Day 9 - Good Government

DAY 9 - GOOD GOVERNMENT

1 Chronicles 12:32 "of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command…"

The sons of Issachar distinguished themselves from the other tribes of Israel because they had:

1. UNCOMMON INSIGHT - "… men who had UNDERSTANDING of the times…"
2. UNCOMMON INSTINCT (based on a Biblical worldview) - “…to KNOW what Israel out to do
3. UNCOMMON INFLUENCE in national and global affairs - and all their brethren were AT THEIR COMMAND

HOW TO PRAY

1. Pray that our leaders (Executive, Legislative, Judicial, federal, state, municipal) will both seek and heed godly counsel (Exodus 18:19; Proverbs 11:14; 15:22; 24:6; Isaiah 1:26)
2. Pray that God will strategically place men and women of faith in positions of influence (i.e. Sons of Issachar, Joseph, Esther, Deborah; Nehemiah, Daniel, etc). Pray that these leaders will do their part to uphold a Biblical worldview in legislation and the formation of policy; both foreign (Proverbs 25:25) and domestic (Proverbs 14:34); Genesis 39:4-6, 22-23; 1 Chronicles 12:32; Esther 4:14; Judges 4:4-5, 8-9 & 5:6-7; Daniel 2:19-21
3. Pray for the protection of our leaders at home and abroad – Isaiah 54:17; 59:19b; Psalm 91
4. A resilient and vibrant economy and private sector – Deuteronomy 8:18; 28:1-14; Psalm 65:11, 66:12; 3 John 2
5. Integrity in Government & Corporate America – Job 4:6; 27:5; 31:6; Psalm 7:8; 25:21; 78:72; Proverbs 10:9; 11:3; 19:1; 20:7; 28:6; Titus 2:6-8
   

Following hard after God,


Keith A Craft

Day 9 - Good Government

Day 8 - Practice Gratitude

DAY 8 - PRACTICE GRATITUDE

"4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." PHILLIPIANS 4:4-7

1. Make gratitude a LIFESTYLE NOT AN EVENT - v4 "Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. AGAIN I will say, rejoice!"
   
2. Be gentle (kind, forgiving, merciful) to everyone; even the ones who have been unkind to you. God SEES and KNOWS your heart and He will HONOR you for it - v5 "Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand."


3. Do NOT be afraid; only BELIEVE - v6 "Be anxious for nothing..."


4. The proper response in every season and circumstance of life is PRAYER and THANKSGIVING - v6 "...but in EVERYTHING by PRAYER and supplication, with THANKSGIVING..."


5. Be specific as you pray. God cares about the details - v6 "...let your REQUESTS BE MADE KNOWN to God"


6. Receive the peace of God which will sustain you until the answer to your prayer manifests - v7 "and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
   

THINGS TO DO AS YOU PRACTICE GRATITUDE

1. Acknowledge God's goodness, blessing and favor in your life as you pray - for His grace, mercy, love, blessing, favor, good health, relationships, job, home, etc.


2. Take a moment to send a note, text or email to your spouse, parents, a friend, a pastor, a mentor, coach, etc for something positive they have done to make you the person you are today.


3. And remember to include those who might be classified as your enemies. Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven..." Matthew 5:44-45

Following hard after God,

Keith A. Craft

Day 8 - Practice Gratitude

Day 7 - A Message from Pastor Keith

As we end Day 7, I am grateful to God for the people who gave their hearts to Christ today at Celebration. My favorite part of every week is when we come together and worship God as Family of Origin and Family of Choice.

Our Dream Team Awards were held on Friday night to honor our Servant-Leaders. My only regret is that we cannot honor everyone on the level of those who were nominated by their teams and team leaders to receive awards. The awards we give are made by the same company that makes the Oscars! We are so honored to have so many wonderful people who have committed their Time, Talent and Treasure to advance God’s purpose in the earth and Build His Dream. Thank you to all of our Dream Team Servant-Leaders! A special Congratulations is in order for our MVP who was nominated overwhelmingly by the Dream Team Directors who lead teams that total over 1000 thousand people.

