A Kid in a Candy Store!

Ezekiel 37:5-6 - Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD."

I think I was asleep and have been going through a time of awakening. I was becoming comfortable in my life in Christ, despite the deep seated desire to grow deeper in Him. As the days grow more ominous we know our strength must come from some place other than our selves and our resourcefulness. The only way to gain that strength is to go to the Source, which is Jesus.

Our church (The Church in Wisconsin) is being bombarded by several nights' worth of powerful, eye-opening words of a young evangelist, Jeremy Prochazka. Old truths have been brought forth as reminders of what being in Christ means. As one sermon leads into the next they are all connected by a fresh view and a common thread...the Lord. I feel like a kid in a candy store. So much to "look" into and take in, not that I haven't heard it before, but that I need to be reminded. That's what revival is. Dry bones coming back to life.

Jeremy started with the Church and how if Christ is in it that's what it's all about. And those churches which are doing it right by not watering down the Word or preaching man's version of the Gospel and are allowing the Holy Spirit full access, the Latter Will be Greater than the Past, as his first message was entitled. There will be a remnant in the end who will rebuild the Church to what it should be, who will be standing only on the truth of His Word...what it's all about.

These messages have touched me. Each one so far has struck a conviction, one that started probably a year ago when I was beginning to become dissatisfied with something I couldn't put my finger on...which culminated in one day just knowing God was leading me to make a change, a very big one, in order to go deeper with Him. That change moved me to a new church, a difficult decision but when God is behind it, a good one, of that I was sure.

The Church: it's not about the building but the people within it...if Christ is in the heart, He is in the home as well. He had no luxurious place to rest at night. It was whoever took Him in, or whatever rock was available to rest His head. This speaks corporately and personally, too.

All things that are not of Christ must be removed. There is a shaking going on. I have felt that there has been a sifting and when that is done the shaking within Church walls will come thereafter. Perhaps some churches have been sifted and are now being shaken, some are still being sifted. Is the Church, or ourselves, Christ-centered or not? Shake it out if it is not.

Again, I have felt complacency, but desiring more. Where I am now I don't think I can remain with all the people around me. That is good. Now three weeks later I'm really sensing I am lacking compared to them. Ah, but we are not to compare ourselves, which Jeremy brought up last night, and as I've heard before. And no one should compare in Church. It's where edification should take place if it is the church (any church) it claims it to be. If there's comparison, it's wrong.

We're at different spiritual levels and that's okay. It's that we want to reach the next level that is important. And it starts in a church that is of one accord, all wanting this same thing, no matter what level we're on. Shaking causes shackles to be broken and that equals freedom. We are all given a measure by Christ. If He has given us that measure, don't try to fix it. Go with it.

Jeremy talked about the dry bones in Ezekiel 37. Shaking of the Church isn't always bad but will produce good. You shake to stir things up, to open eyes, revive, restore, bring back together. Once the bones are shaken the flesh will reappear and growth will occur.

In his sermon on Controlled by the River Jeremy discussed Ezekiel 47:1-11. There was a vision of a man measuring the waters that flowed out of the temple. First they were ankle deep, then knee high, then to the loins until the waters were so deep they could not be crossed. These are like the depth of our spiritual walk with the Lord. And He is the Man measuring. When He moves, we move with Him, but never before Him. It reminds me of Jesus as our living Water. And it is about the Spirit of God which flows in us and directs us. Just keep moving when He moves into that deeper place with Him, beyond where you now are. Follow Him is all He asks and there will be healing and life.

If we get to a place where we can't grow anymore, He will move us. Oh, I saw it when I knew it was time to move from one church to another but this message was such confirmation. I'm sure more revelation will come! Hallelujah.

Monday night in his Conditions of Defeat and Conditions of Victory Jeremy talked about how we might go through seasons of defeat...early on, in the middle of our walk or the end. Sometimes the condition is based on those around us. If they are lax, so will others be. But if they are Spirit-filled and of one accord, it will stand to reason I will be also. And at the same time we must continue to realize that He has given each of us a measure, which I mentioned above. I cannot become frustrated that I can't "measure up" to the person next to me. Jesus has done the measuring; be satisfied with that.

In Acts the early day church all came together in one accord...all 120 people! They prayed and fellowshipped together and the Holy Spirit came upon them. They were then able to go out, with the full measure that Christ had given them and preach to all the world. And the Church grew in number. His Spirit, which stirred the waters in Genesis, stirred their spirits in that upper room. He moved and they followed, each with and in the measure He had given them. He does the same today...let our Church be as the upper room, filled with the glory of God, sending forth the people with praises of God and the healing power to save, increasing the remnant Church.

