subscribe, view past issues  and  Get Releasing Kings   Exercise Your Heart exercise thyself rather unto godliness.  1 Tim 4:7 KJV But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Heb 5:14 KJV Mind vs. Heart - Western Christianity is prone to rely on rational thought as an approach to God. We like to be educated and think things out. The church is prone to emphasize programs and mechanisms and so do businesses, education, etc. Employees are often made to feel likes cogs in a wheel. So this newsletter is simply about "why you should" and "how you can" exercise your heart. Why - Let's give our mind two reasons to take a back seat while reading this newsletter. 1. Decision making -  We don't really make decisions based on rational thought anyway. Most of your and my responses to life are made from predisposed filters in our heart. Some refer to it as subconscious drivers. Listen to Paul: For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Rom 7:15, 21-24 NIV This verse is centered around carnal tendencies toward sinful behavior. I want to suggest that for good or bad, our decision making process is centered in our hearts. That's just how decisions work... you get the water that's in the well. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.      Prov 4:23 NIV The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. Matt 12:35 NIV 2. Direction taking - We don't follow directions anyway. Many mentors assume that if they just show people how to do something they will learn it. That simple formula doesn't work because it skips what's in the heart. Disciples often have hearts working against them until they understand their dream. Better and more training will not overcome self-sabotage! What does work? - I want to suggest that since decisions and your life direction flow from the wellspring of your heart that we find out what's in there! Many of us have been raised with a belief that only evil resides in our heart. When we're first saved, and occasionally thereafter, we do need to cleanse our hearts through Jesus' work on the cross. However, the will of God we were created for will also show up in our hearts. It's interesting that "exercise" in the verses above comes from gumnazo which means to "practice naked" and comes from the root word gumnos which means "nude." Remember the fig leaves? We really can't cover up what's in our heart. That wellspring will promote us to success or sabotage our best efforts; one or the other. Trying to cover up what's in our hearts is a disaster waiting to destoy a well-meaning initiative with great coaching. So let's talk about how to get in touch with what's in our hearts; especially the good stuff. Get in touch with your heart through art - Movies and books are two common ways to exercise your heart. Good movies touch our hearts because they tap into desires placed there by the Holy Spirit. We are "moved" when that chord is struck. I want to suggest you read The Shack by Wm Paul Young. It's a readable paperback that will bless your relationship with God.  It will move your heart and you'll identify with the experience I'm suggesting. One phrase used in the Bible for this process is opening the eyes of our heart so that we can see a glorious inheritance. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. Eph 1:18-19 NIV We all need to experience our hearts "welling up." Tears can flow through convulsive sobs, joy may surface, our hearts can leap and dance, laughter may burst out like a flood... there are many expressions of the heart. Don't learn them; experience them. Experiencing your heart is the richness of your life in Christ. Mentoring through the heart - Here is the simple crux of what I'm sharing that impacts discipleship. We all want to be trained to receive our inheritance in Christ. We also want to know how to train others. It all starts with knowing what's in the heart. We need the mechanisms and the training too, but it doesn't work until our heart's desire is identified. Good mechanistic training just gets filtered until it supports a dream. Our mistake is that we start with some formula for success before we understand the dream that success will serve. That's why our goal can't be something like making money. Your real dream is connected to a tangible purpose. Money is just a tool to make a dream come true. Please hear this; when your heart grasps its real Kingdom purpose, then the mechanisms, programs and training you need will naturally follow and so will your skills, and success, and finances, and ministry, and inheritance. Your heart will be working with you instead of against you! You'll stop sabotaging yourself with hidden filters in your heart. (see Overcoming the Poverty of Self-Sabotage.) But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matt 6:33 NIV Affirm you heart - Getting your wellspring to flow is best helped by talking about your dream. Before you understand with your mind how your dream could possibly come true, you must begin to articulate the dream with words. To our minds this "feels" very naked and uncomfortable... to talk about casting mountainous obstacles into the sea. However, it's the natural progression of faith. We articulate what's in our heart with goals and promises and creative proclamations that release the "how to." "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. Mark 11:23-25 NIV There is another healthy dynamic that comes with articulating and affirming your heart's desires and dreams; The more you talk about it, the more you'll refine the dream and give it substance. If your dream has God in it, others will resonate with it and support you... of course you might also stir up a hornets nest of resistance if you share it in the wrong camp! Mary privately "treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart" when she was exposed to her dream. Lu 2:19 Recommendation - I want to suggest Brian Klemmer's book, If How-To's Were Enough. He came up with the phrase, "When the intent is clear, a mechanism will appear." pg 33. Their workshops and seminars reinforce the theme of this newsletter in a powerful way.     We're Dancing   John and Sue     www.Releasing-kings.com   Ukraine - I'm off to the Ukraine with David Tinney and Poul Dalgaard for 10 days just before Thanksgiving. Since 2001, David has done over 100 business seminars in the Ukraine so he knows his way around. Poul is already operating businesses in Ukraine. We're translating Desire to Destiny into Russian so we can have it available to help release Kings. If you have a business concept that would work in the Ukraine, let us know. Our goal is to turn the theology into practice and network new opportunities. Desire to Destiny is available now at our store along with reviews. Not sure what your dream is? This book will help you pull the curtain back on your future. Newsletter - If your newsletter comes incomplete (filtered), you can always catch the latest version in our archive along with 200 others. 1600+ people from around the world get Kingly encouragement from our weekly newsletter. Invite a friend to subscribe - they will be blessed. How to Start a Small Group - Kings are increasingly getting involved in Bible study or mentoring groups to facilitate their "Release." Here are some helpful suggestions www.Releasing-Kings.com/Starting-a-Group.html. We've also updated our Vision Brochure with graphics to show how to become a King and how you can help Release Kings. French Translation - Releasing Kings is now available in French thanks to the efforts of Cees Bakker and Support Ministries in the Netherlands. In France, copies can be obtained from Editions Menor or Librairie Chretienne CLC. The Title in French is “Libération des Rois pour le ministère dans le monde du travail”. Cees is also the guy who made the Dutch translation possible - available through his website. He can be contacted for Releasing Kings conferences in France and throughout Europe. Facebook - I'm starting to post more information on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/john.garfield1 PS: I want to recommend some follow-up reading. Who is God by Harold Eberle provides the best explanation of a more relational view of God. It's must reading that connects our perception of God with everyday life. Releasing Kings for Ministry in the Marketplace takes that foundation into marketplace ministry and the entrepreneurial nature of Kings. Fruit in the marketplace naturally springs out of sound doctrine. Desire to Destiny - Takes the foundation and marketplace ministry and puts them in the context of seven practical keys or stages of growth you can apply in your own life. You're invited into the vision to release Kings; communicate the message, make the money, and do the mission. The Message - Our first goal is to get the Releasing Kings message into the hands of the messengers that will carry it... do it, preach it, teach it, example it. The Money - The second goal is to help Kings break out of poverty by networking them with practical opportunities to prosper. We want to introduce them to the right people, the right opportunity, and the right financial approach. The Mission - Network Kings with opportunities to mix business and missions. Accomplish the great commission through the marketplace and occupy the Seven mountains of: business, media, arts & entertainment, education and government in addition to the church. ____________________________________________________________________ You can get your copy of Releasing Kings for Ministry in the Marketplace or Desire to Destiny at 1-800-308-5837 (or) www.releasing-kings.com