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Are You Paying Attention to the Temperature of the Water?

Gary Keesee • Nov 28, 2018

We’ve never done this before.

In more than 23 years of ministry, we’ve never done anything like this.

It’s about time. Because we’re in trouble.

No, NOT the ministry.

Our culture is in trouble.

America is in trouble.

Wait. Before you stop reading because you think it’s about political parties or ideals… it’s NOT.

This is about the direction our culture is going. This is about the standards set for us by the Word of God. This is about the things we value—like faith, family, and freedom—being under attack more than ever before.

Whether it’s a comfortable topic or not, whether you want to think about it or not, you can’t escape what’s happening for long. You do live here after all.

So, who’s really in trouble?

We are.

There’s a myth from the nineteenth century about a frog in boiling water. It says that if you put a live frog in a pot of boiling water, it will react and immediately try to jump out. But the story goes on to say that if you put a frog in cool water and gradually heat the water to a boil, the frog won’t perceive the danger, and it will be cooked to death.

The frog gets comfortable. It gets complacent. It gets desensitized to the slowly rising temperature of the water. The frog is oblivious to the sinister threat that is gradually arising.

We’re no different. We get busy and distracted. We think we can’t make a difference, so we don’t even try. We get desensitized. We get intimidated. We put up with everything. We’ve been clapping our hands in worship while Satan has been working behind the scenes to change not just our culture but our laws and to enforce his legality and authority in the land.

We’ve become complacent. We’re being lulled to sleep by the low standards of the world. They’ve told us to be quiet, and we’ve listened. And all the while those that don’t want righteousness are continuing to take our freedoms.

What about you? Have you become oblivious to the sinister threat that has been gradually arising in our nation and culture?

Friend, now more than ever, it’s time for us to wake up and pay attention to the temperature of the water—to what’s happening in our culture. It’s time for us to rise up, speak up, and stand for truth, faith, family, and freedom.

Years ago, God showed us how to live life with these core values, and we’ve worked hard to pass them on not only to our own children but also to the next generation.

Now, we see the fruit of our faith and our efforts as those we have sowed into are influencing others in their generation and the culture as a whole.

There is hope. It’s not too late.

Friend, we have to weather the storms and not be like the complacent frog. We MUST pay attention to the gradually increasing temperature of the water and fight for our faith, for our families, and for our freedoms. It’s our responsibility.

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You have the baton. Generations have come before us and may come after us, but right now, it’s your turn. Your story is being written in history.

That’s why we’re doing something we’ve never done before.

We’ve pulled together six messages into a set that are critical to your life in this season. It’s called the Faith, Family, and Freedom Collection .

This six-CD set contains life-changing messages shared by our family that we want to get into your hands—six messages pulled together specifically to encourage you, to help you be a witness for the Kingdom of God and boldly model and stand for the principles of faith, family, and freedom as God designed them.

One morning years ago during prayer, the Lord gave Drenda a word. He said, “Seven priests raised up seven horns, and the walls came tumbling down.” He said the seven priests represent our family, and we’ve clung to that word for our family all of these years.

So, what do you get when you put seven totally different people with seven totally different personalities, giftings, and talents together in one teaching series?

Well, Ephesians 4:16 (NLT) says, “ He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”  And we believe that about both the body of Christ and our family.

Each of the seven of us have our own unique personality, passions, and callings in the Kingdom—our own “special work” to complete as we each follow God. And, just like the Scripture says, we believe all of the pieces and parts of our family fit together perfectly when it comes to sharing Kingdom principles (raising up our seven horns) and helping others, like you and your family, win in life and tear down walls.

Will you wake up and pay attention? Will you join our family in rising up, speaking up, and standing for truth and for faith, family, and freedom?

 

 

 

5 Steps to Release the Kingdom in Your Life

By Gary Keesee • 10 Apr, 2024
Reading Time 2 mins 13 secs – In John 6, we read the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Do you know it? It’s where we see Jesus teaching the disciples how to release the Kingdom of God into the earth realm. Basically, a large crowd was following Jesus, listening to Him teach, and watching Him perform miracles. It got to a point where the people needed to eat, and Jesus asked the disciples what they planned to feed the people. Of course, Jesus knew the disciples would freak out. They couldn’t feed 5,000 people. In fact, they started talking about how it would take more than half a year’s wages to buy just a bite for that many people. Jesus was teaching the disciples, and He was teaching us— the Kingdom of God has all the answers you need . How can you release the Kingdom of God into your life? Here are the five steps Jesus took. 1. Look at what you have. Jesus asked the disciples what they had to feed the people. What do you have in your life that you can give God to work with? Jesus multiplied bread into bread and fish into fish. What do you need multiplied in your life? Find some of it. That’s your seed. Also, remember that money can be named. You don’t sow money to believe for more paper or digital money. Money represents your life and can be named to be the thing you need multiplied. 2. Make sure you’re in faith. “To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1, GNT). You have to know how to judge whether or not you’re in faith. How? Do you have the right picture? When you close your eyes, what do you see? Do you see yourself with the thing you’re believing for? Can you defend your position? Why do you believe it? Prove it! Because you can be sure that between the “Amen” and the “There it is!” the enemy is going to contend for it, so you better be able to defend it. Do you have joy, expectancy, and peace? Are you in agreement with your spouse? 3. Confess over what you have, and release it in faith. Be specific. Say exactly what you’re believing for and release the seed to God. 4. Get the plan from God. Be ready for new direction, new ideas, and new concepts by revelation from the Holy Spirit. Carry a notepad and a pen. Write everything down. 5. Act quickly! When God gives you the plan, MOVE! It’s wise to have counselors and get wisdom, but you need to act swiftly on any direction you receive from the Holy Spirit.

