Ms. Annie led us singing Praise the Name of the Lord Our God
A Word of the Lord came forth…
All around us we can see, day after day after day, changes for you and me. Changes, things that we thought would never be, have begun to change and bring favor unto thee. But some things have changed in another way and they are connected to the world’s ways. And those plans, those ways seemingly are rising up and pushing down the presence of the power of the Church from heaven above. But not so, sayeth the Lord. Those things have been prophesied about, declared forth in My written Word, but they too have been declared by the Spirit though My men and women, prophets that have declared all throughout the centuries that these days that we are living in today would begin to come to pass. Hallelujah
Prayed…
So, today, by faith we hold fast to what the Word has said
And lift it up and magnify it and glorify it
And lift up the One that is the King of kings and the Lord of lords
Today is the day! Now is the time! Hallelujah!
Thank You, Lord, thank You, Father, thank You, Jesus. Hallelujah.
Pastor Ray shared…
Ms. Annie, when you are singing that song, it took me way back when I got born again. I exited out of the Catholic Church just because I didn’t believe what the priest was saying that day. It wasn’t all about being against the Catholics. It was about what was being said. It just didn’t line up with what was in my heart. So, we kept looking around but one church that Sandy and I were a part of was a huge church down town. It had been super successful in years past but they never moved with God. They stayed the same, tried to keep things just the way they had been. We had favor with the pastor there, and he told us whatever we wanted to do for Christmas, to decorate the church, we could just do it. This church had a huge pipe organ. The song you sang reminded me of that pipe organ. It has massive pipes that went up and the power that came through that kind of sound. But the church had board members that weren’t necessarily lined up with what the Pastor believed or thought. And the board ruled. At one point, we saw one of the pastors got taken out. Why is that? The board voted him out.
Well, we came up with a plan to decorate the church for Christmas. The front it was a huge, beautiful building with the pipe organ behind what would be like huge stained glass windows, only you would see through it to the pipes behind. For some reason they always covered that up for Christmas and they pretended like those windows up there were stain glass by putting colored tissue paper in there. To us that was like “Why are you covering up the most beautiful thing in this church?” So, our plan was to crawl up in there behind the glass and light up all the pipes. I put lights back in there and no tissue paper! I just left it wide open and put real garland, real wreaths. None of that had they ever seen in there before.
Well the days go by and it’s Christmas and we show up for the first service. We were so stoked to see it because it was so beautiful. Well, we come in and the music starts but all the lights are turned off on the pipes. While the service is going on, I got back in there and someone had gotten up there and unplugged everything. They didn’t think it was glorifying God in the way they had seen it for year after year after year after year. They did not want to see change.
But the Bible says that we are changed from one degree of glory to another. And it also says that God never changes! He doesn’t change but the things and the times and the seasons that we live in bring change. Things change, thank God.
And that’s one of the things that we were drawn to even back at the North Hennepin location, that this church never stayed the same. Pastor Mac and Lynne, you never knew what was going to happen. I have shared this before but the first time Sandy brought me to Living Word, Lynne was doing the service up on the stage. She jumped off the stage, ran down the side isle right out the back door of the auditorium. That’s my first service (ha, ha, ha). That’s change to me. And then in like a minute the door opened up and she ran back, went up the steps onto the stage and finished her message. And then Pastor Mac and Lynne would stand at the door as people were leaving – only one door in and one door out. And then she said to me “You know, I see a big painting that I really think you should do. It’s about Elisha and Elijah…” I was thinking “I just want to get out of here.” At that time I wasn’t filled with the Holy Ghost and I never saw a minister come off a platform and run out in the middle of a service. Do you know what I am saying? I had to adjust.
But change is for today. We’ve actually thought about visiting incognito the old downtown church we went to years and years and years ago. No one would know us anyway because most of the people there are dead. That’s how it was. I don’t mean just spiritually. They have exited earth. They preached salvation but nobody came up to get saved. Not one time did I see anyone come up.
