Pastor Ray shared…
I read this from Bill Johnson’s book, “Defining Moments.” He has a lot of different ministers, missionaries, people that made a difference in his life. One is John G. Lake. It’s interesting to read about him and the things God did through him. But at the end of some things he was talking about concerning John G. Lake, he said:
Raw Faith
The disciples left everything to follow Jesus. (Mark 10:28 –30).
Peter started to say to Him, Behold, we have yielded up and abandoned everything [once and for all and joined You as Your disciples, siding with Your party] and accompanied You [walking the same road that You walk]. Jesus said, Truly I tell you, there is no one who has given up and left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for My sake and for the Gospel’s who will not receive a hundred times as much now in this time.” When? Right now! In this time. What are we going to receive? Then “houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions.’ That goes along with it. He says, “and in the age to come, eternal life.”
Let’s go on and read the rest of what the disciples learned:
But they learned that as long as they walked with Him, everything was taken care of. They saw the provision of the coin found in the fish’s mouth (Matt. 17:24-27), and they watched the food multiply. They learned how to possess will by owning little to nothing. Lake was a wealthy man, and he left everything to follow Jesus. Sometimes, learning to trust God in the midst of impossible situations gives us the spiritual “real estate” to live from our life’s call.
Giving everything away is not necessarily the prerequisite to following Jesus. However, a life of absolute trust in Him is vital for one who confesses Christ. We were designed by God for more than merely waiting quietly for Jesus to return. Jesus didn’t accomplish everything just so that we would accomplish nothing. It should be normal for us to believe God. Having faith is part of our nature in Christ. That nature must be tapped into and expressed, for it is who we really are—we are believers.
The following quote from John Go. Lake is rather astonishing when you consider that it came from a man filled with God’s power who had seen extraordinary wonders and had lived in a realm of the Spirit where the supernatural worked through his life to impact the shape of the culture.
“The greatest manifestation of the Holy Ghost baptized life ever given to the world was not in the preaching of the apostles; it was not in the wonderful manifestations of God that took place at their hands. It was in the unselfishness manifested by the Church. Think of it! Three thousand Holy Ghost baptized Christians in Jerusalem from the day of Pentecost onward who love their neighbor’s children as much as their own …. That would be a greater manifestation than healing, greater than conversion, greater than baptism in the Holy Ghost, greater than tongues. It would be a manifestation of the love of First Corinthians 13 that so many preach about and do not possess.”
“The greatest of these is love” is the profound statement of the apostle Paul found at the conclusion of 1 Corinthians 13. The Bible declares it so we know it’s true. But when the statement is made by someone who has displayed unusual measures of spiritual power, who has been involved in a regular stream of miracles of biblical proportion, and has seen every manifestation and blessing that most of us long for, it screams truth. Here it is again: the greatest of all manifestations of God is love!
Pastor Ray continued…
Yesterday when we were praying, there was something about the love of God. I saw it more in the right way that, yes, for sure, we receive His love. But it is not just for us. It’s more about who we are in Him. The first step to ministering to others is walking in love. Even when we might not want to. Maybe it’s an awkward situation, but we walk in love anyway. To me, one of the greatest examples of that is Kenneth Copeland when he will sit beside people on a stage that have “ripped” him about what he’s preaching. He’s not moved by it.
Prayed…
We pray for every single person in authority in our country… we plead the blood over every position of authority… we pray for the elections coming up… broken plans, things separated, lies being declared all over our country… the right way, right plans… Father, you know the ones that need to be in the offices that are open… at the right time… arranging things… timing… we pray for the Church, that she will rise up and do what’s right… walk in love… a cleaning up and cleaning out…
Father, in the name of Jesus, we command those voices that are speaking lies against the President and all those that are doing good, that those voices would be stopped… Darkness, we speak to you and command you to lift off of their minds and their eyes to be opened now… to the truth… throughout the body of Christ… Christians that are speaking that are opposed to what is good and right and just, that that divisive language… we tell you to go in Jesus’ name… stop! … we say that you will not prosper against that which God has anointed and appointed for this time in the name of Jesus… all the voters, open their eyes to the right and truth… let them see … silence those that would speak against what is good and just… spirit of division, we command you to leave this country in Jesus’ name… get out! … we know that we can be as You declare—one nation under God… working together … which You have appointed for this country… everyone working together… You can use those that aren’t born again… those that You can turn, Father… You can use them… You cause them to stand up and speak what is right… those with influence… command them to speak up and be bold now… in the face of the enemy to be bold… all over this nation… begin to rise up and speak out… call the country together…
Let’s pray about planes… protection in Jesus’ name… the blood… no weapon formed against these plans will prosper… no plots of the enemy can come against these planes in Jesus’ name… we pray over the airports, the security… hidden things cannot enter the planes… we pray over the baggage… every inch of the airports… things uncovered and brought into the light… plans shot down…
Prayer for Billye Brim…
We lift up Billye Brim… we pray the blood covering over her, her ministry, over Prayer Mountain, over those connected on the prayer line on Wednesdays… we pray for all the connections, all those that support her ministry… we pray today for an increase, for more… we pray over her health… so is healthy… she is a sign and a wonder… we pray for divine supernatural, Holy Ghost utterance for her wherever she goes… words to come forth… declarations given… when she comes to this church, she will unload what needs to be unloaded here at this church… safety, safety, safety… safe… a safe place… take authority over accidents of any kind… we resist you… no accidents! In the name of Jesus… we are protected by the blood…
