Friday, November 28, 2003

Falling To The Ground . . .To Die
Dr. Mark Handby
Nov 28, 2003


We are living in a time when all our works and ministries are on trial for their survival.

We have prayed noble prayers, never really expecting God to hear them. But He has. Now He is at work in us, eliminating all the mixture from our lives. The Lord wants to bring us all to a place where only His will has the preeminence in our lives and ministries.

He is shaking the Church to its very core to bring it to base zero. He will bring down all the institutions of man until we are left with nothing but the Lord Himself. What if we stopped doing everything God never told us to do? What if we could see all the things that we have been busy doing for what they really are? For those of us caught up in a whirlwind of activity and religious duty, it would most certainly be devastating to our careers and our personal agendas. When God has us at base zero, all we want is Him.

Our striving to achieve and be noticed fades in the reality of His glory. This is exactly what the Lord is doing. He knows we must return to base zero if we are ever to reach the point where He can build His Church. He never needed our programs or our traditions, but we have blindly shouldered our way ahead of Him in our fleshly zeal to build something that would preserve our place in His Kingdom. We have often talked about “progressing the digression,” the process where God systematically brings us down from the heights of our pride and supposed “self-sufficiency” to a level where we can again respond to Him in total transparency and purity. When we reach the point where all our hope is in Him, we can say with real confidence, “I have nothing to lose.”

God will “progress” His digression of our self-sufficiency until we come to see the futility of our titles and degrees; until we see that all our giftings, callings and accomplishments cannot hold a candle to His glory; until we come to the end of our strivings, strength and earthbound knowledge to finally admit that we have nothing to lose. When we have nothing to lose, we can do whatever He calls us to do without fear of losing friends or reputation we have already lost everything.

Jesus said, “...Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (Jn.
12:24).

A dead man falls straight to the ground like a piece of lead, there is no resistance or life left in him. He goes straight down. But a man who is not so sure what he wants falls to the ground like a leaf that has broken off from the tree. It is certainly dead, but it falls with uncertainty, because it seems to have a measure of green color in it. It bears the outward indications of life, but it is surely dead apart from the branch, whether it knows it or not. Always at the whim of every puff and billow of the wind, a leaf separated from its branch flutters and floats its way to the ground. Even after it lands on the ground, it is at the mercy of every breeze that comes by. You see, the leaf is not quite sure that it is dead, and it has no clear destination or destiny. It has not made up its mind to die to itself. It might be willing to fall on top of the ground, but it is all too ready to respond to a new opportunity. Whether or not it is the right opportunity is not the point. It was on a mission to die, but its commitment to that death is constantly interrupted by the remaining ambition and memory of its past glory that just won’t die.

Unlike the leaf, the seed is destined for death, burial, and resurrection in a new life of productivity. It carries within itself an inner longing for death and new life, for in that death resides the potential for nearly unlimited reproduction, fruit-bearing, and fulfillment of purpose!

Until you see Jesus, you will never see yourself for who you really are, and you will never see the point to dying. Even the lowly leaf, if it is willing to lay low for a season, can rise from its earthbound grave once the storm passes and the Lord sends a Holy Ghost gust to lift it up again. But the seed that has seen the Lord knows it must fall into the earth and die. It must abandon all vestiges of the flesh, all hope of the earthly kingdoms of pride and position. That seed has to go under the ground to sprout new life.

You can spot true brokenness in a man or woman by their telltale desire to be hidden from sight. When God sovereignly returns you to base zero, fleshly and prideful things apart from Him are consumed by fire, to be replaced by a transparent humility that makes you afraid to be seen in the flesh. You do not respond to earthly, man-generated religious things as easily as you once did. Invitations to preach do not turn you on anymore, you only want to hide in your transparent nakedness before God. Instead of stepping once again on the old path of earthly passion and production, you now cry, “Let the rocks fall on me, but cover my humanity and let me die rather than to again display my carnality, trying to pawn it off as the Spirit of the Lord!”


