Sister Jeannie…
Good morning. This morning, the Holy Spirit kept talking to me about occupy until He comes. Today He said, “So, Jeanie, do you know how you occupy? First, start with what’s occupying you? What kinds of thoughts are occupying us? What are you thinking about?”
So, Father, we just thank you for today. We thank you for the honor to agree with you… to co-labor with you… the joy of co-laboring… the joy of occupying … the joy that you occupy us. And that we become occupied with you occupying us…
Everywhere we go, we occupy because of the One that occupies us…
In the Old Testament, He was with us. And in the New Testament, He’s in us. So everywhere we go, we occupy because the one that occupies us is where we go. So we’re going to pray from a place of hope today. But we’re first going to talk about and display and confront what happens when we don’t have hope. So I’m just gonna read a couple pages. This is from Dutch Sheets’ “Appeal to Heaven.”
“APPEAL TO HEAVEN: “Put Yourself in the Storyline,” Chapter 2
Fear, alarm, curiosity. There’s just something about an ambulance with its lights flashing that generates a strong mix of emotions. But seven of them says something horrible must be occurring. Fortunately, it was only a dream. In the past, the Lord has frequently spoken to Julie Meyer, an internationally known worship leader and seasoned intercessor, through detailed dreams. In this dream, Julie saw seven ambulances lined up. Each with lights flashing. Growing very concerned, she walked to the back of one of the ambulances to see what was happening. When she peeked in, Julie saw a non-responsive person laying on a gurney. Next to the patient was an attendant working feverishly to revive him. In her dream, she knew immediately this attendant was an angel who looked at her and said, “I can’t find a heartbeat.” She went from one ambulance to the next, finding the same scenario, patients on gurneys with angels attending to them, trying to restart their hearts. Out of the heart flow the issues of life.
Suddenly one of the angels looked directly at Julie and confided, “It’s the intercessors.” This dream made sense to me for a number of years…
Comment…
Okay, here’s the deal. What I’m about to read… This is what we’re going after today, unless He takes us in another direction.
Excerpt…
This dream made sense to me for a number of years, I have watched as the strength of the prayer movement has waned. Now we are seeing that being revitalized, but there’s so much more that’s upon us. Many becoming weary. Intercessors have prayed years for revival, but the revival hasn’t materialized and many of them have experienced what Proverbs 13 refers to as “hope deferred.”
Comment…
Now isn’t that interesting? Hope deferred. And the angels are working on the hearts of these people in the ambulances.
Because in God, it’s an emergency when our hearts start to get weary. Because out of our hearts flow the issues of life. He cares about that.
Excerpt…
And as this passage teaches, hope deferred has made their heart sick. Traveling across America, I can attest to the truthfulness of the dream. It’s hard to find a heartbeat in many tired intercessors. But we are remedying that. As Julie’s dream continued, suddenly one of the angels shouted, “I found a heartbeat, but it’s very faint, but it’s a heartbeat.” The other angels grew excited and asked, “What did you do?” They, of course, wanted to do the same thing in order to generate a heartbeat in their own intercessors. The first angel replied, “Tell the old stories.” When I started telling her stories of what God did in the past, her heart started to beat. With that, these heavenly attendants begin speaking to the intercessors about the first Great Awakening, the Second Great Awakening and other outpourings of the Holy Spirit, right up through healing revivals, tent meetings of the forties, fifties, and sixties. As they did so, the hearts of the intercessors started beating again. Why? Because it started to occupy them.
“Tell the intercessors to put themselves in the storyline.”
At this point, the angel looked at Julie and directed her, “Tell the old stories of what God has done in the past.” As I first heard it, the entire dream was impacting, but this angelic messenger then added instructions that stirred my heart even more. “Tell the intercessors to put themselves in the storyline.” Because the old stories are also their stories. What a profound and intriguing thought. Who among us really thinks this way? But we should. God has one overarching plan for humankind. We’re all part of the same unfolding drama. Our generation’s role in history is simply another act of yesterday’s play. Our battles are conflicts of one ongoing war.
