Not a Quick Fix

Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

Sadly many people decide to give their lives to Christ for the wrong reasons. It has been taught that as soon as you give your life over to Christ that all of your problems will magically go away. Sorry to say that this is not the case. Giving your life to Christ means that you have decided to travel down a path to everlasting life, and not down the path of sure death. There is no other way to say it.

The scripture above references this journey, it tells that the way to this reward is difficult and narrow and few choose this path because it doesn’t make any logical sense. Many would rather choose the path that looks wide enough to comfort them and less fearful, but as we see this path leads to destruction. This scripture is not just speaking about people who don’t know Christ this is also references people that say they follow him also.

Can you remember the last time you accomplished something that was challenging and when you were finished how rewarding it felt. If you went to college, do you remember the hard work you had to put in, if you’ve been married for 20 plus years, the effort and time it took to get there? How great is a reward if there is no challenge to achieve it. I said before, we want to work hard at everything else but when it comes to the most profitable thing in our lives we just want a quick fix.

Why do you ask people to pray for you, is it because you would like to stop fornicating, or is it because you want to be debt free? Whatever the issue is we can pray for you in a thousand tongues but if you’re not willing to renew your mind to Gods principles and practices that prayer would be of no avail. People often think if they could just get touched by the Pastor than all their issues would resolve. The Pastor is just like you and I and goes through the same issues and temptations we endure. The difference between you and the Pastor (if they are a true person of God) is that they choose not to let what they see, feel, or touch dictate how they make decisions in the Lord.

They have decided to travel down the difficult and narrow path because their faith tells them that something is greater on the other side, even if they can’t see it right now. We need to stop wanting the quick fix of life and start desiring the profitable walk of faith down a path that seems impossible. In all actuality the path is impossible if you were doing by yourself, but since we have the Holy Spirit which leads us and guides us into all truth the path is achievable but only if you stand strong and have faith.

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

Faith + The Word = Power

On Sunday my Pastor preached an amazing message entitled “What Do You Say?” He talked about how we as Christians know the Word and what it says, but are we agreeing with the Word? What are we saying concerning the Word? It really made me take a look at myself and think about what I’ve been saying, and I realized that I’ve been saying more of how I feel then what the Word says about what is going on in my life. I begin to pray about this and God begin to show me that it’s even more than just saying, repeating, or confessing what the Word says. There is not necessarily power in that because we can speak things and not really believe in them or truly understand them. Sometimes we say things because we were taught to say them, or out of routine. He said to me “Faith is the power that activates the Word in your life.” It is when your faith agrees with the Word of God, then things begin to move.

We must make up our minds to stop saying what we see or how we feel, and make up our minds to say what the Word says in faith. It is imperative that we believe in what we are saying. We must believe in our hearts that the Word is absolute truth. It is that faith combined with the Word, that will activate the Word of God in our lives and we will begin to see positive change in our situations and circumstances.

Tracy Houston
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

The Blessing Which Comes From Obedience and Sacrifice

So I guess the theme that God is having me focus on is responsibility for the time being. Right now I have begun the process of studying the blessing of God. So far I have repeatedly come across the blessing that comes from obedience and sacrifice. From Genesis to Revelations you see results of individuals being blessed because of the actions that they performed first.

When we think about the story of Abraham, Abraham was constantly being commanded to do things. God instructed Abraham to leave his father’s house and go to a land that he was a stranger in. God instructed Abraham to sacrifice his only son without question. Now the reason why Abraham was so blessed is because of his actions or for better part his obedience to God.

When you think about the story of Issac, he gave instructions to Esau before he was going to bless him. He told him to go and hunt game and make him a tasty meal. Or you can translate that into going and preparing and sacrifice to present it as a worthy of receiving a blessing in return.

I think when the majority of Christians today think blessing they equate it to a one-sided condition. They think that all I have to do is pray and ask God for anything I want and He will provide. Now I’m not saying that it has never happened but there are conditions. Why would God bless you if you’re not faithful, responsible, or consistent with what you already have? There are actions that we must do in order to receive specific things from God.

