The Lord spoke to me again today. It often happens especially when He has a word for me. He asked me this – “Why are so many churches prophet or non-prophet organisations?” It made me laugh because I immediately knew the spelling was ‘prophet’ rather than ‘profit’. The Lord may have smiled too but I knew this was a serious question. (He added the ‘not-for-prophet’ later because the terms are different in the UK and in the USA).
So, let me ask you then. Is your church a ‘non-prophet’ or ‘not-for-prophet’ organisation? Does your church believe, or trust, or even accept prophecy at this time. Are you one of the churches who do not believe or accept prophecy? If so – why? Why is it that so many pastors and their congregations are so terrified of a prophet. Is it perhaps because a prophet tells you the truth as it is and without any spin or any alternative agenda? That is a rhetorical question by the way – so let me try again.
Allow me to ask you another question – Is the Bible accurate and acceptable for today or did its usefulness die out with the Apostles? Is it the Word of God? Is God the same yesterday, today, and forever? Have you ever been taught anything about the prophetic ministry? If, like most churches, you claim to be a Bible believing church, then please bear with me as I quote a couple of short scriptures for you.
1 Corinthians 12:28
“And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.”
1 Corinthians 14:29
“Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said.”
1 Corinthians 14:39
“Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy. . .”
Does the Bible lie? Is God a liar? No- of course He is not. So why do so many of you not believe what His Word says – after all you do claim to be a Bible believing church. Or are you a ‘selectively Bible believing church’ – do you only believe those parts which suit your particular theology? Then permit me to rock your boat further with this scripture -
Ezekiel 34:1-2
“The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?”
Then He reminded me of this –
Amos 3:7
“Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.”
Finally, I asked the Lord ‘What next?’
He said this, “The shepherds and flocks of so many churches are a stiff-necked , stubborn, and rebellious people. They do not listen to me. They listen instead only to what they want to hear. Therefore say to them that there is coming a time when they will beg to hear from a prophet but I will shut up the mouths of the prophets before them. I will have nothing further to say until they repent and turn from their wicked unbelieving ways. Then I will heal their land; then I will send a prophet to them who will lead them to the truth by my Spirit. But tell them – the time is short. Hurry – do not get left behind.”
If the Lord says it to me then I must say it to you. That’s what Prophets do.
Monday, 30 August 2010
Friday, 27 August 2010
Ritual or relationship
I have to say, right up front, that I am teasing a few of you here, but there is a very serious point to be made as well. So read on with your tongue firmly implanted in your cheek.
A good friend of mine once said this “We must be replacing ritual with relationship. We must be redeveloping our relationships with God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit” (that’s from @SoulSupply on Twitter) I had to think about this. I mean, after all, the author is a trusted theologian and I’m an untrained pensioner with no theology at all other than that which I have gained in ministry listening to those who really do know better than me.
OK, I know my friend is a colonial type from Australia, but he does have credentials that I could never even aspire to. Same with the other colonies – like those over the pond in the America’s. There are, in these places, those far better qualified than I am who could comment far more eruditely and theologically soundly than I could ever do.
OK – so what have the former British Colonies have to do with my message here. Well, they were all founded on relationships. There were family, friends, acquaintances, work colleagues, and enemies. All had some sort of relationship with each other. Now if we require the balance of relationships with people to be right in order to grow, how much more do we need our relationship with God to be right in order to grow spiritually?
Yet what did we do? In our great and defining wisdom, we set up certain rituals and totally ignored the relationship. As long as we followed the ritual, God was bound to be pleased with us – wasn’t He? Just so long as we prayed the right sort of prayer at the right moment, God would be OK with that wouldn’t He?
Well – in a word – NO! That is not what God wanted then, and neither is it what He wants with us today either. He never wanted it in the days of the Pilgrim Fathers or Captain Cook, and He doesn’t want it today in the days of the second coming and end-times revival. But we have grown so set in our ways that we don’t even think about our relationship with God. We think only of fulfilling the ritual. Each Sunday, every Sunday, we have the hymn/prayer sandwiches. Where is the spontaneity? There is no spontaneity because it is all ritual and no relationship. Did we learn nothing from Wales and Azusa Street?
God the Father, believe it or not, wants nothing more than a personal relationship with us. A relationship that is as close and personal as any we have with family or friends. That He knows us is one thing – that we can know Him is a wonderful bonus. He really does care about the smallest detail of our everyday lives. He wants to build a relationship with us and He cares not one jot for the rituals we sometimes assume will please Him. He wants us to have a spontaneous and loving relationship with Him. To laugh with us and maybe at us – to offer comfort when we cry – to help with and confirm all those difficult decisions – in short, to be our best and most intimate friend for all time. He loves us and wants us to learn how to love Him in return.
He wants a relationship with us and nothing else. Only then will we know and understand the joy of us knowing Him and He knowing us. Forget the rituals – concentrate on your relationship with Him and watch your faith and your joy grow.
A good friend of mine once said this “We must be replacing ritual with relationship. We must be redeveloping our relationships with God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit” (that’s from @SoulSupply on Twitter) I had to think about this. I mean, after all, the author is a trusted theologian and I’m an untrained pensioner with no theology at all other than that which I have gained in ministry listening to those who really do know better than me.
OK, I know my friend is a colonial type from Australia, but he does have credentials that I could never even aspire to. Same with the other colonies – like those over the pond in the America’s. There are, in these places, those far better qualified than I am who could comment far more eruditely and theologically soundly than I could ever do.
OK – so what have the former British Colonies have to do with my message here. Well, they were all founded on relationships. There were family, friends, acquaintances, work colleagues, and enemies. All had some sort of relationship with each other. Now if we require the balance of relationships with people to be right in order to grow, how much more do we need our relationship with God to be right in order to grow spiritually?
Yet what did we do? In our great and defining wisdom, we set up certain rituals and totally ignored the relationship. As long as we followed the ritual, God was bound to be pleased with us – wasn’t He? Just so long as we prayed the right sort of prayer at the right moment, God would be OK with that wouldn’t He?
Well – in a word – NO! That is not what God wanted then, and neither is it what He wants with us today either. He never wanted it in the days of the Pilgrim Fathers or Captain Cook, and He doesn’t want it today in the days of the second coming and end-times revival. But we have grown so set in our ways that we don’t even think about our relationship with God. We think only of fulfilling the ritual. Each Sunday, every Sunday, we have the hymn/prayer sandwiches. Where is the spontaneity? There is no spontaneity because it is all ritual and no relationship. Did we learn nothing from Wales and Azusa Street?
God the Father, believe it or not, wants nothing more than a personal relationship with us. A relationship that is as close and personal as any we have with family or friends. That He knows us is one thing – that we can know Him is a wonderful bonus. He really does care about the smallest detail of our everyday lives. He wants to build a relationship with us and He cares not one jot for the rituals we sometimes assume will please Him. He wants us to have a spontaneous and loving relationship with Him. To laugh with us and maybe at us – to offer comfort when we cry – to help with and confirm all those difficult decisions – in short, to be our best and most intimate friend for all time. He loves us and wants us to learn how to love Him in return.
He wants a relationship with us and nothing else. Only then will we know and understand the joy of us knowing Him and He knowing us. Forget the rituals – concentrate on your relationship with Him and watch your faith and your joy grow.
Thursday, 26 August 2010
The Cruel Church
I heard a very sad story recently. A precious man of God who has been in ministry for well over 50 years is being cruelly attacked by a church he planted a few years ago. He and his wife are, effectively, being put out of fellowship from a church he founded by the present pastor, with whom this precious old saint had served for a few years. Just how cruel can the church be?
Yet this story is not a new one. The church has hurt more people than we can possibly imagine with its legalism; its fundamental ignorance of Jesus’ command to love one another. No wonder our Lord called the Pharisees ‘whitewashed sepulchres’ and a ‘nest of vipers’. No wonder He made a whip and drove from the temple those who had ‘made My Father’s house a den of thieves’.
Are you one who talks about how you sang and shouted praises to God on Sunday and yet your tongue rips & tears people to shreds during the week? Are you one who will not fellowship with a brother who has committed a minor ‘sin’ – perhaps he bought a bottle of wine for a friend?
Matthew 7:3-5 (NIV)
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”
The church is a very cruel place to be deemed imperfect. So please, in future, John 8:7 “But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
Where is our love for one another? Where is our hatred of the sin but our love for the sinner? Oh I know that people will be people wherever we find them but, please, can we stop being so religious, so legalistic, so very, very cruel to our precious brothers and sisters in Christ? What must the world think of us as it watches our every move? What we show the world is what it believes of us, and what we show in terms of mercy is scant indeed – to the point of none at all.
For all our preaching and telling of the Gospel, can we at least try to start living the Gospel as well?
