Thursday 6 December 2012

WHO AM I?




Shortly after I had an encounter with the Holy Spirit my whole life changed. One of the most significant changes that I have experienced in this time has been the revelation of true my identity, who I really am. This revelation from the Holy Spirit is changing me. Learning how to live this new identity is so exciting, incredibly challenging and amazingly rewarding. It’s simply learning to live “out of God”, I was created for this, it is simply my calling.

More than any other thing I would suggest, the revelation of one’s identity, is one of the primary functions of the person of the Holy Spirit on earth. As I have been walking through this identity issue, there is going on within me an “exchange”. I am receiving revelation from the Holy Spirit as to who I really am and in this process the Holy Spirit is revealing himself to me as a person, put another way as I get to know the Spirit, I get to know me. The more time I spend with the Holy Spirit, the more I get to know Him, the more I know Him the more He shows me who I am, the more I know my own identity the closer I walk with Him, the closer I walk with Him the further sin or the desire to sin departs from me. Simply spoken this is transformation.

As I was thinking over the new way I was now experiencing God, the Holy Spirit asked me a question which threw me back for a few months. I now think more than two years later I am grasping a new element of my identity, of who I am. One day the Holy Spirit all of a sudden asked me “Why do you take the name of the Lord in vain?" 

My first response was when? How? Where? I told Him I didn’t take Jesus name, or swear by His name or anything of the kind. Before I became a Christian I was guilty of this charge hour after hour. (In fact the day I became a Christian, the first miracle that happened to me was instantly my bad language was removed, this testified that something significant had changed when Jesus forgave me and became my Lord and Saviour). 

As I responded to the Holy Spirit, He replied and said the same thing “Why do you take the name of the Lord in vain?" 

From this point on I noticed a reaction in my spirit whenever I prayed and used the name of Jesus. My spirit was sensing a reaction from the Holy Spirit when at the end of my prayer I used the words “in Jesus name” a question started to burn within me as I tried to grapple with what this might be.  This was pressing hard on my spirit, all of a sudden I just stopped saying those words “in Jesus name”. 
As I prayed in meetings I would just end my prayer without saying those words. I knew that this position I was taking was unbiblical, in the book of Acts we see the example of the apostles in this regard. 

Acts 3:8 says “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” just to give you one example, but though I knew this I was unable to say it. I found it funny when others would say these words for me and that might be all they said. What were they doing? Why were they finishing off my prayers? They had no idea what was going on within me.

As time passed I pondered what the Holy Spirit was asking me “Why do you take the name of the Lord in vain?" In the past two years the Holy Spirit has worked with me on this one. I began to realise my words “in Jesus name” were just that, words, just plain vain words, and in using His glorious name in this way I was guilty of sinning against my Jesus though I never knew it.

Once this realisation sank home with me, I knew I needed to be taught how to move on from this point. Though I now had understanding, how would this new understanding change things? I knew it was offending the Holy Spirit and now more than ever I certainly did not utter those words. It’s amazing once I responded in obedience and stopped praying in Jesus name, the Holy Spirit moved and brought me on this amazing journey of revealing a truth that is changing my identity.

Romans 2:24 says "the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of the people of God”

I believe I have been guilty of this charge. Many times I have prayed in the name of Jesus just like I said above and today I know those words of mine were just words, little different when Jesus accused the Pharisees of babbling when they prayed. Today when I use the words “in Jesus name” I know the power and authority I release in those moments. 

Psalm 115:16 says “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth He has given to man”. 

We mere humans have been given dominion on earth. Did you ever wonder of all places, why God decided to place man on earth, the same place He had cast down the fallen angel and all his hordes onto? 
Why make it so difficult for us having such a “powerful foe” opposing us. It did not take long until satan stole our authority in the garden when man (we) disobeyed God. 
God foresaw it and purposed a plan in us that pleased Him. Gods plan was to use His created beings (us) who worship Him to be the very agents to dislodge the enemies on this earth. After Jesus defeated him on the cross, God saw it proper that we His followers should make captives of our captors (Isaiah 14:2). 

We are purposed for it. I and you are uniquely made (Psalm 139:13-16), I and you are uniquely for a purpose, God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10), I and you are uniquely placed in this generation, in the exact street you live (Acts 17:26) and I and you are uniquely gifted to bless those we live amongst (1 Peter 4:10-11). I can do best and you can do best, that for which the Father has designed you. If I don’t do it then another may do it but not to the mark that God ordained, it will be somehow flawed because if I fail to do so anything else is plan B. Just look at How God trusts and believes in me, no one else has this trust in you or me, no one. I am completely trusted by the Father and you too.

Isaiah 53:5 says Jesus has done it all, He has taken care of the sin issue and the disease issue “He was pierced for our transgressions….the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed."

Notice it’s all past tense, His work is finished as Jesus said on the Cross “It is finished”, ours is only starting and the starting point is that place of rest which Jesus restored. Jesus died on the cross for me, He took my place. In fact Jesus died as me, If I believe I have been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20). When I enter into the covenant of His Blood, I take His identity, I no longer live, but He lives in me. For the joy set before Jesus, He endured the cross. What was this joy? Yes it’s me and you. Imagine He considered it a joy to inherit us and became obedient to death on a tree. He did it because He loved us and if that was all He still would have done it, but no, that’s just a small part, there is much more, He did it also to defeat the work of the enemy on earth and we are part of that plan. 

Luke 9:1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases (It was the same when He sent out the 72), Luke 10:19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy. 

Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

So as you see all authority has been given us His followers.  Many of us talk about the great commission but few of us focus on the “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”. One of the most challenging of those commands is found in Matthew 10:7-8 as you go, preach this message: "The kingdom of heaven is near. 'Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (Notice we are not commanded to pray for it). 

