by Trevor Young
(16 December 2004)
On Thursday morning I was sitting in my lounge room, quietly pondering on the words that the prophets spoke the previous night and I was reminded of the words in Romans 5:20 “BUT WHERE SIN ABOUNDED GRACE ABOUNDED MUCH MORE.”
As I listened to the Holy Spirit, He began to reveal to me some things about this. He began to show me that in the next decade there will indeed be an immense outpouring of antagonism and persecution, verbally, visually and physically toward the church, God’s people. There is going to be an avalanche of hatred, abuse and all sorts of vile accusations, torrents of lies, deceit and cunning plots in an attempt to bring the church into disrepute. The credibility of many church leaders is going to come under extreme pressure and scrutiny and that satan was about to unleash this hatred and those vile accusations especially toward church leaders. Then a very loud voice said, “Fear not, fear not My beloved church. Fear not; fear not my beloved faithful people. I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD. WHERE SIN ABOUNDS MY GRACE WILL ABOUND MUCH MORE.”
Then I saw these many church leaders being led into the dock before Judges, being accused of all kinds of vile accusations. Then one by one these church leaders stood up before the Judge and as they did they appeared to be enveloped by the Holy Spirit and were anointed with unbelievable boldness. So strong that their mouths became like instruments and began to declare truth declaring the undeniable truth of the Gospel. The Judges sat silent but only to say, “I see no guilt in this one and I see no guilt in this one, let them go” and I was reminded of the words that Jesus said in Matthew 10:18-20, “You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up do not worry about how or what you should speak for it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak. For it is not you who speak but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” Then he took me to 2 Timothy 4:17, “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me so that the message might be preached fully through me and that the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the Lion.”
Then the Spirit showed me this. It was a large church building not unlike ours but the walls of the church were bursting at the seams because the building could not contain all of the souls who were responding to the call of God. I thought of our move to this place and it was as if God was saying our move had little to do with finance but all to do with making room for the souls that are to come in. He showed me many churches who for years had watched the steady decline in their church members but were now watching in awe at the huge number of souls that were coming in and weren’t quite sure what to do with them. I saw many churches in the process of renovating enlarging their tents so to speak to accommodate all the crowds only to have to renovate and enlarge again and again.
It seemed that the more satan unleashed his hatred, the churches only grew larger and larger and stronger. I found it hard to keep writing there was just so much going on. Crowds were coming from everywhere, I didn’t know from where? They just seemed to be coming from everywhere and going in all directions to all these different churches. There were thousands upon thousands of young people many who had previously used the Lord’s name in vain, proclaiming their love for Jesus. It took me back to the seventies, the Jesus movement but this was so much greater. It wasn’t just young people there were thousands of older and even very old people who’s hearts were once cold to God but who’s scales had suddenly fallen from their eyes, the darkness being removed from them for the first time in their long lives.
The excitement was overpowering the crowds just kept getting bigger and bigger. The noise was deafening but it was a deafening joyful noise. Then I saw him, satan sitting on an old wooden box his arms by his side, his head drooped low with all his demons standing around him looking helplessly on at the huge crowds crying Jesus, Jesus. A stockpile of all his weapons were piled as high as the sky.
There he was helpless, hopeless and totally defeated and God reminded me, “Yes, My son even the gates of hell will not prevail against My church.”
Thursday, 3 November 2011
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Genius In A Bottle
Poem by Moya Boardman
So who put you there and screwed in the cork
Keeping you bound and constrained
Every action defined by the fear in your mind
Of the “What if’s?”
So who will rub the bottle to let you free?
To escape the confines and truly be
The genius for all to see
Seems you put yourself there
and you keep yourself there
Cause you believe what your mind says is true
That’s such a pile of rubbish
Why do you stay that way?
It seems like hearing, you don’t hear
and what can I do
Except tell you again & again?
Your mind and feelings don’t dictate what is true
Why open up and let them in?
You should have bouncers on the door
To check their ID and
Give them the boot if it’s false
So who put you there and screwed in the cork
Keeping you bound and constrained
Every action defined by the fear in your mind
Of the “What if’s?”
So who will rub the bottle to let you free?
To escape the confines and truly be
The genius for all to see
Seems you put yourself there
and you keep yourself there
Cause you believe what your mind says is true
That’s such a pile of rubbish
Why do you stay that way?
It seems like hearing, you don’t hear
and what can I do
Except tell you again & again?