We’re coming into a time of conditional relationship with God. You probably are thinking, God loves me unconditionally and you are absolutely correct. When you move into relationship though or into the most holy place, that place is very conditional. Just think before Jesus paid the price we we’re not even allowed into that dimension or realm. We had to have someone intercede on our behalf just to gain access. Now that we are all made into Kings and Priests we have access, but many of us don’t even know what that means.

In a relationship there has to be two sides, a giver and a receiver. So when I ask you do you have a relationship with God and you say yes, and then I ask you can you define that for me and you say yeah I go to church; what you are really saying is that you have a traditional relationship with your local church and the thought of God in your life.

When someone asks do you have a relationship with God your answer should be on the lines of this. Yes I do, He is the apple of my eye, there is not a day that goes by when I am not thinking about Him and His ways, He is the love of my life. God is everything to me, I consult Him in all of my decisions and because He is so loving I can go to Him with everything on my heart the good and the bad. I sit and sometimes I just listen to what’s on His heart and we walk and talk together. We are One. Now this is how I begin to define my relationship with God and there is so much more.

This place is very rewarding but you don’t get to this place without work and effort. If you are one who thinks that you don’t have to put in work and effort to build a relationship with God because it’s all about grace, than I will boldly say that you are wrong. You work at everything else, you work to be successful on your job, you work to have a good marriage, you work to afford things you want to buy. But when it comes to the most important thing in your life, and that’s a true relationship with God, all you do is show up… on Weds. night and Sun. morning. It’s time for a change.

Revelations 22:14 (NKJV)
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

Praise Will Lead You To Your Breakthrough

2 Chronicles 20:20-26 NCV
Jehoshaphat’s army went out into the Desert of Tekoa early in the morning. As they were starting out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, people of Judah and Jerusalem. Have faith in the Lord your God, and you will stand strong. Have faith in his prophets, and you will succeed.” Jehoshaphat listened to the people’s advice. Then he chose men to be singers to the Lord, to praise him because he is holy and wonderful. As they marched in front of the army, they said, “Thank the Lord, because his love continues forever.”

As they began to sing and praise God, the Lord set ambushes for the people of Ammon, Moab, and Edom who had come to attack Judah. And they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites attacked the Edomites, destroying them completely. After they had killed the Edomites, they killed each other.

When the men from Judah came to a place where they could see the desert, they looked at the enemy’s large army. But they only saw dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. When Jehoshaphat and his army came to take their valuables, they found many supplies, much clothing, and other valuable things. There was more than they could carry away; there was so much it took three days to gather it all. On the fourth day Jehoshaphat and his army met in the Valley of Beracah and praised the Lord. That is why that place has been called the Valley of Beracah to this day.

This is a powerful story of how faith in God and praise destroyed the enemy that Jehoshaphat’s army was facing. Many times in life there are situations we are facing, things that look so big that we don’t know how we are going to get through them or overcome them. Well I’m here today to tell you that if you put God in His rightful place and seek Him first, and if you are willing to praise Him, honor Him, and have faith in Him in the midst of what you are facing, then just like Jehoshaphat’s army God will go ahead of you and fight the battle for you. It’s time to begin to take our eyes off of the problems that face us, and lift them up to our Heavenly Father who is our victory. Jehovah Nissi --- the banner of Victory! If we do this we will always be victorious. God bless!

Tracy Houston
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

What Are You Proving?

Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

I recently wrote a Word for the day using the above scripture. Today I’m going to reference the same scripture again because I believe God is calling us to a new level of maturity and responsibility. The above scripture tells us to be renewed so that we may prove what the perfect will of God is. So my question to you today is; what are you proving?

If you stop and take inventory of your life, what will you find? Will you find that you are living a life for others and a life dead to self, letting Christ rule and reign? Or will you find a life that is comfortable and steady with the major influence of your decisions coming from your own wisdom. When I began getting the words to write down, I was receiving images of a people that have a love for God and a desire to do His perfect will but are stagnant in their walk.

