Ted J. Hanson's Weekly Blog – ted4you.com

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Today I am in Angola, Africa. I have been blessed to be with several church leaders on Saturday and Sunday. I also spoke on the radio on Sunday morning and ministered in a great church Sunday morning. It was great to be with believers that were hungry for the presence of God and eager to receive His words of life. I have a full week of training here with many leaders.

Our fight is not a fight against flesh and blood. It is a fight against spiritual forces and powers because it is an empowerment of life that destroys all manner of distraction and death. It is a fight of faith. It is not merely a fight against something but a fight to be empowered by an internal connection to God at all times through His Holy Spirit. Our wrestle is not a wrestle against the flesh but an empowerment by God’s Spirit to be fully connected to Him at all times and in all things.

Our confession should be a confession of love and life. Our relationship with God in Christ empowers us to live godly lives with wholesome words and expressions of life to others in our world. The way of the world is self-willed and self-focused. When we seek our own way, we become proud, and we end up in disputes and arguments with others over words that are inspired by envy, strife, evil suspicions, and argumentative attitudes. The way of the world is to seek to get things in life that satisfy their own desires and to be someone of stature and importance in their own eyes. They seek the things of the world to give them satisfaction in the world. This is not to be our way in Christ.

The apostle Paul exhorted his spiritual son Timothy to live his life in godliness with contentment for each day. He encouraged him to know that seeking the riches of the world can be the root of many kinds of evil. A desire for the things of the world can be a distraction from what really counts. What really counts in life is a daily relationship with God. This is not just life, but life eternal and life abundant.

1 Timothy 6:11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, 15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

The appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ is not just an appearing at a future event of fullness, but an appearing of Him in many ways in the seasons of our lives. We will no doubt see Him at the culmination of the harvest of our lives when we transition from this world of corruption to the incorruptible glory of God’s presence. His coming is not just an event in time but an increasing reality of His nearness and presence in our lives and in all times. We will no doubt see Him when all things are summed up in Him and presented to God our Father but we must live each day to see Him by faith in our hearts and to know His manifest presence in us and with us in all things. Knowing His presence in our lives will inspire us to express His presence in the power of love to our world.

Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

It is through intimacy with God in our hearts and an embracing of His presence that we can be empowered by faith with a steadfast adherence to Him. This is the faith and patience that empowers our labor of love. That labor of love is a love for Him that inspires each of us to make sacrifices willingly and willfully for the sake of giving life to others in our world. This is the diligence that we must walk in through the full course of our lives to the greater glory that lies ahead.

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Today I am in Portugal. I arrived here last Friday, and I have had a full weekend with many God testimonies so far. It is always a joy to be here with my church family and to see the work of God’s Spirit in the testimony of His love. It is a great blessing to be a part of God’s purpose and plan in this world. Thank you to all who have participated in this past weekend. Today I met with many leaders of congregations of the CCVA churches in Portugal. God is doing good things!

Christianity is not meant to be a religion. It is not meant to be a belief system. Christianity is a faith, not a belief. It is a faith that comes by a personal connection to God in our hearts. It is the testimony of being a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Faith happens when we hear God in our hearts, and it inspires the actions of our lives.

1 Thessalonians 1:2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, 3 remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, 4 knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God.

When we know God’s love, we are empowered to love God. A revelation of God’s love in our lives will enable us to hear Him in our hearts. When we hear Him in our hearts, we are inspired in our faith towards Him. When we have faith towards God, we make sacrifices of love for Him and for those He loves. This is the fruit of knowing our election in Him. It is not by efforts of our flesh but by a revelation of His goodness and love.

2 Thessalonians 1:3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, 4 so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, 5 which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer…

The first century church was suffering persecutions, even unto death. In some places of the world this is true this very moment. In difficult times our faith is tested. Do we trust the One we hear in our hearts. When we trust God, we love Him! This is true in good times and in times of trouble. Our hearts should burn with love for God at all times. Our hope is not in persecutions but in the One who abides in us and causes us to manifest as sons and daughters of God even in times of trouble. Just as the first century church overcame in their generation, we too can overcome in whatever circumstance or situation we find ourselves in. Our faith is the fruit of a personal relationship with God in Christ. Our relationship with Him is also the fire that empowers us to abound in actions of love towards one another.

What seeks to destroy us in life is destroyed by the presence of God in our lives. In the first century there was a day of judgment that destroyed the persecutors of the church. The antichrist spirit of Pharisaic legalism couldn’t destroy the true temple of God but was in fact destroyed because the living temple of God proved to be faithful and true, even in the midst of persecution. The antichrist spirit of dead religion and the antichrist spirit of the world could not destroy the true temple of the Spirit of Christ.