An interesting point brought up: Ezekiel 47...the first step forward into the river was only ankle deep. That's our first step of faith in our walk with God. In Acts the first healing that took place as the disciples went out to begin their preaching ministry was a lame man. His ankle bones and feet received strength! This was the lame man's first step of faith in trusting the mighty healing power (spiritually as well as physically) of God. He had to start somewhere, like we all do. And sometimes we need to get back into step!

Ezekiel 47:9 - And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes.

Come, Holy Spirit

Lord God, Your Holy Spirit is what brings life. Some of Your churches have lost this Spirit. They have become as dry bones. Come fill those churches again. Revive them. Bring Your power. Renew spirits by Your Spirit, not for just a few but for the most! Let those who don't feel Your Spirit be touched by it. Soften hardened hearts, O God. Let us arise again.

It is, after all, Your Church. You have the power to bring Your Church up out of the ashes. I say this about our church...we have been burned and sifted and shaken. We feel we lie in a wasteland. Your breath is needed again to bring life. We must have a sense of Your Spirit again. We are hanging in wait. We are submitting to the sifting. How long, O Lord?

Yes, I believe there is more sifting to take place. I'm so thankful You can raise up an army, Your remnant, from the burning ashes. The ember has not completely been extinguished. There is still a people who desire to see You victorious in this church.

Help Your Church to see not the negative in sifting and shaking, but the positive. Help everyone to not make it a thing about themselves or their feelings or the "wrongs" to others but about You. You are the One doing the sifting. Open the eyes of those who only want to place the blame on others, as is our nature. Remind these people it's about what You are doing...and for our own good.  

We have been cut down like a tree, no more than a stump. It looks lifeless but, Lord God, we know from nature that live trees cut down begin to grow and bud again. Their roots are strengthened in the pruning process. The foundation, as it were, has been strengthened, the roots stretching out yet further for a better foothold.  The Foundation for many in our church is You. You have maintained a hold in the lives of those who have seen the pruning; and we're thankful to be left. Help others to enter into this place. Let us rise above our circumstances in one accord.

Let all in our church have the wisdom to know that great things result when we are in one accord and standing firm on the Foundation of Christ. It is by Your hand that churches come and go. You will work mightily, You will prune and You will grow. You will remove the dross not only from our lives but from Your church. Only by pruning, in both our lives and the Church, can we grow.

You ask when you might see My hand upon this church and I say My hand is upon this church. You desire to see a move of My spirit in a big way. Sometimes My ways are small and they grow. I am waiting to see who will continue to trust in Me, who will not walk away in search of greener pastures where "the Spirit of the Lord resides," where My Spirit is strongly felt. Stand strong and do not falter. Continue in your worship and trust in Me. You will see the day you desire if you hold strong and do not fail. Those who can't wait will move on. My work is never ending. My plans will always come into fruition.

Look for Me in the little things. I'm in all things. I do great works even in the small things, including in My church...I will bring healing. Nothing is as it seems. I work silently behind the scenes. One day you will look back and know that the pieces of My puzzle were being put together, one by one.

A day is coming when there will be a Church that will worship in Spirit and in Truth. It will not worship for the sake of being seen with hands raised but it will worship because it is in the presence and power of You. Let our church be counted as one of them.

Let our prayers be lifted high to the heavens; let them be a sweet incense to Your nostrils. Hear the cries of the hearts of those who only want more of You. Open the eyes of those who have lost their first Love. Are You peering through the lattice? Are You waiting for the cry of all, not just some? Will You find more than 50, 20 or 10 truly desiring Your presence or will You destroy, like You did Sodom and Gomorrha? If there be 10, Lord; if there be 10...

Will You speak to us these words of hope, promise and change for our/Your church:

Song of Solomon 2:10-13 - [and He said]: “Rise up, my love, my fair one... For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth her green figs, and the vines  with the tender grapes give a good smell. Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away!"

Will those words be heard among those awaiting Your Spirit to again not just rest but dwell within our church? Come, Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 44:3 - For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring.

Trembling and Warm Chills!

Psalm 96:9 - Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. 

How do you know you've been in the presence of God? I believe it can happen in more ways than one. I'm amazed at the process of events over the past few days or week and what happened last night. I'm hoping my writing will help me process all I just experienced. I won't go into details but I will share something!