The stagnation has come from years of religion and tradition, and inadequate teaching. When someone looks at you from the outside how do they relate your life to Christ? Do they say yeah I know he or she is saved and goes to church or do they marvel at the power of God and his anointing upon your life? Now both characteristics are excellent ones but I sense that majority of people in church today can only relate to the first one. The Bible says that we are Kings and Priests, and that we are heirs to the Kingdom of God. If this is the case why aren’t people equating the walk that most of us walk with that? As just mentioned, people think Christian and they think salvation. There is so much more to living this life on earth in Christ. There are opportunities not being taken advantage of because people are not fully proving the perfect will of God.

Well you may ask how do I do that? The first step is to be born again, but we got that down pact. The next steps are to move into the realm of relationship with God. This realm is the most intimate of all and this is where you get direction, strategy, strength and so much more. If you are familiar with the Tabernacle of Moses and have actually studied it, you should have seen that the Tabernacle is a foretelling of Jesus and the walk with God.

There are three rooms; the Outer Court, Inner Court, and Most Holy Place. There is only one way into the Tabernacle. In the first room (outer court) you have an alter for sacrifice and the brazen laver filled with water. In terms of the Christian walk the alter represents the sacrifice Jesus made on Calvary. Sadly this is where many Christians begin and end. The very last room is the Most Holy Place; this is the dwelling place of God. This is a place where only the Priest may enter and if you weren’t a Priest than you would have died if entered. This is the place God desires for all of us to get to. When Jesus sacrificed His life it says that the veil ripped. The veil that the Bible is referring to is the veil that kept the Most Holy Place separate. There is no longer a wall of separation that prevents personal relationship with God because we were all made into Kings and Priest through the blood of Jesus.

The question is do you know who you are and what you have that is dwelling within you? We need to move past the elementary teachings of salvation and move into the place of true relationship with God. Once this occurs than we will see an emergence of a new type of saint. A saint that is not bound by the systems of this world, one who speaks power that is preceded by manifestations, and one who when people look upon they see the Father.

Hebrews 6:1 (NKJV)
Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,

If you are tired of everyday church I charge you to take action and control over your faith. You have the power to move as one with God and not just sit on the sidelines marveling at the ones who are.
Are you proving yourself as a King and a Priest or just as a sinner saved by grace?

I encourage you to fully study the Tabernacle of Moses.

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

You Have To Change Your Mind In Order For God To Change Your Life

Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

I’m pretty sure we all know the above scripture quite well. The majority of time when it is referred to, it is in the context of not being like the rest of the world; but rather letting Gods Word transform you into a new. Well that is correct, but when you really begin to walk in true relationship with God you’ll understand that it’s not all up to God to make you better.

We all know that God is almighty, powerful, and His word is sharper than any two edged sword. What people fail to realize it that even though God is all of those characteristics and so much more, He will only perform in your life in you allow Him to. I think the disconnect that many Christians deal with today is the responsibility factor. Many of us validate our own laziness through God’s word. Have you ever heard someone say it doesn’t matter if I get a degree and get a good job or not because My God shall supply all my needs. Or how about the person that eats whatever kind of food they desire knowing that it’s not good for them and using the scripture by His strips I am healed.

Too many Christians have the mindset where they think they have no responsibility to themselves and that it is ok just to cruise through life without putting forth any effort. Why is it that so many people in the world prosper but Gods people are always getting the short end of the stick? Why is it that the majority of the wealthiest people in the world don’t even mention Christ? Why is it that the majority of the church are slaves to money instead of being the master of it? Many of you have been in church for probably as many years as I have been on this earth. Every Sunday the same prayer is prayed, a prayer for freedom from the worlds system, a financial breakthrough, and just an overall better life. This has been on the agenda of a lot of saints for too many years to count and it still seems like there is no change.

Why? Let’s take a look into the mind of today’s average North American Christian. We pray for financial breakthrough on Sunday but on Monday-Friday we waste money going out to lunch every day at work and freely spending what we don’t have. God won’t give you financial breakthrough if you have no fiscal responsibility. We pray for debt release and God say’s why do you want debt release; is it so you can go by a more expensive car? We pray for healing but don’t want to take responsibility over our own eating and health practices. When it all boils down to it, we have been lazy and stuck in the traditions of our fathers. No one is fed up with the system because it has been sustaining them.

