Luke 2: 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

“Peace and a Happy Lord!” For the past couple of Sundays I have had the privilege of preaching a message on this timely topic, even while in Korea.   It fits with the underlying themes of both Thanksgiving and Christmas.  It is a time to be grateful for all the Lord has done and it is a reminder of the joy of the first Christmas morning.   Merry Christmas indeed!

We have so much to be grateful for. In fact, I am writing this little thank you from Seoul, Korea, home of my over 60^th trip to this enchanted land!  It is a land of almost 40% Christians, with the blessing of God and a zeal for the world. Of course, as with any nation, it is not without its problems which are often reflected in the church here. In the midst of a culture that is dynamic and oh so different than the West, Vision is active in establishing college programs.  We are also providing distance degrees to hundreds in this nation, thanks to the excellent work of Dr. Eunice Kim. She is my partner and friend and she shares my exact birthday (December 6 in Korea, December 5 in the United States).

Let us not forget the incredible work of Dr. Sam Seong Kim, a true apostle to Kazakhstan, Turkey, Jordan, Mongolia, and the world.  He is the World Zone leader for Vision in Central Asia and Korea. This will be my last international trip this year, and it has been bitter sweet. The bitter is that Dr. Eunice is too ill to travel, leaving me to fend for myself a bit with few folks that speak English, and sweet in that it is a short trip, and I am home soon to start the Christmas celebration.

In this special season, we need to remember to be grateful. We all face challenges, and Christmas can be memorable and problematic. I think of my Joan, who just lost her mom, and has a memorial service on the 13^th; and also the loss of her dad only a year ago this Christmas.  Our friend, graduate, and partner in ministry Dr. David Wyns just lost his precious wife, Marie.  Our Christmas will also be a bit diminished as my dad won’t be there to inspire us…and on it could go. Yet, we have so much to be grateful for and more importantly, God determined before we were a twinkle in anyone’s eyes to send his Son Jesus to bring peace on earth, and favor.  Favor for the whole world whether it is received or not, but especially for those who know him.  Christmas…I love it, and I am hoping you will have a blessed Christmas time and why not! God is Good!

Brief Update

As I mentioned, I am writing this from Korea…where I am conducting several graduations, preaching and teaching, and getting some writing done. Thanks to all of you who continue to pray for our ministry, and me personally…it definitely makes a difference. This is a long trip, but it has been good by God’s grace.

As we enter the Christmas and New Year’s season, please remember the end of year Matching Fund giving campaign. Partners who love our work have already committed $35,000 towards our fund to match, and I am believing for at least $15,000 more to be matched by partners, both nationally and internationally. Please pray about continuing to be a generous giver to the vision and mission of Vision.  Also, please pray for additional help, as we just received news that we will need a new roof on the modular building where our offices are, due to damage from the recent heavy rains in the Southern California area. We need the rain, but not the damage…and also, we need to do some major repairs to the outside of the church building to remove the problem of water damage…all up, we will need at least $15,000 to take care of the repairs, which should make us good for a long time to come.

Continued Reminder

Again, by way of not too subtle reminder, we continue to take care of what the Lord has entrusted to us, as we continue with our two-pronged focus:

Vision International University:

• Preparing International leaders through degree granting programs, with a special emphasis on the nations of the world

and the Vision International Training and Education Network:

• With our Vision School of Ministry for local church training,
• Walk in Wisdom seminars, various equipping seminars and on-line certificate course,
• counseling outreach, church planting and dynamic publishing…
• taking the whole word to the whole world.

We are still in need of help for:

• Flooring for the Fellowship hall and my office in the main building
• Greater clarity as to how we are to use the building for God’s glory.

So, please keep us in prayer, and especially pray for a continued flow of generous givers to help in our journey, and concentrate on Accreditation! Praying for you to have a wonderful Christmas! God is Good! All the time!

We pray for all our Gideon 300 members…and we are so grateful for generous givers like you. Your gifts, large of small, help us to fulfill the Vision of Vision…taking the whole word to the whole world, and Preparing leaders in the 21^st Century. Again, thanks for your kindness, generosity and faithfulness. 

PS… our focus in this season is Praising and Worshiping God. 

Check out these articles by  Mbasekei Ayomobi at:   https://www.booksbyvision.org/real-worship-anyone/

and  Revivalist and Worship Leader, Andrew Hopkins at: https://www.booksbyvision.org/send-out-your-roar/ 

Blessings to All!  Dr. Stan

By Mbasekei Ayomobi

The purpose of this book is to expound the bridal as well as the prophetic implications of worship – the kind that enters past His gates into His courts… and helps the saints experience all that can be found there. Psalm 22:3 says God inhabits the praises of His people, and I find this very challenging because I’ve been in far too many congregations where the worship was conducted without the slightest indication that God Himself was supposed to be involved.

From scripture and from our daily walk with the Lord, we must find worship to be a journey into the prophetic realm that entrenches us firmly in His present truth purposes.  Our praise and worship flow from our growing relationship with Him.  As we speak and sing from sanctified adoring hearts,  He in turn, quickens and stirs our hearts with the glory and authority of heaven, to the degree that we start to prophesy His very mind and will. He becomes at once the melody and the harmony, the lyrics and the life. This is the place where every contrary rule and spirit is overthrown and the authority of Christ enthroned. We have been called to sing the song of the Lord with a passion, beauty and power that is all heavenly. Healing and deliverance come as we surrender to the wonder of His splendor revealed in our hearts. The Church must come away from dead rites and seek to move in the fresh ways of the Lord, for He yet proclaims through the prophet Isaiah:

Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them. Sing unto the Lord a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth… (Isaiah 42:9-10)

A new song is a song emerging out of our current spiritual position in God, and captures any number of spiritual postures or conditions representing that which God is doing in the now. It is this prophetic dynamic that we must seek to emphasize in our worship. Music has always been a spiritual language that easily transcends the mind gate to reach hearts and spirits. It is a veritable tool in God’s hands (and Satan’s as well), and we in the church must strive to keep it anointed, just the way God planned it. Anointed psalmists and minstrels, now more than ever, have got to take their place out ahead of God’s army.  As in King Jehoshaphat’s day, they lead the church in stirring up divine presence and power in our worship and praise. In this hour of restoration, we cannot afford to compromise the awesome opportunity to partake in all that God is willing to share with us.  We must sincerely seek Him in places of true praise and worship. This is the prime aspect of the prophetic mandate upon us, the church, the bride of Christ, God’s priests and kings in the earth.

This book explores how we can best utilize the realms of glory that God ushers us into, when we sincerely worship Him, as is our call. It is my hope that reading this book will help you enter the holiest courts of the Lord to receive all that’s in His heart for you.

Rev. Mbasekei Ayomobi

mbasekei.com

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