When the Holy Spirit connected these two verses for me it was an amazing revelation to me. Having been Baptised with the Holy Spirit three years ago this burning desire to move in healing prophetic evangelism has captured me, but my theology was stifling me. Now all of a sudden the display of the power and glory that accompanied the first Christians in the book of Acts was now within my realm of possibilities. This single revelation from the Holy Spirit removed from me ignorance in connection with healing and the gift of healing, removed the question in my head as to whether healing was for today and now for the first time my head and heart had come into agreement with scripture that physical healing was indeed for today. More than that, I now know I have authority to heal the sick. More than this I now am seeing breakthrough and release testimony. The people of God lost their way as it says in the Old Testament when they forgot about testimony and remembered it no more.

At a conference recently the Holy Spirit said to me “You have permission”. These words have been finding a home within me this last two months, at the time of hearing this it was hard to digest. As time passed it became more difficult. Tell me where does the authority in these words end? Think about it, to me there seems there is no end. Authority is nothing without power and power becomes nothing without authority. 

Acts 1:8 provides the answer to the power issue, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you”. This is not a salvation issue, over and over again in the New Testament we see that the believers were Baptised with the Holy Spirit. If they were already believers they already had been sealed with the Spirit, just read the Book of Acts and see it. How did I miss this truth for years? Who said the Christian life is boring, my journey these last three years has just been amazing, just utterly incredible and day by day, revelation after revelation I am finding out for the first time who I am. Just when you think you have a handle on it all another door opens. Right now the Holy Spirit is highlighting a word for me which is responsibility, and I know I will now learn from Him what this is all about. I sense a jigsaw coming together.

So what do I say? just to recap, He has given me authority to trample, Faith to believe, Words which become Spirit, and told me to go and move in his authority, told me I am as He is (1 John 4:17 because as He is, so are we in this word”). He has put His words in my mouth, He has given me permission. He has told me He Knows me and not just my name, He has anointed me, He has released me in His authority, I could keep going. 

Just who am I? My mindset as a Christian for the first 20 years of my Christian walk has been a concentration on sin, my last three years an encounter with the Spirit where Truth is being revealed. A word I received from Spirit three years ago was 1 John 2:27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you, but as his anointing teaches you about all things"…. It has been so rewarding being taught by the Spirit, just sheer transformation. 

Many days I sat in tears just coming to terms with what He was teaching me. One of the favourites The Spirit has taught me is found in Numbers 6:24-27  “The Lord bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace. So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” 

I as a man can put the Lords name on a person, and because I do this simple act the Lord will bless them. Who am I, what is this call that I a child of the King possess.

Some might accuse me of being out of control, but you cannot be a Christian unless you are out of control, unless you wish to be one of the nominal kind. The measure you use defines the measure God uses so if you limit God you have limited yourself. To be a Christian and ALIVE you must surrender full control to the Holy Spirit and that place is achieved only when you are full with the Spirit, when you are filled with the Spirit, you are out of your own control and in His control. The ones who retain control are really the ones out of control because the scripture says God controls all things unless you hold out. I am the kingdom come, the kingdom of God is within me, I need to learn how to release that which is within. Unless you know who you are you are not in a position to release anything. Peter at the Gate of Beautiful could only give away what he had, and to give it away He had to know He had it. 

We are called to live from Heaven on earth, I am a citizen of heaven living on earth. My home is with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I am a Spiritual nomad, or if you like a “Spiritual Traveller”. Elijah was one, Elisha was one, Jesus, Philip, Paul and lastly John as can be seen from the Revelation4:1-2there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this. At once I was in the Spirit" When John entered in at once he was in the Spirit, and we know from Romans the Kingdom is in the Spirit. All these years I have been an unbelieving believer, believing the bible but not really believing and accepting it for what is says. I challenge you, Dare to believe what it says.

Now just when I think I have this prayer thing figured out, the “in the name of Jesus” thing, the Spirit is telling me to stop praying. Scary for some but humbling for me. We pray for things that are already within our grasp. Many pray that God would come down and change our circumstances or touch our sick neighbour etc, but the truth is God came as a baby, grew in favour with the Father, died for the world and opened a way through His blood for the forgiveness of sin and thereby reconcile all who would call on His name. God has come and you are the answer to the prayer you make, many times God is not in your prayer, He is awaiting your faith to step into that which Jesus has already given you, He is waiting for you to take that authority that He has given you. The Holy Spirit is telling me to declare it, decree it and proclaim it and walk in it. The other night at 3am two men were damaging the bus shelter by our house, I could see them through the bedroom window but I did not engage with them. I had just asked the Holy Spirit that day to teach me how to walk in the heavenly realm. I commanded the two men to stop in the name of Jesus and do you know what happened..Nothing (I was speaking to them as flesh men). Just then I said “I bind you in the name of Jesus” (I spoke into the heavenly realm), instantly the two men stopped and walked away. Those men were drunk and in that state had opened themselves to the influence of a spirit of destruction. When I spoke into the spirit realm the authority of Christ was released and the inferior authority of the demonic spirit was instantly bound. When I release His words, all changes.

Christ came into my life when I became a believer, The Spirit of Christ came upon me when I was Baptised with the Holy Spirit. God’s agenda is “release”, I am enabled by the Spirit to release his Kingdom, I am the will of God prophesied. In the last days I will pour out my Spirit was the prophetic word of God, I am that Kingdom come, the Kingdom of the Spirit. I am transformed, that is who I am. The title of this paper posed a question “WHO AM I?”. The answer is in the question. I am who I am because the ancient “I AM” lives in me. He has given me identity, and that identity is His very presence within me enabled by His anointing upon me the Baptism with the Spirit. He makes me who I am, He makes me His Kingdom come. I live because He lives, I breathe because He gives me breath, I awaken because He opens my eyes. I am nothing without the Father, He sustains my every moment. I am revival and do you know what, you can be all this too. Dare to believe it and find yourself living it and not just talking it, though talking it prophesies it over your life. The cries of my earlier blogs have become my testimonies of today, God’s transformation power is extravagant. I praise Him because today He is enabling me live extravagantly and you know what I’m only starting to live this amazing marriage with my redeemer, and I live it through the enabling of the Spirit. Thankfully to this point He did not divorce me. Dare to believe it.