I do recall that I had been working on a Bible study on the Book of Hebrews either early yesterday morning or the night before. The question was asked, How does God speak to us? There were various scriptures to look up. He's not limited to how He can do it. I do know that when two or more are gathered in His name, God inclines His ear to hear (Psalm 116). Not that He can't hear us but that He is taking a very special interest in what we have to say. He's leaning forward in His chair in anticipation as it were. He's silently thinking Tell me more. Why? Because we are speaking or praying His will and that so pleases Him.

The Bible also shows us that in Jesus' day people followed Him looking for a miracle to happen. We shouldn't need to see or experience miracles, but for some it helps. People always want signs. Are we a visual people?? If we have enough faith we don't always need a sign. We might just feel His presence, which can be felt in various ways.

So last night I attended a prayer gathering at church. I'm new to this group and getting my feet wet! I really did not feel I belonged with these incredible men and women of God. Who am I was the question that kept running in my mind. But...we were in one accord with our petitions to God. And you know what? It's what I've been writing about for some time...the truth of God's word...how it is being compromised...how there will be only a remnant of people some day who will rise up out of the Church. There be only a few people who will be willing to walk the narrow path that the Lord requires us to walk.

God does not want us to compromise His word. The Church, in general, so wants to be seeker friendly, not willing to preach the truth in love. It's run more like a business with bottom line mentality, with the goals of building newer, bigger, fancier churches, or of bringing in more people by seducing them with words they want to hear, to fill the pews. God is not interested in the numbers, He's interested in what is being spoken and the hearts of the people in His church. Remember, relationship...

But this what the word says, we are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). And that's why Christianity is failing. There's no backbone anymore. Preachers don't want to offend. The truth is watered down so it's more palatable to the general public. Perhaps if they don't feel convicted they will return and the pews will be full...full of people hearing that compromised word and not meeting Jesus face to face to have their sins forgiven, their hearts and lives turned around for the better thing.

Yet there are people who are searching for a good word. They too fall prey to destruction because they can't find a church where the Word that brings life is spoken. I've said it before and I'll continue to say it...there will be a day not too long from now when people will be flocking to churches around the world looking for the truth because the world and the people in it have failed them. Their riches just aren't doing it for them anymore. The leaders in the world are failing them. The fear of what they see happening in the world will be unbearable, and like with past disasters, they will begin to turn to the Church in search of answers and comfort. 

People will flock to churches but will they find this Jesus who claims to give us His peace and comfort? Or will they find clergy who themselves have been fed lies and have lost their own way, taught their own form of Gospel, have been feeding their flock the wrong kind of food, the wrong kind of bread, having forgotten who the true Bread is? Oh, even "men of the cloth" can be coerced into believing a lie.

This is what Jesus says. This is why He tells us it's a difficult, narrow path and few are willing to travel it. Few are willing to let go of all sorts of hindrances in their lives. I'll tell you I don't even know how I will fare and what I will have to sacrifice or let go of if I am able to stay on this path (and I want more than anything to do this) and look not to the left or to the right and only hear the voice that's behind me saying, "This is the way, walk in it." (Isaiah 30:21)

Only a few people truly desire more than anything else, God's will, not man's, for the Church. Many just don't recognize the direction they have allowed themselves to wander off in, even myself. A little compromise here, a little there...barely unnoticeable and widely accepted. Only a remnant of people want to go so deep into the truth of God's Word, who are no longer satisfied just knowing that Jesus loves me and are happy that He can do thus and so for them. There are some, thankfully, who have gotten to that place in their walk with the Lord where they now want more and this is their plea: "Lord, what can I do for You? Here I am, use me. Let me be Your voice, Your hands, Your feet. This is what You've called me to do. Let me distinctly hear Your voice and let me not hesitate to obey, at any cost, no matter how silly or even frightening it may seem."

I just know that when I left church last night, I knew I had been in the right place with people who only want God glorified, who want God...period. I just know that when I got home after the prayer there was a trembling throughout my body, a weakness and a feeling like warm chills! I knew that we had each experienced the presence of God in some way and that His heart was pleased with our hearts' desires. Oh, there were more incidences that occurred throughout the evening that were not coincidences but God-incidences. God showing He was inclining His ear and bringing confirmation that He loved what we were saying.

