Author: josephbarlow

Happily married, father of 7, 10th of 14 kids. Pastor, minister, musician.

An Unexpected Challenge

On By josephbarlowIn MinistryLeave a comment

This is an excerpt from my book, For the Healing of the Nations

This is available on Amazon

A while back, Schlyce, a friend of mine, said, “Pastor Barlow, you need to spend more time in heaven.” Her comment surprised me. I had not considered that I should be walking around the streets of gold until after I had died! 

But as I thought about it, I realized that I am a spiritual being. The Lord has shown me things in the spirit and even taken me places in the spirit many times. I realized that maybe her comment wasn’t that far out of line. Then I thought, “Wait a second, I am a citizen of heaven. I have a right to walk around those streets of gold!”

During my prayer time a few days later, I began to see myself walking around in heaven. I saw the river running through the middle of the city, and the tree of life on both sides of the river, whose leaves are for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:2). As I pondered this and looked at the tree, I decided to reach out, pluck a leaf, and stick it in my pocket. I was half-thinking, “Let’s see if I can get away with this!” However, after I left that prayer time, I distinctly remembered that I still had the sensation of that leaf in my pocket.

Fully Persuaded

On By josephbarlowIn MinistryLeave a comment

Here’s a simple Bible Study I did just in my journal:

Romans 4:KJV 17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
Romans 4:NIV 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.

  • Abraham received a promise from God: “I have made thee a father of many nations”
  • Abraham put his trust in God “in whom he believed”
  • Getting to know God’s character and ability a little better: He gives life to the dead and calls things that be not as though they were


Romans 4:KJV 18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
Romans 4:NIV 18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

  • When there was no reason in the natural for Abraham to believe he went ahead and believed God anyway
  • God told Abraham, “look at the stars, so shall your offspring be”
  • Because he believed and continued to believe he now has become what was promised: the father of many nations

Romans 4:KJV 19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb:
Romans 4:NIV 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.

  • If he had considered his own body he would have become weak in his faith
  • If he had considered the fact that he and his wife had been trying for years to have a child but Sarah was fruitless – it seemed her womb was dead.

Romans 4:KJV 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
Romans 4:NIV 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,

  • Abraham did not give up. He still counted what God had said as bigger, stronger, more important than what he saw with his eyes.
  • He gave the prize of his faith, the prize of his attention, the prize of his judgment to the promise God spoke to Him rather than giving all that to the circumstances

Romans 4:KJV 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
Romans 4:NIV 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

  • Fully Persuaded

Romans 14:23 whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Hebrews 11: 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

What Has God Promised You?

Be Fully Persuaded!

From my book: 21 Days To Hearing The Voice of God

On By josephbarlowIn MinistryLeave a comment

To be released soon… 

Introduction  

If a child could never hear the voice of their parents that would make for a very sad story. The communication that happens from a parent to a child builds a bridge; it builds a relationship. All future communication between them happens on that bridge. 

Our Heavenly Father has not written a story for you that is without connection. He wants to build a bridge between you and Himself; a relationship that will last through all your years. The heart-cry of God is throughout the scriptures… 

Jeremiah 31:33 NIV

…I will be their God and they will be my people. 

He has always been longing for us.

Most of man’s religions have relegated God to simply sit on a throne somewhere far away and quite aloof. They hope that He is pleased enough with them that He will allow them entrance to His hallowed home upon their demise.

But His desire stands, I will be their God and they will be my people. God’s desire for you is now. He’s not asking you to come to heaven right now, He’s asking you for an invitation into a conversation; a relationship. The actual answer to the very first thing He disapproved of in creation. He never wanted you to be alone and has always wanted to be with you. 

With your permission, the relationship begins anew today. He wants to speak to you in such a way that you can actually hear Him. He wants to communicate with you in a personal, helpful, encouraging, and loving way.

It’s always been His desire. Is it yours?

Dive into these pages. They’re not perfect, but they’re helpful.

God invited me on a journey many years ago, it has made my life one that I would gladly live again. Mainly because He was with me all along the way and I knew it. His voice has been there for me. 

