IN THIS ISSUE THE STANDARD. Editor s Notes By Andreas Kyriacou 0 4. Season Of Realization By Andreas Kyriacou 0 6. Resources Free Sermon Downloads 14

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1 April/May/June 2015 Volume Issue 2 THE STANDARD April/May/June 2015

2 2 THE STANDARD April/May/June 2015

3 THE STANDARD IN THIS ISSUE April/May/June 2015 Volume 19 Issue 2 Contributors Senior Minister Andreas Kyriacou Michael Morris The Editors Notes Andreas Kyriacou The Editors Christalla Kyriacou Andreas Kyriacou When the enemy comes in, like a flood the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. Isaiah 59:19 In a world which is being flooded with destruction, darkness and evil, God the Father, by His Spirit, has lifted up a standard through His Son Jesus Christ. Christ, and Him crucified, is the standard we proclaim as the answer to the human cry for help. Editor s Notes By Andreas Kyriacou 0 4 Season Of Realization By Andreas Kyriacou 0 6 Resources Free Sermon Downloads 14 Books Available 15 Chapter Five of the Book By Andreas Kyriacou: A Life Confronted With The Truth 17 THE STANDARD April/May/June

4 Dear family and friends, I hope that this issue of The Standard finds you well and that your kingdom influence is growing in scope and strength by the grace of our Lord. My prayer for you is that you will realize the fullness of every promise that God has spoken over your life as we move further into I want you to know that this prayer is not simply an opening blessing as I greet you, but is a deeply seated conviction that this is God s will for His people. I believe that those who have been faithful to the Lord will enter a season of great release, growth, and blessing. There is much more to say on the subject, both concerning those who have been faithful as well as those who have not, therefore we have made this our main article for this issue. I am confident that it will serve as encouragement to you as you seek to glorify God in all that He called you to. On the international ministry front, I have been blessed and encouraged by the momentum and growth of the Praying Church Movement within the island of Cyprus. What a blessing it is to see believers and churches of all different denominations, cultures and backgrounds, join together in unity and commonality of purpose. It truly is a remarkable work of the Spirit of God in a deeply divided and fiercely independent world. How good it is to see the church demonstrating something different, instead of just talking about something different! 4 THE STANDARD April/May/June 2015 Our ministry partners and friends in other parts of the world, including the United States, Namibia, Zimbabwe and the greater South Africa are also doing well and we are so grateful for their support and that in some way, we can be a blessing to them too. On the home front our families, both natural and spiritual, are growing and are doing very well. Michael and Helen welcomed their second child Lilianna into the world, and so my entourage of granddaughters increases in number and vitality. What a blessing they all are!

5 Christalla is keeping very busy with being a Yia-Yia, and is loving every minute of it. Her greatest joy is to be around her family, especially her granddaughters, and they make her shine with a beauty that is both precious and rare. That said, running after all those energetic little girls requires a lot of energy and mobility something she has been struggling with of late. I ask you to please keep her in your prayers as she will be going for kneereplacement surgery on the 23 rd of June which, although will dramatically improve her mobility and quality of life, will come with a long and trying recovery time. We are believing the Lord for His abundant grace for Christalla during this season, and a speedy and complete recovery. That about sums up the news I have to share with you at this stage. I trust that this issue of The Standard will bless, motivate and encourage you towards greater Christ-likeness for His Kingdom s glory. With much love, In His service, Andreas From left Helen pregnant with Lilianna, Michael, and Lia Andreas & Christalla Stephen, Nicole with Eliana Isabella, Athena & James THE STANDARD April/May/June

6 SEASON OF REALIZATION By Andreas Kyriacou I n response to our season of prayer and fasting in the second half of 2014, I believe the Lord has released a powerful word for our fellowship, as well as our spiritual family scattered abroad. The word the Lord gave me is that 2015 will be a season of REALIZATION. This word will form the basis of our focus and activities in The word realize means to make real or give reality to a hope, fear or plan etc. Realize can also mean: to convert into cash or money, such as when one realizes securities; or to obtain as a profit or income for oneself by trade, labour, or investment. For the faithful this is our season of realization. That is, if we are willing and obedient to work faithfully with what was given to us in Christ. Those who continue to faithfully work with what has been given to them will realize growth, increase, supernatural multiplication, breakthrough, and great release of their gifts and talents. Those who have been lazy and unfaithful with what has been given to them will realize judgment and recall unless they genuinely repent. God will balance His books and will settle His accounts. He always does. He may take His time but He always does. 6 THE STANDARD April/May/June 2015

