Morning Chapel Prayer Playlist
Morning Chapel Prayer Today
Worship leader Kathy…
Good morning, everybody. I just love how God speaks exactly what we need. On the way here, I had a whole different set planned. I was telling Pastor Ken this. And it was like God knew exactly what I needed and downloaded. He was like, “This is what we’re doing this morning.” It’s like, “Okay.” There’s a lot of us going through a lot of transitions. I mean, just look at our country, right? The United States alone is going through a lot of transition. But just in a lot of areas in my own life, there’s a lot of transition, a lot of change. Which is inevitable. We always know change is coming. God’s going to keep us growing and keep things moving, right? But yet, He doesn’t change. He is the firm foundation. First Peter 5:10 actually says that. So after you suffered a little while, He will restore. Not He “might.” He “will” restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation. And we all know that firm foundation is Jesus. So whatever that change is, that transition, that you’re going through, we’re going to do like David did. We’re going to encourage ourselves in the Lord this morning. That’s what we’re doing.
Pastor Ken…
Let me say this to you. Just like we were saying and singing and worshiping God, that He never stops working, I want to challenge you to never stop standing. Don’t stop believing. God is at work and maybe He’s up to a whole lot more than we recognize or realize in the midst of our faith journey. Maybe He is purifying some things in our souls as we journey toward where He’s leading us to. As we stand and wait patiently, worship fully, that those are two important keys to waiting while He’s working. Worshipfully, right? Expectantly. Patiently. Because in the journey of faith, in the strong stance of faith, God is setting us free. He’s enlarging our capacity. He’s building endurance into us. That’s not only for the next thing or the thing He wants to get in our hands that we’re believing for, whether it’s a practical thing or a promotion of sorts. But He’s also seeing out ahead another step or two or three, and He sees where He’s called you. He sees what He’s appointed you to.
We are the assigned to be the fullness of Christ in the earth…
And so in the mind of God, He is way out in front of the enemy, of course, but also in front of us and what we know. And His intent is to prepare us for what He’s prepared for us. His intent isn’t just to get you in the end zone of your faith, but His intent is to transform you that you and I would be more reflective of who He is in the earth… that we would be reflective of His glory. He has decided and it is recorded in His Word, that are assigned to be the fullness of Christ in the earth.
He wants to use us as trophies to be put on full display…
Yes, He’s the head. The head of you and me—the church. But we’re to be His fullness. We’re to put on full display His glory. Full display, His healing power. He wants to use us as trophies to put on full display the shimmering beauty of His love and His grace and His kindness, and the fact that He is the Father of all of us. He wants to be put on display in this generation.
Nationally we are in a transition…
So when Kathy talks about how we’re in a transition, you might be in a transition, but nationally, we’re in a transition. The body of Christ is in a transition. We’re journeying somewhere. So don’t stop believing. If it’s for healing for your body, or salvation for your household, or breakthrough in your business, or deliverance from some perennial pain and discomfort and trouble in your soul, continue to stand. Continue to take hold of His resource and His supply and His spirit. Grow not weary in well-doing, for you will reap.
He’s orchestrating behind the scenes…
But understand He’s doing a whole lot more. He’s orchestrating more than you realize behind the scenes to set you up and yours up to truly put Him on display and truly execute and walk out His plan in this time. You probably are familiar with these verses in James 1:2–3, it says, “consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials. Because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”
Standing strong in the midst of destruction…
Oh, that’s a good thing. It doesn’t sound like a real flashy thing. “Oh yeah! I want some endurance. But, oh, endurance is a good thing.” When you can stand strong in the midst of a storm, when you can stand strong in the midst of contrary circumstances, not only stand strong, but rejoice and laugh like the Bible says at famine and destruction…
I did that once. Fourth of July, 1999 in the boundary waters canoe area on the border, up Northern Minnesota. The storm of not even the century… the storm of half of millennia. It was like a 500-year storm. The 80 to a hundred mile an hour straight line winds. I was out in the middle of a large lake on an island. As large old growth trees began to snap all around me and my friend, we began to declare and exercise our authority and literally said “We laugh at famine and destruction…” (Job 5:22). We couldn’t even see 10 feet in front of us at some point. But we had been versed in faith enough to know what to do and what our response should be to endure the storm… to not let fear enter our hearts. It did enter a lot of the hearts of the people on that lake that day and they were traumatized by it.
