Living With Purpose

Remembering Steve Jobs

The day after the death of Steve Jobs is a good day to reflect.  You might think that is silly considering all he did was design electronics.  To many Christians, they will think that it does not have any eternal significance but they will be wrong.  There is no way that a man, who built a company that size does not have any eternal significance.  That is really not my point for this though.  It would be sad if you do not understand who Steve Jobs was.  He was a man with tremendous vision and passion for the gift that God had given him.  Whenever you can study a visionary you should jump at the chance.

Visionaries are different than dreamers as they put their whole life behind it.  Dreamers tend to sit around and fantasize about the future waiting for some lotto numbers to give them the break. Visionaries don’t have that option.  They don’t take the normal path to success.  They create their opportunity it would seem.  As Christians we know who is behind blessing.

All great companies have something in common however; they all have a visionary or two at the top.  Apple computer was no different.  A couple of years ago I caught a documentary late at night on the making of Pixar.  You know, that little animation studio that produced movies like Toy Story, Bugs Life, Cars and Finding Nemo.  What I saw was a man, Steve Jobs, who understood more things about the Kingdom than many pastors.  So much so I bought the film on ITunes (Steve Jobs Creation) and showed it to our leadership.

In an era where big companies are thought to be evil, in it for the money, greedy and everything else that is spoken of.  Apple seems to be a place where people love to work.  They have certainly won me over to their products, as anyone around me knows.  I have myself converted many Windows users out of the dark side and into the light.  It is amazing too, none of them ever complain after they do.

Again it should be stated; whenever you can study a visionary you should.  Sam Walton of Wal-Mart is another example.  I have no worries about Apple’s future.  These men seem to have a sense of when their time is near a decade in advance.  Steve Jobs was no different.  When you here them talk about him over the next few days you will here the words, visionary, mentor, leader.  Terms that are not normally given to CEO’s who never create things but just manage them.  The company will be fine and I am convinced that Tim Cook and the team will still create amazing new products.  Why?  Steve Jobs did more than teach them how to run a company, he taught them how to have vision.

Vision is when you put your life behind the dream.  Dedicate yourself to it and get to work.  Visionaries are important because they turn our ceilings into floors.  They make the impossible seem obtainable.  They have another thing in common; they want whatever they do to out live them.  The legacy they leave is more important to them then other things.  So they begin to mentor others and teach them things that seem out of the ordinary.  They normally frustrate the administrator because they think so differently.  Administrators normally think within the box.  Visionaries normally stand on it.  Administrators need to remember that with out visionaries they would have nothing to organize.

I remember in that Pixar piece Steve Jobs talking about making sure that Pixar remained a company as it grew.  It seemed that the company was being divided into departments and he knew from Apple that if let that happen it would limit the future.  So when they designed a building for Pixar it had to be more than functional it had to have a purpose.  Things like that always catch my attention.

If you think that Apple did not impact your life let me convince you.  If you use a computer and mouse, Apple invented that.  If you listen to MP3’s on a device, Apple perfected that too.  Do you like using windows on your computer and not the C Prompt function?  Apple invented windows that open as well.  How about fonts, oh that was Apple.  The IPhone, the first really smartphone, The IPad and so much more came from Apple.  Every multi-touch phone owes its existence to Apple.  20 billion songs and 18 billion apps have been downloaded.

My point is this.  Don’t think they were just designing products.  They were changing the culture that we live in everyday.  If you want to be world changers then you must learn how to study great men and women.  It is more than the products they create; it is the people they lead.  It is how they share a vision and can get others attracted to it.  History will show that Steve Jobs made our lives better by the products he designed.

This morning watching ESPN they stopped to talk about Steve Jobs.  Really?  The man impacted every aspect of society.  Good or bad, that is leadership and that takes a visionary.  So as the employees at Apple and those who were close to him deal with the pain of their loss, we should remember to look at greatness and see the God given ability in all of us.  My prayers go out to his family and friends.  They didn’t just loose a boss or CEO, they lost a friend and mentor.  They lost someone who was helping them find meaning in life.  In the church we would call them a father in the spirit.  Some would argue that is was the devil because he was not a Christian.  Let me tell you a secret.  Satan is not a creator of good nor can he impart greatness.  Whether or not Steve Jobs acknowledges where his greatness comes from is for him and God to discuss.

