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.

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.

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) 17^th June 2012 and Andy 24^th June 2012 and Fergus again on the 2^nd 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 10^th 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.

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.

The Providence of God

You may not know but our blogs are read in over 50 different countries around the world, so I want to share with you a little of what God is doing in me and my family, Trinity Church Network, Dublin, Ireland.

Our Sunday morning expression of the love of God and our love for God has been amazing this past year. Our fellowship has being going through a difficult time this past two years or more but I find it so amazing and special to behold what God is doing in our midst. From one that did not enjoy yet attended our church so regularly over the last 20 years in particular I find myself in awe of God today and longing for what He is doing amongst us in these days. To hear our speaker thank all for contributing to our service yesterday was a treat to my heart and my spirit became one with Andy’s words, our morning was beautiful. Many more could have shared on the morning and indeed one has already shared by email afterward.

I wanted to share a verse about Hezekiah but time did not allow for it, so I will share it now and fill in what God is speaking into me in these momentous days. Our speaker spoke for a short time on Paul and Silas in Acts 16, about working with the Holy Spirit and seeing whole families restored in relationship with God. It was so short the message but punched way above its weight, it was powerful. God did amazing things because two men were obedient. What I wanted to share was similar to what our speaker shared and this really encouraged me.

Hezekiah had called the people of Israel to celebrate the Passover “out of season” because a sufficient number of priests had not consecrated themselves, nor had the people gathered together at Jerusalem. A Passover had not been celebrated for some time as the people’s hearts were away from God. As Hezekiah’s messenger called the people to attend many laughed and did not come, yet others came. Taking up the story in 2 Chronicles 30:17-20 we read:

“17 Since many in the crowd had not consecrated themselves, the Levites had to kill the Passover lambs for all those who were not ceremonially clean and could not consecrate [their lambs] to the LORD. 18 Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May the LORD, who is good, pardon everyone 19 who sets his heart on seeking God--the LORD, the God of his fathers--even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary." 20 And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people”. NIV

Not only had Hezekiah “broken the rules” so to speak with the timing of the feast, but he dared to ask the Lord to pardon the people as they were not ceremonially clean to participate in the feast, and he believed in his God and knew and spoke pardon over the people again “breaking the rules” and declared that all those who set their hearts on seeking the Lord would be healed. Yes the Lord responded to his prayer and pardoned those who sought the Lord. That which was opposed to the people was broken off by one man Hezekiah, his faith in God and the boldness of his words. Hezekiah stepped into the prompting of the Spirit of the Lord and caused the Lord to break the chains off his people.

Hezekiah stepped in just as we heard Paul and Silas stepped into the Holy Spirits promptings in Acts 16 as we heard yesterday. All who attended our meeting yesterday and any of our church meetings are like the ones who set their hearts on seeking God. Jesus has pardoned each of us and it does not matter what rules we have broken or how unprepared we are to encounter God, if we seek Him the pardon of Jesus is applied to our life and healing is the response of God.

A few weeks back I spoke out one Sunday morning, when Moses obeyed God and made the Tent of Meetings, when it was finished the cloud of God’s presence came and occupied and filled the tent. The same was true for Solomon, he built the Temple of the Lord and when it was finished the cloud of God’s presence came and occupied and filled the temple. I then said when Jesus cried out on the cross it is finished, the Temple curtain tore in two and that Jesus make the way open for the cloud of God’s presence to come and fill the hearts of believers which is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Afterward God spoke with me about all the “unoccupied temples” walking the streets of our city, those made by God and in His image, just like you and me, the only difference being that they have not received the Spirit of God.

Their physical tent/temple, their body is made and they await the infilling of the Holy Spirit. When Hezekiah stepped into the prompting of the Holy Spirit he needed to believe that God would back up his words and come and pardon the people. We know Jesus has pardoned the whole world by dying on the cross, but most of us don’t step into the prompting of the Holy Spirit all the time and enable the Lord release his healing presence.

I was asked by a friend yesterday why I started painting prophetic pictures and teaching the children to paint prophetic pictures. I answered over 2 years ago God prompted me and then two people challenged me within a few days to paint and they mentioned the craftsmen in Exodus 31. I have just read that scripture and I have been struck with the provision of God. In the few chapters preceding Exodus 31, we see a list of commands that God gave Moses to build the Tent of Meetings, its furniture and furnishings. The list is extensive and exceedingly detailed as was the list for Solomon’s Temple.

The verses that caught me are as follows:

“1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, 5 in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship.6 “And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you”  NIV

God provided the craftsman (and indeed an army of craftsmen), anointed him and filled him with the Spirit of God, to carry out the detailed command of God. Bezalel means the “shadow of God” and speaks of presence (Acts 5 tells us of the power in Peter’s shadow i.e. the power in the presence of God), is it any wonder God filled Bezalel with His Spirit, God completes his work; it’s what Bezalel’s name means .

The Spirit provided wisdom, ability, understanding, intelligence, knowledge and all kinds of craftsmanship. The Holy Spirit made it all work. The word craftsmanship means angel, messenger and ambassador and speaks of spiritual helps like as in Hebrews 1:14. The name Aholiab means “fathers tent” and Ahisamach means “my brother is support” The abundance of Gods provision for Moses who obediently fulfilled the command of God is just breath-taking, it oozes family and unity of the people of God all under the covering of the Father. These men were there, their parents having named them years earlier and God worked out in them the very desire their parents had put upon them, and used them in their time to be a blessing on the generations thereafter. Had Moses not obeyed, we may never have heard about these men.