Your mind and feelings don’t dictate what is true
Why open up and let them in?
You should have bouncers on the door
To check their ID and
Give them the boot if it’s false
My Father Does Not Talk Like That
Poem by Moya Boardman
Overwhelming condemnation
Immobilising shame
Mistakes replayed with ridicule
“Your attempts are pathetic and lame”
My father does not talk like that
His voice is full of love
Acceptance and encouragement
The truth that is above
“You were so bad it was painful
They were all laughing at you
No point in doing anything more
Why bother? You haven’t a clue?”
My father does not talk like that
His aim is to take me higher
His words bring hope and comfort
They are not the words of a liar
Affirmation and correction
Coming from a loving heart
Empower and bring freedom
Courage to follow my path
Earthly fathers can speak words of pain
So it’s hard to start to hear
To tell where the words are coming from
And what is the root of fear
“I am so proud that you stepped out
We will walk through all together
A future and a hope is what I have for you”
That talk is from my father.
Overwhelming condemnation
Immobilising shame
Mistakes replayed with ridicule
“Your attempts are pathetic and lame”
My father does not talk like that
His voice is full of love
Acceptance and encouragement
The truth that is above
“You were so bad it was painful
They were all laughing at you
No point in doing anything more
Why bother? You haven’t a clue?”
My father does not talk like that
His aim is to take me higher
His words bring hope and comfort
They are not the words of a liar
Affirmation and correction
Coming from a loving heart
Empower and bring freedom
Courage to follow my path
Earthly fathers can speak words of pain
So it’s hard to start to hear
To tell where the words are coming from
And what is the root of fear
“I am so proud that you stepped out
We will walk through all together
A future and a hope is what I have for you”
That talk is from my father.
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
Submit: Confronting False Doctrine
by Glenice Mills
"SUBMIT": Never has there been a Biblical word so misunderstood, and misused in the name of the Lord!!! The resulting abuses and bondage, mainly on God’s women because of man’s (note: man’s, not males) misunderstanding of this word, must be exposed at this time.
God is raising up His women in this hour, and unless and until true Godly understanding of the word ‘submit’ is brought, women will battle or stay bound by what is a lie of the enemy. Sadly the Lord’s church has bought into this lie because it has suited male leaders to keep their women quiet, for fear they may actually rise and take their rightful positions in God, and be effective in His kingdom! This word is not a male versus female or female versus male issue, but rather addressing incorrect doctrine, distorting the Lord’s true character and His ways.
There is a fire in my belly right now as in recent days I have heard two women innocently speak to me about their circumstances and their instruction by their leaders to ‘learn’ to submit. One was told to learn to submit to their husband, and the other to learn to submit to their Christian boss, who is not doing the right thing by them.
Are we meant to come in agreement with ungodly men/women who have some supposed ‘rulership’ over our lives? Does God endorse us yielding our lives to ones who do not have the character or Godly behaviour that would have us flourishing and growing in Him? Who and how are we to submit? What is the right Biblical understanding of this word: submit?
I am only scratching at the surface of what is an incredibly complex understanding of a word that has been used as a weapon mainly against God’s women, bringing them under and into an inferior status, and putting a heavy yoke upon them.
When one thinks of the word submit, it immediately brings up a picture of one greater than, more superior, wielding greater power, and the other, the victim, as the underling, lesser than, inferior being.
This false doctrine of submission has been around for centuries, and the church has willingly bought into this by using the Apostle Paul’s words as some God given right to wield false power by a supposed superior against an inferior one. It is very easy to take a word out of context, and twist it to make it what we want to. That is how cults and false religions have set themselves up. This takes away from the heart of what the Lord is saying in the big picture of the Scriptures. We must not forget about the culture of the day and how the Lord is also addressing this in His word.
We must look at the roots of why this has been the case and search out the Father’s heart for His women, His beloved ones, made in His image.
I need to say at this point I am not a feminist, nor do I endorse rebellious, independent, non accountable Christians who go around as ‘lone rangers’ speaking out of their own opinions and judgments. I personally have ones whom I willingly submit to, whose hearts are for me, who want good for my life, and want to see me come into all the Lord would have for me.
I am addressing an imbalance, a demonic spirit, and a doctrine that is not of God.
I pray that even now as you read this that the Lord would open your eyes to Truth and bring greater understanding to what He is requiring of you in your life at this time.