7 Foundational scripture T he foundational scripture for this article is Matthew 25:14-30 (NKJV): 14 For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord s money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them. 21 His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord. 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them. 23 His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord. 24 Then he who had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I THE STANDARD April/May/June

8 knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours. 26 But his lord answered and said to him, You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Fellowshipping with God I f we are going to realize the blessings Father promised us in this season of realization we need to seek first His kingdom and righteousness, by spending time with Him in prayer and in His word. I cannot stress this enough. It is in fellowship with God that our faith comes alive and spiritual things take center stage in our lives. It is in prayer and fellowship with the Lord that you will receive leadership and direction. It is in fellowship with Him that you will receive thoughts and ideas and by the Lord s guidance you will discover the value of what you have in Christ and how to use it in unlocking your potential and multiplying your resources. 8 THE STANDARD April/May/June 2015

9 Do not succumb to unbelief M ore often than not we limit God through our unbelief because our focus is not on the Lord but on ourselves. We focus on our ability rather than His, we focus on our resources and our need rather than His riches in glory. Concerning Abraham s faith, Paul said: And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. (Romans 4:19-21 NKJV) Obey at all costs E ven if it seems costly, or foolish, at the time, always do what God puts in your heart to do. Your whole future may depend on it. In this regard let us consider Elisha and the Widow's oil: 1 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves. 2 So Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house? And she said, Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil. 3 Then he said, Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbours - empty vessels; do not gather just a few. 4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and THE STANDARD April/May/June

10 your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones. 5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. 6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, Bring me another vessel. And he said to her, There is not another vessel. So the oil ceased. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest. (2 Kings 4:1-7 NKJV) The widow had faith to believe and act on the word she received from the Prophet. She did not argue with him, she did not try and discuss how this would happen, nor did she give him any excuses why she could not do what he told her to do. She went away from his presence, gathered her two sons and instructed them to do what the prophet told her. The end result was a miracle of multiplication. Working with what God has given you T he widow called the solitary jar of oil nothing! To her it was something insignificant, so little in comparison to her need, that she placed no value on it at all. What she had was seed! God never gives us a tree but a seed and within that seed is the potential of a great tree if we know what to do with it. Look within and around you and ask the question: what have I received from the Lord? So often we murmur and complain about the things we don't have, or the little we have, rather than being thankful for what we do have and faithfully working with it. Don t worry about what you don t have, but work with what has been given to you. The widow did not realize the value of what she had until she started pouring it out into those empty vessels. 10 THE STANDARD April/May/June 2015

11 When I first came to Cape Town I didn't have much in terms of relationships, resources, or people. I recall whole days spent in a small flat in Simons Town all alone in prayer and fasting... calling on the name of the Lord to give me guidance and direction on how to proceed. It was in those days when the Lord encouraged and comforted me with these words: son if you are willing to work with the little that you do have and not despise the day of small beginnings I will give you increase and multiplication. I have come to understand that it is not more that we really need but rather to faithfully work with what we do have. It's not more money we need but to wisely and faithfully work with the money we do have. It's not more time we need but to wisely manage the time we do have. As we faithfully and consistently work with what is given to us, God will give us the increase, the growth, and the multiplication. Work with faithfulness W e need to work faithfully with the resources the Lord has given us. The word faithful means: steady in allegiance or affection; loyal; constant: faithful friends; reliable, trusted, or believed; strict or thorough in the performance of duty: a faithful worker; true to one's word, promises, vows, etc. In this regard, it s important to note that the oil only ceased increasing when the widow stopped pouring from the original vessel. In Matthew 25:14-30 (our foundational scripture), the two servants who were not lazy or afraid to work with what had been given to them were called faithful and as a result of their faithfulness they were rewarded with promotion and great joy. Faithfulness attracts promotion, increase, and multiplication, but unfaithfulness and mismanagement attract recall and judgment. Scripture says: THE STANDARD April/May/June

12 Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper. (2 Chronicles 20:20 NKJV) Share what you have with others T his is what the Lord said to me at the end of 2014 with regard to the season of realization: You will only realize and increase the value of what you received in Christ when you start sharing it with others and giving it away. If you sit on it in time you will lose sight of what you received, but if you give it out you will receive it multiplied. Look for empty vessels and pour out from what you have received into those empty vessels. If you do this you will realize and experience growth, increase, multiplication, breakthrough, and great release. He went on to say: The reason so many believers dry up and become indifferent to the things of God and ultimately backslide and go back into the world is because they have lost sight of what they received. Show me a Christian who is actively sharing Christ with others, testifying to others, and I will show you a Christian who is on fire for God. The only way you will know and realize the value of what you received is by sharing it with someone else. 12 THE STANDARD April/May/June 2015