God does not do ordinary. If you just pray ordinary God does not need to be God and move – we can do this and answer those prayers ourselves. If fact many say we are the answer to the prayer ourselves and that is true because our prayer and expectation so ordinary. We are not the ones who can answer the extraordinarily un-unimaginable prayers, we are not the one who delivers the signs and miracles – but we are asked to step out and believe and as we step HE WILL MOVE. Become a people who move God.

You must make a space for God to move – God does the supernatural “stuff” but only for an expectant heart. Dare to believe it and be transformed.


Declan D.

Friday 16 November 2012

Windmills


The following is a word that Lionel has had on his heart to share with us:


"While I was attending Core church for the visit of John Arnott of Toronto on afternoon of Saturday 10 November (and so good to see such a crowd there), and during the extended worship time, the revelation word of the Lord came to me:

I saw a large number of mines with much activity in different parts of Ireland, mining the dark ore, and drawing it to the surface, for export to the industrial areas of Ireland and abroad. Thirty years ago I had witnessed the extensive operations of Tara Mines of Navan in action, and remember the long railway wagons piled high with ore for delivery to Drogheda and abroad for processing. 
And then I saw that near to each of these mines were two types of mill – windmills (like Blennerhassett in Kerry) and watermills with huge timber mill wheels, being turned by relatively small streams.
The windmills were drawing up water from the depths of the earth, and the watermills were driving the grinding stones making flour out of the wheat grains. There were a few persons involved in tending and caring for these mills and the output of same, and where people were coming to each mill and gathering their fill of water and flour, to make the bread. All so vivid to an avid bread-maker!
An incomplete understanding came with the pictures:-
The mines and mining industrial scene is like a type of the church of this land, like a large industry involving huge energy (costly to the people), machinery, and activity. It was somehow smoggy like a Welsh coalfield village. I felt that I knew these people, but indistinct in appearance. 
The mills represent those small groups of people who are energised by the wind of the Spirit and the river of Life, content with the simple inspired activities, in harmony with the Life Force, giving freely of the fruit of the wind and water.
The fact that the activity of these people was close to the mining activity appeared to suggest to me that they were part of the wider whole scene involving the mining and the mills, but “driven” by a different inner force.

Reflection:

Where am I and where are you in the picture story? 

I felt that the fact that some people in the pictures were vaguely familiar indicated to me that I am somehow a part of this mining community and activity, but my desire, longing and motivation of my heart is in the activity of the mills. I love the fresh bread of the Presence.

At least the pictures and understanding are instructive for me, and hopefully corrective of the thoughts and intentions of my heart. 
As a member of Trinity Community I find this both disturbing and challenging."


Lionel Mackey

Tuesday 13 November 2012

The Shepherd Who Led A Nation

The Old Testament is full of heroes. All through it, we come across a great man or woman of God who was provided to them at the right time.

When we read the story of Moses, it's obvious that the hand of God was on him all the way through his life. His first few months in Exodus are nothing short of miraculous. His mother was not going to let her son be killed by Pharaoh, so she hid him for 3 months. At this stage, it was getting too difficult to hide him any longer, so she sought God and then built him a crib that was made to float on the water.
Interesting how she trusted God to look after a helpless child so much, that she placed him in a river known for it's crocodiles!

Yet, God of course, could be trusted. He watched over Moses in such a way that he was attended to by his sister, nursed by his mother and then raised in a palace by the king's daughter. One act of trust in God made Moses a prince and it was this position that was going to make him a leader.

Moses as a young man, had now been raised in the palace. He knew about the one, true God and refused to worship the false gods of Egypt. He had been trained to be a prince, to live a life of authority and to see things as one who cared for those who were under his authority. This is why Moses was so angry when he saw a Hebrew man being mistreated by an Egyptian. The prince checked that the coast was clear and he killed the Egyptian, buried him in the sand and thought he got away from it.

Yet the next day, when he saw 2 Hebrews quarreling, the one who started the argument questioned Moses' motives, wondering if he was going to "Kill me as you did your fellow Egyptian?"
This must have really scared Moses as he fled the land and went to the land of Midian.

I was thinking about this and The Lord reminded me of a story a friend told me about something that happened to him on one continent, which he realised afterwards, was of the enemy.
He arrived back in Dublin, and a good while later (I seem to recall that it was a number of months), a similar situation came up when a person he was talking to, spoke of the incident in the other country, saying that he had no authority because of it.
This was in a different city, in a different land, on a different continent and in a different language, with different people, yet he was challenged by the enemy specifically.
He recognised this straight away and was able to deal with the situation, thanks to the Holy Spirit giving him wisdom to do it.
I wonder if this is what happened with Moses? Was the devil having a go at him directly? Did someone witness the fight or was it the enemy who was accusing him?

Our God is bigger than anything the enemy can throw at us, so even when the enemy tries to flex his muscles across different continents, you need to remind him that he has no authority over us, other than any that we give him (letting the enemy into situations gives him sway over how we act and react). Jesus defeated him on the cross and his victory is eternal. 
Jesus spoke in Matthew 28 v 18 saying:

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."

So if Jesus said He has all authority in heaven and on earth, then the devil has none!

But back to Moses, he had glanced to see that there was nobody watching him and then killed the Egyptian. If nobody saw him, how did this Hebrew know about it?
The enemy is known as the accuser of the brethren, he will throw your past failures at you in an attempt to stop you fulfilling your God given position that has full authority over him.
It was the Hebrew who started the fight that accused Moses, and Moses fled, knowing that he'd be in serious trouble for killing an Egyptian.

Moses had been trained to take care of those under him, and in doing that, he got into trouble. Moses had the mindset of a prince and that meant he had great concern for the people under him.
A prince takes responsibility and acts out of authority.