This is about coming out from under a curse and coming into His blessings and breakthrough in your life.
Firstly I want to bring a Scripture that is God’s perspective of how He sees males and females. If we get an understanding of this we will see God’s heart for His people.
Genesis 1:27
So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them.
We are created in His image. We, males and females, are a unique aspect of God, and if we deny one part of Him, that is the female, are we not stopping the full expression of God? If we do this are we not missing something in the body of Christ, stopping the fullness of Jesus Christ coming through: like having parts of a body missing, stopping us from fully functioning? The tragedy is the full impact of this affects both males and females. This is of the enemy. Men have often innocently bought into the lie that women are somehow inferior and must ‘bow’ to them in some subservient way, often ‘appearing’ as an outward expression of submitting to them. It boosts their pride and makes them ‘feel’ like the protective man they are ‘supposed’ to be. Women have fallen into the lie by willingly choosing to be subservient to the man bringing her a false sense of comfort and peace. The truth is there is not peace! The stupid thing is appearances of submission are not necessarily ‘true’ submission because to submit is actually a heart response, it is not by our striving or actions that bring about the submission. We are fooling and deluding ourselves if we think this is so. It is actually a false way of living and being and is not by the Spirit of God.
In James 4:7 we are instructed to submit ourselves to God. This is and must be the number one priority in our lives, for everything else stems from this. When we do this it helps us keep our lives in line with God’s character and His ways. It helps us as we make daily choices in relationships and direction. This is our protection.
Romans 13:1
Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
This verse speaks clearly about submitting to those in authority positions as they are put in these positions by God. This is right so long as they are leading in Godly ways.
We then see in Ephesians chapter 5 where the Word deals with issues of love, walking in the light and walking in wisdom. It is in this chapter that the Apostle Paul says wives are to submit to their husbands, as to the Lord and men are instructed to love their wives. If wives are to submit to their husbands, as to the Lord would this not mean that wives should have an expectation that their husbands would be Christlike in their behaviours and character?
Ephesians 5:21
Submitting to one another in the fear of God.
If we all submit one to another in the fear of the Lord then that must mean we would all love, respect, honour, and esteem one another. Would that not mean that there would be an equality of relationship?
This comes back to my original question that asks: are we meant to come in agreement with ungodly men/women who have rulership over our lives?
I don’t think so! It is easy to forget the basic truth of Christianity, one that our Lord Jesus Christ shed His blood on Calvary for, and that is our freedom!
God gave us free will, that is His gift to us. Free will is a freedom to choose. So if we are given free will how does the line become blurred that says we must submit even if it puts us in bondage to an ungodly person or any person in a position in our lives they are not meant to have? Is it right that a woman should submit herself to a husband who abuses her, who crushes her with his words, and physically and mentally and in other ungodly ways? Is this not actually saying a wife must submit to her husband at all cost even if he does the wrong thing to her? Is it not saying to the wife that the Lord endorses his ungodly behaviour? This is not freedom, this is bondage, and this null and voids the power of the cross. This cannot be God’s way! This is not who God is, He is a God of love! The tragedy is that many a woman has been told by a church leader to submit to her husband even if he is cruel to her. This has done serious damage to many women, and to the name of the Lord, and to the name of Christianity. This is where taking a Scripture out of context and making it fit what you want it to doing terrible damage. Is it right that we should put any person in a higher position than us, as like a god? Isn’t this idolatry?
The opposite of free will is control. God does not endorse any form of control as it is against who He is. With control there is always a sense of obligation. When we are obligated to someone we have given ourselves over to them by an act of our wills. Obligation has a binding, compulsion to it that ties us to that person.
We are to submit our wills to the Lord not to any person! This is about freedom to both men and women. The enemy has had a field day bringing strife and division between the sexes. The truth is we will all let one another down, that is because we live in a world of sin. It is not right that we should expect either sex to strive to be and do what can only be done with the Lord’s help. Men should not be expected to take all the load, and nor should women be subjected to abuse in its many forms by any man. We, together, alongside one another, equal, as true expressions of the Father heart of God, can do much to advance God’s kingdom here on earth. The greater the divisions, which is what the enemy wants, the less effective and impacting we will be in the world.
Galatians 3:26-29
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
We are all one in Christ Jesus! That is the truth!!!
"SUBMIT": Never has there been a Biblical word so misunderstood, and misused in the name of the Lord!!! The resulting abuses and bondage, mainly on God’s women because of man’s (note: man’s, not males) misunderstanding of this word, must be exposed at this time.
