Morning Prayer Summary for Thursday, September 6, 2018

Mary led group in worship…

Pastor Ray shared…

I want to read a chapter in brother Hagin’s book, “Plans, Purposes, Pursuits.” In this book, he describes Jesus taking him up on top of the Tulsa Convention Center before a meeting that was about to take place. It was the 1987 camp meeting. Jesus spoke to him about different things. He talked about clapping, how in the church we don’t “clap for God.” There is a time to clap, but we lift up holy hands to God. He also talked about dancing, how you “dance in the spirit,” not “dancing before the Lord.” Those are two different things. One is flesh and one is spirit. There is a time to dance, but it doesn’t have to just be in church. We’re not talking about the “two step,” the “box step.” We’re talking about dancing “in the spirit.” David danced with all of his might but he danced in the flesh.

I wanted to go over a couple things Jesus told him. Before the meeting took place, the reason he was addressing these things to brother Hagin was because He was showing him things that were to come in the meetings. And He was talking to him about the believers that were in the meeting and what they were doing. So someone asked him after the 1987 Camp Meeting “What did Jesus emphasize the most?” during his three-hour visitation. He said:

Without question, Jesus said to me, My plan under the New Covenant is for every believer to be filled with the Holy Spirit.” That was the main emphasis of what He told him. He already pointed out that every believer in the New Testament was to be filled with the Holy Spirit, but in the Old Testament not everyone was. Only the prophet, the priest, the king and those called to do a special work for God had the anointing of the Spirit. And that anointing only came upon them. It did not dwell within them. In the Old Testament, those who we would call laymen did not have the Spirit of God within them or upon them. That’s one reason the New Covenant is a better covenant. It provides a way for every person who is born again to have God’s Spirit actually residing on the inside of them. In our own individual lives, the New Testament emphasizes being filled with the Spirit. Jesus directed me to Ephesians 5:18–19 which I knew well. He discussed with me in detail everything I have included in this chapter.

In the Old Testament, God’s people were strictly worshiping Him in the flesh. Only the king, the priest, and the prophet had the Holy Spirit upon them. The rest of them didn’t have the Holy Spirit on them, or in them, so their display of worship was a natural display, done in the flesh.

However, in the New Testament, the emphasis for worship is that it is to be done in the Spirit. That’s why the Bible says we are to be filled with the Spirit. Let’s notice what Paul said or as I like to say it, let’s see what the Holy Spirit said through the Apostle Paul.

Ephesians 5:18, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.

This verse can be read like this: “Don’t be drunk on wine; be drunk on the Spirit” Have you ever been drunk on the Spirit? You can be so filled with the Spirit that you stagger around like a drunk man. Be filled with the Spirit. Now notice what they did when they were filled with the Spirit: They began to speak with other tongues. The New Testament puts emphasis on being filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking with other tongues. …

The Bible says that when hands were laid on these disciples, they spoke in other tongues. When hands are laid on you to receive the Holy Spirit, you can do something other than what the Bible says to do and it will grieve the Holy Spirit. The Bible says we are to speak in tongues.

For example, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you can just start shouting in English and not speak in tongues at all, and you’ll shout the power off of you. Shouting is all right in its place, but when hands are laid on you to receive the Holy Spirit, that’s the wrong time to shout. No, yield to the Holy Spirit and begin to speak in tongues.

In all of these New Testament accounts, the people spoke with tongues after the Holy Ghost came upon them. Did you notice that? Being filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking is the New Testament pattern.

Notice the key words in this passage: “… be filled with the Spirit speaking” (vv. 18, 19)

The Ephesians were one of the groups of people who had already received the initial infilling of the Holy Spirit under Paul’s ministry. Yet he writes them in Eph. 5:18,19 and tells them again to be filled with the Spirit. Why did he say that to them? Weren’t they already filled with the Holy Spirit? Before I comment on that, let me say this.

I’ve still got every Bible I ever had, and in every one of them, you can readily see where they are worn the most—over in the Epistles. Why? Those are the letters that were written to me! The four gospels were not written TO me, they were written FOR me. The Old Testament was not written TO me, it was written FOR me. Do you understand the difference?

Every single epistle was written to you and to me! They’re written to believers—to the church. They’re written to the Christian. The Epistles are where I’ve lived all these years. I want to find out what God is writing to the Church, and what He is saying to me. I’m not so concerned about what He said to the Jews. I’m primarily concerned about what He’s saying to me.

In the epistles, we find out that the New Testament emphasizes being filled with the Spirit!

In writing to the Ephesian Christians who had already been filled initially with the Holy Spirit in Acts 19, Paul exhorted them again in Ephesians 5 to be filled with the Spirit. At first reading, this might seem confusing. However, what Paul had reference to in Eph. 5:18 went beyond the initial infilling of the Holy Spirit and speaking with tongues which the Ephesians had received when he laid hands upon them in Acts 19.