And by the way, it’s a war that’s already been won. This is where we pray from. This is where we do life from, that we’ve already won. But it’s a war. We don’t have to be surprised by that. Every revival in history is but a sequel in the Holy Spirit’s ongoing series of outpourings.
Comment…
You know, when you watch a movie… and I’m thinking about The Lord of the Rings and their sequels because you know they’re going to win in the end. But boy, does it look bad? And then it looks like they’re gonna win. And then this happens. And it looks like they’re gonna win, and then this happens. And I remember, the final sequel and they were out on the battlefield and one of the kings was there and it looked like they were gonna win. And they were “Yes!” And then these giant beasts come and I love what the scene showed. The king did this. [sighs hard] But because I knew they were gonna win, I wasn’t moved by it. That’s where we’re at! We might say, Okay a victory and then… oh, really? But we know we’re winning.
Who among us really thinks this way? But we should. God has an overarching plan for you, for the church, for Minnesota, for the Twin Cities, for America, for France, for Europe, for Australia… You know, I’m naturally loud. So I’m purposely speaking quietly right now, but on the inside I’m saying, “YEAH!”
Excerpt continued…
We are all a part of the same unfolding drama. Our generation’s role in history is simply another act of yesterday’s play. Our battles are conflicts of one ongoing war. Every revival in history is but a sequel in the Holy Spirit’s ongoing series of outpourings. And every soul saved enters the same spiritual family. Our stories though many are one. Put yourself in the storyline because the old stories actually are your stories.
Comment…
I was listening to a conference call yesterday. And there was an individual on the conference call and he’s a consultant to the government, blah, blah, blah. He got kind of philosophical on the call and said, “The media wants you to believe that things aren’t moving forward.” He said, “When we don’t believe we have a future, we won’t invest. And we will just kind of stay in one place and we won’t move forward. We won’t start a business because we don’t expect things.” And he continued, “And there’s that force, the media, that wants you to stay frozen.” But he said, “That’s not really what’s happening.” And then he said this, “If you look at the court’s decisions that are being made, we’re winning!”
Excerpt from Steve Backlund’s book, “Igniting Hope”
I’m gonna read this now. This is from Steve Backlund’s “Igniting Hope.”
Excerpt…
Victor Frankel in his book, “Man’s Search for Meaning” recounts how hope for the future was the single most important factor in determining whether his fellow prisoners survived the Nazi concentration camps in World War II. The prisoner who had lost faith in the future, his future, was doomed. With his loss of belief and future in the future, he also lost his spiritual hold. He let himself decline and became subject to mental and physical decay. I set before you life and death, choose life.
Comment…
So here they are in the middle of a concentration camp. When every force that’s coming at them says death. Yet those that chose hope… We always have a choice. What are we going to allow to occupy us? What are we going to look at? What are we going to concentrate on? You know, I’ve experienced just recently different people that have experienced ridiculous loss just in the past couple years, same in my life. But can I tell you, we have a choice. And I’m saying this with compassion and empathy for all of us, but we do have a choice and that’s good.
Excerpt…
Frank, who helped millions value hope after he was released from the concentration camps had at the core of his therapy this truth: human beings are driven by their views of their own future. The more positive the future is seen, the more power and purpose there will be for the present. Without a vision, the people perish. A lack of clear purpose for the future will not only drain us of energy now but will actually shorten our lives.
Comment…
Us knowing what we want, us knowing what our dream is actually affects our daily habits. Us keeping purpose in front of us actually affects our daily habits. So here’s my goal. Here’s my dream. Here’s what I believe. I’m not gonna watch Netflix right now. I’m actually gonna do this. Here’s my dream. Here’s my goal. I’m not gonna accept that thought. No, this is what God said about my city. This is what God said about my country. This is what God said about my life, my situation, about my friend. I am not gonna accept it.
