Scripture Profiles

Fellas,

Sorry for the delay in getting the scriptural profiles out to each of you. I have placed each of your profiles in this email. I did this so that each of you can read what I feel God has placed on my heart about you. This will also allow you to stay on the pulse for each individual life. Remember that iron sharpens iron. Know your brother like brothers are suppose to know one another.

I encourage each of you to study the scripture that I have given you for your individual profile. If you happen to like the scripture on another profile, please use that one as well. Each scripture should become part of your daily life. If it has blessed others, can it not do the same for you.

Enjoy the profiling, it's rather long. It was great talking to God about each of you.


Alex Van Fleet: Gideon
You will find a portion of Gideon's story in Judges 6:12-13. This particular scripture is just an introductory. Keep reading chapters 6,7, and 8 to find out more about this man of valor.

Alex, I see you as a man of humility, caution, spirituality, obedience, inspirational, love to fellowship, and loyalty. To believe in the weakness that you often speak of goes against these leadership qualities you possess.

Gideon too, was like this. He believed what others assumed and said about him. He was married, but did not lead. He was called to ministry, but ran from the calling. When he could run no more, the Angel of God found him farming his father's wheat. It's like having the gift of a movie producer, but instead of working your craft, you're found at Block Buster video selling videos and telling people how to produce better qualitiy in their movies.

God has blessed you with a very strong woman for a wife. She will need someone who can lead her with the strength she has independantly. God called Gideon to lead the strong rebellious nation of Israel, but Gideon believed he was not the man to do so. God proved to Gideon that it's not the size of the army that brings victory, but the majority of the army that is brave and active brings victory.

Gideon had to face the great mission of his life, which was leading the army of Israel. Before doing that, he had to have an assuring tken that God was with him. The method he adopted was peculiar, b;ut found favor with Heaven, God condescending o grant Godeon the double sign. With the complete revelation before us in the Bible, we are not to seek supernatural signs, but take God at His Word. Are there any signs you are looking for Alex? Burn the matches that reveal the scars of your past, and live in the moment, that will always bring you to the present, and don't worry about tomorrow.

Today matters.

Unlike Gidoen, your earthly father has prepared you for such a time as this. He cannot take you any further. It is up to you to carry the mantle and create a legacy for your kids, just as your father did for you. Once Gidoen believed, accepted, and acted on his strength in God, Israel did some great things. You need to start expectecting God to do what His Words says He will do. Already He has proven His Faithfullness to you. You needed a job and you got one. You needed a car, and you got one. You needed certain benefits on your job and you got one. You needed a raise and you got one. Is there anything God can't do? No. So, it should be for you! Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified. Do not be fearful, for the Lord your God is with you EVERYWHERE you go! You are a mighty man of valor.


Anthony Powell: John
Anthony, you always sign off your emails by saying 3x Blessed. I believe that is apropos for the name of John. It means the Apostle of Love, God is Gracious. How many times in the last 8 months have you seen the Gracious Hand of God in your life and the life of you wife and three kids.

Finances, work, career, spiritual growth, friends, leadership training, everywhere you turned, God's Hand was there. John was called to ministry by Jesus while mending some fishing nets. Incidentally, the scripture states that John was a successful business man. Homie had ducketts!

Like John, you too were called to ministry while doing what you are successful at doing.....dancing. Jesus told John He would make him a fisherman of men. God has called you to dance before hundreds to bring men in by the thousands! When you dance like David danced, you bring glory to God. Then you become a tree planted by the rivers of water that bring forth it's fruit in its season. Your leaves will not wither, and whatever you do, will prosper. Forget what the world is doing. They are like the dirt that the wind blows away. The world will not get the blessings of God, but those that have put their trust in God, shall endure to the end and receive their just reward.

Many of the disciples complained about John. They didn't like him because Jesus called him His "beloved" disciple. Your brothers have had some choice words to say about you. Your father has had some choice words to say about you. But you know what God says? He says He loves you. Because He loves you, others will get jealous at that. They will become jealous because if God said that about you, where does that leave them? Is God so one dimensional that He can only love a handful of people? Absolutely not! It's your heart, your natural energy, your ambition, your eagerness to learn, your sympathy towards others, and the genuine love in your heart, that God is gracious to you and calls you loved.

