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By Richard Gazowsky

Many of the truths God has shown to me lately have been revealed through scriptures that I have heard since childhood. The reason that I never fully understood what Jesus was teaching was, I did not look at what he was saying literally. Instead, His teaching seemed cloaked in dramatic religious garments that blinded me from raw truth. One of these statements made by Jesus is, “You should build your house on the rock Christ Jesus.” This is the way I remember hearing it, and what I believed it meant was that being a Christian and believing in Jesus prevented any storm from tearing my house down. Keep reading →

By Richard Gazowsky

In finding God’s perfect will, I’ve been placed on one of the most enjoyable adventures of my whole life, and I hope this carnival of experiences continues into eternity. God is not only cool and hip, He also has an incredible sense of humor. I experienced this on the day He told me to get rid of my underwear, and to buy wooden underwear. I was stunned. I had an instant image of stiff, splintery wood, stabbing me in all of the wrong places! I thought, “God? Is this some torture device?” I remember as a child, being in church, and hearing history’s horror stories of what God put them through, and I thought, “Is this now my day?” I soon realized that God was actually making a profound statement to me about being flexible and able to hear His perfect will. Keep reading →

By Richard Gazowsky

This last week, ten miles from my house, some of the largest ocean waves that have been surfed crashed upon the California coastline. The waves are called “mavericks”, and they have now filmed a 105-foot maverick wave. The surfer in the video looks like a fly on a huge wall of water. Few people can surf this type of wave. One of the requirements for even trying is being able to hold your breath for 5 minutes underwater, besides the obvious proof of surfing skills. Keep reading →

By Richard Gazowsky

Jesus was once approached by a young rich ruler who asked the simple question, “What do I need to do to be a disciple?” The Lord replied, “Keep the commandments.” The young ruler asked Jesus, “This I have done from my youth up, but what more should I do?” Wow! At this point one realizes that Jesus knew that He was talking to a young man who wanted to enter into God’s perfect will. This obviously would be very dangerous and at the same time very rewarding. So, Jesus said, “Oh, you would be perfect? Sell all that you have and give it to the poor.” If you remember the story, the young man went away sorrowfully. Then Jesus made the famous quote that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. This makes a profound distinction between the people who want God’s perfect will and those who choose a more common pathway. Keep reading →

By Richard Gazowsky

Over the past few weeks I have become acutely aware of God’s intense desire for man to obey His voice. Just today I had a vision of God’s intense power, grace, wisdom, and glory; and yet, this great and mighty Being who rules the universe will wait (out of His own desire) for one puny man to obey His will. The view of this picture that makes it so absurd, is realizing that this puny man isn’t even aware that the command God has just given him is the secret to a successful future. In other words, if man does not obey God’s will, God loses nothing, but man loses everything. I have seen this happen in my own life. God gave me a command to do something and because I put it as a low priority among other things to do, it got forgotten about. Then as I woke up to the fact that I was walking in disobedience, it was too late and too difficult to do the task. Bringing myself into obedience often causes extreme levels of stress and anguish. This conflict can turn into such a spiritual battle that the battle itself gathers the attention, and the resulting miracle of the obedience is lost in the din. This brings me back to the original scenario; simple obedience is quick and easy and allows me to enjoy the benefits of the original word. Keep reading →

By Richard Gazowsky

For a long period of time there has been an invisible “glass wall” between Godly leaders, the business world, and the political world. The business world and the political world, however, are the two areas that control most of our lives “in the flesh”. These two realms have been off limits to most of the influence from the kingdom of God, especially when it comes to the general influence over a whole nation. The United States has been the leading country where the kingdom of God has influenced the areas of government and business, and of course this goes back to its founding. The colonies that formed along the eastern boarder of the United States were almost exclusively Christian communities that had fled religious oppression in Europe. Thus, in a unique time in history, godly men and women formed the principles that governed business and government, and there was no glass wall! Keep reading →