God is raising up His women in this hour, and unless and until true Godly understanding of the word ‘submit’ is brought, women will battle or stay bound by what is a lie of the enemy. Sadly the Lord’s church has bought into this lie because it has suited male leaders to keep their women quiet, for fear they may actually rise and take their rightful positions in God, and be effective in His kingdom! This word is not a male versus female or female versus male issue, but rather addressing incorrect doctrine, distorting the Lord’s true character and His ways.
There is a fire in my belly right now as in recent days I have heard two women innocently speak to me about their circumstances and their instruction by their leaders to ‘learn’ to submit. One was told to learn to submit to their husband, and the other to learn to submit to their Christian boss, who is not doing the right thing by them.
Are we meant to come in agreement with ungodly men/women who have some supposed ‘rulership’ over our lives? Does God endorse us yielding our lives to ones who do not have the character or Godly behaviour that would have us flourishing and growing in Him? Who and how are we to submit? What is the right Biblical understanding of this word: submit?
I am only scratching at the surface of what is an incredibly complex understanding of a word that has been used as a weapon mainly against God’s women, bringing them under and into an inferior status, and putting a heavy yoke upon them.
When one thinks of the word submit, it immediately brings up a picture of one greater than, more superior, wielding greater power, and the other, the victim, as the underling, lesser than, inferior being.
This false doctrine of submission has been around for centuries, and the church has willingly bought into this by using the Apostle Paul’s words as some God given right to wield false power by a supposed superior against an inferior one. It is very easy to take a word out of context, and twist it to make it what we want to. That is how cults and false religions have set themselves up. This takes away from the heart of what the Lord is saying in the big picture of the Scriptures. We must not forget about the culture of the day and how the Lord is also addressing this in His word.
We must look at the roots of why this has been the case and search out the Father’s heart for His women, His beloved ones, made in His image.
I need to say at this point I am not a feminist, nor do I endorse rebellious, independent, non accountable Christians who go around as ‘lone rangers’ speaking out of their own opinions and judgments. I personally have ones whom I willingly submit to, whose hearts are for me, who want good for my life, and want to see me come into all the Lord would have for me.
I am addressing an imbalance, a demonic spirit, and a doctrine that is not of God.
I pray that even now as you read this that the Lord would open your eyes to Truth and bring greater understanding to what He is requiring of you in your life at this time.
This is about coming out from under a curse and coming into His blessings and breakthrough in your life.
Firstly I want to bring a Scripture that is God’s perspective of how He sees males and females. If we get an understanding of this we will see God’s heart for His people.
Genesis 1:27
So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them.
We are created in His image. We, males and females, are a unique aspect of God, and if we deny one part of Him, that is the female, are we not stopping the full expression of God? If we do this are we not missing something in the body of Christ, stopping the fullness of Jesus Christ coming through: like having parts of a body missing, stopping us from fully functioning? The tragedy is the full impact of this affects both males and females. This is of the enemy. Men have often innocently bought into the lie that women are somehow inferior and must ‘bow’ to them in some subservient way, often ‘appearing’ as an outward expression of submitting to them. It boosts their pride and makes them ‘feel’ like the protective man they are ‘supposed’ to be. Women have fallen into the lie by willingly choosing to be subservient to the man bringing her a false sense of comfort and peace. The truth is there is not peace! The stupid thing is appearances of submission are not necessarily ‘true’ submission because to submit is actually a heart response, it is not by our striving or actions that bring about the submission. We are fooling and deluding ourselves if we think this is so. It is actually a false way of living and being and is not by the Spirit of God.
In James 4:7 we are instructed to submit ourselves to God. This is and must be the number one priority in our lives, for everything else stems from this. When we do this it helps us keep our lives in line with God’s character and His ways. It helps us as we make daily choices in relationships and direction. This is our protection.
Romans 13:1
Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
This verse speaks clearly about submitting to those in authority positions as they are put in these positions by God. This is right so long as they are leading in Godly ways.
We then see in Ephesians chapter 5 where the Word deals with issues of love, walking in the light and walking in wisdom. It is in this chapter that the Apostle Paul says wives are to submit to their husbands, as to the Lord and men are instructed to love their wives. If wives are to submit to their husbands, as to the Lord would this not mean that wives should have an expectation that their husbands would be Christlike in their behaviours and character?