Visit Dr. Mark Hanby's website at: http://www.hanby.org

Thursday, November 27, 2003

I'm off to The Call Texas tomorrow morning. It will be a time
of prayer and fasting for 12 hours on Saturday. The focus
will be to pray for God's justice to be released upon this
generation, as we repent of Rode vs. Wade the court case
30 years ago that legalized abortion. Can you believe 40 million
babies have been aborted since 1970? Is it ironic, that I was
5 minutes from being aborted in Lubbock Texas 23 years ago,
and here I am 23 years later going back to Texas to repent
and take authority over this spirit of death that has stolen millions
of destinies in my generation. May God have the VICTORY!

This past month has been one of the most challenging and most
awakening months of my life. Honestly, I have been having
a pretty rough time with the acceptance of myself, my failures,
my insecurities, and the list goes on. I've never felt more dead
and more afraid to wake up in the morning. Its like each day
the Lord brings me to confront yet another fear, another issue
of pride or another encounter with rejection. I am a really broken
person right now, so much so, at times I want to give up and
throw in the towel because I am so dissapointed with myself.
Its like I know God loves me, even likes me, but sometimes I have
a hard time liking myself. As depressing as this sounds, I guess
this whole process of dying has made me come to realize a few
things.

After the death of my good friend Hanh I began to think about
what really matters in life. I've been so caught up with my wants,
desires, dreams achieved etc...that it's been like this never ending
cycle of success and failure. A roller coaster of unstable emotions
where one day I am excited about life and the next day I want to
end it all. Where I beat myself up over and over again for not
being perfect, for not being more successful or a better leader.
The focus has always been on my weakness, my life, my-self.

Through Hanh's life example and death I felt I've almost come
alive again. Here is a girl that lived a simple yet so significant
and meaningful life. She loved God and she loved people.
Why can't I do that? Why am I so caught up with my failures
and the pressure to perform to meet others and my own
expectations. What's really important is that I enjoy God
and enjoy the relationships He has given me. When I die
I don't want to look back realizing I was so busy with ministry
and work that I didn't have time to sit down for coffee with
a good friend or had some more meaningful conversations
with my mother, father, sisters, best friends. Jaeson why don't
you learn to live for today rather than always worrying about
what you can't do tomorrow? I pray Lord You will teach me to
be content with each day and faithful with what each day brings
me. I may never accomplish all the things that are in my heart
and in fact will probably fail 95% of them, but that is the wrong
standard to measure success. Teach me again to live in the
reality of success in Your kingdom. To simply love You and love
those You have given me and those whom have yet to know
Your love. Teach me, change me, mold me, break me, make
me a new creation.

Thursday, November 20, 2003

YOU'RE THE ONE

Chorus:
All my songs are for You
You're the one I sing to
And all my strength is in You
You're the one I cling to
And all my hope is in You
You're the one I'm running to

Chorus

So catch me when I feel I'm falling
And hold me when my peace is gone
And take me into Your open arms
You're the one I'm running to

Chorus

So catch me when I feel I'm falling
And hold me when my peace is gone
And take me into Your open arms

All my songs are for You
All my strength is in You
You're the one I cling to

Chorus

Written by All Together Separate.
© 2001 Photon Music (BMI). All Rights Reserved.

i went to the office to go steal this cd at my co-workers
desk on tuesday night after the funeral..not knowing why
i wanted so bad to listen to this song. my co-worker found
it for me (thanks melissa!) & after I went to x-factor to
Hanh's open mic celebration in remebrance of her life...
and wudda ya kno..erica, sean & tim (waiting place band)
sing this exact song in tribute to hanh.... =D all my strength
is in You Lord...You're the One I'm holding onto..

Wednesday, November 19, 2003

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I want to thank you for your faith-filled prayers for Hanh Do the past few days.
God is good & Hanh is in His glorious eternal presence. I guess you can say
I'm a friend with a whole lot of "stubborn crazy faith." I truly believed with many
others God could raise her from the dead if it was not her time, like He did
with Dorcas (Acts 9:36) or Eutychus in (Acts 20:9), but God's will was for
Hanh to bask in His irresistable presence and her spirit to live on in each of our lives.
To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. She is doing just that!

