The Lightnings of God & Prayer
Pentecost is one of three feasts of the Lord where all of Israel was to celebrate. It is also known as the Feast of Weeks and occurs 50 days after Passover. and part of its celebration included worshiping the Lord with freewill offerings and the first harvest of the sheaves. It marked the end of the grain harvest. It was also an occasion for covenant renewal. For about 1500 years this festival served as a prophetic act proclaiming what was to come which was recorded in Acts 2 with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It was part of the fulfillment of:
Acts 2:16-21 - But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.'
What precipitated this outpouring?
For years I've heard people and ministers talk about the abuse of authority in the Church. As the story unfolds they describe how it began with a teaching they heard on the need to be "covered" and the role of Church government. They describe how a minister or an organization used this teaching to manipulate and control them. Hence we tend to shy away from even wanting to use the term.
In fact, human nature is often like a pendulum. Rather than seeking balance the pendulum swings to another extreme. Therefore we end up avoiding words or concepts that someone has abused.
Abuse does not negate the truth. Rather than react to excess or abuse we need to find the truth and DO IT!
When you study the word translated "sin" in the bible you will find the root word comes from a concept of an archer shooting an arrow at a target. To sin means to miss the mark. I don't care if you shoot to high, to low, left or right all of these results "miss the mark." Personally, I want to "hit the mark."
Ezekiel 37:7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. NKJV
The Hebrew word translated "noise" also means "a proclamation or a thundering voice." The word translated "rattling" also means "an earthquake, vibration, shaking, or fierce shaking."
Romans 8:19-22 tells us that all of creation is waiting for, even groaning for waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. Manifestation means "revelation or revealing" and groans means "to experience a common calamity."
I have watched God mark the word (supernaturally) associated with the restoration of David's Tabernacle and the presentation of Jesus' gospel of the kingdom since 2003. Hebrews 2:4 teaches us that God gives signs and wonders to mark His messengers and His message while Jesus teaches us in John 14:10 that it is our Father who does the works.
On April 21, 2012 we saw the Lord once again mark His message DRAMATICALLY regarding His Church, the Ekklesia, and His kingdom. The sign points to His message and His Word.
It just so happens that today, April 19th, marks the 237th anniversary from the first shot of the revolution. This event included the mobilization of militia from many cities from which Paul Revere's ride was captured in poem. The mobilization of the militia in the surrounding towns was initiated by 2 lanterns hung......... in the Church. When the well organized British force of 700 was met by the militia formed from many cities which continued to grow until they were outnumbered.
The key to that mobilization was the communication system set in place originally by the Puritans and built upon by the patriots. Many of the ministers of that day were coined by the British as the Black Robed Regiment. It was because the Church played a key role in the strategic mobilization of the cause in the colonies.
It is time for Christian leaders and pastors to act courageously again. Many of them sent King George letters of their sermons for almost 20 years doing Matthew 18 before the day the shot was heard around the world. Pastor, if the “redcoats” existed today would there be enough evidence to accuse you as being part of the Black Robed Regiment?
In 2005 the Lord spoke to me about how to gather the elders at the gates of a city today through the formation of strategic councils. In 2006 I began to pioneer the concept as I tested God's word through Operation Rolling Thunder. This year the theme for Operation Rolling Thunder is captured by Psalm 24. Verse 7; Psalm 24:7; contains a key. 24/7 prayer is the key to "Lift up your heads oh you gates and be lifted up you everlasting doors and the King of glory shall come in."
Who sits in the gates? Kings and elders (Prov. 31:23 and 2 Sam. 18:24). What invites the King of glory, the Lord of Hosts to enter the gates? I submit to you it is the key of David (Isaiah 22:22) which is 24/7 prayer, praise and worship (Acts 15:16-17).
Here is a testimony from Pastor Paul in Gig Harbor as to how Operation Rolling Thunder helped him and the Church in Gig Harbor to form councils in all 7 spheres while establishing 24/7 prayer in the spirit of the restoration of David's tabernacle.
How effective is your prayer life? Do you wish it could be more effective?
I'll share two keys with you today how to increase the power that you have to bring to bear concerning your destiny and loved ones.
Last night I had a dream. I was in a house with people whom I did not know but I knew they were my family. There was a lot of traffic outside which seemed odd and somehow I knew I was in Gainesville FL. It was in the middle of the day and we were all on one big bed trying to take a nap when someone I did not know knocked at the door. I was the only one who got up and the person at the door had left but I caught her just in time. She told me that a protest was going on now at the campus against prayer.
My dream switched to Afghanistan and I found my wife, myself and many Afghans running down a hill being shot at. I was thinking about how to protect her. I knew they/we were all Christians that were running. Then I was immediately with an artillery unit in which I heard the commander say launch the blasting caps. Then I saw a bunch of explosions in the sky over the Christians and the enemy. It provided protection for those running as it distracted the adversary who was shooting at them. It covered them.
Many who know me often hear me pray about "hitting the mark." That desire comes from a revelation of sin and a recognition that we are in a spiritual army under the command of the Lord of Hosts who is engaged in a spiritual war.
Revelation of Sin
Romans 6:15 says" What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid." The Greek word translated sin means to err, trespass, offend and to miss the mark. The context of miss the mark is like an archer who shoots an arrow and misses the bulls-eye. They miss the mark.
So when I pray that "we hit the mark" it means that I am praying that we do things right and not err, offend, trespass or sin by missing the mark. What is the mark? What is the standard? What is the bulls-eye? That my friends is established by God's word. That is our standard. That is the mark or the bulls-eye we seek to hit.
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