Morning Prayer Summary for Friday, November 09, 2018

Pastor Ray…

I have an Hors D’oeuvre for you before we pray. I read this, this morning from 2nd Thess. 3. I didn’t know it was in the Bible, stated this way in the Message translation. Paul was talking to the people who were not pulling their own weight. They weren’t doing what they were supposed to do. They were, basically, living off everyone else. Paul said, “We didn’t sit around on our hands expecting others to take care of us. In fact, we worked our fingers to the bone up half the night moonlighting so you wouldn’t be burdened with taking care of us so…” I guess they had the night shift. You know what I mean? They were working at night. “And it wasn’t because we didn’t have our right to your support. We did. But we simply wanted to provide an example of diligence hoping it would prove to be contagious. Don’t you remember the rule we had when we lived with you? If you don’t work, you don’t eat.” Then he says, “Now we’re getting reports that a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings are taking advantage of you. This must not be tolerated! We commend them to get to work.” That’s what it says! That’s from the Message.

Sunday morning, I came out of my office and there’s a man that’s comes here every morning, faithful and sits halfway back. For weeks and weeks and weeks and months and months. He just showed up one day. He goes to Living Word. He told me he had lost his job and he thought the best thing I can do is get in the chapel and get in the presence. That was his job. So when I came on Sunday, I met him coming out of the sanctuary. He said he got a job. He was super happy. He said it was six months until he got this job. But six months, he stayed in the chapel in a place of prayer, not just praying for his own needs. But lifting up the needs of others, praying in the spirit, being directed by the Spirit. I love that!

When I read this, it reminded me of him. When you don’t work, you don’t eat. His job became prayer. That’s cool.

I want to read 1st Kings 18:30; it picks up after the Baal people did their deal calling on their god.

“Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: 32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. 34 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. 35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. 36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. 37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it…” Remember, he had called all the people to him to witness by faith, when he said that, he was just following after the word of the Lord. “When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.”

Then they seized the prophets of Baal. It’s so awesome when we are “on fire”! When we’re burning with the supernatural power of the Holy Ghost. On Wednesday, I was talking with Pastor Falu. He’s in a restaurant in Brooklyn Park with his group and they all have their shirts on that say, “How may I pray for you?” One business they go into is managed by a Muslim who welcomes the Christians and the people that come in he’ll say, “if you have a problem, they’ll pray for you.” So he’s got that going on through Christmas. Then he has another outreach where people go out, and do good. That’s their deal. Wherever they go, they just “do good.”

His third thing is the revelation of who God is in him, in us. We are like Him when we have Him operating through us. He said he was in a DMV in Ramsey. There were maybe 12 people in there. He came in and noticed this lady. She was trying to do something on her computer but she couldn’t figure it out. So he helped her. He’s got the big smile going. He’s “doing good.” He helped her with what she had to do. She looked at him and said, “Excuse me. Why are you so happy and everybody else in this whole room looks depressed”? He says, “Ma’am, I have Jesus living within me and that’s why I’m happy.” Don’t you love it?

Wherever you go… the mall, the restaurant… most of the people look sad. They need the joy of the Lord and the fire of the Holy Ghost so they will see “what in the world is with you?” It’s the Holy Spirit within him. That’s Pastor Falu’s latest mission which is what he’s going to minister at the men’s advance about “who He is in us, and then act like it.” Speak like it. Pray like it. And walk like it.

Erika shared…

I want to read this. Now, it’s not a condemnation to you. This is a call of God. It should be on the inside of every believer.

Thank You, Father, for everything You’ve given us. We are blessed. Your arm is not shortened to perform more. There’s more to be had, more to be seen, more to be done. In the Church. Through the Church.

I’m talking about the Church of the Living God. The whole Church, the body of Christ.

I’m going to read from Herald of His Coming. I’m going to read to you from the article “Fire From Heaven.” We’ve talked about how we must get on the inside of us that perspective and from that position in prayer, that’s where we’re injecting in our prayers the art that’s coming to us.

