22nd on the 22nd

Today’s my 22^nd. Reflecting on what God has planned for my life!

Twenty-two years ago the doctors fought to keep me alive. Due to complications with my mothers’ pregnancy she was told I might not survive, yet if I did, I’d probably be brain-damaged. Yet on that bed she desperately asked God to protect me, and that if so, she’d give me to him. God saved and healed me miraculously - on Easter Sunday.

“I will not die, but I will live to tell of what the Lord has done.”
- Psalm 118

Since then the enemy’s been fighting and scheming to restrict and steal the future God has for me. I believe that something big’s gonna happen. I’m just so hungry for God to move within me and through me to reach and touch many other people. Yet right now I’m just learning, searching, growing, and building myself up to be a person of integrity, submission and insight so as to handle whatever God’s gonna do.

I thank him for his willingness to use such a weak man like me; though with his strength, I can and will scale any wall, I will bombard the gates of hell, I will take back what the enemy has stolen from our generation, I will be a part of the move of God across our country, I will testify to the love and grace of God, and I will stand for Christ that his name may be known and honoured among the nations.

Amen.

The Bait of Satan

Just returned this afternoon from the Leadership Summit presented by CityLife Church and Planetshakers… what an amazing time!

John Bevere presented. Here I was going into it not quite knowing what to expect. Who was this guy? Another bizarre Pentecostal from the U.S.? My preconceptions were rapidly smashed. John was this amazing communicator with heaps of joy and an infectious smile. He was powerful, and anointed, but still really down-to-earth. Knew solidly who he was inside of Christ, but had a grasp of what his flesh was like outside of Christ also. I wanna be like this man.

So Monday night he starts the conference giving Jesus the praise and the glory. Ahead John sees a move of the spirit coming that will make Pentecost look moderate (imagine that!). There’s so much more coming, and yet we’re in real need of the character to sustain a move of God like the one he wants to do amongst us… My character and my heart was in for some serious surgery over the next few sessions.

Just a few concepts that really impacted and convicted me:

• Although a great harvest is coming, there’s one primary weapon the enemy will use to attempt to abort it… OFFENCE
• We need to be careful not to be deceived in the last days. We need a deep love of the truth – beyond what is comfortable, what we prefer, or what we can intellectually handle
• Many will be offended. Offence builds walls or strongholds. Offended hearts are breeding grounds for deception, and they become vulnerable to isolation from the body of Christ. The enemy wants to ‘unplug’ believers from the church.
• There are wolves in sheep’s clothing, but notice it doesn’t say in ‘shepherds’ clothing – there’s more wolves in the pews than behind the pulpit.
• We’re hurt deepest by those closest to us – in our church and our family
• Do we have the right to be offended? Well God’s given us the right to do whatever we want (we can choose hell if we want!), yet NO: if we want to walk with God we don’t have the right to be offended.
• If someone’s offended, they’ve forgotten how much they’ve been forgiven of. Our forgiveness should be inexhaustible like our Heavenly Father’s. How would we like it if God actually forgave us the same way we forgive other people… yet that’s actually what he does.
• We need to become strong – where blows bounce right off us. We need to get in shape, exercising our spiritual muscles.
• The answer, the solution to offence: pray for those who abuse you! (Matt 5:44) Sometimes it’s so hard. But don’t just pray half-heartedly, ask God to bless them with what you’d want Him to give you. Pray for their family like you pray for your own family.
• You cannot base your prayer life based on what you feel. Pray, pray, pray. LOVE them. That’s when the junk of offence comes out and you get free.
• Offence is the bait of Satan. It takes you captive, and you no longer release pure waters to others. You can still minister, but it won’t be with the same power as when you’re free.
• John spoke of a vision. Demons were riding in formation against the body of Christ, although they weren’t riding horses, they were riding on the backs of Christians who were offended.

And that was just a small selection from session 1! Session 2 had a fair bit more:

• We’re living in exciting times. We’re pregnant for a move of God.
• God needs people who will cooperate with him.
• There was no division in Joshua’s generation; they understood authority.
• Unity paves the way for God to pour out his glory. In Acts 2 the believers were all “in one accord” when God poured out his Spirit. Today we become divided so easily over stupid things.
• We live in a world dominated by democracy… we need to get an understanding of authority and submission. (Sounds uncomfortable hey? Yet it’s part of God’s design for our growth. Read on!)
• Not all authority is ‘godly’ but it’s all God-appointed. The Egyptian Pharaoh became a powerful and rich ruler, yet it was God who gave him the authority (see Rom 9: “For this very purpose I raised you up.”)
• God is way ahead of any leadership. Ungodly leaders over us can actually be placed there by him. God’s priority is not our comfort, but our redemption. No one gets into office without God knowing about it.
• “Don’t speak against the ruler of your people.” – Acts 23:5
• Peter insisted that believers honour the king – even the king that was putting believers to death!
• If you submit yourself to authority, there are two benefits:
• God says “I’ll fight for you”
• You set yourself up for a promotion or a blessing (if you handle it correctly)
• Two parts: OBEY and BE SUBMISSIVE. You can obey without being submissive. ‘Submission’ and ‘willingness’ refers to your attitude, obedience – to your actions.
• David submitted to Saul even though he became an evil ruler.
• Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses. Even though they were probably right (they had a point) they were also wrong because they disrespected his authority. You can be 100% right and still be wrong.
• God will use the sins and mistakes of your leader to expose you – revealing your heart and attitude of submission
• Miriam and Aaron allowed gifting in their lives to elevate themselves above the authority.
• Seeing myself above my pastor is VERY, VERY, VERY DANGEROUS.
• People that submit to authority usually experience growth, promotion and blessing, while those that rebel and change church, or go into their own ministry will often experience disaster (John gave many examples)
• God: “Whose ministry are you building? Mine or yours?”
• I am an extension of my pastor’s arms and legs.
• The account we must give to God will firstly not be about the number of souls, but about our submission to authority
• Division = “two visions”
• John wouldn’t be standing there today if he’d failed that test with authority

