...my DH and some friends finished building our castle (our kid's area, complete with puppet window towers), a family who had left the church awhile back [before my time!] called the pastor and apologized and asked if they could come back, and 15 NEW PEOPLE have signed up for the new Alpha course that starts in a week and a half!!
God told me the Sunday before I left for camp, "I'm coming in like a flood, so be ready!"
YP and I were told all this while we were half asleep after we'd gotten back, so it hasn't all really sunk in, but Sunday is going to be AWESOME!!!
On a not-so-happy note, we found out that a former pastor of our church has been diagnosed with inoperable colon cancer. Please keep Pastor Rod and his family in your prayers - they are believing for a complete healing!
Wow, it really seems like the Lord is doing the same in a lot of our churches right now...
God has been coming in like a flood in our church too. The past 2 weeks services have been incredible. Dh and I have been amazed at what God is doing.
I just tell you what we have told our congregation the past 2 weeks...the enemy definitely sees God coming in like a flood...and what is gained through intercession must be maintained through intercession. With every victory, cover the church in prayer EVEN MORE. Don't rest, when it comes to prayer. Pray without ceasing. The enemy loves to come in a throw a punch we don't expect when we get on a "high" and we think, "this is it, we've broken through" and instead of pursuing prayer more and covering things, we rest a while because we think, "no need to push anymore". I saw it happen in my previous church. We were in the midst of some magical years of growth and my dh and I felt almost invincible...then the devil in his sly wayworked underneath the scenes when we were "resting", thinking there was no battle at hand. I have learned we can "rest" in God, and we can take breaks, and have solitude, and take our day off and all that good stuff. BUT...we cannot break from covering the church in intercession at all times. There have to be unified prayer warriors covering the thing with you at all times. And you, as the pastors, can't ever take a "rest" attitude when it comes to pushing through in prayer. I don't say this to be preachy to you. I just don't want you to end up where I was! Bad scene, trust me.
Two weeks ago, I was basking in God's goodness to our church in these last months. The Lord spoke to me and gave me a word for our church...he said, "you are now entering into the magical years. (side note: please don't read anything weird into that - it's not meant in the sense of witchcraft or something, obviously - it's just a term) The Lord said, "you are entering into the magical years in which there will be unprecendented growth and moving forward. You have been at this "stage" before in your ministry. And, you have experienced a crash. Part of the reason for that crash is that you did not think it possible. You rested in the works that I was doing and did not push through to cover the church at all times from an attack. You are entering into a beautiful season, but you must protect in prayer what you have gained in prayer."
We have banged this through our leaders heads in the past few weeks. It seems almost idiotic...pray as if we are in a battle? (We are clearly in such a season of peace - things are on a high - higher than ever! So it seems odd to our folks that the pastors are saying, PUSH THROUGH IN THE BATTLE!) But we explained to them WHY the Lord gave us this word. We have walked this way before. This time, we will succeed through His power.
I am so excited about what God is doing in our churches!!!
BTW, I will push through in prayer for your former pastor. My faith is so high for healings right now. This was our focus last night in our service. We've got to get back to being BELIEVING BELIEVERS! (But I won't preach my sermonette to you on that...I'll say adios for now - got to get to my dentist appt. and to work!)
I couldn't agree with you more!! In my prayer time today, I asked God that my peace would not lull me into a false sense of security. I believe that God is in control, and that He has started to break through, but I know the enemy is still prowling around like a roaring lion, and needs to be stopped...
I am changing my approach to praying about the situation with CA. Yes, she is still antagonistic. Yes, she still needs to be silenced. But God reminded YP and me that it's not up to us to decide how God is going to do it. We can't convenant to pray out of anger or hate. We are, by no means, excusing her behavior or her attitude, but are committed to praying God's will instead of our own. God's will is that this woman's heart will change - after all, Jesus died on the cross for her, too! If she doesn't change, then the Bible is extremely clear on God's opinion of those who speak against His anointed, and the God I serve is big enough to handle her. I'm not going to stop praying; I'm just praying with a better attitude .
), a family who had left the church awhile back [before my time!] called the pastor and apologized and asked if they could come back, and 15 NEW PEOPLE have signed up for the new Alpha course that starts in a week and a half!!