Greek scholars tell us that the literal translation of Ephesians 5:18 “be filled with the Spirit” actually contains a play on words.” It literally reads, “be being filled with the Spirit.” Paul was encouraging these Ephesians to continue speaking with tongues in order to stay filled up with the Holy Spirit. In other words, they needed to have a constant infilling of the Spirit—a continual experience of being filled with the Spirit and speaking forth in supernatural utterance in order to stay filled with the Spirit.

Pastor Ray continued…

By being filled and continually filled, we can speak forth things. I want to emphasize what Jesus emphasized to brother Hagin back then. It’s still true today. It’s God’s plan. As Jesus said, it’s His will that everyone be filled with the Holy Spirit. I don’t know how else we can stay strong and up and moving ahead without being continually filled with the Holy Spirit. Do you? How can we look at our nation and pray about God’s plans and purposes if we are not filled. We would pray what “we see.” But we’re to pray what we know “by the spirit.” If we’re not being filled, we’ll go down and back. Being filled moves us ahead, out front. Words that you prayed years ago will still be effective today. Words that you declared by the Spirit will come to pass.

Brother Hagin spoke about singing psalms and hymns. He said at one point, he took singing lessons and the teacher said, “As far as singing goes, I don’t want you to continue your classes.” He said he would always get psalms but he never sang them. I wanted to go through the one about doubt and fear. This is what stood out to me this morning.

DOUBT AND FEAR

Doubt and fear are the two tormenting twins
of the enemy down here,
Sent to harass and rob you of God’s blessings.
But faith and love come from above.
Faith and love—for faith worketh by love.
And faith working by love
Will give you victory in every circumstance—
Will give you deliverance out of every problem.
Faith and love sent from heaven above.
Faith and love born of your spirit
That is regenerated and born again:

The love of God shed abroad in your spirit.
Faith rising up out of the Word
Upon which you meditate and think.

So cast aside doubt and fear
For they have no place in you
As you walk down here.
For He has not given us the spirit of fear,
But of power and of love and of a sound mind.
So cast away doubt and fear
As you’d pull off your coat or cloak
And throw it to one side.
And rise up and walk in love,
And act in faith.
And all the heavenly blessings from above
Shall be at your disposal.
And in His great plan,
You’ll live and enjoy His blessings,
As you walk in this clime.
And so you shall rejoice and be glad,
For, you see, this is the day
And this is the hour of your time.

Prayed…

We remove every doubt that brings about anxiety and questions about “how it will be.” Doubt, leave in Jesus’ name… out of the body of Christ and every individual… they shall be no fear… fear has to get out…

Thank You, Father, that we are free… You’re doing a work in the Church… there is a transformation going on in the Church… from one degree of glory to another… things are falling off… there is new clothing… we thank You for that… as we draw near to You, You draw near to us… Jesus prayed that the world would know us by the love we have for one another…

Father, we’ve taken Your Word into ourselves… we receive it… we’re transformed by it… Your Word is life to us… there is a transformation… the word is bringing about transformation in the church… we’re hungry to know more of You… to be apprehended… so we can throw off fear and anything that would hinder and limit us… no shame or guilt or condemnation in the church… we live in accordance with a belief system… we live free from guilt… thank You for supernatural aid… we pray for the five-fold ministry gifts… for the equipping of the saints… that each would come into the fullness of that knowledge… they would be able to communicate… every believer to have ears to hear… there is no limit to knowing and drawing near to You… transformed by You… we draw near…

Prayer for nation…

Father, in the name of Jesus and according to your Word, we pray for those in authority in our nation. We lift up President Donald Trump, his family, his staff, and cabinet members. Let Your Word cling to them, and let them not depart from Your plan. Strengthen them with mighty power by Your Spirit to stand against wickedness, lies, and deception. Guide President Trump’s decisions; let Your light shine upon his path and show him the path of reversal for every evil way. Continually surround him with godly men and women who impart wise counsel to him. Cause the way of the wicked to be set to confusion and come to nothing. Deliver us from the traps and snares the enemy has laid for us, and let the wicked be caught in their own devises and be brought to shame. We take authority over the plots and plans of the enemy against this nation. Let prideful and lying lips be silenced in Jesus’ name.
Slanderers will not be established in America. We pray for our congress, our supreme court, our military leaders, and our intelligence agencies. Let the wisdom that is from above reign in this nation and be constantly speaking to our leaders. We exercise the authority You have given us to tread down all the power of the enemy. We cast down and demolish imaginations and arguments that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, and we bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. We bind spirits of strife and division, civil wars and tumults, spirits of hostility, lawlessness and blasphemy, and fires from hell that have burned in our cities.

We speak grace and peace over America. We pray and believe for the voice of truth, salvation, revival, and restoration to be proclaimed and heard across our land. Grant unto your servants everywhere that with all boldness we may speak your Word. We pray for a mighty outpouring of your Spirit with signs, wonders, and miracles. We expect the wisdom of this world that is earthly, sensual, and devilish to depart and vanish until Your mighty work in America becomes a beacon of hope for all people everywhere. We expect the voice of rejoicing to be heard in our nation for your goodness, mercy, and prosperity in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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