Ram's story continued - part 2
God or the devil?
I began this new quest to hear from God, trying to understand why he had chosen me out of all the people there were in Derby. There is a very strong Muslim, Indian and Hindu community in Derby.
I started to attend the local EMCF fellowship there; I would go with my now good friend Chandresh. The renewed vision of being able to walk with confidence into the presence of the king consumed me. I began to pray and worship and would be excited every time I went to bed. I expected Him to meet me.
I woke up at 3.33am that night and wondered why the Lord had not met with me in some way. So I did the routine prayer for the church then my family then myself.
This continued night after night. It would get real late and I would have to get up early for college. Not much happened and somehow I got into a routine of praying and mainly worshiping after college, and then waking up early in the night. 3am become my second prayer time each night. I would call it the "hour of power." I started to wonder why God would not answer my prayers.
They mainly consisted of. "You tell me what it is you want me to do and I will go and do it!"
One night I was falling asleep after doing the normal prayer and was closing my eyes but I was still awake saying, "You can still come and meet with me." Telling the Lord I was still awake and ready.
Then suddenly something started to happen...I got scared as a wind entered the room and was hovering over me and I felt it start pouring into my chest.
My mind was in full red after I realized I was frozen on the bed, my arms and whole body became heavy and I could not move, I had no control over my body and I was stuck there. This unknown presence was pouring into me!!
I started to try and fight and struggle and I managed to say "No in Jesus name!!!"
Then as soon as it came, it was gone. I lay there, the presence had lifted and I had regained full control of my body. I was left wondering what had just happened. I kept thinking it must have been a demon or maybe even aliens coming to take me away with them!!
His Presence came again
The next day I prayed and worshipped and went to bed as normal. I awoke at 2am and did my normal chatting with the Lord until about 3am. I started to get tired and wondered why I was even praying at this crazy time of night.
I lay there on the bed once again just waiting for the Lord, then suddenly the liquid presence came, it was pouring all over me. I could not move and was once again thinking the devil had come to attack me. I started to fight and as soon as I did, it lifted and was gone again.
I began to really complain to the Lord about way the enemy was attacking me like this. This went on for close to 2 weeks, and one morning after my early morning "attack" the Lord put a verse in my mind. I looked it up, it was Matthew 7 verse 7, and it really spoke to me. It was, if you ask for bread in His name, I (Jesus) will not give you a stone but give you good gifts.
It was like I heard the voice of God in my heart saying, "It’s ME!" I felt kind of silly that I had been praying and asking him to come and every time He did come I fought him as if he was a demon or something unknown to me. This was going to change!
That day I went and did my studies at college and ran home ready to pray. I was really excited that I was going to hear the voice of God that night. I could hardly sleep...I opened my eyes it was 3.00am. I was ready!!
I lay there with my hands up in bed saying, "I’m ready, let’s go!"
I waited just worshiping the Lord under my breath. I would pray sometimes in silence as I did not want to awake my family. As I lay there, suddenly it started. I felt that warm liquid, thick wind start moving around me and hit me in my chest. My mind was going crazy again saying, "This is not God," but I was fighting myself saying in one breath "hold on longer" and with the next breath "I cannot move!"
As I lay there, trying my best not to say anything just trying to hold on as long as I could. The wind started to move up my chest and started to move around my head. It’s very hard to describe but it started to pour into every part of me, my ears, nose, mouth, eyes and I started to hear a great noise. There was a great swirling, like breaking though some thing and each time it would get louder and louder. "No!" I shouted, and as soon as I did, the Presence left me.
I looked at the clock; it was as if time stood still whenever this presence would come. I lay there all night after that and was very tired all day at college. I was disappointed, with myself for not holding on longer than I had.
A few nights passed and nothing happened, I prayed but didn't have any encounters. It was very draining, at least whenever the Presence came I would not feel tired the next day. The Presence of God was always renewing and refreshing.
The days turned to weeks and I was coming to the point of giving up. I was still dreaming like crazy but I was looking for the encounter, something new! I would still wake up at 3am. Sometimes I would just grunt a prayer like, "Yeah, I’m sure your going to come, I guess not I will try again later."
As my frustration snowballed I was really hungry for anything from the Lord. I once again woke up in the early hours and lay there grumbling at the Lord, as I turned to try and go back to sleep, the wind came back into the room and began to pour into my chest. The wind moved fast, it was like warm oil. Something real, it started to pour all over my face, in my ears, mouth, and eyes, going into my mind, the noise was like a great sound that got louder and louder, breaking into a new level and faster and faster.
I thought I might die if this continued. I kept telling myself to hold on, keep holding on. It was getting too much for me once again. Just as I was going to pull out, there was a great flash, and in an instant I was moving at high speed flying on the back of an Angel, going down the streets of Derby. The speed we were traveling was faster than anything I had ever experienced. Then we started to move higher up, and we got so high, we entered another realm, some place. I felt the wind, I could touch it, taste it.
We stopped and the Angel led me up a mountain, talking with me and showed me a temple of worship for the nations. An incredible sight! I opened my eyes and I was back in bed looking at the clock - 3.33am, it was like time had frozen. I asked myself "Wow what was that?" I was so excited I did not understand what had happened but I knew it was the Lord!!
I awoke that morning saying to myself, "I know God!" I had tasted something of God and it was good.
I was desperate to get home and pray and worship and meet with the Lord. I started to have nightly encounters with the Holy Spirit. Each time I held on I would be taken somewhere or shown some thing.
The Cross - I was there
Another time I was praying and asking the Lord to show Himself to me, and thanking Him for what was coming. As I closed my eyes it started, His spirit came and I was taken to a certain place. The Lord allowed me to have a full vision of the time before he went on the cross, it was a very vivid vision. It began with darkness, then I saw Roman soldiers kicking and spitting on a man who was on His knees on the floor. Then I saw them placing the crown of thorns on His head and I realized it was the Lord.
He was carrying the cross, there were demons swooping down and hitting Him. He fell down and was told to pick the cross up and was led up to the crucifixion place.
The sky was a dark red color and as they began to hammer the nails into His hands, as the nails sank deeper, he began to transform into a baby ( defenceless) it was left to die. His head fell down as if dead, then there was darkness. Great silence and darkness lasted for a while then I saw something coming . At first it looked like a little cross but it got bigger and bigger, and then there before me was a shining gold cross.
As I viewed this cross, looking at it, I began to pull away and see this cross standing alone on a mountain hill, looking. As I was pulling away from this I noticed many other small crosses, millions of them. I had a feeling that these were people who were truly saved and evil could not touch them. As I saw this, I noticed demons flying around.
They went down into this area and sat on the crosses. As soon as they sat, the Angel of the Lord came out like lighting, flying. He was huge and so fast, with His sword out in front of Him, he cut the demons up and then placed the sword in front of him and was flying straight toward me. He came so close that I saw His eyes. I saw teh cross of the Lord in the eyes of the Angel, it was like He flew into my mind.
I was then taken to a place, which I first thought was hell,. It was an underground place where a huge dragon sat, and there was a big boiling pot of hot lava. The dragon was stirring it and it was full of white crosses. He was laughing as the crosses were placed into this water, and as I watched this I was hidden in the Rock. I thought to myself, "This is the devil and fear gripped me and I wanted to get out of there.
As I started to look around I looked straight at this big dragon and it started to breath fire and opened it’s mouth wide and thousands of spirits and demons started to come out. I really wanted to get out of there now!!
Suddenly I was back on the surface of the earth, it looked like a war had just taken place across the planet and the sky was a dark red color and I could see no signs of life there.
I began to look to the sky and I was overcome with the feeling of the coming Presence of the Lord. I was shouting, "He's coming, He's coming!" to myself. Then the sky opened and from the heavens crosses began to fall down to the earth in a spiral motion. They fell fast and it created a circle. I began to feel I was about to meet the 12 disciples of the Lord coming down. I could not begin to count how many crossess were falling.
When that stopped I saw a big red carpet being rolled out. As it was rolling out, two great lions of gold were running along the carpet across the earth and I was about to explode with excitement about the Lord coming back!!
Then I was taken away and I was in space somewhere, walking on a marble floor. It was a palace of some type with angels standing guard at the corners of the building. These angels were way over 20 feet tall.
Indian demon
As I turned the corner there was a massive Indian type demon there and he was coming after me. I turned to see if the angels would help me but they remained at their posts.
This demon came right for me, it was ten times my size! and I fell down and cried out to the Lord to help. This demonic being breathed fire out, but a cross the size of a house came and acted as a shield for me. The flames were pushed back and the cross moved fast and went through the demon’s chest. The demon dropped down dead! That was the end of the vision.
I got up from my bed and was so excited and blessed the Lord.
Addicted to God
All I wanted, was to hear His voice. I had become so addicted to the presence I began praying for 4 to 5 hours, it felt like nothing and was a a taste of what I had been created for. My family would wonder what I would be doing in my room all this time. But during this time I also had demons manifest in my room and try and intimidate me. I would be wide awake and know a demon was in my room. The name of Jesus would always be more than enough; As I got closer to Him the more the darkness around me seemed real as well.
One time I woke up and there was a man outside my window. He was an Angel. I got so afraid that I hid under the bed covers and prayed, "Jesus I’m not ready to die, save me!" The angel just went away. The Lord trained me to value and loves His presence. At times I would pull out of the intensive encounter with the Spirit, the main reason I pulled out, was I never grew accustomed to His presence. There was always a fear of the Lord and also the intensity of the Presence would always seem to increase.
His presence was very overwhelming power. The Holy Spirit never forced Himself on me. He would always stop when I even made even a hint of "No."
There was a cost. Each time I pulled out of the encounter, I would have to wait. At first it would be a few weeks, then when I would pull out again it started to be months.
I felt I was dying as I needed His Presence. It was all I needed. I had lost all desire for anything this world had to offer. Girls, money...His presence was everything to me…
Between me and God
These encounters went on for the first five years of my Christian walk, during that time I spoke to many people about some of the things but the response I received was more negative than positive. People would say that these things don’t happen now, or tell me I was praying the wrong prayers. Some people even tried to cast demons out of me!
I started to keep anything that happened to me as a personal thing between me and the Lord, but I did keep a journal of any really awesome encounters. I thought these encounters happened to all Christians.
The season of Change...
My main goal and desire was still to hear the Lord speak and find out what He wanted from me. I had finished my first national diploma in science at College, so I was thinking about what career to pursue.
I was doing work with a good friend from the church ,Peter Cripps. He was a gift from God to me. He has the gift of loving the unlovable and he is a true man of God. We would work together most days, doing gardening work or anything else that came about. We spent many a day just preaching to one another about our hopes and dreams.
His wisdom and character is some thing I will never forget, he and His wife were to play a vital roll in where my life would go for the next few years.
I had been attending a really wonderful house church where each week we encountered the presence of the Lord. The leader of the house group was my mentor. I was learning more and more about church life and the Bible. My encounters stopped afterI pulled out of a very intensive encounter with the Holy Spirit. I had pulled out, and I knew I would have to wait for a while for Him to return.
I continued my routine of praying and waiting in the late hours of the night. This went on for 3 months, it had been the longest I had to wait for His tangible presence.
I started to fast, but was rebuked by the Lord as I was trying to earn His presence. He did not tell me to fast, I was just striving and doing anything I could to get Him too meet with me!
I had grown in some of the gifts of the Spirit. I would move in the prophetic pretty well, and spent a lot of time learning to hear the Lord for others. I would be dying, really not having a will to live because I longed for His presence so greatly. But in meetings I would feel the power of the Holy Spirit and get drunk in teh Spirit and minister to people. Every one would say "You are on fire for the Lord," but I did not feel that way. I learned very fast that manifestations and moving in the gifts does not necessarily mean you’re close to the Lord.
I began to go through a cold turkey type experience. I was addicted to His presence and there was nothing I could do to make Him come. All I could do was be available and be in the right place for Him to speak to me.
It was becoming very hard for me to keep up the prayer routine as it was so silent. I would wake up at the "Hour of power" and say a few words, and then turn over and try and fall back to sleep.
This went on for 5 months, I was coming to the end of myself...
One night it was 2:30am and I decided to pray. I was crying about why He would not come to me, I said some things, more complaining, as I lay there I just kept saying, "I'm ready, just come." I then got angry and said, "Why did Jesus die if not for restoration with me and God?" Then I said, "Oh well, I guess I will be talking to you tomorrow." I was still in hope for Him to come.
The golden light
Then out of nowhere a great golden light filled my room!! It was so bright I curled up in to a ball with my head trying to hide under the covers, it was like on a summers day and you close your eyes and can see the brightness through your eye lids.
I was thinking, "I'm really dead now, as I had made the living God angry with me."
I was telling myself to turn and see this glory, but the other part of me was saying, "Are you kidding, you’re about to become dust!" The fear and excitement cannot be described.
Then as I lay there, trying not to move or even breathe, or even think any thoughts, (I had become like a dead man) the Holy spirit started to come over me. The swirling presence like a great wind moving all over me, then it started to pour into me. I was once again frozen and the warm oil of the Spirit started to pour all over my head and entered my mouth, ears ,nose and eyes, it just enveloped me.
The sound begun to get louder and louder. With each level I went through the sound got louder and the intensity of His presence filled me.
I was holding on with all I had…I had made it past the sounds and once again I found my self on the back of an Angel. He was flying at great speed, He turned and told me, "You’re going to see God!"