Mark Renfro is our 2009 Dream Team Awards MVP!

Thanks be to God for a GREAT weekend of ministry at Celebration Covenant Church! Pastor Sheila and I love you very much! I am believing God that your life will be ten times better in the next ten days!!!!

Following Hard After God,

Pastor Keith

Day 7 - A Message from Pastor Keith

Day 6: Pray for Missionaries

DAY 6: MISSIONARIES

14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“ How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!”

1. The people must BELIEVE in God before they CALL on God
2. The people must HEAR before they can BELIEVE
3. There must be a PREACHER who proclaims the Good News for the people to HEAR
4. And there must be someone to SEND the PREACHER

HOW TO PRAY

1. Pray for missionaries and missionary organizations worldwide

2. Pray specifically for missionaries and charitable organizations we (CCC) support both domestically and internationally:

· Larry Myers – Mexico

· M. Samuelkutty – India

· David Plymire – China Matthew Barnett – L.A. Dream Center

· Gary & Marilyn Skinner – Africa

· Global University – Iran

· Rich Wilkerson/Peacemakers – Miami, FL

· Frisco Family Services – Frisco, TX

· Samaritan Inn – McKinney, TX

3. Pray for Divine PROTECTION – Psalm 91

4. Pray for Abundant PROVISION – Philippians 4:14-20; Psalm 84:11; Exodus 3:21

5. Divine Favor and Open Doors of Opportunity to minister the gospel – 1 Corinthians 16:9; 2 Corinthians 2:12; Colossians 4:3

6. Pray for LABORERS – Matthew 9:37-38; Mark 16:20; 1 Corinthians 3:6-9

7. Pray for Fruitful Ministry and Harvest of Souls i.e. salvation, healing, discipleship, equipping, empowerment and training – Psalm 2:8; Isaiah 43:5-6; Habakkuk 2:14; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16: 15-18; Ephesians 4:11-16

Following Hard After God,

Pastor Keith

Day 6: Pray for Missionaries

Day 5 - Family of Orgin/Family of Choice

FAMILY OF ORGIN/FAMILY OF CHOICE

Ephesians 3:14-21” For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven (FAMILY OF CHOICE) and earth(FAMILY OF ORIGIN) is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height - to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

HOW TO PRAY – FAMILY OF ORIGIN/FAMILY OF CHOICE
1. ORIGIN – Pray for specific family members by name i.e. spouse, children, parents, in-laws, etc. Pray for:
· Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding – Proverbs 3:5-6; Proverbs 8; James 1:5-8
· Divine Favor – Psalm 5:12; Proverbs 3:3-4
· Prosperity – Deuteronomy 8:18; Psalm 35:27; Job 36:11
· Health and Healing – Isaiah 53:4-5; Matthew 4:24; 12:15; Luke 6:19; 3 John 2
· Strong Healthy Marriages & Families – Proverbs 18:22; Proverbs 31:10-31; Ephesians 5:21-28; Colossians 3:18-21; 2 Timothy 5:8; 1 Peter 3:1-7

2. CHOICE – Pray for our CCC family for:
· Xceleration, Favor and Breakthrough – Psalm 1:1-3; Psalm 112; Deuteronomy 28:1-14; Philippians 4:19; 2 Corinthians 9:6-11
· Transformation – Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18; 4:16-18;
· Elevation – Psalm 75:6-7; 2 Samuel 9:1-11; Revelation 4:1

Following hard after God

Pastor Keith

Day 5 - Family of Orgin/Family of Choice

Day 5 - A Message from Pastor Keith

Today is Day 5 of our fast!!! God, we thank You for the privilege of making Your name Famous in the earth!!

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.”

This morning was a momentous occasion as the Mighty Men of CCC met at the Gate for prayer. We had a great time of prayer and worship for one hour together. It was one of the GREAT days in my life personally to be able to come together with such a group a AWESOME men. We prayed the 7 Specifics of the 21 Days of Elevation Fast. From Practicing Gratitude or prayer for Good Government. We prayed for our new President and named each name of the Supreme Court Justices before the throne of God.