I know Hanh is so happy right now. Below is a vision Hanh wrote for her life that
we found in her room a few days ago. It is a vision of her reckless passion, dedication
and pursuit of God to reach the youth of our generation. May it inspire you to
live like she did: sold out to God, all or nothing, no looking back, radical disciple of Christ.

Mark 9:23
Jesus said unto him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes"

HANH’S VISION:

YOUTH THAT WILL STAND FOR GOD IN WHATEVER CIRCUMSTANCE
YOUTH THAT WILL SEEK GOD THROUGH HIS WORD, THROUGH PRAYER AND THROUGH QUITE TIME
YOUTH THAT WILL BE BOLD AND WILL REACH OUT TO THEIR LOST FRIENDS AND SPREAD THEIR FIRE FOR GOD TO EVERYONE THEY COME IN CONTACT WITH
YOUTH THAT WILL LOVE GOD BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE & STAND UP FOR THEIR BELIEFS IN SITUATIONS OF PERSECUTION

WAYS I CAN HELP TO BRING THE VISION OF THE YOUTH INTO EXISTENCE

1. DRIVE THE YOUTH TO WHEREVER THEY NEED TO GO: CHURCH, SCHOOL, STORE, MALL,
RESTAURANT,
2. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS AND TRUST GET TO KNOW THEM AND THEIR PARENTS BETTER IN ORDER
TO EARN THE RIGHT TO MINISTER THE WORD OF GOD IN THEIR LIFE
3. GET MORE FIRE FROM GOD FOR MYSELF SO THAT MY FIRE WILL SPARK FIRES AND ENABLES ME
TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS IN MY LIFE
4. LIVE BY EXAMPLE
5. SPEND SOME TIME JUST HANGING OUT WITH THE YOUTH
6. NOT ALWAYS BE SERIOUS JUST HAVE FUN

VISION FOR MY LIFE:
1. BE A LIGHT AND AN EXAMPLE TO MY BROTHER, DAD AND FAMILY
2. INVITE ALL THE NEIGHBORS TO A POTLUCK BBQ THIS SUMMER TO INTRODUCE MYSELF AND
BEGIN TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
3. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS AND EVANGELIZE TO ALL THE NEIGHBORS AND YOUTH IN THE
NEIGHBORHOOD AND INVITE THOSE YOUTH TO YOUTH EVENTS
4. EVANGELIZE AND INVITE MY FRIENDS TO CHURCH AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
5. TRY TO MEET SOMEONE NEW AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE
6. FINISH READING THE ENTIRE BIBLE AND STUDY AND MEDITATE ON IT DAILY
7 HAVE QUITE TIME AND PRAYER WITH GOD DAILY
8. GRADUATE FROM BETHANY
9. GO ON MISSION TRIPS

I WON’T BE DENIED MY RIGHTS TO TESTIFY UNTIL ALL ARE NOTIFIED THAT JESUS CHRIST IS REAL.

Attached also are 2 links to the San Jose Mercury news articles on Hanh & Amber
the other teenager who died in the accident. They quoted Hanh's valedictorian quote..

San Jose Mercury Quote:
When Hanh Do was named San Jose High Academy's valedictorian last year, she wrote that friends would remember her this way: ``The Asian volleyball player with mad hops who got on fire for God her junior year.''

Article 1
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/the_valley/7269592.htm
Article 2
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/the_valley/7275955.htm

PRAISE THE LORD! This weekend both of Hanh's two brothers she was praying for
came to Christ & so did about 30-40 students from San Jose High at the Sunday
morning service at Hanh's home church Freedom Worship Center. God is getting the
glory & may Hanh's legacy live on!