In order for God to really move in your life like you desire it takes a little effort on your part. A little effort in the way of how you think. God won’t renew your mind for you, He can give you the tools to practice but it is ultimately up to you to put those tools to use. The scripture says “… that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” YOU have to prove it not God, God already did his part and now it’s up to you to do yours.

When the Bible says that we are heirs, and that He has freely given us all things; to me that is huge because I am an heir to Gods entire Kingdom. This is something I do not take lightly and I know if I am an heir than I also have responsibility. You have a choice, you can continue just reading His word or you can become it.

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

Our True Focus

Romans 5:8 (NKJV)
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

As I was reading this passage I had to stop and really think about the depth of it. Over the years most of us have been preached to about the sacrifice of Christ and in some of our minds we have misplaced or maybe even not known truly what that means. Christ chose to die for a people who were already dead due to sin, if that in its own right doesn’t deserve full dedication on our parts I don’t know what does. Today’s Christian is caught up more in the physical instead of the spiritual.

What I mean by this is; we have gotten away from the very root of why we even call ourselves Christian. The focus has shifted away from Christ and toward self. Not saying that this is something that has been instituted intentionally out of ill will but rather is the result of the emotions of man dictating the act of worship.

Why do you worship God, why do you attend church every week, why do you pray and what do you pray for? If you answer and analyze each question I just asked and the majority of your answers point back to you, than I would say there’s a bit of fractured focus there. The reason being is because everything should ultimately point to Christ and Calvary in your life just as it does in the Bible. If you read your Bible and actually read to gain knowledge you’ll discover that everything points to the ultimate sacrifice, starting all the way from the book of Genesis.

Some of us have been taught to think that we follow Christ so we can have better lives, bigger homes, better jobs, more peace etc… True we do have access to all of these things but you don’t have to be a Christian to access those things. There are many people who worship Buddha and Muhammad who can also attest to gaining those things. One thing that we have access to that many other religions cannot even understand is salvation. Salvation is what we have to keep in the forefront of our minds. We worship God through our obedience with our lives, and we ultimately live for others. It’s not always about us and our situations.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Today I want to focus on the topic of decisions and why people choose what they choose. The wonderful thing about God is that He gives us choices. He is not a God that will ever force someone to do anything. Instead He is a God after ones heart, God loves us so much that He gives us a choice to either love Him back or follow His commandments. And whatever a person’s chooses, either to reciprocate that love and obedience or not it doesn’t matter with God; He’ll still love them regardless.

Over the past day or so God has really been speaking to my spirit about why and how I make my decisions. If any of you know me personally, I am a fun loving guy and I always desire for people to be pleased. I’ll even take it a bit further, I desire for people to be pleased with me. I guess it just human nature. So in the past I would make decisions based on the thoughts of others and how they would perceive me, whether they would be pleased or not. When I first began seeking a relationship with God being obedient to His command was not an issue, because during that time I was pretty much all by myself. So I would promptly follow commands without a second glance, but now that I have progressed in life; married, active in ministry, and also now living in the same state as my family, I have kind of taken a sidebar.

God was revealing to me that my decisions have been based on the perceptions of the people that I am connected with and not necessarily based on His initial command. Now is God mad at me, of course not and He is still very much pleased with my heart and my intent. But now God is calling me and I’m pretty sure some of you that are reading this are being spoken to also. He is calling His children to raise up and make decisions based out of confidence in Him. If you say you love God than you should be confident that when He speaks it is His voice you’re hearing and not your own or something else.

Some of the decisions He will require you to make at certain times will be against the majority and people will look at you is as if you’re out of your mind. This is because the wisdom of man is foolishness to God. God is calling all of us to the next realm of relationship, where the perceptions of man are not a deciding factor in the decisions you make. He’s calling His children to make decisions based on the purpose that He has ordained for you and not the purpose you have ordained for yourself.

If you take a couple of examples in the Bible, you will see where this comes into play.

In the Book of Esther, it tells the story of Esther and how she literally came from nothing to royalty. I guess your typical rags to riches story if you compare it to today, but just on a higher level. Esther had it all, she was living as a Queen and she had it good. Her stepfather Mordecai came to her and told her of the plan to eradicate all of the Jews. He turned to her for help because he knew she had a voice with the king. Now this is a typical decision where God was calling Esther to raise up and beyond her formal frame of thinking.

