For 1000 years, through dark and medieval ages, the church in Europe languished with a stark contrast between what the clergy could do in ministry, which was everything, with, on the other hand, what the laity could do in ministry, which was nothing. Just like the nominal folk religion in Maluku, lay people were assumed to have nothing to offer.
Fortunately, over the last 500 years many Biblical perspectives have been restored, starting with the priesthood of every believer, which is that every believer is able to approach God directly without the agency of an ordained priest. When God takes a depraved sinner and creates in them a new spirit, making them a new genus of being, He makes them 1) siblings of Jesus and 2) incarnations of the Trinity. Every believer has a double-right to enter into the holiest Presence of God because every believer is a sibling High Priest with Christ and every believer is one with God.
But Jesus was also King, which office, through God's Presence living in them, God the Son also lives out through every believer. As the Son lives through us we manifest His kingship. Paul writes that we have been seated with Christ on His throne ruling over the universe. Christ shared his kingly authority with 82 of his disciples even before His death. What's more, He also taught that greater things we would do than did He, when God's Presence came to live in every believer. Even now, just like Jesus had, we have His authority as princes and princesses in His royal family to cast out demons, heal, and perform other supernatural signs of God's loving Presence.
It is really kind of amazing that the truth of the Son as Prophet living through His Body has been for so long muted and dormant. Yet the evidence is undeniable that God is channeling the Son's prophetic ministry through many believers today already, and He wants to do the same through every other believer as well. As Paul said, “Passionately yearn that you may ALL (every believer) prophesy”. (1st Cor. 14:1)
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
New Years 2012 Prayer with Fasting Report
I decided to do a 72 hour fast and prayer time in the first week of 2012. I initially just invited a couple friends to join me, friends whom I knew to be yearning for a deeper move of God in their lives. But then I thought I may as well send out an invitation to a slightly broader group of relatives and friends, ministry colleagues, old Bible college alumni and Facebook friends.
Eventually about 30 people from Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Weyburn, Regina, Moose Jaw, Calgary, Prince George, Williams Lake, Kamloops, Cranbrook, Grand Forks, Chilliwack, Langley, Vancouver, Nanaimo, Jakarta and Maluku fasted at different levels and prayed at the same time.
We were a bit shocked but of course very thankful how soon and powerfully God showed up. The first night of fasting with prayer the 10 or so people praying in Indonesia in two different provinces simultaneously (including myself) experienced the amazing sweet presence of God to the point that most were unable to stand and there was much laughter and supernatural joy for about 2 hours.
But emotional experiences are not the point or goal and I feel this initial phenomena was intended to help us persevere regardless of any enjoyable bits. So regardless of the initial fireworks, I am actually much more happy with how much praying I was enabled to do during the 72 hours. While people sent me some prayer requests, as I began praying for them I feel I received unexpected alternate issues to pray for them as well. ( I am wary of interference from my own imagination however so for now I'll just wait and see how much was accurate). When I would receive a new image or issue to pray for it was accompanied by a wave of God's presence inducing euphoria/elation/ecstasy and I laughed till my stomach hurt.
I hope that the addition of fasting to our prayer lives becomes a weekly habit. Even if it is just one meal every week, or get up to pray a few hours before breakfast, I know God will honor our fumbling baby steps far abundantly more than we can ask or imagine.
Eventually about 30 people from Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Weyburn, Regina, Moose Jaw, Calgary, Prince George, Williams Lake, Kamloops, Cranbrook, Grand Forks, Chilliwack, Langley, Vancouver, Nanaimo, Jakarta and Maluku fasted at different levels and prayed at the same time.
We were a bit shocked but of course very thankful how soon and powerfully God showed up. The first night of fasting with prayer the 10 or so people praying in Indonesia in two different provinces simultaneously (including myself) experienced the amazing sweet presence of God to the point that most were unable to stand and there was much laughter and supernatural joy for about 2 hours.