13 This is how the kingdom of God operates and how its influence is extended and established. Closing 2015 will be an exciting season of realization for the faithful. By fellowshipping with God, the faithful will receive divine direction on how to realize their rewards. By focusing on God rather than your own abilities and resources, you will have access to His rich resources. However, in order to realize your rewards you must obey what the Lord tells you to do and work faithfully with what the Lord has given you (no matter how small that may seem). Let us not lose sight of what we have received, but share it with others, and we will grow strong in the Lord. Influenced by the world's standards you might think you are insignificant, a nobody, weak, or despised, but in the hands of Almighty God you are like a threshing instrument bringing down the mighty rulers of this world: 15 Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, And make the hills like chaff. (Isaiah 41:15 NKJV) I trust you have been encouraged by this article to realize all the good things the Lord has in store for you during this very exciting season of realization! Andreas & Christalla THE STANDARD April/May/June

14 RESOURCE FREE Sermon Downloads W e are happy to announce that sermons from our local church, interna onal ministry journeys and messages in Greek are available for download through our local church and interna onal ministry websites. The URL s are as follows: Local Church: Interna onal Ministry: By clicking on the Sermons tab, you will be able to download sermons as either a Podcast, an RSS feed or an MP3 from Dropbox, all free of charge. 14 THE STANDARD April/May/June 2015

15 Books Available For Purchase A Life Confronted with the Truth Join Andreas as he recounts his drama c conversion in this autobiographical story of how God reached out to a young and desperate man and called him to a life of Godly service. Prayer & Fas ng In this booklet, Pastor Andreas Kyriacou discusses the importance of prayer and fas ng with biblical principles on how to incorporate these Chris an prac ces into one s daily walk with God. THE STANDARD April/May/June

16 The Excellence of Revela on Knowledge The life and faith of every believer is founded upon the revealed knowledge of God s Word by the Holy Spirit. In this booklet, Pastor Andreas Kyriacou discusses how there is no subs tute for revela on knowledge, and shares with us the keys on how to a ain it. Greatness Through Process Pastor Andreas Kyriacou discusses the subject of intrinsic greatness, what God defines greatness to be, as well as the path that every believer is required to take to enter into and manifest that greatness, the very greatness of God within them, in their everyday lives. COST OF BOOKS US $ 5.00 OR R POSTAGE INCLUSIVE For more informa on on how you can obtain these books, please contact our church office or us at: andreas@alphaomega.org.za 16 THE STANDARD April/May/June 2015

17 By Andreas Kyriacou A Life Confronted with the Truth Join Andreas as he recounts his dramatic conversion in this autobiographical story of how God reached out to a young and desperate man and called him to a life of Godly service. THE STANDARD April/May/June

18 CHAPTER FIVE CONTINUED PREPARATION Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 A number of months passed and I became more and more confident in my ministry of sharing the Word on a one-to-one basis with the few who had accepted Christ as their personal Saviour. My soul began to dream and my heart tried hard to catch up with my zeal and enthusiasm. I would pray and I would see visions of the en re Greek community in Masvingo a ending these Bible studies and hearing the Word of God. The problem was that I did not know how to go about ge ng them to a end. I was very careful and sensi ve not to offend their tradi onal Greek Orthodox beliefs. I did what I always do when I am in trouble or don t know what to do. I started to pray about it, asking the Lord to speak to my heart through His Word. Sure enough, He did. He led me to Luke s Gospel Chapter 14: For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it - lest, a er he had laid the founda on, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 18 THE STANDARD April/May/June 2015

19 saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is s ll a great way off, he sends a delega on and asks condi ons of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. Praise God for the Holy Spirit. By the Spirit, I understood then that the Lord wanted to tell me about the situa on. He wanted me to sit down first and count the cost of such a move. I grew to understand that I was running ahead of God s ming and ahead of my own measure of faith. I was stepping beyond my capabili es, led away by my own zeal and enthusiasm. It seemed to me that the Holy Spirit was asking me whether I had enough faith and courage to finish what I was star ng. He was asking me to consider whether I had enough endurance and commitment to His Word to stand when the devil would start figh ng back as a result of my plundering of his territory. Every me these thoughts would enter my mind, my heart would speak up and say,.. you are not ready for this yet.. you need further growth in the Word and in your faith you need to build your spiritual capacity in order to take on this level of ministry. I had two major problems facing me which I somehow needed to over -come. THE STANDARD April/May/June