When Moses stopped running, he was thrown straight into another conflict. He stepped into the place where others were being bullied and stood up for them, only this time, he was rewarded for his deed, and got a wife and a family along with a job as a shepherd. (Exodus 2)

Moses, who had been stepping into situations and standing up for others, was now tasked with looking after a flock of sheep.

The man who was born a Levite, had married into a Levite family and was in the process of becoming one of the greatest men to walk this planet, who would soon see the Glory of God Ex 33 was watching sheep in the desert when he was called into his ministry at the burning bush.

Sometimes, God needs to take us back to basics before He will allow us to move into the place He has destined us to be. This time with Jethro would have been a time of real teaching for Moses, after all, Jethro was a priest and Moses would have sat with him, learning the ways of the Lord that he had missed out on while he was in Egypt.

Moses had moved from the palace where God wasn't honoured, to a desert where God was present. He had moved from a time of barrenness to a time of abundance.

The thing that amazes me is that Moses was around 80 years old when this happened. God is not concerned about our age. He looks at our heart (1 Sam 16v7) and will call us into where He wants us to be, when we are ready. It took Moses 80 years to be ready to lead the Israelites, so don't ever listen to the lie that you're too old!

The next part of Moses life centered around the Israelites leaving Egypt. God uses him mightily and sent plague after plague until Pharaoh relented and let them go. Then, when they left, he realised his mistake and chased them down.
Moses, by this stage, knew his God much better than he had as a younger man, and he just trusted Him to fulfill the prophecy that he had been given in Exodus 3v8

"So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites."

God had spoken, Moses knew God's promise had not been fulfilled so he knew God was going to help them out. God allowed them to cross the sea on dry land and they entered the desert and the first major step in the direction of the promised land.

God knew that everything that had happened in Moses' life was helping him to become the man God saw him to be. He became a prince, to speak up for the weak, he became a shepherd, to hear from the Lord, he became a leader, to rescue a nation and he became a man who saw the Glory of God.
God is the only one who can turn any situation around in your life. He is the only one who can bring about an outcome that even in your wildest dreams, you never could have seen.
He can use a child who was condemned to death before he was born, to stand before a king as an 80 year old man, tell him to let his slaves be freed- and by the way, why not give us a load of gifts too while you're at it.

Whatever is going on in your life, God can help you. Moses demonstrated the relationship that could be attained with God in the old testament. Jesus allows all of us to step into that right now, and the situation, whatever it is, is never too big for God to intervene in.

Roger C.

Tuesday 30 October 2012

The Father’s Cry



I am hearing and have been hearing a cry from the Father in recent months that I have not heard before. Maybe I have not been able to hear His cry before or maybe I have been crying so loud that I drown out His cry. Maybe my crying has brought me to a place that I can hear His cry. I don’t know for sure but I do know I hear His cry today.

When I reflect on this, I have many thoughts and they all seem to point in the same direction. I am asking why is the church today so hurting? Why such brokenness, turmoil, un-happiness, despair, defeat and lacking? Why do we see so little of the Kingdom? Why do we not see prosperous souls? Why do we see so little testimony of the abundant life that Jesus spoke about? Why do we see more defeat than victory, a remnant and not the many or nothing like the nations spoken of in the great commission? Why is our vision so small, why not the immeasurably more that Paul speaks of in the Book of Ephesians? Are these matters connected with our poverty of vision? Does God sense the lacking in our heart and therefore allows our environment reflect that poverty of spirit? Have we become a people afraid to dream and as a result have grown content with that which we now possess? 

By now you have the gist of what I am seeing and sensing and it’s not my intention to be judge, indeed I am not or I don’t wish to provoke you to become judgemental. I am just speaking the questions that my heart is asking God.

In church now for almost a year the same prophetic words are being spoken over and over again. I divide these words into two categories or groups. One speaks of an outpouring of the Spirit amongst us (river flowing, rain falling, downpour, flood, glory and a flow of liquid molten rock). The other speaks of a blockage, restriction, holding back or being held back (oil wells capped, shackles on our ankles, dehydrated church, feet stuck and a body buried alive reaching out to be rescued). The words appear to be at odds with each other though I sense they are incredibly linked, the outpouring is the solution to the dehydration . One suggests amazing potential in our body but the other suggests there is something holding it all back. One soaked with God ordained blessing and favour, the other hemmed in awaiting release by man. 

Do you ever ponder these words we hear every other week? Do you ever wonder what it is that God is saying? Do you ever feel when we meet as a body something is wrong, something missing? Do you ever feel what we experience resembles religion more so than intimacy or encounter with the living God, if we don’t move into what the Father is saying its religion we have. Many days I feel robbed in the body and yet my heart so desires to be there because that is where we should be. Am I the only one who feels like so? For years I lived out of a poverty spirit, today I don’t accept it. I sense we are being robbed and God too. In Lucan congregation two years ago, a word “we are being robbed” was spoken in our meeting, today I sense the same thing happening.

Where are the ones that live out of Christ’s victory? Where are the ones who are more than conquerors? Where are the ones who will do greater than that which Jesus did? Where is the one that trusts fully in Christ? A verse recently shared with the body 1 John 5:18 “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him”. Why does sin prevail in individuals saved by Christ? What is wrong? 

Though we understand and identify sin easily, sensing that we are not who we are meant to be is somewhat harder than knowing we sin. On the cross Jesus said forgive them Father for they do not know what they do, even then they did not sense what was really going on. Many today don’t discern either and may feel its normal and therefore they don’t know that they are living in a place of “lack”, or living with a poverty of spirit mentality. But there are also many who know it and don’t know how to respond or react in that place. I was there for years and not one recognized it. Why? Why did I live with such pain and hurt for years and it go undetected? Why?