2 Thessalonians 1:6 …since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.

The pronouns in these verses were written for people in Paul’s generation, but they are also true for us today. There was a destruction of the persecutors of the first century church in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Old Covenant Torah/Temple system. What opposed Christ was destroyed by the very weapons they sought to use against the Church rooted in faith and patience in Christ. What was true in Christ proved to be lasting while what opposed Christ was revealed to be false and was removed.

Even in our own lives, everything that opposes the life of Christ in us is destroyed by the life-transforming power of Christ in us. The true always removes the false. Christ is always more powerful than anything or anyone that is antichrist. Embracing Christ is not about embracing a religion or a belief system of Christianity. Embracing Christ is abiding in Him and inviting Him to abide in us at all times. This is the source our faith and the empowerment of our patience to inherit all that He gives to us in life.

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Today I am still in Redding, California with my family hear. Bonnie and I have had a wonderful time, and we look forward to returning again to be with our children and grandchildren. This week I will head to Portugal, and I believe that God is going to do wonderful things by the power of His grace.

In the past weeks I have addressed the fires of the lamp of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We are a temple of Holy Spirit – a dwelling place of God by His Spirit. The presence of God in our lives should be something that affects us internally and reveals a testimony of God’s life to our world.

The light of our lives is the manifest presence of Holy Spirit in our lives. This is the testimony of Christ in us. It is a work of God’s grace and a testimony of God’s grace that we can know, and others can see. When we have the fire of God’s grace burning in our hearts and minds it becomes evident to the world around us.

We must know the fire of being loved by God. This is to know Him loving us each day. We can only love others to the degree that we know His love for us. Jesus told his disciples to love one another, even as He had loved them. This is true for us in our relationship with Him today. We can only truly love another when we know how much, and in what ways, Jesus loves us. This includes His gift of mercy through His death upon our cross, but also His triumphant grace that makes our hearts come alive where we were once dead.

When we know the fire of being loved by God, we can also know the fire of loving God. I remember the fire of loving Him when I first came to know Him more than fifty years ago. I passionately loved Him because I had a revelation of His amazing love for me. Each of us needs to know this simple truth in an experiential way in every season of our lives.

We must know the fire of responding to God that gives us a heavenly testimony inside and out. That heavenly testimony affects us in our whole being – spirit, soul, and body. When we know the fire of responding to Him, we are transformed. Our lives reveal the evidence of responding to Him internally even unto external expressions of what comes from Him in heaven.

We must grow in knowing the fire of giving life to others. This is the life-giving authority of God working in us that empowers us to give life to others in our world. We receive life from Him to give life to others in every area of our responsibility in life.

We must grow in the fire of being life for others. This is growing in knowing who we are in Christ. It is only in Christ that we can discover our true identity and our ability to reveal the resurrection life of Christ to our world.

We must know the fire of community – a love for God as our Father and for one another as His family in the earth. This fire will enable us to be the fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, and all that reveals true community and communion of life.

We must grow in the fire of partnership with God in all things. This is knowing the abiding presence of Jesus in the power and purpose of His name that enables us to reign in life. This fire gives us a zeal for God’s house. It gives us a zeal for God’s kingdom to come in our lives and His will to be done.

Holy Spirit, we welcome you to burn in our hearts and minds and reveal us to be sons and daughters of God our Father in heaven. Reveal the testimony of Jesus’ name in all that we are and do. Give us the fire of being loved by You God and the fire of loving You. Grant us the fire of responding to You with heavenly testimonies – inside and out. Give us the fire of giving life to others in the boundaries given to us in this world. Give us the fire of being life for others. Help us grow in knowing who we are in Christ for the sake of our lives together as the body of Christ revealing your glory in our world. Give us the fire of community with a love for You as our Father and a love for the family You have given to us in this world. Give us the fire of purpose and destiny so that we can see Your kingdom come and Your will being done in our spheres of reigning in this world. We open the door for you to abide in us and we choose to abide in you each day of our path of destiny.

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Greetings,

Blog In Audio:

Today I am in Redding, California with my family that lives here. I am enjoying time with two of my special grandchildren and being blessed with the stretched-out tent pegs of my family tribe. I will be here through this week and through the next weekend.

Today I am addressing the fire of purpose and destiny in our lives. This a fire of an awe of God that empowers us to know His partnership with us and our partnership with Him in all things. It is a testimony of the Spirit of the fear of the Lord working in and through us to bring life to our world.

A testimony of this fire can be found in the final letter of seven letters in the book of Revelation written to the Church of Laodicea. The name Laodicea means “just people”. This is a term that speaks of the Pharisaic day when Jesus was upon the earth. His own people had become absent of the glory of God and thus Jesus pronounced them desolate (Mt. 23:37, 38). That generation was self-righteous and thought themselves to be just without the power of God. They had aligned themselves with the rulers of the world and were unable to exercise the life-giving rule of Christ.