Ephesians 5:21
Submitting to one another in the fear of God.
If we all submit one to another in the fear of the Lord then that must mean we would all love, respect, honour, and esteem one another. Would that not mean that there would be an equality of relationship?
This comes back to my original question that asks: are we meant to come in agreement with ungodly men/women who have rulership over our lives?
I don’t think so! It is easy to forget the basic truth of Christianity, one that our Lord Jesus Christ shed His blood on Calvary for, and that is our freedom!
God gave us free will, that is His gift to us. Free will is a freedom to choose. So if we are given free will how does the line become blurred that says we must submit even if it puts us in bondage to an ungodly person or any person in a position in our lives they are not meant to have? Is it right that a woman should submit herself to a husband who abuses her, who crushes her with his words, and physically and mentally and in other ungodly ways? Is this not actually saying a wife must submit to her husband at all cost even if he does the wrong thing to her? Is it not saying to the wife that the Lord endorses his ungodly behaviour? This is not freedom, this is bondage, and this null and voids the power of the cross. This cannot be God’s way! This is not who God is, He is a God of love! The tragedy is that many a woman has been told by a church leader to submit to her husband even if he is cruel to her. This has done serious damage to many women, and to the name of the Lord, and to the name of Christianity. This is where taking a Scripture out of context and making it fit what you want it to doing terrible damage. Is it right that we should put any person in a higher position than us, as like a god? Isn’t this idolatry?
The opposite of free will is control. God does not endorse any form of control as it is against who He is. With control there is always a sense of obligation. When we are obligated to someone we have given ourselves over to them by an act of our wills. Obligation has a binding, compulsion to it that ties us to that person.
We are to submit our wills to the Lord not to any person! This is about freedom to both men and women. The enemy has had a field day bringing strife and division between the sexes. The truth is we will all let one another down, that is because we live in a world of sin. It is not right that we should expect either sex to strive to be and do what can only be done with the Lord’s help. Men should not be expected to take all the load, and nor should women be subjected to abuse in its many forms by any man. We, together, alongside one another, equal, as true expressions of the Father heart of God, can do much to advance God’s kingdom here on earth. The greater the divisions, which is what the enemy wants, the less effective and impacting we will be in the world.
Galatians 3:26-29
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
We are all one in Christ Jesus! That is the truth!!!
Poem - Jesus Reigns
by Tony Clark
I may feel lost and not know which way to go - Jesus reigns
I may be stuck in sin unable to see the light - Jesus reigns
I may have lost that which was dear to me - Jesus reigns
I may be full of fear, overcome - Jesus reigns
Jesus reigns in spite of me
Just because I’m having a bad day doesn’t mean that God is off the throne.
I may feel lost and not know which way to go - Jesus reigns
I may be stuck in sin unable to see the light - Jesus reigns
I may have lost that which was dear to me - Jesus reigns
I may be full of fear, overcome - Jesus reigns
Jesus reigns in spite of me
Just because I’m having a bad day doesn’t mean that God is off the throne.
The Desperate Place
by Glenice Mills
The body of Christ is in and coming into a greater positioning of ‘the desperate place’.
The truth is the church in western nations has become complacent and carried away by the ‘happy clappy’, ‘name it claim it’ doctrine that has lulled many Christians into a place of false comfort and peace. Religious traditions by the hand of man will not sustain God’s people in times ahead. This is not a criticism but a reality check for we must know where we are at right now, so we can be all that we are meant to be in the coming days and times.
There has been much talk about the end times and those with eyes to see will know that signs of the end of the age as shown in Scripture are starting to come to pass.
If this is so, then we must realise that God is looking for a people who are prepared to walk through these difficult times, positioned to speak truth and preach the gospel to what will be a desperate people. Most Christians in the Western church have not experienced persecution or endured hardship that has meant they are totally reliant on the Lord for their very substance, for their very life.
I have often thought if we are in the time of the re-establishing of the apostolic/prophetic back into the church then we must be positioned to need to know what the Lord is doing in these times. We see in the Bible how the Apostle Paul and his men and women spoke out and confronted the evil practices of the day, and addressed issues of righteousness in government, in both governance of nations and the church. We would be naïve to think that this would not be so today as the Lord raises up His apostles and prophets.
