Lion's Voice Ministries: The Third Level Blessing

Please be blessed by this teaching. Lion's Voice Ministries: The Third Level Blessing: By Richard L. Spangler   While attending a Ministering Spiritual Gifts Conference I heard a teaching by Apostle John Burkholder of B...

The Third Level Blessing

By Richard L. Spangler

 While attending a Ministering Spiritual Gifts Conference I heard a teaching by

Apostle John Burkholder of Buffalo, NY. Apostle Burkholder taught on Luke 6:38,
“Give and it will be given to you a good measure, pressed down, shaken together
and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it
will be measured to you.”

             He stated, that he prays this over his offerings regularly. One day as he was                  
praying  this verse, God spoke to him that he was praying it wrong. Apostle John
asked how that he was praying it wrong. The Lord stated it was not enough to pray
for his offering to blessed, but he needed to pray for those who the Lord spoke to:
 to give to him to be blessed, so that they could give.

Then the Lord took it to another level, not only was to pray for blessings for those who were to give to him but also pray for those who were to bless the givers so that they could bless the givers. This is a third level blessing.

This takes blessing others to a whole different level; it takes it beyond simple
addition into multiplication of blessings. God is a God of multiplication. We see at
creation in Genesis how God commanded everything living thing to be fruitful and
multiply (not add).

 This is true in blessings as well as praying for others to be blessed. If we pray in the
matter stated above, our blessings will be multiplied as well.  So as you give your
tithes and offerings, pray for those who are to give to you, to be blessed, and also for
hose who are to bless them to receive a blessing.

Here is a personal example. I prayed over my offering that afternoon and on Sunday
at church. Now my wife has had some physical issues that prevented her from
working for more than two years. (God has been faithful in His provision for us).
  We and her doctors agreed that she should apply for disability. So, she set down and
filled out all the paperwork and submitted it. Her claim was promptly rejected. She
appealed. We were to go to an appeals hearing on the next Tuesday. I was told that I
could say nothing during the hearing, so I just sat there and prayed quietly in the
Spirit. The judge stated that it appeared my wife qualified and that we would be
notified in 7 to 10 days of his decision. We were excited and praised God. It gets
better, our attorney called on Friday, stating that the judge’s decision had already
been given and he ruled in our favor! She stated it would at least two months before
we received any back payments (two years’ worth) and then monthly checks. We
again rejoiced. Then on the following Tuesday, the lawyer called, stating she did not
understand it but the checked was already processed and mailed. We were stunned. On Friday we received a check for two years’ worth of back payments. Praise the
Lord.  We tithed on what we received and I again prayed over it and now waiting to
see what God does now.

            Again I want to encourage you, when you give your tithes and offerings praying for God’s blessing. Then go beyond that praying for others to be blessed so they can bless you. Finally, take it to third level of blessing, praying for those to be blessed that are to bless those who are to bless you. Then, watch and see what God will do.

©COPYRIGHT 2012 RICHARD SPANGLER

 

 

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Lion's Voice Ministries: The Unnatural Natural

Lion's Voice Ministries: The Unnatural Natural: Richard L. Spangler    A few years ago I lost three family members in three months, my youngest brother Sidney on December 23, 2009, m...

The Unnatural Natural

Richard L. Spangler

   A few years ago I lost three family members in three months, my youngest brother Sidney on December 23, 2009, my brother Jon (a year younger than me) on March 2, 2010 and my mother-in-law Eloise March 21, 2010. To say the least I was reeling under the weight of grief. I cried out to the Lord, “Help, I need something to get me through this.”

   I heard the Lord say, “You are dealing with an unnatural natural.” To that I replied, “Lord I don’t need riddles I need an answer.” (Thank God He loves me and is patience with me.)

 At this point, I heard again, “You are dealing with an unnatural natural.” It was then I began to think about what was being said. Death is a natural part of our physical existence. Everything in the physical universe eventually dies but our spirits are eternal. We live forever.

   This then is the conflict we experience in dealing with the death a love one, a friend or a pet. Our spirits realize that this is not natural; we are not suppose to die, we were created to live forever by God. We were never meant to experience separation from God, our family, and friends and even our pets. Remember, before the fall of man there was no death in the universe so animals were eternal also. When man sinned, he brought death into the entire universe.

 God put eternity in our hearts, Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NKJV)
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He Has put eternity in their hearts,.

   This makes death hard for us to deal with, whether sudden or a prolonged illness before death, it is still unnatural to our spirits.  Our spirits are screaming from deep inside us, “This is not right! This is not supposed to happen! ” Yet it does.The unnatural separation occurs and we are left with a sense of lost and aloneness. It does not matter what people say or what we know, we still feel the unnaturalness of the loss and the grief that goes with it.

 Thank God, that He gives each of us  time to come to terms with this unnatural event.  The Bible says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3 NKJV).

   Jesus quotes the Prophet Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound” (Luke 4:18 NKJV). 
  God is here with us. He holds hand, wraps us in His loving arms and will even pick us up and carry us through the valley of death. He also lets us know that for the believer this separation is temporary, “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.  For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord(1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 NKJV).
 
   Even in the darkness hours of our lives, there is hope for us that believe in Jesus Christ. We know that the unnatural separation of death is only temporary and we will again be with our love ones and friends, if they have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord and received forgiveness from sin.
   Those that do not know Christ do not have this hope, They only the darkness of confusion and grief caused the unnatural separation of death.  If you want this hope, please pray this prayer: 
   Dear Lord Jesus,
  I know that I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins and rose from the grave to give me life. I know You are the only way to God. So now I want to quit disobeying You and start living for You. Please forgive me, change my life and show me how to know You.
  In Jesus' name. Amen. 
 
  Contact me,directly or call the CBN Prayer Center 1-800-759-0700 and talk with a Prayer Partner, let them know you prayed this prayer on this blog and ask them for the New Day. Then, once you know Christ, ask Him to save your family and friends. He will use you to lead them to Him.

©COPYRIGHT 2012 RICHARD L SPANGLER