Your dad may never love you the way you may have wanted him to. He may never see the wrong he has done in his relationship with you. Your brothers may never get over the fact that your mom loved you just a little bit more. Not that she didn't love them, but that zeal and ambition of your that I will talk about later on, is the same thing that God fell in love with. Since you have been given so much, much more is required of you. Burn the matches to remove the scars that keep you from being all that you can be.

John lived to be 100 years old. So, there is longevity in your life. He sat next to Christ at the last supper. He wrote the book of John, Acts, and Revelation, so he was a creative man. But more than the books he wrote, he was asked to take care of the mother of Jesus.....by Jesus. Now, God has empowered you to the leading of men, impacting of lives, and the changing of people.

You can read more about John and the characteristics that the two of you share in Mark 3:17, Mark 9:38, Luke 9:54, Mark 10:35-37, John 13:23, I John 2:9, John 19:26, and I John 4:7-21. These characteristics are energy , intolerance, ambition, eagerness to learn, sympathy towards others and genuine love. Also read I John 2:8;14-17. The darkness in your life has passed Anthony and the true light is being seen in you.


Isaac Smith: Mark
Isaac, you are the youngest in The Alliance. Like Mark, he too was the youngest of the Apostles. I don't believe God spoke to me about Mark because the two of you are young in the ministry, but it's something much more in depth. Marks name means "polite." As I think about your life and the challenges you have had to go through, i.e.: parent's divorce, moving to CA and forsaking your martial arts career, wife's miscarriage, drop in finances, etc., through it all, I see signs of politeness you have always displayed, from continuing to pay your tithes, to giving of your resources freely to others.

Mark was described as being a hammer. He could take on pretty much anything he set his mind to. A hammer is defined as a tool that strikes repeatedly. Think about it. For every aspect of your life, you have hammered home strength.

Mark became an attendant of Paul and Barabas when they set out on their great mission tour (Acts 13:5), and these two godly men had a formative influence upon the character of Mark, However, in his early years, Mark was guilty of vacillating in the work he was called to do (Acts 13:13; 15:38).

Where in your life, Isaac have you been vacillating? Where have you known what to do, but have hesitated in doing it. Where have you been asked to take the lead and in doing so, it has required you to do something different in order for you to have something different.

You cannot look at the life of your parents, the mistakes that you have made in the past, and think that this is the life God wants you to have. While Mark did have some problems to deal with, he did retrace his steps and win his spurs again to ride the bull and hammer home his purpose. The years the locust (hard times) had eaten were restored and he became a leader. You lost one child, but God granted you another. Your father left home, but God raised you up. You gave up your career, but God created another purpose for you. Your finances were depleted, but God has gifted you with youth, energy, perseverance, and some might men of faith, who know finances, that can bring about a change in your life. Read Col. 4:10 and 11; Philemon 1:24, and II Timothy 4:11 to see the results of Mark's life as he became more of what God wanted him to be.

The lesson that you can learn from Mark is that while we may not hear of any sermons that he preached or teachings that he taught, he was known as a hammer of strength and a helper of others. Such service never fails to receive its reward. Burn your match and remove the scars of your past.


Rick Grant: Barnabas
You are your father's son, but you are not like your father. You will become more than even he imagined. Burn your matches and heal the scars in your life.

Rick, Barnabas was know for his wisdom. This means that once he learned something, he practiced it. This is the beginning of wisdom. He was also a man of generosity. It was because of his financial generosity, that Paul, Peter, Mark, and the others were able to take their ministries to all the world.

You can first read about his giving in Acts 4:36. He sold his property and gave it to the entire community. As I think about your life, it has always been one of giving. The business you are in, is one of giving. It cannot be taken lightly or thought of as insignificant. Not that you would do that, but at some point in your life, you must accepts the fact that your life will not be an easy life. This does not mean you will not be happy, it means that everything you accomplish will done with difficulty. Our society is bound by financial poverty. Since you have come to set the captives free, it will not be an easy task. But be assured that Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Remember that we gain by losing (Luke 7:31), we rise by lowering (Luke 14:11), we get by giving (Luke 6:38) and we live by dying (Luke 12:24). You can read more about Barnabas in Acts 4:36; 9:27; 11:29-30; and 13:2).