We went though the city of Derby and then flew higher in to the night sky and suddenly I was enveloped in the cloud of Glory that was in my room. I was having a conversation with the Lord and was saying, "If this is really you, I’m going to raise my hands up and feel your Glory." I raised my hands on the bed, and felt the thick warm presence of the Lord over me. It was incredible!
I opened my eyes and I had my hands held up. The room was once again dark and it was 3.30am on the clock. I told myself "don’t tell anyone about what happened or they will be carting you off to the mental hospital".
I was on a high for the rest of the day as I was thinking, "I’m going to really meet God." I had house church that night, I was so excited I prayed and asked the Lord to speak to me and to tell me what was going on. During the meeting no one gave me a word and I was getting ready to run home and have my "encounter."
As I was leaving a friend stopped me and said, "I don’t know what this means but I saw you standing in the ocean and the waves were getting bigger and bigger until they completely overcame you and you had no control". I grabbed my friend’s hand and said, "That is the word of the Lord." I was so excited about what was going to happen that night. On the way home I kept saying "I’m going to meet with God. I’m going to meet with God."
When I reached home I did not even eat. I ran upstairs and started to pray. As I awoke at the normal time, I did not even pray. I just said, "OK I’m here, let’s go." I lay there saying, "you're welcome, just come do whatever you want to." The presence came! It started to fall on me and it felt overwhelming, the liquid presence was pouring into me and my head felt like it was going to explode. The weight that was pouring into me was such that I had never come close to all the other times. I felt my body sinking and it was like the very breath was begin sucked out by that Presence. The noise in my head was such that nothing can explain it.
Once again going through levels of sound and each level brought a louder sound, I could not take this, I started to tell myself pull out! I could not take it, I was fighting myself as this was happening, trying to hold on, thinking it would break, but the presence kept coming and coming until I felt I was about to die there.
I started to lose my ability to talk and I got a faint "No" out of my mouth. And as suddenly as He came, He lifted and was gone. As God’s presence moved on, I saying, "No, please come back!"
It was too late. At that moment I realized it might be a long time until I would have another opportunity.
Training for reigning
The next day I was involved in some meetings, I was approached by a lady from out of town and she felt she had a word for me. It was a word about God emptying the well and laying new foundations. Believe it or not I had another two people come and give me the same type of word in one day.
To be continued...
You'll find part one of Ram's story here
http://acloserwalkwithgod.blogspot.com/2008/02/god-is-at-work-rams-story-part-1.html
Friday, February 22, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
God Is At Work - Ram's Story Part 1
This is Ram Singh's story. Ram is a friend of mine who now lives in Atlanta Georgia. I hope Ram's story will inspire you and encourage you to look to see God's hand at work in your everyday life.
You never know what might happen when you pray for someone. Our God is the God of the impossible...
Pray for people who are Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, New Age... and watch and see what our wonderful God will do.
I will post Ram's story in 3 parts. If you want to make sure you don't miss any, subscribe by email so that you will be notifed when the next installment is here for you to read.
God moved in Ram's life in a powerful way. He revealed Himself through supernatural encounters. Come and meet Ram...
Introduction
Ram Singh - A young Sikh meets Jesus
My name is Ram Singh. I was born in 1973, in England, in a town called Derby. I was from a Sikh Indian family. My father and mother arrived in England from the Punjab in Indian in the late 1960's.
I lived in England for most of my life but now reside in the united states (Georgia) for the last 3 years, with my wife, Kinsleigh, and little baby girl, Isabella.
I was brought up in a Sikh family with my brother and two sisters, my father died when I was two years old. This meant that my mother was thrown into a world where she did not speak English and was alone. The Muslim community embraced her and helped her find work and be able to look after us all. My childhood was mainly spent inside the house. The house was our home and playground, while my mother worked two jobs.
To be honest I never really believed too much in any thing. I thought I had my faith and that’s what I thought I would stick to for the rest of my life, born a Sikh die a Sikh. The only times we prayed were times when we either broke windows in the house or had done some sort of damage to something. These were mainly prayers to prevent our mum from killing us!!!
We did attend the temple maybe twice a year, usually for weddings. I really never did understand why we did certain things there, we would cover our heads take our shoes off and put money in front of our holy book as we bowed, the holy book would be sung to us by the priest and then we would get some food and go home.
That was my upbringing. As teenager I became very active in sports and when I started high school and became a boxer for close to 8 years, I then got involved with track and field. I guess I enjoyed most sports that involved fighting, as it seemed that’s about all me and my brother ever did. As a child I had a real anger issue and would blow up at my family all the time.
For me to consider changing faith would have meant shame on my family name and also on my mother. When I had finished school, I went on to college not really knowing what to do with myself. I enrolled in a science course, mainly because all my friends were doing business studies so I wanted to do some thing different. I was attending Wilmorton College and I found myself enrolled on a Btec science. During that time I meet a likeable guy called Chandresh, he was a student in my class.
Chandresh - A Christian???
I began to talk with him and I noticed he had the words "Jesus is Lord" printed on his folder. I was surprised to find that he was a Christian. My main area of shock was I had always thought all Christians were white people. I proceeded to ask him, "How can you be a Christian? You’re not white?" At first he laughed and told me there were many different types of people groups around the world who were Christians. I was very surprised and Chandresh did not want to tell me to much as he was a little afraid of me, and did not want to offend me
I immediately began a quest to win him back to his a Hindu roots but after a few days of talking with him and trying to convince him of the error of his ways, he became more confident about his faith, and my attempts to change him were futile. We soon became friends and he began to talk more about his friend, Jesus, and what it meant to be a Christian. I was very suspicious of course.
Dreams and visions and encounters of the heavenly kind
A week later I woke up one morning and in front of me in big letters it said, "JESUS LOVES YOU." It was just there!! I would close my eyes and see it and open them and see it this lasted for about 2 weeks. I remember when I would walk to college I would see an image of Jesus with his arms open toward me! It was pretty crazy and I told Chandresh that he had some how managed to brain wash me with his words and now I was going crazy!! But he got a big smile on his face and he got really excited. He told me this was the living God working in my life. I told him that I would never become a Christian, as it was dishonoring to my family and also I was embarrassed as I grew up in a very strong Asian community. If I became a Christian it would have caused them great shame, and embarrassment.
Weeks began to pass and Chandresh left the class, and started to pursue business studies. We remained good friends and I would meet with him and play video games. I would tell him about the encounters I was having. Images and pictures and weird things began to increase more and more. Crazy dreams, seeing things flying around while I was awake. Everything was about Jesus. Well almost! I began having dreams of dark spirits and being told to use the name of Jesus against these things and I began seeing things in the normal daytime hours.
One time I was sitting in the front room with my family and I looked outside and saw a big flaming fire ball coming towards the house. I screamed and ran outside saying, "What’s that?” My family followed me and just thought I was trying to be funny.
I continued to tell Chandresh about all that was happening and he really wanted me to come to a house church he attended. I told him that I would never attend a church meeting, ever.
But the dreams continued, and in my dreams I was taught about the power of the name of Jesus. I started to realize more and more that when you prayed to Jesus things would happen.
The test
So I decided to put Jesus to the test and said if you are really real you will have to prove yourself to me. Then I began having more and more dreams and visions about the power of the name of Jesus. In some dreams I would have to fight demons and in others I would meet angels. This continued nearly on a nightly basis for close to 4 months. By this time I had accepted the fact that Jesus would hear me when I talked with him at night. The night time became a very exciting time for me as I expected dreams of Jesus and using his name to crush and kill demons it was fun.
Chandresh was getting more and more open about his faith and even frustrated with me, but he continued to ask me to come to the house church meeting. After weeks of harassment from Chandresh I decided if I had enough time out from my training I would maybe visit so one night I was walking back from training track I made a detour. As normal I would walk home talking to the Lord but then I came across this street that Chandresh had been telling me all about, so I thought, "I might as well check it out”. I began to walk up the street, and then my mind started to fill with images. I saw Jesus on the cross and Satan was telling me it was a lie and he never really died, that I was wasting my time.
The House church encounter
I began to agree with my thoughts and I began to turn around and leave. I then stopped and just stood there in the cold snowy weather contemplating what was really going on, I think I was standing there for about 10 Minutes this was never ending.
I could not bring my self to go to the house. Feeling cold, I started to think I was stupid as I did not know why I was even there, I told myself in the Name of Jesus go to the door!! I began to approach the house and I heard singing. Once again I found myself looking at the door number, "11 Harrington street," and I could not bring myself to knock on the door. So many questions were flooding my mind. I left and began walking home, but got half way down the road and turned and once again found my self staring at the door. I was about to turn around and leave when the door opened!! There was Chandresh! Seeing me standing there he proceeded to grab hold of me and pull me into the house. He was surprised to see me and I told him what had taken place and he told me, it was the devil trying to stop me coming here but assured me I was safe now.
A while later I asked him why he came to the door that night and he said he heard a knock on the door. I never did knock!!
As we entered the room I saw it was full of people singing and praying, waving their hands in the air!! I sat there and thought I was with a bunch of crazy people!
I started to feel embarrassed for being there, and was worried that someone from the community might have seen me coming in to this house. The community I am from is like a network of spies. People who have nothing better to do, than gossip about other people's families. So if you were ever up to no good or seen with white people especially girls, some one would have seen and the word would spread like wild fire and then it would get back to the parents.
I was planning to leave as soon as I could. When the people stopped singing I was welcomed. Then the leader of the group asked why I had come tonight? I began to tell them about the dreams and visions I had been having, and also some of the experiences. They looked at me as if I was crazy; I got up to leave but, Chandresh and his friend asked if they could pray for me in the next room.
I did not know what that meant so I asked them. They said they would bless my family and stuff like that so it sounded OK to me. We went to the next room and they said they were going to put their hands on me and pray, I said "Sure" and I stood there with my eyes open looking at them thinking it was strange for a guy to have his hand on me.
As they prayed I stood there and then it felt like my legs began to get heavy. I felt something and I did not know what it was? But I began to double over and wondered what was happening to me.
I began to rationalize what was going on and I thought to myself "I am really tired from training and I need to get home." I was thinking how stupid I must look doubling over in somebody's house that I did not know. All I wanted to do was stand up and then stop them praying for me.
I began to push myself back up and then as I did my finial push to stand up straight. Suddenly a blast hit me in the back and I was thrown back on to the sofa, I heard the guys go "Wow,” and I thought to myself "What's happening"? And I lay there for a few moments thinking, "Did I just get thrown across the room?" Who did that?
Next there was a massive flash and I was taken up to heaven. It was very very bright and I a figure. I could make out a figure and knew it was Jesus and he seemed to be standing in a huge arch way with gates. I was there for a while but I was still very aware of my surrounding. I still could hear everything the guys were saying, I thought to myself "I better get up," so I opened my eyes, and felt embarrassed. They both were just standing over me and I tried to jump up but as I did, I fell back down again. Something was radiating in me and I tried again to get up and I staggered to the door telling them I was leaving.
They looked at me and said "Something has happened here, did I want to talk about it?" "Would you like to become a Christian?" Bluntly I said "No thanks".
Really God!
I wanted to get home. I staggered around like a drunk all the way to my home. I looked into the clear night sky, thinking "Why me?" I was overcome with the fact that this was God really GOD! GOD!!
I had come into a realization of who God really was - GOD! This stayed with me for some weeks. I just walked around saying "Really GOD!" My mind set of wondering why I would want to know this God, changed to "Why did he want to know me?" After all I was just a grain of dust... And HE WAS GOD!!! REALLY GOD!!!
After a few weeks of that encounter at the meeting, I was still having many different types of dreams and seeing some crazy stuff when I was awake. Chandresh was really pushing me to make a decision, but I was very happy to pray and meet with this Jesus person at night. Me and Jesus are fine but I didn’t need to let any one else know about it.
My whole prayer life changed (well I never had a prayer life ever) so I guess I had began some sort of relationship with Jesus.
Months went by and in my heart I had come to accept Christ as my Lord. As I spoke with Him every night I had some type of encounter.
The Name of Jesus has power
One night I started to have another dark type of dream these would excite me as I got to use the name of Jesus to drive demons away!! I had become very confident in the power of the name of Jesus to drive demons out I guess I had become proud of this and felt I needed no one else at all.
So I was very excited to be in another dark dream. I was walking around looking for the demon. I came to a room and saw a being of some form standing in the corner of the room. I started to do the normal routine. I commanded it in the name of Jesus to leave but it just screamed and changed shape!!
At first it changed to some type of animals and I thought, "This is weird." But I thought "Oh well" and I continued to do my thing. The demon changed shape about 6 times, then there was a man standing there, he said, "You've done them, now do me." I knew it was the devil and I was starting to get a little freaked out. I went ahead and tried to drive him out!
I was doing this for what felt like an age and all he did was stand and smile at me. It really shocked me and I awoke feeling afraid and had an urgency to become a Christian. I said to myself. "I need to get in to a church and know Jesus better."
I'm ready
That following day I went and found Chandresh and told him I was ready to accept Christ. We went to JD's house the leader of the cell church I had attended. I said the prayer and became a Christian and got baptized 2 days later. It was amazing and the feeling of being free and clean and becoming a Christian was the best choice I had ever made.
I received many prophetic words at my baptism, and some thing really stuck with me that day. Now that the curtain was torn I had direct access to God!! I started to think all the stuff that had happened to me was only the beginning, now I could enter in to the great place of friendship with God, and really hear from Him.
I had a renewed confidence and boldness to approach His throne for Christ had made away for me. I began to pray with great faith and expectancy. God was going to speak to me!