So, do we want to stay the way we always were? No. Are we sometimes moved by what we see when it is changed not exactly the way we maybe thought it should be or could be or would be? Sometimes we are. But we keep our eyes on the Word that is unchanging, and we don’t give up on things that were good and things that were anointed yesterday. We don’t give up on them. We don’t just throw them away.
There are things, songs that were sung so many years ago that are so anointed. And there are songs today that are new songs that are so anointed. So those are all things that are around what God has called us to do but we have been called to change with the seasons.
And I don’t know if you have sensed it yet, there is a change outside of these four walls. We are pretty close to Christmas, and wherever we go, people are different; more open to what the Word says. I don’t mean to go on about it but we are open too. We are expectant to receive change right now today: change in our hearts, change in the way we see ourselves, to see ourselves the way He sees us. And expectant, as Pastor Mac has been preaching, expectant! So we are expecting to enter into Christmas day and exit out into the new year in a new way. We will not be satisfied to stay the same old way. When we bring it up and bring it out through us, it will bring change.
Continued praying…
Thank You, Lord, thank You so much for it, Father
Just do it, Lord, by Your Spirit
Holy Spirit, change us – we expect change
We will not stay the same. We cannot stay status quo and move into the new that God has called us to. And He’s calling us to new, new levels, new directions, new plans, new levels of expectation, new levels of receptivity, receiving what He’s already given unto us by the blood that was shed on the Cross at Calvary – hallelujah, thank You, Father.
Pastor Ray shared…
In our apartment complex, there is a part of the garage area where you can pull your car into and wash it yourself. There are big pipes overhead that come down and a garbage dumpster to empty garbage from your car. Someone had taped on the pipes a banner that read “There is a God and you are not it. If you have Him, you can’t keep Him unless you give Him away.” I thought “Oh, no. The building management, they are going to think I did that. I mean they know I am a pastor. But this was like some kind of soap box mentality. “There is a God and you’re not it!” It’s not the Christmas message. It’s a religious message.
So, yesterday I waited until the middle of the day. I came home from lunch and tore it down. I had to get it down because it was so religious. And every unbeliever which, of course, there are a lot of them, but there are a lot of believers too. But they know who I am. And I don’t want them to think that I am running around the building condemning people because they are not God. I just couldn’t quite get the message.
Pastor Ray…
Some religious devils are in operation in America and many still come, speak doubt, speak lies against the president of the United States and try to bring him down. But He’s not coming down.
The blood of Jesus is around him, around every one that is around him
Around the White House, in the rooms of the white house, in the Oval Office
Wherever it needs to function, we declare the blood of Jesus is working and functioning and bringing about protection and bringing about opportunities for America to move in the right way
We are not going down, we are not shrinking
The Church is increasing today – now in this year still, 2018
We’re moving ahead, we’re moving out, we’re moving up
Glory to God, thank You Lord, thank You, God
We have to be expecting the change that God has brought to us, already finished. We get the picture. The job is done. It was finished at Calvary on the Cross. It was done and finished. And for us, we must continually turn our expectation upward, believe for more, expect more, expect to give more, expect to bring about more change around us and never, never, never, never stay like that church tried to stay, in status quo land. And then people begin to leave and leave and leave and leave.
Oh, Father, we worship You, we honor You, we magnify You
You are the same but You bring about continual change so that we’ll never stay that way
The way we were, the way we saw things, the way we knew things – we thought we did but we didn’t
Hallelujah, thank You
Ms. Annie led us singing in tongues…
Scripture focus…
At the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation “—2 Corinthians 6:2 (NASB)
All of the goodness of God, all of that that is in salvation.
He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.” Hebrews 4:7 (NASB)
Continued praying…
Oh, thank You that our hearts are softened more
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus be Jesus in us, through us
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
Ms. Annie led us singing The Name of Jesus...