The Lord is bringing many of His people to the desperate place. The church has forgotten the truth that the desperate place is actually a way of God. Most of us came to salvation because we were desperate, needing His help. It does not stop at salvation, and in fact there will be many times where one is brought to the end of themselves as God allows things to happen to stop and bring us to a place of crying out to Him from a desperate heart. This is not a negative thing but as you will see it is actually crucial for ushering in new beginnings. It is a part of our walk with the Lord. This in fact flies in the face of the hyper faith, name it claim it, shallow pandering to man’s agenda to feel good, appeasing gospel that has been preached in recent decades.
This is a wake up call, a rallying cry, to get us out of the place of complacency and into position for what the Lord has for us all in the times ahead.
So what does it mean to be desperate?
Desperation means: to be utterly without a way so ‘to be quite at a loss’, without resource, in despair. Desperation is also a readiness to take any action in the desperate situation. The truth is God does not show Himself great in abundance, He works in emptiness. The dry, barren place is where the blessing is.
So how can this line up with the thinking that says ‘come to the Lord and all will be well, name it and claim it as mine doctrine’ that is regularly preached from our pulpits? How does that help the struggling Christian who is in financial ruin, who struggles with sin issues such as lusts and addictions? How does that help the family who is falling apart because of division, hatred and turmoil because the family is broken and hurting? If we are going to be relevant in these and coming days we must recognise the truth of the ‘desperate place.’
The desperate place actually positions us for breakthrough! However, we have to be willing to allow the Lord to bring us to desperation.
Desperation can be likened to a woman in labour, as the contractions increase, in order to bring the baby to birth. Every women who has had a child knows the anguish in the transition time when the cervix is fully dilated and the pushing begins to occur. There is such anguish that she cannot be quiet, she must cry out, and groan and moan to bring about the birth. It is interesting to note that the word anguish means a narrowness of place, a compressing. There is an anguish of soul. David’s soul was afflicted in his anguish. He was brought low ready to die as seen in many of the Psalms. This speaks not only of death in the natural, but of a desperation of death to his soul.
Psalm 88:15-18
But to You I have cried out, O Lord,
And in the morning my prayer comes before You.
Lord, why do You cast off my soul?
Why do You hide your face from me?
I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth;
I suffer Your terrors;
I am distraught.
The enemy of desperation is complacency. Complacency is the state of being self satisfied, calmly content. Perhaps it can be likened to being lukewarm as spoken of in Revelation 3:16.
Unfortunately complacency is an easy trap to fall into particularly as it can be a way of life for many in Australia under the stronghold of ‘she’ll be right mate’. So long as life appears to be going well we can be lulled into a ‘ho-hum’ way of living and being until circumstances stir us up to arise and ‘come to life’. When we are desperate we will rouse from complacency and become passionate for life to come.
A great example in the Bible is of Hannah. She is a barren women needing a miracle.
Maybe you are in the barren, dry place? This is where the blessing is! It may not appear to be so but this is where God works in our emptiness. God doesn’t show Himself great in abundance, He works in emptiness!
We see her desperation in 1 Samuel 1:2-19. There are some important keys in these verses that help us to understand the ‘desperate place’.
God vindicates Hannah and we see the promise come to pass. God will come to our rescue when we are desperate for Him and for the promise to be fulfilled.
Remember He is the one who gave you the dream in the first place.
It was God who put the desire in Hannah to have a child, but it was also God who blocked her womb. The ultimate victory comes when we can give testimony to the goodness of God, to His power being displayed from the desperate place to breakthrough!
John 17:21-24
A woman, when she is in labour, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.
Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
Desperation positions us for breakthrough!!! It can be a time for the power of God to be released to bring change in your circumstances!! Transition positions us for change! Desperation is a way of God. We know we are coming into desperate times when we will need the Lord’s help like never before. These can be times of incredible growth in our relationship with the Lord, and in the forging of our character, bringing those areas not yet surrendered to the Lord to the altar. That is the power of the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary for me and for you. The Lord is with you in whatever place and circumstance you are in right now!
Be encouraged!! The desperate place is a good place!!! It’s the place of miracles!!!
The body of Christ is in and coming into a greater positioning of ‘the desperate place’.
The truth is the church in western nations has become complacent and carried away by the ‘happy clappy’, ‘name it claim it’ doctrine that has lulled many Christians into a place of false comfort and peace. Religious traditions by the hand of man will not sustain God’s people in times ahead. This is not a criticism but a reality check for we must know where we are at right now, so we can be all that we are meant to be in the coming days and times.