What Is the Fire of God?

I do not know of any greater need in the church today than for the fire of God to fall. When we refer to the fire of God, we are talking about the manifest presence and glory of God. We are talking about the supernatural power of God.

We are talking about services that are more than just nice meetings with nice music and nice preaching. We are talking about results that cannot be explained in terms of human effort. We are talking about that which man cannot program, manipulate, plan or make happen.

We are talking about something more than the ordinary operation of the Holy Spirit in the lives of His people. We are talking about the extraordinary outpouring of His Spirit that reveals His glory in our lives and in His church.

What Does the Fire Do?

When the fire falls, we see God for who He really is. Both the Old and New Testaments reveal God to be a God of fire.

At Mount Sinai, where the law was given, God revealed Himself with lightnings and thunderings and voices. Then, in the last book of the Bible, the Apostle John was given a glimpse into the throne room of heaven. Out of that throne “came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder” (Rev. 4:5).

When the fire falls, God takes over His church. When God shows up, people are more comfortable on their faces than in their pews. When the fire falls, it consumes everything that is unholy, earthly, and temporal.

The fire of God purifies, purges, melts, and devours, “for our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29). God is like a refiner’s fire (Mal. 3:2) that brings impurities to the surface and exposes and consumes them.
When the fire falls, sin is judged and dealt with thoroughly and uncompromisingly – not just the obvious sins of the flesh, but subtle, secret sins of the spirit as well. Masks of respectability are pulled off, pretenses stripped away, and the souls of men laid bare before the gaze of an all-seeing, all-knowing God.

When the fire falls, there is deep conviction and grief over sin. The intense searchlight of God’s holiness makes things once thought acceptable suddenly become abhorrent. Indifference is turned to mourning. A casual attitude toward sin is replaced by brokenness and genuine repentance.

When the fire falls, the efforts and works of believers are tested. Much of what appeared to be spiritual activity is exposed to be nothing more than fleshly effort that is consumed as wood, hay, and stubble.

When the fire falls, our traditional methods and programs are yielded to His lordship, and the Holy Spirit begins to preside over the workings and operation of His church.

When the fire falls, there is power. There is life. There is purity. There is spontaneity. There is reality.
Where is the fire of God today? Where is the evidence of His presence and power? Where is the sense of awe, of wonder, of fear in His presence?

Where are the tears of brokenness and contrition? Where are lost people falling on their faces, overcome by the reality of God’s presence in the midst of His people? What church in your community is known to have the fire of God? In what Sunday School class, home, mom, dad, or teenager is the fire present?

Why Don’t We Have the Fire?

In many cases, we do not have the fire of God because we do not think we need it. We are content to live without His glory.

For the most part our nation, churches, homes, and lives are devoid of the glory and power of God. When asked to state our needs, we speak of needing bigger buildings, more money, more volunteers, better staff, or more equipment. Why can’t we see that our real need is for God Himself?

We sinned against God, and He withdrew His manifest presence from us, but our eyes have grown accustomed to the darkness. We are used to functioning in our own effort. Hardly anyone questions the authenticity of the results.

We have become blind to our true spiritual condition and need. Like the Laodicean church, we think we are “rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing” (Rev. 3:17).

I hear Christian leaders today speak of how Christianity is flourishing. Others insist we are in the throes of revival.

If that is the case, then why is every form of moral impurity rampant in our evangelical, Bible-preaching churches? Why is the divorce rate as high in the church as it is in the world?

Why do the vast majority of Christians never introduce anyone to Christ? Why do people want a part-time, convenient, weekend Christian experience that costs them nothing? Why do pastors have to twist people’s arms to get them to serve the Lord?

[To read the entire article, go to http://www.heraldofhiscoming.com/other/home.htm]

Erika continued…

He goes on to ask more questions. The biggest question is, “Do we want the fire?” Do we want more? We do want more. So we need to continually stir one another and incite one another to love and good deeds.