But emotional experiences are not the point or goal and I feel this initial phenomena was intended to help us persevere regardless of any enjoyable bits. So regardless of the initial fireworks, I am actually much more happy with how much praying I was enabled to do during the 72 hours. While people sent me some prayer requests, as I began praying for them I feel I received unexpected alternate issues to pray for them as well. ( I am wary of interference from my own imagination however so for now I'll just wait and see how much was accurate). When I would receive a new image or issue to pray for it was accompanied by a wave of God's presence inducing euphoria/elation/ecstasy and I laughed till my stomach hurt.
I hope that the addition of fasting to our prayer lives becomes a weekly habit. Even if it is just one meal every week, or get up to pray a few hours before breakfast, I know God will honor our fumbling baby steps far abundantly more than we can ask or imagine.
Prophecy Books
I read the following books on prophecy over the last couple months to try to learn a bit how to be more sensitive to the Lord's voice on a daily basis.
I was a hard skeptic about supernatural perception and healing (except for my own mystical experiences with God of course!) until I was invited to an evangelical Christian prophecy seminar in the summer of 1997 in Regina and was startled awake by the cold water of PROOF spraying in my face. As an eye-witness and recipient of prophecy in action I could not deny it any more than deny gravity.
So I really appreciated the first books in my list, “Growing in the Prophetic” by Mike Bickle, “You May All Prophesy” by Steve Thompson and “Extraordinary Power for Ordinary Christians” by Eric Tammaru a former beat cop. They start from the perspective of the antagonistic doubter and then walk you through some powerful evidence in baby steps then get into their majority content of practical how-to. One other reason Bickle's work is very valuable is because he writes from the perspective of a pastoral administrator, not a prophet, so there's lots of practical advice (and stories!) that will be helpful to pastors not comfortable with, yet reluctantly open to, the prophetic. Tammaru is the most accessible with LOTS of stories but very short. If you find reading to be work then start with him.
I was a hard skeptic about supernatural perception and healing (except for my own mystical experiences with God of course!) until I was invited to an evangelical Christian prophecy seminar in the summer of 1997 in Regina and was startled awake by the cold water of PROOF spraying in my face. As an eye-witness and recipient of prophecy in action I could not deny it any more than deny gravity.
So I really appreciated the first books in my list, “Growing in the Prophetic” by Mike Bickle, “You May All Prophesy” by Steve Thompson and “Extraordinary Power for Ordinary Christians” by Eric Tammaru a former beat cop. They start from the perspective of the antagonistic doubter and then walk you through some powerful evidence in baby steps then get into their majority content of practical how-to. One other reason Bickle's work is very valuable is because he writes from the perspective of a pastoral administrator, not a prophet, so there's lots of practical advice (and stories!) that will be helpful to pastors not comfortable with, yet reluctantly open to, the prophetic. Tammaru is the most accessible with LOTS of stories but very short. If you find reading to be work then start with him.
After you read those you might want to try “Prophetic Evangelism” by Sean Smith. This guy is a fiery African-American preacher and it sure comes through in his writing. You'll have to bite your tongue here and there at his creativity with English (interesting grammar and unfamiliar terminology), but it is worth it to press through because he has some very practical cut-to-the-quick principles, practices and guides to prayer for the novice. He also includes a lot of gripping stories.
That leaves the more scholarly, thicker and most useful books; “Developing Your Prophetic Gifting” by Graham Cooke, and “Prophets and Personal Prophecy” and “Prophets Pitfalls and Principles” by Dr. Bill Hamon. I'll talk about Hamon's stuff first. These are the 1st and 3rd volumes of a series. I didn't read the 2nd volume because it was too general for my purposes, and then I found that Dr. Hamon gave a synopsis of it anyway in vol. 3 which I appreciated because then I realized I hadn't missed anything not reading vol. 2.
You may find yourself pausing at a couple of Dr. Hamon's eschatological and ecclesiological positions, but then again he doesn't claim to be a Biblical scholar, rather a down-to-earth practitioner of spiritual gifts. So just set those few theological curios aside and tune in to the rubber-meets-the-road practicalities. Really stuffed with solid, practical practices from like 30 or 40 years of non-stop full time ministry in the gifts of the Spirit. His ideas of how prophets and pastors should work together should spark some thinking in the reader who is a pastor wondering how to manage church governance with prophets operating.
