Yvette: Some here may feel that giving everything up to God, surrendering to God, is like leaving your home open to burglars - scary/dangerous - I feel God would say to you He comes with love; you are opening yourself up to someone who wants to bless you, to love you. I feel he is asking you: 'Let me in because I want to give you the desires of your heart - I want to lift your burdens - I want to give you joy and peace.' Yvette invited us to surrender to the Holy Spirit, to let Him in.
Ross G_: I had a picture: it's Christmas Eve - you're peeping round the door into the room where the presents are - you feel really naughty, but God is saying "No, it's not naughty - come and see". You go in and look at all the presents round the tree and look to see which one is for you - and you feel REALLY naughty now, but God is saying, "No, it's not naughty - that is a gift for you" and He wants you to open it right now, not tentatively, but ripping the wrappings off - He wants you to receive your gift right now!
Sally: When Moses was told to speak to Pharaoh, he had doubts about his ability. I feel someone here is feeling a bit afraid. I think God wants to reassure you - He is not going to give us something which is bad for us - He's going to give us something that will advance His Kingdom. Trust God and what we know about Him through Jesus - let go! Take that step of moving into the fulfillment of all that God has for you.
Sunday 28 June 2009
Morning Service: Words during Worship
David D_: was inspired to sing in the Spirit.
Beverley: I will exalt you, my God the King; great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; from one generation to another - I shall meditate on your works and proclaim your great deeds; you are rich in love, good to all and abounding in compassion. The Saints will extol you so that all may know of your glorious acts - your Word shall endure through all generations.
Carol M_: (Carol read from Isaiah 43.19-21)
For I am about to do something new.
See I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
The wild animals in the field will thank me,
the jackals and owls too,
for giving them water in the desert.
Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland
So my chosen people can be refreshed.
I have made Israel for myself,
and they will honour me before the whole world.
I felt that God was saying:
‘Many of you may say I have been this way before, this is familiar. But I say to you, do not say I have been this way before because I have started something new in this church and I want to start something new in each one of you.
Its not something you can perceive or truly understand in the natural but only by my spirit, for does it not say in my word ‘this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the spirit’ (1 Corinths2 V13), so I say to you now is the time to allow my spirit to take you deeper and you will see new things and I will take you along new paths.
Do you remember the word I gave you through Mark at the start of the year, that I was giving you a roadmap and that you were to trust me in the direction I wanted to take you in. Well, that is what I say to you now, trust me, allow me to navigate you, expect to see new things as you go in a direction you have not been before. Enjoy the detours, explore new depths in me.
And I will make streams in the desert so that you my people can be refreshed, and so that my name goes out from this place and touches those around you. Streams of living water will flow from each one of you and you will be my channels in which to reach the hurting, the broken, the lost, the rejected, the despised. So drink and drink and drink so that you can be refreshed.’
Lorraine G_: In the front of a British passport it reads, 'Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State Requests and requires in the Name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance, and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.' I expect that to happen - I never go anywhere without expecting that to happen. What does God say? He says He is with us! Trust in His Word and in His Spirit to be with you every step.
Joseph: Earlier on I felt strongly God saying yes, His power is full of grace, He is ready to reveal His sovereignty - we need to play our part - there are all kinds of negative messages in the media; God asks us 'whose voice are you listening to?' David chose to listen to God's voice; Samuel chose to listen to God's voice; Daniel chose to listen to God's voice; Elijah chose to listen to God's voice - all these were able to overcome. Whose voice are you listening to?
Simon B_: (Simon read from Genesis 15:1-6)
After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
"Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. "
But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."
Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Looking at Iran, seeing the changes - how do you look at the world around you? Are you looking with your own vision, or wearing 'lenses' God puts in front of you to see clearly? Abraham's righteousness depended upon believing God's word - we have to accept the righteousness of Jesus Christ and live in it to know the fruit of that obedience.
Dan R_: Dan spoke about his experience of the Holy Spirit - this is recorded in full in a separate blog post.
Beverley: I will exalt you, my God the King; great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; from one generation to another - I shall meditate on your works and proclaim your great deeds; you are rich in love, good to all and abounding in compassion. The Saints will extol you so that all may know of your glorious acts - your Word shall endure through all generations.
