February 2008 Dear Friends, 375 Star Light Drive Fort Mill, SC 29715 (800) 542-0278 www.morningstarministries.org It was great to see so many of you at our recent New Year s Conference and to be able to spend some time with a few of you. Because there were over three hundred MST members at the conference, I obviously could not spend time with all of you, but I trust you had a great time and were able to visit our MST Hospitality Suite on Main Street. That has become a favorite hangout for many of our MST members and for us as well. Our vision of seeing H.I.M. as a place where many relationships are developed is a reality now. I know it gets boring to hear it, but I really think it was the best New Year s Conference yet. Everyone I talked to agreed. It was truly an amazing time. Jim and Lori Bakker did a great job, and it was so good to have them come and bless the facility at our Spiritual Grand Opening. As great as that was, the presence of the Lord was amazing. The Lord was doing extraordinary things all over the place, so much so that I just stopped trying to keep up with all that was going on. He still loves to do His greatest works behind the scenes with small groups or even individuals. He has not changed. I thought the meetings were very high level, but some of the best stuff happened in smaller settings. I hope many of you will determine to make it a tradition to join us for the New Year s Conference. We were packed out, with every balcony full, and hundreds on Main Street watching the big screen. This conference is getting the reputation as being the best celebration anywhere. Some said that even Times Square did not have the electricity that we had at H.I.M. on New Year s Eve. I think that is true. We not only have some of the best musicians on the planet, but when the Lord is moving, there is nothing that can compare to it, and every other celebration seems boring. So, if you re planning to be here next year, please register as soon as possible. You may want to consider doing it now. The word is getting around about this, and we will likely have to turn people away next year. We certainly want all of our MST people who want to come to be able to be there. MorningStar PC Study Bible a Big Hit Our partnership with BibleSoft to produce a MorningStar version of their PC Study Bible program has been even more successful than we had hoped. We sold about $70,000 worth at the conference. People were buying them for themselves, their pastors, friends, and relatives. I think the average sale was for four or more copies per person.
Even the early version, which I had been using for over ten years, was the best Bible study and research program that I had ever seen, but this updated version is many times better. That we can offer such a product at a fraction of what you would have to pay for a comparable product is a major blessing. Because many of you were not able to attend the conference, we are going to extend the same offer that we had at the conference, which is to buy one at our discounted price, and buy as many additional copies as you want for 50 percent off of the retail price. Our discount price of $79 for the Standard version includes many Bible versions and research books, which if purchased separately would cost over $800. Our Premium version, which we are discounting to $159, includes even more Bible versions and research books, which would cost over $2,200 if bought al a carte. This is an incredible deal for these books, but that is just the beginning of the features of this program. Let me highlight a few more: 1) A search engine that allows you to look up every place that a Scripture or a topic is found in all of the research books included in this program, consisting of all the commentaries, works of Luther, Calvin, the early church fathers, etc., as well as some of my books. 2) A concordance for each Bible version. 3) Interactive maps that, among other features, allow you to click the name of a city, which then reveals the meaning of the name and a short history of that city. 4) You will be able to buy additional modules of the special interest research books on many subjects such as church history, Apologetics, etc., at a fraction of the price you would have to pay for these materials individually. 5) Many MorningStar books are included in both the Standard and the Premium versions, but we are working to have them all eventually available as a special module, along with all of the best editions of The Morning Star Journal and the Prophetic Bulletin. There are too many other features of this program to talk about here, but one of our goals as a ministry is to help raise up the strongest Christians possible, and this is one of the greatest resources for this that I have seen. I think this is going to compel many people to study their Bibles more, sink their roots deeper and deeper into sound biblical truth, and to expand their vision and understanding in a way that will greatly increase their effectiveness. It makes research not only easy, but fun to the point of almost being addictive. As you can tell, I m really excited about The MorningStar PC Study Bible. It instantly puts many versions of the Bible and an incredible research library at your disposal at a tiny fraction of what it would otherwise cost really at about the cost of one new Bible. There s an order form included with this letter so that you can take advantage of this offer. I have not yet found a single person who was not awed by this product and by the price. I receive Bible programs often to check out, and I have not seen one nearly as good as this one that was not hundreds of dollars more than what we are offering. 2