My prayer for you is to know Him as closely or closer than I do.

Be hungry! 

Seek Him! 

He’ll reward you!

Podcast 25-02 Guarding Your Heart – How? Even When There’s A Fire?

On By josephbarlowIn MinistryLeave a comment

Latest Podcast Episode: 25-02

Or you could watch it on YouTube

2 Peter 1:4
Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Friends, there is a lot of corruption in this world. We are given the opportunity in Christ to rise above it. We are not to be subject to this world and all the corruption and mess.

Jesus said in

John 16:33  I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Jesus overcame the world. He wants us to overcome the world, not to undergo it.

Do you have a plan to rise above all the mess and corruption in this world? Do you see yourself as a victim, helpless and hopeless?

No! No! No!

In all these things we are more than conquerors. We must have the mindset that we live in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God rules over the kingdom of this world. We win. But we have to get this mindset. We have to get His word in our hearts. We have to get these very great and precious promises ready on our lips. Let’s prepare to be victorious. Draw close to God. Let Him draw close to you. Do business with Him. If He seems far away then call on Him. He promised He would answer. He promised He would draw close to you if you draw close to Him. He promised that whoever would join themselves to the Lord, He would be one with them.

Be one with God.

From there you can’t lose. You can’t be defeated.

Friends, Jesus is the only way to rise above all the mess of this world.

Blessings

Joe

New Podcast Episode – Happy New Year

On By josephbarlowIn MinistryLeave a comment

Or click this link to go to the podcast.

Hey Friends,

I’ve been quite focused on my podcasting more than blogging recently. So I wanted to let you know about the podcast and at the same time start blogging more.

Besides the podcasts here’s a couple thoughts for you.

Honing The Flow

I had dinner with my daughter Sarah last night. She took me out to a fancy restaurant as a Christmas present. We always have excellent talks, we challenge each other and the food was off the charts delicious.

While we ate she said something about my music that kind of hit me and challenged me. I need wisdom from God on how to implement it, but she said, “You need to become your favorite artist.“

Think about that for a second. I need to become my own favorite artist. I need to love the music that I make more than anyone else’s. From an artist’s point of view that means I can’t just lay back. I need to be pushing my own music forward more, being more creative, honing my product to be the best, making sure that the flow that’s coming from within me is what I absolutely love. This is not necessarily an easy process.

When I was pastoring this principle was true. I enjoyed my own teaching more than anyone else’s. The reason I don’t feel this was self-centered, prideful or negative is that when I was teaching I was also listening and learning. My guess is that when I was preaching and teaching 40-60% of what I would teach would be new to me as well. Because I was listening to the Lord at the same time as I was sharing. It was a prophetic flow. I still teach this way. But because I’m listening while I’m teaching I still need to go back to listen to the messages again to learn the very things that I was teaching. I needed to give myself time to digest them, enjoy them and implement them. The discovery process was prophetic and beautiful.

I guess I don’t really need to change systems, this same system that I used when I was teaching is and can be the same system I use as an artist. For me, all my art/music doesn’t come from me, it comes through me. Just like my teaching, I just need to turn on the faucet and let it flow. Invite it and allow it to come through me. I’m going to enjoy that so much. Can’t wait to get started. But it’s 4:08 AM so I can’t be playing my guitar or piano right now; it would wake the family. But I’ve got to make the time, position myself in the right place at the right time with the right attitude and the right equipment and the right emotional atmosphere to play; turn on the flow and just allow God’s gift to flow through me.

I hope this blessed you. It did me.

Servanthood Is A Place Of Great Maturity

On By josephbarlowIn Encouragement, TeachingLeave a comment

Psalm 19: 11 by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. 

I was imagining someone telling me 

“I am a son not a servant.”

Then I thought about telling them 

“Keep going, you will mature.”

You are born into a family. Son-ship is given to you.

In the Kingdom ‘servanthood’ is something you choose.

He calls you. But you choose to obey or not.

Jesus took the very nature of a servant Philippians 2:7

Php 2:3  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,

Php 2:4  not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Php 2:5  In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Php 2:6  Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

Php 2:7  rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

Php 2:8  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Php 2:9  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,

Php 2:10  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

Php 2:11  and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 I don’t think Jesus was immature.

I think he was mature in his son-ship.

So as a fully mature son, he took the nature of a servant.

When he was 12 he was found in the temple saying “I must be about my Father’s business.”

We receive sonship when we are born again. We need to know who we are as a son, we need to know our position in the Kingdom, we are sons.

We need to know that we are the target of God’s love.

But as that love transforms us we become convinced of our assignment and his strategy to reach the world and we become aware of the Father’s heart’s desire. Our own hearts become filled with desire to fulfill His heart’s desire.

So this is where we begin to operate in a servant role or attitude.

Paul considered himself a bond-slave of Christ. This was not an immature stance.

This was a mature posture.

You take the role of a servant.

Even though you are a son you are filled with the father’s heart’s desire and you want to serve that. 

But for now, just receive the role of son. As you receive that role, the love will transform you to the point where you choose to be a servant.

Remembering My Father

On By josephbarlowIn Encouragement, Family, Father, Ministry, Word From GodLeave a comment

Daniel Patrick Patrick Barlow was born in November of 1923. By the late 1940s, he was attending Notre Dame University, where he met Teresa Murphy. The two found quite compatible dreams and visions in each other. They both wanted to change the world, but they knew they could not reach as far as they wanted to if it was just the two of them going out and becoming missionaries or the like. So they decided before they got married to have 12 children. Train them up and send them out! That was the motto. When they got to 12 children, my father said, “That was supposed to be 12 boys.” They ended up having 14, and the last 6 were all boys. My father said he finally figured out the system. Who’s to argue with him?

As the 10th child of this family, many of the harsh edges in my father had been worn away by the time I came along. So I got to know a very sensitive man. A deep-thinking man. A kind man. one who was always trying to get me to dream bigger. As an adult, I am very thankful for this. I know that this trait has been one that has made me quite valuable to those who need encouragement or hope. As a pastor, I meet many people who need encouragement and passing along to them the lessons of my father is rewarding.

Years ago, when our older children were young, Nancy and I took the family down to visit my parents when they lived in Quincy, Illinois. We had a wonderful time. It was an enjoyable weekend, but then we were all standing in the front yard getting in the car to head back to Chicago. We said our goodbyes, got in the car and started driving toward the highway. Just as I got near the edge of town, my car started to act up. It started making funny noises, and I knew I needed to pull over to find out what was going on. I looked in the rearview mirror to see if the right lane was clear. When I looked, there was my father and my mother right behind us. I pulled the car over, and my dad walked up to me and said, “As soon as you left, I knew right away that we were supposed to follow you.” He seemed just to wave his hand over the engine, and it worked perfectly. I’m not sure what wires he fixed or what he did in there. But I was so glad that he was there to help me.

Another time my mother was out on a walk in the afternoon, as she loved to do, while he was taking his nap. She was two or three blocks from home when she tripped and fell on the sidewalk. She was over 60 years old at this time. So as you could guess, this would be a very vulnerable position for her to be in, but as she turned and looked down the street, Daniel was pulling up in his car. He knew he was supposed to go and find her. 

Another episode that quite intrigued me was when we were living in our first home. I was finally a homeowner. There was a problem with the light switch in the bathroom, and I wanted to fix it, but I am not an electrician. Daniel was an electrical engineer, so I called him to talk me through it. He was telling me what to do and what not to do. As we were working through the problem, he says to me, “Do you see that red wire laying down in the back of the box?”  I said, “yeah.” He said, “That’s hot. Don’t touch it.” Now, I know enough about electricity that there should be no red wires lying down in the back of the box. My dad was hundreds of miles away, and we did not have FaceTime or camera phones at the time. There was no way in the natural that he could have known that there was a red exposed wire laying down in the back of the box. Things like this made it easy for me to place my dad in the superhero category, even as an adult. Good fathers are the first superheroes in their children’s lives. 

Remember to say “Happy Fathers’ Day” to all the superhero dads out there this weekend.

A Word About Faith

On By josephbarlowIn Ministry1 Comment

God spoke this word to me in my journal years ago. Let’s see if it blesses you.

Son, don’t get so focused on the answers as the solutions to your problems that you forget to come to me for the answers.

I am the answer.

Don’t leave me out of the loop.

Trusting me for every answer brings my presence into every area of your life. I want that. I want to be able to work miracles and show you my glory.

But if you only rely on your knowledge base for your answers and not on seeking me then the miracle touch you desire can never come.

Seek Me Son!

Seek My face. Seek my love. Seek my wisdom. You will be satisfied, not only in that your problem will be solved in wonderful ways but you will have me.

If you seek me you will find me.

If you seek me, you can have me. Come, son. Come and seek me. Come to know me. Come, I want to love you. You’ll see my hand. You’ll see my glory.

FAITH:
Faith is applying pressure to the unseen realm.

Faith is applying pressure with belief in your heart and speaking out of your mouth; pressure against that which you don’t see. As you do this, the spirit realm feels the pressure.

You can’t tell in the natural what is happening, but in the spirit much activity is going on. As this pressure remains and is consistent things develop further; the path or the bridge from the spirit to the natural is created and put in place.

There is opposition but your faith overcomes it. You win as you continue, knowing that what you see on the inside of you will soon be seen with your natural eyes.

If you look close in my eyes you can see the thing you’re believing for. But if you’re not close to me, you will lose sight of it, your faith will wane and the gift will be lost.

So stay close to me.

Continue to take steps forward with full view of the vision. You’ll begin to see things you’ve desired. This is the path of faith. This is the path that delights me. This is the way my glory is to be revealed in your life. I love you son and want to see more of my glory in your life. Walk this out.

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Let Me Introduce You To Faith

On By josephbarlowIn MinistryLeave a comment

If I was teaching an algebra class and I said “X=3+4”

I would teach you that you need to solve the problem to find the value of “X”.

So you add 3 plus 4 and get 7. 

So X=7

If I moved the context out of math and said X is how bright the sky is after sunset and before sunrise. You’re a logical thinker so you would come up with 

X = “dark”. 

Correct!

Let’s solve another problem:

Solve for X:

  • If I said, “If you have X, you can have anything you desire.”
  • If I said, “Without X it’s impossible to please God.”
  • If I said, “The only way you are going to have life is by X.”
  • If I said, “Your X has healed you.”

You would definitely want to solve for X.

You would be allowed to research and ask more questions like:

  • What is X?
  • How do I get X?
  • How do I use X?

If you are a Christian, you probably area already familiar with some scriptures I referenced above, but X=FAITH.

That may be good news to you or you may be no better off now than when all you had was the letter X. We need to define faith. 

Faith obviously has some great benefits. Let’s go ahead and read some scriptures with the word faith in there. Then we’ll discuss further.

Rom 3:28  So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

Mat 9:22  Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment.

Mat 15:28  “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.

Mat 21:22  You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”

Heb 10:38  And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”

Heb 11:6  And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Today, right now, just take some time and read over these verses and begin to ponder this, “If I had faith, Lord, what could you do in my life?”

I believe God is trying to draw you closer to Himself.

Faith is how things operate in heaven.

Let’s learn faith and our lives will become more like heaven.

You Are A New Creation!

On By josephbarlowIn Encouragement, Journal, Ministry, TeachingLeave a comment

1 John 3:8 says, “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” That’s why we need miracles, because the Devil has been working from the spiritual realm into the natural realm to wreak havoc from the very beginning of time. He’s been using spiritual power and spiritual force to try to wreak havoc in the Earth and in our bodies and all around us for centuries. God wants you and I to be the ones who use spiritual force to work righteousness – the Truths of the Kingdom of God – into this Earth. We truly can be the agents to bring Heaven into the Earth; that’s what we’re called to do. We’re called to bring heaven into the Earth.

Remember, Jesus taught us to pray the way He did. He said to pray, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, here on Earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:9-13). An easy way to know whether something is God’s will or not is to ask, is this happening in heaven? If it’s the same in heaven, then it’s God’s will. God’s will already happens in heaven, so that’s a really easy gauge to use. If we see something going on in the Earth and you know it’s not right, then say something. You could say, “This is not heaven or covenant, and I signed up for heaven.” Right when you were born again, you signed up for heaven. You signed up for a relationship with Jesus Christ, where you were born into the Kingdom of God. As you were born into the Kingdom of God, all of a sudden your heart becomes brand new. You become a new creation in Christ Jesus. According to II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new.” 

I had a scar on my hand before I was born again. It didn’t disappear after I gave my life to Jesus, yet all things are “made new” in the Kingdom. As you begin to understand the power and authority we have in Christ, God’s will is done in the Earth. When something happens on Earth that doesn’t line up with heaven’s agenda, that’s when you and I are to stand up and speak.

When I was in my senior year of high school, there was this one teacher who was really giving us seniors a hard time. This teacher taught our religion class, and he was just unnecessarily mean. We had to write a two-page paper every week, a 13-page paper at the end of the year, and a bunch of other things throughout the year. Well, one of my classmates got a little angry with the teacher over all that we were expected to do for him. Right in the middle of class one day, my classmate got up and walked out the door, went into the boys’ locker room and turned on the shower. Then he walked back into the classroom and put the teacher in a headlock, picked him up, and was about to carry him out of the classroom. This student was used to throwing bales of hay on his family’s farm, so picking up our teacher was no problem. As I was witnessing this, I realized that it wasn’t right. I stood up and told the student to stop, and he actually listened. Why did he stop? Because I said to and because I had exhibited authority. It wasn’t the kind of authority that said, “I am in charge over you.” No, it was spiritual authority because I was a believer, and I knew my authority in Christ.

When things are happening that are unjust, you have spiritual authority through Christ, my friends. When things are happening that are wrong, you have authority and you have the ability to change those situations. You have the ability to change what’s going on in the Earth, and you have the responsibility to do it. We can’t just sit around waiting and wondering when somebody else is going to do something. Some people go to God and say, “Lord, why did you let this happen?” And He looks right back and says, “Why did you let it happen?”

Genesis 1:26-28 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’” 

God gave us authority and He want us to use it. If we don’t, the devil will gladly pick up where we leave off. And we’re not supposed to leave off; we’re supposed to pick up our responsibility and move forward and do the things that God’s called us to do. So, when you see something that’s not right, you have the responsibility to say or do something.

I was babysitting my brother’s kids once when my nephew said, “My tummy hurts.” And I said, “Well, let me pray for you.” So, he laid down on the couch and I started to pray for him. While I was praying for him, I perceived this black ball or a mass in his belly. I perceived that it was something demonic, so I started to bind it, but I couldn’t cast it out. I don’t know why I couldn’t cast it out of my nephew, but I kept binding it smaller and smaller. I said to my nephew, “Tell me when it stops hurting.” It got to be bound pretty tight before he said his stomach had stopped hurting, but I could still see that it was in there.

I went on with the rest of the evening taking care of the kids, and later on my nephew said his stomach hurt again, so I prayed for him again. We started praying, and right while I was praying for my nephew, his sister threw up all over the floor. I picked her up and ran into the kitchen, and while I was getting her cleaned up, my nephew got sick too. But when I went back in to look and perceive in the Spirit after he had gotten sick, the black thing was gone out of his belly! The thing that I couldn’t cast out earlier had left. I had been given a spiritual perception in that moment to be able to perceive what was actually happening in him, although not completely accurate, but it was accurate enough to get the job done.

God gives us these gifts to use. These gifts are not just for “super-Christians”. You and I one of the called ones because we are followers of Jesus. If you’ve never had an experience where the Holy Spirit leads you into the working of miracles or any of the gifts of the Spirit, venture in. You need to learn how to do these things. It’s time to lay hands on the sick and pray for people to be healed. When Mark 16 talks about people being healed after having hands laid on them, it doesn’t always mean they’ll be healed instantly. Sometimes it happens right away, but most of the time I would say it happens over time. However, I have heard so many testimonies where people receive healing hours, days, even months later. God is always faithful to complete the work He started (Phil. 1:6).