There has been much talk about the end times and those with eyes to see will know that signs of the end of the age as shown in Scripture are starting to come to pass.
If this is so, then we must realise that God is looking for a people who are prepared to walk through these difficult times, positioned to speak truth and preach the gospel to what will be a desperate people. Most Christians in the Western church have not experienced persecution or endured hardship that has meant they are totally reliant on the Lord for their very substance, for their very life.
I have often thought if we are in the time of the re-establishing of the apostolic/prophetic back into the church then we must be positioned to need to know what the Lord is doing in these times. We see in the Bible how the Apostle Paul and his men and women spoke out and confronted the evil practices of the day, and addressed issues of righteousness in government, in both governance of nations and the church. We would be naïve to think that this would not be so today as the Lord raises up His apostles and prophets.
The Lord is bringing many of His people to the desperate place. The church has forgotten the truth that the desperate place is actually a way of God. Most of us came to salvation because we were desperate, needing His help. It does not stop at salvation, and in fact there will be many times where one is brought to the end of themselves as God allows things to happen to stop and bring us to a place of crying out to Him from a desperate heart. This is not a negative thing but as you will see it is actually crucial for ushering in new beginnings. It is a part of our walk with the Lord. This in fact flies in the face of the hyper faith, name it claim it, shallow pandering to man’s agenda to feel good, appeasing gospel that has been preached in recent decades.
This is a wake up call, a rallying cry, to get us out of the place of complacency and into position for what the Lord has for us all in the times ahead.
So what does it mean to be desperate?
Desperation means: to be utterly without a way so ‘to be quite at a loss’, without resource, in despair. Desperation is also a readiness to take any action in the desperate situation. The truth is God does not show Himself great in abundance, He works in emptiness. The dry, barren place is where the blessing is.
So how can this line up with the thinking that says ‘come to the Lord and all will be well, name it and claim it as mine doctrine’ that is regularly preached from our pulpits? How does that help the struggling Christian who is in financial ruin, who struggles with sin issues such as lusts and addictions? How does that help the family who is falling apart because of division, hatred and turmoil because the family is broken and hurting? If we are going to be relevant in these and coming days we must recognise the truth of the ‘desperate place.’
The desperate place actually positions us for breakthrough! However, we have to be willing to allow the Lord to bring us to desperation.
Desperation can be likened to a woman in labour, as the contractions increase, in order to bring the baby to birth. Every women who has had a child knows the anguish in the transition time when the cervix is fully dilated and the pushing begins to occur. There is such anguish that she cannot be quiet, she must cry out, and groan and moan to bring about the birth. It is interesting to note that the word anguish means a narrowness of place, a compressing. There is an anguish of soul. David’s soul was afflicted in his anguish. He was brought low ready to die as seen in many of the Psalms. This speaks not only of death in the natural, but of a desperation of death to his soul.
Psalm 88:15-18
But to You I have cried out, O Lord,
And in the morning my prayer comes before You.
Lord, why do You cast off my soul?
Why do You hide your face from me?
I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth;
I suffer Your terrors;
I am distraught.
The enemy of desperation is complacency. Complacency is the state of being self satisfied, calmly content. Perhaps it can be likened to being lukewarm as spoken of in Revelation 3:16.
Unfortunately complacency is an easy trap to fall into particularly as it can be a way of life for many in Australia under the stronghold of ‘she’ll be right mate’. So long as life appears to be going well we can be lulled into a ‘ho-hum’ way of living and being until circumstances stir us up to arise and ‘come to life’. When we are desperate we will rouse from complacency and become passionate for life to come.
A great example in the Bible is of Hannah. She is a barren women needing a miracle.
Maybe you are in the barren, dry place? This is where the blessing is! It may not appear to be so but this is where God works in our emptiness. God doesn’t show Himself great in abundance, He works in emptiness!
We see her desperation in 1 Samuel 1:2-19. There are some important keys in these verses that help us to understand the ‘desperate place’.
- The Lord closed Hannah’s womb. It was by the hand of God that she was unable to conceive. Perhaps you are in difficult circumstances because it is the Lord wanting to bring desperation for a change in circumstances to come. Maybe you are in the place of needing a miracle?
- Hannah had a rival who delighted in her plight and took great joy at her grief of soul. Hannah’s husband, Elkanah had two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. Peninnah provoked her severely, in other words she was ridiculed at the most extreme level a person can bear. Yet Hannah did not lash out. Perhaps you are experiencing persecution beyond what you feel you can bear? How are you reacting to the wrongs being done against you?