To be continued...
You never know what might happen when you pray for someone. Our God is the God of the impossible...
Pray for people who are Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, New Age... and watch and see what our wonderful God will do.
I will post Ram's story in 3 parts. If you want to make sure you don't miss any, subscribe by email so that you will be notifed when the next installment is here for you to read.
God moved in Ram's life in a powerful way. He revealed Himself through supernatural encounters. Come and meet Ram...
Introduction
Ram Singh - A young Sikh meets Jesus
My name is Ram Singh. I was born in 1973, in England, in a town called Derby. I was from a Sikh Indian family. My father and mother arrived in England from the Punjab in Indian in the late 1960's.
I lived in England for most of my life but now reside in the united states (Georgia) for the last 3 years, with my wife, Kinsleigh, and little baby girl, Isabella.
I was brought up in a Sikh family with my brother and two sisters, my father died when I was two years old. This meant that my mother was thrown into a world where she did not speak English and was alone. The Muslim community embraced her and helped her find work and be able to look after us all. My childhood was mainly spent inside the house. The house was our home and playground, while my mother worked two jobs.
To be honest I never really believed too much in any thing. I thought I had my faith and that’s what I thought I would stick to for the rest of my life, born a Sikh die a Sikh. The only times we prayed were times when we either broke windows in the house or had done some sort of damage to something. These were mainly prayers to prevent our mum from killing us!!!
We did attend the temple maybe twice a year, usually for weddings. I really never did understand why we did certain things there, we would cover our heads take our shoes off and put money in front of our holy book as we bowed, the holy book would be sung to us by the priest and then we would get some food and go home.
That was my upbringing. As teenager I became very active in sports and when I started high school and became a boxer for close to 8 years, I then got involved with track and field. I guess I enjoyed most sports that involved fighting, as it seemed that’s about all me and my brother ever did. As a child I had a real anger issue and would blow up at my family all the time.
For me to consider changing faith would have meant shame on my family name and also on my mother. When I had finished school, I went on to college not really knowing what to do with myself. I enrolled in a science course, mainly because all my friends were doing business studies so I wanted to do some thing different. I was attending Wilmorton College and I found myself enrolled on a Btec science. During that time I meet a likeable guy called Chandresh, he was a student in my class.
Chandresh - A Christian???
I began to talk with him and I noticed he had the words "Jesus is Lord" printed on his folder. I was surprised to find that he was a Christian. My main area of shock was I had always thought all Christians were white people. I proceeded to ask him, "How can you be a Christian? You’re not white?" At first he laughed and told me there were many different types of people groups around the world who were Christians. I was very surprised and Chandresh did not want to tell me to much as he was a little afraid of me, and did not want to offend me
I immediately began a quest to win him back to his a Hindu roots but after a few days of talking with him and trying to convince him of the error of his ways, he became more confident about his faith, and my attempts to change him were futile. We soon became friends and he began to talk more about his friend, Jesus, and what it meant to be a Christian. I was very suspicious of course.
Dreams and visions and encounters of the heavenly kind
A week later I woke up one morning and in front of me in big letters it said, "JESUS LOVES YOU." It was just there!! I would close my eyes and see it and open them and see it this lasted for about 2 weeks. I remember when I would walk to college I would see an image of Jesus with his arms open toward me! It was pretty crazy and I told Chandresh that he had some how managed to brain wash me with his words and now I was going crazy!! But he got a big smile on his face and he got really excited. He told me this was the living God working in my life. I told him that I would never become a Christian, as it was dishonoring to my family and also I was embarrassed as I grew up in a very strong Asian community. If I became a Christian it would have caused them great shame, and embarrassment.
Weeks began to pass and Chandresh left the class, and started to pursue business studies. We remained good friends and I would meet with him and play video games. I would tell him about the encounters I was having. Images and pictures and weird things began to increase more and more. Crazy dreams, seeing things flying around while I was awake. Everything was about Jesus. Well almost! I began having dreams of dark spirits and being told to use the name of Jesus against these things and I began seeing things in the normal daytime hours.
One time I was sitting in the front room with my family and I looked outside and saw a big flaming fire ball coming towards the house. I screamed and ran outside saying, "What’s that?” My family followed me and just thought I was trying to be funny.
I continued to tell Chandresh about all that was happening and he really wanted me to come to a house church he attended. I told him that I would never attend a church meeting, ever.
But the dreams continued, and in my dreams I was taught about the power of the name of Jesus. I started to realize more and more that when you prayed to Jesus things would happen.
The test
So I decided to put Jesus to the test and said if you are really real you will have to prove yourself to me. Then I began having more and more dreams and visions about the power of the name of Jesus. In some dreams I would have to fight demons and in others I would meet angels. This continued nearly on a nightly basis for close to 4 months. By this time I had accepted the fact that Jesus would hear me when I talked with him at night. The night time became a very exciting time for me as I expected dreams of Jesus and using his name to crush and kill demons it was fun.
Chandresh was getting more and more open about his faith and even frustrated with me, but he continued to ask me to come to the house church meeting. After weeks of harassment from Chandresh I decided if I had enough time out from my training I would maybe visit so one night I was walking back from training track I made a detour. As normal I would walk home talking to the Lord but then I came across this street that Chandresh had been telling me all about, so I thought, "I might as well check it out”. I began to walk up the street, and then my mind started to fill with images. I saw Jesus on the cross and Satan was telling me it was a lie and he never really died, that I was wasting my time.
The House church encounter
I began to agree with my thoughts and I began to turn around and leave. I then stopped and just stood there in the cold snowy weather contemplating what was really going on, I think I was standing there for about 10 Minutes this was never ending.
I could not bring my self to go to the house. Feeling cold, I started to think I was stupid as I did not know why I was even there, I told myself in the Name of Jesus go to the door!! I began to approach the house and I heard singing. Once again I found myself looking at the door number, "11 Harrington street," and I could not bring myself to knock on the door. So many questions were flooding my mind. I left and began walking home, but got half way down the road and turned and once again found my self staring at the door. I was about to turn around and leave when the door opened!! There was Chandresh! Seeing me standing there he proceeded to grab hold of me and pull me into the house. He was surprised to see me and I told him what had taken place and he told me, it was the devil trying to stop me coming here but assured me I was safe now.
A while later I asked him why he came to the door that night and he said he heard a knock on the door. I never did knock!!
As we entered the room I saw it was full of people singing and praying, waving their hands in the air!! I sat there and thought I was with a bunch of crazy people!
I started to feel embarrassed for being there, and was worried that someone from the community might have seen me coming in to this house. The community I am from is like a network of spies. People who have nothing better to do, than gossip about other people's families. So if you were ever up to no good or seen with white people especially girls, some one would have seen and the word would spread like wild fire and then it would get back to the parents.
I was planning to leave as soon as I could. When the people stopped singing I was welcomed. Then the leader of the group asked why I had come tonight? I began to tell them about the dreams and visions I had been having, and also some of the experiences. They looked at me as if I was crazy; I got up to leave but, Chandresh and his friend asked if they could pray for me in the next room.
I did not know what that meant so I asked them. They said they would bless my family and stuff like that so it sounded OK to me. We went to the next room and they said they were going to put their hands on me and pray, I said "Sure" and I stood there with my eyes open looking at them thinking it was strange for a guy to have his hand on me.
As they prayed I stood there and then it felt like my legs began to get heavy. I felt something and I did not know what it was? But I began to double over and wondered what was happening to me.
I began to rationalize what was going on and I thought to myself "I am really tired from training and I need to get home." I was thinking how stupid I must look doubling over in somebody's house that I did not know. All I wanted to do was stand up and then stop them praying for me.
I began to push myself back up and then as I did my finial push to stand up straight. Suddenly a blast hit me in the back and I was thrown back on to the sofa, I heard the guys go "Wow,” and I thought to myself "What's happening"? And I lay there for a few moments thinking, "Did I just get thrown across the room?" Who did that?
Next there was a massive flash and I was taken up to heaven. It was very very bright and I a figure. I could make out a figure and knew it was Jesus and he seemed to be standing in a huge arch way with gates. I was there for a while but I was still very aware of my surrounding. I still could hear everything the guys were saying, I thought to myself "I better get up," so I opened my eyes, and felt embarrassed. They both were just standing over me and I tried to jump up but as I did, I fell back down again. Something was radiating in me and I tried again to get up and I staggered to the door telling them I was leaving.
They looked at me and said "Something has happened here, did I want to talk about it?" "Would you like to become a Christian?" Bluntly I said "No thanks".
Really God!
I wanted to get home. I staggered around like a drunk all the way to my home. I looked into the clear night sky, thinking "Why me?" I was overcome with the fact that this was God really GOD! GOD!!
I had come into a realization of who God really was - GOD! This stayed with me for some weeks. I just walked around saying "Really GOD!" My mind set of wondering why I would want to know this God, changed to "Why did he want to know me?" After all I was just a grain of dust... And HE WAS GOD!!! REALLY GOD!!!
After a few weeks of that encounter at the meeting, I was still having many different types of dreams and seeing some crazy stuff when I was awake. Chandresh was really pushing me to make a decision, but I was very happy to pray and meet with this Jesus person at night. Me and Jesus are fine but I didn’t need to let any one else know about it.
My whole prayer life changed (well I never had a prayer life ever) so I guess I had began some sort of relationship with Jesus.
Months went by and in my heart I had come to accept Christ as my Lord. As I spoke with Him every night I had some type of encounter.
The Name of Jesus has power
One night I started to have another dark type of dream these would excite me as I got to use the name of Jesus to drive demons away!! I had become very confident in the power of the name of Jesus to drive demons out I guess I had become proud of this and felt I needed no one else at all.
So I was very excited to be in another dark dream. I was walking around looking for the demon. I came to a room and saw a being of some form standing in the corner of the room. I started to do the normal routine. I commanded it in the name of Jesus to leave but it just screamed and changed shape!!
At first it changed to some type of animals and I thought, "This is weird." But I thought "Oh well" and I continued to do my thing. The demon changed shape about 6 times, then there was a man standing there, he said, "You've done them, now do me." I knew it was the devil and I was starting to get a little freaked out. I went ahead and tried to drive him out!
I was doing this for what felt like an age and all he did was stand and smile at me. It really shocked me and I awoke feeling afraid and had an urgency to become a Christian. I said to myself. "I need to get in to a church and know Jesus better."
I'm ready
That following day I went and found Chandresh and told him I was ready to accept Christ. We went to JD's house the leader of the cell church I had attended. I said the prayer and became a Christian and got baptized 2 days later. It was amazing and the feeling of being free and clean and becoming a Christian was the best choice I had ever made.
I received many prophetic words at my baptism, and some thing really stuck with me that day. Now that the curtain was torn I had direct access to God!! I started to think all the stuff that had happened to me was only the beginning, now I could enter in to the great place of friendship with God, and really hear from Him.
I had a renewed confidence and boldness to approach His throne for Christ had made away for me. I began to pray with great faith and expectancy. God was going to speak to me!
To be continued...
Prayer
Excerpts taken from
Dancing With Destiny: Awaken your Heart to Dream, to Love, to War
by Jill Austin
God, tenderize my heart again so that I desire to return to You as my first love. Wherever my heart has drifted or gotten lukewarm, return me back to You.
God, I give You permission to do whatever it takes to make me wholly Yours. Set my heart on fire for You. Send a holy ambush of your Spirit into my life to usher me out of the ruts that have hindered me from being a dreamer, a lover and a warrior.
Please forgive me for [here be as specific as you can be and take as long as you need]. Thank You for Your total forgiveness of my sins. That is such a precious gift to me.
How I ache to know You more! Draw me close and speak tenderly to my heart. I want to develop a secret history with You, Lord. Captivate my heart with the gazes of Your eyes. I want to see You face-to-face and not through the lattice, as your Word says. Put Your seal on my heart so I am fully Yours.
Now, Lord, I ask You to release the fiery whirlwind of Your presence with a fresh impartation of Your heart into my heart. I ask You to revolutionize my life from the inside out. Let an earthquake in my heart break up the fallow ground. Let the lightning of God strike me so that I become God-conscious instead of self-conscious.
Jesus, I am ready to give up control of my life and put You in charge again. Forgive me for thinking that I know what is best for my life. It is hard for me to let go; the warfare has been so intense and the storms of life so great. But I can see that my way is not working. I am heartsick about my life. I want to run to You and not from You. Give me grace and humility to accept Your timing in my life.
Burn in me a holy desperation and craving for You. I need a profound touch from You, a fresh baptism of fire from the Holy Spirit. I want a force field of Your glory surrounding me so I am dangerous for God. Will You radiate Your love and power through my life so I can do exploits as You promised?
I want to be a carrier of Your glory and go outside the walls of the church, touching people in every arena of life. Lord, I want to know the times and seasons we live in.
Let me see people through Your eyes and not my own; help me feel Your heart for those around me. Break my heart for the lost. Cause revival to burn so deeply in my spirit that others cannot help but be changed by coming in contact with me.
I do not want business as usual, Jesus! I want a radical visitation from You. I must have a visitation. I want an open heaven over my life. Will You help me to legislate Your mandates from heaven, to bring them to earth so I see things from Your perspective and not my own? I am asking You for divine strategies so Your Kingdom will come.
Open my eyes so that I can see what is happening in the realm of the Spirit. How I need keen discernment for the days I live in. I want to get Your plans, Your blueprints so I do not build on the “land mines” the enemy has planned for me
I want my heart to bless Your heart and give You the love that You deserve. Awaken my heart to worship You. I want to be one who desires You only.