Also, those who compared them both bought the Premium version by about 5 to 1 over the Standard, which was a surprise, but it is an even better deal. However, if you buy either version you can later add modules that you want. Again, if you buy the Standard version at our discounted price of $79, you can buy additional ones for just $49 (50 percent off of the retail price of $99). If you buy the Premium at our discounted price of $159, you can buy additional copies of it for just $99 (50 percent of the retail price of $199). This is the greatest deal for one of the greatest products I have ever seen, and I just wanted to be sure that those of you who were not at the conference and did not get a chance to take advantage of this offer could. Even if you were at the conference and bought one, but decided after getting into it that you want additional copies, just write on the order form that you already bought one from MorningStar and we will give you the 50 percent discount for the copies you order now. Who Is Going to be Our Next President? This is a question I am asked very often now, and though I can t answer this, I do want to share with you some of my thoughts about the upcoming elections. I think, as partners in our ministry, you deserve to know how I feel about these and other important issues. As I have shared before, I do think this is the most important election since 1860. I also think it is vital that we as Christians get involved in these elections. If you do not vote, you are voting for evil to prevail. If you think that the Lord is going to have His person elected anyway, that may be true, as no one could be elected without Him allowing it, but He does allow evil to prevail when His people become salt that has lost its savor or let their light quit shining. If we do not care enough to vote or to be involved in the process, then we have no right to ever complain about our leadership. We reap what we sow, and if we are complacent, evil will prevail. He gave us the earth to rule over, and in many ways it will be our will that is done here. This is a critical time for our country, and we must be the salt and light we have been called to be. Also, I don t think that what will eventually be the main issue has become the main issue yet. I think the main issue will be the economy. I am not saying that is the most important issue, but it will become the main one for these elections because the economy is far more shaky than most people now realize. Shaking in the coming months is inevitable. I also do not think that anyone running at this time has the wisdom and knowledge to deal with this issue as it unfolds, or with some other important issues that will become paramount. This does not mean that one of the present candidates could not be a good President if they have the wisdom to put a Vice President on their ticket, or a person in the cabinet, who is strong where they are weak. I do not think that the office of the President is really a one-man job anymore. Of course, you have to have someone ultimately in charge, as anything with more than one head really is a monster, but I think the Vice President really does need to carry much more of the load than has been traditional. Therefore, we will also need a President who has the strongest possible Vice President. 3
As I look at both of the main parties, especially for those who are likely to become cabinet members, I think that the Republican Party can field the strongest team by far in that area. This is an important issue, and will be for every future presidential election. Of course, you must look at the one person who would lead the team, the President, but you must also look at the whole team. I am not endorsing any candidate, but of those presently running, I feel much better about Mike Huckabee than any of the others. We have been asked to host a breakfast for him at Heritage, which will probably have taken place by the time you get this letter, and I expect to talk to him. If I am able to get into some things in depth with him, I will share them with you in the next newsletter. To almost everyone s surprise, and to the Democrat Party s chagrin, the war in Iraq is now going much better, and has now become a minor issue in the campaign. This is great for the country, but I do not think that the Middle East will be able to stay entirely out of the campaign for long. I also think the illegal immigration issue will be significant, as well as healthcare; however, I do think the economy will rise to the top and stay there. I also do not think any of the present candidates have effective answers to what is going to emerge. This may seem very arrogant of me (and it may be), but I know what could fix the economy and lead to many years of the greatest prosperity we have known as a nation yet, which I am going to address in an upcoming Prophetic Bulletin entitled, Putting the Ax to the Trunk of the Tree. It may sound too simple, but I think when you read it you will agree that it is the basic answer. New Book My most recent book, When God Walked the Earth, seems headed to becoming another bestseller for us. Some of the immediate feedback that I have received from people is that they like it even more than The Final Quest. I confess that I do too, because it is mostly about God, not just us. My main prayer for the last couple of years has been for anointed teachers to teach and preach Jesus in such a way that people fall insatiably in love with Him. That is really not hard to do, because all you have to do is talk about Him. He is the most lovable Being in the universe. If you see Him, you cannot help but to love Him. Loving God is our basic job description as Christians. It is the first commandment, and nothing else works if we do not keep Him as our first love. We have done many things to spiritually strengthen the people who are connected to us. We can have a strong doctrinal foundation, see many miracles, and have great prophetic revelation, but if we do not love God first, and above all things, we will be in jeopardy of getting off track or even falling away in the onslaught that will come upon believers in these times. Not many people will die for doctrines or even miracles, but only a person in love will never quit. This is why the true apostolic message in the first century and now is Jesus. We must preach Jesus and His resurrection, which means who He is as the resurrected Christ, not just the Man who walked the earth. We need to understand who He was when He walked the earth, but we must also see Him as He is now the King far above all kings and Lord far above all others, who is above all rule, authority, and dominion, at the right hand of the Father. 4