In this letter Jesus is seen as the one who is “the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God”. These are words that describe a covenant connection to God in a face-to-face partnership with Him in all things. It is the testimony of a lifestyle of true prayer – a constant reality of an intimate connection to God to fulfill His purpose and will in life.

The people of the Church of Laodicea were reprimanded for their lukewarm condition. They were neither cold as the world, nor were they hot as the living in Christ. They had adopted a form of godliness without the power or presence of God. It is interesting to note that the city of Laodicea was physically located between hot springs and cold springs. A drink of lukewarm water would be a known experience and the reaction of spewing it out would also be a real-life testimony.

Even the physical surroundings of the city of Laodicea prophetically exemplified the condition of the atrophy of religious Pharisaism. Exegetically this was the period of the ‘last days’ of the Old Covenant nation of Israel, which was concluded in A.D. 30 – 70. This was the generation that Jesus said would not pass until the prophetic words of His mouth were fulfilled (Mt. 16:28; 24:34; Mk. 9:1; 13:30; Lk. 9:27; 21:32). This was the generation that had confessed they had no king but Caesar, yet professed to be servants of the Most High God (Jn. 19:15). They were neither fit for God or Caesar. They were an exegetical testimony to all forms of godliness that lack God’s presence and power in the generations of the past and in all generations to come. Because of their lukewarm condition, Jesus said He would spew them out of His mouth. This is a Hebrew phrase that was part of the curse for breaking covenant with God (Lev. 18:24-28; Lk. 21:24). Israel was told that if they became like the nations of the world, the Promised Land would vomit them out.

The people of Laodicea had become conditioned by the world to no longer be seekers of God, but simply lovers of themselves. They thought themselves to be rich and in need of nothing, but God saw them to be “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked”. This is the description of the Pharisaic Judaism of the first century (Lk. 18:9-14; Rev.18:7). A fallen condition was disqualifying them from ministry (Lev. 21:18-21; Deut. 29:4; Mt. 13:13-15; Mt. 16:3; 2 Cor. 4:3, 4; 1 Jn. 2:11).

They were counseled by the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord to “buy gold refined in the fire”. This was a signification of their need to become faithful to God (1 Pet. 1:5-7; 1 Cor. 3:12-15). They were instructed to put on “white garments”. They needed to pay the price of putting on wedding attire, or be replaced (Mt. 22:11-14; Gen. 3:21; Rev. 19:8). This would give them the testimony of eternal hope in Christ. They were instructed to put salve upon their eyes that they might see. That salve was not a salve of natural sight, but a salve symbolizing the receiving of the healing grace of God in Christ (Lk. 4:18; Acts 26:18; 1 Cor. 2:14, 15). They would see with eyes of love, as our heavenly Father sees the world through eyes of love. God wanted to deal with them as their Father. The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord would grant them the grace of honoring their Father in heaven. God had come to treat them as sons. He was ready to rebuke and chasten them that they might come to know the Father of spirits and live (Heb. 12:5-11; Mal. 4:1-6).

God wants us all to know the fire of partnership with Him in all things. Jesus stands at the door of our hearts and knocks. He is ready to abide in us and us in Him to fill our world with the testimony and purpose of His life. We are invited to come to the throne of Christ that we might see His kingdom come and His will being done in every situation of our path in life. This is the throne whereby Jesus rules, and will continue to rule, until His kingdom becomes a great mountain and fills the earth (Dan. 2:35, 45). All New Covenant Believers have the ability to manifest the glory of God (2 Cor. 3:2-18).

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’

God wants us to know the fire of purpose and destiny in life. This is the fire of Christ abiding in us and us abiding in Him for His purpose and will in all things. This is that we might bring the life of God’s house to our house in this world.

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Today I am in Wichita, Kansas with Christ Life Church. We had a great weekend and I believe that the fruit of the weekend will be evident in the days to come.  We heard God’s heart and we are inspired to move forward in His vision for what is before us.

The sixth letter of Revelation was written to the Church of Philadelphia. The word Philadelphia means “brotherly love”. It relates to communion and the testimony of the Spirit of Knowing (Isa. 11:2), thus the angel of Philadelphia is the Spirit of Knowing (Zech. 4:10). This is the true witness of eternal life given as an “eternal judgment” of mercy and grace to live our lives in Christ (Heb. 6:2). That eternal judgment is one of mercy and eternal life for all who find themselves in Christ.