Yet this story is not a new one. The church has hurt more people than we can possibly imagine with its legalism; its fundamental ignorance of Jesus’ command to love one another. No wonder our Lord called the Pharisees ‘whitewashed sepulchres’ and a ‘nest of vipers’. No wonder He made a whip and drove from the temple those who had ‘made My Father’s house a den of thieves’.
Are you one who talks about how you sang and shouted praises to God on Sunday and yet your tongue rips & tears people to shreds during the week? Are you one who will not fellowship with a brother who has committed a minor ‘sin’ – perhaps he bought a bottle of wine for a friend?
Matthew 7:3-5 (NIV)
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”
The church is a very cruel place to be deemed imperfect. So please, in future, John 8:7 “But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
Where is our love for one another? Where is our hatred of the sin but our love for the sinner? Oh I know that people will be people wherever we find them but, please, can we stop being so religious, so legalistic, so very, very cruel to our precious brothers and sisters in Christ? What must the world think of us as it watches our every move? What we show the world is what it believes of us, and what we show in terms of mercy is scant indeed – to the point of none at all.
For all our preaching and telling of the Gospel, can we at least try to start living the Gospel as well?
The Whole Armour of God
How many of us, I wonder, really understand the Whole Armour of God. Now I am no theologian, but I confess that I have read a little bit about the weapons that the Lord has provided for us in our daily lives.
Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full Armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full Armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
So what are these weapons then – what is all this Armour ?? Put simply, the ‘Whole Armour of God’ is our weapon of spiritual warfare. It is given to us through the Word of God (which is truth) for us to use against the spiritual powers of Satan in his efforts to stop us.
The Belt of Truth – the truth can never be defeated. It is possibly the greatest of all weapons. “The Word of God says ....” is such a powerful weapon. The enemy is the Prince of Lies – everything he says is based on lies. ‘Satan is a Liar’ is a great defence.
The Breastplate of Righteousness – do we lead righteous lives? Can the enemy accuse us? Oh brothers and sisters, if we were all a little bit more righteous in our day to day living, the world would soon be a better place as the devil cannot face either truth nor righteousness.
The Shoes of Readiness - Be ready to preach the gospel. Be ready to help a neighbour, to speak kindly to a stranger for in these things we surely do them as unto the Lord.
The Shield of Faith – When the enemy comes warring against Christians one of the first things he attacks is our faith. He will tell us that we can’t do this or that yet it is perfectly obvious that we can. “We can do ALL things in Christ . . . .” Our faith is a shield that protects us from anything the enemy can and does throw at us.
The Helmet of Salvation – this is our greatest weapon in that, above all other things, it is our salvation that so disturbs, so angers the enemy. Our salvation, our commitment to, and our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ automatically makes us the enemy of Satan and he will try everything he can to destroy that faith; to destroy that commitment.
The Sword of the Spirit – The Word of God is truth and the enemy hates truth. It is a sword that cuts through any argument, any lie that Satan me try to give us.
Pray in the Spirit – We are finally admonished to ‘pray in the Spirit on all occasions’. Why? Because when we pray in the Spirit, it is our spirit speaking directly to Gods Spirit in a heavenly language. If you do not have your prayer tongue yet, then I urge you to seek it with all your heart for Satan cannot understand it any more than we can and therefore our prayers are in secret – between us and the Lord Himself.
So – I hope you can see that the whole Armour of God is a wonderful set of weapons of spiritual warfare given to us by God to help us fight the good fight.
Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full Armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full Armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
So what are these weapons then – what is all this Armour ?? Put simply, the ‘Whole Armour of God’ is our weapon of spiritual warfare. It is given to us through the Word of God (which is truth) for us to use against the spiritual powers of Satan in his efforts to stop us.
The Belt of Truth – the truth can never be defeated. It is possibly the greatest of all weapons. “The Word of God says ....” is such a powerful weapon. The enemy is the Prince of Lies – everything he says is based on lies. ‘Satan is a Liar’ is a great defence.
The Breastplate of Righteousness – do we lead righteous lives? Can the enemy accuse us? Oh brothers and sisters, if we were all a little bit more righteous in our day to day living, the world would soon be a better place as the devil cannot face either truth nor righteousness.
The Shoes of Readiness - Be ready to preach the gospel. Be ready to help a neighbour, to speak kindly to a stranger for in these things we surely do them as unto the Lord.
The Shield of Faith – When the enemy comes warring against Christians one of the first things he attacks is our faith. He will tell us that we can’t do this or that yet it is perfectly obvious that we can. “We can do ALL things in Christ . . . .” Our faith is a shield that protects us from anything the enemy can and does throw at us.
The Helmet of Salvation – this is our greatest weapon in that, above all other things, it is our salvation that so disturbs, so angers the enemy. Our salvation, our commitment to, and our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ automatically makes us the enemy of Satan and he will try everything he can to destroy that faith; to destroy that commitment.
The Sword of the Spirit – The Word of God is truth and the enemy hates truth. It is a sword that cuts through any argument, any lie that Satan me try to give us.
Pray in the Spirit – We are finally admonished to ‘pray in the Spirit on all occasions’. Why? Because when we pray in the Spirit, it is our spirit speaking directly to Gods Spirit in a heavenly language. If you do not have your prayer tongue yet, then I urge you to seek it with all your heart for Satan cannot understand it any more than we can and therefore our prayers are in secret – between us and the Lord Himself.
So – I hope you can see that the whole Armour of God is a wonderful set of weapons of spiritual warfare given to us by God to help us fight the good fight.
Unreasonable Love
I heard the Lord speak to me today. He said that His love is ‘unreasonable’. I asked what He meant and He said that, to most people, unconditional love, like He gives to us, is completely beyond the bounds of reason. He said that “Real love, as I give, is beyond the capability of nearly all men so, surely, this is an unreasonable love?”
I found this very challenging. I have often said that I have so much love to give that I find it impossible to hold it all – I simply have to give it away to anyone who crosses my path. I am sure I am not unusual in this for many Christians I know personally seem to me to reservoirs of God’s love – or at lease reservoirs of a God-given love.
So what is it that separates Gods love from the very best God-given love that we can offer the world. I think it’s that single word “unconditional”. We may speak all we like about our love for each other being unconditional but, despite all our protestations, it isn’t unconditional in the way God means unconditional. There is no way we can change by one iota Gods complete love for us. There is nothing we can ever do to separate ourselves from Gods love for even a nano second. There is nothing we can do to make Him love us, or anyone else, more or less than He loves us now. God’s love is everything spelt out for us in 1 Corinthians 13 – and then some !!
We, on the other hand, can only carry ‘unconditional’ love so far and no farther. We love our errant, drug filled, criminal child without reservation. We never stop loving them but we give up trying to change them. God doesn’t. We love our enemy to the extent that we will feed them, even at our own expense, we will water them, we will build them new homes and give them jobs, but even they can stretch our patience too far and we give up on them. God doesn’t. How easy it would be for us to volunteer our own lives for those we love and who love us. Yet how many of us would give our only son to do the job for us? Not just for us but for every man woman and child on earth – no matter how bad, how criminal, how defiled and despicable they seem to us. God did.
That is unconditional love. God loves us with an unreasonable love. It is completely beyond reason. Unconditional love is surely totally unreasonable.
Isn’t it?
I found this very challenging. I have often said that I have so much love to give that I find it impossible to hold it all – I simply have to give it away to anyone who crosses my path. I am sure I am not unusual in this for many Christians I know personally seem to me to reservoirs of God’s love – or at lease reservoirs of a God-given love.
So what is it that separates Gods love from the very best God-given love that we can offer the world. I think it’s that single word “unconditional”. We may speak all we like about our love for each other being unconditional but, despite all our protestations, it isn’t unconditional in the way God means unconditional. There is no way we can change by one iota Gods complete love for us. There is nothing we can ever do to separate ourselves from Gods love for even a nano second. There is nothing we can do to make Him love us, or anyone else, more or less than He loves us now. God’s love is everything spelt out for us in 1 Corinthians 13 – and then some !!
We, on the other hand, can only carry ‘unconditional’ love so far and no farther. We love our errant, drug filled, criminal child without reservation. We never stop loving them but we give up trying to change them. God doesn’t. We love our enemy to the extent that we will feed them, even at our own expense, we will water them, we will build them new homes and give them jobs, but even they can stretch our patience too far and we give up on them. God doesn’t. How easy it would be for us to volunteer our own lives for those we love and who love us. Yet how many of us would give our only son to do the job for us? Not just for us but for every man woman and child on earth – no matter how bad, how criminal, how defiled and despicable they seem to us. God did.
That is unconditional love. God loves us with an unreasonable love. It is completely beyond reason. Unconditional love is surely totally unreasonable.
