GETTING IN STEP WITH GOD

Posted on by

We observe in Acts 10 and 11, God, rather than the apostles, took the initiative in most situations. The apostle’s involvement invariably requires their availability in prayer. God had heard Cornelius’s prayer and He also, with some considerable difficulty, sought to guide Peter as he prayed. Both Cornelius and Peter experienced the presence of God in a vision (Acts 10:2-3 and 9). Peter was rather slow to understand what was going on, trying hard to keep up with the God who had already gone before him. He eventually realised that he should visit Cornelius, but was astonished to find that God had already been working well beyond the bounds of the Church. To Peter’s amazement, he got halfway through his talk when the Spirit took over. The account reads as if the Spirit is rather impatient, perhaps even bored by Peter’s sermon, and doesn’t wait for him to finish (Acts 10:44)!

Even on the day of Pentecost, Peter was simply keeping up with God’s action and he did not initiate anything himself. He just happened to be present and took the opportunity to explain the events unfolding before his eyes, starting with a disclaimer to drunkenness (Acts 2:15).

God often makes his presence known to people, despite our slowness to ‘cotton on’ to whatever He is doing. We play our part, but very much as junior partners who are trying to keep up.

Our partnering with God is good for our mental health. It saves us from feeling we have the overwhelming responsibility of carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders. It releases us to walk with the Lord, in the confidence that He has both gone before us and that we carry His presence with us. Our part is to be attentive and to look for signs of the Holy Spirit’s activity as we fulfil our call to have an impact on people and communities. Doing this by seeking to discern the presence and activity of the Spirit is a different approach to what most of us have been taught which seemed to put the onus on us.

On occasions, walking with God means we have to ‘walk on the water’. Like the disciples, as we set out from the security of the shore, we do not realise all that the journey will entail. The story of Peter walking on water revealed how rash he was, but it also shows us the level of his faith in Jesus compared to his companions who stayed in the boat ‘Peters’ are people who are more desperate to join Jesus than those of us who always weigh up the risk. We need to avoid recklessness, but when it’s in response to having heard the prompting of the Holy Spirit, faithfully stepping into a vulnerable situation will get us closer to Him.

Much of this post is extracted from Richard Brown’s book Cultivating God’s Presence

ARE WE BLOCKING THE FLOW OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?

Posted on by

“Do not quench the Spirit.” 1 Thess. 5:19  “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit..” Ephes. 4:30

This testimony by J Lee Grady will challenge you. He was editor of Charisma Magazine for 11 years before he launched into full time Holy Spirit led ministry.

flow-of-holy-spirit

A few years ago the Lord challenged me about my level of spiritual hunger. He showed me that even though I had stood in many prayer lines and repeatedly sung the words, “Lord, I want more of You,” I wasn’t as passionate for Him as I thought I was.

My church sponsored a conference on the Holy Spirit. At the close of one service, I was lying on the floor near the altar, asking God for another touch of His power. Several other people were kneeling at the communion rail and praying quietly for each other.

Suddenly I began to have a vision. In my mind I could see a large pipeline, at least eight feet in diameter. I was looking at it from the inside, and I could see a shallow stream of golden liquid flowing at the bottom. The oil in the giant pipe was only a few inches deep.

I began a conversation with the Lord.

“What are You showing me?” I asked.

“This is the flow of the Holy Spirit in your life,” He answered.

It was not an encouraging picture; it was pitiful! The capacity of the pipeline was huge—enough to convey tons of oil. Yet only a trickle was evident.

Then I noticed something else: Several large valves were lined up along the sides of the pipeline, and each of them was shut.

I wanted to ask the Lord why there was so little oil in my life. Instead I asked: “What are those valves, and why are they closed?”

His answer stunned me. “Those represent the times when you said no. Why should I increase the level of anointing if you aren’t available to use it?”

The words stung. When had I said no to God? I was overcome with emotion and began to repent. I recalled different excuses I had made and limitations I had placed on how He could use me.

I had told Him that I didn’t want to be in front of crowds because I wasn’t a good speaker. I had told Him that if I couldn’t preach like T.D. Jakes does, then I didn’t want to speak at all. I had told Him that I didn’t want to address certain issues or go certain places. I had placed so many cumbersome conditions on my obedience.