I pray that all of us would learn from his life and become world changers in the area that the Lord has placed us in.  This is the time of testing for those he trained.  Will they hear his voice in the hallways and board meetings?  Will they trust his formula for success?  Wal-Mart faced this same thing and has certainly passed that test.  I am impressed.  I will let others who would rather judge and not reflect sound off.  Some will judge and criticize.  For us however, we should step back, give thanks and remember one of the great men who changed they way we live.  I know I will be thinking about it for a while.  I just don’t have time to miss what was so clearly displayed for me to see.  I hope you will as well.  If the church catches this we could accomplish all that the Lord places in our hearts.

Louis C DeSiena

Senior Leader

The Gate Fellowship.

One Billion Martyrs For Christ

By Louis DeSiena

Does this sound awful to you?  Does it sound like a tragedy of mega proportions?  Well read on and you will understand my prayer and hopefully it will become yours too.  Words are a funny thing.  If you don’t believe in evolution I understand.  Yet when it comes to words and their meaning it s clear that evolution is alive and well.  When you here the word martyr what do you think of?  Someone who is killed for his or her beliefs?  What you will find amazing is that its original meaning has changed.

I have to confess to you I am praying for one billion martyrs to rise up in the earth and create one of the biggest moves of God the world has ever seen.  Jesus said for this reason the Holy Spirit would come upon us.

Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” NKJV

3144. ma¿rtuß martys; of uncertain affinity; a witness (literally (judicially) or figuratively (genitive case)); by analogy, a “martyr”: — martyr, record, witness.

Many times, history can cause us to loose sight of the very things we are to be looking for.  This is the magic trick of our enemy.  The way a magician can misdirect your attention in a card trick so you don’t see what you should be looking for.  So has the enemy cause the church to look for things instead of what was promised.  So many people are looking for the end of the world instead of the awakening of the Bride.  Many in the church are trying to figure out when the antichrist is going to arise and take over the world.  I have some amazing news for you.  Your adversary the devil is nervous.  He is wondering when the Bride is going to awake and take over the world.  Glory to His name, amen!

Okay, I am getting ahead of myself.  You might say then, “Why do you want to have a billion martyrs for Christ.  It is simple really, because a martyr is what the Lord wants.  Now you know I am not advocating the death of one billion Christians.  I am advocating however, the awakening of the Church to do what she was designed to do.

You see, Jesus did not say that the Holy Spirit would come upon you so you could die.  He was talking about being His witnesses in the earth.  The kind of witnesses that He is longing for are the ones that do what He did.  They received power (dunamis) when the Spirit came upon them.  That power had a purpose, to turn the word upside down.  Witnesses were to be something different then we think of today.  A martyr was someone who testified on behalf of the righteous Judge sitting on the throne and executed His judgments that had been written against the spirits of darkness.  Yes many lost their lives in this process but that was not the purpose of the outpouring of God’s own Spirit.  It was the byproduct of a world that was bent on evil.  There were other reasons for it that I won’t go into right now in long detail.  Jesus said in Matthew 23 that all the righteous blood shed on earth could come upon that generation.  That is for another time.

Instead of dying for something while don’t you live for Someone?

Many people go through their whole lives never living.  They fill their lives up with concerns with houses and cars and stuff and never know the true joys of living for the King of kings.  Then you get to the other extreme that vows to die for Christ at ever turn thinking that their death will turn the world more than His did.  Yet all along the Lord is looking for those who will possess the joy of salvation and demonstrate the judgments on every spirit that brings darkness into the lives of so many.  The apostles were like prosecuting attorneys who were executing the perfect law of the Spirit.  They were setting the captives free through this power and tormenting the spirits of hell at every turn.  This is why they knew of Paul and of Jesus.

Acts 19:15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” NKJV

Oh that our names would be known in two places: heaven and hell (not Facebook and Twitter).  There are two ways that you can preach.  One is to preach the word and the other is to preach Christ.  One will try to persuade through scripture and one tries to demonstrate through power.

Acts 8:4 Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.

Acts 8:5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them.

Acts 8:6 And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.

Acts 8:7 For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.

Acts 8:8 And there was great joy in that city.  NKJV

This is the model that Jesus set for them and it is the one that He has set for us.  We are to bring about a reformation of culture.  If we want the culture of the world to change then the culture of the Church must change first.  Remember this, “So goes the Church, so goes the world.”  We are not the world’s thermometer, we are the world’s thermostat.  If the Church goes cold so does the whole earth.  That is why we are filled with the Spirit and fire.  It is easier to reshape things when they are hot and at the right temperature.  When the Holy Spirit is present in the Church those coming in can be liquefied and poured into the mold of Christ quickly and easily.  If not then you have to be careful.  If we will here the trumpet call of heaven to be His witnesses then we will follow His lead.  If we are going to witness to others we better do it the same way.  Too many preachers are giving us a weather report and a forecast based on the wrong computer model.  I don’t need to hear that the world is going to hell.  Be careful because we might just be the ones leading them there.  If the world has grown cold then we can turn up the heat.