Jesus’ death was for a purpose. Don’t allow yourself miss any of that which the Father intended for you. Jesus deserves every ounce of what he put into the cross. The cross is a gate to life. Life is not at the gate, but through the gate. Don’t stay at the gate, gates are access points. The Father cries that you come to Him, coming to Him is entering His presence, not staying at the gate. I stayed at the gate for 20 years. Why?

When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, we read after Jesus came up out of the water in John 1:29-34 that the Spirit came down and remained on Him. Note it says “remained on Him”. Isaiah 42:1 talks of God putting the Spirit on the Lord (note - not in Him). When you become a Christian you receive the Spirit into you. The Baptism with the Spirit is completely different. Grasping this single point helped change my life. 
Looking back at Jesus it then says ‘Then Jesus full of the Holy Spirit was led by the Spirit into the desert’. To be led also means follows, so Jesus followed the Spirit. 
We can read in Luke 4 what happened to Jesus in the desert…three times Jesus defeated the devil and Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. Jesus demonstrated what so many of us miss and I have missed this for all these years since I became a Christian. Fortunately for me “a knowing” inside of me that there was something wrong caused me to literally cry and call out to God for the more I read about in His word but had not ever experienced. 

Today I hear the Father crying, it’s a cry of his broken heart, a cry that says I want you, it’s a cry that is saying God is also missing something. Please don’t jump on this comment, yes I know God is complete and therefore does not lack, but amazingly He allows Himself be in that vulnerable place of missing you. Jesus cried over Jerusalem, reflecting the Fathers heart, please hear what I am saying, the Father is crying over you, there is more than you currently experience, much more.

Am I speaking clearly above, do you hear me, listen and wait until you hear the Father’s cry yourself? Today most of the church lives in a salvation mindset, one which says I’m saved by the cross of Jesus, I am a Christian. Many Christians are afraid to move from this position. Jesus never told His disciples to wait for the cross or indeed at the cross, but He did tell them to wait for the Holy Spirit. The salvation mindset is better than nothing but if that’s all you have, you are living out of a poverty mentality. There is much more than the cross. 

In the Old Testament we read of Moses’ Baptism, he brought God’s people out of captivity and baptized them so to speak when they came through the Red Sea. This signifies the Baptism of Repentance. A poverty mentality came over those people in the desert. Joshua and Caleb thought differently though. They did not fear the enemy like so many then and so many today. I was there for many years but not so today. Today I believe what the bible says and I trust in Christ, experiencing the reality of this has been an amazing breakthrough for me. I always believed it in my head, I trusted Christ but I doubted much because I did not experience it. 

When I was baptised with the Holy Spirit and experienced the Holy Spirit in my life everything changed instantly. Joshua in the Old Testament also baptised the people of God when they went through the Jordan River on dry land to enter the Promised Land. This was the second Baptism of the Old Testament. Jesus had a second Baptism and now I know I have had a second Baptism. Believe me this is outside the box for me because my background or my experience of Christianity did not have a shelf for the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. Note when Joshua brought the people of God through the Jordan River, they did not stay at that place where they entered the Promised Land, they captured and possessed the land. God is calling us to possess our spiritual birthright, our land, our nation. That’s our co-mission from the Father.

I believe we are limiting the gospel today and as a result we pick up only a little of the plunder that Jesus left at the foot of the cross when he defeated death. The plunder is the spoils of war for the victors. Who are the victors? If we are honest we have to admit that we have left far too much at the foot of the cross for far too long. More and more I am believing that we have a “remnant expectation”, we dare not expect much by way of miracles, signs and wonders or a harvest because if we allow ourselves have great expectations, we believe we will be disappointed. I use believe this now I know otherwise because I have seen it and tasted it. I believe we are on the brink of an amazing revival in Ireland, this revival is birth in the Holy Spirit, the unknown person of God in this country. Those who step into the Spirit will walk in revival. I know because I can testify to it and so can a number of others amongst us. Am I saying that I am better than you or a better Christian? No not at all, I am saying I am not settling for less and I expect exceedingly more than that which I have now begun to see.

During the week I read Isaiah 41, I found myself asking where are the Christians such as Isaiah prophesied?

"8 But you Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, 9 I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. 10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 11 “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. 12 Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. 13 For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. 14 Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you,” declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. 16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow them away. But you will rejoice in the LORD and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

Where are the ones that claim Jesus’ victory over the enemy? Where are the ones He made into a threshing sledge? Where are the ones that crush mountains? Where are the ones that move with the wind of the Spirit? Today after spending 20 years having my mind battered by the enemy, I have moved into the place of Christ’s victory and I experience His victory in my mind and as a result in my body. The taunts of the enemy are feeble now and I just tell him “IT IS FINISHED” at the cross and he is on his way then. Simple but effective, freedom by the Spirit as promised.  

In all the fuss of life have you like me left the Holy Spirit out of the picture. Isaiah 10:27 says that it’s the anointing that breaks the yoke. The yoke upon me was broken when I was baptised with the Holy Spirit. Today I am seeing Christ’s victory manifest in my life. The person of the Holy Spirit has changed my life completely and in the Holy Spirit I now walk in the presence of the Father. He fights for me and walks before me, it’s a wonderful transformation that I have experienced. This week I was challenged to see the body of Christ as my body. In response to this challenge I write this paper and say to you, this body of mine sees the Father crying for you to experience all of what He has for you. As you experience this abundance, do you know I am going to be blessed because you will become a revelation of the Fathers glory on earth, namely Christ? (1 John 4:17).   

We read in Isaiah 42:16-17

“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. But those who trust in idols, who say to images, 'You are our gods,' will be turned back in utter shame”

Are you willing to walk in ways unknown to you, along unfamiliar paths because if you are Jesus will lead you there. He will do for you as He has for me, turn the darkness into light before you. To do so you must turn from your idols. Now an idol is an Old Testament word that few of us understand, it simply means something that’s man made and the worst idol of all is religion. Religion is not about which church you attend it’s about the affection and state of your heart.