In this letter Jesus is seen as “He who is holy”, a term for God in His Temple. “He opens and no one shuts” and “shuts and no one opens”. All of this is “imagery of the synagogue and the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple”. Those in Philadelphia had “little strength” but had “kept His word and have not denied His name”. In Philadelphia there were those of the Synagogue of Satan, who said they were Jews just as there were conflicts in the day of Ezra and Nehemiah with false Jews (Ezra 4; Neh. 4; 6; 13). The testing of the faith of the Church was really the proving of God’s communion of the Spirit. The testimony of God’s love for His people would be the subduing of their oppressors beneath their feet. The true Zion of God would be seen as Christ’s Church (Isa. 60:14; Heb. 12:22). The Spirit of Knowing would prove to establish the foundation of the Church in love. Those who knew the communion of the Spirit would be kept from the hour of trial that would come upon the world. The Greek word for ‘world’ here is oikoumene, meaning land. From the word oikeo, meaning to occupy a house.  That which is covenant would be described as “earth” (land), and that which is not covenant would be described as “sea”. The word ‘world’ would be better translated as earth or land in this case. It was not the ‘cosmos’ (global world), but rather the world that professed a knowledge of God (occupied land). This hour of trial was to come to those who professed to be of God in order that those of the true temple of God might prevail. It was not a trial for the unsaved, but a trial for those who made a confession of being the house of God. I believe that the firstfruits fulfillment of this was in the first century persecution of the Church and the judgment of the apostates in A.D. 70. Jesus said He was “coming quickly”.

The Church of Philadelphia was told to hold fast to that which they had and they would be pillars in the temple of God. The firstfruits Church of the first century became the foundation for the Church throughout the generations to come. As pillars in the temple of God they were given the testimony of a love for God and a love for His people. The life of the Spirit was to overcome the life of the flesh and the City of God was beginning its established testimony in the earth. This was true exegetically for the Church of Philadelphia, syntactically true in the history of Ezra and Nehemiah, and true by principle of application in the generations to come. All who enter the New Covenant are given the life of community with God and one another. The provision, safety, government, strength, and community of God’s City will be given to them in increasing measures.

He who overcomes is granted to be made a “pillar in the temple of God”. To be a pillar the temple of God is to be a dwelling place of God by His Spirit. God said a testimony would be “to write on him My new name”. It is through communion with the Spirit of Knowing that we become expressions of the image of Christ (Ex. 34:29-35; Num. 6:25; Num. 12:6-8; 2 Chr. 3:7-18; 4:6; Ps. 80:3, 7, 19; 2 Cor. 3:2-18; 1 Jn. 3:2). This is a full restoration of God’s people to His image (Ex 34:6, 7).

The testimony of those who overcome is that of being established in the earth as a place of God’s eternal presence. It is said that, “he shall go out no more”. These are those who are made strong by the Spirit of Knowing (Jer. 1:18; 1 Tim. 3:15); as opposed to those who are cast out (Mt. 8:11, 12).

Revelation 3:12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. 13 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’

The testimony of the Church of Philadelphia is that of being in intimate communion with God as the community of God. The name of God and the name of the city of God would be written upon them. This is the New Jerusalem, the New Covenant testimony of becoming the community of Christ by the presence of His Spirit in our lives (Gal. 4:26). The firstfruit church of the first century was the true witness that destroyed the apostate counterfeit and thus apostasy will be perpetually destroyed in every generation to come (Mt. 24:1, 2; Lk. 21:24). Anything that is not of faith in our lives is destroyed by our intimate connection to God through His Spirit. All New Covenant believers have the ability to enter into the full covenant and communion with God and one another (Gal. 4:23-29; 1 Pet. 2:4, 5). The fire of community, communion with God and one another, is one of the lamps of Holy Spirit in our lives.

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Welcome to the new year of 2024! I hope you had a good close to 2023 and you are ready for all that God is going to do in this new year. I believe that God is going to empower us to prevail in places and ways we have not been able to before. I believe it is a year of unexpected glory.

As a temple of Holy Spirit, we grow in knowing the testimony of the fire of God in our lives. We are receiving transformed desires as we know the fire of being loved by God. The actions of our lives demonstrate a faith towards God as we know the fire of loving Him. The understanding of our hearts and minds are continually transformed as we know the fire of responding to God for a heavenly testimony inside and out. The fire of giving life to others proves that we are children of light bringing the authority of life to our world. Today I want to address a fifth fire of Holy Spirit. This is the fire of being life for others. It is all about growing in knowing who we are in Christ. This is the joy of being alive in Christ to be clothed in His resurrection life for the sake of being life for one another in the fellowship of the body of Christ.  

The fifth letter of Revelation was given to the Church of Sardis. The name Sardis means “prince of joy”. This is the opposite of death. It is the opposite of the testimony of the apostate death of Israel in her captivity in Assyria and Babylon. I believe that the angel of the Church of Sardis is the Spirit of Might (Isa. 11:2; Zech. 4:10). Jesus is seen as the one who “has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars”. He is the author of life. He is the one who holds the power of His perfecting grace, and He holds the perfected destiny of the Church. The Spirit of Might empowers us to be alive to the things of God in Christ. Those in Sardus were told that they were “alive”, but they were “dead”. This is syntactic language of Israel’s time of apostasy (Isa. 1:5-23; 6:9-13; 65:8-16; Jer. 7:1-7; 8:11, 12; Ezek. 37:1-4). Exegetically, the church of Sardis had had compromised to live like the surrounding culture of their day. They were in desperate need of God’s power to wake them up. The Spirit of Might testifies that we are ‘made alive’ in Christ (Eph. 2:1, 5).