Isn’t it?
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
RoFMI Visit to Denmark August 19 to 24 2010
Just the two of us, Peter and I , set off for Copenhagen on Thursday late afternoon. Met at Kastrup Airport by a lovely lady called Pernilla, we were whisked away to meet Pastors Stan and Ruth McCuien, our blessed and wonderful hosts. We went, as always, with high expectations if only because every trip seems to have been met with a fresh and stronger anointing this year. This was our 24th booked trip so far in 2010 and little did we know how much blessing we would receive and how much blessing we would be able to give as we started by sharing a meal with Pastors Stan & Ruth.
We even started with a free morning of fellowship with our hosts before going off to see our old friend René in the Arken Café where he had gathered some friends and visitors for an afternoon of fellowship and prophecy. One gentleman saw the flag outside and, thinking it was a party, joined us – and he stayed to hear everything. Our friends Jens & Lotte from Mon also drove up to join us at the café – but more on them later. The opening statement by another brother, “You don’t have to be a big church to do a big work for God”, set the scene. Peter added that “God is not interested in how many sheep you have – only in how much you love them.” Peter went on to talk about Matthew 16:13 “ . . . . . who do you say that I am? You are the Christ – the Son of the living God.” He asked this “I hear you asking for revival but where are your tears? Where is your desperation.” Then an odd thing happened – Peter received a Word of Prophecy for himself from one of those present. This is unusual because how often does a prophet receive prophecy and how often does a Pastor receive counsel?? This word was about Peters own anointing and the restoration of a part that was long since laid down being picked up with more power than ever before.
In the evening we returned to our hosts church to meet with the leadership and worship teams for fellowship and a meal together. Peter once again spoke on Matthew 13:16 He commented that people say they cannot hear the Holy Spirit yet they can hear everything the demonic world throws at them. He prophesied that Holland will lead the way in European revival. He prophesied about the importance to revival in Denmark of Stan & Ruth’s church (Gospel Church International). He also spoke of “Revival in the Philippines would be something like a cloud passing over the sun as a sovereign move of God comes to that land.”
At 11a.m. on Saturday we set off for Mon driven by our new friend Pernilla. We were actually headed for Bogo, the next island to Mon, where the new pizza café, that Peter had promised to attend, was opening. The place was packed from 13:00 when it opened until it closed and they were blessed with a wonderful first day with people from all over the island coming along to sample their wares. It was an excellent way to start our day too. Next we went back to Stege on Mon to meet a lovely Greenlandic lady called Maren and this was a powerful time of prophecy and confirmation for Peter of his call to Greenland. All of this was followed by Peter going to minister to a local family in Stege, while I went with our Saturday hosts, Jens & Lotte Neilsen, for an evening of wonderful fellowship. We stayed overnight with Jens & Lotte and their family.
On Sunday morning, In Jens & Lotte’s church, Peter spoke about “Holy Fire” ! The Lord is saying that He is coming ‘soon’ and that He is releasing people; setting them free from their contract with the enemy; burning the contracts in His Holy Fire. Quoting Amos 3:7, Peter made this powerful comment – “Oh for a prophet to shake the church out of its lukewarmness into being either HOT or COLD. It would be better for us to give up Christianity altogether rather than to stay Lukewarm. We do not need another prophet who tickles the ears, nor one who wants to please his listeners, but one who will prepare the whole church for judgement and to become the Bride of Christ. One to make the church ready for revival as there will be no more renewal.”
Following the morning meeting we dashed back to Copenhagen for the 14:30 meeting at with Pastor Stan. What followed was, for me, one of the most anointed and powerful meetings I have ever experienced. Praise and Worship was led by a lady called Brina aided by Suzanna and Linnia(?). Then Suzanna and two young girls danced for the Lord – oh wow. What an anointing which grew heavier and heavier as time passed until Brina couldn’t sing any longer – she was just lost in worship and adoration of her Lord. Pastor Stan kept it all going with one of their own songs “It is Jesus” and he eventually called Peter who kept the song going even longer. The anointing was incredible as Peter announced, “There is healing here. Why wait to the end when you can receive your healing right now?” Bodies everywhere . Peter moved to the piano where a new anointing hit him and he played in the Spirit for a while, even giving us “a love song from the Lord for all of us here”. He called for those who wanted a ‘double portion’ to come forward and more bodies – some helpless with laughter.
Eventually we all moved back to our seats and Peter spoke very briefly on Joshua 24:14-15 ending with “ . . . . . . as for me and my house – we will serve the Lord.” Nearly every person present raised their hand in agreement to this verse. He closed with a prophecy for the church saying that “this church will be a facilitator of revival for Denmark because of the hearts and lives of the Pastors.” Wow – what a meeting. What a blessed time.
In the evening we visited a local couple and spent 5 hours of warm and loving fellowship with them.
On Monday around noon, we went to bless a café in central Copenhagen owned by one of the congregation. In the afternoon, some of the younger generation at Gospel Church came round to join us at the pastors apartment. Another good friend Carsten from another local church also joined us. We had a time of wonderful fellowship and Peter got much more than he bargained for when he called upon each one present in turn to prophesy to him personally. Suffice it to say that, for Peter, a time of repentance and renewed promise followed. He also received a very powerful word about his own anointing and calling.
In the evening we went back to the couple we met on Sunday who had invited another couple round for fellowship. Once again there was a powerful sense of the presence of the Lord and lives were changed. Another good connection was made here into a whole new community of believers we didn’t even know existed. I am sure there will be more on this connection in future.
Tuesday saw us dodging the rain on our journey back to Kastrup Airport as Stan blessed us on our way home. There is much that also happened which cannot be recorded here for the sake of privacy alone. However, two phone calls received by Peter could have opened up doors we could only ever have dreamed about until now. Enough said.
Hallelujah – a wonderful trip. So powerfully anointed it nearly took our breath away. So many were blessed and so many were a blessing to us. Thank you Lord.
We even started with a free morning of fellowship with our hosts before going off to see our old friend René in the Arken Café where he had gathered some friends and visitors for an afternoon of fellowship and prophecy. One gentleman saw the flag outside and, thinking it was a party, joined us – and he stayed to hear everything. Our friends Jens & Lotte from Mon also drove up to join us at the café – but more on them later. The opening statement by another brother, “You don’t have to be a big church to do a big work for God”, set the scene. Peter added that “God is not interested in how many sheep you have – only in how much you love them.” Peter went on to talk about Matthew 16:13 “ . . . . . who do you say that I am? You are the Christ – the Son of the living God.” He asked this “I hear you asking for revival but where are your tears? Where is your desperation.” Then an odd thing happened – Peter received a Word of Prophecy for himself from one of those present. This is unusual because how often does a prophet receive prophecy and how often does a Pastor receive counsel?? This word was about Peters own anointing and the restoration of a part that was long since laid down being picked up with more power than ever before.
In the evening we returned to our hosts church to meet with the leadership and worship teams for fellowship and a meal together. Peter once again spoke on Matthew 13:16 He commented that people say they cannot hear the Holy Spirit yet they can hear everything the demonic world throws at them. He prophesied that Holland will lead the way in European revival. He prophesied about the importance to revival in Denmark of Stan & Ruth’s church (Gospel Church International). He also spoke of “Revival in the Philippines would be something like a cloud passing over the sun as a sovereign move of God comes to that land.”
At 11a.m. on Saturday we set off for Mon driven by our new friend Pernilla. We were actually headed for Bogo, the next island to Mon, where the new pizza café, that Peter had promised to attend, was opening. The place was packed from 13:00 when it opened until it closed and they were blessed with a wonderful first day with people from all over the island coming along to sample their wares. It was an excellent way to start our day too. Next we went back to Stege on Mon to meet a lovely Greenlandic lady called Maren and this was a powerful time of prophecy and confirmation for Peter of his call to Greenland. All of this was followed by Peter going to minister to a local family in Stege, while I went with our Saturday hosts, Jens & Lotte Neilsen, for an evening of wonderful fellowship. We stayed overnight with Jens & Lotte and their family.
On Sunday morning, In Jens & Lotte’s church, Peter spoke about “Holy Fire” ! The Lord is saying that He is coming ‘soon’ and that He is releasing people; setting them free from their contract with the enemy; burning the contracts in His Holy Fire. Quoting Amos 3:7, Peter made this powerful comment – “Oh for a prophet to shake the church out of its lukewarmness into being either HOT or COLD. It would be better for us to give up Christianity altogether rather than to stay Lukewarm. We do not need another prophet who tickles the ears, nor one who wants to please his listeners, but one who will prepare the whole church for judgement and to become the Bride of Christ. One to make the church ready for revival as there will be no more renewal.”
