The Fortress & the Firebrand

Terry Hartikka

Description

Though I’d seen the dead raised, when my life seemed over, I discovered hope for myself and our nation, through grace found in the fire.

Do you want to reclaim your nation, your family, your church, and your life? Then this is what God is calling you to do! To help you understand that calling, author Terry Hartikka offers his life message from heaven to you.

The Fortress and the Firebrand presents Pastor Hartikka’s journey through an unusual number of difficulties that might cause people to question how a God of love could allow such things. It details how God often turned the pain of the past into power for the future. Pastor Hartikka is as a brand plucked out of the fire, and Jesus is his fortress. Through the many lessons he learned along the way—from extreme fatigue to being used to raise a man up from the dead—he provides an honest look at how God took an ordinary man with many faults and showed him His love and presence.

This inspirational personal narrative serves as a message of encouragement and preparation for our future as individuals and as a nation.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Christian Living
• Inspirational
• Philosophie et théologie
• Grace

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 08 mars 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664291096
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

THE FORTRESS & THE FIREBRAND
 
 
Prophetic Stories of God’s Grace In the Fire With a Vision of Purpose and Hope
 
 
 
 
 
TERRY HARTIKKA
 
 
 
 
 

 
Copyright © 2023 Terry Hartikka.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people have been altered to protect their privacy.
 
 
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version. (Public Domain)
 
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-9107-2 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-9108-9 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-9109-6 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023901765
 
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 03/02/2023
 
To our three girls, Lori, Lindsy, Stacy, and their families.
Special thanks to my wife, Lonie, for all her patience and faith through it all.
CONTENTS
Introduction
1 .      The Fortress Showed Up
2 .      A Vision of the Fortress
3 .      It’s about the Remedy, Not the Problem
4 .      Why, God?
5 .      Visions of the Lord in the Storm
6 .      Living by Faith in the Fire
7 .      Does the Rain Have a Father?
8 .      Reduced to New Life
9 .      The Liberty of a New Life—Who Do You Think You Are
10 .    Liberty Establishes Identity
11 .    God Is Big
12 .    This Is What My Heart Sounds Like
13 .    Great Is Thy Faithfulness
14 .    Threats Introduced Me to Life
15 .    God Will Take Care of You
16 .    Plucked from the Fire
17 .    Thirsty
18 .    Disciplined by Joy
19 .    Meeting God in the Dirt
20 .    Buy Gold Tried in the Fire
21 .    Destined for Glory
INTRODUCTION
Do you want to reclaim your nation, your family, your church, and your life? Then this is what God is calling you to do! I believe this book is my life message from heaven to you. It is why I have lived. It is why I have suffered and been called to persevere. I haven’t tried to put my best foot forward. It’s an honest look at God’s pathway. It is a life lived, with all its hardships, for you. Here is what God has shown me for you. I believe not knowing this is why so many so-called prophets have missed it.
Many storms have come over the years. The biggest ones are those I have been sent out into—sent to find peace in them, sent to find peace for men and nations. Struggle marks all of them. But to strain at the oars when in a boat in a storm, as the disciples did, is fruitless. John said, when they took Jesus into the boat, immediately, they got to where they were going.
It was in 2019 when I was sent out into this present storm. I lost my health, my ministry, and finally, my television broadcast business. What is this storm like? The other night, I awoke about 3:00 a.m. because I felt too exhausted to breathe. It felt relief to just pause for a bit, but I’ve learned to rest in this storm of disability. I can no longer go out to enjoy what I used to love to do for rest, solitude, and peace from chaotic business. Pastoring, managing four TV channels, a sports broadcast crew, and being an active family man were all out of the question. The only thing I could look forward to was leaning back in my recliner, turning on some peaceful worship music, and falling into the presence of God!
When my ability to function was cut back, I began to hear a whisper in my spirit, “What you are going through is what this nation is about to go through.” God uses people as His ambassadors and witnesses to tell the world what He is like.
I thought my ministry was fundamentally over. It was refreshing and a blessing to seek the Lord just for myself, my nurture, and my refining, as well as that of my family. I had learned years ago, when things in life get cut back, God is often allowing them for a positive reason. “Lord, You let this happen. Show me what You want me to learn.”
Something big was coming. It was a storm, and that storm would be followed by another, and they would keep growing in intensity. By the time COVID-19 hit, I knew God was about to take over.
The things I was learning when all the props I trusted in were knocked out were also the things the nation would need to know, if they had ears to hear. Like everyone else, I began hearing news that didn’t seem to add up. Every morning, I would research the source of what was going on. In the afternoon, I would seek the Lord. I didn’t have to fact-check in the afternoons! This has been my habit now for going on three years.
What I found out about living in the storm was built upon decades of learning this in my years as a pastor. A large part of the learning curve was making sense out of the hard times. In fact, I did 157 episodes of a podcast called Life Journeys about the life lessons I learned during challenging times. I found, if I looked past a heightened sense of justice and listened instead, I would find God and peace in the storm. That is just like the plan of Jesus when He sent the disciples out into the storm. He was teaching them to believe, no matter what. However, precisely what to believe and how to accomplish it is a large part of what people are missing today. Because of it, they struggle with their faith, feel they are unable or unworthy, and often either give up or compromise.
I want to slam the door closed on the deceptive tricks of the enemy of our souls that can shipwreck the faith of so many. I want to reveal how to navigate the darkness ahead and find peace while the storm still rages. In fact, there’s a way to embrace the storm so fully because of the joy, peace, and power given, that it doesn’t matter if the storm ceases or not! Really! One day, the Lord spoke to me, “You can’t speak peace into the storm if there’s no peace in your heart to speak out of.”
Life is a journey. It’s not all about the destinations we are hoping for. The final destination, heaven, is of utmost importance. The pathway we walk is really what God’s will is all about. It’s not the physical healing, the sudden sum of money that miraculously comes along, or the circumstance that just one day changes and you get a new job. Victory over poverty isn’t more money. Victory over sickness isn’t immediate healing. God is after the heart, and faith is about God getting us to be what He wants us to be instead of us getting Him to do what we want. Though many of us already know that’s true, the actual outworking of it is quite a bit more involved than nicely calculated phrases that cause a momentary sense of relief.
“I will say of the LORD , He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust” (Psalm 91:2).
When threats press in hard and sleep is fleeting because of the sorrows and fears, I need a refuge. When thoughts about regrets, guilt, and fading memories come pouring in, my mind can all too easily lead me into an unhealthy place. That is when I need to find God as a fortress from the invasion of enemies—real and often irrational.
What’s going to happen to our job, income, home, children, peace, and liberty? Where will our health be five years from now? Why is there so much chaos that I can no longer listen to the reports or even talk about it? Why did my friend have to die? What’s my purpose? Why is there so much pain?
The fortress God supplies will be the key to surviving the days ahead. But how do people find it, and how can they know such a place will be given to them? That’s where the lesson of the firebrand comes in. God is the fortress, and we are the brands plucked from the fire.
“And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” (Zechariah 3:2)
Am I worthy to find the fortress of God’s comfort, peace, and protection? How can I know for sure? The vessel plucked from the fire answers that question. When a person looks at the pluses and minuses of life and tries to judge his worthiness to be cared for in the storm, that’s when the battle is identified. God’s answer is the fire. It is the fiery trials we have had and the ones we are in that must be understood. Why has God allowed these hard things, and how can we embrace them to establish ourselves in the fortress of unlimited hope and help? That is the message of The Fortress and the Fireb rand .
CHAPTER 1
The Fortress Showed Up
LORD , how are they increased that trouble me! Many are they that