Carol M_: (Carol read from Isaiah 43.19-21)
For I am about to do something new.
See I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
The wild animals in the field will thank me,
the jackals and owls too,
for giving them water in the desert.
Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland
So my chosen people can be refreshed.
I have made Israel for myself,
and they will honour me before the whole world.
I felt that God was saying:
‘Many of you may say I have been this way before, this is familiar. But I say to you, do not say I have been this way before because I have started something new in this church and I want to start something new in each one of you.
Its not something you can perceive or truly understand in the natural but only by my spirit, for does it not say in my word ‘this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the spirit’ (1 Corinths2 V13), so I say to you now is the time to allow my spirit to take you deeper and you will see new things and I will take you along new paths.
Do you remember the word I gave you through Mark at the start of the year, that I was giving you a roadmap and that you were to trust me in the direction I wanted to take you in. Well, that is what I say to you now, trust me, allow me to navigate you, expect to see new things as you go in a direction you have not been before. Enjoy the detours, explore new depths in me.
And I will make streams in the desert so that you my people can be refreshed, and so that my name goes out from this place and touches those around you. Streams of living water will flow from each one of you and you will be my channels in which to reach the hurting, the broken, the lost, the rejected, the despised. So drink and drink and drink so that you can be refreshed.’
Lorraine G_: In the front of a British passport it reads, 'Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State Requests and requires in the Name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance, and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.' I expect that to happen - I never go anywhere without expecting that to happen. What does God say? He says He is with us! Trust in His Word and in His Spirit to be with you every step.
Joseph: Earlier on I felt strongly God saying yes, His power is full of grace, He is ready to reveal His sovereignty - we need to play our part - there are all kinds of negative messages in the media; God asks us 'whose voice are you listening to?' David chose to listen to God's voice; Samuel chose to listen to God's voice; Daniel chose to listen to God's voice; Elijah chose to listen to God's voice - all these were able to overcome. Whose voice are you listening to?
Simon B_: (Simon read from Genesis 15:1-6)
After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
"Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. "
But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."
Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Looking at Iran, seeing the changes - how do you look at the world around you? Are you looking with your own vision, or wearing 'lenses' God puts in front of you to see clearly? Abraham's righteousness depended upon believing God's word - we have to accept the righteousness of Jesus Christ and live in it to know the fruit of that obedience.
Dan R_: Dan spoke about his experience of the Holy Spirit - this is recorded in full in a separate blog post.
Dan's Words during Worship
2009 Holy Spirit Experience
It was the 5th April 2008 on the Freedom in Christ away day that I first experienced the Holy Spirit in action. During that time you ask God to show you areas of your life that aren’t “of God” and then commit them to him knowing that Jesus has already set you free from their strongholds by his death on the cross. While we were praying and meditating I experienced a wide range of emotions and things that I thought I had long since forgotten were shown to me and were prayed through. I returned from that day changed and closer to God but still not clear about having received the fruits of the spirit as listed in Galatians, I still wasn’t praying in tongues much and prophecies and words from God were few and far between.
2009 started with a prompting for me to go to the Holy Sprit prayer session during the week of prayer. While I again did not notice an outpouring of the spirit I did feel that 2009 was going to be a significant year in my Christian walk and that something was going to happen.
Some months later I met with someone who told me I needed to “Tune in” to what God’s saying. Not something I knew how to do but he gave me some passages to read (basically every reference to the Holy Spirit in Luke!) and a short but excellent book “Prison to Praise” by Merlin Carothers. It’s the story of a man’s journey from the wilderness to a spirit filled life including an account of how many times he was prayed for expecting the Holy Spirit to baptise him, how often that didn’t happen and what happened when it eventually did.
Coincidentally (a lot of coincidences happen when God’s involved!), the Word Plus bible study course I was on did a whole day on the Holy Spirit that week also which gave me lots more to investigate some of which I did but a lot of which got prioritised behind everyday activities, work etc and has not been followed up.
