August 1997 Contents:
Hi Dear Friends,
We wanted to be in touch, and bring you up-to-date. We hope that all is well with you, and that you are experiencing God's richest Blessing.
Chester and Betsy Kylstra
As usual, much is going on. The main thing to let you know, however, is that the ministry office has been moved, and thus the telephone numbers have changed. In January of this year, we bought some property with a house and a guest house. We had completely outgrown the duplex we had rented for several years. God opened up an opportunity to acquire more than double the space, big enough for us and for the ministry. After several months of restoration, we moved the ministry in July. Please change your listing for Proclaiming His Word, Inc., to 850-835-4060, both voice and FAX. (Note that the area code has also been changed.) This number represents four lines, so we hope that you will have an easier time calling us from now on. All previous numbers will soon be dropped, so please change to the new one. However, also note that our mailing address has not changed.
By the time you receive this letter, we will be in Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russia. Unlike many others that have gone there, we expect to come back. Missionary Carl Vincent and Pastor Vitaly Maximuk have invited us to teach and train for two weeks in the Ministry School. They are in their second year of training Russian pastors, many of whom are young, and have been "born again" in the last few years. We will acquaint them with God's promises of healing and freedom, and train them in applying Restoring the Foundations ministry principles. All of this will be through a translator, of course. This job will be easier than it might have been, as they have translated all of the worksheets, handouts, etc., into Russian, as well as Restoring the Foundations.
Many Thank You's to those of you that have given to make this missionary trip possible. We are blessed that ALL of the expenses have been covered. As you probably know, ministers going to Russia are not going for the offerings and honorariums!
There are many wonderful Spirit-led movements and emphasis in the earth today. The prophets are bringing greater vision and clarity as they have seasoned. The apostles are being raised up, and both are bringing strength to the church. Whole geographic areas are being redeemed from the power of the enemy through Identification Repentance (Peter Wagner and Cindy Jacobs), and people groups are forgiving past sin and atrocities committed against them. The Cell Group church is exploding in many nations and making inroads in America. Powerful voices are speaking racial reconciliation here and abroad. Revival continues in many nations, as well as in Toronto, Pensacola, Florida, and California. Many persecuted Christians are standing fast for Christ in the face of torture and even death. So much new life is pouring into the Christian World, that at times I feel as if I am in a spiritual whirlwind!
During the past few decades there has been an exponential explosion of material inventions and products. In the future, I believe the focus of excitement is going to shift from the material to the spiritual realm.
I, Betsy, have never wanted to get caught up in the spectacular, but when the spectacular is truly the working of the supernatural, of God's Hand, then my spirit is awed, which it has been recently. In the midst of excitement, however, God keeps bringing me back to the basics: prayer, repentance, fasting, the fruit of the spirit, and most recently, the power of the Blood of Jesus. Would you let me remind you of the things God's been reminding me of?
Between the covers of our Bibles, the topic of blood is mentioned around 700 times. It's not a minor subject! David the psalmist refers to the "incorruptible" blood; Peter, to the "precious" blood, and John to the "overcoming" power of the blood. Leviticus 17:11 tells us, "The life of the flesh is in the blood ...". The blood is the physical carrier of the spiritual God-given force of life.
In the human body, one of the blood's functions is to cleanse all of our cells. It is the garbage collector. So too, is the Blood of Jesus. "How much more then, will the blood of Christ ... cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God" (Heb 9:14). Apply the Blood, by faith, to purify any area of your conscience that needs it. You can feel pure again.
At the time of the Passover, God said, "The blood will be for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt" (Ex 12: 7,12,13 ). We must note here that God's protection wasn't based on the people's degree of morality, on their devotional habits, on good works, or even on religious zeal. God was looking at the Blood. He is still looking at the Blood. This time it is the application of the Blood of Jesus to our lives, by faith. Is there a special way that you need His protection today?
In the Old Testament, God says, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul" (Lev 17:11). In that case it was the blood of animals, sacrificed frequently. In the New Testament, Jesus says, "This is the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Mat 26:28). How hard we work sometimes, in order to make up for past sin. Are you trying to make up for something, an addiction, an affair, an abortion, hate in your heart? You can't, and neither can I. We can confess our sin and receive the Blood of Jesus that covers it completely.
When Jesus' Blood was shed for sin, it was simultaneously shed for sickness. For sin (not sins), is the root of sickness. There was no sickness before Adam's fall. Many of us have repeated the part of the verse from 1 Peter 2:23, that tells us, "by His stripes you were healed." Kenneth Wuest, the wonderful Greek scholar says, "The word 'stripe' is in the singular here: a picture of our Lord's back after the scourging, one mass of raw, quivering flesh with no skin remaining, trickling with blood." Thank you Lord, for the painful price You paid for my healing.
Revelation 12:11 has, "And they overcame him (satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony ...". Jesus' victory at the cross, including His defeat of satan, gave us the power to defeat him in our lives as well. Have you forgotten that satan is defeated in your life? The work was done. Now its time to enforce it.
Unless we apply the living and powerful Blood of Jesus, by faith, to our lives, it remains only a general theological concept, a fact of history, and we continue in our need. Let's go back to the basics.
(These reflections are based both on my personal study, and on H. A. Maxwell Whyte's book The Power of the Blood. A very fine book in essence, but read with some caution.)
For those of you who were not able to come this summer, or at other times, but wanted to, we are having an Activation Seminar just before the October conference. Scheduled meetings are: Sat, Oct 18, 7-10; Sun, Oct 19, 7-10; Mon, Oct 20, 9-12 and 2-5; Tues, Oct 21, 9-12. Please note that the CI Prophets Conference does not begin until Tuesday evening. For information and application forms, contact the office at 805-835-4060. All application forms must be in by October 4th.
For additional information, please Contact Proclaiming His Word.