The last book on my list, “Developing Your Prophetic Gifting” by Graham Cooke, is the most thorough, well-written and organized. It could really suit for a 1st year Bible college text. If you only read one or two on this list, I would have to recommend Bickle's and Cooke's books, in that order. But its up to you.
Addendum: I also found a very useful old book by a doctor professor from Fuller Seminary named John Wimber. The book is called “Power Evangelism”. If you don't like reading much (hmm well then I guess you may not have made it till here!), take heart because this was made into a video series which your church secretary should easily be able to order in for you to watch. You might even be able to borrow it! (hmmm there should be a unified database of church libraries with interlibrary loaning) Well anyway I really liked Wimber's approach because he came at it scientifically as a respected academic. I believe the Vineyard denomination came out of his work.
That leaves the more scholarly, thicker and most useful books; “Developing Your Prophetic Gifting” by Graham Cooke, and “Prophets and Personal Prophecy” and “Prophets Pitfalls and Principles” by Dr. Bill Hamon. I'll talk about Hamon's stuff first. These are the 1st and 3rd volumes of a series. I didn't read the 2nd volume because it was too general for my purposes, and then I found that Dr. Hamon gave a synopsis of it anyway in vol. 3 which I appreciated because then I realized I hadn't missed anything not reading vol. 2.
You may find yourself pausing at a couple of Dr. Hamon's eschatological and ecclesiological positions, but then again he doesn't claim to be a Biblical scholar, rather a down-to-earth practitioner of spiritual gifts. So just set those few theological curios aside and tune in to the rubber-meets-the-road practicalities. Really stuffed with solid, practical practices from like 30 or 40 years of non-stop full time ministry in the gifts of the Spirit. His ideas of how prophets and pastors should work together should spark some thinking in the reader who is a pastor wondering how to manage church governance with prophets operating.
The last book on my list, “Developing Your Prophetic Gifting” by Graham Cooke, is the most thorough, well-written and organized. It could really suit for a 1st year Bible college text. If you only read one or two on this list, I would have to recommend Bickle's and Cooke's books, in that order. But its up to you.
Addendum: I also found a very useful old book by a doctor professor from Fuller Seminary named John Wimber. The book is called “Power Evangelism”. If you don't like reading much (hmm well then I guess you may not have made it till here!), take heart because this was made into a video series which your church secretary should easily be able to order in for you to watch. You might even be able to borrow it! (hmmm there should be a unified database of church libraries with interlibrary loaning) Well anyway I really liked Wimber's approach because he came at it scientifically as a respected academic. I believe the Vineyard denomination came out of his work.
Happy reading, and trying some stuff!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Luke 11:5-13
Well I couldn't say for sure but I guess that consistency has recently born fruit in the decision to fast and pray for 3 days in the first week of the new year. I have also been reading a bunch of different books (some not that good!) on tuning in to God's leading on a daily basis, especially in order to minister His wonderful loving Presence to others. So I guess filling my thoughts with that stuff as well inspired me to do this prayer-with-fasting.
I was very pleased when about 17 people have now agreed to join together to fast and pray for up to 72 hours (different folks with different types and levels of fasting depending on their ability). People from Regina, Prince George, Moose Jaw, Cranbrook, Jakarta and Maluku.
So I made a Facebook group called:
Luke 11:5-13
This is for members to post the things they are currently praying for so we can join together. And if they get some sort of message they feel is from the Lord they can post that too.
I was very pleased when about 17 people have now agreed to join together to fast and pray for up to 72 hours (different folks with different types and levels of fasting depending on their ability). People from Regina, Prince George, Moose Jaw, Cranbrook, Jakarta and Maluku.
So I made a Facebook group called:
Luke 11:5-13
This is for members to post the things they are currently praying for so we can join together. And if they get some sort of message they feel is from the Lord they can post that too.