Isaiah 43:18-21

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past See, I am doing a new thing! …… I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. …… I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise”

I am hungry for the new things of the Father. Are you? To drink from His river requires a heart set on pilgrimage as said in Psalm 84, a heart that says I have had enough of the old, I want new wine. Andrea Wigglesworth carried a similar prophetic word to us last year. Andrea cried “out with the ordinary in with the extraordinary”. 

Today the Father lays before us a “new thing”, though there may be shackles before us or indeed holding us back, if we are willing to take hold of the Father’s promises, He is willing to break those shackles. For some it’s taking hold of the promises, for others it repentance and forgiveness that will break the shackles from your feet, but I guess it both these for most of us and I believe this is an individual thing and indeed a corporate thing for the body. It’s time, it’s time for release and taking hold of His Kingdom. Don’t wait for tomorrow, tomorrow never comes.

Romans 14:17 says “For the kingdom of God is in the Holy Spirit”. I challenge you to adapt a “kingdom mindset” and leave behind a “salvation mindset”. This nation of ours is crying like the Father, our nation crys for an encounter with the living God. I cried for this encounter for years and that desire has and is being fulfilled. Today I hear the Fathers cry, something I never heard before, it’s so beautiful and intimate, it will make you cry. Experience the Father and you will be transformed.


Declan D.

Tuesday 25 September 2012

Presence or “Squatting Rights”



I have just finished reading the Book of Ezekiel and the last few chapters about the Temple has caught my attention.

For years and years I have being believing a lie from the enemy of God. Two and a half years ago this lie was exposed when I had an encounter with the Holy Spirit in church. You might want to sit down to read the next few lines. During our church meeting I was taken up (in spirit) into the clouds and met the Holy Spirit. Now my knowledge and awareness of the Holy Spirit has been minimal all these years, yet when I was taken into this encounter I knew instantly it was the Holy Spirit because I had just cried out “Spirit of Life I love you” and then I was taken (in spirit) into this encounter, awesome yes, but what’s better is today it’s more real than ever, as I have come to know the Holy Spirit much better since then. The fact that the Holy Spirit is a person, loves me (Romans 15:30), and desires fellowship with me (2 Corinthians 13:14) which I never knew has completely transformed my life.

Since this encounter the word “Presence” has been burning within me. It’s now captivating me, the Presence of God. God present with me. I have come to know the Presence of God - the Holy Spirit walking with me. I have been learning how to enter into His Presence, how easy it is to do so and I am learning more as I step in to the Holy Spirit day by day and I actually mean day by day. I have been reluctant to speak because so much has been changing, my beliefs have been turned up-side down and this has not been easy to adjust too. Answers to questions I asked did not satisfy me but only served to throw me onto the Holy Spirit for greater understanding. As I read God’s word and began searching out these things I have been amazed by what God has been teaching me. Sometimes I might not fully grasp what the bible is saying or indeed what the Holy Spirit might say, but as I continue to battle for insight, Holy Spirit  just draws me in and fills my heart and reveals Himself as I seek. At times I come to a certain position on an issue only for God to challenge that position soon afterwards, it’s just so rewarding and encouraging, the process mouth-watering excitement.

In January this year a prophetic word was shared by Lionel in church along these lines “God has moved by grace and favour amongst us, but a day is coming of Presence and Power”. This word has not left me, it’s an amazing promise for us to take hold of, but we need to take hold of it.

We all know what squatting rights means (if a dwelling is empty and one gets in and takes up residence, eventually they receive rights). Now if the Holy Spirit were to speak those words to you, what would you think? For me it clicked instantly and maybe so because of what I experienced since becoming a believer. Being a Christian if your temple: 

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit" 1 Cor 6:19  

Is unoccupied then we may have given squatting rights to Gods enemy. You may argue that if you are a christian your temple is not unoccupied. I believe when you become a christian you receive the Holy Spirit into your inner person your spirit and not into your whole body. This partly explains why as a new christian you can struggle with sin in your body or indeed in your soul, indeed Paul talks of struggling with sin in the book of Romans. You can be a Christian and have the love of God and peace of God within your spirit but yet  emotionally you can desperately lack peace. This point has caused much debate which I don’t have time for here, I just wish to let you know my stand on this point. Our bodies (temples) when baptised with the Holy Spirit are filled with the Holy Spirit and therefore fully occupied. This is a daily process as we are commanded to be filled over and over again. Now why be filled again if we are already filled, why be filled again if you were filled when you became a christian and why were so many in the book of acts baptised in the Holy Spirit when they were already christians. How come everyone baptised with the Holy Spirit in the book of acts can give you a date and time when they received this second baptism. You owe it to yourself to search out the answer to this question.

Over the last two years I have become increasingly aware of the amount of pollution we tolerate in the name of entertainment (books, television viewing etc some of these items glorify the occult, death, crime etc). Please understand I am not judging here, I have come to learn that the Holy Spirit just like a dove takes instant flight at the sign of danger or trouble. When you become a christian your spirit is sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph1:13). Now it’s important to grasp a seal from God is indeed a seal, when the Holy Spirit takes flight, it’s the presence of God that takes flight. The Holy Spirit remains sealed in your spirit, you do not become a non-Christian.

 Matthew 12:43-45 we read about the man where an evil spirit came out of him:

"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order”

The spirit then returns:

 “And the final condition of that man is worse than the first”.

If the house (temple) is unoccupied we give evil spirits squatting rights and they will oppress us to stop the Holy Spirit being manifest in our being (Believe me I know of this personally – I believed and came into agreement with lies of the enemy and allowed his lies destroy me for years). We were designed by God to display his glory, designed by God to carry the full measure of His Spirit, this is our calling. God gives us the opportunity to fulfill our destiny, he does not force it on us, the choice is ours.