Following the morning meeting we dashed back to Copenhagen for the 14:30 meeting at with Pastor Stan. What followed was, for me, one of the most anointed and powerful meetings I have ever experienced. Praise and Worship was led by a lady called Brina aided by Suzanna and Linnia(?). Then Suzanna and two young girls danced for the Lord – oh wow. What an anointing which grew heavier and heavier as time passed until Brina couldn’t sing any longer – she was just lost in worship and adoration of her Lord. Pastor Stan kept it all going with one of their own songs “It is Jesus” and he eventually called Peter who kept the song going even longer. The anointing was incredible as Peter announced, “There is healing here. Why wait to the end when you can receive your healing right now?” Bodies everywhere . Peter moved to the piano where a new anointing hit him and he played in the Spirit for a while, even giving us “a love song from the Lord for all of us here”. He called for those who wanted a ‘double portion’ to come forward and more bodies – some helpless with laughter.
Eventually we all moved back to our seats and Peter spoke very briefly on Joshua 24:14-15 ending with “ . . . . . . as for me and my house – we will serve the Lord.” Nearly every person present raised their hand in agreement to this verse. He closed with a prophecy for the church saying that “this church will be a facilitator of revival for Denmark because of the hearts and lives of the Pastors.” Wow – what a meeting. What a blessed time.
In the evening we visited a local couple and spent 5 hours of warm and loving fellowship with them.
On Monday around noon, we went to bless a café in central Copenhagen owned by one of the congregation. In the afternoon, some of the younger generation at Gospel Church came round to join us at the pastors apartment. Another good friend Carsten from another local church also joined us. We had a time of wonderful fellowship and Peter got much more than he bargained for when he called upon each one present in turn to prophesy to him personally. Suffice it to say that, for Peter, a time of repentance and renewed promise followed. He also received a very powerful word about his own anointing and calling.
In the evening we went back to the couple we met on Sunday who had invited another couple round for fellowship. Once again there was a powerful sense of the presence of the Lord and lives were changed. Another good connection was made here into a whole new community of believers we didn’t even know existed. I am sure there will be more on this connection in future.
Tuesday saw us dodging the rain on our journey back to Kastrup Airport as Stan blessed us on our way home. There is much that also happened which cannot be recorded here for the sake of privacy alone. However, two phone calls received by Peter could have opened up doors we could only ever have dreamed about until now. Enough said.
Hallelujah – a wonderful trip. So powerfully anointed it nearly took our breath away. So many were blessed and so many were a blessing to us. Thank you Lord.
Sunday, 15 August 2010
The Great Commission - Another View
The Great Commission - Another View
When Jesus gave us the Great Commission as reported in Matthew 28 & Mark 16, I believe He gave us the just start of the great commission - the bare bones. However, later on, Paul then gave us a greater and deeper insight to what the Great Commission really is all about.
2 Timothy 4:1-5
“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. “
Let’s just examine these words a little bit. Let’s try to grab hold of some of the truth and relevance for today’s church. This is a mighty word from a All-Mighty God
There are five statements or instructions and one terrible warning in this passage so let me take them one at a time and in order and I will try not to miss anything out. This is the Great Commission broken down and presented so that we may best understand what it is the Lord requires of us as His disciples.
1. “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:” Here is the start of your mission statement. Here is your complete authority. You are charged with the following duties
2. “Preach the Word;” What more is there to say. Preach the Word. How many churches this coming weekend will actually preach the Word – the Gospel of Jesus Christ? How many preachers will give an altar call? How many unsaved people will be convicted of their sin and come, fully repentant, before the throne of Grace?
3. “Be prepared in season and out of season;” When Jesus sent the 72 out (Luke 10) He charged them similarly to be prepared wherever you are, whenever you are there, at a moment’s notice – to Preach the Word. To speak Jesus Name to someone or to many someone’s.
4. “Correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” Jesus also charges us or commands us to challenge and correct un-Godly attitudes, talk, thought, or actions. He says for us to rebuke the wrong-doing. Rebuke the sin but love the sinner. He says for us to encourage those who will listen to us to live a more Godly life – to correct the attitude, clean up the talk, control and clean up the thoughts, and to stop or otherwise correct our actions.
5. “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” Here is a ‘today’ warning. How many churches preach to their audience? How many pastors, scared for their own standard of living, preach either easy listening or worse still preach what the congregation want to hear? How many new thoughts on what constitutes the Gospel are being promulgated as the truth when really it is all man made thinking or myth?
6. “But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” Here is the crunch for all of us. Keep your head – don’t go following the latest fad. Don’t give in to external pressure to preach what folk want to hear. Don’t worry about the consequences of preaching what the Lord gives you – just do it !! Endure the hardships your words may cause you when Johnnie Legal rebukes you for preaching the gospel; when pastor chastises you for preaching the truth instead of what he wanted you to preach. If God gives you a word to preach, test it and then preach it if it’s OK. Do the work of an evangelist – what did you think the Great Commission was all about? Preach the Gospel and having done that, then heal the sick and all the rest of it. But preach the Gospel FIRST. In short – discharge ALL of your responsibilities as an evangelist and therefore of your ministry.
There you have, I believe, the gist of what the Great Commission is all about. It’s ALL in God’s Word – every word of it. If it’s not in God’s Word it isn’t worth saying. Preach the Gospel. Preach the Gospel. Preach the Gospel.
Just DO it !!
When Jesus gave us the Great Commission as reported in Matthew 28 & Mark 16, I believe He gave us the just start of the great commission - the bare bones. However, later on, Paul then gave us a greater and deeper insight to what the Great Commission really is all about.
2 Timothy 4:1-5
“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. “
Let’s just examine these words a little bit. Let’s try to grab hold of some of the truth and relevance for today’s church. This is a mighty word from a All-Mighty God
There are five statements or instructions and one terrible warning in this passage so let me take them one at a time and in order and I will try not to miss anything out. This is the Great Commission broken down and presented so that we may best understand what it is the Lord requires of us as His disciples.
1. “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:” Here is the start of your mission statement. Here is your complete authority. You are charged with the following duties
2. “Preach the Word;” What more is there to say. Preach the Word. How many churches this coming weekend will actually preach the Word – the Gospel of Jesus Christ? How many preachers will give an altar call? How many unsaved people will be convicted of their sin and come, fully repentant, before the throne of Grace?
3. “Be prepared in season and out of season;” When Jesus sent the 72 out (Luke 10) He charged them similarly to be prepared wherever you are, whenever you are there, at a moment’s notice – to Preach the Word. To speak Jesus Name to someone or to many someone’s.
4. “Correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” Jesus also charges us or commands us to challenge and correct un-Godly attitudes, talk, thought, or actions. He says for us to rebuke the wrong-doing. Rebuke the sin but love the sinner. He says for us to encourage those who will listen to us to live a more Godly life – to correct the attitude, clean up the talk, control and clean up the thoughts, and to stop or otherwise correct our actions.
5. “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” Here is a ‘today’ warning. How many churches preach to their audience? How many pastors, scared for their own standard of living, preach either easy listening or worse still preach what the congregation want to hear? How many new thoughts on what constitutes the Gospel are being promulgated as the truth when really it is all man made thinking or myth?
6. “But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” Here is the crunch for all of us. Keep your head – don’t go following the latest fad. Don’t give in to external pressure to preach what folk want to hear. Don’t worry about the consequences of preaching what the Lord gives you – just do it !! Endure the hardships your words may cause you when Johnnie Legal rebukes you for preaching the gospel; when pastor chastises you for preaching the truth instead of what he wanted you to preach. If God gives you a word to preach, test it and then preach it if it’s OK. Do the work of an evangelist – what did you think the Great Commission was all about? Preach the Gospel and having done that, then heal the sick and all the rest of it. But preach the Gospel FIRST. In short – discharge ALL of your responsibilities as an evangelist and therefore of your ministry.
There you have, I believe, the gist of what the Great Commission is all about. It’s ALL in God’s Word – every word of it. If it’s not in God’s Word it isn’t worth saying. Preach the Gospel. Preach the Gospel. Preach the Gospel.
Just DO it !!
Fruitless Churches
Fruitless Churches
Can we please bring God – the Lord God Almighty is His Name – back into our churches? One of my favourite ‘tweets’ that I regularly put out on Twitter is this – “The modern church has spent millions of dollars/pounds on 'programs' - so where is all the fruit ?? Why are we not overflowing?”
I was just listening to a 1979 sermon from Keith Green where he spoke of a 1933 book The Revival We Need by Oswald J Smith (apparently now out of print). He quoted the book as saying that “There are 7000 churches in this country where not a single soul was saved in this past year !” If that was true in 1933, then how much more true is it today?