Prayed…

Father, thank You for being patient with us and for being merciful to us. Your Word is able to penetrate our hearts and lives… Thank You for Jesus… we call for the fire… in our own lives and in the life of the church to do its work and to have Your way in a new and fresh way in the church to burn up all the dross, to burn those things that should not be a part of the church… they can’t be known in the church… there should be distinguishing marks that don’t contain those things in the church… Father, we’re looking for the more… for the fire of God to consume everything that is not of You… there has to be a greater transformation… a greater transition… we call on You today… to see and to know and to cast away darkness which has consumed so many… that we would become the sons of God that You have ordained us to be… to shine in this world of darkness, Father… to touch the helpless and the hurting… we don’t want to be the hurting trying to minister something to the hurting… we want to be the healed and the whole and those filled with the glory and presence of God to minister God Himself… our eyes are on You… fire in the church… fire that consumes everything that is not of You… that sets ablaze everything around it… we repent and ask You to forgive us for being satisfied with such a low thought of life in Christ… when there is more… God, we’re asking You to touch our eyes so we can see the way You see, that we could hear the way that You hear, that we can manifest the way that You’ve ordained us… send the fire, Father… to every church… to Your family… to Your Christian schools… to every denomination that names the name of Jesus… to our cities to transform our cities… to transform this nation… transformation… such a transformation that there isn’t any semblance of the old…send fire, Father… we know that there are things we should do that we aren’t doing and that we’re asking that You would by Your grace awaken us to that… Your fire falling in services where You Yourself stand in the midst of the congregation… send fire, Father… transforming fire… healing fire… things that go on in the church that ought not to be named among us… offenses and hurts and things that shouldn’t be named… Your fire to burn it out…

(travail came forth…)

Jesus… an all-consuming fire… come, come… we must have it… all, all, all of it… all of You… open the hearts of Your people… open up… in the name, in the name… cut them open… so that You can burn on the inside… we’ve been soaked with the world… with all the garbage of this earth, Father God, You come and burn and consume… You burn it up completely… every trace of it… every single bit, Father… that nothing would remain but You… that we would be like a rod, like a lightning rod for Your Spirit… full of the fire of God… the power of God… ready to release… to let it go… everywhere, every place … enter into, Lord, that that power stored up on the inside by the Holy Ghost is released into every situation… every circumstance… every individual that we come into contact with… in the name of Jesus… the fire of God burning, burning, burning… in Jesus’ name… right now… every one of you in this place, right now, receive the fire of God…

When I was sitting on that front pew, the fire of God came on me so strong… I was burning to my fingertips… receive that fire right now… receive the fire of the Holy Ghost… receive Him right now… the fullness in the name… take it, take that deliverance … receive that impartation… He is here… be carriers of the flame… we hold fast to the fire… keep burning…

I’ll do it… we’ll do it… we accept it… we receive it… we’ll operate in it… the fullness… we’ll burn for heaven… we’ll burn for the awakening… miracles… supernatural… sudden fire… sudden increase in the fire of God… we expect it… we yearn it… we yearn for more, Lord… we pray for the people… the process of more and greater… burning and burning and yearning… contending… turn, turn, turn… the glory, the glory… hearts on fire… coming on up… fire, fire, fire… the fire of God there… here… in the media… in businesses… colleges… hospital… wholeness… recovery… completely restored… in every meeting… every prayer meeting… the fire of God… in every age group… fire in the capital… in the white house… in the United States… state by state by state… answers… help… the call… those steps… those commands… the leading of the Spirit… directed by the Spirit… we contend for it… churches… the fire of God… worship, worship, worship… [singing in the spirit] …

Changes… changes today… now…He comes… we ask, He comes… Jesus… He’s working… changing on the inside… changing on the outside… signs… signs… signs and wonders… the glory, the glory…

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