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Life or death? This can be what makes the difference.

Gary Keesee • Mar 27, 2018

“Pastor, please pray; the baby has been born dead!”
It was the middle of the night, and the news jolted me awake. Jennifer’s birthing coach went on to tell me the baby had just left in an ambulance for the hospital. The medical team had declared the baby dead upon arrival.

My wife, Drenda, and I jumped up and got dressed. I began to pray in the Spirit, listening for what I should do. We continued to pray in the Spirit as we were driving the 20-minute drive to the hospital. About halfway there, I suddenly felt the Spirit of God come over me, and I knew that the baby would be fine. At that exact second, Drenda turned to me and said the Lord just told her that the baby would be fine.

I knew what the Lord had told Drenda and me, but what would we find when we walked into the emergency room?

I got my answer quickly: a team of seven or eight nurses stood around what appeared to be a completely normal, pink, crying baby.

I studied their faces carefully. In most situations where a baby is being held by a group of women, you’d see smiles, right? But in this group, there was only shock.

We met the woman who had called us. She told us again that the baby had been declared dead at the home, which was 20 minutes away. The baby had also been declared dead by the hospital when she arrived by ambulance.

But the baby was alive.

In the meantime, a different ambulance had transported Jennifer, the baby’s mother. She didn’t know about the declared status of her baby girl. When Drenda went up to the maternity floor to check on Jennifer where she was resting, she told her, “Jennifer, your baby is fine, and she is just gorgeous.”

“No, that baby is in a body bag!” the nurse standing next to Jennifer curtly interrupted. My wife emphatically corrected the nurse.

Today, to the glory of God, that baby girl, who was named Haley, is a beautiful young lady with no damage or health issues.

That didn’t happen by chance.

The ambulance crew had declared baby Haley “dead on arrival.” So had the hospital staff. I asked the birthing coach to give me the details. I was looking for clues on how the Kingdom of God had operated in this situation.

She said that the birthing process had gone well until Haley was delivered. At that point, she had no vital signs and was a deep blue color. The midwife tried to revive Haley, but couldn’t. The coach went on to say that Jennifer had many of her family members there who began to panic at that point.

But Jennifer calmly told them to be quiet. Then, she put her finger to her husband’s face and said, “Don’t you say a word—this baby will be fine.”

That was it! That was the moment, the declaration, that saved baby Haley’s life.

Jennifer was fully persuaded.

She had applied spiritual law in the midst of that situation, and it had saved her baby’s life! Jennifer knew that, due to his work schedule, her husband had not been building up his faith like she had been over the preceding months. She also knew that, as the head of their home, his agreement with the horrifying scene at the birth would seal the baby’s fate. That’s why her first response was to speak to her husband and not allow him to come into agreement with the death of their child.

Jennifer was convinced that the child would live and be fine, and she declared it with boldness and faith.

As soon as Jennifer was released from the hospital, she went to the ambulance crew and asked them what they’d done for the baby while on the way to the hospital that night. They told her they hadn’t taken any lifesaving actions for baby Haley that night because, as far as they were concerned, she was dead.

It was as if Haley just “woke up” when they got to the hospital, they said.

That ambulance crew received accolades from the hospital and firehouse for the response of the year, an annual award based on the outcome of a tough situation. But they admitted they had done nothing.

Look at 2 Peter 1:3. It says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.”

See that? Has given.

You don’t have to beg God or convince Him of what you need before He’ll respond to you.

God has already given us everything we need for life when He gave us the Kingdom.

The problem is that many, if not most, Christians don’t realize the Kingdom of God functions on and operates by spiritual law. Instead, most people think God just decides what and if something happens based on how He feels at the moment about their situation.

Because of this lack of knowledge, many people belong to the Kingdom without the benefits of living in it. They’re going to heaven, of course, but they’re missing out on a lot of benefits in the here and now. And consequently, their testimonies are weak to the unbelievers who live around them.

Once you understand spiritual law, you can use the Kingdom any time you need to—like flipping on a light.

You need all of the knowledge of the Kingdom you can get—it can be the difference between life and death.

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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