In This Month's Report:
* Editorial - Who's Using Your Mouth?
* Feedback - Amsterdam and Wales
* August Events - G12 Vision
* August Ministry - Featuring The Church of Grace and Peace
* Tips and Resources - Cybersex Temptation
* Products - Two New Resources (see link below)
* Partnership - Invest in God's Program for the Northeast of America

We would love to hear from you; please send us your feedback today. Don’t forget the ever-popular 'GOD THOUGHTS' at the end of this report. Enjoy! JB

JEFF BEACHAM'S EDITORIAL – Who's Using Your Mouth?

 

"'....Who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.' ...From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, 'Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!' But He turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.'" (Matthew 16:15-17, 21-23)

 

INTRODUCTION

Is it possible that a sanctified 'saint,' who loves the Lord and lives a disciplined life, could unwittingly allow their mouth to be used by the enemy? If we read the scripture above it would seem that this can indeed be so! Peter had been walking with Jesus for three years at the point of this major revelation from God and the rebuke he received from the Lord. Some might say that Peter had a tendency to be impulsive, but surely three years as a direct disciple of Jesus would equal a lifetime of regular discipleship. Even then he missed it!

 

One thing is for sure, Peter would never forget his time in Caesarea. It was his best day and his worst day all in one! One minute, he receives the highest commendation from Jesus for getting it right and hearing directly from God the Father, and the next, he is told that satan is using his mouth!

 

paved with good intentions

Even though Peter's rebuke of Jesus was out of hand, he obviously spoke with good intentions and out of a protective heart, not wanting to see his master suffer. But to use a well known maxim, the road to hell is paved with good intentions! We can have the best of motives, yet still be wrong in terms of God's will. Some people often plead their 'innocence' saying, "God knows my heart," but they can still be wrong.

 

When Jesus gave His rebuke, He was not actually addressing Peter but rather, He was speaking to satan, who somehow had managed to commandeer Peter's mouth! In the age old struggle for the heart of man, if God can give us revelation which we then speak, it seems that the enemy can also speak through us without our awareness.

 

an incomprehensible concept

Peter was told, "...you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." In this context, it would be fair to say that the things of God are spiritual and the things of men are religious. God had a plan of redemption that involved the supreme sacrifice of His own Son, an incomprehensible concept to the natural mind. The concept of the Suffering Messiah demanded a major paradigm shift in the spiritual understanding of that day.

 

Religion cannot tolerate change and strives to preserve the status quo. Satan can be very religious. He understands that God is always on the move and satan seeks to capture the hearts of men by taking advantage of our desire for the 'comfort' that religious stability offers.

 

AN OPPORTUNE TIME

After being tempted by the devil in the wilderness, Jesus offered the same rebuke to satan that He would give at Caesarea. "...Jesus answered and said to him, 'Get behind Me, Satan...!' Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time." (Luke 4:8, 13). Perhaps Caesarea was the 'opportune time,' a final, last ditch effort to deter Jesus from His mission, using one of Jesus' closest confidants, Peter, to deliver the message.

 

If it can happen to Peter, it can happen to you and me too! Even the best of us can be bearers of God's good news or mouthpieces for the enemy. The solution is two fold: we must ensure that our relationship with God is rock-solid and we unmistakably know His will and voice, and that we must place a guard over our mouths at all times.

 

"If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless." James 1:26 #

 

 

"Hi Jeff, First of all, I was deeply touched by your last newsletter. In my preaching and in my ministry, I have experienced that God is teaching me about the suffering that He wants us to go through in order to prepare us for something 'great'. With my charismatic background there was not much place for that. It was about victory and blessing but sometimes we forget that our Victor died on a cross before He became the Risen Lord. My wife Izaura and I cried when we read the stories about the people who died. How awesome that already 50 friends accepted the Lord. Please keep on sending me your letters.... Blessings, Klaas van Denderen, Pastor, Amsterdam, The Netherlands"

 

Dear Pastor Beacham, I wish to offer you my thanks and my deepest gratitude. Several years ago (maybe 7-8), you came to Cardiff, Wales.... You may not remember that meeting. I will try to refresh your memory. At the end of your talk you singled out a young girl of the age of 15 (my daughter)....

God spoke to you as you talked, you pointed at this girl and asked if she would come forward for prayer. She was the ONLY person you singled out in that meeting. You may remember that she had been raped.... This was just the first installment of her many trials. Within a year and half, she became addicted to: cannabis, alcohol and amphetamines (she would experiment with every drug she could lay her hands on), including ecstasy and heroin.

By the time she was 21 she had her own 1 bedroom flat and had experienced many failed relationships. At this point she became involved with a gang of very dangerous people. Seven members of the gang attempted to "gang rape" her at knife point (the Lord had His protective hand on her). The gang then utterly destroyed her home and killed her pet cat. As you can imagine this devastated her and all the members of our family (and church), at that point in time she was not born again.

She had to move out of Cardiff for her own safety. She was moved (helped by my local church) to a safe-house. She has now been living there for 2 years, she has been clean from all contaminants for 2 years and most importantly she has given her heart to JESUS (I praise His name).

She now has such a soul consuming passion for Christ, it makes me feel that I am a part-time Christian (and I have been saved for 9 years). That day when you prayed for her was an appointment by Christ. I had tried to take her to church many times, it would have been easier to extract her teeth with tweezers. Christ had intended that your prayer was a pivotal point in her life, what your prayer actually did; only Christ knows.

