Morning Prayer Summary for Thursday, September 17, 2020

Pastor Ray…

Good morning. I have a list that is quotes from different ministers about praying in other tongues. One of the ministers is Judson Cornwall. I love what he said. I want to read how he said it. “Praying in tongues is not the work of the subconscious. It’s really supra intellectual praying that is the prayer is beyond the natural mind. Which it is. But not beneath the conscious level. Intercessory prayer in tongues is not incoherent speech. The very words are motivated by the Holy Spirit addressed to the Father and approved by the Lord Jesus Christ.” Can’t go wrong with that, can you? “The speaker is not in a trance. The language is spoken with complete cooperation of the praying person and the person who is praying can stop at any time.” So we’re not in some kind of trance. Have you ever heard someone mimic tongues? It’s so irreverent. “The believer knows what he or she is doing when praying in tongues. Furthermore, intercession of the spirit in tongues is contra intellectual. The kind of prayer that is neither an overwhelming nor an anti-intellectual experience beyond the control of the person. For the Spirit filled believer, this kind of intercession is very natural.” It is natural. It’s normal. “It allows the Spirit to pray through us intellectually without violating our own intellect.” I love that. So just in case you were wondering, it’s available to every believer. So if you’re tuning in and you just were interested in praying in other tongues, just ask the Holy Spirit to baptize you in the Spirit. And just begin to start speaking out some words that could be a word, could be like yesterday when Barb had a Hebrew tongue. It could be like that.

I remember when, I think it was Dr. Cho, said during the Vietnam war a lot of the people were in that, people from their church and it was at the time (and I think still is) the largest church in the world. What they would do is they decided they didn’t  know how to pray for those men and women so they just talked to the Lord. “Lord, we want to cover the men and women in the war and pray about them and the situations they are in, so we’re going to pray in other tongues and keep on praying in other tongues.” That was the way they were brought up to pray, more in tongues than ever before. Because we’re praying out His plan. If we’re truly in the spirit and we’re praying in other tongues, we’re always praying His will. Amen? It’s the best kind of prayer. If we’ve been praying in tongues and we had it on our hearts to pray for… I’ll use this as an example. We’re called to pray for our pastors. So for us, it’s Pastor Mac and Lynne. So if we’re in a group, we decided we’re going to pray for our pastors. And we’re going to pray in the spirit because we don’t know how to pray for them. I mean, there’s a lot that we don’t know and out into the future. We certainly don’t know it because we haven’t been there yet. So we would begin to pray in other tongues over Pastor Mac and Lynne and we decided that’s what we’re going to do. Let’s say we do that for five to ten minutes. When we’re done, we don’t have to go back into our brains and try to come up with another thing we think maybe we missed. Get it?

This is a Pentecostal church so we do pray in other tongues. But to me that was one of the biggest things that set me totally on fire. Yes I was on fire when I got born again. I couldn’t wait to tell everybody, especially my family. Even if they didn’t want to hear it. But once I was born again and we must be born again. Have Jesus as Lord over our lives. But once I was baptized in the Holy Ghost, oooh… it doesn’t matter how long ago it might have been, it could have been yesterday. But we still have that fire in us from the baptism. Another great thing about praying in the Spirit is that it stirs us up in our spirit. It builds us up. We always need to be built up. Okay, that was my little hors d’oeuvre this morning.

I want to go over a couple things about the authority of the believer. This is another thing we need to be aware of, that we have the authority from heaven. I pulled out John McMillen’s book on The Authority of the Believer. He went down through Ephesians 1:19, “And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places], far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come. And He has put all things under His feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the church [a headship exercised throughout the church].” Now, John McMillen’s book “The Authority of the Believer” is what Kenneth Hagin based a lot of his book, “The Believer’s Authority.” So what Mr. McMillen said about these couple verses here beginning in verse 21 where it says, “In this age.” So he’s talking about right now.

 He sits far above “every name that is named, not only in this world” (aion, age) (1:21); the great names of this age are below our Lord. The writer of Hebrews took pains to point out to Israel that even Moses was inferior to Messiah (Christ), as a servant is less than his Master. But what an effort religious leaders are making for today to show that Jesus was only a man, and as such to be ranked with the best men. Over the door of one of the great church buildings of New York, appear figures of some world-famous men—such as Emerson, Einstein, Confucius, Buddha, etc., and with them the figure of Christ as one among many! Not so speaks the Spirit of Truth; in His setting forth of the majesty of

the Divine Son of God, there are none that can be compared; He is “far above” all. In this continued attempt to exalt humanity, there is to be recognized the working of him who deceived our first parents with the falsehood, “Ye shall be as gods.”

