Last Sunday culminated a series of prophetic events that many may not know about. I feel that it is important for the community at large to enter into this discussion with prayer and discernment. Since the message is for the community at large, I believe that the full benefit can only come from the community at large digesting the Word delivered and then bringing forth what the Lord gives us regarding it.
Here is a brief outline of the events.
A member of our community had a vision of Mel Swartz attending the revival in Lakeland, Fla. This member did not know that Mel was going to Florida on business the very next day! Placing a phone call to Mel and telling him about the vision, Mel decided that he would attend the revival. As Mel was being prayed over for his trip, it was prophesied that he would be bringing back a message and an anointing for the Riverside Community from Florida. I believe that William Glass' message Sunday was a part of what God wanted Riverside to receive. If you weren't here on Sunday, then make sure and listen to the recorded message on the website. If you were there on Sunday, then go back and re-listen to it. Pray on it and let me or Scott know your discernment and what God is revealing to you about it.
I believe that the Lord is moving in a powerful way here at Riverside and He wants us to move to new places in the Kingdom. Below I have transcribed a small portion of the sermon that I believe is an important message for us. This was the Word William felt he had for us at the beginning of the sermon. Please let these Words and the rest of the sermon plant into your heart and be sure and tell others what they speak to you about what it means to say, "The Kingdom is among us."
From the sermon on Sunday:
I feel like that the Lord has a word for this church today. I don’t often do stuff like this, so this is just as weird for me as it is for anyone else to watch me stand up here in silence like that, but…
I feel like the Lord wants to show us together… his heart, that we often have had beggar mentalities when coming to him… like Oliver Twist just holding a bowl up and saying, “please sir, may I have some more.” The Lord wants to reveal that his heart is to do the things we ask him to do. So, let us expect that his heart will heal the sick. Let us expect that his heart will heal… the love from his heart is enough to heal the broken hearted people. I had a sense as I was praying, I don’t know if it was a person or a bunch of us together. That you have prayed, prayed, and prayed, that you have waited and waited and you have gotten tired of waiting. And, I don’t understand the sovereign purpose of the Lord, but I feel like what is laid on my heart right really heavy right now is let us never grow weary in waiting, because this may be our day. Let us keep oil in our lamps because this may be the day the bridegroom comes. Let us continue to cultivate our intimacy with God because this may be the day. The tragedy of the church’s history is the times when God has moved and his people have been caught unaware. Let us not be that person. Let us wait with expectancy. He is going to do- He is going to fulfill his promises. So many people in this room sitting on unfulfilled promises. Sitting on hopes and dreams that God has put in their heart, you gotten tired of waiting for those dreams to manifest themselves. Let us continue to cultivate our intimacy with God and be okay to wait in times of hiddeness. For whether he manifest or whether it seems like he is hiding, he is doing it out of love. And there is a mystery to that which no one can unravel for us, but let us not tire.
May the Lord bless our community and give us a Spirit of faith, mercy, hope, and joy. May his Word take deep root in our hearts and may we be transformed into a holy people of God. A people whose hearts, minds, hands, and feet walk in the Kingdom. God stretch out your right arm to work miracles from your love, that Jesus may be glorified in the fullest in this world through our community. Amen
Shema
John
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2 comments:
I have gotten this verse over and over when praying in groups of riverside peeps:
"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
-Mt 7:9-11
I just keep saying to the Lord in my heart and sometimes outloud "we accept that you want goodness for us, we accept you are good and that you have good for us."
Meg,
Thanks for you insightful comments.
I believe that you have touched right on the pinnacle issue to all sanctification and spiritual growth.
Every hold the enemy has on us is rooted in the place that we don't trust that God is good. Where in your life do you think that you can't trust God's will? What place in your life do the circumstances convince that you must take care of this problem, because God either can't or won't.
It is hard to fathom that as Jesus was led to the cross, whipped, tortured, and beaten, he did not lose faith in the Father's goodness. He knew that the Father's will was good, no matter what the circumstances that the world threw at him.
It is hard to believe, but we are called to be the same as Jesus. I mean that if we are supposed to be his disciples, then that means we are to be the same as Jesus. (Not only as he was, but also as He is!)
Can we accomplish this in our own strength? No. Neither could Jesus. (what? This is a future discussion :-) It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can really believe that God is Good.
John
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