To visit the king and make a petition you had to be invited, Esther had not been invited and the consequence for someone approaching the king uninvited was death. Esther could have made the decision to stay in her comfortable position in and play it safe. Instead she made what men may call an unwise decision and approached the king uninvited. Because she followed the commandment from God that came through her father she received favor and fulfilled her purpose by saving the Jews. God put her in that place for a reason, just as He has placed you or is placing your directly in the path of your purpose.

So, today I may or may not be talking to you. But if I am God is calling for us all to be bold in the confidence that we have in Him, and to began this New Year on a different level. It’s time for the Son’s of God to be manifested.

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

The Next Level

Today as I was reading and in prayer this morning I was getting a Word from the Lord to deliver to His people. What I received goes as follows:

“I know the hearts of my children, I know what is expected, and I know what will be delivered. It is time for my children to arise. My true children in heart, it is time to make a bold proclamation to the world of my goodness and grace. I need you just like You need me; you are my vessels in which Heaven is brought to earth. Make that proclamation today, that you will allow Me to take you to the next level without any fear in your hearts and in your minds. I have been speaking to many of you regarding this for awhile and you choose not to take heed to My voice. I understand that it may sometimes be fearful, but I have not given you the spirit of fear, but of Power, Love, and of a Sound mind. I am pleased with you, I love you, and you love Me. It’s time for the next level, all you have to do is take heed to the calling and believe in me that I can do what I say I will do. If you do this you will be rewarded beyond your dreams. If you do not than you will stay where you are.”

Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org

2011-Let There Be Light!

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 NCV

Light: Phos-to shine or make manifest
Shine: Lampō-radiate brilliancy; give light, shine

When I was praying about what to share with you all for this New Year God began speaking to me about the light within us. He gave me a vision of a light switch (the ones with the dimmer on it). You operate this light by turning the switch to either a low position in which it produces a very small amount of light, or you can turn it all the way up and it will produce a very bright light. In these times we live in, within the body, many Christians have turned their light to the lowest setting, almost too where their light is not even distinguishable. Sure they are good people, they are nice and they give, but they also do things the world is doing and they end up just blending in with the crowd. You couldn’t decipher them from another “good person” that is of the world. Believers have started to live in a gray area where values, and behaviors have been compromised in the name of freedom. Some people have gone from breaking out of the bonds of “religion” to this perceived total freedom in which they can do whatever they want, but as long as they tithe, read the word, give, pray, go to church, and profess Christ then they are ok. I’m here to tell you that God is saying it is this mindset that is dimming the light within us. There is a song by Jonathan McReynolds that talks about this…

No Gray
Chorus:
If it’s God we’re after
We’ve gotta pick one master
And before something happens
We better turn it all around

Because we can’t just have our cake and eat it to
Because it’s real easy to stay on the fence and still do you

It would be cool if we could love the Lord and still go do our thing
But it doesn’t work like that
It’s gotta be white or black

No gray
No shades of gray
No no no no no
It don’t work like that It’s gotta be white or black

If we live in that gray area then we are not radiating light as we should. In the above scripture Jesus talks about how you would not hide a light under a bowl, but when we live in that gray area that is exactly what we are doing. It is time to find the balance God desires us to have. We do not want to be bound by “religion”, but we cannot allow ourselves to go over to the other extreme and in essence bind others by our “freedom”. When we live in that manner, people of the world look at us as being just like them. In turn they don’t want what we have because they don’t see the value in it or in us for that matter. Luke 11:35 in the NKJV says…

“Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.”

We have to be careful as believers that we do not extinguish the light within us. Let us begin to evaluate our lives in 2011. Are there things we are doing or thinking that make us blend in with those of the world? Do we have habits or mindsets that could cause our brothers or sisters to stumble? Remember we are in the world (to reach the world), but not of the world. We are to be set apart, we are to be different. So people of God let your light shine this year and for years to come, turn up that dial so that all people can see the light and be drawn into the Kingdom of God.

Tracy Houston
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org