We then prayed for the Church…CCC and the church-at-large in the earth. We prayed that men would step up and become the Kings, Priests and Warriors God has called them to be.

Then, we gathered in groups and prayed for each other and each man shared the One Need he was believing God for. Then, for Family of Origin and Family of Choice…we prayed for our Missionaries and finally, for our Easter Weekend…that God would draw people from the North, South, East and West.

I want to say on a personal note how inspired I was to be in the presence of God and His WARRIORS! Tonight, we celebrate our Dream Teams at our Dream Team Awards

Thank you Mighty Men of CCC for touching heaven and changing earth today!!!

Walk FAST!

Pastor Keith

Day 5 - A Message from Pastor Keith

Day 4 - Repentance & Personal Needs

Welcome to Day 4 of our 21 Days of Elevation Fast. Please note that we have made updates to the 21 Days webpage with additional information about the purpose of the fast, dietary recommendations as well as some amazing RECIPES!!!

To access these updates, simply log onto www.celebrationcovenant.com/21days . Click on the GUIDELINES & RECIPES tab to download the pdf document.

Remember, today is specifically and strategically set aside for us to focus our prayers, reflections and journaling on Repentance & Personal Needs. Here are a few thoughts from Pastor Keith to guide as you pray.



REPENTANCE
Psalm 51:1-13 “1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.

HOW TO PRAY
Acknowledge God’s mercy, unfailing love and His willingness to forgive you – v 1

Confess your sin and things in your life that have become distractions and hindrances to fulfilling your God given potential and purpose – vv2-5

· Sins of the Heart – Unforgiveness, Offense, Bitterness & Resentment, Pride, Doubt and Unbelief, etc.
· Sins of the Flesh – All sexual sin i.e. adultery, fornication, pornography, alternate lifestyles, etc.
· Sins of the Tongue – Negativity, Gossip, Slander, Lying, Coarse Jesting, Backbiting, Bearing False Witness, etc

Honestly confront the toxic patterns in your life and allow God’s wisdom to permeate the deepest recesses of your being – v6
Insecurity, Jealousy, Co-Dependency, Fear, etc.

Allow God to restore your heart and soul with the peace, joy and comfort of the Holy Spirit – vv 10-12

Allow your story of restoration to become a testimony of God’s love and mercy to those who do not believe – v13



PERSONAL NEEDS
1 John 5:14-15 “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”

HOW TO PRAY
1. Confidently present yourself AND your requests to God – Hebrews 4:14-16; Matthew 7:7; Isaiah 1:19; Numbers 23:19

2. Pray according to what He has promised in His Word – Isaiah 55:11; Jeremiah 1:12; 2 Corinthians 1:20; Psalm 35:27; Job 36:11; Joshua 21:45 (AMPLIFIED)

3. He will hear and answer – Jeremiah 33:3; Psalm 40:1; Psalm 116:2

4. Receive the answer with thanksgiving – Luke 17:11-18; Philippians 4:6-7

CLICK HERE to download the document "Gods Promises For Tough Times"

Believing the best,
Pastor Ray

Day 4 - Repentance & Personal Needs

Day 3 - A Message From Pastor Keith

It is Day 3 of our 21 Days of Elevation Fast! Congratulations to all of you who are participating in this life “altaring” event! I am in Sacramento, California today participating in the Get Motivated Seminar. The time here is 11:20 am. I conducted an on stage interview with gold medalist and world champion swimmer Michael Phelps. I felt like I was talking to my son Joshua!! It is amazing to meet a person with the same temperament as my son! When I greeted him this morning in the green room before we went on stage, he was yawning and had his head down…I thought, “this is Josh!”

Today is a great day! So far, I have consumed 96 ounces of water and my goal is to get to 128…a gallon by 12pm…12 minutes from now. I woke up this morning Practicing Gratitude. I want to encourage you to follow the plan of prayer we have laid out in the 7 Specifics of our Fasting and Prayer.

I also want to remind you that you CAN eat FISH these first 7 days of the fast. Stay away from meats and sugar specifically and refer to the Eat this and Not that info during our fast. Please drink plenty of water…in fact only water during this fast unless you can find pure juice or have a juicer.