Pastor Ray read the following confession Prosperity for Every Area of My Life…
Father, in the Name of Jesus, I confess that your Word reigns in every area of my life – my spiritual life; my emotional life, and my physical life. There is no part of my being that is not completely, absolutely, and eternally enveloped and saturated with Your Word. Because Your Word is my very substance, I live a prosperous life – spiritually, physically, and materially.
I thank You that You liberally and super abundantly supply and fill to the full, my every need according to Your riches in glory by Christ Jesus. According to Your Word (Deut. 8:18), I accept and receive the power of Your wealth in order to establish Your covenant. As an act of faith, Father, I receive the power of Your wealth in knowledge, revelation, discernment, and recollection of Your thoughts as they are written in Your Word. I receive the power of Your wealth in my spiritual life. I will be enduring, patient, kind, mannerly, joyful, forgiving, courageous, faithful, loving, and all that is necessary to correct my spiritual self, that I coincide with Your image of me. I receive the power of Your wealth into my physical and material needs, so that Your Word is life to me, and health to all my flesh, so that I have riches and honor; that I inherit substance and my treasuries are full (Proverbs 4:22; 8:18,21).
I confess to You that I am a giver. As I give abundantly of my increase in knowledge of Your Word – either in ministering, counseling, healing, teaching, as I give of the increase of myself, my energies, my efficiency and my ability, or my material possessions – I know that You will make all grace, every favor and earthly blessing come to me in abundance, so that under all circumstances I am totally self-sufficient. Possessing enough knowledge, recall and recollection, I will spread Your Word in all circumstances. Requiring no aid or support, and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation (Galatians 3:13,14).
Bank accounts are on the increase – turned around from the decrease in Jesus’ name
Even in this time, even in this month, the rest of this month – increase
We call it in for Living Word Christian Center
Declaring Overflow! Overflow! Abundance!
Souls, finances, resources, health, wholeness of every kind in Jesus’ name
Right now, today
We are not demanding and commanding God
We are demanding and commanding the enemy to loose his hold, take his hands off our money and we are calling it forth
We loose ministering spirits to go and get it and bring it in in Jesus’ name. Father, we thank You that You sent Your Son to give us, enable Your power to move through us. That You send the Holy Spirit to lead us, to guide us, to teach us and that Your angels are free to minister for us and bring about all that is necessary for us to be generous in every area of Your work in which we have stirred our Spirit and stored up for us to do. Father, we desire to be Your perfect channel, and we praise and thank You for so using us. It’s written that Your angels have been sent to minister for the heirs of salvation. We loose them again like I just said, now to work on our behalf – go! Let it not be every said that our ministering spirits could not go because we did not tell them to go! Go! Ministering spirits, work on our behalf. Work on behalf of this ministry, work on behalf of the Church in Jesus’ name. Thank You for it. Hallelujah, thank You, Lord, thank You, Jesus
We confess today that we are redeemed from the curse of the law or any kind of lack of knowledge where we just don’t know what to do or how to do it, any kind of lack of understanding or a lack of revelation or a lack of recollection or lack of ability, time, or efficiency. We are redeemed from the curse of poverty. We resist any and all lack in my life and claim through Your Word and in the Name of Jesus Christ Your Son, its ability to have ANY PLACE in our lives at all. The Lord is our Shepherd and we do not and shall not want. Abundance in every area of our lives is mine. Success in every area of life is ours. The blessings of the Lord are ours. WE ARE HIS; HE IS OUR STRENGTH; WE DWELL IN HIM AND HE IN US. We confess to it; we claim it; we accept it and we revel in it. I thank You for it, Father. In Jesus’ name, I praise Your Holy name.
Ms. Annie led us out singing about the blood…
Continued praying…
The blood the blood, the blood – it’s over us today
When we get to where we are going, today the blood is there
Because we have declared it out front and that blood makes a way
Jesus is the way maker through that precious blood that was shed back then at Calvary
Thank You for the covering, for the protection, for the direction, for the revelation that comes through the precious holy blood
Thank You for it, give You all glory, honor, and thanks giving in Jesus’ name
Every one said “Amen, so be it”
