Jerre led in worship…
♪ Like the sound of many waters… It’s the sound of worship coming from Your throne… Lifting their voices to make Your glory known… Singing holy, holy, holy are You, Lord… Holy, holy, holy are You, Lord… The elders and angels bow down… The redeemed worship You, now… Holy are You, Lord… ♪
Pastor Ray shared…
While we were worshiping Him, I kept hearing in my spirit, “Stay focused on what I’ve called you to do. There will be other voices that will try to lead you, try to change you, try to be another voice to get you to go in another way, but stay focused every single day to what I’ve called you personally to do. And then My grace and mercy will be new for you to do what I’ve called you to do. There is more than enough strength, more than enough joy that brings strength, more than enough revelation of Me in your when you stay focused on Me.”
We purpose to do that, Lord. We know it’s so easy to look around, watch, see things, hear things, be pulled in many other ways but we purpose in our own hearts to stay focused on You, tuned in and stirred up to what You’ve called us to do as members of Your body. We love You. We’re magnifying Your precious name. Even in that, we know we need You to continually work within us, always helping us and showing up the way of truth.
Jerre continued to lead in worship…
♪ Turn your eyes upon Jesus… Look full in His wonderful face… And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace… ♪
Pastor Ray shared…
This past weekend we had a special guest speaker, Dr. Caroline Leaf, and there were things she shared about what happens internally when we worship and praise Him and when we pray in other tongues. If there is anything we could receive from that it’s patience to spend the time worshiping. Just don’t be in such a hurry to “get that out of the way.” That could be the main thing in your prayer times. All three services are archived and available to watch. There are four or five points about praying in other tongues and then worship and praise. I went over those points on Tuesday morning here in the chapel so it’s on GPAN. Go on lwcc.org and click on “ministries” and then click on “prayer” and you’ll see GPAN and click on that. Everything is archived all the way back. Caroline downloaded a full blown series in just three services. So I got the DVD and listened to it and made those notes. She said our brain cells increase while we’re worshiping Him. Another thing she said is that when we worship together corporately, our hearts beat as one.
I want to go back and talk about being focused on what He’s called us to do individually… I was to share this story about Kenneth Copeland that will illustrate the idea of our being focused on what God has called us to do. This came back to my remembrance, maybe because the meetings are taking place in Branson. During those meetings in years past, we’d go to Pastor Lynne’s room and walk with her from the hotel room to the meeting room. We’d take a back elevator to get to the meeting room. It was like a freight elevator.
One time we’re walking with Pastor Lynne to get to the elevator. The security people have the door open for us. Then here comes Kenneth and Gloria Copeland! You want to acknowledge them somehow, at least just to say “hello.” I said something and Gloria said, “Oh hi!” Kenneth stood there like this… he didn’t acknowledge us. It’s because he didn’t even see us! He was that focused on what he was about to do during the meeting. One time in one of the meetings, he was preaching and in the middle of the service, the whole background on the stage fell down making this loud noise. He never missed a beat. He didn’t even look around. He just stayed focused on what God had called him to do. That’s the way we should be focused. Totally tuned in on what we’re supposed to do. Distractions can’t even stick to us.
I want to read a prayer Jesus prayed over us in John 17.
“Father, it’s time. Display the bright splendor of your Son. So the Son in turn may show your bright splendor. You put him in charge of everything human. So he might give real and eternal life to all in his charge. And this is the real and eternal life: That they know you, the one and only true God, And Jesus Christ, whom you sent. I glorified you on earth by completing down to the last detail what you assigned me to do. And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor, the very splendor I had in your presence before there was a world.”
He went all the way. He stayed tuned in to what He was to do and He finished it.
He continued to pray: “I spelled out your character in detail to the men and women you gave me. They were yours in the first place; then you gave them to me, and they have now done what you said. They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that everything you gave me is firsthand from you, for the message you gave me, I gave them; and they took it, and were convinced that I came from you. They believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I’m not praying for the God-rejecting world but for those you gave me, for they are yours by right. Everything mine is yours, and yours mine, and my life is on display in them. For I’m no longer going to be visible in the world; they’ll continue in the world while I return to you. Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life that you conferred as a gift through me, so they can be one heart and mind as we are one heart and mind. As long as I was with them, I guarded them in the pursuit of the life you gave through me; I even posted a night watch. And not one of them got away, except for the rebel bent on destruction (the exception that proved the rule of Scripture).
Verses 13-19
“Now I’m returning to you. I’m saying these things in the world’s hearing so my people can experience My joy completed in them. I gave them your word; the godless world hated them because of it, because they didn’t join the world’s ways, just as I didn’t join the world’s ways. I’m not asking that you take them out of the world but that you guard them from the Evil One. They are no more defined by the world than I am defined by the world. Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth; Your word is consecrating truth. In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world. I’m consecrating myself for their sakes so they’ll be truth-consecrated in their mission.
Verses 20-23
“I’m praying not only for them but also for those who will believe in me because of them and their witness about me. The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. The same glory you gave me, I gave them, so they’ll be as unified and together as we are—I in them and you in me. Then they’ll be mature in this oneness, and give the godless world evidence that you’ve sent me and loved them in the same way you’ve loved me.
Verses 24-26
“Father, I want those you gave me to be with me, right where I am, so they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me, having loved me long before there ever was a world. Righteous Father, the world has never known you, but I have known you, and these disciples know that you sent me on this mission. I have made your very being known to them—who you are and what you do—and continue to make it known, so that your love for me might be in them exactly as I am in them.” (The Message)
Prayer and worship…
We receive that, Lord, here in 2015 as children of the most high God. We receive what You prayed by faith, that love from the Father above, the One that sent You, loved us so much that He gave You up for us. We thank You for the cross. Thank You that as You said in this prayer, You did everything that the Father called You to do. You went all the way to the very end. Thank You for Your willingness, for Your graciousness to go to the cross and die for each one of us. Thank You so much for Your precious blood today. We are grateful and thankful for the precious covering of that blood over each one of us.
Mary sings…
♪ Holy, holy, You are holy… Holy are You, Lord… ♪
Group spends the rest of the time in worship…