Somebody Get Your Praise On!

Tonight I skipped church at Syndal (is that bad?) to be a part of CityLife’s corporate prayer meeting. It’s always pretty amazing. Seeing hundreds of people actually choosing to come to a prayer meeting, and getting passionately involved gets me excited. After a time of worship, we spent a little time asking God to fill us up – each person coming with some kind of burden or distraction, yet we want to focus on God fully and hear what he has to say to us.

Mark gave a short word and I just love the picture he gave – once in the past God gave him a vision of four walls creeping in against him in an attempt to hinder his ministry and effectiveness. Each wall had a label: FEAR, DISCOURAGEMENT, UNBELIEF and APATHY. It hit me, because I really feel like those four issues are often what holds me back and prevents me from really taking on all that God wants to do. As Mark said, I need to really push out and be on the offensive against these enemies – not let fear dominate my walk, but build myself up in confidence, by trusting and truly believing that what God has promised he will do – even when I don’t see it in the natural. I want to enlarge my borders, not be hemmed in.

We prayed for our unsaved friends, for the addition of leaders and volunteers to the church, for the release of mission workers (plus those already on the field), and for Jesus to wildly impact the nations where missions are targeted: mainly throughout Asia, the Middle-East, Europe and Africa.

Just some of the other words which I really found insightful or impacting during the meeting:

• You don’t find giants in the wilderness – only when you’re about to enter the promised land
• We’re not wrestling against flesh and blood (people!) but against the enemies of the unseen world
• Sometimes we wait for others to come and be the salvation our churches or movements need, but WE could be the ones! Perhaps our generation is the one to rise up and really make the difference and change the tide
• God is taunting the enemy with his people when they rise up in unified prayer and praise
• Don’t look at the NOW, look at what CAN BE
• PRAYER + PERSISTANCE
• Some of us need to work at getting Christians to smile – some are so weighed down and living with hurt. Perhaps we can bring encouragement and minister to each other to lift the chains from our brothers and sisters.
• Leaders should not be greedy, but eager to serve – the prayer is that their love would be increased, and it would overflow into the flock
• Some of our greatest warfare is through our praise! PRAISE HIM!
• When prayer wasn’t happening Jesus wasn’t happy. It should be a house of prayer for all nations!!

And before I knew it, it was 8 o’clock – two hours felt like about 45 minutes.

Internship starts tomorrow!

Tomorrow’s the day! Finally starting my internship at Syndal Baptist. A little hesitantly, but quite excitedly. Excited about the possibilities of making myself available for God – to serve, to minister, and to usher in the Holy Spirit into the lives of young people needing a purpose, a reason for living. God…! Mould me, make me into a leader after your own heart. Please speak to me, give me your word, your direction; supernatural insight and wisdom to speak into lives and lead other leaders to have meaningful (eternal!) impact on the youth under their care.

God, we so wanna see lives changed and turned around as your grace and healing power are released in our church and youth ministry. Please have your way amongst us, beginning in me! I’m hungry to see you move and stir us to greater levels of commitment, hunger, obedience, service, and power! Raise up this youth generation to bring revival to Melbourne, to Australia! And may our nation truly live up to it’s name as given almost 400 years ago (only a few weeks away)… “The Great South Land of the Holy Spirit”. May we see a move of your spirit like nothing this nation has ever seen.

Thankyou for what you’re going to do. It will be tough, because we’re in a battle, fighting a war for souls… But I ask for your armour that I may stand strong until the end, fighting the good fight!

Give me time to rest, time to pray, time to speak up & out, time to hold silence, and time to exalt you in roaring praise. I want to be humble, teachable, reliant, confident, bold, focused, creative, outrageous, radical, authentic, friendly, loving, worshipful, peaceful, content, dissatisfied, hungry, yearning, attentive, obedient, submissive, barbaric, fearless, loud, clear, purposeful, powerful… all at the same time! Dwell in me Lord, produce fruit! Empower gifts! Transform me into your likeness! I want to live according to the Spirit! Holy Spirit I honour you, I invite you in, have your way!