Excerpt…
Franco, who helped millions value hope after he was released from the concentration camps, had at the core of his therapy, this truth: human beings are driven by their views of their own future. The more positive the future is seen, the more power and purpose there will be for the present. Without a vision, the people perish. A lack of clear purpose for the future will not only drain us of energy now but will actually shorten our lives.
During the American Revolution, the average lifespan was less than 40 years, but most of our nation’s Founding Fathers lived at least 20 years longer. It would seem their vision to create a great nation literally gave them life. Frankel had a “why” to live while he was a prisoner. His “why” was he wanted to see his family again. He wanted to write his book. This vision caused him to endure intense suffering by seeing it as something that would make him stronger for his future.
Comment…
The thing that the enemy meant to destroy me, God has used for my good. You know what’s happening now is we are being strengthened because with the breakthrough we are going to be strengthened to take territory for the kingdom. Do you see that? You are being strengthened. Your vision is being refined because with this breakthrough that’s upon us, with this breakthrough that’s upon you, you won’t take it for granted this time. You won’t!
Excerpt…
When we don’t have a “why” to live for, we are reduced to trying to protect what we have. Focus on the past and we’ll only change to avoid pain. Our purpose will be reduced to trying to not lose what we have left, trying to not move backward in life. This is Gideon’s mindset in Judges six, when an angel told him while he was in a wine press, hiding and threshing wheat.
Comment…
I’m laughing because I have done this so many times. “God, I just don’t want to be visible.” And then He’s like, Sorry, that’s where I have you. None of us get to hide. You do not get to hide right now. And if you’re hiding, you’re probably miserable. Just don’t do it. I’m pretty sure Gideon was miserable in the wine press hiding and threshing wheat. And I love this.
God sees you as a mighty warrior…
The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. Did you know that’s how God sees you? It’s no mistake you’re alive right now. You’re mighty warrior. Get over it. Just get over it and accept what He said.
If you don’t accept what God says about you, you’re in pride…
Did you know that if you don’t accept what God says about you, you’re in pride. Did you know that false humility is pride? So not accepting that you are called for such a time as this is pride. The point is we’re here right now. And if you’re here right now, you have purpose. And if you have to stop watching the news for a while and hear what He says, do it. Or forever. Or not.
Hope is the belief that the future will be better than the present…
The Lord is with you mighty warrior. His “why” was survival? Not to try to make things better. When we lose hope, we stop investing and improving. Hope is the belief that the future will be better than the present. And we have the power to make it so. When we don’t have this strong vision and purpose for the future, we will live from our past instead of our future. Our thinking will fixate on the past regrets, good old days, if only. And as a result, we will adopt a victim mindset and be without vitality in the present. One thing I do forgetting those things that are behind, reaching forward to those things that are ahead, Philippians 3:13. There are those things for all of us to reach forward to. Clarifying what those things are is a main part of living in hope.
Excerpt…
Why are you alive? What difference do you want to make in the future? What problem do you want to fix? What strength do you want to bring to your family or society? I recently wrote a blog called “decide, and He will provide.” This speaks into this. I spoke about how an ordinary person with a secular job named Nehemiah decided to fix the walls in Jerusalem that were broken down. Once he decided, all of heaven got behind him in provision. He said, I’m going to do something about that. We too will have heaven’s resource manifest when we decide to fix and improve things. Once we get hope for the future, having a purpose and the belief that we can make a difference, we will be amazed at the multiple options that we see for reaching our goals.
Comment…
I have a personal testimony for that. We experienced another loss regarding our business and when I experienced it, I was gonna start calling people for prayer. And I said to my husband, people are tired of hearing about this. I’m not gonna talk about it anymore. And then John had a word and he said, “I see a quick turnaround.” Well, things are like… just like … it’s a Goshen experience that we’re experiencing right now. And can I tell you, the turnaround I pictured was not the turnaround that happened. In fact, the turnaround that’s happening is requiring more of us. It’s requiring us to stay solid. It’s requiring us to stay focused.
Prayed…
Father, we thank you for hope. Hope is the substance of faith, which is the confident expectation of good.