Either way I still got the feeling of something big going to happen this year but I didn’t know what. There had been many times when at the end of a Sunday morning the preacher had asked who wants a fresh outpouring of the spirit but I’d always been reluctant or I felt I didn’t fit the particular category being requested. I didn’t need healing or a relationship to be repaired or strength in Evangelism so I stayed in my seat. Another possible reason for me not going forward is that I felt wary of the responsibility of being baptised in the Spirit. Would I be anointed to preach, heal people or suddenly get a heart for evangelism and spend every weekend on outreaches when I already feel busy enough in the week?
But on 24th May, Nigel was preaching on the difficult content in Colossians 3 about families and “wives submit to your husbands” etc and at the end Peter asked for responses including specifically that people needed to be brave and step forward to receive the Holy Spirit. I hesitated (as I have done before) but I also felt excited about going up. Partly nervous, but also excited about doing this so I made the choice to go and be prayed for.
Peter was praying along the line and I sneaked a look to see where he was – 2 people away. I closed my eyes, hands open and waited. Suddenly I could hear someone praying for me in front of me but I knew there was someone in the line before me so I thought that Peter had maybe missed someone out. Then surprisingly I heard Peter start praying for me. I think I felt his hand touch my chest and then I opened my eyes to see the underside of a front row chair!
I’m not sure how long I was on the floor for – I just knew I had experienced so many different emotions while I was there – elation, sadness, despair, hope. I knew I had been crying and that something was different. I felt that God had re-emphasized Nigels message in that the place I needed to concentrate right now was on my family and at home rather than anywhere else. I also knew that I had been given a clear instruction from God which was that I needed to call my parents (not a particularly close relationship), tell them I love them and apologise for the things I’d done when I was living at home and also some of the not so respectful things I do and say now. They were slightly confused when I said this on the phone (not the sort of conversation we normally have) but part of me feels at peace that I did this and I can see why I needed to do it.
The following week, I was at the front again asking for the Holy Spirit to flood my life again and I started whispering in tongues. Not quite proper praying but I ran out of words and the Holy Spirit seemed to fill the gap. That’s happened a number of times since then and it seems that I’m getting more confident each time it happens.
The big difference is that I now feel “tuned in” to God. I know that if I get a prompting to do something, no matter how random or irrelevant it is, if it’s the Holy Spirit doing the prompting then there’s a good reason to do it. Of course, my own weaknesses sometimes get in the way of that (like waiting for the right time to share a word or picture and then realising that the prayer meeting is over!) but at least I’m more aware of what it feels like when the Holy Spirit is at work. For me personally, I’ve changed from believing that God is there and involved in our lives to knowing that He’s there and that he loves us all.
Dan R_
(posted with Dan's permission)
It was the 5th April 2008 on the Freedom in Christ away day that I first experienced the Holy Spirit in action. During that time you ask God to show you areas of your life that aren’t “of God” and then commit them to him knowing that Jesus has already set you free from their strongholds by his death on the cross. While we were praying and meditating I experienced a wide range of emotions and things that I thought I had long since forgotten were shown to me and were prayed through. I returned from that day changed and closer to God but still not clear about having received the fruits of the spirit as listed in Galatians, I still wasn’t praying in tongues much and prophecies and words from God were few and far between.
2009 started with a prompting for me to go to the Holy Sprit prayer session during the week of prayer. While I again did not notice an outpouring of the spirit I did feel that 2009 was going to be a significant year in my Christian walk and that something was going to happen.
Some months later I met with someone who told me I needed to “Tune in” to what God’s saying. Not something I knew how to do but he gave me some passages to read (basically every reference to the Holy Spirit in Luke!) and a short but excellent book “Prison to Praise” by Merlin Carothers. It’s the story of a man’s journey from the wilderness to a spirit filled life including an account of how many times he was prayed for expecting the Holy Spirit to baptise him, how often that didn’t happen and what happened when it eventually did.
Coincidentally (a lot of coincidences happen when God’s involved!), the Word Plus bible study course I was on did a whole day on the Holy Spirit that week also which gave me lots more to investigate some of which I did but a lot of which got prioritised behind everyday activities, work etc and has not been followed up.