After a while I began to see something else in my spirit. It was a huge crowd of African men, assembled as if they were in a large arena. And I saw myself preaching to them.

Nobody had ever asked me to minister in Africa, but I knew at that moment I needed to surrender my will. All I could think to say was the prayer of Isaiah: “Here am I. Send me.” (Is. 6:8). I told God I would go anywhere and say anything He asked. I laid my insecurities, fears and inhibitions on the altar.

Three years later I stood at a pulpit inside a sports arena in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. As I addressed a crowd of 8,000 pastors who had assembled there for a training conference, I remembered seeing their faces in that vision. And I realised that God had opened a new valve in my life that day when I was on the floor of my church. Because I had said yes, He had increased the flow of His oil so that it could reach thousands.

Many of us have a habit of asking for more of God’s power and anointing. But what do we use it for? He doesn’t send it just to make us feel good.

We love to go to the altar for a touch from God. We love the goose bumps, the shaking, the emotion of the moment. We love to fall on the floor and experience one filling after another. But I am afraid some of us are soaking up the anointing but not giving it away. Our charismatic experience has become inward and selfish. We get up off the floor and live like we want to.

Pentecost is not a party. If we truly want to be empowered, we must offer God an unqualified yes. We must crucify every no. We must become a conduit to reach others, not a reservoir with no outlet.

Search your own heart today and see if there are any closed valves in your pipeline. As you surrender them, the locked channels will open, and His oil will flow out to a world that craves to know He is real.

TIME TO BE RADICAL FOR GOD, JUST AS IN THE EARLY CHURCH

Posted on by

The church is in for increasing persecution as in the Book of Acts and it’s coming quickly. The world is calling good evil and evil good as prophesied for the last days (“a great apostasy, moral apostasy”). The Supreme Court not only struck down the traditional definition of marriage but you will be called a “hater”, “an enemy of the State if you defend God’s commandments.

Jonathan Cahn has been led by God to prophesy to America (the World), His truth, His judgement for these end times. If you haven’t read The Harbinger, you don’t know what judgement, God has already brought upon on America.

If you want to know what God is doing right now in these last days, then watch this video. In fact, you can’t afford not to invest this time, if you are at all interested in where you will spend ETERNITY.

2016: Another prophecy that resonates with all I am hearing from our Lord.

Posted on by

At the foot of the Cross

Recognize this prophecy is directed at the church in America, but its core message is relevant to us all. It is an abbreviated version of a prophecy given by Clay Nash. It appeared in the latest edition of Charisma Magazine. Clay serves on the team of Network Ekklesia International along with Dutch Sheets and Ken Malone as well as Global Spheres with Chuck Pierce and C. Peter Wagner.

“Many are asking what this year will bring. I want to seek to communicate some things God is revealing to me and how they will mesh together this year.

The first word I am hearing out of His heart and Spirit is “surrender.” Jesus in His humanity asked His Father to let His cup pass from Him, only to surrender by stating, “Not My will, but Your will be done.”

The Lord spoke to me, “Those who surrender to My will are going to reap where they have not sown this year.” Surrendering is not just a decision but a process.

The second word I have heard is “to sharpen our focus.” I have determined that, this year, I will be as “intensely intentional” as I can possibly manage. I am not just sharpening my focus to do things right, but intentionally sharpening my focus to do “right things.” The airways are so full of sounds, and the sounds are distracting, to say the least. It is time we clear our slate and press in to recognize His voice.

The Scriptures state in John 10: “My sheep hear my voice” and the voice of a stranger they will not follow. It is not about not hearing the other sounds that fill the airways; it is about allowing the authority of His sound alone to have any influence.

The third word I hear is “harvest.” The harvest that is at hand will be unprecedented in nature. This will prove to be an authentic harvest, producing disciples and not just converts.

Now I want to address a word that God has been building in me for over a year now. This word is a word of caution and direction to the church and the leaders in our nation. A word that I pray can be heard by leaders far and wide and those with greater influence and those with significant but smaller sphere of influence.