Lord, this can only be You showing me...us...which direction You want to take us. You want to see us living Your Word out: Your will be done... You love us all so much that You don't want any to perish. You want us to know that we know what Your will is for our lives. We think it has to be some big thing and often it is not! But when it happens we know it is You who have brought it about, whatever it is! We are each unique in the gifts You have given us. Help us to recognize what they are and when You want us to exercise these gifts. Thank You, Lord, that the greatest gift You've given us is Yourself. The next are our willingness to listen for your voice and hear what it says, then trust, follow and obey. That's what it all boils down to...how You in your infinite wisdom know what we can do through You if we just give You control of our lives. Help those who love You, Lord, to desire that more than anything else. Sear it into our spirits.

Jeremiah 7:23 - ...but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you.

Omothumadon?!

Ephesians 4:1-3 - I, therefore ... beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Holy socks, what in the world is omothumadon? Pastor Paul Hanson enjoys so much digging deep into meanings of words to round out and bring depth to our understanding of something a word, thought or circumstance. I for one will miss this.

I wrote about truth again yesterday. Anyone who reads this blog will hear me say time and time again that Jesus Christ is the Truth. You may get tired of hearing this and tired of hearing we must know what truth is, but I'm not going to stop because it is true! Without this Truth we have nothing. Without Jesus there is no hope, no peace. Somehow I knew there was a connection between my truth dissertations (!) and omothumadon. I really like saying this word out loud...now that I know how to say it.

In order to have peace, we must be like minded, being in one accord. That is the meaning of the Greek word omothumadon - with one mind, with one accord, with one passion. Anyone who reads this blog will also realize my passion...the truth of who Jesus Christ is. It is so wonderful to be in the presence of those who have this one mind and passion. There is a cameraderie. There is a bond. There is strength and encouragement. And iron sharpens iron!!

Pastor Paul suggests that unanimity, being like minded, gives us hope, focus and the grace to accept. There's hope again. That comes with peace. That comes with knowing the truth, which comes from a relationship with Christ and which is essential in today's world. Why do you suppose the world is so troubled? Is there any unanimity? Is there peace? 

We are in the process of looking for a new pastor and our search committee believes it has found the man. We will hear him for the first time next Sunday. That evening we will vote whether to accept him or not. As Pastor Paul was teaching, he said some will not agree with the others. Chances of there being a unanimous vote are slim. Some will not want him. And how will that affect us as a church? It is our duty, Pastor Paul told us, to realize that "there is a cause bigger than any individual." We must get over ourselves and our preconceived ideas in order to see God's hand at work in our church. We must first be of one accord. We must allow God's will to be done and that means stepping out of the way. When we do this, no matter how we feel, we are glorifying God and accepting that He is the bigger cause.

Pastor Paul told us a story, that I wrote about in my blog on Community. Community is just another word for one accord. It was a great story. I don't think we know how we might be blessed if we let go of our way of doing something for the sake of  "a cause bigger than yourself." 

In the Book of Acts this is precisely what happened to the believers of that day. In Acts 2:1 it states "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place."  This could only happen because they were "omothumadon,"  the meaning in this scripture for one accord. It was at that moment the birth of the Christian church began through the power of the Holy Spirit.

And, oh, how the Church needs this "omothumadon." Stop grumbling about the little things. Why would God want to let His Spirit rest in a place of unrest? Don't we trust that He can handle every situation, perfect it, if we just allow Him? Another thought is when we are grumbling or fussing or obsessing about something we cannot control, we are like Israel when they grumbled in the wilderness...never happy, always wanting more...or the old days. Aren't we ultimately grumbling to God Himself? 

In talking with a friend yesterday she said what was in the back of my mind: if people don't like something, perhaps it's then they need to move on to a church where they can have what they're looking for. It only brings division if they stay...and the Holy Spirit cannot do His work. Not everyone leaves with animosity; it's just their time to move on. I have learned over the years not to judge or criticize someone's leaving. God may have a greater plan for them elsewhere. That could happen to me, too. I say: Hallelujah! Oh, I certainly believe the Holy Spirit can come into a church and change people's hearts if they are not exactly in one accord with the rest. But imagine the possibilities if that didn't have to happen, if we were all unified to begin with.

This country could use a dose of omothumadon. More and more as I see what's happening in the world, see how things have taken a change that is unsettling, I see how history is repeating itself. The Word of God is filled with examples of how we are to live and the consequences if we do not. We [as individuals and a country] have exchanged the truth of God's word for a lie... (Romans 1:25). The Word of God is the beginning place of learning about being of one mind, in one accord.

Romans 15:4-7 - For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.