Either way I still got the feeling of something big going to happen this year but I didn’t know what. There had been many times when at the end of a Sunday morning the preacher had asked who wants a fresh outpouring of the spirit but I’d always been reluctant or I felt I didn’t fit the particular category being requested. I didn’t need healing or a relationship to be repaired or strength in Evangelism so I stayed in my seat. Another possible reason for me not going forward is that I felt wary of the responsibility of being baptised in the Spirit. Would I be anointed to preach, heal people or suddenly get a heart for evangelism and spend every weekend on outreaches when I already feel busy enough in the week?
But on 24th May, Nigel was preaching on the difficult content in Colossians 3 about families and “wives submit to your husbands” etc and at the end Peter asked for responses including specifically that people needed to be brave and step forward to receive the Holy Spirit. I hesitated (as I have done before) but I also felt excited about going up. Partly nervous, but also excited about doing this so I made the choice to go and be prayed for.
Peter was praying along the line and I sneaked a look to see where he was – 2 people away. I closed my eyes, hands open and waited. Suddenly I could hear someone praying for me in front of me but I knew there was someone in the line before me so I thought that Peter had maybe missed someone out. Then surprisingly I heard Peter start praying for me. I think I felt his hand touch my chest and then I opened my eyes to see the underside of a front row chair!
I’m not sure how long I was on the floor for – I just knew I had experienced so many different emotions while I was there – elation, sadness, despair, hope. I knew I had been crying and that something was different. I felt that God had re-emphasized Nigels message in that the place I needed to concentrate right now was on my family and at home rather than anywhere else. I also knew that I had been given a clear instruction from God which was that I needed to call my parents (not a particularly close relationship), tell them I love them and apologise for the things I’d done when I was living at home and also some of the not so respectful things I do and say now. They were slightly confused when I said this on the phone (not the sort of conversation we normally have) but part of me feels at peace that I did this and I can see why I needed to do it.
The following week, I was at the front again asking for the Holy Spirit to flood my life again and I started whispering in tongues. Not quite proper praying but I ran out of words and the Holy Spirit seemed to fill the gap. That’s happened a number of times since then and it seems that I’m getting more confident each time it happens.
The big difference is that I now feel “tuned in” to God. I know that if I get a prompting to do something, no matter how random or irrelevant it is, if it’s the Holy Spirit doing the prompting then there’s a good reason to do it. Of course, my own weaknesses sometimes get in the way of that (like waiting for the right time to share a word or picture and then realising that the prayer meeting is over!) but at least I’m more aware of what it feels like when the Holy Spirit is at work. For me personally, I’ve changed from believing that God is there and involved in our lives to knowing that He’s there and that he loves us all.
Dan R_
(posted with Dan's permission)
Sunday 21 June 2009
The Spirit Sings
MORNING SERVICE
Nigel spoke out in the spirit, declaring God is the source of our support and welcoming Jesus to come.
Ross: "When you got up this morning, as you took my hand and we began walking down the same path as always, did I not hear you looking over the hedge and wondering what the view would be like? Let's be different today - let's step outside the safety of the hedge, let's begin to see the wonderful view beyond the boundary - let's walk down that different path and see the new thing I have planned for you!"
Paula: We've been singing about praise rising to God and how in His spirit all things are made new - (Reading from Ezekiel chapter 37 - The Valley of Dry Bones) We say to you now, come, Lord Jesus, come and take your place in our hearts!
Denise: We were singing 'As we bow down, be lifted up' - I felt that some are burdened with worry or worldly troubles - 'But you are a shield around me, O Lord, you bestow glory on me and lift my head' (Psalm 3: 3) Give your worries up to Him now - the Word says 'Be still and know that I AM God'.
Mark encouraged people to allow this word to soak in, to give up any financial worries or relational difficulties to the Holy Spirit and to lift up our voices, to sing aloud in the Spirit, to sing out in tongues, to trust Him - those funny words coming out of your mouth are really Him, trust Him, trust the Holy Spirit.
Peter W: spoke on Ezekiel 47:1 - 12. We need to be ready to go with whatever God wants to do. God is inventive/creative - doing a fresh new thing - be open.