God is working in us endurance…
God is building a strength into His church now. He is working in us endurance. It’s not just about what you can see in your life or your deal. It’s about what God wants to do in us. Firstly, because He loves us. He knows what you need more than you know what you need. He knows what needs to be done, even in the intricate workings of your inner being. So that you might experience life on a whole other level so that you might enjoy your life.
God wants us to enjoy…
the journey of faith
the journey of our lives
the journey in our relationships
the journey of our ministries.
Hallelujah! And it’s our relationship with Him and His presence and His Word. It is our determination to keep believing and keep standing and keep going another day today with an expectation.
Certainly learn. Certainly make adjustments. Because sometimes we need to make some adjustments. We’ve experienced some setbacks. Be a little reflective. Be a little prayerful. Process what’s going on and what not might not be working out or what seems to be delayed. And just be open in your heart and say, “Lord, is there something I need to adjust?” There may not be, but there may be.
Failures, setbacks, met expectations can be feedback at times that we can take in and process through being reflective, by being prayerful, by being studious in the Word. And that can be input for us to get smarter.
Oftentimes, our response when things aren’t happening is, “I need to work harder. I need to be a better Christian. I need to be better this or that.” Well, maybe it’s just that God wants to inform us and bring some light to our hearts into what we’re doing so that we can do what we do smarter.
Producing endurance…
So James says that the trying of your faith endurance. Romans 5:3–4 says we can rejoice too when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.”
Run with perseverance…
Hebrews 12:1 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses…” In other words, in the heavenly realm. They’re cheering us on by the way. “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
How can we simplify in order to amplify?
I’ve been thinking about that recently about “where do I need to simplify so that I can amplify?” Where do we need to simplify? Where does there need to be some pruning in our lives naturally? Where does God want to do some pruning in us internally, in our thinking, in our focus so that we can amplify our lives, amplify the power of God?
Consider Him who endured…
Did I finish Hebrews 12:1? I think I did. It goes on to say, “Consider Him who endured.” I think this is verse three. “from sinners such hostility against himself so that you may not grow weary or faint hearted.”
And then in 1st Corinthians 10:13, it says, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful and will not let you be tempted beyond your ability.”
Don’t be a flash in the pan…
Now, let me read something here from Pastor Lynne’s book entitled, “Whispers From the Secret Place.” And she talks about fighting to the finish. I made a comment yesterday that anybody can be a flash in the pan when it comes to your spiritual journey or your choice to take the promise of God and stand on it and believe for that to result in your life. Anybody can do that. But what’s significant is for us to finish our race, for us to make it through this transition, for us to witness and see the glory of God as He intends… the glory of God in regard to healing in our bodies and blessing and a thrivingness, if you will, in our souls and in our finances and in our relationships.
God is transitioning and transforming and working…
God is intent to do good for you and for me. He is intent to turn things around and He is in our nation, I believe, in Israel, and in the nations of the world that are responsive to Him now. He doesn’t want things to go south and down the tube, so to speak, in the enemy’s direction. We believe there’s a disruption to the enemy’s plan today… in this nation. And that God is transitioning and transforming and working. Although it’s messy. That’s another thing that kind of occurred to me today. How much of the plan of God requires you being okay with things being uncomfortable and messy. Not so neat and tidy. If you’re going to stand, you have to be okay with the… what is the word? Just okay with just things not being okay.
Is that good? It is good.
Sometimes you’ve just got to walk forward…
Sometimes you just got to like, suck it up. And just trust God that He’s got you and He’s got this, whatever this is for you. Sometimes you’ve got to just walk forward even though you feel anxious and fearful. But remember, it’s just a feeling. It’s not reality. The way out of fear, the way out of that stronghold is to walk through it, walk back out of it.