Lord, I want to give You my life no matter what the cost. Even as You died for me, help me to be willing to die for You. You are worth everything I have. All I am - my past, present and future - is at the foot of the cross. Take all of me.
Help me to be a big dreamer with You, dreamer God
Help me to be an extravagant lover of You, my Bridegroom.Help me to be a fierce warrior for You, my King. Amen.
May you and yours have a blessed and prosperous New Year. A year in which you grow in the things of God and know His presence more.
If you'd like more from Jill, visit http://www.masterpotter.com/ and see what she has to offer. I highly recommned her books.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Speaking In Tongues Is Good For You!
Make this the year when you build yourself up by speaking in tongues
Paul says that he often spoke in tongues. The Bible tells us that when we speak in tongues we are strengthened. Now see what scientists have to say about it.
As reported on Breaking Christian News
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania took brain images of five women while they spoke in tongues and found that their frontal lobes were relatively quiet, as were the language centers. According to a recent N.Y. Times report, the regions involved in maintaining self-consciousness were active; the women were not in blind trances.
"The amazing thing was how the images supported people's interpretation of what was happening," said Dr. Andrew B. Newberg, leader of the study team. "The way they describe it, and what they believe, is that God is talking through them," he said.
Donna Morgan, a co-author of the study, was also a research subject. She is a born-again Christian who is quoted as saying the ability to speak in tongues is a gift. "You're aware of your surroundings," she said. "You're not really out of control. But you have no control over what's happening. You're just flowing. You're in a realm of peace and comfort, and it's a fantastic feeling."
Reporter Benedict Carey noted that "contrary to what may be a common perception, studies suggest that people who speak in tongues rarely suffer from mental problems. A recent study of nearly 1,000 evangelical Christians in England found that those who engaged in the practice were more emotionally stable than those who did not.
Researchers have identified at least two forms of the practice, one ecstatic and frenzied, the other subdued and nearly silent. The new findings contrasted sharply with images taken of other spiritually inspired mental states like meditation, which is often a highly focused mental exercise, activating the frontal lobes."
Benedict Carey/TN
Source: N.Y. Times
I speak in tongues when I'm driving or doing the ironing or alone in the kitchen cooking...
I encourage you to create a new habit of speaking often in tongues. See for yourself what the Bible has to say about it and plan to speak in tongues more than you do already.
If you don't yet speak in tongues
Paul says that he often spoke in tongues. The Bible tells us that when we speak in tongues we are strengthened. Now see what scientists have to say about it.
As reported on Breaking Christian News
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania took brain images of five women while they spoke in tongues and found that their frontal lobes were relatively quiet, as were the language centers. According to a recent N.Y. Times report, the regions involved in maintaining self-consciousness were active; the women were not in blind trances.
"The amazing thing was how the images supported people's interpretation of what was happening," said Dr. Andrew B. Newberg, leader of the study team. "The way they describe it, and what they believe, is that God is talking through them," he said.
Donna Morgan, a co-author of the study, was also a research subject. She is a born-again Christian who is quoted as saying the ability to speak in tongues is a gift. "You're aware of your surroundings," she said. "You're not really out of control. But you have no control over what's happening. You're just flowing. You're in a realm of peace and comfort, and it's a fantastic feeling."
Reporter Benedict Carey noted that "contrary to what may be a common perception, studies suggest that people who speak in tongues rarely suffer from mental problems. A recent study of nearly 1,000 evangelical Christians in England found that those who engaged in the practice were more emotionally stable than those who did not.
Researchers have identified at least two forms of the practice, one ecstatic and frenzied, the other subdued and nearly silent. The new findings contrasted sharply with images taken of other spiritually inspired mental states like meditation, which is often a highly focused mental exercise, activating the frontal lobes."
Benedict Carey/TN
Source: N.Y. Times
I speak in tongues when I'm driving or doing the ironing or alone in the kitchen cooking...
I encourage you to create a new habit of speaking often in tongues. See for yourself what the Bible has to say about it and plan to speak in tongues more than you do already.
If you don't yet speak in tongues
- Ask the Holy Spirit to impart the gift to you
- Get people who already speak in tongues to pray for you
Saturday, December 29, 2007
How To Fight Fear and Push Through To Intimacy With God
I thought you might appreciate this article from John Paul Jackson.
He sent it out in last weeks's newsleter. iI you'd like to see more of his work or sign up for the newsletter, visit
http://www.streamsministries.com/index.php?cat_id=27&page_id=62
Fighting Fear
By John Paul Jackson
Truthful and forthright people will tell you that when they are angry, they hear very little from God; when they are fearful, they hear very little from God.
The more emotional we are, the less consistently we hear — or we begin to “hear” things that go against what we know God is or what He has told us in the past. So we need help in removing hindrances to our hearing from God.
When we begin to remove rejection, insecurities and these types of things, automatically our gifts are going to start looking a whole lot stronger than they ever did. They didn’t get stronger; we just removed the things that were hindering them.
What’s the best way to remove fear, insecurity, shame and other hindrances to our gifts? Intimacy with God.
Letting Go of Fear
Just by being with God, we are asking Him to remove our walls. We are asking Him to align our soul with His. We are asking to become one spirit with Him. We are asking to be made holy, which is to be made like Him. All of these happen when we spend time with Him.
But the process can be difficult, especially because one of the things we want to remove actively works to keep us from doing so. Fear is the chief barrier that blocks us from real intimacy with God. It keeps us from completely surrendering our lives to Him and being able to walk fully into our destiny.
Hiding from God — Fear's First Step
Fear is not just the enemy of intimacy; it is the assassin. In the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve committed the first sin in human history, they hid themselves because they felt ashamed; they were afraid to let God see them. How many times do we do that same thing? We’re afraid of what He might say when He sees us, the judgment He may pass on us, if we allow Him to say what’s on His heart.
Because Adam and Eve were responding out of fear, the first thing they did was erect small walls in the form of clothing to keep God at a distance — to keep Him from seeing who they really were. They put up barriers that yelled, "Keep away! We don't know if we can trust You anymore." But obviously, it wasn’t God who had changed in those few moments.
What You Need to Remember
Here's the thing we need to remember about fear: It will lie to us and distort everything we feel. If we allow it to do so, it will convince us that self-protection is more important than releasing our heart, including every hidden thing, to God and being romanced by Him.
Fear will attempt to tell us whatever it can in order to keep us from letting go of the things we are convinced God does not want to know. But we shouldn’t be afraid of God. His intent is not to kill us. It is to have us.
During this Christmas season, remember His heart for you. Remember that He sent His Son to save the world, not to condemn the world — that means you. While you were deep in sin, He loved you enough to come to Earth and be born for you; He loved you enough to die for you.
Could He love you any less now? NO! Don’t let the enemy push you around anymore! Know the truth. Embrace it, and it will set you free.
He sent it out in last weeks's newsleter. iI you'd like to see more of his work or sign up for the newsletter, visit
http://www.streamsministries.com/index.php?cat_id=27&page_id=62
Fighting Fear
By John Paul Jackson
Truthful and forthright people will tell you that when they are angry, they hear very little from God; when they are fearful, they hear very little from God.
The more emotional we are, the less consistently we hear — or we begin to “hear” things that go against what we know God is or what He has told us in the past. So we need help in removing hindrances to our hearing from God.
When we begin to remove rejection, insecurities and these types of things, automatically our gifts are going to start looking a whole lot stronger than they ever did. They didn’t get stronger; we just removed the things that were hindering them.
What’s the best way to remove fear, insecurity, shame and other hindrances to our gifts? Intimacy with God.
Letting Go of Fear
Just by being with God, we are asking Him to remove our walls. We are asking Him to align our soul with His. We are asking to become one spirit with Him. We are asking to be made holy, which is to be made like Him. All of these happen when we spend time with Him.
But the process can be difficult, especially because one of the things we want to remove actively works to keep us from doing so. Fear is the chief barrier that blocks us from real intimacy with God. It keeps us from completely surrendering our lives to Him and being able to walk fully into our destiny.
Hiding from God — Fear's First Step
Fear is not just the enemy of intimacy; it is the assassin. In the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve committed the first sin in human history, they hid themselves because they felt ashamed; they were afraid to let God see them. How many times do we do that same thing? We’re afraid of what He might say when He sees us, the judgment He may pass on us, if we allow Him to say what’s on His heart.
Because Adam and Eve were responding out of fear, the first thing they did was erect small walls in the form of clothing to keep God at a distance — to keep Him from seeing who they really were. They put up barriers that yelled, "Keep away! We don't know if we can trust You anymore." But obviously, it wasn’t God who had changed in those few moments.
What You Need to Remember
Here's the thing we need to remember about fear: It will lie to us and distort everything we feel. If we allow it to do so, it will convince us that self-protection is more important than releasing our heart, including every hidden thing, to God and being romanced by Him.
Fear will attempt to tell us whatever it can in order to keep us from letting go of the things we are convinced God does not want to know. But we shouldn’t be afraid of God. His intent is not to kill us. It is to have us.
During this Christmas season, remember His heart for you. Remember that He sent His Son to save the world, not to condemn the world — that means you. While you were deep in sin, He loved you enough to come to Earth and be born for you; He loved you enough to die for you.
Could He love you any less now? NO! Don’t let the enemy push you around anymore! Know the truth. Embrace it, and it will set you free.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Something to encourage your heart
God has an appointment with you - It's Time to Seek the Lord.
The Love God has for us is staggering. God has treasures and gifts for us. Zephaniah 2:3 tells us to "Seek righteousness, seek HUMILITY." God has some things to tell us and show us. He is waiting on us to get quiet before Him and let Him talk to us. When we quiet our hearts and spend "quality time" with God, we learn to hear His voice, and He will define the next chapter of our lives for us. There is much ahead and there are things He desires to adjust, add, remove and reveal.
A teachable heart helps us to embrace something we have not seen before. It's not new to God, just to us. Psalm 119 is full of "teach me" Scriptures. It is important that we guard ourselves from bringing to conclusion what God has only shown us in part. We don't have the whole picture yet, only God does. It hasn't been revealed to us. He is teaching us to trust Him, rely on Him, listen to Him and do things His way. Humble, teachable, uncritical hearts attract Heaven because that is the DNA of Jesus, Himself.
Double Doors are Opening as We Have a Tight Grip on His Hand
Isaiah 45:1-3, "Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held--to subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings, to open before him the double doors, so that the gates will not be shut: 'I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel.'"
Zechariah 9:12, "Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you."
Things are happening in a hurry. God is causing us to inherit even more than we dreamed or thought possible. It is His good pleasure to give good gifts to His kids. When God is holding our hand, we are positioned for God to lead us where He wants to take us. We cease to operate in our own wisdom and strength, and God goes before us to remove obstacles and impossible situations for us. For us to take possession of the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches of secret places, we must take a tight grip on God's hand. He MUST remain in charge and we cannot place things or people ahead of Him.
He is leading us into places to accomplish His plan and purpose for this earth. We cannot go alone or in our own strength. There are people in places of darkness and deception who are getting ready to be rescued and set free and God is sending us to them. When we have full dependency on Him, He will show us things, move barriers out of the way, usher us into places we never dreamed of, and His power will flow through us as we allow the Holy Spirit to rule.
In the past year, I have run into more people who are pregnant with twins and even triplets. There is a definite increase and multiplied evidence of life. It is a sign that God, the Giver of life--is accelerating things. When God increases us after coming out of a dry and desert season, we find new strength, new perspective, new direction and a greater awe and respect for God and His government. Change happens around us and transition happens in us. When we transition, we find new strength, new revelation and new assignments to embrace.
We have a promise in Isaiah 41:10, "Don't panic. I'm with you. There's no need to fear for I'm your God. I'll give you strength. I'll help you. I'll hold you steady, keeping a firm grip on you. "
We Have Been Gaining Strength to Engage the Future
When we go through unusually long and pressured seasons, it makes us ready to receive more than what it cost us. This time of difficulty and pressure has only caused us to press into God and take a tighter grip on His hand. Refining times are necessary for strength to come. For example, I was climbing a mountain with a friend of mine who is a personal trainer. When I reached a place in our ascent, I felt like I couldn't breathe. She began to coach me in my climbing. She told me that I needed to use different muscle groups and that I was actually gaining strength in this difficult climb.
Her following words were, "True strength is only developed when met with resistance." These words were like gold to me. I considered this statement in every difficult season I have had since that time. WE ARE GAINING STRENGTH TO ENGAGE THE FUTURE. Every promise He has made to us and every prophetic word we have received that is truly from Him, God fully intends to accomplish in us, with us, and for us.
It's the Season for Life, Healing and Restoration
We are designed by God the way we are for a reason. In times of "aloneness" with God, He will define us--to us. He will tell us why we are put together the way we are and how we are to function. In His light, we see light and things become clearer. It is in these times of being "alone with God," that we discover Him in a new way and discover ourselves in a new way. We experience healing of life wounds and emotional trauma as the Comforter applies His healing balm to our broken hearts, minds, emotions and bodies. His prescription is restoration and healing. Knowing what we have walked through, He makes us new again and brings life to dead places. An infusion of LIFE is available to us when we get before Him and delight ourselves in the Lord.
The God of all hope, comfort, joy, love, strength, power, healing, counsel, light and restoration wants us to come and spend time with Him--AND WE WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED.
