A few months ago I was on a retreat with several dozen NFL and NBA players. Many of them were All-Stars or All-Pros. For years I have studied leadership and tried to understand what enables some to excel while others with seemingly more talent do not do as well. Just sitting around talking with some of these players led to some of the best answers I have received yet to this question.

George Whitefield
1714-1770

     For a time, George Whitefield was one of the most widely recognized names in the world. He was certainly the best-known religious leader of his time and is credited with the spread of the First Great Awakening. This Awakening not only brought profound changes to Christianity, but to Western civilization as well. It is hard to imagine what the world would be like today without Whitefield’s contribution.

        Last week I shared the first principle of the kingdom that I was told Amway Corporation understood better than the church did. This week I will share the second principle I learned from them. I learned the principle of connecting vision to a practical plan for accomplishing the vision.

When I wrote the last Special Bulletin we were still wondering how long this present visitation of the Lord would last. Since then it has become obvious that this is much bigger than we were first seeing, and there is no end in sight. The breakout at Heritage is not only continuing, but is getting stronger. What we have spent most of our life praying for is now happening. What is breaking out now is bigger than us and is spreading across the land. This has all the signs of being the beginning of one of the greatest moves of God ever in America.

The last of the works of the flesh that Paul lists in Galatians 5 is “carousing.” This is more than just joking around. The Greek word that is translated implies being loud and foolish. The carnal nature is prone to being self-centered and likes to be the center of attention. The more we let the carnal nature exert itself, the louder and more boisterous it often becomes.

From the prophecies concerning the last days in Scripture, we know that discerning truth will be one of the most crucial issues of the times. This of course has always been important, but the end of the age will bring the ultimate conflict between light and darkness, truth and deception.

Over the previous two weeks, we addressed some of the ways we are going to begin seeing Luke 17:20-21 fulfilled in our time: "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst."

I was carried into another realm where I found myself standing at a crossroads. Close to me, I saw the form of a person holding a dim light. As I approached, I recognized Lady Liberty, the Statue of Liberty, which was alive. She was confused and disoriented. With her feet barely moving forward, she was hesitant. Her light was dim, and her arms drooped so that she was about to drop the tablet she was holding loosely.

Our text for this week is Ephesians 2:21-22: