Today’s discussion wil run a bit long, but I wanted to finish up before moving on to a new discussion on a different topic. We won’t simply talk about the name of Jesus, we need to get into the concept and principle of actually operating in the name of Jesus. We’ve had this discussion before — or at least part of it — but what we are talking about is the character, the nature, the essence of Who Jesus is, His Onoma!

We’ve been talking about the concept of holiness, but let’s get into the Hebrew text to look at this word a bit better and see if we can grasp the simplicity of holiness. Holiness is not complicated. There’s nothing mysterious or mystical about it. This word comes from the Hebrew, qadash, which means to be clean, to be consecrated, to wholly separate yourself to the Lord and the things of God. Anyone who knew my father would quickly tell you that this word defined him, his character, and his complete commitment to the Lord. If the Lord said something to him and instructed him to go some place or do something, you could take it to the bank! Neither hell nor high water were going to dissuade him.

The early 1980’s were a launch pad for us into the presence of the Lord. Sometimes our worship sessions lasted for well over an hour, and the more we gave time to it as a fellowship, the greater was the degree of His intimate presence. There were a few times when the presence of the Lord filled our midst to such a degree that no one moved, no one made a sound, we just bathed in His Holiness. That was an introductory time for all of us. The House of Praise was an adjunct to CBN-Alaska, Inc., and our affiliation with Pat Robertson and the 700 Club. CBN went through some major changes in 1983 and decided to discontinue all of its satellite operations. That meant that we no longer had authorization to operate under CBN’s administration, and it also meant that we lost much of our funding. Closing the doors of that ministry was a shock to all of us, and with a number of other changes in the works, we closed up our Fairbanks operations and moved to Anchorage.

Years ago during the Charismatic Renewal there was a considerable amount of teaching on the Kingdom of God -- and specifically dealing with the Keys of the Kingdom and accessing the Authority that is available to believers.

Greetings and Salutations! Ready for the day? Good. Then pour yourself a cup of that good dark brew and let's pick up where we left off last week where we were talking about the initial rulings in the Good News Club case. At first, the Federal Judge hearing the case granted a preliminary injunction which allowed the Club to hold weekly after-school meetings in school facilities for a year, while awaiting trial. But trial never happened. Instead, in August 1998, the federal trial judge vacated the injunction and summarily ruled in favor the school district. The Club's subject matter was ruled "decidedly religious in nature, and not merely a discussion of secular matters from a religious perspective."As a result, the Club was kicked out of the building.

It was in 1980 or 1981 that I first became acquainted with Jay Sekulow. I had a brief guest appearance on the 700 Club on this occasion (I was heading up CBN's operations in Alaska at the time), and Jay was the primary guest. When I heard him talk about Law and the Constitution, everything inside me just leaped. Here was a man who had a real grasp of what our nation's founding fathers intended, a man who was more than just an astute attorney. Jay had an anointing from the Holy Spirit to go with his legal brilliance.

Let's see if we can finish up with a couple of Supreme Court decisions today -- decisions, that is, that took away more of our First Amendment guarantees to religious liberties in America. One thing that I think you will find interesting in this Coffee Break is a link to Justice William Rehnquist's argument in the Wallace v. Jaffree case; and I believe that many of you will find his (lengthy, but) complete argument very interesting reading. Here's the link: http://www.belcherfoundation.org/wallace_v_jaffree_dissent.htm

For the past twenty-nine weeks, we have dealt with this nation’s earliest founders, the covenant they made with each other, and the covenant they made with the Lord to establish a nation under God, a nation that would spread the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ around the world. We have talked about the fact that every one of the 13 colonies established the fact that their existence was due to the favor of God. The fact is that everyone of the 50 states that now exist pretty much followed the example of those first 13 colonies who began the formation of this nation.

Let's see if we can finish up with a couple of Supreme Court decisions today -- decisions, that is, that took away more of our First Amendment guarantees to religious liberties in America. One thing that I think you will find interesting in this Coffee Break is a link to Justice William Rehnquist's argument in the Wallace v. Jaffree case; and I believe that many of you will find his (lengthy, but) complete argument very interesting reading. Here's the link: http://www.belcherfoundation.org/wallace_v_jaffree_dissent.htm

I ran out of time last week to finish the story of 13-year-old Rosa Frankson, who endured persecution, beatings and torture for the sake of the Gospel. I’m getting ahead of myself in saying so, but her life and her testimony affected the whole community of Point Hope, Alaska.   After three or four days of hanging between life and death, and fading in and out of consciousness, she was awake and talking to the attending nurse. "You need to know Jesus like I do," she said. The nurse teared up, and not knowing what else to do or say, reached over and patted Rosa on the head. "You're going to be OK, Rosa."