This final word I have heard is, “Will you continue to pursue your Rachel as your desire or will you focus on the Leah of your life and produce a legacy of inheritance?” Joel 3:14 says, “Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of the decision.”

God began to speak to me about His church in our nation (USA): “Will you, My chosen, continue in your performance and preferences or will you surrender to a stance of submission, to obedience? Will you seek to impress the Ancient of Days in how well you look, how well you perform, and how well you speak or will you discern your heart and see that what is done is to impress those you desire to lead? Will you continue to make your worship so that it is the centre of your focus rather than My Presence and manifested presence?

I desire your obedience to emanate from your love for Me.

I have set before you a time to make wise decisions based on My will and a way that is not convenient. Will you seek to allow your preference to guide you, or will you yield, and allow My conviction to speak deeply to you and bring your heart to a place of surrendered passion?

“Will you choose Rachel—she who is beautiful, fancy and dignified—as the desire of your heart? Will you allow her beauty, the convenience of her attention and her dignified ways to influence your preference? I would desire that you shift in your attention and choose Leah—she who is plain, simple, undignified and uncomely, even dimmed eyed. For Leah, the ministry I have set before you, is surely not that which is attractive or convenient. For Leah will not attract the masses and give a look of success, but it will be the significance of your choice of Leah that can shift this nation from seven hard years of increased warfare and produce “deliverers” for this nation.

“It can be that even as from Jacob and Leah came forth a descendant, Moses, My deliverer, so it can be again. I desire to birth deliverers who can bring awakening that will establish reformation. It can be, says the Lord, as you choose Leah, out of obedience, over Rachel, no longer seeking to excel in the performance of how you look, but bringing forth an obedience that will produce fruit that will remain. From your obedience, I will birth a line of successors as strong as Moses and David. So choose to do My will and do not allow your desire to override My will.”

I ask us all to search our hearts and answer these following questions as we apply Matt. 6:6 (Message) “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense His grace.”

Will we turn from that which impresses and engage the grace which produces?
Will we turn from the relocation of sheep from one holding pen to another?
Will we allow God back into our worship with simplicity?
Will we allow the Holy Spirit to be Lord once again, bringing God’s liberty to our services?
Will we turn from the fear of man and allow the Holy Spirit to do whatever He wills even if it offends church attendees?
Will we turn from needing the mass in attendance to finance our man-designed programs?
Will we realize that it is time to properly position ourselves by empowering the saints to move forward and do the works of God?
Will we remove the Rachel of ministry and no longer trust it as “eye candy” that draws attention to us and our ministry?
I pray this word pierces hearts to the point that services are called off and ministries are suspended until a fresh word from heaven penetrates hearts and causes not only a shift but also a tipping point in our nation.”

The church is the USA needs to repent of not listening to God and not doing His will. Sadly the church in Australia is in a similar position to the church in the USA.

 

RECOGNIZING THE VOICE OF GOD – Henry Blackaby

Posted on by

If ever, there was a time for us to be able to hear the voice of God, it is now. As the world descends further into darkness (away from God), Christians will find that it is dangerous to express and hold to God’s commandments.

We need to know Him, love Him, recognize His voice and hold onto His promises at this time:

“Even though I  walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; Your rod and staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23: 4-6

The author of the best-selling book, Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby is one of my favourite expounders of scripture.  Before you reflect on 2015 and plan ahead for 2016 may I suggest you listen to him teach on Recognizing the Voice of God.

WHAT GOD IS DOING WITH THE GATHERINGS

Posted on by

A report prepared by Pastor Ron Sawka of Arise 5

Unlike a conference with pre-determined speakers and pre-set teachings, in a Gathering believers answer a call from the Lord to come together to worship and wait on Him. These Gatherings (Gathering in His Presence) happen and  people come from all over because they feel led to attend. Perhaps the biggest component is the presence of God. It’s like Moses who said, “Lord, if You don’t go with us, then I don’t want to go” (Exod. 33:15, paraphrased). So, we gather because we feel led to. We worship and bless the Lord and then watch and obey as He leads.