Look away from all that will distract from Jesus…
So the enemy certainly will do everything he can do to try to discourage you, and dissuade you, and disrupt you, and get you distracted, and get you worn down so that you raise the white flag and surrender to him and just acquiesce to what has been. When God is saying, “No, church, come toward Me. You see Me. Fix your eyes on Me. Look away from all that would distract unto Jesus, the author, the continuer and the finisher of your faith.”
We’re going to finish our race…
We’re in a race, Paul spoke of in his writings. So let’s continue today. Even if you’re just walking, catching your breath right now, as you can pick up the pace and run even as the Lord gives you grace. We’re going to finish. You’re going to finish. You’re going to finish whatever prayer project you’re in. You’re going to finish whatever assignment God has put your hands to. You’re going to finish your race and calling.
Let Him work in you endurance and strength…
Don’t get it mixed up. Don’t listen to the subtlety of that second enemy word. God’s first word is “the” Word. We walk by His Word. And if He says that we can, then we can. And if He says in His Word that He will, then count it as done. And just let Him work in you by the hand of His Spirit, endurance and a strength. If we’re going to see the glory of God, we must be willing to be inconvenienced and uncomfortable. We must be willing to get up in the midst of the night and pray. We must be willing to confront injustice and have hard conversations with people at times in love, of course. We must be willing to call out our sin and where we’re missing the mark and say, “Lord, I’m sorry, but I’m so glad I can lean into your grace and receive your forgiveness and your patience and your kindness to just continue in that grace.”
We’re seeing an acceleration of demonic activity…
The plan of God is far greater than we understand and what He’s doing, not only in us, but wanting to do through us. As I said yesterday, to utilize us as a portal in the earth. Some accounts that the enemy is creating portals and there are demonic entities showing up. And that’s a little out there, I know. And I’m not saying I’m preaching the Word because I’m not. But we do know that there will be an acceleration of demonic activity in these last days. We do know that there’ll be signs in the earth as Jesus spoke of. There are hundreds even thousands of earthquakes now recorded in the areas around Greece and whatever that one island is. And in other places, including on our own continent? Underneath the dormant super-volcano Yellowstone.
God is getting us ready to be hotspots for holy fire…
So the earth is convulsing and there are signs everywhere. God is getting us ready—not for wrath, but for glory. God is getting us ready to be hotspots for holy fire. He’s getting us ready to be conduits and portals for purpose and power and a display of healing virtue that flowed even from Jesus’s hands in His day and hour.
God’s taking out the unresponsive stony hearts…
But He wants it to flow through you and He wants it to flow through me. And He wants us to be a people that are highly mobile, where He can move us and send us and we’re responsive. Even as the writer of Ezekiel puts it in Ezekiel 11, it says that God took out a stony heart. His whole work in Jesus through Jesus in redemption was to take out a heart that was unresponsive and unable to walk with God and fellowship with God and put in a heart of flesh. The Amplified Bible says “tender and responsive, even to the touch of their God.” That God would use us truly as vessels and agents of change to a generation. Use us as disruptors. Use us as revolutionaries and interventionists who intervene into things.
God’s people have heard the call…
I believe that what’s happening in America is because enough of God’s people, even a remnant, have heard the call and the mandate of the Spirit to get up on the wall of the outpouring and watch and pray. Well, just because we’re seeing a little transition and a little positive change in different ways doesn’t mean we can rest on our laurels. The Bible says God does not take pleasure in anyone who draws back. The fact that we’re seeing the enemy relent and we’re seeing change even in the world, positive change, we’re seeing breakouts of revival and awakening in college campuses and in different places. That is God egging us on saying, “Church, lean in now. Pick up the pace now. Yes, in My grace, not in your power.” But in His grace and in His leadership.
Let’s take up His call and invitation…
And let’s press down, as I often say on that accelerator with our intentionality, with our prayers, with our obedience. And let’s let God just animate and propel us in the direction, as I often say, of His intention. He’s working out behind the scenes and in your life what needs to be done. Let’s take up His call and His invitation on what’s on His heart. That’s why I pray, “Lord, what’s on your heart?” That’s what I want to know. Because I know if I respond to what’s on His heart and responsive to even the slightest prompting and touch, He’ll take care of on a whole nother level and do good in my life for me while I’m focused on what He has for me to do.