Hanh thank you personally for being a beaming light, a committed friend, a faithful servant,
a beautiful daughter to your mother, the first person to volunteer for the Soul Show, the
best ever FLOOR DIRECTOR (Big MAMA), praying like crazy on monday nights with me, Rocky
and the gang, my favorite weekend secretary, your child like faith, calling everyone up, giving
the youth rides to the TV tapings, cooking awesome PHO on thanksgiving, your faith, being
the best Christian club leader at San Jose High Christian club, putting a smile on my face whenever
I saw u, your constant seeking of God, your BEAUTIFUL SMILE, your corny jokes, for not giving up,
for always believing, always listening, always being there, living self-less, your humble
obedience- like give up being a doctor to pursue full time youth ministry, for carpe dieme
"seizing the day", makeing every person you talked to feel special & important,
the green day planner for Christmas, your awesome presence, your unconditional love towards me
and your passion for the youth of this generation. Thank you for changing my life and thousands of others missionary Hanh Do'sta. I love you sista and so do many many many others.....u will not be forgotten & I will continue to carry the torch to reach the youth of the nations with the fire of God. LOVE YOU HANH! I'll c u in heaven little sis.

Your friend & bro,
Jaeson

Friday, November 14, 2003

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I ask you urgently for your fervent prayers and intercessions for a close dear friend
Hanh Do. For those of you who have not heard, Hanh got into a car accident
Thursday evening and passed away on impact. Hanh is only 20 years old, a
Bible college student at Bethany and one of the most on fire Christians I have
ever known. I and many others do not believe it was her time to go & firmly
believe to not give up in FAITH that God can raise Hanh back from the dead.

Right now, we are standing in faith that Jesus the resurrection and the life
will give life back into Hanh's mortal body and wake her up from the dead.
Some of you may think I'm crazy, but I don't care. I'm clinging to God's Word
and believing that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. Please lift
up Hanh, her family and friends in prayer. Let us cry out to God in faith and
believe God for a miracle that would give God the GLORY in all the nations.

I know God can do it. While in Argentina, I met two missionaries who died
and came back to life. One young women was hit by a truck at 16 and flew
30 feet in the air and hit the concrete head first and was pronounced dead
on arrival of the ambulance. While in the hospital, she mysteriously woke up
from her death and is now serving the Lord.

I met a pastor from Georgia who was electricuted to death and saw his
spirit man leave his body while looking at his dead physical body. Moments
later, in the hospital operating room he came back to life again.

I spoke with both of them personally and I know God has not stopped the business
of raising the dead for His glory. We can't give up, we won't give up, we must
stand in faith and fight till the end.

PS: Please join Hanh's family, friends and church who are currently interceding for her
night and day with fasting at FREEDOM WORSHIP CENTER on 13th and Jackson St.
in Downtown San Jose. For more info: call me 408-390-0112 or www.fwc.org

Praying in faith,
Jaeson

"Jesus sent the 12 disciples out with these instructions: (v.7) Go and announce to them
that the kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, RAISE THE DEAD, cure with those
with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received." Matthew 10:5

But when Jesus heard what had happened, he said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid. Just trust me,
and she will be all right." When they arrived at the house, Jesus wouldn't et anyone go
in with him except Peter, James and John, and the little girls father and mother. THe house
was filled with people weeping and wailing, but he said, "Stop the weeping! She isn't dead;
she is only asleep." But the crowd laughed at him because they all knew she had died. Then
Jesus took her by the hand and said in a loud voice, "Get up, my child!" And at that moment
her life returned, and she immediately stood up!" Luke 8:50

"Then Jesus told them, "I assure you, if you have faith and don't doubt, you can do things
like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, "May God lift you up and throw
you into the sea, and it will happen. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in
prayer!" Matthew 21:21

"Then He said, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up."
The disciples said, "Lord, if he is sleeping, that means he is getting better!" They thought
Jesus meant Lazarus was having a good nights rest, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died.
Then He told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. And for your sake, I am glad I wasn't there,
because this will give you another opportunity to believe in Me. Come, lets go see him.

(v.17) When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave
four days.

(v.40) Jesus responded, "Didn't I tell you that you will see God's glory if you believe?" So they
rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, thank you for hearing
me. YOu always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here,
so they will believe you sent me." Then Jesus shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" And Lazarus
came out, bound in grave clothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, "Unwrap
him and let him go!" John 11