Jesus had a witness

John 5:36 But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.  NKJV

John 10:25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. NKJV

John 10:37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; NKJV

John 10:38 but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” NKJV

John 14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. NKJV

John 14:11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. NKJV

Do you really believe that we would be following Jesus if there were no miracles and signs associated with His ministry?  Would His disciples believe Him if there was no power in His ministry?  I don’t think so.  Not only that, it was Jesus Himself that said they bore witness of Him.  How much more should we demonstrate Him to the world?  Paul spoke of this in 1 Corinthians 2.  He did not want to come with man’s wisdom but with demonstration of the power of God.  This was a true martyr for Christ, someone who was able to give evidence to the fact that Jesus was alive by demonstrating His victory over the powers of darkness and bringing about the Kingdom of heaven to the earth.  We have allowed religion to change the assignment and means by which we do this.  When you have no power you have to reduce the gospel to threats of hell and the promise of a cabin in heaven someday.

Martyrs are arising and coming forth.  They are awakening at every turn.  It is our finest hour yet.  They will continue to awake out of every denomination and ethnic group.  They will come from every country and every people.  They will become martyrs for the King of kings.  They will live for Someone with such passion to see His

Glory fill the earth.  They will risk their own reputations and image to see His name be magnified.  They will live alive to Christ and Christ will live in them and they will do great exploits for the Kingdom.  This is my prayer.  I want to see true martyrs rising up all over the earth.  It will be a massacre but not on us but by us who believe.  They will defeat the enemy’s plans and displace his thrones of darkness.  Hell will be over turn by the power of God.  They will retreat under the onslaught of this great army.  It is not are final push but it will be glorious.

We are all terminally ill.  We are all going to die.  That we have in common.  Why don’t we then live for Someone while we still can?  It is our job to take the verdict of heaven and enforce it in the earth.  We are His prosecutors that will bring the vengeance of heaven upon the spirits of sickness and disease.  The lame will walk and the blind will see.  The unclean will be cleansed and the dead will be raised.  Glory to His name, amen.  For the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ (Rev 11:15).  I just have to shout to the world.  “He is alive and here is the proof, disease go, sickness go, death go, amen!”

Join me in prayer.  Father, we are here to be witnesses of Your Son.  For this reason You have given us Your Spirit.  We first pray that you will make us true witnesses for You.  Then I pray that you will help us to raise up and army of witnesses all over the earth.  That they bring a true demonstration that will free captives and open the prison doors.  That a testimony of Your glorious power and love will fill the whole earth.  This is our prayer, amen.”

“The purpose of truth was not to be right but to make us free.”

Let’s think about that for a moment.  Jesus did not come to set doctrine properly but to set people free.  I am not advocating that we should be in error but I am suggesting a different approach to truth.  I see many people study so they can win an argument.  This is not the purpose of truth that Jesus gave us.

John 8:31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.

John 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

The purpose of truth is to reveal the lies that keep you bound.  There are many things that can keep you in chains.  If you can find the truth and expose the lie you will find the power to become free.  There are some things that you might get set free from instantly in the presence of the Lord but there are also those times when you will have to learn the truth to stay free.

People suffer from many different issues that can cause them to miss their destiny.  Some time there are things from our past that we have ignored until they have reached critical mass.  Old traumas that are not dealt with can fester for years and cause many problems over a long period of time.  One of those things that I have discovered is if there was a problem with someone’s relationship with their father it can result in problems with authority issues and being unable to trust in God.

When you recognize these things you can seek the needed help to get free.  Have you ever noticed that the Lord does not seem to correct every little error people might make?  It is because He is more concerned in liberating than correcting.  If doctrine was the main concern He would have written scripture completely differently.  It would have read more like a textbook and not like a history book.

Instead, Jesus seems to teach as issues arise not just for the sake of teaching.  That’s what makes his teachings so applicable for us.  If you want to learn truth for the sake of teaching then go to seminary.  If you want to learn truth for the sake of being free go to the Spirit.

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—

John 14:17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

When you can identify what the problem is then truth should be sought after.  If poverty is a problem then study everything about blessing, abundance, riches and supply.  Replace the lie with truth and you will see a liberty that has not been there before.  Destroy all the agreements that you have made with a lie.  Make new covenants with truth and see the power of the Lord enter that area of your life.

