

Summary:
 
The church is not just a building. “The church is an ever changing, ever evolving, supernatural, called out and victorious kingdom family of like minded believers in Jesus, working together and known for their love for one another, bonded together by the common thread of agape love and the unity of the Holy Spirit, who are commissioned and empowered by the Father with the authority to propagate and spread the good news by communicating and demonstrating signs and wonders to the world, and to carry out the perfect will of Jesus, to co-labor with Him as He establishes His Kingdom in the earth”. It is the Body of Christ, a many membered organism that carries out the full will of the Father.
 
 
Show Notes:
 
The most important question to ever be imposed to anyone is, “Who do you say Jesus is?” Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus’ reply was, “And on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it”.
God’s method of building the church is to build it through people.
When we are talking about the Kingdom of God and about the Awakening, we are talking about an emergence of all these conditions that we see in the world, both the negative side and the positive side. But you have to look with spiritual eyes to see what He’s doing.
Many people are wishing that Jesus would get down here and rapture us out. That may happen, which could be wonderful, but then we would miss spiritually what I believe is happening right now, and what has been escalating for the last few years.
At times, the church as it is now has hurt people and has not been the beacon of agape love that it is supposed to be. The legalism has made people feel like they couldn’t measure up to other’s expectations.
 
Quotes:
 
The Church is the body of Christ. It’s a many membered organism that carries out the full will of the Father, just like Jesus. We are the body of Christ, His hands and His feet.
Jesus said that by God’s own design, He won’t reach over the church today, or anytime, and do what He’s given the church the authority and power to do.
The church is not the kingdom, but the church is responsible for cooperating with God and Jesus to see the Kingdom come.
The Bible never once refers to the church as a destination, a building or anything like that. In fact, after the day of Pentecost, it was 300 years before there was actually a building known as the church building. It’s always been about the people.
For the guy who says, “I don’t need the church. I can be out on the pond with my fishing pole or out in the woods and that’s my church.” If that’s your mindset, if that’s your opinion about how that works, then it’s totally selfish, because you’re denying the fact that you are handpicked for this generation.
There’s no biblical reference for living the Christian life outside the community of believers. That’s why the church is that important.
There is a community, somewhere, of believers that God wants you to be a part of, where you begin to find your place, your area of gifting and anointing.
 
References:
 
Matthew 16:13-18
Acts 2
Ephesians 4:12
1 Kings 19:18
 
Takeaways:
 
The true church is the Body of Christ. It has been charged with cooperating with the Father and Jesus, to help bring about God’s Kingdom. The church is not a place, but it’s a body of people who want to bring forth all that God wants to do and accomplish here on earth. And, today, it is in the process of coming forth.
 

The Awakening is here! #12

Summary:
 
The Awakening and the Kingdom of God already exist and are moving, but it takes a real spiritual awareness to see it manifesting in the earth at this time. As God’s people, all it takes is a desire and an obedience to see it start happening more every day. When Jesus was teaching the disciples to pray, He was loosing His Kingdom on earth, as it is in heaven. That means we don’t have to wait until we die to experience it, but we can start experiencing it right now, here in the earth.
 
 
Show Notes:
 
In Andy’s book, The Best Kept Secrets of the Kingdom, he brings out 20 keys that will help to get a realization of the Awakening and what it’s about. This book was written with the regular guy in mind, with short chapters that can easily be read in a short time.
The Awakening is happening at this very moment. If we are in tune with things that God is bringing (things like the Damar Hamlin situation on the football field, the Asbury Kentucky gathering, and the Michigan Wolverine football team- where 70 players got baptized this last year), we can begin to see that there is so much more to come as this Awakening progresses.
What is happening in India and Iran looks different that what we are seeing in America.
Preparation on our part is so important at this time, because the Kingdom of God is coming with you, or without you.
Everything is changing, and that’s hard for people who are in a religious mode. Today is just like what happened when Jesus was alive here on earth. The religious people were stuck in their traditions, and Jesus was bringing change.
When God starts to talk to you about the Awakening and the Kingdom, lean into it.
 