Many become Christians, but much less fulfill their calling or destiny. Many remain drinking milk as Paul says rather than eating meat; many fail to grow – Why? I don’t have your answer but I do mine. I became a Christian, great, but I stayed at the cross. I lived present-past (the cross 2000 years ago saved me), I clung to history and stayed at the cross (marvelous history though).

Today I live present-future (the cross saved me to live out of fullness of God (Presence) and change the future, one of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to bring the Kingdom of God on the earth). When I became a Christian Jesus came into my spirit (inner man) but I did not furnish my house, I emptied my house as Jesus cleaned it up but I did not fill it with the Spirit of God. God never wanted to be confined to just my spirit like in the Old Testament when he was confined to the Holy of Holies in the Temple. When Jesus died the veil was torn and the Spirit of God was no longer confined in the Holy of Holies. Baptism in the Holy Spirit is similar, the Spirit of God falls on our whole being so we can then shine like Moses did and radiate Gods glory.

In Ezekiel 44 we continue reading about Ezekiel’s vision and take up the vision at the outer gate to the sanctuary.

Verse 2 "This gate is to remain shut". It must not be opened; no one may enter through it. It is to remain shut because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it”.

When the Lord enters your temple we are told to shut the door and keep it shut, if the door is shut can squatters get in? When God comes into our body (temple) our spirit is filled with His glory. Ezekiel in the vision was told in three different ways to pay careful attention. Why? I would imagine the answer is ‘This is a really important point’. Here is the bit that’s important.

5 “Give attention to the entrance of the temple and all the exits of the sanctuary”.

If we watch what comes in and what goes out we learn much about the health of the temple (our life in Christ). If as commanded we keep the entrance shut what exits should give glory to God. The fact that Ezekiel was told to make sure the entrance remained closed means it is possible to open it and shut it as you so wish. Today we are given the choice to have our entrance opened or closed, but God tell us to keep it closed. Likewise we are told to keep being filled with the Holy Spirit, but just because we are told to do it does not meant we do, the choice is yours. Did you ever watch what leaves your temple, your words, actions, attitudes and testimony or indeed lack of these, if these items are not good, God is inviting you to come to him for a make-over.

We read in verse 7:

“In addition to all your other detestable practices, you brought foreigners uncircumcised in heart and flesh into my sanctuary, desecrating my temple”

What’s alarming to me here is though the Levites (the tribe set apart for service in the temple and for priesthood) did these things and had the entrance of the sanctuary open God left them in charge of the temple, but God only allowed them serve people, catch that – only served people.

Now the priests (verses 15-16) who faithfully carried out the duties when Israel went astray from God

"are to come near to minister before me. They alone are to enter my sanctuary; they alone are to come near my table to minister before me and perform my service”.

Note the difference, these ones get to minister unto God. These get to minister in His presence. This I know is the desire of each one of us who are true Christians (remember in New Testament times all Christians are priests). This type of service to God comes at a price, the price once you accept that Jesus paid the ultimate price on the cross for you is that you surrender to Christ which is impossible to do unless you are filled with the Spirit. You can not surrender without being filled (you can’t empty your temple without filling it else you will leave your entrance open and empty or lacking, if it’s not full / furnished it is open to other influences). A condition of being filled is to have clean hands and a pure heart else the Holy Spirit will not be at rest and remain. Unless you are hungry you won’t eat, without eating you become less and it’s also true in the spiritual realm, without eating you simply will not grow.

This vision of Ezekiel has so much truth for you and me (the temple of the Holy Spirit) today. It’s a great picture or comparison of religion and a faith built on presence, if we follow our idols (anything that takes a place before God in our life – the most obvious idol is the fear of man and thus relegating God in our life, or another putting materialism before God) we will miss out on His presence. If you are not in the Holy Spirit, I believe  you are in religion, you may be a Christian but still in the mould of religion and outside of presence and this is my belief of what Ezekiel was seeing.

Ezekiel 47 is a continuation of Ezekiel’s great vision but few of us see this chapter as an extension to what has gone before it, they are linked. This chapter shows you the what’s possible for every Christian, to live in the Presence or live in religion. The vision is - The river flowing from the temple. The river being symbolic of the Holy Spirit flowing out from the temple into the world. Our call is to be a blessing to the nations, when we flow with the river, we are a blessing to the nations. Without effort we produce fruit and healing in the nation. 

This is what we know of this vision. Most if not all of us miss what verse 11 speaks of:

"But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt". 

If we do not touch the river we will remain unfruitful and not bring forth life. Without the river (Holy Spirit) even though you may be a Christian there is no offspring, new life or fruit, you are living in religion. Believe me when I say for years I gave Satan’s crew squatting rights in my life, but in recent years the Holy Spirit has led me into that which Lionel spoke of in January, Presence.

In church we have just completed during the summer an excellent teaching series predominantly on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Can I challenge you to listen again to Fergus on Trinity Radio (or on iTunes) 17th June 2012 and Andy 24th June 2012 and Fergus again on the 2nd September 2012. 

In their messages they spoke of the Holy Spirit and how important, no, essential the Holy Spirit is for us. Can I go further than that? If you received this as teaching and just teaching you are little different than the Pharisees that learned the scriptures but refused to come into encounter. God’s word is only an invitation to an encounter with God. Without encounter, without the Holy Spirit the Bible is just a book. Please as you listen, act upon the invitation. When Moses saw the burning bush (Exodus 3), he “thought”..., then he acted and “went over”. It was only when he went over that God spoke to him. Can I tell you this is a “burning bush” moment right now, you can just pass comment on my blog and move on or “step in” and consider my words or those of Fergus and Andy. I challenge you to camp here until you have an encounter with God.  

Ask God to help you and teach you, ask God to release His Holy Spirit and invite Jesus to baptise you with the Holy Spirit and then welcome the Holy Spirit and ask Him to teach you (Ask our church leaders to lay hands on you to receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit).In the book of Acts, everyone who was baptized with the Holy Spirit can point to a date, a time in history when this amazing promise of God was received by them…when did you receive this same promise. I am sorry for being so blunt here, but I promise you if you seek this promise and surrender to Him you will receive it.