- She was provoked year after year. This was not a short lived annoyance, this went on for a very long time!! This led Hannah to the desperate place. Maybe this is you right at this moment? She was grieved in heart and nothing could heal her, not even her husband’s love. All she wanted was a child.
- In verse 10 it says Hannah was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish.
- Hannah came to the place of giving up, of sacrificing the very thing she wanted. She handed her heart’s desire back to the Lord for His will to be done. Maybe the Lord is wanting you to put your dream, and what ever is causing you grief on the altar?
- Often those round and about don’t understand the bitterness of soul. Maybe you have an Eli that does not understand what you are going through and is quick to judge the situation because they are blind to what is really happening to you? Maybe like Eli they will realise it is actually God at work.
God vindicates Hannah and we see the promise come to pass. God will come to our rescue when we are desperate for Him and for the promise to be fulfilled.
Remember He is the one who gave you the dream in the first place.
It was God who put the desire in Hannah to have a child, but it was also God who blocked her womb. The ultimate victory comes when we can give testimony to the goodness of God, to His power being displayed from the desperate place to breakthrough!
John 17:21-24
A woman, when she is in labour, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.
Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
Desperation positions us for breakthrough!!! It can be a time for the power of God to be released to bring change in your circumstances!! Transition positions us for change! Desperation is a way of God. We know we are coming into desperate times when we will need the Lord’s help like never before. These can be times of incredible growth in our relationship with the Lord, and in the forging of our character, bringing those areas not yet surrendered to the Lord to the altar. That is the power of the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary for me and for you. The Lord is with you in whatever place and circumstance you are in right now!
Be encouraged!! The desperate place is a good place!!! It’s the place of miracles!!!
Monday, 3 October 2011
Sense of Community
by Tony Clark
I’ve been noticing more and more lately and becoming aware of the sense of community that has been growing in the hearts of members at Forerunners International, and the genuine heart felt love that we are feeling for each other, and how close we are becoming.
During a recent corporate worship session at the local Gold Coast base, God showed me that what is happening now is a single heart is beginning to form before Him in us as a church or ministry. For a long time we have been individual members and have been learning to catch and submit to the vision of Forerunners, but God is showing me that due to us faithfully and consistently worshipping together and “living” together, our corporate heart is truly beginning to emerge and take shape. It’s interesting in the book of Revelation that Jesus addressed the Churches as a unit not as individuals. We become one heart when we are in unity of purpose, intention, emotion and belief, and I believe that God has truly “knitted us together, shedding the love of Christ abroad in of hearts by the Holy Spirit”, so that He can come and respond to that heart and join with us in a much more powerful and complete way. (Similar to the way He joins with an individual at conversion). But now on a corporate level. What He is doing in us, and what we are doing in Him is preparing a place where He can dwell.
Where He can abide. I believe this kind of unity is a precursor to true revival and the coming moves of God. And we are being prepared for much more power, much more connection/ communion with Him and much more reality and experience of the kingdom of God. He really has saved the best wine for last.
I’ve been noticing more and more lately and becoming aware of the sense of community that has been growing in the hearts of members at Forerunners International, and the genuine heart felt love that we are feeling for each other, and how close we are becoming.
During a recent corporate worship session at the local Gold Coast base, God showed me that what is happening now is a single heart is beginning to form before Him in us as a church or ministry. For a long time we have been individual members and have been learning to catch and submit to the vision of Forerunners, but God is showing me that due to us faithfully and consistently worshipping together and “living” together, our corporate heart is truly beginning to emerge and take shape. It’s interesting in the book of Revelation that Jesus addressed the Churches as a unit not as individuals. We become one heart when we are in unity of purpose, intention, emotion and belief, and I believe that God has truly “knitted us together, shedding the love of Christ abroad in of hearts by the Holy Spirit”, so that He can come and respond to that heart and join with us in a much more powerful and complete way. (Similar to the way He joins with an individual at conversion). But now on a corporate level. What He is doing in us, and what we are doing in Him is preparing a place where He can dwell.
Where He can abide. I believe this kind of unity is a precursor to true revival and the coming moves of God. And we are being prepared for much more power, much more connection/ communion with Him and much more reality and experience of the kingdom of God. He really has saved the best wine for last.
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