Want Growth and Success? Here Are 10 Steps to Help Take You There

By Gary Keesee • 13 Mar, 2024
Reading Time 2 mins 34 secs – How can you make sure you’re equipped for the growth coming your way this year? Here are my 10 steps to posture yourself for opportunity and success. 1. Ask yourself how you’re handling your current responsibilities. Don’t run from your responsibilities. No matter where you are or what you’re doing, you should be a success. People will still see the evidence of God even if you think you’re in the wrong spot. 2. Detox your life of the things that keep you from having time to think. We live in a fast-paced world. There are plenty of things that can keep you distracted. But it’s in the moments that you stop to think that you’ll find ways to solve problems, and that’s where the opportunities are. So figure out what is consuming your time. Start saying no to some things. Find time to think. 3. Don’t hang around people who are always losing. I know people hit rough spots, but if the people in your life are chronically losing, it’s time to expand your circle. Hang around people who are better than you are, who don’t see things as impossible, and who have vision. It may be uncomfortable for you, but their influence will cause you to think differently. 4. Write down EVERY idea that you have, no matter how strange it seems. Most people filter opportunities and ideas through what they perceive their ability to be. This means most people discard ideas by the dozens because they don’t think they can do them. But God isn’t limited to what you know how to do. The ideas He gives you might seem so weird to you that you can’t process them fully. Write them down so you have time to think about them. 5. Research. Research. Repeat. You don’t need to know how to do something; you need to know how to learn how to do it. Research until you find what you’re looking for. 6. Count the cost before you jump. A lot of Christians hear God and jump out too soon, resulting in catastrophe. There are seasons for everything. God will prepare you for where He wants you to go. Be patient. 7. Always be in agreement with your spouse. Never, ever march out into battle without your spouse being in total agreement and your faith aligned. 8. Ask God for direction. Ask Him to help you, to show you where to go, and what to do. And always remember that prophecy from other people shouldn’t lead you; it should only confirm what God has already said to you. 9. Commit to never quit. Quitting is not an option. Once you’ve moved, don’t move again until God speaks to you. Stay with it. Walk it out. Don’t quit. So many people have so much potential, but they get uncomfortable and they quit. If you want to win, you should always be stretching. 10. Get ready to embrace bigger things. Your ability to see the big picture will keep growing as you change and grow on the inside. You’ll pick up on even more opportunities. For more principles, check out this FREE video on success.

The Consequences of Strife: Why You Should Never Allow It in Your Life

By Drenda Keesee • 14 Feb, 2024
Reading Time 2 mins 59 secs – A stuffed toy laid in the road at the scene of the accident. As we passed, the Lord spoke to me, “ Okay, this is your last warning. Are you going to continue this? You know you are opening the door to the enemy.” Gary and I had had a disagreement just before we had left the house for our family road trip. And there we were six hours in and we’d barely said a word to one another. Six hours. You think driving from Ohio to Tennessee is a long stretch of highway? Try doing it while giving someone the silent treatment. One word: torture. Then we passed the accident. Gary and I both felt the same conviction when we passed it, especially because it clearly involved children. But... pride. We knew what we were doing wasn’t good. (What kind of example is it to your children to ignore each other?) But neither of us wanted to lay down our pride. I kept hearing the voice of the Lord, and I’d think, No, I’m not going to fix this thing, because then I’ll have to talk to him. It was almost a competition to see who could hold our grudge for the longest. But strife is dangerous stuff. What is strife? Drama, conflict, friction, disagreement, bickering, arguing, bad blood, disputes… whichever words you use to describe it, it’s dangerous. Whether it’s between you and your spouse, you and your child, you and a friend, you and a family member, or you and a coworker, you don’t want to let strife remain in your life. The Bible says that where there is strife, there is confusion and there is every evil work (James 3:16). Our small argument between Gary and I had gone unchecked and had escalated, and neither one of us were listening to the voice of the Lord. And there were consequences for our strife and outright disobedience. About an hour after we passed the accident, a car pulled out in front of our vehicle, and we were in what could have been a very serious car accident. I started yelling the name of Jesus, and God supernaturally protected our entire family. Initially, it looked as though there were going to be serious issues. They told us our son’s spleen might rupture. I was pregnant, and the doctors worried that I might lose the baby. Through all of these things, we stood on the Word of God, and we all came out unharmed, including the young preacher’s son who had pulled out in front of us (he was in disobedience at that moment too). Even in the midst of this difficult situation, through our prayers, standing on God’s Word, and our children’s words to the medical personnel, we had opportunities to minister and impact the little county hospital we had to visit. The enemy tried to take us out, but he lost. We were responsible for opening the door to the enemy. But the name of Jesus is more powerful than our mistakes and circumstances, and that is what kept us protected. You MUST stay on guard and not allow strife in your life, with anyone. How? Here are just three quick tips: Bite your tongue. You don’t have to say everything you think. Don’t lash out or give the silent treatment. Work on communicating with others in a healthy way. Repent quickly and forgive quickly. Take responsibility; admit when you’re wrong. Say you’re sorry and ask for forgiveness. Don’t hold onto hurts. Forgive as you’ve been forgiven by Jesus.
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