The first miracle of Elevation during this fast has happened for me today. Some of you know I had a car stolen last summer. The dynamics of what has been involved are to detailed to go into, however, no progress has been made until now! I just received notice that the insurance company is going to write me a check for the car!!! Thank YOU God!

Please keep us posted on your Elevation miracles!!!

Following Hard After God,
Pastor Keith

Day 3 - A Message From Pastor Keith

Day 1 - A Message from Pastor Keith

Welcome to my first blog!!

Today begins our 21 Days of Elevation Fast. Desperate times demand desperate measures. Jesus was clear that certain things only happen as a result of fasting and prayer. I want to thank our CCC family who are choosing to embark on this spiritual Elevation journey with me. I believe God is going to show up in a BIG way.

I am at DFW flying to San Francisco to help facilitate and speak at a Get Motivated Seminar along with Rudy Giuliani, Colin Powel, and Gold Medalist Michael Phelps. It should be a great event. Please be in prayer for not only this event, but the 7 Specifics of our Fast.

I started the fast with water only…today.

Praying for you all!!
Pastor Keith

Day 1 - A Message from Pastor Keith

21 Days Of Elevation Fast

http://www.celebrationcovenant.com/21days

The 21 Days to Elevation Fast

A Message From Pastor Keith:

Dear CCC Family,

I am very excited to announce our 21 Days of Elevation Fast! This will be a Daniel Fast from March 23rd to April 12th Easter Sunday!

"Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are case out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard."

That is a very important time in the history of our nation, but more importantly, in the history of the Kingdom! This is one of the worst hours for the world...but one of the best for the Kingdom of our God. We must answer the call to RISE up like never before.

This 21 Days of Elevation Fast is a call to Walk in the Spirit so that we are equipped like never before to Lead by the Spirit. Please note what the Daniel Fast is in terms of "Eat This and not That". Also, take note of the 7 Specifics to Fast and Pray for during this most strategic time. I also want to encourage you to keep a 21 Day Fast Journal based on the 7 Specifics and log your own personal journey.

I guarantee you...God is going to show UP like never before!!!

We are going to the top and we can't be stopped...Straight to the top!!!
Pastor Keith


Foods You May Eat:
Whole Grains:Brown Rice, Oats, Barley
Legumes:Dried Beans, Pinto Beans, Split Peas, Lentils, Black Eyed Peas
Fruits:Apples, Apricots, Bananas, Blackberries, Blueberries, Boysenberries, Cantaloupe, Cherries, Cranberries, Oats, Figs, Grapefruit, Grapes, Guava, Honeydew Melon, Kiwi, Lemons, Limes, Mangoes, Nectarines, Papayas, Peaches, Pears, Pineapples, Plums, Prunes, Raisins, Raspberries, Strawberries, Tangelos, Tangerines, Watermelon
Vegetables:Artichokes, Asparagus, Beets, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chili Peppers, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Garlic, Gingerroot, Kale, Leeks, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Mustard Greens, Okra, Onions, Parsley, Potatoes, Radishes, Rutabagas, Scallions, Spinach, Sprouts, Squashes, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Turnips, Watercress, Yams, Zucchini, veggie burgers are an option if you not allergic to soy.
Liquids:Spring Water, Distilled Water, 100% All-Natural Fruit Juices, 100% All Natural Vegetable Juices. You may also drink protein drinks.
Others:Seeds, Nuts, Sprouts

Foods to Avoid:
Meat
White Rice
Fried Foods
Caffeine
Carbonated Beverages
Foods Containing Preservatives or Additives
Refined Sugar
Sugar Substitutes
White Flour and All Products Using It
Margarine, Shortening, High Fat Products

7 Specifics to Fast and Pray
I Tim. 2:1-4
1. Practice Gratitude
2. Good Government
3. The Church
4. Personal Repentance/Needs
5. Family of Origin/Choice
6. Missionaries
7. Easter Series – “Rise”

21 Days Of Elevation Fast