Jamie: Jabez
People say a lot of things, but what they say is not what they do. Jabez was not such a man. He believed in one thing: that God would answer his prayer and increase his territory in every area of his life.

Jamie, your life has been a roller coaster ride. Jabez means man of sorrow. While your given name of Jamie does not mean sorrow, you have had a lot of it in your life. Yet through it all, you continue to sacrifice for others who are less fortunate than you (your grandmother).

Jabez was noted for his honorable character (integrity) and in a vow he made to God, to serve him the rest of his life, God blessed him for the rest of his life. Jabez asked for a lot and he got a lot. We sometimes get bogged down into thinking that God does not want to give us the desires of our heart. We think that we are not worthy of all we ask for. But, God is clear in His Word when He says that we have not because we ask not. We ask and have not because we ask for the wrong reasons.

Jabez asked God to bless him largely because he wanted to do some large things. He wanted to give those blessings back to others. Regardless of how his life was.....full of sorrow.....he knew this was not the life that he had to live. He could choose to do something different.

Recently, I discovered that your name is not your name. You changed it to inherit something different. So it was with Jabez. Born of sorrow, he turned his sorrow into gladness. To him who had been granted much, much was required of him.

God is not overwhelmed with your life. Why should you be? You will be blessed with a Christian Woman. All you have to do is ask and then start expecting God to do what His Word says He will do. He is not like man that He should lie. While your father could not give you what you needed in life, like the description of Mark I described for Isaac Smith, the locust that devoured your crops (love, acceptance, honor, manhood, strength, and purpose) have been restored.

Jabez proved to be a man among men and God blessed him for it. If you ask the question why God did this, the answer is, because he prayed. Burn your matches and heal the scars of your life. It's just a matter of prayer from you. You can read the prayer of Jabez in I Chronicles 4:9-10.


Joynier: Nathaniel
Joynier, you have been betrayed and taken advantage of on many occasions. Yet through all of these disappointments you have trudged forward to find the truth and do the right thing. Time and time again, your personal life has been challenged by your spiritual life. They should both be the same. What you do in your personal life, demonstrates what is going on in your spiritual and vise versa.

The thing that intrigues me about you is that you don't attempt to wrong those who have wronged you, nor do you seek to get your revenge. You always take the road less traveled. I know it's not always easy and you don't always want to take the high road, but you do, and that's what counts.

So it was with Nathaniel. When he was first introduced to Christ, Jesus said: "Here is an Israelite in whom there is no guile." No guile means you do not have a desire to mistreat, do wrong, manipulate, underscore, betray or belittle anyone. You can read about Nathaniel in John 1:45-49; 21:2.

People will continue to disappoint you Joynier. You won't like it, and you don't deserve it, but how you respond determines how you overcome. We have and continue to disappoint God, but He continues to forgive us and love us. Some of the correlations of you and Nathaniel are:

1. A friend introduced Nanthaniel to Christ. Rick Grant introduced you to the Oasis. Who have you intoroduced to God?
2. Nathaniel was an easy convert. The scripture states that he readily received the good news about the Messiah. When I invited you to the group 3 years ago, without hesitation you stated that you wanted to do all that you could to be a better man. While there is that "separation" betwen you and your mother, it's the strength inside of you, that will allow your mother to see the man inside of you.
3. Nathaniel didn't question what Christ offered him. He accepted the sure test of truth and the sure cure of prejudice. Regardless of who has hurt you (mom, wife, friend, relatives), it's the "come and see" and the "taste and see" invitation that will burn the matches that reveal your scars.

It's the faith that you have and the smile on your face that will cause God to smile back at you and secure you for the promise of a growing blessing and increase your territory, just as he did Jabez.


Jefferson: Job
When God gave me these words for you, my heart cried out. I can relate in more ways than you know. I am also a living testimony of the Faithfulness of God. Be blessed by what I am about to say. Let go of the "Why God" and replace it with "Here I am God."

The name of Job means one who is always returning to God and one that weeps. I know that you have cried many nights over your current circumstance and those of the past. But you always return to God. You have some anger that is rooted deeply inside you because of life's disappointments. These disappointments have become your hurts, that have become your offenses, that have become your self-thinking, that has you in your current state of questioning God. You are not alone. Job lived there too. I too have lived there recently. It's only when you hu;nger for God's Word more than food, will you see the Goodness of His Word played out in every aspect of your life.

Like Job, I do not question your character. You are perfect(complete), upright(you know right from wrong), you fear God(His Word cannot be denied by you) and you dislike evil. These character elements make you like Job. (Job 1:1)

Job lived during a time when religious, social and political upheavals were at a high point, but through it all, he was considered the greatest man in the Eastern World. You have fought political issues at work, spiritual issues at home, social issues in your personal life, and with none of these elements working out the way you would want them to, still you turned to God. Hence Job's name.

Here are some other factors to apply in your life to have the increase in your life just as Job did. He had friends.....you have The Alliance. He had enemies (those who attacked his family, but couldn't attack him) and you have an enemy who also wants to attack you so that your family will loose hope. He lost everything, but all his losses were recompensed. Job knew how to seek God and this is where your strength will come in your situation. Job had restrained prayer (Job 15:4), puirity of prayer (Job 16:17), empty prayer (Job 21:15), profitable prayer (Job 22:27), blessedness of prayer (Job 33:26), interceding prayer (Job 42:8), and emancipating prayer or the prayer to be free from restraint or influence (Job 42:10).

Finally, allow me to be wordy with religious terms that I believe you will best understand. Job is presented as a model of faith. I am always in awe of your faithfulness and your willingness to return to God. Job's faith was strained, but he emerged victorious. Job's story is not an apologetic vindication of the ways of God to man; not a philosophic proof of the doctrine of immortality; not an argumentative refutation of the so-called Mosaic doctrine of retribution; not a word of exhortation to man not to pry into the deep designs of providence, neither is it the testing and improvement of Job's piety. That is acknowledged by God and admitted by Satan to be perfect. It has been written to prove that God can be loved for His own sake; that goodness may be unselfish and disinterested; that the righteous can serve God for nought and trust in Him even when He seems to be an enemy.

The painful riddle of human life is capable of a blessed solution; that the sufferings of the righteous are not necessarily due to their own sins; that the inequalities of this life are to be redressed in the life to come. Justice will be done somehow, sometime, somewhere.

Jefferson, you need to know that the Bible is the Book of Christ, and the great theme of Job is the mystery of the Cross: How can the sufferings of the righteous be reconciled with the justice of God? Job is a type of the righteous man, of the Nation, of the Chruch and of Christ Himself. You are standing in some tall shoes my brotha!

So, we have in Job the picture of a righteous man suffering because it pleased the Lord, for a wise purpose, to b;;ruise him. God reversed the verdict of the men who rejected him and numbered him among the transgressors.

The key verse in Job is found in Job 13:15: "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." This is an Old Testament anticipation of the cry of dereliction that came from Christ upon the Cross: "Why did you forsake me?" We need to have a strong confidence in God, just as He has in us (Job 23:10; 27:2-6). God knows everything and just as I have said in this email once already, He is not overwhelmed with your life, so why should you be? In the depth of our darkness and in the agony of our suffering we should always hold on to God. Our Redeemer Lives!


Chris Francis: Peter
Chris, your life fascinates me. There are times when you appear to be a rock, which is what Peter was called by Christ, and there are times when I look at you, I see an impulsiveness. Through it all your love and affection for people is always evident.

Peter was known for his impulsiveness and often spoke when he should have been listening. He is the only one of the 12 that provoked Jesus to saying to him, "Get behind me Satan." Imagine that. Jesus called Peter the devil. It wasn't because he was evil, but he was tempting Jesus to do something not in alignment with the Ministry of Jesus. This is also the same Peter that Jesus called out by name when He rose from the grave. He said to the ladies at the grave, "Go tell Peter and the others that I am alive." How awesome is that. To get a personal invitation from God. You too, Chris have that personal invitation.

