We continue to pray into the month of June. Tonight we focused on three areas:
1 The seven prophetic words which were shared in the Sunday morning services:
Bernie: Isaiah 42 v9 God doing a new thing….. Haggai 2 v9 The glory of the present house will be greater than the former…… Deeper, more significant times of intimacy and worship…..Allow your doors and your vision of God to be larger, wider…….We will say ‘You’ve saved the best till now!’ The old wine has all run out and the best is yet to come…..Don’t fear the shaking, which is for our good, to reposition/realign/recalibrate us. Don’t fear the turbulence which moves us on. Get used to different! Trust God – in him we live/move/have our being.
Margaret: Exodus 25 v2,8 ‘Take an offering…then build a me sanctuary…and I will dwell among them’. God wants to move in…he must have a holy people….holiness looks like Jesus: white-hot, no compromise, attractive and inspiring. Numbers 20 v12 ‘…trust me enough to honour me as holy in the sight of the people’. Embrace God’s standards, say what God says. A shift in the spiritual atmosphere – good things flourish, bad things die back. Be prepared for some disruption/discomfort as we move forward…. motivated by inspiration not fear.
Bolaji: Ephesians 1 v18 ‘Let the eyes of your heart be enlightened…’ A word first given for the New Year crossover service which God told Bolaji to remember and has now brought again is ‘the righteous among you have developed their core’: have developed strength in lockdown in readiness for what comes after. God is taking us into a new era ….extreme revelation… the Holy Spirit couriers this.. God will reveal himself in extraordinary ways.
Mark: ‘What you planned for evil God planned for good’….what will we hold onto, what have we learned from this time? We’re beginning to emerge from a cocoon like a caterpillar to a butterfly: same DNA but a totally different creature. We must speak/live prophetically….don’t be complacent because there could be more crises to come. Now is the time for reconciliation in families, church and beyond.
Loraine: ‘By day the Lord directs his love, by night his song is with me’. In division and unrest God does some of his best work in the dark. Tomb time: leave behind the grave-clothes of things that worked in the past but are not to be resurrected for the new era. What the enemy sent for harm God turns to good, but there is still injustice, an d he asks us to address this….raising up people to do this. Some are being moved into out-of-church ministry…. ‘Cast your nets on the other side’: God is on the move and the same power is in us….agree with him about what we lay down/pick up – just say yes!
Keith: Remove the Ashera poles – God says be careful what you worship….some things can become idols so get rid of anything which gets in the way of him being central…. the need for holiness….don’t cheapen grace…. God is a jealous God.
Joan: Hebrews 12 v1 ‘… cast off everything that hinders…. and run….’ Philippians 3 v14 …run towards the goal to win the prize…’ It’s time to run…fresh fire/strategy/purpose and passion/zeal. The challenge is to run with God even when it’s not convenient….throw off all distractions and compromise….. pay the price. ‘I love you very much: how much do you love me?’
2 The exposure of racism
The shaking is exposing this – it’s all part of the process so God is in it. Pray for the church not to react in a shoot-from-the-hip style; to listen a lot before we speak; be prepared to engage in the ‘difficult conversation’ and learn even when the learning is painful. Pray for courage in this.
Pray for communities and society, that we don’t go the route of violence (in rallies etc) but that God would give us a different spirit, a willingness to listen/learn/move our position where necessary.
3 A seeking after justice
For true, Godly justice: Micah 6 v8 ‘…. What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God’. Justice is so important to God and we must reflect his character in this.
Unity: the enemy is intent on bringing division, making enemies out of friends. Pray that out unity with those we love won’t be compromised.