The Age to Come
“But also in that which is to come” (1:21). The coming age also yields no name that ranks with that of our Lord. In that age, moreover, the now-dominant spirit forces shall be bound. Their successors, the glorified Church, shall recognize the preeminence of their exalted King. United with Him as Head and Body, they will have become manifestly His “fullness.” He fills “all in all,” but has chosen to do so through His Body. Thus, in the age to come, the members of Christ shall have an active ministry for God throughout the limitless extent of His universe.

Under His Feet

“Hath put all things under his feet” (1:22). The feet are members of the Body. How wonderful to think that the least and lowest members of the Body of the Lord, those who in a sense are the very soles of the feet, are far above all the mighty forces we have been considering. Yet so it is. What need for the Church to awake to an appreciation of her mighty place of privilege. Exalted to rule over the spiritual powers of the air, how often she fails in her ministry of authority or

grovels before them in fear.

Head Over All

“Head over all things to the church” (1:22). We have little grasped the force of this marvelous truth. We think of it as if it indicated that Christ was simply in all things and circumstances and places the Church’s Head. Let us reverse the words to bring out more clearly their deep significance: “Head to the church over all things.” His being Head over all things is for the Church’s sake, that the Church, His Body, may be head over all things through Him. We need to sit reverently and long before these mighty truths, that their tremendous meaning may grasp our hearts. In this attitude,

the Spirit of Truth can lift us into their comprehension, which the human mind alone will always fail to compass.

Pastor Ray continued…

So, we’re not the head. He’s the head. The church is the body. We’re the body. He said in His Word He would lead us into all truth. The right way to go. The right things to do. The right plans to walk out. The right words to pray. The Bible says in Mark 11:23 –24, it says, “Say unto the mountain… say unto the sickness… say, say, say.” Words are so critical in these days. When we’re praying about worldwide events, we’ve got to know as the church He is our head. He’s given us the authority, and through Him, we can command and speak life where there is darkness. We can speak change where there needs to be change.

What I’m trying to do is throw some logs on the fire… to the truth that we know who we are in Him. So that we don’t just pray because we think it’s a good thing. We pray because we know there is an effect because of our words… the words that we say. Of course, it works negatively too. If we speak doubt, lack, poverty, or symptoms, sickness, our words are critical.

Miss Annie, if you have something to say, go ahead.

Annie led group in worship…

Lord, we exalt you… we exalt You… ♪

Pastor Ray…

Lord, we do love You. How we love You! We love You, we worship You, we honor You, we reverence who You are.

Ephesians 2:6 says, “He raised us up.” We lift Him up but He raised us up together with Him and made us… He makes us sit down together, giving us joint seating with Him in the heavenly sphere by virtue of our being in Christ Jesus, the Messiah, the Anointed One.” So we just take our place in Him, our heavenly seat, so to speak, so that we can look at the world and see things the way He sees the world. And we know that one of the things He sees is that the earth would come to the Light. Come out of the darkness and that His glory would cover the whole earth. We believing for that. We desire that and are declaring that and praying that… the whole earth would be filled with Your glory, Lord. We know that everything is in that glory. (worshiping)

I keep seeing gears in my spirit. Some are larger and some smaller. Whatever they’re trying to do, it’s not functioning quite right. So in Jesus’ name… it seems like the gears are rusty, something like that. So we pray for a refreshing for the body of Christ and we say bring the oil of the Spirit that, that plan… His will and destiny would function correctly. We’re talking about the body of Christ. So Holy Spirit of God, bring the oil. We need the body to function the way it’s been created to function. Every part of the body connecting and joined together, the Bible says compacted together and working correctly. (worshiping)

I keep this marker in my Bible that says “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15. I just saw it in a different way. My house. The house of God. The church. So I just used that example. We pray here at Living Word, we pray over our pastors Mac and Lynne. You who are tuning in, join with us praying in the spirit over our pastors and then we’ll turn it right around and connect with you and pray over your pastors. Hallelujah! The bible makes it clear that we must pray over our leaders. All leaders, our President and political leaders. And we do that. But our spiritual leaders are included in that. So we’re going to pray in the spirit for a little while. You join with us in praying for Pastor Mac and Lynne Hammond. (tongues)

All of those plans… all those steps… all those positions… no delay… so we press ahead… each and every day… aid and assistance and help… wisdom… the Master’s plan… the Master’s will and ways… immediately… suddenly… now… daily… it must be so… a broader way… an abundance today… the broad ways… all of it… an alignment… it’s not out of line… it’s in line… strength… the strength of heaven… joy, joy, joy of the Lord… busting through and out…

Now we’re going to turn our prayers and be in agreement with all of you that are tuning in, whoever your pastors are, by faith, we’re lifting them up.