Let me just expand that for you a little bit – these statistics a really shocking :-
That’s 7000 churches with an average of 45 weeks per pastor in their own church preaching 1.5 sermons per week (I’m being conservative)
Hmmm let’s see – that’s about 472,500 sermons and NOT ONE soul saved. Not one soul repented. Not one soul answered an altar call. Let me remind you this is 1933 and 45 weeks per church. If you work it that, with visiting preachers, there are actually 52 weeks per year then the total sermons goes up to 546,000 ! Forgive me, this is years ago – so let’s bring it up to date.
In 1933 the accredited population of the USA was around 125 million. Today, in 2010, it is around 310 million. That is approx 250% increase (I’m not a mathematician so please . . . . ) Given the same increase, that would make your 7000 churches to be around 17,500. However, since there has been a general decline in church going – even though 41% of the current population claim some sort of regular church attendance – let us for simplicity’s sake keep to 7000 churches with a zero return for a whole years work by the pastor. That, at the average salary for each pastor of as low as $30,000 per year means that the church spent a minimum of $210 million for zero return. Add to that the millions of dollars more spent on the various programs – a conservative estimate for programs would be $15,000 per year – a total of $105 million.
This makes a total of around $300 million spent to achieve nothing.
Jesus final words to us were these – “Go into all the world and make disciples of all men.” No wonder the Lord must be shaking His head and no wonder the devil must be so gleeful !! Let me remind you what I said to begin with - “The modern church has spent millions of dollars/pounds on 'programs' - so where is all the fruit ?? Why are we not overflowing?” The church’s job is winning souls. The purpose of ALL of our programs should be winning souls. Winning souls means bringing men and women to repentance and giving their lives to our Lord Jesus Christ. We are told to take such people and make disciples of all of them who will then go out and win more souls to our Lord.
Can we please STOP doing Satan’s job for him and start doing God’s work ?? Can we please bring ALL of our programs into the will of God and not into our own plans?? Can we please start to bring Jesus Christ back into our preaching and sermons with the renewed and sole aim of winning souls to the Lord??
When will we learn that God requires us to do things HIS way and not ours? When will we stop being so arrogant as to assume we know what the Lord wants when we truly very rarely have any idea at all? If I were preaching this I would be shouting at you by now !!
In the UK these figures would be even worse and likewise in most of the Western world. We, the UK , the USA, and the West, have simply lost sight of the Great Commission. Pastoring a church has, in very many cases, become just a job with books to be balanced rather than the vocation and calling of old. We have lost our passion. We have lost or at best forgotten our ‘first love’. There are, thankfully, wonderful signs of real revival stirring throughout Europe.
You may be called home to the Lord tonight. How will you face Him? How will you answer Him when He asks what you did to make disciples of all men? It’s NOT “the Church’s” job. We, the people, are the church so it’s our job. It’s YOUR job – it’s MY job. How will you say you did when you are called to account? How will your account look? Will it balance as the Lord wants? Or will it balance only to your own satisfaction?
Hmmm – I wonder.
Can we please bring God – the Lord God Almighty is His Name – back into our churches? One of my favourite ‘tweets’ that I regularly put out on Twitter is this – “The modern church has spent millions of dollars/pounds on 'programs' - so where is all the fruit ?? Why are we not overflowing?”
I was just listening to a 1979 sermon from Keith Green where he spoke of a 1933 book The Revival We Need by Oswald J Smith (apparently now out of print). He quoted the book as saying that “There are 7000 churches in this country where not a single soul was saved in this past year !” If that was true in 1933, then how much more true is it today?
Let me just expand that for you a little bit – these statistics a really shocking :-
That’s 7000 churches with an average of 45 weeks per pastor in their own church preaching 1.5 sermons per week (I’m being conservative)
Hmmm let’s see – that’s about 472,500 sermons and NOT ONE soul saved. Not one soul repented. Not one soul answered an altar call. Let me remind you this is 1933 and 45 weeks per church. If you work it that, with visiting preachers, there are actually 52 weeks per year then the total sermons goes up to 546,000 ! Forgive me, this is years ago – so let’s bring it up to date.
In 1933 the accredited population of the USA was around 125 million. Today, in 2010, it is around 310 million. That is approx 250% increase (I’m not a mathematician so please . . . . ) Given the same increase, that would make your 7000 churches to be around 17,500. However, since there has been a general decline in church going – even though 41% of the current population claim some sort of regular church attendance – let us for simplicity’s sake keep to 7000 churches with a zero return for a whole years work by the pastor. That, at the average salary for each pastor of as low as $30,000 per year means that the church spent a minimum of $210 million for zero return. Add to that the millions of dollars more spent on the various programs – a conservative estimate for programs would be $15,000 per year – a total of $105 million.
This makes a total of around $300 million spent to achieve nothing.
Jesus final words to us were these – “Go into all the world and make disciples of all men.” No wonder the Lord must be shaking His head and no wonder the devil must be so gleeful !! Let me remind you what I said to begin with - “The modern church has spent millions of dollars/pounds on 'programs' - so where is all the fruit ?? Why are we not overflowing?” The church’s job is winning souls. The purpose of ALL of our programs should be winning souls. Winning souls means bringing men and women to repentance and giving their lives to our Lord Jesus Christ. We are told to take such people and make disciples of all of them who will then go out and win more souls to our Lord.
Can we please STOP doing Satan’s job for him and start doing God’s work ?? Can we please bring ALL of our programs into the will of God and not into our own plans?? Can we please start to bring Jesus Christ back into our preaching and sermons with the renewed and sole aim of winning souls to the Lord??
When will we learn that God requires us to do things HIS way and not ours? When will we stop being so arrogant as to assume we know what the Lord wants when we truly very rarely have any idea at all? If I were preaching this I would be shouting at you by now !!
In the UK these figures would be even worse and likewise in most of the Western world. We, the UK , the USA, and the West, have simply lost sight of the Great Commission. Pastoring a church has, in very many cases, become just a job with books to be balanced rather than the vocation and calling of old. We have lost our passion. We have lost or at best forgotten our ‘first love’. There are, thankfully, wonderful signs of real revival stirring throughout Europe.
You may be called home to the Lord tonight. How will you face Him? How will you answer Him when He asks what you did to make disciples of all men? It’s NOT “the Church’s” job. We, the people, are the church so it’s our job. It’s YOUR job – it’s MY job. How will you say you did when you are called to account? How will your account look? Will it balance as the Lord wants? Or will it balance only to your own satisfaction?
Hmmm – I wonder.
Tuesday, 10 August 2010
The only one left
Have you been working hard for the Lord with little or no support? Have you ever felt that you are the only one bothering to do anything? Have you got to the point of giving up – like Elijah?
1 Kings 19:9b-10
And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
We all reach that point at one time or another. That’s when God reminds us that we are not the only one – we never were. There was always another, maybe ploughing the same lonely furrow. In fact there were probably many others doing the same thing. So the question we find springing to mind is, how do ‘they’ manage while ‘I’ struggle on, always feeling low; always feeling left out; unappreciated and seemingly ignored??
To me it’s probably that some of us love to feel used, trodden on, doormats. The rest of ‘them’ don’t deserve ‘us’ but ‘we’ keep ploughing on regardless. On the other hand there are some in this position who are always cheerful; always positive; always ready to take on even more !!
How do they do that ??
I believe it’s down to attitude – their attitude towards God, life, other people, everything really. People with the more positive attitude always seem to be able to say please and thank you – as if they really mean it too. They are always willing to go the extra mile – to find the extra pennies – to give out far more than they can ever receive back. And - they somehow seem to be thankful for everything. Maybe we can sum them up as having the attitude of gratitude. It’s almost as if they are the living epitome of the ‘Proverbs 31 wife’ – always ready for anything; not fazed by life; never seeming to worry; always lifting people up. The sort of person who has an open door to anyone needing a shoulder to cry on; a sympathetic ear; and a good cup of tea or coffee always ready for you.
And, wouldn’t you believe it, its nearly always a woman. We men aren’t good at that. Too much testosterone – stiff upper lip – nothing ever wrong attitude. Men cannot relax like that – men are mostly lone birds whereas women are birds who flock together, usually chattering noisily. Oh I know I’m stereo-typing – but it’s true.
So what’s to do?
Well God showed Elijah that he was far from alone and, if we could only listen to Him, He would tell us the same thing too. May I encourage all of us to appreciate the people around us. We take so many of them for granted – old Frank always puts the chairs out for the meeting. Tom & Doris always look after the after service refreshments. Pastor always does this and that. We take all these people for granted. Especially those who do the thankless tasks like putting the chairs out and preparing the refreshments. Let’s show them a little more gratitude. Let’s show them that they are not alone and unappreciated. In fact why not honour their selfless efforts in front of the whole church and just thank them publicly. Actually, I think we should all have a kind of Pastors & Helpers Day when he or she is invited to do NOTHING while we do everything for him/her. A day on which we simply show them appreciation for who they are and what they do to make our lives a little bit better.