Bless you,
Cindy McGill
Hope for the Harvest Ministries
http://www.hopefortheharvest.com
The Love God has for us is staggering. God has treasures and gifts for us. Zephaniah 2:3 tells us to "Seek righteousness, seek HUMILITY." God has some things to tell us and show us. He is waiting on us to get quiet before Him and let Him talk to us. When we quiet our hearts and spend "quality time" with God, we learn to hear His voice, and He will define the next chapter of our lives for us. There is much ahead and there are things He desires to adjust, add, remove and reveal.
A teachable heart helps us to embrace something we have not seen before. It's not new to God, just to us. Psalm 119 is full of "teach me" Scriptures. It is important that we guard ourselves from bringing to conclusion what God has only shown us in part. We don't have the whole picture yet, only God does. It hasn't been revealed to us. He is teaching us to trust Him, rely on Him, listen to Him and do things His way. Humble, teachable, uncritical hearts attract Heaven because that is the DNA of Jesus, Himself.
Double Doors are Opening as We Have a Tight Grip on His Hand
Isaiah 45:1-3, "Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held--to subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings, to open before him the double doors, so that the gates will not be shut: 'I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel.'"
Zechariah 9:12, "Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you."
Things are happening in a hurry. God is causing us to inherit even more than we dreamed or thought possible. It is His good pleasure to give good gifts to His kids. When God is holding our hand, we are positioned for God to lead us where He wants to take us. We cease to operate in our own wisdom and strength, and God goes before us to remove obstacles and impossible situations for us. For us to take possession of the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches of secret places, we must take a tight grip on God's hand. He MUST remain in charge and we cannot place things or people ahead of Him.
He is leading us into places to accomplish His plan and purpose for this earth. We cannot go alone or in our own strength. There are people in places of darkness and deception who are getting ready to be rescued and set free and God is sending us to them. When we have full dependency on Him, He will show us things, move barriers out of the way, usher us into places we never dreamed of, and His power will flow through us as we allow the Holy Spirit to rule.
In the past year, I have run into more people who are pregnant with twins and even triplets. There is a definite increase and multiplied evidence of life. It is a sign that God, the Giver of life--is accelerating things. When God increases us after coming out of a dry and desert season, we find new strength, new perspective, new direction and a greater awe and respect for God and His government. Change happens around us and transition happens in us. When we transition, we find new strength, new revelation and new assignments to embrace.
We have a promise in Isaiah 41:10, "Don't panic. I'm with you. There's no need to fear for I'm your God. I'll give you strength. I'll help you. I'll hold you steady, keeping a firm grip on you. "
We Have Been Gaining Strength to Engage the Future
When we go through unusually long and pressured seasons, it makes us ready to receive more than what it cost us. This time of difficulty and pressure has only caused us to press into God and take a tighter grip on His hand. Refining times are necessary for strength to come. For example, I was climbing a mountain with a friend of mine who is a personal trainer. When I reached a place in our ascent, I felt like I couldn't breathe. She began to coach me in my climbing. She told me that I needed to use different muscle groups and that I was actually gaining strength in this difficult climb.
Her following words were, "True strength is only developed when met with resistance." These words were like gold to me. I considered this statement in every difficult season I have had since that time. WE ARE GAINING STRENGTH TO ENGAGE THE FUTURE. Every promise He has made to us and every prophetic word we have received that is truly from Him, God fully intends to accomplish in us, with us, and for us.
It's the Season for Life, Healing and Restoration
We are designed by God the way we are for a reason. In times of "aloneness" with God, He will define us--to us. He will tell us why we are put together the way we are and how we are to function. In His light, we see light and things become clearer. It is in these times of being "alone with God," that we discover Him in a new way and discover ourselves in a new way. We experience healing of life wounds and emotional trauma as the Comforter applies His healing balm to our broken hearts, minds, emotions and bodies. His prescription is restoration and healing. Knowing what we have walked through, He makes us new again and brings life to dead places. An infusion of LIFE is available to us when we get before Him and delight ourselves in the Lord.
The God of all hope, comfort, joy, love, strength, power, healing, counsel, light and restoration wants us to come and spend time with Him--AND WE WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED.
Bless you,
Cindy McGill
Hope for the Harvest Ministries
http://www.hopefortheharvest.com
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Declare War On Grumbling
Declare War on Ungratefulness and Grumbling With a Heart of THANKFULNESS
"The thankful heart sees the best part of every situation."
From my earliest Christian years I've heard questions about Jesus' comment concerning Judas Iscariot: "Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?" (John 6:70)
What did Jesus mean? Was Judas genetically a devil and not a man? (Jesus didn't say Judas had a devil, He said he was a devil). Can a devil actually live among people as a human?
While I am no scholar in ancient Greek, I think truth is better served reading the literal translation of this verse. The word translated as "devil," diabolos, is the same word translated elsewhere in the New Testament as "slanderer" or "malicious gossip" (see 1 Timothy 3:11; 2 Timothy 3:3).
When Jesus says that Judas is a devil, He is saying one of you is a "false accuser," a "slanderer," a "malicious gossip." Judas could not keep his negative perspective to himself.
Remember, just before Judas delivered Jesus to the Pharisees, he was offended that Jesus allowed an expensive ointment to be lavished on His hair. Judas indignantly complained: "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii, and given to poor people?" (John 12:5). His words spread strife among the other apostles as well (Matthew 26:8). Judas said, in effect, "Who permitted this thoughtless luxury?"
Well, it was Jesus. The woman had anointed Him for His burial. Yet, to Judas this was an extravagance that Jesus shouldn't have taken. In the angry mind of Judas Iscariot, here was justification to go to the chief priests. He had grounds to break ranks with Christ (Matthew 26:14-15).
God Has a Problem With Grumblers
Betrayal is never a sudden thing; rather, it is an accumulative response to the unresolved anger and disappointment one feels toward another. The offenses we do not transfer to God in surrendered prayer inevitably decay and become a venom we transfer to others through gossip. In the process, we embrace slander, but we feel justified. We become malicious gossips, but in our minds we're only communicating a "truth," a character flaw, that we self-righteously
"discerned."
To understand Judas' betrayal of Christ, we must unearth its source: Judas Iscariot was a grumbler. When we lose sight of the many things for which we should be thankful, we become murmurers and complainers, increasingly darkened by a thought-life engendered by hell.
Beware when your anger toward another Christian has led you to gossip about him or her, especially if you are embittered and are now sowing criticisms about him to others. Yes, beware: you are no longer being conformed to Christ, but are actually becoming more like Judas than Jesus.
Grumblers Everywhere
Of course, this grumbling attitude was not isolated to Judas' betrayal of Jesus. Many would-be disciples and Jewish leaders were also infected with murmuring. Consider: there were miracles everywhere, Christ had just fed the 5,000 when a very large crowd of His disciples began to find fault. Yet, even though Jesus warned, "Do not grumble among yourselves" (John 6:43), still the crowd persisted. Remember, these were Christ's disciples, and they were not grumbling at a sinner, but the only sinless man who ever lived.
"But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this," asked, 'Does this cause you to stumble?'" (John 6:61). And then, the grumbling spirit continued until "...many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore" (John 6:66).
Grumbling caused people to stop seeing and appreciating miracles. It caused disciples to be offended by Jesus' teaching and they stopped walking with Him.
As it was then, so it is today. Grumbling will ultimately cause you to stop walking with Jesus. It is a killer. You see, incredibly, not just the Pharisees and Judas Iscariot found fault with Jesus, even His disciples grumbled at times. Heaven was manifest in their midst and all they were focused on was what they perceived was wrong. That's what a grumbling attitude can do.
This poison of ingratitude is prevalent in the Church today. Paul warned that, "...in the last days...men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips" ( see 2 Timothy 3:1-9).
You get the point: "men will be...malicious gossips" or devils. They will be given to destroying one another with their words.
The Thankful Heart
Personally, I've declared war on grumbling. An unthankful heart is an enemy to God's will. Can you join me with this? Can you crucify a murmuring spirit? We have received too much from God to allow ourselves opportunities for ingratitude and unbelief! We have received too many gifts and privileges to allow grumbling to disqualify us of our destiny.
The thankful heart sees the best part of every situation. It sees problems and weaknesses as opportunities and struggles as refining tools. My prayer is for each of us to possess the abundant life that Jesus came to give us. I want to drive that little, ugly, grumbling demon away from our hearts, and replace it with a living awareness of the goodness of God!
Paul warned,"Nor let us...grumble, as (Israel) did, and were destroyed by the destroyer" (1 Corinthians 10:9-10). The moment we open ourselves to grumbling, we simultaneously open up to destruction.
"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable...is right, whatever is pure...lovely...of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things" (Philippians 4:8).
Remember, Paul was writing to people in the ancient Roman world. It was full of evil, full of injustice, full of reasons to grumble and be upset; but instead, God calls His people to a higher realm, where we dwell on the things that are above.
You say, "Who then will point out all the things that are wrong with life?" Oh, there are plenty of volunteers for that task. Better to ask, "How can I attain the blessed life Jesus came to give me?"
You say, "But the world is wicked. We need to decry and defeat evil." Yes, and I totally agree, I often decry evil myself. But I must live and offer a better life if I am going to defeat evil. God doesn't want His people to be grumbling about the difficult conditions of existence. He wants us to be mercy-motivated, redemption-orientated, prayer-empowered ambassadors of Heaven.
If we are merely complaining about what's wrong with the people around us, we should beware: we may actually be more like followers of Judas rather than Jesus.
Francis Frangipane www.frangipane.org
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Defeating Anxiety and Establishing Your Mind on Your Target
I am praying that you sing a NEW song. Do not stop singing until you get to the end of your song. The enemy tries to stop your song from coming to the end. He brings circumstances and discouragement to get you out of your place so you cannot hear the completion of the song. I am praying for the Body of Christ to have strength to go the extra mile.
I decree that you will not fall short, but will have new energy, stamina and strength to press through for the extra mile.
Isaiah 26 says, "Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter in. You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You."
I pray that your heart and mind will get fixed and aligned in a new way. May your mind not be pulled in a thousand directions but stay focused on that thing that will keep you in perfect peace. I break the power of anything coming against you that is pulling you so that your heart is divided. We decree that your mind will be whole and in perfect peace.
I decree that we will hit the mark. Sin will not pull us to the right or to the left. Things that are causing us to be anxious will let go of us. We will hear clearly - we will not be drawn out or robbed of strength so that we miss the mark.
The Lord says, "Be willing to step up, for I will give you strength in that place where you have strained to get, a higher place where you can stand, for vision to come forth. I will give you new strength to lift you up. If you will worship Me today, the power of 'lift' will come on you."
If you do not understand the power of lift, there is a section on it in The Worship Warrior. The power of lift will bring you into that place where you can stand and take aim on your mark that God has for you. Lord, let the power of lift hit the Body of Christ today.
Thank the Lord for the Spirit and the Blood. His Spirit is dwelling mightily in you and His Blood is flowing through your veins. Decree that the Spirit of God will energize you and cause you to praise. Ask God for the new word - the new revelation you need to come down and lift you out of the pit that is trying to hold you.
This is a month to develop your warfare strategies. You must have prophetic revelation for the warfare that is swirling around you. This is a time to enter into a new level of trust and rest.
This is also the month of "SAMEKH" - with trust, confidence and support coming full circle in your life.
In a season of coming full circle, this is a time to gain new confidence over your future and see your new beginning in a new way. Be sure to "take the night" or get up when He calls you during the night. This is a month of night visions and a month of dreams.
The Lord is determined to reveal to you, and align you for your future. Let the Lord stir the depths of your womb or river in your belly so you can receive the ability to understand your next measure. This is a month to shoot straight and move quickly.
I bless you abundantly,
Chuck D. Pierce Glory of Zion Ministries
http://www.gloryofzion.org/outmail/11-15-07_WeeklyEmailerOnline.htm
I decree that you will not fall short, but will have new energy, stamina and strength to press through for the extra mile.
Isaiah 26 says, "Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter in. You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You."
I pray that your heart and mind will get fixed and aligned in a new way. May your mind not be pulled in a thousand directions but stay focused on that thing that will keep you in perfect peace. I break the power of anything coming against you that is pulling you so that your heart is divided. We decree that your mind will be whole and in perfect peace.
I decree that we will hit the mark. Sin will not pull us to the right or to the left. Things that are causing us to be anxious will let go of us. We will hear clearly - we will not be drawn out or robbed of strength so that we miss the mark.
The Lord says, "Be willing to step up, for I will give you strength in that place where you have strained to get, a higher place where you can stand, for vision to come forth. I will give you new strength to lift you up. If you will worship Me today, the power of 'lift' will come on you."
If you do not understand the power of lift, there is a section on it in The Worship Warrior. The power of lift will bring you into that place where you can stand and take aim on your mark that God has for you. Lord, let the power of lift hit the Body of Christ today.
Thank the Lord for the Spirit and the Blood. His Spirit is dwelling mightily in you and His Blood is flowing through your veins. Decree that the Spirit of God will energize you and cause you to praise. Ask God for the new word - the new revelation you need to come down and lift you out of the pit that is trying to hold you.
This is a month to develop your warfare strategies. You must have prophetic revelation for the warfare that is swirling around you. This is a time to enter into a new level of trust and rest.
This is also the month of "SAMEKH" - with trust, confidence and support coming full circle in your life.