Annie led group in singing in the spirit…

What I kept feeling as we were singing was the love of God for the shepherds. Paul said to Timothy, there are many who are bringing you the gospel, but there aren’t many who love you like I do, who shepherds you like I do. He said Timothy has labored like a son with me and he sincerely cares for your welfare. Well, isn’t that what a shepherd is, a pastor? I just want to proclaim to all the pastors how precious your gift is to God. When I first started coming to this church, it’s been almost 30 years. When I went through the membership, one of the most precious things to me that I ever heard Pastor Mac say… there was a question. “Are you an apostle, or are you a prophet…” There is such an emphasis on the gifts of God. But being a pastor is a gift too. But he said, “I’m a pastor from the top of my head to the tips of my feet.” That meant the world to me. It was so beautiful. It’s beautiful to the Father when someone sincerely cares for the welfare of all his sheep. And he’s looking out for us. So all of you out there on the Internet, we’re praying for your pastors and what just kept coming up in my heart was just encouraging all of them. They’re the ones who are turning back the battle at the gate for all those baby believers. They’re the ones who are nurturing the baby believers and caring for them. For me, as a baby believer I stumbled and fell a lot. I made a lot of mistakes. It was the heart of the pastor who cares for us, that’s how we all grow up in the Word and how we learn. That’s what was in my heart. To sing encouragement to the pastors.

Barb shared…

This is the verse I got this morning. John 21:16, “And again Jesus said, Simon son of John, so you love me? He answered, “Yes, Lord. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

He asked Simon three times and every time, Simon responded, “Yes, I love You. Aren’t you getting this?” He said, “Feed my sheep.” So He’s saying if you love me, do what I called you to do. I called you to feed my sheep. If you’re a pastor, I called you to feed my sheet and don’t give up. When we were praying and singing for the pastors, I saw like almost like fire going out from here, like if you saw fourth of July, you saw fireworks to out and you know how it shoots out in every direction. That’s what I saw going out from this place as we were praying for your pastors, that that fire and life is going to you to revive you. So that you can feed the sheep, so that you can press for the mark of the high calling that He’s called you to, to feed those sheep, to stand in your place, to walk in that place that He’s called you to. So in Jesus’ name, we lift you up again today, by the power of the Holy Spirit we hold you up. We hold up your arms today in Jesus’ name. We lift you up… be strengthened by the Holy Ghost. With power and might by His spirit. Receive a reviving today. Be revived in your call. (tongues) Receive a refreshing and a renewing and a restoring and a returning to that first love in Jesus’ name… that first love that drew you into that calling… that fire of the Holy Ghost in Jesus’ name… that beckoned you to the plan and call of God… and we pray for doors to be opened to you today… those things that seemed to have been closed to you… Father, we ask that you open those doors for them today… those things they’ve been believing for… we agree with them for a breakthrough… some of you are believing for buildings. Some of you are just believing for your buildings to open up… in the name of Jesus, we agree with you and stand with you today that buildings are opening up… open for service… buildings are coming into your hands… facilities in the name of Jesus… don’t give up… hold onto the vision… because it is coming to pass…

There are some people that have been counting the costs. I just hear “accounting.” And you’ve been putting too much into that. You’ve been looking at that too much and not relying on God. You’ve been looking too much at what you can accomplish and the limitations that you have and you’ve not been reliant on the Lord. So today, we lift that up in Jesus’ name… that your eyes would be lifted away from the circumstances and the financial conditions and they would be lifted up to the abundance that is in Jesus Christ… the abundance that comes… from the Father… because He’s more than enough… no more leaning on your own understanding… it’s time to lean on Him… rely on Him… trust in Him… and it’s time to sow… it’s time to give… it might not look like it, but in the time of famine, you sow… and when there is lack, you sow… when it doesn’t look like you’re growing, you give… when it doesn’t look like you’re growing, you plant… and He guarantees that every seed sown will bring forth a harvest… thank You, Lord… thank You, Father, that You wrap Your big arms around them today… every single pastor… that they dwell in that secret place… getting directions straight from heaven… they’re hearing clearly… their eyes are open to see… they’re hearing the voice of Your spirit… they’re walking in the power and anointing of the holy One… and they begin to radiate out … your anointing, Your presence… no more hiding… under a bushel… it’s time to let that shine…

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