When God Walked the Earth seems to be turning hearts to Him in a greater way than anything I have written before, so I will continue the series in follow-up works. However, the ultimate goal of this work is to portray Him as He is now, at least as much as can be done with a mere book and human words. Heaven really is so far above the earth and so much greater that it is very hard to portray heavenly things in any earthly language, which is why we see in part, know in part, and prophesy in part (see I Corinthians 13:9). Even so, just seeing the part that we can convey can lift people up to see Him. If they see Him, they will love Him. Then everything on earth will take its right perspective. If any of you have read this book, I would really appreciate hearing any comments you have about it. Our goal in everything we do is to always improve how we convey what has been entrusted to us. I pray that the next volume will be much better than the first, and the one after that even better. More than anything else we want to see Him more clearly, follow Him more closely, and preach Him so that men will bow the knee before Him, not only because He is God, but because of the unfathomably wonderful God that He is His majesty that defines all majesty. I am also getting a lot of positive feedback on the expanded and updated version of The Harvest. As I said when I was working on this, I was constantly amazed at how much of this vision has now come to pass. It almost reads like a history book, and some may think of it as that if they do not keep in mind that it was from a vision given in 1987. However, by reading it again, I think you can get a sense of the timing of these unfolding events. This was our all-time bestseller for a long time, and I hope it ignites again because most of the revelation in it is even more critical for us to understand now. One great encouragement to us was how our bookstore broke all records during our recent New Year s Conference. This is not just encouraging because our materials are in such demand, but the sale of Christian books and resources is a primary barometer of spiritual hunger, and it seems that the spiritual hunger of the church is rising again dramatically now. I am especially encouraged that products like the BibleSoft program have become so popular, because this points to a turning to the Word of God, and an in-depth study of the Bible and the great teachings about it from church history. EagleStar Productions By the time you receive this letter Leonard Jones should have finished mixing a new worship CD, Worship & Warfare 3. We try not to release a new project until we think it is better than the last one, and we feel that way about this CD. It should be available shortly after you receive this letter and can be purchased through our website or our catalog that you recently received. We have been blessed by having some of the great worship leaders of our time, either on our team or as our friends. MorningStar has been used to help raise up quite a number of very anointed worship leaders and songwriters over the years, but this year we have a new group of students at MSM which seem to have exceptional potential and anointing. According to Leonard, this year s first year class has some of the best potential of any class so far. As I have heard many of them, I don t remember ever feeling that so many truly outstanding songs were being written and exceptional new worship leaders were ever here together at one time. 5
All of this has given us the feeling of another critical mass coming together that could release something new, like the original Worship & Warfare conferences did. Bruce Dailey, who has been playing keyboards for us for many years, and also travels with Wynonna Judd as her keyboard player, is working with us to help take our school of music to a new level. We are very encouraged about the ingredients that are present for a new thrust to go higher in worship. Of course, it takes a lot to steward something like this, but we have some very seasoned leaders here now. Website As I shared last month, our website is becoming one of the main and most exciting outlets for our ministry. If you have not checked out our website lately, do it. Our video Word for the Day is catching on more and more, and it is outstanding. The other features of the website are also being upgraded very quickly, so when you check in, browse around. When doing this, check out the special section just for MST members. Web Streaming We began web streaming all of our weekend meetings just a few weeks ago, and it continues to grow quickly, with people signing up from many different nations, as well as from around the U.S. This really is an incredible feature. When I am away, I have started checking in on the services via web stream and it is almost like being there. I have even been able to communicate with the team during the service, giving feedback, and even sharing with the congregation. It is only $10 a month for this service, which includes at least sixteen services and many other special events that we add for free. If you want to stay in touch with the home base here, this is a great way to do it. John Hagee Controversy Continued I really do not have much to report about this now. Hopefully, we will be able to be in contact with Hagee and/or his publisher this month. We continue to receive feedback about our coverage of this controversy, which to date has been almost totally positive and appreciative. Some are using Hagee s book as evidence of just how foundationally weak Charismatics and Pentecostals are in basic biblical doctrine, but the addressing and confronting of this false teaching seems to be allaying these accusations. I am personally not concerned with these critics as much as I am in shoring up whatever weak foundations we have. That anyone would accept what Hagee wrote without a loud protest, as it so basically conflicts with Scripture, is cause for alarm. We need stronger biblical foundations! I am glad for the critics to point this out. I think this book by Hagee will be used for good in the long run, helping us to see our weaknesses and begin strengthening them. However, I remain very deeply alarmed at both Hagee and his publisher, Steve Strang, for not seeing such a profound error and renouncing it. I think this has the potential to hurt their credibility in the church both profoundly and permanently. This is a great tragedy because both have done so much good for the church. However, we cannot compromise the truth, especially those which touch such basic truths that are the very foundations of Christianity. 6
So, what should our response be? Please pray for them earnestly. Pray for the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to intervene and use this whole situation to strengthen His people much more in the truth. A New Year! It is now 2008, and 8 is the number of new beginnings. I pray that this will be the best year of your life and the lives of all of your loved ones and that your strength will be renewed like the eagle, and you will soar as never before. Thank you so much for your generous support and friendship. This truly is a breakout year for us as a ministry, and you are the ones the Lord is using to make this possible. Please come see us when you can, and check out the web streaming if you cannot physically visit. It s interactive and you ll love it. Yours in Him, Rick Joyner 7