20 The first one was not having enough me to spend in the diligent study of the Word of God; and the second was living in Masvingo, a li le town in the southern part of Zimbabwe. Before I explain let me say the following: As a pastor I have heard people say to me countless mes, Pastor, I don t have the me you do to spend in the Word and in prayer. I want to pray and study the Word, but I just don t have the me. My answer to these believers is this: It is not more me that you need, but more hunger for God in your heart and the wisdom from God on how to redeem your me wisely. Friends, you could be in a spiritual desert, in the middle of nowhere, but if your heart is hungry enough for the Lord to spend me with Him and fellowship with Him in the Word, He will help you to find a way where there is no way and feed your hungry heart with manna from heaven. He s already proved that. Let me come back to the first problem. Running a business and raising a young family which required my a en on and care required me. It was difficult to find that me in addi on to the me I was already spending with the Lord. The other problem was living in Masvingo and being pastored by a young man (young in years and young in ministry) who knew about as much as I did. I was far away from conferences, seminars, as well as the five-fold ministry of a teacher who could teach me the Word and help me to grow in my faith. 20 THE STANDARD April/May/June 2015

21 Despite the obstacles I had one thing going for me and that was my hunger for the Word. So I started praying and crying out to God for solu ons, for revela on and understanding as to how to overcome these problems. In the process of me God s wisdom began to direct me in ways that I was o en not even consciously aware of His leading. The idea entered my mind to train a reliable worker who had worked for my father-in-law in the store for many years, to do what I was doing and slowly release him into a managerial posi on. This would free me from some of the administra ve responsibility of the store, allowing my heart to focus on what it needed to do. So that is what I did. I built an office upstairs, overlooking the store and moved into it. There I could watch and oversee the whole opera on. A lot of my me was freed up, and I began to give myself more and more to the study of God s Word. Around that me my pastor le for South Africa to a end an annual conference. Rhema Bible Church was also having their annual celebra on around the same me. He a ended one of their sessions and brought back some teaching tapes as well as tape catalogues. Those first teaching tapes were like water to my thirsty soul. As I looked through one of those tape catalogues I heard God s Spirit say to my spirit, Join yourself to this chariot. I understood what God s Spirit wanted me to do, so I went to the Chris an book store in Masvingo and ordered almost every teaching series that was on that THE STANDARD April/May/June

22 par cular catalogue. I would sit for hours in my office listening to the Word on tape. I would plug the Walkman earphones into my ears and press Play. Hour a er hour, day a er day, for months that was all I did. My office became my classroom and Bible school. Over the months I added to my tape library, listening to teachings on the subjects I knew God s Spirit wanted me to study and learn. I had my own private five-fold teachers right there in my office. The more Word I got into my heart, the more my faith began to grow and develop. I learned who I was in Christ and what belonged to me as a believer. I learned how to use my faith, the power of the spoken word, intercessory prayer, fas ng, divine healing and the benefits of praying in the Spirit. God s anoin ng began to increase on me and my heart was enlarged through the ministry of the Word. I was well on my way and in my heart I knew that the me of my official release into the work of the ministry was at hand. My pastor bore witness to that as well and encouraged me to get ready to be sent out to the harvest field of the Greek community in Masvingo. To this day the tape ministry has a very special place in my heart, for the Lord used it to minister to me, to build my faith and sa sfy my hunger. Chapter 6 - To Be Con nued In Next Issue 22 THE STANDARD April/May/June 2015

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24 Alpha & Omega Ministries Int. OFFICIAL PUBLICATION Vision To see the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ fully restored to divine order, kingdom governance and apostolic foundations. Mission To equip, empower and commission kingdom leaders of purpose, vision and excellence into the harvest fields of the world. Strategy Influence and mentoring through seminars, workshops and conferences. Influence and mentoring through resources such as CD s, DVD s publications, podcasts, etc. Influence and mentoring through relational fathering and discipleship with those who relate to us as their apostolic oversight. 24 THE STANDARD April/May/June 2015 International Ministry: Alpha & Omega Ministries International Inc. Box Box 2465 Panorama, 7506 Tarpon Springs Cape Town FL SOUTH AFRICA U S A TEL/FAX: alp0003@mweb.co.za Website: