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Cornerstone Communications
Poland
September 28, 2008

Newsletter Contents

1. Greetings
2. VIDEO
3. Teaching for September…. EXTRAordinary
4. Text from the Video (for those who would rather read it)
5. Closing

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Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from Warsaw, Poland! Fall is definitely in the air here, and the trees are a vast array of beautiful yellows, reds and orange. The weather is also a big nippy, but good thing that we have had a couple of days of reprieve from the rain. It is getting colder, but good thing I am on my way to the USA for my next show! We had a wonderful production in Croatia. Watch the short video report.

VIDEO MESSAGE

SEPTEMBER TEACHING

EXTRA-ordinary

As I look back on all the Lord has done this year, He wants to take us to the next level. Not just to expect the ordinary, but the extra blessings He desires to give those who closely follow Him. We can live life in the Extra-ordinary realm.

A few years ago, I knew that is what God wanted for me. What did I do? I began to look for extraordinary things to happen. However, I began to notice that many extraordinary things were NOT happening. I KNEW that something was wrong! is what I told myself. I went to the Lord in prayer, and asked Him why I was not experiencing the Extraordinary.

The Lord, replied, It’s your fault. Wait a minute! I was expecting a GOD-lier answer than that. I read Romans 13:14, Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof. The Lord began to give me understanding, as I meditated on that scripture. By making provision, I am allowing or positioning myself to do things MY way. Not God’s way. My way. I found the problem. I was not seeing the extraordinary in my life, because I was not allowing it to happen. I was meditating on MY problem. Not on God’s Word.

Often, we say we believe God can do great things, but then we do not believe Him to do them in our lives. We are not positioning ourselves to receive. The good news is that the opposite must also be true! I can position myself to do things Gods way! Hebrews 11:1 says Faith is the evidence of things hoped for… When I believe and start speaking life by quoting Gods Word, and stop speaking death by thinking why doesn’t anything good happen to me?”we then give God something to work with in our lives. By walking by faith and quoting Gods Word, you make provision for the Extraordinary.

II Kings 4:2-7, Elisha said to her, What do you have in your house? She said, Nothing, except for a pot of oil. Then Elisha told her, Go and borrow pots from your neighbors, and not a few (but many) . Pour the oil into every pot, and fill them. So, she went and shut her door, and took the pots her sons had brought her and filled each one of them, and the oil continued to pour out of her pot until every pot was filled. Then Elisha told her, Go, and sell the oil, and pay your debts, and then you and your children can live off the rest.

This poor woman thought that she had nothing. The devil lied to her and made her believe that she had nothing with which to pay her debts. She did have something, a pot of oil. In her mind it was nothing, but in Gods mind it was something to work with. She believed Elisha and positioned herself for the Extraordinary.

God’s Word says in Luke 5:18-25 that The power of the Lord was present to heal them, but not one of them was healed. Why? They did not position themselves for the supernatural, and it passed them by. However, one person did get healed. A paralyzed man and his friends were so determined to receive the Extraordinary that they literally tore the roof off a house and lowered the sick man down in front of Jesus! When Jesus saw their faith, He healed the man! Would you agree that they had positioned themselves to expect the Extraordinary? What about you? Would you have done the same, or would you have just waited outside the house, and said, Why doesnt Jesus heal me? Doesnt He love me? My friend, God is doing miracles round you! Are you just going to stand there and let Him pass you by? Why? Because He does not love you? NO! Because you are not positioning yourself to receive! The examples are endless! Blind Bartemaeus. Did he position himself to receive the Extraordinary? What about Mary, Jesus mother? And Peter stepping out of the boat? And Noah, and Paul, and Moses, and …. and….. YOU?

Years ago, God taught me how to make provision for the extraordinary when He told me to believe Him for my ministry, to take me around the world. Lord, I don’t have enough money to take me to the next city! (How is that for positioning?) I mean, to believe God to take me around the world, and to trust Him for the funds to, not just travel, but to live, and pay for the productions in different countries, when I did not have money just seemed like foolishness, not faith. Yet, I decided to position myself, and I started telling everyone of my calling. You know the rest. I have traveled to 44 countries, and have done productions in 26, and more than one production in many of these countries. Does God love me more than He loves you? No. I’ve just learned to position myself to receive the EXTRAORDINARY! By thinking and praying, and confessing Gods Word over areas of your life where you are believing the Lord for a breakthrough, you can make provision for the Extraordinary. Give God something to work with. And then, expect to see God begin to do the Extraordinary in YOUR LIFE!

