Kingfisher leadership news February 2018

Kingfisher Leadership

1st February 2018

Kingfisher Leadership news Our three challenges for 2018: 2 - JUBILEE

2018 is NOT a biblical Year of Jubilee - indeed, it is debatable when the next biblical ‘Year of Jubilee’ actually is. However, because Jesus came to proclaim ‘the Kingfisher is 25 years old this year - a true year of the Lord’s favour’ and landmark in our journey together. Amongst because we are sent as Christ was sent, we have a mandate other things, this is the to proclaim what Jubilee halfway point towards our stands for: release from ‘Jubilee’ year, which in the captivity, restoration of Bible is a time of celebration, Jesus: that which has been lost bringing: and rejoicing at our new“He has sent me found freedom. The other •Release from bondage aspect of Jubilee is REST to proclaim that a reorientation of our lives •Restoration to a previous captives will be away from busyness to a state restored relationship with •Rejoicing at new-found released” God. How can we express freedom. this idea of Jubilee in our (Luke 4:18) churches, ministries and In Leviticus 25:8-55 we are groups? introduced to the concept of Bring Release to the ‘Jubilee’. The word ‘jubilee’ captives. comes from the Hebrew yodel, which means to Jesus promises: “If the Son makes be ‘jubilant’ and to ‘exult’. The word is related to you free, you shall be free the Hebrew word for ram’s horn, or trumpet. The indeed.” (John 8:36)…and yet so Jubilee year (the fiftieth year, after seven cycles many are still held in bondage. How of seven years) was launched with a blast from a can we bring our experience more ram’s horn on the Day of Atonement, signifying into line with the promises of God? a call to joy, liberation and the beginning of a By becoming more intentional year for ‘doing justice’ and ‘loving mercy’. about it. For more information on Setting the Captives Free, you can download a free resource (Shaped Why did God establish the Jubilee Year?

For Significance) from the website (www.kingfisher.org.uk and click on To prevent the Israelites from oppressing one Resources). Why not mark this another (Leviticus 25:17) - it gave everyone a Silver Jubilee year by redoing this chance to start over, economically and socially. course? The DVD is available free God wants people to be free (Luke 4:18-19), on request - just email and we will send it to you. and for there to be justice on earth - Jubilee 1 ensures a new start for everyone.

Kingfisher Leadership

Bring Restoration to the confused.

The Bible promises that we are “… fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). Transformation is not about becoming a different person - it is about being restored to the fearfully and wonderfully made person we were always meant to be. Identity is a key component of spiritual growth Who am I? Who has God created me to be? One of our most popular resources - Discovery - helps you to focus on the ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ person that God originally intended you to be. You can download a copy of this resource from the Website. Print off the course and fill it in at your leisure to find your passion, your personality and your spiritual gifts,. Join the three together and you can begin to get a picture of some potentially fruitful areas of service. Have you done this course recently? This Silver Jubilee year might be just the occasion for you to do it again and receive a fresh moment of clarity.

Bring Rejoicing to the heavy of heart.

Nothing encourages people quite so much as hearing stories of what God is doing in people’s lives.

Testimonies are such a powerful and vital tool for spiritual growth - and yet we are often really bad at remembering to share our answers to prayer and victories with others.

Why not, in this Silver Jubilee year, get more intentional about this and create space for this, encouraging people to share their stories?

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1st February 2018

What is God saying to us about this?

Obviously, as we are only 25 years old, we are only halfway to our Jubilee from a Biblical point of view.

However, we do also have the tradition of recognising that halfway point by celebrating a Silver Jubilee, and that is the position we have arrived at. There is something of Jubilee that God is seeking to draw our attention to in Kingfisher the triple emphasis of release, restoration and rejoicing.

We are being led deeper and deeper into the area of working amongst those who are held captive by so many things - drugs, abuse, mental health issues, fear, and so on. Jesus said, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free…” (Luke 4:18, NLT).

God has not called us to just accept the broken, bound state of those we minister to (or, indeed, our own broken, bound state), but to take the authority we were looking at in last month’s issue and, with Jesus, proclaim release and restoration. We are also to encourage a sense of rejoicing as people are restored, as we grow an environment of sharing testimonies of the Jubilee work the Lord is doing in our midst.

In next month’s issue of Leadership News: The third of our three challenges for 2018:

SPIRITUAL WARFARE 2