By Richard Gazowsky

I’ve received a record number of emails & comments from last week’s blog/message. If you haven’t read it, I would advise you to read last week’s blog before you read this message in order to give you a clearer understanding of what I’m about to say. Let me recap what happened. For the last 3 years, our ministry has been raising up an incredible team of young prophets. They have literally prophesied around the world from Germany to Bangkok, as well as every day at our own congregation in San Francisco. Suddenly, a week ago, God had me shut down the prophetic team in a matter of seconds. He made it clear that none of the youth were to prophesy; they were to remain in a “cone of silence”. The most common response I received as a result of this action was from pastors calling me “radical” and telling me I was “walking in radical obedience”. This is the title that has been thrown at me for the last twenty-plus years of ministry. Keep reading →

By Richard Gazowsky

On the 7th of January the church that I pastor held a conference called the “Winds of Change” (refer to blog by that title). I didn’t expect the winds of change to come so violently to my own ministry and constituents. On the first day of the conference a prophet from China was asked to come forward and share a prophetic word. The prophet sensed that the Lord was calling us to seven days of repentance. This call was not a typical call that we Americans hear, asking us to repent of our prosperity and success, but instead the Lord was calling for a deep repentance in areas of our lives that we have not completely pleased the father. Wow! It was weighty but it was also refreshing. On the 6th day I was in a long meeting with seven prophets and political leaders, and the same prophet turned to me and said, “The Lord has spoken to me and has asked me to tell you something that I do not want to share. I love the prophetic youth that prophesy in your church; they are so accurate. During this conference they gave me and my prophetic team many prophecies that were incredibly accurate but the Lord has told me to tell you to stop the youth from prophesying.” Their words hit me like a sledge hammer in my chest. I had never expected this. For the last three months the Lord had been speaking to me that the youth who are prophesying need to be skilled in the use of the word of God, the Bible. I had already initiated this training but I had not expected God to shut the whole prophetic youth ministry down. The prophet, knowing that I occasionally cast lots for confirmation, asked me, “Would you be willing, Richard, to cast a lot before the Lord to see if the word that I am giving you is truly from the Lord?” Keep reading →

By Richard Gazowsky

The “Just in time” manufacturing principle is a concept that has been around since Eli Whitney and the invention of the cotton gin. The concept deals with the manufacturing of items and keeping a lean inventory. It lies within the manufacturing of items such as cell phones, computers and automobiles, which run on lean manufacturing timelines to enable the manufacturer’s response to marketplace changes and innovations. A friend of mine lost his entire fortune because he had ordered a shipload of five megabyte hard drives, but before his ship could dock in the San Francisco harbor, other manufacturers were already delivering one hundred megabyte drives at a price cheaper than his cost. All of his inventory became useless in the eighteen-day journey from Singapore to San Francisco. Companies have found that having huge warehouses full of parts can be as dangerous as the current and volatile American economy itself. This caused early manufacturers to promote the concept of “just in time” manufacturing. It became a clear model of some of the dramatic changes that I see occurring in Christian organizations. Keep reading →

By Richard Gazowsky

Recently I had a vision of three candles, 4 palm trees, and the winds of change. I realized that this vision was concerning the new year and that it was a warning from God about 2010. David said that the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord. A candle is one of the most sensitive ways to detect the changing direction of wind; even the smallest breath points the flame of the candle. So it is in your spirit; the flame of your spirit will tell you the direction that the wind of change is flowing. This is so important! Those who are spiritually sensitive can beat the “bell curve” and have access to the changes that God is bringing to the earth long before those who are spiritually insensitive. A palm tree is specifically designed by God to survive through the most severe trade winds and storms. One reason for the palm trees resilience is that every branch has its own root that extends into the ground. This gives it thousands of fingers underground and each branch has the flexible stem and root system that can bear the high velocity of winds. This crafty design by God presents an incredible spiritual picture of how you and I can survive in prosperity, or the “winds of change”. Keep reading →