Jesus said if they did not wake up, He would come upon them “as a thief”. This was a warning of many times of imminent judgment as seen in many Scriptures (Isa. 1:24-31; 2:12-21; 26:20, 21; Jer.4:5-31; 7:12-15; 11:9-13; Mic. 1:2-7; Zeph. 1). This was not a term for a second coming of Christ alone, but His coming in history (Mt. 24:43; 1 Thes. 5:2-5; 2 Pet. 3:10). The Lord came in the Spirit of Might for the those who refused to come to faith and those of who came to faith experienced the Spirit of Might in the first century. Those of apostasy were consumed in the judgment of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, while those of faith were the firstfruits of the living of God as the Body of Christ in the earth.

He who overcomes is promised to be “given white garments”. White is a symbol of cleanliness, purity, and righteousness. White garments speak of being clothed in the New Man. We are to put on Christ now (Col. 3:5-17) and to be fully clothed in Christ in the “last day” (Col. 3:4; Jude 24). The overcoming Church has been clothed in the righteousness of Christ (Gal. 3:27; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10). This is a heavenly truth that is progressively revealed in the life of every believer.

There was a blotting out of some, but an assurance of increasing eternal life for others. Some were taken, but the righteous were ‘left behind’ to fill the earth with the testimony of the righteousness of Christ. By principle of application in our own lives, the Old Adam is blotted out in Christ and the Last Adam forever lives as the new man of Christ. God blotted out the violators of His covenant in the harvest of the law, but this New Man in a living relationship with God in Christ would not be blotted out (Deut. 29:10-29; Ps. 69:1-28).

Revelation 3:5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’

All New Covenant believers have the ability to do works of righteousness (Eph. 2:10). A confession of the Father before angels (sent ones) speaks of a sending forth by the power of His might for works of righteousness (destiny). The things of this world do not distract us, but rather we are empowered by the Spirit of Might. We know one God “above all” by the power of His resurrection life (Eph. 4:6)! We each bring a contribution of the power of His resurrection life to the mystery of His fellowship.

I pray that you will know the fire of being life for others today. I pray you grow in knowing who you are in Christ as a ‘sent one’ of Christ to reveal the testimony of being alive in Him to your world. You are a son or daughter of your heavenly Father, and you are sent to your world to be the life of Christ that brings glory to your Father’s name.

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

As a temple of Holy Spirit, we live by the empowerment of God’s grace in our lives. God’s grace is the fire of His presence that transforms our lives inside and out. As the dwelling place of God’s Spirit, we grow in knowing the fire of being loved by God, the fire of loving God, and the fire of responding to God for an internal and external testimony of heavenly change. Today I want to address the fourth fire of the lamp of the Spirit. This is the fire of giving life to others. It is a fire of authority.

Today is Christmas and we have in our hearts and minds a celebration of God’s gift of life to our world. Jesus didn’t just come to love us; He was God’s gift of life to us so that we could also give life to our world. True authority never takes, it always gives life to others.Power without an understanding of authority will take from others to be something of oneself. Authority gives power the ability to give life to others beyond who we are ourselves.

The fourth letter in the book Revelation was to the Church of Thyatira. The name Thyatira means “sacrifice” or “labor of love”. It also means “a perfume”, “sacrifice of labor”. The implication here is that of the Spirit of Counsel – a fourth aspect of Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Counsel gives us the ministry of God as light and love to our world. Jesus, as the “Son of God”, has “eyes like a flame of fire, and feet like fine brass”. His presence destroys all the things that destroy life, and it is in His presence that we can stand justified to give life to our world. Because we have been judged in Christ, we can now give the life-giving substance of Christ to our world.

All life comes from authority. God wants us to all know one Father in heaven through His life-giving Spirit of Council. He is the source of all authority in heaven and on earth. His Spirit of Council restores our ability to rule in life. Our inheritance from our heavenly Father grants us authority in the earth to bring Christ’s healing through the “laying on of our hands” with the testimony of His light (Heb. 6:2).

In this letter it is said that the woman Jezebel will, “beguile My servants to commit sexual immorality”. Exegetically the term ‘sexual immorality’ refers to the fornication of apostate Israel (Rev. 17:5, 16; 19:2). This was prophetically foreseen in the days of Israel’s compromise, after the death of King David and the divided kingdoms of Judah and Israel. Israel became depicted as the unfaithful seed of the queen mother Jezebel. She is prophetically symbolic of a spirit of control. She depicts a taking spirit and is not a testimony of giving life to the world.