Let’s all adopt an attitude of gratitude and stop taking all around us for granted.
1 Kings 19:9b-10
And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
We all reach that point at one time or another. That’s when God reminds us that we are not the only one – we never were. There was always another, maybe ploughing the same lonely furrow. In fact there were probably many others doing the same thing. So the question we find springing to mind is, how do ‘they’ manage while ‘I’ struggle on, always feeling low; always feeling left out; unappreciated and seemingly ignored??
To me it’s probably that some of us love to feel used, trodden on, doormats. The rest of ‘them’ don’t deserve ‘us’ but ‘we’ keep ploughing on regardless. On the other hand there are some in this position who are always cheerful; always positive; always ready to take on even more !!
How do they do that ??
I believe it’s down to attitude – their attitude towards God, life, other people, everything really. People with the more positive attitude always seem to be able to say please and thank you – as if they really mean it too. They are always willing to go the extra mile – to find the extra pennies – to give out far more than they can ever receive back. And - they somehow seem to be thankful for everything. Maybe we can sum them up as having the attitude of gratitude. It’s almost as if they are the living epitome of the ‘Proverbs 31 wife’ – always ready for anything; not fazed by life; never seeming to worry; always lifting people up. The sort of person who has an open door to anyone needing a shoulder to cry on; a sympathetic ear; and a good cup of tea or coffee always ready for you.
And, wouldn’t you believe it, its nearly always a woman. We men aren’t good at that. Too much testosterone – stiff upper lip – nothing ever wrong attitude. Men cannot relax like that – men are mostly lone birds whereas women are birds who flock together, usually chattering noisily. Oh I know I’m stereo-typing – but it’s true.
So what’s to do?
Well God showed Elijah that he was far from alone and, if we could only listen to Him, He would tell us the same thing too. May I encourage all of us to appreciate the people around us. We take so many of them for granted – old Frank always puts the chairs out for the meeting. Tom & Doris always look after the after service refreshments. Pastor always does this and that. We take all these people for granted. Especially those who do the thankless tasks like putting the chairs out and preparing the refreshments. Let’s show them a little more gratitude. Let’s show them that they are not alone and unappreciated. In fact why not honour their selfless efforts in front of the whole church and just thank them publicly. Actually, I think we should all have a kind of Pastors & Helpers Day when he or she is invited to do NOTHING while we do everything for him/her. A day on which we simply show them appreciation for who they are and what they do to make our lives a little bit better.
Let’s all adopt an attitude of gratitude and stop taking all around us for granted.
Monday, 9 August 2010
RoFMI Trip Report to Holland July 28 to Aug3 2010
This Thursday saw Peter and John once again flying out to Holland. They were going to visit Alma and Peter in Gasselternijveenschemond; Ton & Joke in Den Helder; Grace & Jan in Wieringerwerf; and finally for Christine de Groot in Rhenen. For some obscure reason known to none of us, we thought that the town of Gasselternijveenschemond is near to Eindhoven. No its not. It is the other end of the country so Alma and Peter had a two and a half hour drive each way to pick them up and transfer them to their first base!! Due apologies were proffered and graciously accepted – that’s the way to start a weekend off isn’t it – NOT.:-) However, all things said, this was one amazing trip which I for one am very sorry to have missed – but grandkids will have their birthdays sometime won’t they?
Alma and Peter de Vor plus their 5 boys live in Gasselternijveenschemond. All things considered, Peter & John got off to a great start despite landing about 250km away from where they needed to be.
There were two meetings on 29th & 30th and Peter spoke on Matthew 17:14-21 on 29th. On 30th Peter announced a ‘visitation by the Lord at 8-30 !!!’ and right at the end of P&W there was some prophetic singing by the keyboard player, Sjoerd, (Alma & Peter’s eldest lad) that ended when the Spirit fell (at 8-30!) and Peter called upon everyone to dance before the Lord. Some danced gently while Sjoerd danced ‘like David before the Lord’. It was a very anointed time. After ministry, Peter spoke again about the nobodies, and the unknowns who will lead the revival in Scandinavia and Holland.
Next to Ton & Joke Zijp in Den Helder; 31st & 1st in the evening of 31st . About 30 people were present. There is a local Internet Called ‘witchdom’. Peter spoke about being aware of such sites and using our authority in Jesus to break their power & influence. He spoke on sin in the church and how the Lord doesn’t tolerate it because the Bride must be clean and sin-free. He said that “Judgement begins in house of Lord.” He spoke on the price of being in revival – of getting clean – dying to self and the possible need for deliverance ministry. He related the story of the lads in Oslo who invited him to speak and of how they spontaneously repented. In the evening of Sunday the1st, when they arrived at the meeting, there were 34 adults 7 kids 2 babies all waiting for them. After some anointed P&W, Peter spoke about when god tells you to do something – you have to do it. He spoke of how the Lord changed what he, Peter, had planned for that evening and that now he was bringing healing to those who most needed it. He spoke about how healing is to do with revival and he gave some examples. He spoke his own personal testimony of his own path to becoming a prophet at the appointed times for him AND he linked that to the meeting for those present, if they were willing to be used. “Tonight is decision night – who will you serve?” He said that “God has entrusted us with this nation and the choice is yours.” He then prayed for all present and then ministered to all who wanted prayer or a personal word from God.
On Sunday Morning they went to Grace & Jan van Damme in Wieringerwerf; where they were introduced to Werner van Suetendael from The House of Prophets in Belgium. Werner ha heard of RoFMI through Jan & Grada and wanted to meet us so he travelled from Belgium just for these meetings. In the meeting there was more anointed P&W. Ton then brought some prophetic words (which were not translated). This was followed by testimony to healing previous day by a young woman whose feet, ankles, and knees were completely restored. Peter spoke once more on 5-fold ministry, the re-instatement of prophets in the church, and the differences between renewal and revival. He said again that ordinary men and women, plus leaders with ‘clean & pure hearts’ will lead the coming revival. Big ministries, per sé, are coming to an end. He referred to the Welsh & Hebridean revivals saying that similar things will be coming whenever revival comes. Finally he gave prophetic words for the nation and individuals. Ministry time finished the meeting.
And so finally to Christine de Groot in Rhenen on Monday they all drove to Rhenen where there was a very warm welcome and a time of fellowship and sharing. The first meeting was at 8 PM when some P&W gave everyone blessed and anointed time. Peter spoke a prophet's warning over Holland and the church saying that problems are due to the enemy and that there is sin in the camp. He then gave words of encouragement that God always keeps his promises. He spoke briefly on Ephesians 6 - spiritual warfare. He gave some advice about getting rid of sin in the church and also gave a reminder that judgement will begin in the church. Then he said this – “You cannot just come to this church to receive – you need to put something back into the church and if you are not prepared to do so then feel free to leave.”
John shared vision of titanic – about folk feeling safe but obviously not being safe. People in the church are not fireproof. Peter spoke on “what could be doesn’t have to be.” If you repent, then that can change things. He Invited everyone to come and meet with the lord for repentance & restoration. Many were prostrated before the Lord.
On the 3rd, they stopped for a visit on way back to Schiphol Airport, to a couple who have prepared their home and land in order to facilitate revival when it comes. This couple have installed accommodation, conference facilities, and P&W equipment. There was a great time of fellowship and prayer – Peter saying that he was in no doubt that this couple they will be used in revival, and that their understanding of what the Lord wants is correct.
So back to the airport for the flight back home on Tuesday evening. This was an exciting visit which showed everyone how God is preparing for revival throughout Holland (and of course Scandinavia). One final sad statistic – they had their latest night ever when they finally went to bed at 04:30 a.m. Now that’s late even by RoFMI standards.
Alma and Peter de Vor plus their 5 boys live in Gasselternijveenschemond. All things considered, Peter & John got off to a great start despite landing about 250km away from where they needed to be.
There were two meetings on 29th & 30th and Peter spoke on Matthew 17:14-21 on 29th. On 30th Peter announced a ‘visitation by the Lord at 8-30 !!!’ and right at the end of P&W there was some prophetic singing by the keyboard player, Sjoerd, (Alma & Peter’s eldest lad) that ended when the Spirit fell (at 8-30!) and Peter called upon everyone to dance before the Lord. Some danced gently while Sjoerd danced ‘like David before the Lord’. It was a very anointed time. After ministry, Peter spoke again about the nobodies, and the unknowns who will lead the revival in Scandinavia and Holland.