In a season of coming full circle, this is a time to gain new confidence over your future and see your new beginning in a new way. Be sure to "take the night" or get up when He calls you during the night. This is a month of night visions and a month of dreams.
The Lord is determined to reveal to you, and align you for your future. Let the Lord stir the depths of your womb or river in your belly so you can receive the ability to understand your next measure. This is a month to shoot straight and move quickly.
I bless you abundantly,
Chuck D. Pierce Glory of Zion Ministries
http://www.gloryofzion.org/outmail/11-15-07_WeeklyEmailerOnline.htm
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Visions and Impartations - Catherine Brown
Flying with a Golden Eagle
Visions and Impartations in the Night Season
Catherine Brown
Solomon Receives Impartation While Dreaming
Did you know that God can impart a supernatural gift to you during your sleep? It's true! We are blessed to read of such an impartation of "wisdom and discernment" given to King Solomon during a dream (1 Kings 3). Wisdom is one of the nine gifts of the Spirit (read 1 Corinthians 12:7-11).
I Kings 3:5-9, "At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, 'Ask for whatever you want Me to give you.'"Solomon answered,
"You have shown great kindness to Your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to You and righteous and upright in heart. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count in number. So give Your servant a discerning heart to govern Your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?"The Lord was pleased that Solomon asked Him for wisdom and discernment and the Lord said to him in Verses 10-15,
"'Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for - both riches and honor - so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in My ways and obey My statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.'Then Solomon awoke - and he realized it had been a dream."Solomon returned to Jerusalem and offered sacrificial offerings before the Lord and then gave a feast for all in his court. Shortly after this, two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him asking him to judge between who was the true mother of a baby child. One of the women's sons had died and only one child remained alive. Solomon had to execute a wise ruling and choose the authentic mother. Ultimately, Solomon's words and actions revealed the true mother's heart in verse 26,
"The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son, and said to the king, 'Please my lord, give her the living baby! Don't kill him!'"And in verse 28 we read,
The entire Israelite community affirmed that their king had received a gift from God. We are privileged to study the Scriptures and understand that this wisdom and gift of discernment was imparted to Solomon during a dream!"When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice."
There is no reason why we too, cannot exercise faith in a similar manner and have an expectation to receive instruction, wisdom and much more from the Lord during our sleeping (and waking).
Flying with the Golden Eagle
Before going on a mission trip to California in early 2006, I had two significant dreams/night visions, one of which I will share with you here. In my dream, I was flying over the streets of California late at night. I was aware that I was being carried along by the Spirit of the Lord. As I swooped through the streets, it was a most exhilarating experience. Suddenly, I became aware of a magnificent golden eagle that was flying ahead of me. I caught glimpses of the golden glory of the eagle from time-to-time as we sped along through the night.
In a split second or pre-emptive discernment, I realized that I was about to collide with the golden eagle. I turned the corner in my dream and did just that - I collided with the beautiful Heavenly being in a face-to-face encounter; and at the same time, I felt a rush of God's glory fill my entire being. I knew right away that I had received an impartation from the Lord. I had complete peace in my heart and awoke to feel the effects of the glory of God in my human frame. (Prophet Daniel describes this, "After that, in my vision at night" in Daniel 7:7.)
My spiritual father, Hugh Black, who has now gone home to be with the Lord, co-labored with the Reverend Duncan Campbell in the Lewis Revivals of the 20th century (1939 and 1949). He often spoke to me of the angels appearing in the Hebridean Islands and how the glory of the Lord was evident on the earth for days after such an encounter - it could be felt in both the body and also seen with the human eye in the earth's atmosphere.
Lifted By the Spirit of God
It is occasionally difficult to find accurate words to convey supernatural experiences. However, we can look to God's Word to find a holy foundation. Prophet Ezekiel writes of his experience of being raised up by the Spirit in various locations, providing us with a solid Biblical perspective of such an occurrence. My description of "flying" with the Lord is simply an alternative way of speaking about being lifted by the Spirit of the Lord and correlates with the experience of Ezekiel in relation to encountering God's glory. Ezekiel 11:1,
"Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the houses of the Lord that face east."
Ezekiel 11:24-25,
"Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Babylonia in the vision given by the Spirit of God. Then the vision I had seen went up from me, and I told the exiles everything the Lord had shown me."Revelation of Glory and in California
Furthermore, my description of the glory experience is also part of Ezekiel's revelatory encounter too. On several occasions, Ezekiel links being lifted in the Spirit (as in verse 24 above) with receiving a fresh revelation of the glory of God.
Ezekiel 11:22-23,
"Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. The glory of the Lord went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it."
Since we have a Biblical blueprint for receiving an impartation during a dream (as Solomon did), I also have no problem in exercising faith that God truly imparted a measure of His glory to me during the dream experience.
You may well ask, "What is the purpose of such an encounter?" I believe this particular glory impartation was for serving Him in California. Every genuine glory encounter with the Lord births a worship-filled response in our hearts along with a desire to shower His love on others.
So what happened during my trip to California? The dream depicted me on the streets, and whilst much of my time was spent ministering in churches to God's beloved children, I was also privileged to go out onto the streets with good friends to minister with the homeless of Northern California.
It was here that we saw the Glory of God manifest in anointed preaching as two more precious souls gave their lives in commitment to Christ; it was here that we saw God's glory poured out in healing miracles and precious words of Christ's life-giving prophecy.
It was on the streets that Jesus healed the darkness of depression that held a dear one bound; it was here that the Lord healed the dislocated shoulder of a young homeless man, whose body was covered with huge spider bites. It was here that Jesus came with tenderness and ministered to a young couple about to be married, pouring out words of healing and hope.
Thus the glory impartation had been for a divine purpose - to minister Christ's miracle working love to those to whom I had been sent.
The Living Creatures
Perhaps the only fully unanswered question remains in the interpretation of the "golden eagle." Some interpret eagles as symbolic of the prophetic ministry; others interpret them as part of apostolic ministry. Prophet Ezekiel describes the living creatures as having a face like an eagle in Ezekiel 10:14, "Each of the cherubim had four faces: one face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle" (see also Ezekiel 1:10).
The Book of Revelation describes the four living creatures that worship around the throne of the Lamb in this way in Revelation 4:7-8,
"The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around even under the wings. Day and night they never stop saying, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is and is to come.'"
I cannot say with absolute accuracy whether I encountered a living creature or not. I do know that the angelic being was Heaven sent and imparted a measure of the glory of the Lord to me in the vision/dream experience. I also believe that in sharing the dream, the believers of California were encouraged and moved to faith-filled responses. As a people of faith, we are called to exercise faith and discernment. I interpreted the dream as a sign of God's glory given for worship and for mission. A sign with interpretation translates into prophetic understanding. Prophetic understanding births further faith in our hearts and releases destiny as we respond to the glory of God in our lives.
Interpreting Dreams
In the life of the prophet, Daniel, we are able to see interesting interactions with revelations he perceived in the Heavenly realms. In Daniel 10:1 we read, "...a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war." The Scriptures clearly stated Daniel received "revelation," however, verse 1 continues, "The understanding of the message came to him in a vision." In other words, the "revelation" and the "understanding" about the revelation did not come at the same time, but one followed the other.
At a different time, Daniel was praying and repenting for sins in his nation when the angel Gabriel came to speak with him. Daniel 9:21-22,
"...while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, 'Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding.'"
God sent an angel to help His servant gain insight and understanding. The angel Gabriel instructed Daniel in respect to the revelation, even though God had given Daniel and his three associates,
"...knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds." Daniel 1:17
It is humbling and helpful to see that the mighty man of God, anointed and appointed, still needed help at times with interpretation. It is faith building to know that our Father in Heaven releases angels to instruct and assist His children with revelation and revelatory experiences!
Seven - A Sign of Completion
Before leaving California, the Lord drew my attention to "seven magnificent eagles" flying together in the air, just as I was approaching my final preaching destination. This was not a vision, but seven "real" eagles that hovered overhead. The Bibles teaches us that God rested on the seventh day and we may safely interpret the number seven as perfection and completion. I left California with God's perfect peace in my heart and a feeling of having completed my Kingdom assignment.
May the God of Israel grant you faith and favor as you pursue His dream for your life and explore the wonderful world of dreams and visions with the Holy Spirit and the angels.
To God be the glory.
Catherine Brown Gatekeepers Global MinistriesEmail: admin@gatekeepers.org.uk
As posted on teh Elijah list
Monday, November 19, 2007
A Face To Face Encounter
I hope today's post will make up for the lack of posts in the last few weeks.
In Part One of this two-part teaching entitled: A Face to Face Encounter, Todd Bentley defines supernatural encounters and experiences based on specific biblical evidence. Then, as he shares his face to face encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul, your belief-grid concerning heavenly experiences is sure to be both broadened and challenged.
In Part Two, as Todd releases meaty portions of what the apostle Paul taught him, (in the context that Jesus Christ is the door to every heavenly encounter) you’ll be inspired to press in for your own face to face encounter with the Lord.
A FACE TO FACE ENCOUNTER
by Revivalist Todd Bentley - [as edited by Kathy Thorne]Part 1 of 2
To come face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ is to come face to face with the goodness and glory of God! Oh to be a friend of God like Abraham and Moses were; for out of their intimate friendship with the Lord they had a face to face encounter with Him (Gen. 17:1; Ex. 33:11).
Listen. Today, for a deeper understanding of the apostolic, we need to note that every apostle in the Bible had been with the Lord. Not only were they friends of God who had face to face encounters with Him, they also had supernatural encounters and prophetic experiences. In fact, what made Paul an apostle was that he was taken up into the third heaven where he saw the Lord (1 Cor. 9:1; 2 Cor. 12: 2-4). That’s where his apostleship came from because he wasn't yet a disciple or an apostle when Jesus was physically on earth.
JESUS CHRIST IS THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND FOREVER
Now I want to ask an important question. Can Paul's experience also be ours today? The answer is "yes" and I say this because Jesus Christ is the same today as He was yesterday when Paul was on earth, and He's the same forever (Heb. 13:8).
Now consider this: Jesus' healing virtue is still released through His trusted servants today and that means that He heals people today just like He did two thousand years ago.
What a great promise when it comes to healing, but why not for the supernatural? If He's the same today, then why can't He visit me like He visited Abraham? If He's the same today, why can't He visit me like He visited Daniel? Why can't He visit me like He visited John? Why can't He visit me like He visited Isaiah? How about Ezekiel?
Yes, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that makes what's available in "Bible days" available today. It's not just about healing and laying hands on the sick and seeing miracles, as great as these are, but it's also about supernatural encounters with God.
Do you believe that? Do you believe that Jesus rose from the dead and over five hundred people saw Him for forty days in His resurrected body (1 Cor. 15:6)? Do you believe supernatural things can take place today?
I'm asking this because we're okay with angels showing up and speaking to Mary and Joseph, but we're not okay with angels showing up and speaking to us. We're okay with Paul being taken into heaven, or what he called the third heaven - caught up into a place called paradise. We're okay with that. It's good for Paul, or it's good for Elijah. Yet both Paul and Elijah were men just like we are, and as you know, they're both in heaven today. So are Abraham and Isaiah.
They aren't on earth anymore for God to interact with. But God, by His very nature, wants to interact with somebody supernaturally. My question is: Why not you? Why should anyon's experience in Christianity today be any different from what people experienced in Bible days?
Take Peter. He was in prison (See Acts 12:1–17). While an all night prayer meeting took place (on his behalf in someone’s house) an angel of the Lord came to Peter in his cell and his chains miraculously fell off his hands. Then he was led by the angel out of jail into the city. Peter made his way to the prayer meeting and when he arrived and knocked on the door they didn't really believe that he was at the door! They said (paraphrased): "Ah, it's not Peter, it's his angel."
My point is this. As God pours out His greater glory, we're going to hear about supernatural encounters and prophetic experiences, and they're going to be based on the way God moved supernaturally, in ancient times, for people in the Bible.
ENCOUNTERS AND PROPHETIC EXPERIENCES ARE INTENTIONAL
What's the purpose for supernatural encounters and prophetic experiences? You might be thinking: We've got the Bible and that's enough! For me, it's about intimacy, but not just that. It's: Why wait for your inheritance? When you get to heaven what do you think you're going to see? What do you expect it to be like in heaven? After all, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, the kingdom of God is within you, so why wait?
I'm hungry now. I've got an inheritance, I'm a joint heir, I don't have to wait for: One day I'm going to be in heaven. Thank God that'll be fullness. I'll be in eternity. What's more, we don't only need greater faith, we also need a greater expectation that God wants to impart something to us. We need an expectation that He is going to touch us; He is going to speak to us; He is going to visit us.
Look. Heaven is real; it's tangible, and the glory of heaven is real. It changes everything it touches. Furthermore, God wants the reality of heaven to be made known to His friends. For Jesus told His disciples - after He established the fact they were His friends if they did what He commanded - "No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you" (John 15:15).
God is looking for true friends with whom He can reveal His glory. There is a purpose for this desire. For instance, as God has revealed different aspects of His glory to me this year I've gained a deeper friendship with God. This has helped me to keep pressing in for all the fullness of God that I can contain, not just for my satisfaction, but ultimately so that He can work through me and cause others to know Him and be saved.
Now I want to share about an amazing prophetic experience concerning God's glory that I had in a meeting in Redding, California this year. Here we go!