If you would describe your life as 'arabah' - burnt land/desert - God wants to say to you today, "Let my river flow through your life and make it fresh - let my Spirit flow through you and bring healing".
EVENING PRAYER MEETING
The longest day of the year, and a beautiful evening - as we arrived and began to gather in the warmth of the late sunshine, we agreed to meet outside. In fact, as things turned out, we had no choice as the person with the key didn't arrive - but already the decision had been made. David D_ drew our attention to the sound of the wind rustling in the leaves on the trees and spoke about the move of the Spirit.
(I thought of Ronnie Wilson's song:
I hear the sound of rustling in the leaves of the trees
The Spirit of the Lord has come down on the earth
The church that seemed in slumber has now risen from its knees
And dry bones are responding with the fruits of new birth
Oh, this is now a time for declaration
The word will go to all men everywhere
The church is here for healing of the nations
Behold the day of Jesus drawing near ....)
Paula felt it was prophetic that we were outside, hearing the rustle of the leaves in the trees, that it was symbolic of how as a church we would soon not have a building - how we feel a little vulnerable, outside the safe environment - and that it's where God wants us to be - stepping out.
Luke felt similarly - that this (being outside) is part of the natural order of things - as we're thinking about the river flowing, (Peter's sermon in the morning had been on the river flowing from the Temple, symbolising the Holy Spirit) about immersing ourselves in the river - about the cleansing power. In Cape Town the air has great quality because of the wind which sweeps away any pollution.
David D_ drew our attention to the fact we were stood under a Mulberry Tree and read the Scripture: The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"
He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you. "Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' "(Luke 17: 5-10). David D_ emphasised from this:
Nigel spoke out in the spirit, declaring God is the source of our support and welcoming Jesus to come.
Ross: "When you got up this morning, as you took my hand and we began walking down the same path as always, did I not hear you looking over the hedge and wondering what the view would be like? Let's be different today - let's step outside the safety of the hedge, let's begin to see the wonderful view beyond the boundary - let's walk down that different path and see the new thing I have planned for you!"
Paula: We've been singing about praise rising to God and how in His spirit all things are made new - (Reading from Ezekiel chapter 37 - The Valley of Dry Bones) We say to you now, come, Lord Jesus, come and take your place in our hearts!
Denise: We were singing 'As we bow down, be lifted up' - I felt that some are burdened with worry or worldly troubles - 'But you are a shield around me, O Lord, you bestow glory on me and lift my head' (Psalm 3: 3) Give your worries up to Him now - the Word says 'Be still and know that I AM God'.
Mark encouraged people to allow this word to soak in, to give up any financial worries or relational difficulties to the Holy Spirit and to lift up our voices, to sing aloud in the Spirit, to sing out in tongues, to trust Him - those funny words coming out of your mouth are really Him, trust Him, trust the Holy Spirit.
Peter W: spoke on Ezekiel 47:1 - 12. We need to be ready to go with whatever God wants to do. God is inventive/creative - doing a fresh new thing - be open.
If you would describe your life as 'arabah' - burnt land/desert - God wants to say to you today, "Let my river flow through your life and make it fresh - let my Spirit flow through you and bring healing".
EVENING PRAYER MEETING
The longest day of the year, and a beautiful evening - as we arrived and began to gather in the warmth of the late sunshine, we agreed to meet outside. In fact, as things turned out, we had no choice as the person with the key didn't arrive - but already the decision had been made. David D_ drew our attention to the sound of the wind rustling in the leaves on the trees and spoke about the move of the Spirit.
(I thought of Ronnie Wilson's song:
I hear the sound of rustling in the leaves of the trees
The Spirit of the Lord has come down on the earth
The church that seemed in slumber has now risen from its knees
And dry bones are responding with the fruits of new birth
Oh, this is now a time for declaration
The word will go to all men everywhere
The church is here for healing of the nations
Behold the day of Jesus drawing near ....)
Paula felt it was prophetic that we were outside, hearing the rustle of the leaves in the trees, that it was symbolic of how as a church we would soon not have a building - how we feel a little vulnerable, outside the safe environment - and that it's where God wants us to be - stepping out.
