Gary Carpenter Ministries
Monthly Partner Letter

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Dear Partner,

One of the verses in the bible that has changed my life is Romans 12:2,

Rom 12:2   And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

When I fellowship with believers who love God's Word and who have proven themselves to be good students through bible study and prayer it always amazes me how differently they think than the world does. In many ways our minds have been renewed. For example, believers don't think about sin the same way the world does. We don't think about abortion the same way the world does. We don't think about drunkenness, gluttony, adultery, fornication, or many other such things the same way the world does. I thank God that we don't, and I know our heavenly Father is pleased that our minds have been renewed to think like He thinks and not like the world.

But recently the Lord began asking me questions that showed me how much more my mind still needs to be renewed. You see, I believe there is a great revival coming. I believe we are going to see the manifestation of the words of Jesus when He said,

John 14:12   Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

I believe that those works will be done not only by the fivefold ministry offices, but also by your normal, average believer. Not only is this revival going to harvest many souls in America, but it will harvest souls in the Muslim world, the Buddhist world, the Hindu world, and yes … even the Atheist world. Let me put it this way … you could be a devout Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or Atheist … you could have all of your doctrines and reasons why Christianity is not true … but if you have a crippled child and all of your prayers and all of medical science has not been able to help … and then a normal Christian believer comes and prays for your crippled child in the name of Jesus and that child is miraculously healed … you will want to know about Jesus. You have just become a candidate for salvation through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In order for those kinds of supernatural works to be manifested through us believers, our mindset is going to have to change from a "natural" mode of thinking to a "supernatural" mode of thinking. Here are a couple of examples of how the Lord has been challenging how much my mind has really been renewed. He asked me, "If you had been at the wedding feast of Cana and your mother had told you they were out of wine and asked you to do something about it, what would have been your first thought?" Well, if I am going to be brutally honest my first thought would most certainly not have been "Just bring some water and it will turn into wine." No, my first thought would have been in the natural something like, "Where is the nearest place where we can purchase wine?"

Then the Lord asked me, "At the feeding of the five thousand, when the disciples asked if they should send the people into town to buy food, what would your first thought have been?" I hate to admit it but my first thought would have been, "Say, are you going into town to get food? Could you get me a sandwich while you are there?" My first thought would most certainly not have been, "Just bring a little boy's lunch and the food will be multiplied to feed all of these thousands of people."

I believe Jesus was serious when He said we are to do the same works He did. He made it clear He wasn't just restricting that instruction to only the fivefold ministry offices because He also said in Mark 16:17-18 "Those that believe will lay hands on the sick and they shall recover." Who? Just the fivefold? No, Jesus said "those that believe" … which includes every believer who is willing to have his mind renewed so he can function in the supernatural realm like Jesus did.

When teaching like this begins there is almost an instantaneous "drawing back" of the listeners because something in them says "Not me. I know me. I'm a mess. I could never do those same works." And my reaction every time when I hear that is … GOOD! Thank God you know you can't do it. Jesus said it wasn't really Him doing it either! He said it was the FATHER in Him doing the works. I quoted John 14:12 earlier, but look at the verses leading up to verse twelve:

John 14:10-12   Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. 12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

It is not us … it is the Father in us! Now, when our mind is renewed to that truth … it is the Father within me who does the works … notice how the mindset instantly changes. Your mind says, "Well, I can't heal the sick but … the Father in me sure can." All things become possible if we allow our minds to be renewed to the truth of what the bible actually says, that it is the Father in us who is working to accomplish His own pleasure in this fallen world. This verse has suddenly become one of my favorites:

Php 2:13   For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Who is working in us? God our Father is working in us by the power of the Holy Spirit and in the Name of Jesus to do of His good pleasure on planet earth. Let us meditate on that truth until our minds are fully renewed to it so we can bear much fruit for the kingdom as this last day revival harvests souls from every nation on the planet.

Sue and I love you and appreciate you.   We thank God for your generous and giving heart.   God bless you!

Your friend and co-laborer,

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