JESUS CHRIST IS THE GATE, THE DOOR, AND THE LADDER
In that meeting, about an hour before I was due to speak, I was suddenly overcome by the Holy Spirit. Feeling somewhat weak, as if I was going to go into a trance (a biblical trance like the apostle Peter had - Acts 10:9, 10), I asked my team to take me to a nearby place called "The Green Room."
Sitting down on the couch I could feel a strong overwhelming sense of the presence of God and I knew I was going to fall into a trance. I was going to have a supernatural encounter. Then, in the chair, with my eyes open, I had an open vision. Jesus appeared right in front of me. It was as though He stepped right out of heaven, the Lord Jesus Himself, and stood before me as a Man.
I saw that behind the Lord, almost like a projection, a vision of heaven shone from the back of His body; a trail of heaven followed Him, it was projected behind him. It was as though a window was open and I could look right into heaven itself. But heaven had come from the Lord. In fact, heaven is the Lord.
Out of the Lord came beams of white and golden light. Such brightness! From out of the white, golden, light came other brilliant colors - blue, purple, green, red and pink were the main ones -like rainbows.
Pink prophetically represents love and emotions. I saw what looked to be ten rainbows coming from the Lord, Himself. It reminded me of the description of the throne room in Ezekiel 1:28 -"Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD." I even saw rivers of oil, rivers of honey, and I saw bridges.
Then the Lord did two things to me. He walked up to me and He put His hand inside my belly and He gave me a supernatural enablement to live through what was about to take place. He was establishing me so I wouldn't die. I say that because when I saw heaven I wanted to pass the Lord and go right in. But the Lord said, "If you pass Me right now, you will die. Todd, you are not just having a vision, you are in heaven and this is real." The Lord said, "I am the gate, I am the door, I am the ladder. There is no heaven without Me."
He said, if you pass Me, you will die. Something sustained me. He put His hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes and said, "Peace I give you, not as the world gives," and a great peace came over me like a vibration and my whole body trembled while I received the peace of God.
Then the vision faded. Yet I was so overcome by the glory of God I just laid on the floor in the Green Room and as I was lying there, unexpectedly I was caught up instantly into the spirit. I was no longer aware that I was in a conference setting. All of a sudden I was standing on a grassy hill and I saw still waters. I saw a river flowing between its banks. It was like Psalm 23, green pastures, and I was looking down.
I thought the (flowing) river was going to be pure, living water but as I looked I saw that it was a river of oil and honey. Next the colors changed from pink and rainbows, white light and the color of gold, to orangey red. Everywhere I looked was the appearance of amber. Everywhere, it was like a sunrise or a sunset, red or ruby or orangey red.
I looked up to my left and there was a bridge, and my first thought was: What a secret place. Still waters, I am in Paradise, this is Psalm 23. Look at that beautiful bridge! I just want to sit up on the bridge. That's what I was thinking. The butterflies were flying by and I felt the peace of God; I was overcome by the shalom. Wow. I thought: Look at that bridge.
Now, when you think something in heaven, you are there, so although I don't actually remember moving, the next thing I knew I was actually sitting on the bridge. While in this heavenly experience sitting up on the bridge I saw someone walking toward me. I knew in my spirit it was Paul the apostle. He walked right onto the bridge and he sat down next to me. He had this blank scroll in his hand and he started writing with a pen (which was more like a feather with ink).
When he started writing it looked like Hebrew and he would say, "Eat this." He continued writing on the scroll, saying "Eat this" again and again. But when I realized I was eating, I noticed that I wasn't eating by my mouth, I was eating by my belly. He was stuffing his writings inside my spirit right past by head, putting some kind of divine revelation right into my spirit.
Then Paul spoke to me about the message of the hour for the Church and much more. Yet, it would be best to hold his inspiring message and the other heavenly adventures in connection with Paul until Part Two next week.
Website: www.freshfire.ca
I encourage you to seek to discover more of our wonderful, supernatural God. There is muich more to our life in God than we already know.
In Part One of this two-part teaching entitled: A Face to Face Encounter, Todd Bentley defines supernatural encounters and experiences based on specific biblical evidence. Then, as he shares his face to face encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul, your belief-grid concerning heavenly experiences is sure to be both broadened and challenged.
In Part Two, as Todd releases meaty portions of what the apostle Paul taught him, (in the context that Jesus Christ is the door to every heavenly encounter) you’ll be inspired to press in for your own face to face encounter with the Lord.
A FACE TO FACE ENCOUNTER
by Revivalist Todd Bentley - [as edited by Kathy Thorne]Part 1 of 2
To come face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ is to come face to face with the goodness and glory of God! Oh to be a friend of God like Abraham and Moses were; for out of their intimate friendship with the Lord they had a face to face encounter with Him (Gen. 17:1; Ex. 33:11).
Listen. Today, for a deeper understanding of the apostolic, we need to note that every apostle in the Bible had been with the Lord. Not only were they friends of God who had face to face encounters with Him, they also had supernatural encounters and prophetic experiences. In fact, what made Paul an apostle was that he was taken up into the third heaven where he saw the Lord (1 Cor. 9:1; 2 Cor. 12: 2-4). That’s where his apostleship came from because he wasn't yet a disciple or an apostle when Jesus was physically on earth.
JESUS CHRIST IS THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND FOREVER
Now I want to ask an important question. Can Paul's experience also be ours today? The answer is "yes" and I say this because Jesus Christ is the same today as He was yesterday when Paul was on earth, and He's the same forever (Heb. 13:8).
Now consider this: Jesus' healing virtue is still released through His trusted servants today and that means that He heals people today just like He did two thousand years ago.
What a great promise when it comes to healing, but why not for the supernatural? If He's the same today, then why can't He visit me like He visited Abraham? If He's the same today, why can't He visit me like He visited Daniel? Why can't He visit me like He visited John? Why can't He visit me like He visited Isaiah? How about Ezekiel?
Yes, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that makes what's available in "Bible days" available today. It's not just about healing and laying hands on the sick and seeing miracles, as great as these are, but it's also about supernatural encounters with God.
Do you believe that? Do you believe that Jesus rose from the dead and over five hundred people saw Him for forty days in His resurrected body (1 Cor. 15:6)? Do you believe supernatural things can take place today?
I'm asking this because we're okay with angels showing up and speaking to Mary and Joseph, but we're not okay with angels showing up and speaking to us. We're okay with Paul being taken into heaven, or what he called the third heaven - caught up into a place called paradise. We're okay with that. It's good for Paul, or it's good for Elijah. Yet both Paul and Elijah were men just like we are, and as you know, they're both in heaven today. So are Abraham and Isaiah.
They aren't on earth anymore for God to interact with. But God, by His very nature, wants to interact with somebody supernaturally. My question is: Why not you? Why should anyon's experience in Christianity today be any different from what people experienced in Bible days?
Take Peter. He was in prison (See Acts 12:1–17). While an all night prayer meeting took place (on his behalf in someone’s house) an angel of the Lord came to Peter in his cell and his chains miraculously fell off his hands. Then he was led by the angel out of jail into the city. Peter made his way to the prayer meeting and when he arrived and knocked on the door they didn't really believe that he was at the door! They said (paraphrased): "Ah, it's not Peter, it's his angel."
My point is this. As God pours out His greater glory, we're going to hear about supernatural encounters and prophetic experiences, and they're going to be based on the way God moved supernaturally, in ancient times, for people in the Bible.
ENCOUNTERS AND PROPHETIC EXPERIENCES ARE INTENTIONAL
What's the purpose for supernatural encounters and prophetic experiences? You might be thinking: We've got the Bible and that's enough! For me, it's about intimacy, but not just that. It's: Why wait for your inheritance? When you get to heaven what do you think you're going to see? What do you expect it to be like in heaven? After all, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, the kingdom of God is within you, so why wait?
I'm hungry now. I've got an inheritance, I'm a joint heir, I don't have to wait for: One day I'm going to be in heaven. Thank God that'll be fullness. I'll be in eternity. What's more, we don't only need greater faith, we also need a greater expectation that God wants to impart something to us. We need an expectation that He is going to touch us; He is going to speak to us; He is going to visit us.
Look. Heaven is real; it's tangible, and the glory of heaven is real. It changes everything it touches. Furthermore, God wants the reality of heaven to be made known to His friends. For Jesus told His disciples - after He established the fact they were His friends if they did what He commanded - "No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you" (John 15:15).
God is looking for true friends with whom He can reveal His glory. There is a purpose for this desire. For instance, as God has revealed different aspects of His glory to me this year I've gained a deeper friendship with God. This has helped me to keep pressing in for all the fullness of God that I can contain, not just for my satisfaction, but ultimately so that He can work through me and cause others to know Him and be saved.
Now I want to share about an amazing prophetic experience concerning God's glory that I had in a meeting in Redding, California this year. Here we go!
JESUS CHRIST IS THE GATE, THE DOOR, AND THE LADDER
In that meeting, about an hour before I was due to speak, I was suddenly overcome by the Holy Spirit. Feeling somewhat weak, as if I was going to go into a trance (a biblical trance like the apostle Peter had - Acts 10:9, 10), I asked my team to take me to a nearby place called "The Green Room."
Sitting down on the couch I could feel a strong overwhelming sense of the presence of God and I knew I was going to fall into a trance. I was going to have a supernatural encounter. Then, in the chair, with my eyes open, I had an open vision. Jesus appeared right in front of me. It was as though He stepped right out of heaven, the Lord Jesus Himself, and stood before me as a Man.
I saw that behind the Lord, almost like a projection, a vision of heaven shone from the back of His body; a trail of heaven followed Him, it was projected behind him. It was as though a window was open and I could look right into heaven itself. But heaven had come from the Lord. In fact, heaven is the Lord.
Out of the Lord came beams of white and golden light. Such brightness! From out of the white, golden, light came other brilliant colors - blue, purple, green, red and pink were the main ones -like rainbows.
Pink prophetically represents love and emotions. I saw what looked to be ten rainbows coming from the Lord, Himself. It reminded me of the description of the throne room in Ezekiel 1:28 -"Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD." I even saw rivers of oil, rivers of honey, and I saw bridges.
Then the Lord did two things to me. He walked up to me and He put His hand inside my belly and He gave me a supernatural enablement to live through what was about to take place. He was establishing me so I wouldn't die. I say that because when I saw heaven I wanted to pass the Lord and go right in. But the Lord said, "If you pass Me right now, you will die. Todd, you are not just having a vision, you are in heaven and this is real." The Lord said, "I am the gate, I am the door, I am the ladder. There is no heaven without Me."
He said, if you pass Me, you will die. Something sustained me. He put His hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes and said, "Peace I give you, not as the world gives," and a great peace came over me like a vibration and my whole body trembled while I received the peace of God.
Then the vision faded. Yet I was so overcome by the glory of God I just laid on the floor in the Green Room and as I was lying there, unexpectedly I was caught up instantly into the spirit. I was no longer aware that I was in a conference setting. All of a sudden I was standing on a grassy hill and I saw still waters. I saw a river flowing between its banks. It was like Psalm 23, green pastures, and I was looking down.
I thought the (flowing) river was going to be pure, living water but as I looked I saw that it was a river of oil and honey. Next the colors changed from pink and rainbows, white light and the color of gold, to orangey red. Everywhere I looked was the appearance of amber. Everywhere, it was like a sunrise or a sunset, red or ruby or orangey red.
I looked up to my left and there was a bridge, and my first thought was: What a secret place. Still waters, I am in Paradise, this is Psalm 23. Look at that beautiful bridge! I just want to sit up on the bridge. That's what I was thinking. The butterflies were flying by and I felt the peace of God; I was overcome by the shalom. Wow. I thought: Look at that bridge.
Now, when you think something in heaven, you are there, so although I don't actually remember moving, the next thing I knew I was actually sitting on the bridge. While in this heavenly experience sitting up on the bridge I saw someone walking toward me. I knew in my spirit it was Paul the apostle. He walked right onto the bridge and he sat down next to me. He had this blank scroll in his hand and he started writing with a pen (which was more like a feather with ink).
When he started writing it looked like Hebrew and he would say, "Eat this." He continued writing on the scroll, saying "Eat this" again and again. But when I realized I was eating, I noticed that I wasn't eating by my mouth, I was eating by my belly. He was stuffing his writings inside my spirit right past by head, putting some kind of divine revelation right into my spirit.
Then Paul spoke to me about the message of the hour for the Church and much more. Yet, it would be best to hold his inspiring message and the other heavenly adventures in connection with Paul until Part Two next week.
Website: www.freshfire.ca
I encourage you to seek to discover more of our wonderful, supernatural God. There is muich more to our life in God than we already know.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Creating An Opening For God's Presence
My prayer is that this message from Jim Goll will encourage you to press in and seek God's presence. You can find more from James Goll at http://www.encountersnetwork.com/
BLOWING THE ROOF OFF YOUR HOUSE
Making Jesus At Home In Your House
Read Mark 2:1- 5 slowly as a parable. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring personal applications to your life.
Prayer Opens The Way!
Testimony of the Hebrides Island Revival in 1952.
Two desperate women - Peggy & Christina Smith - 84 & 82 years old - were desperate for a revival on their island off of Scotland. They began praying from Isaiah 44:3,
The Spirit of God fell in a barn that night where seven young men were praying from Isaiah 62:6,7 where it tells us,
Testimony of Evan Roberts and the Welsh Revival of 1904.
At the age of 13 young Evan began to seek the Lord. At the age of 26 Revival came to his home town. He taught the people to pray two simple prayers. “Send the Spirit now for Jesus Christ sake.” The second prayer was similar. “Send the Spirit now more powerfully for Jesus Christ sake.”