Luke felt similarly - that this (being outside) is part of the natural order of things - as we're thinking about the river flowing, (Peter's sermon in the morning had been on the river flowing from the Temple, symbolising the Holy Spirit) about immersing ourselves in the river - about the cleansing power. In Cape Town the air has great quality because of the wind which sweeps away any pollution.
David D_ drew our attention to the fact we were stood under a Mulberry Tree and read the Scripture: The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"
He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you. "Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' "(Luke 17: 5-10). David D_ emphasised from this:
- increase your faith
- be humble (when amazing things start to happen, don't get blown up with pride)
Sunday 7 June 2009
Words during Worship
Peter C_: I feel the Lord wants me to share with you a picture I'm seeing of fire - a powerful fire. He's inviting us to draw near, He wants to melt all our inhibitions and fears. He wants you to allow His heat to 'melt your heart'. He wants to take away anything which is holding you back from really being present in the Worship now.
Ross: When we get home, we go in and we lock the doors. Some of us have locked the door to our heart - the Lord wants to enter the door to your heart, to come inside - maybe you're feeling too tired to respond - He wants to refresh you. Maybe you feel your house is too untidy and scruffy to invite Him in - He turns up with His wonderful hoover and a duster and cleans it up for you! Maybe you're scared - open your heart to the wonderful loving Father now!
Nigel: The Lord is saying to us 'Draw near' - He's inviting us to come closer to Him.
Lorraine: Temperatures in India right now are in the late 40's - it's hot, humid, sweaty. People are desperate for the rains. Later this week the monsoons will come - the people will be out there dancing in the rains, rejoicing because they've been waiting so desperately for the relief from the heat. Are we desperate, are we hungry enough for God? Holy Spirit, pour upon us like the monsoon rains - drench us in your anointing.
Simon: Had a dream of standing in a living room looking up to the sky - it was full of scriptures. He looked around the room - it was full of scriptures. He feels the Lord is saying to us through this dream that the Word needs to be in the air we breathe - it needs to penetrate the darkest places in our lives - we need to allow God's Word to go into every part of us. Our hearts have hidden treasures and the Spirit needs to enter into our hearts to reveal those treasures.
(This is what I've made of the notes I scribbled as these words were shared with us - if you feel I've missed anything significant, misunderstood or misconstrued anything, please use the comments facility - below - to record your own perception of the messages brought today. Thank you. Trish)
Ross: When we get home, we go in and we lock the doors. Some of us have locked the door to our heart - the Lord wants to enter the door to your heart, to come inside - maybe you're feeling too tired to respond - He wants to refresh you. Maybe you feel your house is too untidy and scruffy to invite Him in - He turns up with His wonderful hoover and a duster and cleans it up for you! Maybe you're scared - open your heart to the wonderful loving Father now!
Nigel: The Lord is saying to us 'Draw near' - He's inviting us to come closer to Him.
Lorraine: Temperatures in India right now are in the late 40's - it's hot, humid, sweaty. People are desperate for the rains. Later this week the monsoons will come - the people will be out there dancing in the rains, rejoicing because they've been waiting so desperately for the relief from the heat. Are we desperate, are we hungry enough for God? Holy Spirit, pour upon us like the monsoon rains - drench us in your anointing.
Simon: Had a dream of standing in a living room looking up to the sky - it was full of scriptures. He looked around the room - it was full of scriptures. He feels the Lord is saying to us through this dream that the Word needs to be in the air we breathe - it needs to penetrate the darkest places in our lives - we need to allow God's Word to go into every part of us. Our hearts have hidden treasures and the Spirit needs to enter into our hearts to reveal those treasures.
(This is what I've made of the notes I scribbled as these words were shared with us - if you feel I've missed anything significant, misunderstood or misconstrued anything, please use the comments facility - below - to record your own perception of the messages brought today. Thank you. Trish)
A remedy for dealing with moody women/PMT?
A friend/former work colleague recently wrote to me with some deeply philosophical thoughts about Truth, and then asked for advice or a remedy for dealing with 'moody women leading up to periods'.