He who overcomes is given “power to rule over the nations”. This was the testimony of King Jesus, foreshadowed in the life of King David. His rod of iron is simply an unbreakable, unbending, unchanging ability to be a giver of life that destroys all death. Jesus as the greater David has been given “authority over the nations” (2 Sam. 7:19-29; 8:1-14; Ps. 18:37-50; 89:27-29; Jer. 33:17; Dan. 7:14). Many of David’s Psalms proclaimed Christ’s dominion of life (Ps. 2:8, 9; 22:27-31; 46:4, 10; 47:1-3; 65:2; 66:4; 68:31, 32; 72; 86:9; 102:15-22; 138:4, 5; 145:10, 11). The natural ways of carnal desires are destroyed by the life-giving ways of Christ. This is the dominion of life given to us in Christ!

He who overcomes is given the morning star. The morning star is the light of day. As we turn to the light, all things become light. The government that rules in that day is by the Spirit of Counsel in Christ (Isa. 9:6, 7). This is the kingdom prevail of Christ under the authority of God the Father in heaven (Isa. 60:12). Every New Covenant believer now has the ability to bring light into the darkness (Isa. 9:6, 7; Acts 26:15-18; Ps. 2:8, 9; Ps. 22:27-31; Mt. 5:14; Rom. 13:12; Eph. 5:8; 1 Thes. 5:5;). We are in submission one to another that we might lay the hands of Christ upon a needy world. The curse of dominance by control is replaced with the dominion of life in Christ. Christ Jesus in His headship is joined with Christ’s Body to bring His kingdom rule of life to the nations of the world!

Revelation 2:26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations— 27 ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—as I also have received from My Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star. 29 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’

Our gift in Christ is to know the fire of giving life to others in our world. Like the rising of the sun, we bring light and life to those in the night to give them the life of God for a new day. Merry Christmas. Let the lamp of the Holy Spirit burn within you to give you the fire of giving life to others. This is the authority of sons and daughters of God in Christ. Of this government and peace, there is no end!

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

I had another great week at home with family and friends. Today in church was another testimony of family and love. It is great to be a part of the community of God.

I have been blogging regarding the fire of God. We are a temple of Holy Spirit and Holy Spirit is the fire of seven lamps revealing the grace of God that transforms our lives. I have addressed the fire of being loved by God and the fire of loving God. Today I am presenting the fire of response. This fire involves an inward transformation by God’s word in our hearts and an outward testimony of Him living in our lives. These are the fruit of responding to God’s gifts of His Word and Spirit in and through us.

The third letter was to the Church of Pergamos. The word Pergamos means “height” or “elevation”. Whatever we are submerged in determines what we can become in our world. We can only be submerged in what we come under and what we are under is revealed by what gets our response in life. What we respond to gives us our testimony, as the children of Israel received the testimony of the judgments, statutes, and commands of God after they came through the waters of the Red Sea on their journey to the Promised Land. Just as there is one faith, there is also one baptism, or submersion. Moses received the instructions from God while submerged in the presence of God upon Mt. Sinai. Our testimony comes when we are submerged in the Spirit of Christ. This is what changes our way of life to be a testimony of His fruit and charisma. We receive the priestly robe of Christ when we are baptized in His Spirit. When we are submerged in His Spirit, we receive teaching that comes by way of the power of His transformation in our lives. This letter to the Church of Pergamos testifies of this.

Jesus is seen as “He who has the sharp two-edged sword”. The sword is a signification of the word of God. Jesus is the giver of the word, as the word was given to the children of Israel in the wilderness. The two edges of the sword of Christ’s testimony is a love for God and a love for His children. When we are submerged in the Spirit of Christ, we receive both an internal and external testimony of loving God and loving others as we love ourselves. This is not just seen in the actions of our lives but the very substance of who we are. The way of our heavenly Father becomes the way of our hearts.

As it was during Israel’s time in the wilderness, Balaam is seen trying to destroy the Church through corruption. Balaam was a false prophet who sought to destroy the testimony of God’s people for his own personal gain. The doctrine of Balaam is to live for a testimony of the flesh by seeking to meet one’s own needs. His trap was that of a temptation of the flesh. There were also those in Pergamos to held to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans – a group of carnally indulgent people whose response in life was to their own personal desires. Meeting our fleshly needs or fulfilling our carnal desires is the opposite of a lifestyle of response to Holy Spirit.

He who overcomes is given “hidden manna”. This was God’s provision in the wilderness (Ex.16:14-15). It speaks of the daily words of life that come when we respond to a submersion in Holy Spirit for heavenly understanding. God’s words are not words of our own understanding but an understanding of the Spirit. The internal working of the word of God changes our character, nature, way, power, and authority. He who overcomes was also promised a white stone. The white stone is a sign of a redeemed people, with a new name (new character & identity in Christ). It speaks of a testimony that others can see through the outward expressions of our lives.

Our ways of life change when we are submerged in the Spirit of Christ. He brings us to an understanding that brings about change in our character, nature, way, power, and authority. All New Covenant believers have a personal testimony in Christ (1 Jn. 5:9-12). Those who embrace the New Covenant are granted a personal testimony of Jesus in their life, seen as a white stone with a name that only the one receiving it knows. To know the one baptism of life in Christ is to know a new identity in Him. Christ becomes the source of our identity in all things. He is the desire of our hearts! Being submerged in Him activates our hearts to cry out, “Abba, Father!”

This is the fruit of the burning fire of response to the One who causes heavenly things to give us a holy testimony in our world.

Rev. 2:17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”’ 

As a dwelling place of God’s Spirit, we grow in knowing the fire of being loved by Him, the fire of loving Him, and the fire of responding to Holy Spirit for a heavenly transformation, inside and out.

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

As we conclude the year of 2023, please consider making a contribution to House of Bread Ministry. We have increased our input to many parts of the world and your contribution will help us equip, train, equip, and send many for the purpose of God’s New Covenant Life and Grace in the nations. Thank You – Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

Today I continue to enjoy a blessed time at home with my family and church community. I was blessed to speak at Alife yesterday. The presence of God was felt in our midst as we worshipped Him and were blessed with His word of life to our hearts and minds.

Last week I addressed the fire of being loved by God. We are a lamp for the abiding presence of Holy Spirit. We are a dwelling place of God as believers in Christ. The all-consuming fire of God’s presence captures our hearts and minds and our identity, testimony, and purpose in life is centered around Christ in us. The first fire we must know is the fire of being loved by God. Each of our lives is a garden for God’s presence. Knowing God’s love will give us the freedom and liberty of His presence walking with us in our journey in life.

Today I want to address a second fire of God. This is the fire of loving Him. Perfect love casts our all fear and when we know God’s love in our lives, it empowers us to love Him!

The second fire is revealed in the second letter that was written to the Church of Smyrna. The name Smyrna means “myrrh”. Myrrh was burial oil. Myrrh is a witness signifying death and a willingness to make a sacrifice. The testimony of this letter is like our submersion into the identity of Christ. We must die to live. Faith toward God is a death to the natural wisdom of men and a rising to receiving the wisdom of God in Christ. That wisdom will cause us to do works that testify of our faith (the book of James). I believe the angel of the Church of Smyrna is the Spirit of Wisdom (Isa. 11:2; Zech. 4:10).

In this letter to Smyrna, we see that some were about to be thrown into prison, as was Joseph at the hand of his brothers. They were told to remain faithful in the midst of suffering. Those who remained faithful would receive the crown of life, just as Joseph was rewarded for his faithfulness. It is through death in Christ that we receive the crown of life (Jam. 1:12). Faith towards God will empower us to even endure suffering with a testimony of works that speak of our faith. That faith is simply the testimony of the fire of loving God burning in our hearts. Having been loved by Him, we can’t help but make sacrifices of love towards Him.

The testing for ten days is reminiscent of the language of the children of Judah in Babylon. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were among the captives placed into service of the king after Babylon laid siege to their nation (Dan. 1:7). These men were placed into a natural circumstance that destroyed all of their former expectations of the future as sons in Judah. Natural sight was for sure a challenge to their faith. After assessing the situation, these men requested that they be allowed to eat only vegetables and drink only water for ten days (Dan. 1:12). The number ten is symbolic of ‘completeness’, ‘totality’, ‘judgment’ – more specifically, a ‘judgment of love’, as the ten commandments sum up a love for God and a love for others. The lives of these men exhibited a faith towards God and a testimony of not fearing death. Faith works through love (Gal. 5:6, 13). These men refused to compromise in their love for God and they were not shaken in their belief of His love for them. They had faith to eat the Babylonian vegetables and drink the Babylonian water, but eating the other delicacies of Babylon would compromise their faith towards God. They refused to be separated from their love for God. Their faith towards God proved to reveal them as the wisest in the kingdom of Babylon.

The Spirit of Wisdom is a testimony of ‘faith’. This kind of wisdom inspires actions that testify of faith towards God. Faith without works is dead, but faith motivated by the Spirit of Wisdom is seen in works done with the absence of the fear of death.

As New Covenant sons and daughters of God, we are granted resurrection life whereby the second death has no power over us. We have passed from death to life and have been justified to live by faith (Eph. 2:1-5; 1 Jn. 3:14). In Christ we have experienced a first resurrection, and we live our lives fully prepared for the physical resurrection at the end of our journey in this world (1 Cor. 15:22-28). We are forever alive in Christ (Eph. 2:1, 4-6; Jn. 5:24-29; Rom. 6:4 -1st and 2nd resurrections).