Next to Ton & Joke Zijp in Den Helder; 31st & 1st in the evening of 31st . About 30 people were present. There is a local Internet Called ‘witchdom’. Peter spoke about being aware of such sites and using our authority in Jesus to break their power & influence. He spoke on sin in the church and how the Lord doesn’t tolerate it because the Bride must be clean and sin-free. He said that “Judgement begins in house of Lord.” He spoke on the price of being in revival – of getting clean – dying to self and the possible need for deliverance ministry. He related the story of the lads in Oslo who invited him to speak and of how they spontaneously repented. In the evening of Sunday the1st, when they arrived at the meeting, there were 34 adults 7 kids 2 babies all waiting for them. After some anointed P&W, Peter spoke about when god tells you to do something – you have to do it. He spoke of how the Lord changed what he, Peter, had planned for that evening and that now he was bringing healing to those who most needed it. He spoke about how healing is to do with revival and he gave some examples. He spoke his own personal testimony of his own path to becoming a prophet at the appointed times for him AND he linked that to the meeting for those present, if they were willing to be used. “Tonight is decision night – who will you serve?” He said that “God has entrusted us with this nation and the choice is yours.” He then prayed for all present and then ministered to all who wanted prayer or a personal word from God.
On Sunday Morning they went to Grace & Jan van Damme in Wieringerwerf; where they were introduced to Werner van Suetendael from The House of Prophets in Belgium. Werner ha heard of RoFMI through Jan & Grada and wanted to meet us so he travelled from Belgium just for these meetings. In the meeting there was more anointed P&W. Ton then brought some prophetic words (which were not translated). This was followed by testimony to healing previous day by a young woman whose feet, ankles, and knees were completely restored. Peter spoke once more on 5-fold ministry, the re-instatement of prophets in the church, and the differences between renewal and revival. He said again that ordinary men and women, plus leaders with ‘clean & pure hearts’ will lead the coming revival. Big ministries, per sé, are coming to an end. He referred to the Welsh & Hebridean revivals saying that similar things will be coming whenever revival comes. Finally he gave prophetic words for the nation and individuals. Ministry time finished the meeting.
And so finally to Christine de Groot in Rhenen on Monday they all drove to Rhenen where there was a very warm welcome and a time of fellowship and sharing. The first meeting was at 8 PM when some P&W gave everyone blessed and anointed time. Peter spoke a prophet's warning over Holland and the church saying that problems are due to the enemy and that there is sin in the camp. He then gave words of encouragement that God always keeps his promises. He spoke briefly on Ephesians 6 - spiritual warfare. He gave some advice about getting rid of sin in the church and also gave a reminder that judgement will begin in the church. Then he said this – “You cannot just come to this church to receive – you need to put something back into the church and if you are not prepared to do so then feel free to leave.”
John shared vision of titanic – about folk feeling safe but obviously not being safe. People in the church are not fireproof. Peter spoke on “what could be doesn’t have to be.” If you repent, then that can change things. He Invited everyone to come and meet with the lord for repentance & restoration. Many were prostrated before the Lord.
On the 3rd, they stopped for a visit on way back to Schiphol Airport, to a couple who have prepared their home and land in order to facilitate revival when it comes. This couple have installed accommodation, conference facilities, and P&W equipment. There was a great time of fellowship and prayer – Peter saying that he was in no doubt that this couple they will be used in revival, and that their understanding of what the Lord wants is correct.
So back to the airport for the flight back home on Tuesday evening. This was an exciting visit which showed everyone how God is preparing for revival throughout Holland (and of course Scandinavia). One final sad statistic – they had their latest night ever when they finally went to bed at 04:30 a.m. Now that’s late even by RoFMI standards.
Wednesday, 4 August 2010
Preach the Word
Preach the Word
I was once given a prophecy directly from the Word of God
2 Timothy 4:1-5 (NIV)
“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”
Given that, at that time, I had rarely stood before any church and spoken at all, let alone preached, this word came as a bit of a shock. The lady who gave me this word is a respected prophet in her own right and I have known her now for somewhere around 5 years. She said that God had first brought me to her remembrance, and then He had given her a definite instruction to speak these words to me as a prophecy.
So, what is the point I am making? The Lord has been taking me on a bit of a journey these last three to four years. He birthed my own prophetic ministry in October 2007 and I have learned a little bit of the art of oratory – a tiny little bit. Now, the Lord seems to be drawing me in from the wilderness, if that is where I have been, and He seems to be taking me on a completely new, totally unexpected adventure in which He is showing me speaking quite a lot and ministering even more than I do now.
The point is this – If the Lord can use someone like me to speak, to prophesy, to do all the Great Commission things, then He can and WILL use you too. I am not a particularly learned man. I have not been to any Bible School. I have not learned or even read about homiletics. In fact I have only been in serious ministry since I was 64 years of age. Oh – I have a reasonable intelligence and I seem to have a penchant for writing and communication, but unlike so many of my contemporaries, my own peer group, I have little or no book learning. I have a very little experience of prophecy, healing, and deliverance ministry and prophetically, I believe I am regarded as accurate, but in the worlds eyes, I am superbly unqualified to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Actually, I am probably totally unqualified in most of the Church’s eyes too and yet the Lord not only uses me now, but He has said through His prophets that He is going to use me much more in the near future. Believe me, I am praying earnestly about all of this because not only do I believe His prophecies, but I know He qill equip me too. Isn’t that the key? “Whom the Lord chooses, He uses and whom He uses, He qualifies and equips.”
So let me encourage those among you who have been called but who, perhaps, have yet to step out in faith. If the Lord has chosen you to preach His wonderful Gospel of Jesus Christ – then He will also surely qualify you, and equip you for the job He has called you to do. Better still, don’t go looking for the opportunity for it will equally surely come your way. All we need to do is to pray and claim the promises He has made to us. After all, God is neither a liar, nor is He any mans debtor and He will provide for you to do everything that He asks of you.
Mark 16:15-18 "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
I was once given a prophecy directly from the Word of God
2 Timothy 4:1-5 (NIV)
“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”
Given that, at that time, I had rarely stood before any church and spoken at all, let alone preached, this word came as a bit of a shock. The lady who gave me this word is a respected prophet in her own right and I have known her now for somewhere around 5 years. She said that God had first brought me to her remembrance, and then He had given her a definite instruction to speak these words to me as a prophecy.
So, what is the point I am making? The Lord has been taking me on a bit of a journey these last three to four years. He birthed my own prophetic ministry in October 2007 and I have learned a little bit of the art of oratory – a tiny little bit. Now, the Lord seems to be drawing me in from the wilderness, if that is where I have been, and He seems to be taking me on a completely new, totally unexpected adventure in which He is showing me speaking quite a lot and ministering even more than I do now.
The point is this – If the Lord can use someone like me to speak, to prophesy, to do all the Great Commission things, then He can and WILL use you too. I am not a particularly learned man. I have not been to any Bible School. I have not learned or even read about homiletics. In fact I have only been in serious ministry since I was 64 years of age. Oh – I have a reasonable intelligence and I seem to have a penchant for writing and communication, but unlike so many of my contemporaries, my own peer group, I have little or no book learning. I have a very little experience of prophecy, healing, and deliverance ministry and prophetically, I believe I am regarded as accurate, but in the worlds eyes, I am superbly unqualified to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Actually, I am probably totally unqualified in most of the Church’s eyes too and yet the Lord not only uses me now, but He has said through His prophets that He is going to use me much more in the near future. Believe me, I am praying earnestly about all of this because not only do I believe His prophecies, but I know He qill equip me too. Isn’t that the key? “Whom the Lord chooses, He uses and whom He uses, He qualifies and equips.”
So let me encourage those among you who have been called but who, perhaps, have yet to step out in faith. If the Lord has chosen you to preach His wonderful Gospel of Jesus Christ – then He will also surely qualify you, and equip you for the job He has called you to do. Better still, don’t go looking for the opportunity for it will equally surely come your way. All we need to do is to pray and claim the promises He has made to us. After all, God is neither a liar, nor is He any mans debtor and He will provide for you to do everything that He asks of you.
Mark 16:15-18 "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
Be STILL
This morning, I found myself writing this - Be still in the storm. Be still in sickness. Be still in trouble. Be still in everything. Psalm 46:10 “Be still and KNOW that I am God.”
How many of us know the scripture? How many of us obey it?
Do you know how to be still? I didn’t – until the Lord ‘stilled’ me by allowing sickness to lay me low – unable to drive and unable to walk in a straight line for three or four weeks.
It doesn’t matter how fierce the storm in your life rages – Jesus rebuked the storm and it was still. He calls us to simply be still in the middle of our storm. To have faith. To trust in Him and in His Word. To “be still and KNOW that He is God.” (Emphasis mine)
It doesn’t matter what your illness or sickness is – He calls us to be still in the midst of it. Better yet, He tells us to cast all our cares upon Him as He cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7). In fact ‘His grace is sufficient for you, for His power is made perfect in your weakness.’ (My paraphrase from 2 Cor 12:9) Testifying to this, I can confirm that in the middle of the greatest ‘storm’ in my life, that I was both able to be still before His throne of Grace and that that grace was and still is more that sufficient for me – and you.