Looking at your life now, you have a lot going on for you. You are debt free (except for your new car), home owner, entrepreneur, trainer of champions, friend to many, student of learning and teacher of The Word. Your life before then was one of constant self-seeking and presumptuous moves......over-stepping your boundaries. The biggest lesson that you can learn from Peter's life is that everyone can't be saved, nor will they listen to you. At the end of the day, people will do what they want to do. Family, friends, copworkers, or believers, they will all eventually do what they want to do. You must learn the art of planting the seed and watching God do the watering.

Here are the many facets of your character that are similar to Peters: naturally impulsive (Matt. 14:28; 17:4; John 21:7), he was tenderhearted and affectionate (Matt. 26:75; John 13:9; 21:15-17) and gifted with spiritual insights (John 6:68).

Chris, you are not what your father was. You are a rock. He may have failed in some aspects of his life, but I believe he did the best he could do, with the limited information he had. It is now your job to take your life to the next level, and in doing so, others will see the light and follow the Rock. Burn the matches of your past and heal yourself for your future.


Drummy: Andrew
In spiritual terms you and Chris are brothers. By biblical profile, the names that each of you carry, make you brothers. Yep, Andrew and Peter were brothers. The interesting thing is that Peter was more "plan" centered and Andrew was more "people" centered.

Drummy, your life has been built on relationships. Your success in the music industry has partly been because you were good, but mostly because people genuinely like you. You have a heart for people, the things they do, and who they become.

You also live a life full of stress. This stress of yours will only be eliminated as you become a true disciple of Christ. In Him you will find your rest.

You have the spiritual gifting of seeing God's Gift in others. So did Andrew. With this gifting, guide others into the right channels of service. If you are Christ's....and I know you are....your passion is to lead others to Him; hence, your dedication to KidCreative.

While your parents divorced at a crucial moment in your life, it is the grandfather spirit that God is restoring to you. This means that it is the work that you do now, that will turn the generations to come towards God. Andrew's brother Peter was the man in front of the crowd, but it was Andrew and the spiritual guidance he provided that caused the people to grow into the 21st century church we have today. Read more about Andrew in Matt. 4:18; 10:2. Burn your matches from the past and become whole again. Others are waiting for you.


Joe Clemens: Philip
Joe, Philip's name means warrior and lover of horses. I don't know about the horses part, but I do know you to be a warrior. What you can learn best about Philip is that you must live in the present and not in the past. Like the others, you to will not be what your father was. I encourage you to forget about your past and live for the moment. Yesterday is gone and today is only a present if you choose to accept it.

As I did with Jefferson, I am going to use religious rhetoric with you too, because I believe it will make sense to you. If not, I was wrong.

Like all the others, Jesus called Philip by name. Jesus found Philip and said, "Follow me." (John 1:43). The call to faith and to follow came at once, and Philip was ready for both. The impressive feature of his conversion is that as soon as Christ found him, PHilip sought to bring others to Christ....that is so like you. The convert (Philip) became a sould winner. "Come and see," is how Philip approached Nathanael, and because of it, Philip won his friend over. When the huyngry multitude gathered around Christ at the Sea of Galilee, Philip was tested by Christ (John 6:5). Philip was singled out for a test of his faith, and for a great opportunity, which he lost, and with it lost a blessing (sound familiar)? Instead of telling the Master that He was able to feed the hungr;y crowd, Philip made a mental calculation of how mu;ch food would be necessary to give each person a portion, and how much it would cost, and declared the project to be impossible. The seeking Greeks were led to Philip but although he sympathized with their request to see Christ, he was afraid and almost lost another opportunity (John 12:21). Yet Philip experienced familiar friendship with Jesus, for did He not call him by name? Slow to apprehend truth, he missed mu;ch, but Jesus had nothing but kind words for him (John 14:8).

Only your present can speak of your future, not your past. Burn your matches and be healed today.

Aaaaaaaright fellas. That's it. Don't forget about the commitments that each of you made on the side of the mountain. Uphold those and bring integrity to your life by sacrificing something of worth to those you intend to do life with. Friendship is not what you have to give someone, but what you willingly give to someone without them asking.

I love you guys.


Purpose and Strength,




Koop