Revelation 2:10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”

We are circumcised in our hearts to live by faith towards God. We have no fear of death because the fire of loving God burns in our hearts. Love does whatever is necessary and thus it will physically manifest that love in the actions of our lives.

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

As we conclude the year of 2023, please consider making a contribution to House of Bread Ministry. We have increased our input to many parts of the world and your contribution will help us equip, train, equip, and send many for the purpose of God’s New Covenant Life and Grace in the nations. Thank You – Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728

Blog In Audio:

Greetings,

We had a great service yesterday at Alife in Bellingham. The presence of God was strong, and Pastor Jonathan gave a great message on hope. God is doing good things, and it is a season of God’s goodness seen in new measures.

Jesus made a way for all to be a dwelling place of God in this world. God doesn’t live in temples made by human hands, not even temples such as the tabernacle of Moses, the tabernacle of David as a tent in the city of Jerusalem, the temple of Solomon, or any structure of church or synagogue today. These were only a shadow of what God desired to be made real in the lives of sons and daughters of God. The fox lives in a hole in the ground, the bird lives in a nest in the air, but Jesus put His head upon a body. The body of Christ and members of the body of Christ are the dwelling place of God. Holy Spirit in us is the testimony of the true temple of God in the earth.

Ephesians 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

We are a holy temple of the Lord because the Spirit of God dwells within us. Holy Spirit is the lamp of life bringing about increasing realities of God’s perfecting presence in our world. He is the Spirit of the Lord, Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Might, Knowledge, and the Fear of the Lord (Isa. 11:2; Zech. 4:10). Holy Spirit has been sent in Jesus’ name to empower us to be witnesses of Him in our world. Holy Spirit is the ultimate ‘sent one’ (angel) to cause us to be ‘sent members’ of the body of Christ for the testimony of Christ in and to our world.

Revelation 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.

The lampstands of the church contain the fire of God’s presence. They are the testimony of the consuming fire of God in our lives that empowers and motivates us to overcome by the Spirit of the Lord, Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Might, Knowledge (as in Intimacy), and the Fear of the Lord. These seven things are seven fires in the lamp of our lives as believers in Christ. In this past year I have begun to pray for these fires to burn in the lives of those I love.

The first fire is revealed in the first letter to the Church of Ephesus (Rev. 2:1-7). The word Ephesus means, “pleasure” or “delight” – the same meaning as Eden in the creation of Adam and Eve in the earth. Jesus is seen as “the one who holds the seven stars in His right hand”. He is seen as Lord. I believe the angel of the Church of Ephesus refers to the Spirit of the Lord. Like all seven churches, the angel is an aspect of the Holy Spirit, but the message of the angel is to each aspect of the Church that is, that was, and that will be. This first angel carries the message that is the antidote to the dry places of our hearts that had us bound to the spiritual warfare of the temptation to seek other life sources. Humanity was bound to the curse of looking for love in all the wrong places! That quest for love was constantly disrupted by what seemed like lifeless dead-end alleys bound to the knowledge of good and evil. Offenses and judgments were obstacles in the dimly lit passages of our search.

The language of this letter to the Church of Ephesus is that of the Garden of Eden with terms like “works”, “labor”, “patience”, and the knowledge of hating “evil”. These are garden tending terms. In this letter Jesus comes as the one “who walks in the midst”, as He walked in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:8). Those in Ephesus had done well at knowing who were true apostles and who were false. They had the knowledge of good and evil, but they had left their first love. They knew how to work in a garden, but they were missing the purpose of the garden. The garden is a place to know the love of God.

Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Lord. He is the fire of desire in our hearts. I believe this is the fire of being loved by God. When we know the fire of being loved by God, our attention is captured by His love. We were not born for the work of the garden of our lives, we were born to be loved by God in the garden of our lives. When the fire of the Spirit of the Lord captures our hearts, we are no longer motivated to seek other lords (other desires) in our lives. We are loved by God!

The overcoming promise of this letter to Ephesus was a restoration of the Paradise of God through the eating of the tree of life. The antidote to the dry places in which the false lords of the world live is found in knowing one Lord through intimacy with God in Christ. When God grants us repentance unto life the dry areas of our hearts become watered gardens of His love and presence. What a wonderful letter revealing an exegetical truth for the first century, a syntactical witness of the past, and a living principle by which we can all live in Christ in the generations to come. All New Covenant believers have been born again! We are granted the fire of being loved by God!

Blessings,

Ted J. Hanson

Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:

www.ted4leaders.com

www.ted4you.com or

www.houseofbreadministry.org.

Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:

House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225

To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.

Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728