The Holy Spirit, He and He only will know and tell you what needs changing and how to make those changes, He is the one that leads us into ALL TRUTH. I could keep going on but I know the Holy Spirit holds your solution. Be blessed on this your amazing treasure hunt. The Holy Spirit will unearth for you all your greatest dreams, wishes, wants and desires. He and He only knows what is best for you and He never gets it wrong.

Read Rogers words in the blog posted on 10th September. I encourage you to want like Roger. What Roger speaks about is the most precious gift, The gift of the Holy Spirit, the actual person of the Holy Spirit. This is PRESENCE. Allow Fergus and Andy’s words transform your life. Believe me it’s too easy to miss what’s on offer here. Grasp your “burning bush” moment, just grasp it.

If you are hungry – just eat.

Declan D.

Monday 10 September 2012

The Tattered Feather In The Old Church

Recently, I was at a funeral. The venue was in an old church that had probably been built 200years ago or more. It was very grand inside.

 The windows had stained glass in them and were lit up by the sunlight coming through them. The craftsmanship inside the church was exceptional and had me wondering how some of the masonry was both placed and carved to create some very intricate decor.

 Sometime in the past, somebody cared enough to build a church with the intention of God being worshipped in it for many centuries to come.

Parts of the church had been modernised of course, the priest now speaks into a microphone and there's even a facility for those who are hard of hearing to be included in the message.

As I stood, knelt and sat throughout the service, I was saddened by what I was witnessing, or to be more precise, not witnessing.

There was no passion in the building. It was as if it had been built a long time ago as a place of worship but had now become a place of regular attendance for a few people from an older generation.

During the service, there were some fantastic words spoken, yet the impact of them was lost on many. The Prayer that Jesus taught us in Matthew 6, known to many of us as The Lord's Prayer, where He teaches us to invite Heaven to become a reality on earth was just recited with no realisation that we were seeking a radical change in our circumstances by just saying it.

However, I've said enough about the negative side. Let's see what there is to learn through this.

Over the past number of years there have been things happening in various places around the globe that don't fit into our traditional idea of who or even what God is.

I remember hearing a story in Sunday school around 30 years ago, where there was a young boy in a village in Africa who needed to take a test in his school but wasn't allowed as he didn't have a pencil. He was upset at being left out and went outside the school room with his sheet of paper. He had heard about God providing and that 'Jehovah Jireh' was one of His names so as he sat there in the dirt, he started to pray for a pencil.
As he prayed, he rolled his sheet of paper in his hands and then suddenly realised that it was firm. He unrolled it to see a sharpened pencil inside!

Imagine the joy on this boy's face, and the reaction of his teacher when he arrived back in the classroom with his pencil!

His teacher wondered where he had managed to get a pencil, never mind one so fine and the boy replied "The Impossible God gave it to me!"

That story has stuck in my mind since I heard it. I've longed to meet the Impossible God and see Him act like this in me, and I'm delighted to say, that looking back, He has been doing impossible things in my life all along.

But I was talking about being at a funeral, in a church that seemed to be lacking something, and that something was the incredible life of Jesus Christ.
In fact, I could even say that Jesus had obviously left the building, after all, Stephen witnessed to this in Acts 7 in verses 55 and 56, just before he was stoned for blasphemy:

55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

But here's the thing: Stephen, had what we have, he had what Jesus gave us.

Stephen, "being full of the Holy Spirit" knew who he was and what he possessed was far greater than anything on earth. He had a boldness and a relationship with the Lord that was so great, he saw visions of Heaven.

You see, Jesus had left the building, but He promised that He was going to send a Helper when He was speaking in John 14:

“If you love Me, keep  My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

This is what excited me in that old church!
I mentioned earlier things that have happened around the globe when God has moved or started moving in and among people. One of these things was that people noticed feathers appearing, before revivals broke out or during meetings where the Holy Spirit was moving.

And this is what excited me. During one of the kneeling times in this service, I noticed in the corner of the pew, a tattered, old feather, just caught there in some dust.
I don't think it was a feather that just appeared from Heaven (it had the appearance of one that had been removed from a pigeon, possibly by a cat), but as is the nature of our God, He can speak to us in many ways.

He reminded me that even though I thought Jesus had left the building, the Holy Spirit was very much still there. Even though I didn't see any signs of revival, The Holy Spirit was very much still there.

Psalm 139 which David wrote says:

 "7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me." 

Jesus ascended into Heaven and He sent us the One who is called the Helper, The One who David said is everywhere!

The Holy Spirit is everywhere, just waiting to be discovered by us.
He is the unnoticed visitor in too many places,
He is the unseen friend in too many rooms,
He is the unheard voice in too many conversations,
He is the unrecognized person in too many crowds,
Yet He is always there.

There's a phrase that is often heard in Christian circles "The presence of the Lord was really there" and on the face of it, this might seem a bit daft, after all, if the Holy Spirit is everywhere, then surely you can't notice His presence more in one place than another?

I don't think so: Even though He is everywhere, we need to learn to find Him. One way of describing it is like smelling a rose, the closer you are to a rose, the more you are aware of it's fragrance. This is how it is with the Holy Spirit.
As we get closer to Him, we recognise His fragrance and learn to move where He is moving.

I don't want to miss out on what God has for me. He sent His Son to die for me, to give me Life, and then He sent me His Helper to help me live a life that will glorify Him.

I want to be someone who glorifies God in all I do. I want to be someone who learns the fragrance of the Holy Spirit wherever I go. I want to be someone who moves with the Holy Spirit wherever He decides go move, to be a sail that is blown in whatever direction He pleases.

I want to be one who not only recognises that the Holy Spirit is there, but is willing to do whatever He asks me to do.

Especially if it's in an old church that's got beautiful stained glass windows.

Roger C.