Pastor Ray shared an email from our ministry friends in France who were in Nice during the attack. (The first part of the missive was not recorded.)
“…That’s the one main thing I thought today is comfort. We have invited some churches to join. We ordered signs outside the hotel so people can see. We also told the Jewish deputy mayor that came to the Night to Honor Israel of the meeting and we are available to help the city. We contacted the hospitals and told them the same. Let’s believe that people will just come in and be touched by His tangible presence, never to forget that.”
Pastor Ray commented…
I talked to her by text throughout the whole deal as it was happening. I feel like this will be the thing that will push the leaders of nations to do something. I mean really do something, to stand up. One couple that is part of the church was there. They were just here in the US and stayed at our house. Mark is an attorney and he has his office about a block and a half from the water. Mark, his wife, Sara, and their 18-month old daughter were there for the all-day celebration. It’s like what we do for the 4th of July. There is an area that’s called Messina Square and a lot of pictures they showed last night were from there. It’s a huge open area. There’s a lot of demonstrations that happen there. People show up and play music, and whatever. There’s a lot of activity. Yesterday they had a concert in this square.
Mark said after what happened in Paris, they decided to not stop doing what they felt to do. So they went to this concert in the afternoon, ate, and then watched fireworks by the water, like everyone else. If you saw a picture of what the Mediterranean looks like and how the city is bordering it, it’s like a huge curve like this. It’s several miles long. The place where this truck came up on the promenade where all the people were was further down than where Mark and Sara were. All they could hear were people screaming and hollering, and they saw people running toward them.
When they saw that, they took the baby out of the stroller, folded it up and took off. The first place closest was a Meridian Hotel which is next to where they have church. They thought it would be safe but they couldn’t even get in. It was already packed out from people just trying to get out of the way. They went next to the Bascule (sp?) Hotel which is where the church meets. The manager didn’t even know anything was happening yet cuz he was in the hotel the whole time. He said, “You can stay in here if you want or you can go out the back of the hotel and it’ll take you to Pedestrian Street.” It’s like downtown Minneapolis where there’s no cars. That’s where his office is.
In the morning before they left, he thought, “Should I take my keys to the office? I think I will…” So he had his keys with him and they went out the back of the hotel. It was chaos. They decided to go to his office. People were running everywhere. He opened up the door and there were about 20 people that gathered behind him so he let them in. He took them into his office area.
I thought this was so godly. Instead of being so terrified about everything that they saw and witnessed, he ministered to the people that came into his office. He turned it right around. He didn’t turn on the TV in there. He just brought the people in. He said, “Sit down. Take off your shoes and rest. We’ll get you some coffee. We want you to stay here where it’s safe.” He said, “I could feel the grace of God all over.”
I thought that was a good example of God, the power of the Holy Spirit working through them, not just to get themselves in where they’re safe but to bring other people with them and then minister to them. That’s kind of what Pastor Marie was saying in this text. They want to pray but they also want to pray for those for comfort, that don’t know. Less than 1% of the people in France are born again. Everyone from both of those churches as far as we know is safe. And the two churches have actually begun this year since the prayer conference… Pastor Marie has ministered at that church, and their pastor has ministered at Pastor Marie’s church. And it’s brought a unity that had not existed between the two. They’re coming together. And in Nice, they just had a huge Christian event where people came from many different denominations and churches. They all came to this huge tent and there was music and the Word was preached right out on the streets.
It’s pretty heart wrenching. That’s the only way I can describe it. I thought this morning the one thing we could do is to pray that same way, the comfort of God over the city. Do you have anything Jerre?
Jerre shared…
On the way home yesterday, I believe I had a word of knowledge from the Lord as pray-ers: we weep with those that weep. Yesterday we prayed about the St. Paul thing. On the way home, the word of the Lord was “for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood.” As nasty as they look, we don’t fight against flesh and blood. He said, “We do fight against the spirit of lawlessness.” That covers it. So we can comfort those that mourn but we don’t stay in a place of defeat. He said to me this morning, “Have a fighting spirit in the spirit.” We take up our swords and cut the head off of that evil, destructive force. Like David did. How dare you defile the armies of the living God? How dare you defile one nation under God? How dare you defile the innocents?
We pray for laborers into their camp because the New Covenant says that God’s desire is that all men be saved. That’s the heart of God. So even in the darkest places, we put our prayers there. Yet at the same time, there’s a place where we’re not a doormat anymore. I believe like when he’s talking about comforting them and then moving into the different realms of prayer that we need to move into a place where we’re starting to see change and some firm lines drawn in the sand and saying, “This far and no more” and then some laws being put in place by the godly.
We were talking about this, this morning. We wouldn’t say, “Come in, Mr. Hitler. Be our friend and do whatever you want to do.” We can’t do that anymore. Also He said to me, “Make sure you’re pleading the blood over yourselves because we’re hitting some places that the Devil doesn’t want us to hit.” If we weren’t doing anything in the realm of the spirit, the Devil would leave us alone. But just remember to put the blood over yourselves. Not in fear. And hold to the promises of God.
Let’s hold to these promises. And what are they? He gave me in Proverbs, “The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not inhabit the earth.” We must hold to that. And there are so many of them. “The wicked shall wither as the grass.” “The fear of the Lord prolongs days. But the years of the wicked will be shortened.” “When the whirlwind passed by the wicked, the wicked is no more.”
We weep with them that weep and we comfort them, but then we have this two-edged sword in the other hand and say, “We’re going to cut off the head of the enemy.”
Pastor Ray continued…
2nd Corinthians 1:3-7, (Msg.) This scripture reminds me of what Mark did yesterday in Nice. He brought others alongside him so that he could minister to them and help them.
“All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too. 6-7 When we suffer for Jesus, it works out for your healing and salvation. If we are treated well, given a helping hand and encouraging word, that also works to your benefit, spurring you on, face forward, unflinching. Your hard times are also our hard times. When we see that you’re just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the good times, we know you’re going to make it, no doubt about it.”
Psalm 23:4, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Verse 6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”
Psalm 147:3, “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.”
Isa. 40:1, “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.”
Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”
Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
2 Cor. 1:3, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort”
Jerre leads worship…
♪ Come unto Me all ye that labor and I will give you rest… ♪
Prayed…
We cover the globe with the blood of Jesus…
We pray a covering of protection… no weapon formed against us shall prosper
We overcome by the blood
The church is standing up and taking its place of power and strength… speaking, declaring
Reveal, uncover…
Answers, revelation, knowledge, understanding… knowing what to do and how to do it
We lift up leaders on the earth… that they’ll rise up and take their places
We pray for stability and strength in Jesus’ name
Entering into a new day… different days of authority
When the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of God raises up a standard against it
We put a stop to it… we draw a line in the sand with the blood of Jesus and we declare “Stop in your maneuvers!”
We come against you, in Jesus’ name, you’re defeated!
We root that out… reveal it…
Jerre interjected…
Israel keeps coming to me.
Pastor Ray commented…
There are many Jewish people in Nice, France. That’s why they had A Night to Honor Israel there. Many of them are in fear because they’re Jewish.
Continued praying…
A help, up, up, up… A voice… a changing
A listening ear… for change
The voices… wisdom… hear it, hear it…
Gates, gates, gates… of divine protection
Turning it, turning it, turning it…