Indeed, God’s Spirit came down and 100,000 souls were swept up into God’s Kingdom. Today, a cry is arising - “More Lord!” Yes, there must be a youth revolution come as it was with Evan Roberts. We must have a “transgernerational anointing” as it was with Peggy & Christina Smith. It is time for prayer to arise and to blow the roof off the house!
The Key of the Prophetic
The prophetic becomes a powerful took to open closed minds, closed doors and closed situations. Seek God, get His word, put the key in the door & turn it! Read the following scriptures.
We need His presence more than anything in this life! The one outstanding distinguishing characteristic of God’s people is to be His presence among us!
I want to tell you a dream that has recently gripped my soul. In January, 1999 while I was having some forced rest due to a hernia surgery - the Lord visited me with a piercing dream that is helping to set my course of direction right now and I believe is a clear word to His people.
In this dream, I was holding long loaves of bread each wrapped in their own individual napkin. I was holding these loaves of bread close to my chest right over my heart. Then I got our youngest child's (Rachel's) blanket she has had since birth. I now wrapped these loaves of bread in her dear baby blanket. I held the bread close to my heart and just kind of rocked the bread as you would a new born child. Then I heard the words,
This I know - He wants us to cherish and care for His Presence. Pray for His presence. Love His presence. Nurture His presence - after all - isn't this what you have longed for all your life? Isn't this what you were made laborers to arise who are not content with life as is to tear the roof off in order to lower another into the presence of Jesus!
Go for it in Jesus Name! You can have an open heaven over your heart and life and carry it with you wherever you go! Just love His presence!
BLESSINGS TO YOU!
James W. Goll www.enountersnetwork.com
I encourage you to set time aside to dwell in God's presence. There's no better place to be.
BLOWING THE ROOF OFF YOUR HOUSE
Making Jesus At Home In Your House
Read Mark 2:1- 5 slowly as a parable. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring personal applications to your life.
- Mark 2:1 - Is Jesus at “Home” in your house - family - congregation- city? What would you need to do to have Him be more than the “honored guest” who occasionally shows up
- Mark 2:2 - When Jesus is “in His temple” - people will gather and revelation will rest on the word of God. May God’s house be full to overflowing and may the crowds gather once again to hear the word of the Lord!
- Mark 2:3 - Some became dissatisfied with the crowds as they were. Four men became desperate for a “break through” on another level. Through the heat of the day, they carried their paralytic friend on a stretcher to the house where Jesus was. They worked hard to carry this “dead weight” possibly at a distance. It cost them something to get him there, but they wanted more!
- Mark 2:4 - They could not get near to Jesus due to the crowds. They could have given up, but instead - they moved from the natural into the supernatural to find their solution. Then hope came. We will tear the roof off the house. So they proceeded upon the roof to tear it open with their hands. Through great effort - they dug a big hole in the roof (opened heavens) and lowered their friend into the presence of the living Messiah.
- Mark 2:5 - Jesus saw “their faith.” Whose faith? All their faith together! Then he spoke to the paralytic - “Your sins are forgiven.” This results in healing the body. May these words echo through our lives today and the sick Body of Christ be raised up to “wholeness.”
- Like in Genesis 28:16-17, we need the gates of heaven opened over our cities, churches and families. (For more on this subject see the lesson “Gatekeepers of His Presence” in my Revival Breakthrough Study Guide.)
- Like in Mark 2:1-5, we need to “Blow the Roof Off” our thinking, concepts and believe the Lord for extraordinary works of grace. Desperate times take desperate measures. We need desperate laborers to arise who are not content with life as is to tear the roof off in order to lower another into the presence of Jesus!
Prayer Opens The Way!
Testimony of the Hebrides Island Revival in 1952.
Two desperate women - Peggy & Christina Smith - 84 & 82 years old - were desperate for a revival on their island off of Scotland. They began praying from Isaiah 44:3,
“For I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants.”They reminded God of His word. Then they began to claim Isaiah 64:1
The oldest sister was blind, but she received a vision and proclaimed, “He’s coming! He’s coming! He’s already here!”"O that Thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down, That the mountains might quake at Thy presence. . .”
The Spirit of God fell in a barn that night where seven young men were praying from Isaiah 62:6,7 where it tells us,
Sure enough God came. This began the great Hebrides Revival under the preaching of Duncan Campbell. A spiritual radiation zone was created and many souls were saved!"On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves; And give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”
Testimony of Evan Roberts and the Welsh Revival of 1904.
At the age of 13 young Evan began to seek the Lord. At the age of 26 Revival came to his home town. He taught the people to pray two simple prayers. “Send the Spirit now for Jesus Christ sake.” The second prayer was similar. “Send the Spirit now more powerfully for Jesus Christ sake.”
Indeed, God’s Spirit came down and 100,000 souls were swept up into God’s Kingdom. Today, a cry is arising - “More Lord!” Yes, there must be a youth revolution come as it was with Evan Roberts. We must have a “transgernerational anointing” as it was with Peggy & Christina Smith. It is time for prayer to arise and to blow the roof off the house!
The Key of the Prophetic
The prophetic becomes a powerful took to open closed minds, closed doors and closed situations. Seek God, get His word, put the key in the door & turn it! Read the following scriptures.
- Deut. 8:3 - man lives by God’s Word.
- Matt. 4:4 - by every Word that proceeds.
- Eph. 6:17 - the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.
- Luk. 11:52 - we must use the key and not hinder others.
We need His presence more than anything in this life! The one outstanding distinguishing characteristic of God’s people is to be His presence among us!
- Exodus 33:12-23 - God gave Moses his request and revealed His glorious Presence to Him.
- Exodus 25:30 - the bread of His Presence (or shewbread) used by the priest in ministering to the Lord.
I want to tell you a dream that has recently gripped my soul. In January, 1999 while I was having some forced rest due to a hernia surgery - the Lord visited me with a piercing dream that is helping to set my course of direction right now and I believe is a clear word to His people.
In this dream, I was holding long loaves of bread each wrapped in their own individual napkin. I was holding these loaves of bread close to my chest right over my heart. Then I got our youngest child's (Rachel's) blanket she has had since birth. I now wrapped these loaves of bread in her dear baby blanket. I held the bread close to my heart and just kind of rocked the bread as you would a new born child. Then I heard the words,
"When My people will care for, cherish, nurture and love the "Bread of My Presence" like a parent does it's new born child - then revival will come."I then found my self awakened out of the dream only to find my arms were held out as though holding and rocking something. I then heard myself prophesying out loud in the bedroom the same words I had just heard in the dream as the sweet presence of the Holy Spirit was lingering over my body. The Lord was emphasizing these words by having them be repeated twice!
This I know - He wants us to cherish and care for His Presence. Pray for His presence. Love His presence. Nurture His presence - after all - isn't this what you have longed for all your life? Isn't this what you were made laborers to arise who are not content with life as is to tear the roof off in order to lower another into the presence of Jesus!
Go for it in Jesus Name! You can have an open heaven over your heart and life and carry it with you wherever you go! Just love His presence!
BLESSINGS TO YOU!
James W. Goll www.enountersnetwork.com
I encourage you to set time aside to dwell in God's presence. There's no better place to be.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Rest in God
Daily Words:Upwords from the "Logos" (written Word of God) and "Rhema" Words (spoken Words) meant to build up, to exhort or comfort
Heb 4:10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. NKJV
A message from Jesus
The Most Productive People ...
Discern the most spiritually productive people of all time and you will find their first priority was to linger in communion with Me for hours. You will know when you are truly abiding in Me because the more you are pressured to worry or to "do," the more you must "abide" in Me - listening - journaling - praising me ahead of time. Yes, you will do your part, like march around Jericho in silent faith, until the day I release you to shout. But, you will know that your battles are really won as you worship Me ahead of time and have quiet confidence in My strength.
Become more sensitive to your tendency to transfer your faith from Me back to yourself. When you feel that urgency to leave communion with Me because you must get up and "get something done," it will be wood, hay and stubble. True productivity (silver, gold and precious stones) comes when you are clear that apart from Me, you can do nothing. You will reproduce reproducers who are what 'you are' - not 'what you do.'
Try it; actively put your faith in what I alone can do.
I AM the omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent One.
Heb 4:10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. NKJV
A message from Jesus
The Most Productive People ...
Discern the most spiritually productive people of all time and you will find their first priority was to linger in communion with Me for hours. You will know when you are truly abiding in Me because the more you are pressured to worry or to "do," the more you must "abide" in Me - listening - journaling - praising me ahead of time. Yes, you will do your part, like march around Jericho in silent faith, until the day I release you to shout. But, you will know that your battles are really won as you worship Me ahead of time and have quiet confidence in My strength.
Become more sensitive to your tendency to transfer your faith from Me back to yourself. When you feel that urgency to leave communion with Me because you must get up and "get something done," it will be wood, hay and stubble. True productivity (silver, gold and precious stones) comes when you are clear that apart from Me, you can do nothing. You will reproduce reproducers who are what 'you are' - not 'what you do.'
Try it; actively put your faith in what I alone can do.
I AM the omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent One.
Monday, October 08, 2007
You Can Know God's Thoughts
Your life of faith is a response to God's power... 1 Corinthians 2:5
Who ever knows what you're thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God - except that he not only knows what he's thinking, but he lets us in on it. 1 Corinthians 2:11 - 12
Spirit can be known only by spirit - God's Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God's Spirit is doing ... Isaiah's question, "Is there anyone around who knows God's Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?" has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ's Spirit. 1Corinthains 2:14-16
God speaks to you through your spirit. God has given you His Spirit so that you can know all that He has given you. If you are in Christ, you have the mind of Christ!
God lets you in on what He's thinking. He communcates with you spirit to Spirit. When you are spiritually alive you have access to what God's Spirit is doing.
Christ knows what God is doing and you have Christ's Spirit, so you can know God's thoughts. It's simply a matter of waking up your spirit and learning to communicate spirit to Spirit.
God shares His thought with you through Jesus whose Spirit lives in you. The Bible tells you that His sheep know His voice. If you are a follower of Jesus then you can hear the voice of God.
If you want to learn to communicate spirit to Spirit ask Jesus to show you how. Quiet yourself in His presence and ask Him to lead you.
Jesus, I am so sorry for not living as though you live within me and for forgetting that I have access to the Father's thoughts through you. Forgive me for neglecting to spend time with you. Forgive me for neglecting to wait and listen for your Spirit communicating with me.
Help me to get to know you more and to live each day aware of your presence with me. I want to know you more.
The truth of your love and your presence is so easily snatched away. Let that be no more. Draw me closer to you, open my spritual eyes and my spiritual ears and help me to hear your voice.
Who ever knows what you're thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God - except that he not only knows what he's thinking, but he lets us in on it. 1 Corinthians 2:11 - 12
Spirit can be known only by spirit - God's Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God's Spirit is doing ... Isaiah's question, "Is there anyone around who knows God's Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?" has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ's Spirit. 1Corinthains 2:14-16
God speaks to you through your spirit. God has given you His Spirit so that you can know all that He has given you. If you are in Christ, you have the mind of Christ!
God lets you in on what He's thinking. He communcates with you spirit to Spirit. When you are spiritually alive you have access to what God's Spirit is doing.
Christ knows what God is doing and you have Christ's Spirit, so you can know God's thoughts. It's simply a matter of waking up your spirit and learning to communicate spirit to Spirit.
God shares His thought with you through Jesus whose Spirit lives in you. The Bible tells you that His sheep know His voice. If you are a follower of Jesus then you can hear the voice of God.
If you want to learn to communicate spirit to Spirit ask Jesus to show you how. Quiet yourself in His presence and ask Him to lead you.
Jesus, I am so sorry for not living as though you live within me and for forgetting that I have access to the Father's thoughts through you. Forgive me for neglecting to spend time with you. Forgive me for neglecting to wait and listen for your Spirit communicating with me.
Help me to get to know you more and to live each day aware of your presence with me. I want to know you more.
The truth of your love and your presence is so easily snatched away. Let that be no more. Draw me closer to you, open my spritual eyes and my spiritual ears and help me to hear your voice.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Authority In The Name Of Jesus
As a believer and follower of Jesus you have power in His name.
Authority in the Name of Jesus
Authority in the Name of Jesus
"Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That's just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them?" James 2:19
We have it on good authoity that every knee will bow at the name of Jesus. Everything is subject to Jesus' powerful name. His name is powerful! His name is greater than disability, greater than cancer, greater than divorce, greater than depression, greater than anything you can name. When we stand clothed in Jesus' righteousness and use the authority that we have been given He sees to it that the words we utter do not return to us empty.
The Power of the Word of God
"The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" Hebrews 4:12
The Word of God can be used to break every stronghold. The Word of God is living and active and it is powerful. When combined with faith it is lethal to the enemy.
I encourage you to read Epesians 6 and put on the full armor of God every single day so that you are prepared ahead of time to face the battles and withstand the enemy.
- Seek the Kingdom first
- Remember that you are seated in heavenly places
- Take hold of the your authority you have been given
- Submit yourself to God
- Resist the devil
- Cover yourself with the blood of Jesus
- Renew your mind with the word of God
- Declare the promises of His Word and
- Face each day prepared.
The battle is the Lord's and it is already won. I encourage you to speak out the victory you have in Jesus. Refuse to be defeated. Rise up and be who you are in Christ.
If you follow the links you'll find Scriptures to remind you who you are in Christ and to help to build your faith
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