I share with you here my response:
Thoughts are powerful, words more so. My advice to you is that you write down in your journal or diary (some permanent record you can refer back to) this address to the Spirit of Truth:
Spirit of Truth, I grew up in a culture which widely believed that women differed from men in that their bodies were subject to monthly cycles which made them prone to mood swings; made them susceptible to pre-menstrual tension. Thank you that to date my experience has matched my belief, thus building my faith in the power of expectation. Now, Spirit of Truth, I want to set the world free of that belief. I want to release the world from all I thought it was - to allow myself to experience a world set free from my belief in pain and suffering. Spirit of Truth, please guide my thoughts that I might experience the peace that transcends all understanding. In all things may I know that God still is Love, and pain and suffering are not God's will for creation. Spirit of Truth, please continue to lead me into all truth, that I might forgive the world and set it free from all I thought it was. Touch my perception, that I might perceive the voice for Love in all things.
Having written down the above (perhaps in your own words), then declare it aloud - and each time you find yourself encountering something you think is due to PMT, invite the Spirit of Truth to remove the veil from your eyes/perception, and to refresh your understanding. Assign a new meaning to the acronym, eg. PMT = Practice Meditating Truth. Every now and then go back to the statement you wrote down and re-read it, to check out how close you are to fully receiving it.
Now I'm guessing that your expectation was for a different response. As I was writing my advice, a couple of scriptures came to mind. The first was from 2 Kings 5, the story of Naaman going to the home of Elisha and asking to be cured of leprosy. When Elisha didn't even come to the door, but sent a messenger to say "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed", Naaman goes away angry - he had his own expectations of what Elisha would do, and this didn't match his expectation. Fortunately Naaman's faithful servants talk to him and encourage him to do what he's been asked to do - and sure enough, he's cured of the leprosy.
The other scripture which came to mind was from Philippians 4:4 - 8
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Quoted from New International Version)
It was especially this last sentence which came to mind - about focusing on the positive. This is how we invite more good stuff into our lives.
Hope this helps! Let me know either way.
I share with you here my response:
Thoughts are powerful, words more so. My advice to you is that you write down in your journal or diary (some permanent record you can refer back to) this address to the Spirit of Truth:
Spirit of Truth, I grew up in a culture which widely believed that women differed from men in that their bodies were subject to monthly cycles which made them prone to mood swings; made them susceptible to pre-menstrual tension. Thank you that to date my experience has matched my belief, thus building my faith in the power of expectation. Now, Spirit of Truth, I want to set the world free of that belief. I want to release the world from all I thought it was - to allow myself to experience a world set free from my belief in pain and suffering. Spirit of Truth, please guide my thoughts that I might experience the peace that transcends all understanding. In all things may I know that God still is Love, and pain and suffering are not God's will for creation. Spirit of Truth, please continue to lead me into all truth, that I might forgive the world and set it free from all I thought it was. Touch my perception, that I might perceive the voice for Love in all things.
Having written down the above (perhaps in your own words), then declare it aloud - and each time you find yourself encountering something you think is due to PMT, invite the Spirit of Truth to remove the veil from your eyes/perception, and to refresh your understanding. Assign a new meaning to the acronym, eg. PMT = Practice Meditating Truth. Every now and then go back to the statement you wrote down and re-read it, to check out how close you are to fully receiving it.
Now I'm guessing that your expectation was for a different response. As I was writing my advice, a couple of scriptures came to mind. The first was from 2 Kings 5, the story of Naaman going to the home of Elisha and asking to be cured of leprosy. When Elisha didn't even come to the door, but sent a messenger to say "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed", Naaman goes away angry - he had his own expectations of what Elisha would do, and this didn't match his expectation. Fortunately Naaman's faithful servants talk to him and encourage him to do what he's been asked to do - and sure enough, he's cured of the leprosy.
The other scripture which came to mind was from Philippians 4:4 - 8
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Quoted from New International Version)
It was especially this last sentence which came to mind - about focusing on the positive. This is how we invite more good stuff into our lives.
Hope this helps! Let me know either way.
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