I apologize that it has taken me such a long time to thank you, I had no way of contacting you; until now. Again, I wish to thank you for your prayers and the warm heart that you showed my daughter many years ago...." (name withheld)

 

 

G12 Meeting with Cesar Castillanos, Stamford, Connecticut - On Monday, August 22nd, pastors and leaders from the New York region gathered to sit under the ministry of Pastor Cesar Castillanos of Bogotá, Columbia. Pastor Cesar has raised up a church of hundreds of thousands in that nation using the G12 (Government of 12) vision.

 

He said that every time a leader goes out to conquer, they must make sure that the enemy can find no arguments to attack them. All pastors must bring God's presence to their community, but if there is sin in the camp, they will be beaten back. The Israelites had a great victory at Jericho because the ark of God's presence went before them, but they were defeated at Ai because there was hidden sin in the camp.

 

After Joshua restored holiness, the heavens opened up. Holiness opens up the heavens. Demons have nothing to get hold of and heaven comes down. When the church is sanctified, demons are neutralized and people respond to the gospel. Remove the leaven from your house and the enemy has no argument against you.
 

First Meeting of Regional Church - About ten churches and ministries from the North Central region of Pennsylvania were represented at the first meeting of The CHURCH (Christians Uniting Regionally for Christ) held in Mansfield, PA on Friday, August 26th. The meeting was held in the parking lot of a supermarket on the main street in town. All the pastors and leaders present testified about the need for one voice to speak for the church in the region.

 

AUGUST MINISTRY…

Last month, we were at the following churches and events:

 

Mon, 1st - Kingdom Builder’s Meeting, Mansfield, PA, Johnny and Juanita Berguson
Sun, 7th - New Life Christian Fellowship, Darien, CT, Pastors Rob and Elayne Cassara
Tues, 9th - Celebration Service For Jon-Kely Cassara, New Life Christian Fellowship, Darien, CT
Sun, 14th - Love & Truth Christian Center, Washington Twp, NJ, Pastor Benjamin Oh
Fri, 19th - The Church of Grace and Peace 20th Anniversary Dinner, Toms River, NJ
Sun, 21st - New Life Christian Fellowship, Darien, CT, Pastors Rob and Elayne Cassara
Fri, 26th - The CHURCH, Mansfield Region, Jeff Beacham/Johnny and Juanita Berguson
Sun, 28th - River of Life Fellowship, Mansfield, PA, Pastor Keith Paris
Mon, 29th - Kingdom Builder’s Meeting, Mansfield, PA, Johnny and Juanita Berguson

 

NEWS AND RESOURCES…

 

* Cybersex Temptation - How porn on the internet is affecting Christians; from ChristianityToday.com. http://www.christianitytoday.com/mp/2000/003/12.28.html

* Christian Jobs Online - Allows Christian employers to list their open employment opportunities. Christian jobseekers may also submit their resumes for listing in a database. Also has articles related to online job searching. http://www.christianjobs.com

* Newsweek Explores Spirituality in America - A recent issue of Newsweek magazine featured a cover story titled "In Search of the Spiritual," an extensive look at the growing popularity of being "spiritual" rather than "religious" in America today. Writer Jerry Adler pegged his story on a 1966 issue of Time magazine which posed the question, "Is God Dead?" Adler concluded that instead of seeing God overtaken by technological advances that drown out His existence, America in the past generation has seen "a cycle of renewal that has played itself out many times since the Temple of Solomon... a passion for an immediate, transcendent experience of God, and a uniquely American acceptance of the amazingly diverse paths people have taken to find it." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9024914/site/newsweek/?g=1
 

TWO NEW MESSAGES AVAILABLE THROUGH FMI...

 

"A Cause to Live By and to Die For!"

Western culture has become soft and mushy, and the Western Church has become the same. But when we read about Moses, Joshua, David, Elijah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, John the Baptist, Paul or even Jesus challenging authorities such as wayward kings, idolaters or pompous Pharisees, we don't see any of them doling out soft and mushy entreaties, but rather issuing challenging, often scathing indictments of their audience's willful blindness. In an age when everyone has come 'out of the closet,' it's time for the Church to do so too!

"Healing the Hemorrhage of Hell"

Why has soul-winning slowed down so in the West? We all hope to go to Heaven, but an unwritten rule for western preaching has become, ‘don’t mention the ‘H’ word! We don’t want to make potential believers uncomfortable by telling them that if they reject the gospel they will be headed to eternal punishment.’ We leave that in the fine print. The subject of Hell and eternal punishment was very important to Jesus. He taught more about it than He did about Heaven. Heaven has a road, but few travel it; Hell has no gate, but men will dig to get there.
 

Available on DVD, audio CD, and audio cassette. To order, click here

 

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Check Jeff Beacham's schedule at: http://www.firepowerint.com/jeffsitinery.htm 

 

I hope you will seriously consider joining us in this great adventure for Christ!

 

JEFF BEACHAM  
  Pastor / Evangelist
  Firepower Ministries International 
  2 Route 37 West, Toms River, NJ 08753 
  Ph.(732) 349-1550, ext. 205 Fax (732) 286-6311 
  Email: info@firepowerint.com Website: http://www.firepowerint.com 

 

GOD THOUGHTS - "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." — Ralph Waldo Emerson 

REPRINT AGREEMENT: Duplication and re-transmission of original material in this report is permitted provided that complete source and website information is included. 

 

©2005 - THE FMI REPORT IS THE MONTHLY COMMUNICATION OF NEWS FROM FIREPOWER MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL, THE MINISTRY OF JEFF BEACHAM    top