Many people beat themselves up with truth instead of using truth for their freedom.  The word truth in Greek means to not conceal or to reveal.  It is light that is to expose the darkness that binds us.  When we don’t run towards the truth we keep ourselves in bondage.  In Hebrew, the word truth means to build up.  Religion wants to smack you in the face with truth so it can point a figure.  Grace wants to give you truth so that you can be free.

It is important for the Church to know the truth.  We shouldn’t stop there; we must pursue the truth all the way to freedom.  When we are free we can then sit on the right-hand of God and there is nothing better than that.

Addicted to His presence,

Louis C DeSiena

What I am about to share with you can help to unlock prison doors that have held you in bondage for years. As a matter of fact, if you learn and apply these truths you can stay free from almost anything in your life.  That is true power.

Have you ever been hurt? It is normal in the course of life to have those things happen to us that cause pain.  I will hopefully be able to share with you a story that can maybe help you.  Let me say this first, the testimonies that follow are to bring glory to God and his goodness.  I have to attest that all of these supernatural acts have been performed by the grace of God in my life and I am so thankful to him.

As many people in the world, I did not have the perfect childhood nor did I make it through my high school without pain.  Like you I was looking for the way out.  I do a lot of counseling and I have discovered that many people have unknowingly increased their stay in bondage. I know that some of the things that you have been through are very real and painful.  Some of the things I have heard in counseling will make you cry.  I am not trying to minimize the suffering.  I do however want to help you get on the road to wholeness.

What could possibly be such a powerful key?  Could there be something so powerful as to make us free?  One of these keys is forgiveness!  Why is forgiveness so important?  When Jesus was teaching Peter on forgiveness, He does more than just reveal the Father’s heart on it.  He goes on to give us a truth that may be the cause of many people’s bondage.

Matt. 18:34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

Matt. 18:35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

In this main passage (Matthew 18:21-35)

Many people struggle to forgive because they want justice and understandably so.  I learned a long time ago that wanting justice doesn’t always help.  There is something that happens to our hearts when we hold out for something like justice.  I want to tell you a story without it being boasting.

As many of you know I was shot at close range twice in May of 2010.  Within twenty minutes I had already quietly and openly in front of the police and firemen forgave the individual who was responsible.  A testimony to the goodness of God is that we have all gone on without the trauma that normally sticks around.  You might ask how could you do that. Well, it was by grace of course.  One of the things that I stay focused on is the calling of God on my life and I am aware of the enemy’s plans to derail me.  I try to stay alert because you just never know when he will try something.  I couple of things I will get to in a moment but first I will tell you how I learned this.

My father is a great person.  He is also one of my heroes.  My Dad is my hero because when he could have given up he gave in to Christ.  My life was made possible because God wanted to be faithful to my dad.  I didn’t have a perfect dad but he was my dad.  I love my parents very much and I am really grateful for them.  Without going into details, I did have some things to forgive my father for.  I can remember the day, place and time that I did forgive him.  My parents had been separated for five years and were just divorced.  My dad was getting remarried in a month.  I could not be there as I was going to be in the Mediterranean aboard a ship with the Navy.

My dad had driven me to the airport and I remember the conversation we had.  I told my dad I loved him and that I forgave him for everything. Why was that so important?  It was the day that I was set free from the past pain.  There have been many special times with the Spirit of the Lord and I can’t tell you how many times He has taken me back to that moment.  The funny thing is I was not even born again yet.

Now back to last year.  I have learned over the years that I can cut the past off with forgiveness.  Let me make this clear.  I don’t want to imply that there was no pain.  Sometimes things take time to heal.  My injuries took over seven months to heal.  I was in pain for three months or more.  What is my point?  Many people think that if they forgive all pain should stop, it doesn’t.  Some things will take time to heal.  The enemy however is a liar and he might tell you that you haven’t forgiven or he will bait you into getting justice.  I know if you forgive, the Father will forgive you.  If the Father forgives you, you are in a place of recovery.  I know if you don’t forgive the Father will turn you over to tormentors.  That doesn’t work to your benefit no matter how you look at it.  Forgiveness is not a suggestion but a requirement.  Do what you have to do.

I will leave you with this.  We want the image of Jesus in power but do we have His likeness in forgiveness?

Luke 23:34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

I want that character to work in me.  Oh Lord, work this in me.

Addicted to His Presence,

Louis DeSiena