For me, this walking together with others in the Gatherings began after the March 2011 Tsunami in Japan. One of the first things the Lord told me was to attend the Gathering/Homecoming in Hong Kong that July. Teddy and I attended, and I got the understanding that somehow He would use the Gathering to bring breakthrough in Japan.

This year, the Lord called us to have three large Gatherings. The first was at Kobe, Japan, in May. The theme the Lord gave us was that He was opening the gates (Ps. 24), and that these were gates of harvest—not just in Japan, but in every nation.

The second was in Hong Kong in July, and the theme was alignment. The scripture the Lord gave was Exodus 12:41. When God brought Israel out of Egypt, He brought them out as the “armies of the Lord.” They were aligned and organized. The Lord has been preparing the nations, and now they are aligned. Because of this, there is great authority for the advance of the kingdom of God.

“Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isa. 43:18–19).

This time in Munich, the key verse was Isaiah 43:18–19, and the theme was how He is doing a new thing. He is releasing His water of blessing for the kingdom of God to spread throughout the earth. Not just rains from heaven—and thus rivers flowing—but also water springing up from the deep. It’s like tectonic plates under the earth are shifting and the underground and ancient water is coming up. Furthermore, the wells of salvation (Isa. 12:3) from earlier generations are also being reopened. It was no mistake that God had us meet in Germany, the land from which the first Reformation came. It was also prophesied that the wells of the Moravians (the group that began to take the gospel from Europe to almost every nation) are now being opened again. Those wells are being reopened, as are older wells—even those going all the way back to the early church are opening up.

There were many specific things that happened, some of which are as follows:

  • Israeli believers forgave Germany and blessed them. These two “father nations” are now arising to bless other countries.
  • As a prophetic act, Jewish believers blessed the Arab believers, knowing that Israel must first bless them (Ishmael came first [Gen. 16–17]) in order for themselves to be blessed.
  • This blessing will result in a great breaking off of the orphan spirit that hinders so many believers worldwide. On Tuesday afternoon, the Lord showed us that it was time for the spirit of fatherlessness to be removed and that He was doing it. (Note: Feeling of fatherlessness and the orphan spirit often come about because of antisemitism. Thus, part of the solution has been the healing for Israel to now be able to forgive and to bless others.)
  • There is a new fire of God being released in His people and giving birth to a youth movement in every nation.

The main point is that God has brought us to a new place and time, and that He is doing a new thing. He doesn’t want us to focus on old things, but know that He is releasing vast wells of salvation. He wants us to know and see it.

Several representatives of Watchmen for the Nations who organize the Gatherings, visited Australia in July, 2015  (Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne). A tentative time, place and name for a Gathering has been prayerfully submitted to Watchmen for the Nations. Please pray, God will show Watchmen for the Nations, His will in this matter.

MARILYN MOSBY – GOD’S ESTHER for African Americans

Posted on by

Baltimore’s State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby on Freddie Gray Case: God ‘Put Me in This Position for a Reason’

marilyn-mosbymarilyn-mosby (1)

Marilyn Mosby prays with church leaders, including Bishop Angel Nunez, during a prayer breakfast in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 28, 2014

Baltimore’s State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby, the woman who criminally charged six police officers in the death of Freddie Gray on Friday, is a practicing Christian who declared at a recent prayer breakfast that God “put me in this position for a reason.”

“Mosby is a Christian, she loves the Lord. She’s part of our Multicultural Prayer Movement. I was in her office last week. I took her hands and we prayed together, and we wept and I prayed over her and I said: ‘God has raised you a woman of God for such a time as this. This is why God put you here and we stand with you.’ The woman depends on the Lord. This is a 35-year-old woman, an Esther in this hour,” said Bishop Angel Nunez, who leads Baltimore’s Multicultural Prayer Movement, in an interview with The Christian Post on Friday.

On Tuesday at the Bilingual Christian Church, Mosby spoke with members of the Multicultural Prayer Movement group, of which she is also a member. At one point church leaders, including Nunez who has been her friend for five years, gathered around her and prayed.

“I was reminded of Isaiah 41 verse 10,” Mosby, who recalled once having self-doubt while seeking election as Baltimore’s state’s attorney, told the congregants.

“Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

And that is what kept me grounded whenever I had that self-doubt, whenever I said this is too much for me to handle as a wife, as a mother, as an attorney. I’ve got to tell you that God got me through and I have to believe that He put me here for a reason,” she said.

“So we will pursue justice by any and all means necessary. I appreciate your support Bishop [Nunez], you’ve been there for me from the very beginning,” Mosby added, before alluding to the riots which appeared to come to a halt after charges in Gray’s death were announced.

“Nothing transcends the power of prayer and let me tell you, our young people, I know that they’re called ‘thugs.’ Those are young people crying out; there’s a sense of hopelessness in this city and there’s nobody that can touch them the way that you all can, the way that we can …”

The Gathering in Jerusalem

Posted on by

Gathering in Jerusalem

 

It is now the second day of The Gathering. It is impossible to explain with words what I have experienced over the one and half days of the conference. Go to The Gathering website and connect to the conference ” live stream”. You will be blessed mightily – you will experience what worship will be like in heaven. It is also being videoed so you will be able to get a copy to bless your church.

The most amazing thing is the number of Chinese worshippers that are here from mainland China, at least 1500 hence the conference is being broadcast in English and Mandarin. Translation is available to many other languages as well.

God is acting in HIStory in His city and nation in a new and world transforming way. To see Israeli  Jewish and Arab Christian pastors impacted by the presence and passionate  worship of so many Asians was remarkable. They came on stage repenting of past sins and committing to unite to take the Gospel forward in a new way led only by the Holy Spirit. Only God is able to do what happened at this conference last night and this morning. I can’t wait to experience the worship again and to see what God will do with the rest of The Gathering.

You need to go online and experience it yourself.

TIME: YOUR MOST PRECIOUS RESOURCE

Posted on by

On Time

Contrast this pivotal resource of life with others, such as energy and finances, and a sharp distinction becomes obvious. While these other assets fluctuate, time constantly diminishes. No matter what one possesses, no matter the financial resources at your disposal, time cannot be purchased or stockpiled. One cannot gain access to additional time; you merely have the amount given to you.

So, if time is the most precious resource life offers, the question then becomes how do we use it wisely?

    1. Spend time in prayer. For contemporary believers this seems to be one of the more taxing tasks the Christian life demands. For, prayer takes time, and time is short and the day is long but how else do you build a relationship with your Creator other than spend time in prayer and in HIS WORD. Moreover HE said, “And ALL THINGS, whatever you ask in prayer, believing you will receive” Matthew 21:22. If you want to be a person who changes the course of history, you will pray and seek God’s will for your life. He has a plan for your life don’t miss it.
    2. Invest in building relationships. This certainly has the potential to multiply time. Think of a Christian parent’s relationship with their child, and the ripple effect this relationship can have for decades, if not centuries of time and on numerous other relationships. Their actions will not only have the potential to impact society for good but above all can have eternal significance.

Peter Kreeft, a Christian philosopher, offers an important understanding of time and prayer. He notes, “We have time and prayer backwards. We think time determines prayer, but prayer determines time. We think our lack of time is the cause of our lack of prayer, but our lack of prayer is the cause of our lack of time.” This understanding of the relationship of time to prayer is not a pithy saying to be taken lightly, but biblical insight into the significance of both. For the One who listens to the prayer knows about multiplication.

Matthew chapter 14 speaks to the ability of Christ to multiply scarce resources in order to maximize their potential. Yet, consider if the child had never offered his five loves and two fish. Christ’s ability to multiply would, at least in this instance, never been engaged.

Succinctly put, life in modern society is belligerently backwards. Modern life is arranged around tasks and duties which consume a large portion of the time given us each day. This utilitarian view of time has riddled modern society, families, and individuals with discontent, loneliness, and want of purpose.

How now should we live?

Remember The Lord’s Prayer – “Your Kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. Invest your time in building God’s Kingdom on earth and you also build treasure in heaven which has ETERNAL value and significance. Don’t waste your time on building your Kingdom on earth, it is fleeting and ultimately brings no peace or joy.

Time is precious and limited, yet of eternal value. What makes it so is how you use it and whom you give it to. Begin now to start living eternally.