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November 2005
Dear Friends,
Greetings in the love of Jesus. At this time of year my heart is reminded of the wonderful gift of gratitude and a thankful heart.
Colossians 1:12
12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
This is the climax of the Apostle's prayer is thankfulness, the perpetual recognition of the Divine hand in all that befalls us, the confidence that all things will work together for good to the believer. It is a heart of gratitude filled with a continual outpouring of love and praise towards God. A grateful heart is the crown of character.
It is brought forth by contemplating the Father's love in qualifying us for the inheritance being prepared of us.
All of the blessing of God is intended to help us establish the covenant of God and to make us a blessing.
To bless means:
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To make whole or holy by spoken words
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To ask divine favor for some situation or condition
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To wish a person or situation well
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To make happy or prosperous
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To gladden, glorify and praise
The blessings of God change circumstances. Jacob and Esau competed for their father's blessing because they believed the pronouncement of blessing from God's servant brought proportionate results.
Emmet Fox declared,
"Bless a thing and it will bless you. If you put your condemnation upon anything in life, it will hit back at you and hurt you. If you bless a situation, it has no power to hurt you, and even if it is troublesome for a time, it will gradually fade out and if you sincerely bless it, it will become a blessing to others or to the situation."
When you bless you qualify to inherit blessing 1 Peter 3:9. Abraham was told, "I will bless them that bless thee and curse them that curse thee."
A.W. Tozer said,
"The experiences of men who walked with God in older times agree to teach that the Lord cannot fully bless a man until He has first conquered him. The degeree of blessing enjoyed by any man will correspond exactly with the completeness of God's victory over him."
God has no needs of His own, but is always giving, always blessing, always seeking a new channel through which to bless and pour out of the fulness of His life.
If we would receive that fulness, we like God must be great rivers.
May the Lord make you a great blessing to all those around your life.
Below are some pictures form the Brazzaville Conference reported last month.
 BRAZZAVILLE CONFERENCE
 PASTOR & MRS. BOUKA,
VLADIMIR ASHAEV, DR. HOUTSMA
NNWEI REPORT
Apostle Aiyemo and Dr. Houtsma held a Crusade outreach in the city of Nnwei, Nigeria.
Upon our arrival in Nnwei we had the opportunity to meet with the King: H. R. H. Igwe K. N. Orizu III. As the King he is also the Chairman of all the traditional leaders in the state. We were given a warm reception and shared the Lord with him. Dr. Houtsma had the privilege to pray with the King and for the region. He gave us special honor in attending the first day of the Leadership Conference.
 DR. HOUTSMA, KING ORIZU, APOSTLE AIYEMO
As a guest of Apostle Aiyemo we shared alternate evenings services as well as teaching in the Conference.
On the opening night of the Crusade Apostle Aiyemo ministered in a powerful way. As he moved in the Holy Spirit several cripples were healed, throwing away their crutches and walking sticks, and 9 deaf mutes received a healing touch.
At the end of the meeting an altar call was made and several hundred responded to give their lives to Christ or for rededication. We are grateful for each one that the Lord ministered to that night.
On Thursday morning about 250 local pastors and church leaders gathered with a real hunger to receive from the Lord. Dr. Houtsma ministered the Word with a powerful revelation that impacted all. This Word was confirmed with signs following in the word of knowledge.
On Thursday evening Dr. Houtsma ministered the Word and prayed for the sick. Some wonderful healings took place including the deaf, deaf mutes, the blind, and the crippled. Again God impacted the city and the organizing committee by the healing flow. God was definitely opening a door of blessing upon the city and His church. The crowd attendance had grown significantly from the previous night. This was also seen in the altar call when over 2,000 responded to dedicate their lives to the Lord. It is always a great thrill to see people coming to Christ, drawn by His love, and impacted by the manifestations of the Spirit that have made Jesus real to them. For this we are truly grateful and give thanks to the Lord.
On Friday the Leaders Conference was full as Apostle Aiyemo, Dr. Houtsma, and Ade Popoola all ministered in separate sessions. The Holy Spirit moved powerfully upon the delegates to the Conference through the gifts of the Spirit and all were encouraged, touched, and strengthened for their important ministries.
Each night the crowd grew and responded to the miracles and salvations. The organizing committee was especially thrilled. It was reported to us that in most of their previous outreaches very few healings took place. They were quite happy to see the Lord bringing a fresh breakthrough with an anointing to heal the sick and deliver the oppressed.
When the leadership of the church in a community is ministered to and receives understanding, encouragement, enlargement, faith and vision, it impacts the entire community. The churches will all benefit from the increase of the Lord in their church leaders. As a result the church will be more effective in reaching their community, so the whole city is blessed. We are expecting to hear of great things following in the churches in Nnwei.
The Crusade continued with Apostle Aiyemo and myself preaching alternate nights.
On Friday night a wonderful crowd had gathered with great expectation in their hearts. The atmosphere was charged during the singing with good crowd participation. Apostle Aiyemo ministered the presence of the Lord and called up the sick for prayer and healing. Then we all experienced a sudden and thorough down pour of rain. In seconds we were all soaked. The crowd stayed and continued to reach out to the Lord. As the people reached out in faith they experienced showers of blessing.
On Saturday we came to the final night of the Crusade. All were expectant. Apostle Aiyemo ministered to the women in the opening and hundreds were blessed. Dr. Houtsma preached the Word and began to minister to the sick.
Again a number of wonderful healings were witnessed.
 DEAF MUTE MAN HEALED
 DEAF MUTE BOY HEALED
 CRUTCHES FROM HEALED CRIPPLES
In this Crusade we rejoice that many received healing, salvation, and rededication to the Lord. We are grateful for each pastor and church leader that attended the Leadership Conference and received from the Lord. An historic breakthrough has taken place.
Again the church leaders testimony was they have never seen such clear miracles and witness of God's supernatural power.
A fresh anointing of God's healing power has been released in this city that has traditionally been resistant to the healing flow of the Holy Spirit.
Crusade is to bring a break in the spirit world, change the atmosphere, and make harvest available. There is coming a Divine breakthrough into the unlimited.
I am believing God to bring you into a BREAKTHROUGH EXPERIENCE that will give you the ability to comprehend and appropriate one of the greatest gifts of God, the gift of faith.
God wants to take you into a new and powerful dimension of faith, for you to have a full revelation within your spirit of the kind of faith He has planned for you to have operating in your life.
If there ever was a day when the Church needed to manifest the faith of God in meeting the desperate needs of a lost and dying world, it is today. GOD INTENDED FOR THE CHURCH TO OPERATE IN THE SAME POWER AND ANOINTING AS JESUS IN MEETING THE DESPERATE NEEDS OF HUMANITY.
Friend, I am believing the Lord to help you come to a spiritual breakthrough in your life as well.
It is time to take new ground in your finances, in your family, in your ministry. It all begins as you receive fresh anointing to bring you through the barriers and plateaus in your spiritual life. The day of opportunity is upon us. God is releasing an outpouring of His Holy Spirit to help us. I know that as you reach for Jesus with real hunger that you will soon be walking in a new dimension of relationship with Him. May God move on you powerfully as you reach for Him.
 CROWD AT NNWEI CRUSADE
PRAY FOR INDIA
Dr. Houtsma is in India for the 100 Year Celebration of Pentecost to be held in the state of Kerala. A huge Crusade and Leadership Conference has been planned. The Prime Minister of India will inaugurate the meeting. This is unprecedented and very significant for India.
Dr. Houtsma has come as the guest of the state of Kerala and the Chief Minister of the state. The meetings are from December 6-11.
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