Monday, January 2, 2012
How to Develop a Good Prayer Habit
I have been slowly working away at developing a more consistent prayer life. I have hit on some techniques that I guess must be helping. Problem is when my alarm goes off at 4 or 5 am the temptation is just too strong to just turn it off and roll over and go back to sleep till 7.
The first key is to go to bed soon enough. How important are the tv shows, internet surfing, YouTube, Facebook and computer games? So I try to get into bed by 9:30 to be sleeping by 10pm so I can get a good 6 hours of sleep in by 4am. So I set two alarms, one very quite one in my bedroom and one very loud one in the living room. I ensure the time on the two clocks is synched and then set the quiet one in my bedroom for 3:55 (in the village) or 4:55 am (in the city), and the loud one out in the living room for 5 minutes later. I put my clothes in a pile to easily pick up in the dark and carry out into the living room. I get dressed next to the loud alarm and turn it off. After a few weeks of this my body learns to wake up a minute or two before the first alarm so I am not jolted nastily awake by the alarm. By the time I get to the far alarm I am sufficiently awake and far away from the bed that I can resist going back to bed because I have remembered how awesome it is when God intervenes!
The other thing I got into now is not having a coffee and bite to eat when I get up. So I get a 2 hour fast every weekday with my morning prayer time.
The first key is to go to bed soon enough. How important are the tv shows, internet surfing, YouTube, Facebook and computer games? So I try to get into bed by 9:30 to be sleeping by 10pm so I can get a good 6 hours of sleep in by 4am. So I set two alarms, one very quite one in my bedroom and one very loud one in the living room. I ensure the time on the two clocks is synched and then set the quiet one in my bedroom for 3:55 (in the village) or 4:55 am (in the city), and the loud one out in the living room for 5 minutes later. I put my clothes in a pile to easily pick up in the dark and carry out into the living room. I get dressed next to the loud alarm and turn it off. After a few weeks of this my body learns to wake up a minute or two before the first alarm so I am not jolted nastily awake by the alarm. By the time I get to the far alarm I am sufficiently awake and far away from the bed that I can resist going back to bed because I have remembered how awesome it is when God intervenes!
The other thing I got into now is not having a coffee and bite to eat when I get up. So I get a 2 hour fast every weekday with my morning prayer time.
I am back
Our internet was out of commission in Babar Islands for 2 months so I couldn't post. We came back on line on November 27th! Then Christmas happened. But one of my resolutions for the New Year is to write on the blog more frequently. I am also going to make it more reflect a journal and current events in my life and ministry. I'll be doing the occasional devotional item still, but will definitely try to relate the weekly goings on in the Babar Islands more. But look at the last post from me earlier today. Hope you get something useful out of it.
Temptation is a Personal Attack
Don't take it personally? You had bloody well better take temptation personally. Interpersonally in fact. If you downplay the constant stream of messages to you from the Deceiver, you have swallowed their biggest and best lie.
They want you to blame yourself for being a screw-up, for just being tempted, for "thoughts" "just occurring". They want you to dismiss their presence and influence. They don't want you to know they are constantly whispering lies to you.
So wake up! Open your eyes and your ears! Temptation is an external attack on you from demons who want to kill you, destroy you and steal every good blessing God has intended to lavish upon you.
Do not get sucked into blaming yourself for being depraved. God gave you a new spirit. You are a sibling of the second Adam, with a new spirit newly breathed into you by God Himself. With this new spirit God gave you one ability, and one alone:
So wake up! Open your eyes and your ears! Temptation is an external attack on you from demons who want to kill you, destroy you and steal every good blessing God has intended to lavish upon you.
Do not get sucked into blaming yourself for being depraved. God gave you a new spirit. You are a sibling of the second Adam, with a new spirit newly breathed into you by God Himself. With this new spirit God gave you one ability, and one alone:
- to enter and stay in His presence and never leave,
- to cling to Him constantly,
- to turn to Him for help every second.
Just do it!
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