VIDEO TEXT

I hugged my American actors goodbye in Korea, and flew on to Moscow, then on to Croatia. I arrived in Croatia, and I was met by Vlado Hoblaj ready for me to get to work with a brand new version of Judgment Seat. Croatia is beautiful, but at this particular time of year, flowers abound. I was happy to be back to work on this production. We wasted no time. We set up immediately and did 2 shows in the city of Zaprasic. The cast was excited and ready to go to work. The Lord blessed us with many decisions for Christ, but I was tired!

After Judgment Seat, we began work on our new musical, Joseph, this time in Cakovec. Word was out, and we had a great assortment of actors to choose from. Rehearsals began, and in under three weeks, we were able to go from auditions, to rehearsals to performances.

We moved inside the Cakovec Cultural Center, a small, but beautiful theatre with all the ammenities we would need for our production. The Lord was clearly blessing us. Ken and Marjorie Bell, my costumers from the U.S., arrived with cases and cases of costumes, and they went right to work. They are seasoned pros! We loaded in the sets and decorations. We had a great crew to work on the art and sets, and had done a beautiful job. We got a late start setting up, but eventually, the whole cast showed up and we finished putting everything in place.

With all the promos, word was out about our production, and so I was interviewed on radio, newspaper and television. I am not so excited about the interview, but it does give me a chance to promote the show. Normally in such a small city, the theatre advised presenting no more than three productions, but we were believing for seven! Well, the Lord heard our prayer, and sent the people. We had huge crowds.

Opening night was upon us, and I gave the actors some last minute details, notes, and tips on a good performance. Our final dress rehearsal did not go well, and so they were nervous. However, with the power of prayer, we were ready, and the actors came through! They were eager to do their part.

The costumes and sets together were beautiful, and the audience was just amazed at how professional the production was. We had less than three weeks to put the production together, and yet, with the Lords help, we were able to put on a show that the actors were proud of. Thank You, Lord. The show was over, and the audience showed their genuine gratitude. The production is not only an opportunity to evangelize, but it is also an opportunity to allow artists a platform to hone their skills. I also came on stage and challenged the audience. Another part of Cornerstones vision is to unite the churches to work in following up with those who make a decision for Christ.

The performances continued, and the crowds grew. We were amazed to fill the hall not just three times, but to fill it seven times? The Lord was definitely at work bringing people from everywhere! The actors relaxed as they learned their parts, and got better each night. But as soon as the show had begun, it also came to a close. We were all sad, as the Lord's hand was upon the production.

After the production, the cast and crew posed for the official production photo, and everyone was just elated with the success of the show. I am so thankful to Ken and Marjorie Bell for bringing all their beautiful costumes to Croatia. Their ministry is definitely needed and appreciated. I am grateful to new friends, Lydia Novak and Frank Cetenic, who played the Narrator and Joseph respectively, for their kindness and patience. But mainly, I am grateful, again, to my friend and partner, Vlado Hoblaj, for his vision for Croatia and for his love for the arts. It is because of him that we enjoyed such a successful production. I hugged my actors goodbye, and I flew on to Vienna, Austria, then on to Warsaw.

I arrived in the capital of Poland for just one evening, and was met by friends, Piotr and Anya Klopocki. It was wonderful to be in Warsaw again! I have done productions here, and I felt like I was home. The next day I trained over to Katowice, where I would meet with some of the pastors. I was exhausted, and used the train ride as a time to rest and work. The committee showed us the Spodek Arena, a 12,000 seat arena that they are considering for next years production. They were well organized, and ready for a show! I was happy to meet such spiritual leaders as Thomas, Nickolas and Henryk Krol and Mr. Park.

All of this is possible because of a saint I met here. A Korean businessman, Mr. Choi has been instrumental to bring my ministry together with all of these pastors. Praise the Lord for men like him, who feel they're not doing much, but are actually making great impact for the Kingdom. One of the surprising members of the committee is the cardinal of the Catholic church who is zealous to reach Poland for Christ. The cardinal had offered his church for use of our production, as it easily seats 3000. What a beautiful church.

The next day, we went on to Wroclaw. to meet with a new group of pastors. Shown here are Mr. Choi, Mr. Park, Edward and Ted, leaders who will convey our meetings results with the area pastors. I was grateful to have this time together with the leadership in Poland. Together, we hope to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ through a theatrical production next year. After the meeting in Wroclaw, I trained back to Warsaw, to spend a day with friends Leszek and Maryla Twardowski.

Bóg Błogosławi Was!

That is Polish for God Bless You! I have enjoyed traveling around Poland meeting the pastors here. My heart is here. I want to see Poland come closer to Jesus Christ. Sometimes, I feel like I am doing pathetically little in expanding the Kingdom of God. I want the hundreds saved monthly to be thousands, and the thousands save annually to be hundreds of thousands. I am in a season of positioning myself for that to happen. Will you join me in prayer for that? And how may I pray for you? Please let me know. I want to pray. God bless you!

For the Kingdom,
Richard Montez