Do we know troubles? Here in the Western Church we have been so protected that I think we know very little of troubles. The persecuted church throughout the world can testify to their personal peace, to His Grace in times of trouble. They know how to be still before God, and how to allow His Grace to minister to their troubled minds and souls. We who know little of troubles would do well to try to follow their wonderful example and to feel for ourselves the soothing balm of Gods wonderful Grace when we are still before Him.
There is such peace that we forfeit, such overwhelming all-encompassing peace that we miss in our own personal turmoil. If only we could learn to be still before the throne of God. If only we could just be still long enough to experience His peace. Then, we would never doubt again God’s desire that we be still before Him and receive the ‘peace which passes all understanding’.
Yes – its true. If we can only be still and know that He is God, then we would live much more peaceable lives. His love would shine so much brighter through us. Our souls would be much easier. All because we think about, then obey His command to “Be still and KNOW that I am God.”
How many of us know the scripture? How many of us obey it?
Do you know how to be still? I didn’t – until the Lord ‘stilled’ me by allowing sickness to lay me low – unable to drive and unable to walk in a straight line for three or four weeks.
It doesn’t matter how fierce the storm in your life rages – Jesus rebuked the storm and it was still. He calls us to simply be still in the middle of our storm. To have faith. To trust in Him and in His Word. To “be still and KNOW that He is God.” (Emphasis mine)
It doesn’t matter what your illness or sickness is – He calls us to be still in the midst of it. Better yet, He tells us to cast all our cares upon Him as He cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7). In fact ‘His grace is sufficient for you, for His power is made perfect in your weakness.’ (My paraphrase from 2 Cor 12:9) Testifying to this, I can confirm that in the middle of the greatest ‘storm’ in my life, that I was both able to be still before His throne of Grace and that that grace was and still is more that sufficient for me – and you.
Do we know troubles? Here in the Western Church we have been so protected that I think we know very little of troubles. The persecuted church throughout the world can testify to their personal peace, to His Grace in times of trouble. They know how to be still before God, and how to allow His Grace to minister to their troubled minds and souls. We who know little of troubles would do well to try to follow their wonderful example and to feel for ourselves the soothing balm of Gods wonderful Grace when we are still before Him.
There is such peace that we forfeit, such overwhelming all-encompassing peace that we miss in our own personal turmoil. If only we could learn to be still before the throne of God. If only we could just be still long enough to experience His peace. Then, we would never doubt again God’s desire that we be still before Him and receive the ‘peace which passes all understanding’.
Yes – its true. If we can only be still and know that He is God, then we would live much more peaceable lives. His love would shine so much brighter through us. Our souls would be much easier. All because we think about, then obey His command to “Be still and KNOW that I am God.”
Tuesday, 3 August 2010
Encouragement
There is a lot of doom and gloom around right now. We are being warned about collapsing economies, about oppression, the suppression of free speech, the erosion of family values and so on – the list is endless. So I just want to have a look at the wonderful encouragement the Lord has for us today and every day. I want to remind myself and all of us of just a few of the Lords sure and unmoveable promises. I have to limit my comments to keep this readable but I am sure you will follow me :-)
Be encouraged - Firstly, our wonderful Father God is a loving God – John 3:16 says it all. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Be encouraged - We can take all our cares to Him 1 Peter 5:7 'cos He cares for us.
”Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
Be encouraged - He is the God who heals us Exodus 15:26, He said, "......... for I am the LORD, who heals you."
Be encouraged - He heals all our sickness and forgives all our sins, Psalm 103:1-3. “Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.”
Be encouraged - By His wounds we ARE healed Isaiah 53:5. “But he was pierced for our transgressions,... and by his wounds we are healed.”
Be encouraged - Just remember nothing can happen today or any day that you and the Lord cannot handle together. Nothing can defeat you.
Be encouraged - Our hope is in Him Hebrews 11:1. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. “
Be encouraged - Gods word is GOOD Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.”
Be encouraged - Gods plans for us are GOOD Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have to prosper you and to give you hope & a future.”
Be encouraged - What a great promise for all of us "For I will forgive their wickedness and I will remember their sins no more." Jeremiah 31:34b
Be encouraged - "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” Isaiah 43:25 !!
God even gave us His phone number Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know”
Be encouraged - The Word of God does not lie; God does not lie; He does not change His mind - So then all His promises to us are trustworthy
Be encouraged - Listen to what the Lord is saying now – “The days are coming when many shall turn to me. Those who doubt now, those who do not believe in Me now, those who have wandered off like lost sheep. I am raising a new end-time army of believers. Those who will believe despite what circumstances scream out to them; those who believe despite and whatever the world throws at them; those who will believe through the worst possible persecution – even unto death. The world is turning against Me”, says the Lord, “ but I already knew this before I laid the foundations of the earth. The world does not realise this, yet even if they did, yet they would still despise Me. And they will despise you too because you speak My Name – because you believe in Me and in the One I sent. Even so,” says the Lord, “because your hope is steadfast and is rooted in Me, yet will I uphold you; yet will I justify you even in the worlds eyes. Do not lose sight of My Kingdom for it shall be your reward. Do not bow the knee to anyone but My Son for He is your saviour. Always remember that I, the Lord God Almighty, love you and I am with you – even to the end of the age. I am your provider. I am your Father. I love you – even you.”
Be encouraged – When I think of what Jesus has done for me I just worship Him. It simply makes all of my problems seem so much smaller.
Be encouraged – when we hear the testimony of the saints, our hearts should swell with awe & wonder at our Lord & Saviour. What a mighty God we serve.
Be encouraged - Matt 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
Be encouraged - God is never late, He is never early, His Word is always right on time and perfect for whatever your situation @ that moment
Be encouraged - "Do not judge each day by the harvest you reaped, but by the seeds you have sown." - ANON
Be encouraged - Firstly, our wonderful Father God is a loving God – John 3:16 says it all. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Be encouraged - We can take all our cares to Him 1 Peter 5:7 'cos He cares for us.
”Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
Be encouraged - He is the God who heals us Exodus 15:26, He said, "......... for I am the LORD, who heals you."
Be encouraged - He heals all our sickness and forgives all our sins, Psalm 103:1-3. “Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.”
Be encouraged - By His wounds we ARE healed Isaiah 53:5. “But he was pierced for our transgressions,... and by his wounds we are healed.”
Be encouraged - Just remember nothing can happen today or any day that you and the Lord cannot handle together. Nothing can defeat you.
Be encouraged - Our hope is in Him Hebrews 11:1. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. “
Be encouraged - Gods word is GOOD Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.”
Be encouraged - Gods plans for us are GOOD Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have to prosper you and to give you hope & a future.”
Be encouraged - What a great promise for all of us "For I will forgive their wickedness and I will remember their sins no more." Jeremiah 31:34b
Be encouraged - "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” Isaiah 43:25 !!
God even gave us His phone number Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know”
Be encouraged - The Word of God does not lie; God does not lie; He does not change His mind - So then all His promises to us are trustworthy
Be encouraged - Listen to what the Lord is saying now – “The days are coming when many shall turn to me. Those who doubt now, those who do not believe in Me now, those who have wandered off like lost sheep. I am raising a new end-time army of believers. Those who will believe despite what circumstances scream out to them; those who believe despite and whatever the world throws at them; those who will believe through the worst possible persecution – even unto death. The world is turning against Me”, says the Lord, “ but I already knew this before I laid the foundations of the earth. The world does not realise this, yet even if they did, yet they would still despise Me. And they will despise you too because you speak My Name – because you believe in Me and in the One I sent. Even so,” says the Lord, “because your hope is steadfast and is rooted in Me, yet will I uphold you; yet will I justify you even in the worlds eyes. Do not lose sight of My Kingdom for it shall be your reward. Do not bow the knee to anyone but My Son for He is your saviour. Always remember that I, the Lord God Almighty, love you and I am with you – even to the end of the age. I am your provider. I am your Father. I love you – even you.”
Be encouraged – When I think of what Jesus has done for me I just worship Him. It simply makes all of my problems seem so much smaller.
Be encouraged – when we hear the testimony of the saints, our hearts should swell with awe & wonder at our Lord & Saviour. What a mighty God we serve.
Be encouraged - Matt 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
Be encouraged - God is never late, He is never early, His Word is always right on time and perfect for whatever your situation @ that moment
Be encouraged - "Do not judge each day by the harvest you reaped, but by the seeds you have sown." - ANON
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