 
Quotes:
 
The Church is going to be a glorious organism (not an organization), which will have the answers for all of the negative things that we see our in the world right now.
The Kingdom of God already exists in its fullness and perfection, but it hasn’t completely manifested, or emerged into the natural realm.
Every time we forgive someone, pray for someone, or every little thing you do, the Kingdom of God is manifested in the earth.
As we give God access to our heart, He begins to do the work that needs to be done. He is conforming us into the image of Jesus.
The Body of Christ is never going to be what it is supposed to be, until all of us find our place in the body and function there. When we do that, there’s a supernatural anointing on us that’s above and beyond anything that we can do.
The Church is not the Kingdom, the Church is the facilitator of the Kingdom.
 
 
 
References:
 
Matthew 6:33
Revelations 3:20
Ephesians 4:11
Matthew 16:18
 
 
Takeaways:
 
God is moving and manifesting His Kingdom on earth right at this moment. However, as His people, we need to wake up and start connecting with the Father to be able to see it and start experiencing it right now.

Distractions - The Awakening #11

Summary:
 
God the Father wants so much to talk to us, but we have to have a real desire to hear what He is speaking. It takes time and a discipline to slow down long enough to connect with Him and learn how to enjoy His presence. In this podcast, we have been given some really practical steps on how to come into His presence, eliminate the distractions that come to keep us from hearing Him, and discover that it’s not the answers that He has for us, or the things we think we need from Him. The greatest discovery comes when we come to the realization that He, God our Father, is the real prize, that He is all we really need.
 
 
Show Notes:
 
We think it’s important that you hear the Lord, and there are a lot of practical things presented here that we can do to get our hearts and minds into a place where we can hear Him well.
The rule of 100 (this stands for 100 hours divided by the number of days in a year, which comes out to be 18 minutes per day) was devised to help all of us focus on a particular discipline to improve our skill. This really holds true when we are seeking the Father to hear Him speak to us.
Distractions are the biggest hurdle we experience when trying to hear the Father speak to us, such as our phone or our watch. When either of them ring, your mind automatically turns to them.
Here are some practical things to do when trying to hear God speak to us.
Make it a priority in your life.
Practice gratitude.
 A great starting place is to leave your phone and/or watch in another room when waiting on the Lord.
Keep a note pad close, to jot down things that you think God is saying to you.
 
This is something that you have to want to do, because you have to take the time to do it.
If this becomes a desire and drive for you, when you start to get a taste of Him you will want more.
Because of our desire to hear from the Father and all that God is beginning to do in the world, the enemy sees the move of God escalating, emerging and growing, so he will do all he can do to distract us. It’s so important for us not to fall for his tactics of distraction.
Hebrews 12:27 refers to everything that can be shaken will be shaken. So, when we see Him shaking the financial system, banking system, school system, and human system, then we are not moved by it.
 
 
Quotes:
 
If you spend 100 hours a year working on a particular discipline by practicing it 18 minutes per day, you will be within the top five or 10% of people in the world with that knowledge and understanding.
If you are not hearing the Lord, the chances are pretty high that the problem is not on His end.
Most of us have gotten pretty good at hearing the Lord on the run as we go through our day, but there’s so much to be said for taking a time where it’s just designated for hearing the Lord.
Any good communication is two way; talking and listening. I have learned that to listen has been more beneficial to me than the things I need to ask for.
When we spend time with the Father, it’s not the thing that the Father gives, does, or says. The real prize is His presence.
There is a shaking going on right now and at the same time, there is an awakening. Think about what happened with Damar Hamlin at a Buffalo Bills game in the NFL. Another one is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that happened at Asbury College in Kentucky.
 
 
References:
 
Psalms 100:4
Isaiah 5:20
Hebrews 12:27
 
 
Takeaways:
 
We are discovering that it’s not what God can do for us, or the things that we think He wants to talk to us about. The testings and discipline that He puts us through, and the time that is required to eliminate the distractions so that we can really connect with Him, are to create the bottom line. The bottom line is that we discover that God Himself is all that we really wanted all along; to be with Him and to just enjoy His presence.