Solomon inherited the works of their hands and placed these same furnishings in his Temple that was filled with the cloud of God’s presence. Not only did God give the command He provided the means to fulfil that same command. God completes His work. We are part of Gods project. We have a major role to play in God filling the “unoccupied” temples with His Holy Spirit. We are anointed and gifted to complete the task, we are called “Christians” meaning little Christ’s or “little anointed ones”. We are equipped with the ability, wisdom, revelation, knowledge and craftsmanship to co-operate with God and complete the “unoccupied temples” about us. In the book of Acts just look at the number of times people were Baptised with the Holy Spirit when the believers laid their hands on them. How many “unoccupied temples” are awaiting your hand be laid on them? So much of what God does is all about family and unity, we need relationship with our brothers, we need to be close enough to lay hands on each other.

Where am I going with this? I dare say I, and we can say and speak and cry out for our generation, churched, stumbling or un-churched people. I can ask my God or we can ask our God, the great I Am and believe in Him to come. To come encounter the people of our city and nation. I can say and you with me to our God, the creator and sustainer of all things on behalf of a people who are caught in an identity crisis, struggling in economic hardship, unemployment and a poverty mentality, to a nation whose finances are controlled by external nations, to a churched nation who have reacted to sexual revelations of the so called men of God in this land who have not personally encountered the Love of My God, a people who have disowned the God who created them and taken offence with God due to the actions and inaction of mere men as if it were God Himself who carried out these awful acts.

I ask, do you want to meet my God? If you want the Living God to come like a whirlwind into your whole being and fill you like he did Bezalel in the passage above or pardon you like the generation that Hezekiah’s words brought healing, or transform you completely like the first Christians on the day of Pentecost. If you really want this, if this is what you seek, if you are not sure about your identity or your god or about My God but you know you want more, I challenge you to seek my God and if you say yes and want more then get prepared now yourself to encounter the Living God, my prayer for you like the prayer of Hezekiah if you give me your permission to ask my God on your behalf, the only God who seeks out men is this:-


Jesus you have pardoned me (put your name here) 2000 years ago on the cross, on that Friday afternoon you paid the price and took my place and forgave me. Just as the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Life then raised you Jesus to life on that Sunday morning raise me (put your name here) today and bring me into an encounter with you that totally and completely transforms my life from this day on. I ask you God to stretch out your hand and I take hold of your hand and want to know your burning presence within me. Just as Hezekiah said all who set their hearts on seeking the Lord were healed, I say all who lift their hand to God will be healed, I ask you the living God to show yourself to me (put your name here) today and heal my life, body soul and spirit.

Like Hezekiah, I know the Lords answer and I declare over you that the Lord hears you and heals you this day and onward. The Lord rejoices over you with song and dance and feasts you with His daily bread. You are now the Temple of the Living God. The Glory cloud of God is now upon you (Christ in you the Hope of Glory (Colossians 1:27).

Just like when Moses, Solomon and Jesus completed their work, the presence of God in the Glory cloud fell and filled the Temple. I declare that the Holy One of God WILL FILL YOUR TEMPLE with His Glory Cloud the very Presence of the Holy Spirit. I DECLARE YOUR “UNOCCUPIED TEMPLE” IS NO LONGER UNOCCUPIED. As you fully hand over your Temple to God the Holy Spirit will transform you into His likeness. The Holy Spirit will fall on you more and more and you will in your life display and demonstrate the Glory of God to mankind. The Holy Spirit will work out in you the verse in 1 John 4:17 “because as He (Jesus) is, so are we in this world”.

There is no greater calling than to see Jesus manifest and demonstrated in you. This is the pinnacle of our destiny here on earth, this is your identity, and this is who you are. I have just come to realise this is who I am, it’s simply about becoming like him, the greatest honour I can offer God is to become like his son, this is my offering to God.

Does all this happen instantly? For most no, but hear these words if you have received the prayer above, God has placed His Spirit in you as a seed, This seed is for all of the above and MORE. You are a planting of the Lord. Every plant starts as a seed, becoming a tender shoot growing into a beautiful tree displaying the Glory of God. Believe me you are now a Glory carrier, and if you can’t believe me, believe it because God said so in His word.

You are destined for completion, step into it and be completed. If you don’t step you will never know. What have you to loose, try it, try Him, taste and see the Lord is good, believe me you will never look back. It’s the most amazing adventure available to man on earth.


Declan D

The Storm, The Saviour and the Sleep of Victory

Around 13 years ago, I was on my first Trans Atlantic flight, heading to Minneapolis on business. I had 2 travelling companions, one who had been to the US before, one who had never even left Ireland.
On the first leg of our journey, to Chicago's O'Hare Airport, the second companion was commenting how flying was good fun and how he had been told about turbulence beforehand, how bad it was supposed to be and that it was nothing to worry about.

Approximately an hour later, the pilot announced that there were storms ahead and that we were going to be in a holding pattern for another hour, delaying our landing. During that time, the plane pitched and rolled and dropped and rose. There was silence among the crew, the passengers and everyone was waiting for the flight to end as it was very uncomfortable.

This affected me for years after. I have flown on many long haul flights since, but have always taken travel sickness tablets (just in case) beforehand, I've been nervous flying and haven't particularly enjoyed it.

There weren't planes in the bible, but there were storms. The disciples seemed to get caught up in their fair share of them, usually when they were in the middle of a the sea of Galilee:

35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” Mark 4v35-41, NKJV

In this instance, Jesus told the disciples that they were going to cross over to the other side. He prophesied to them the outcome of their journey, so if they'd decided to hold onto the prophecy, they would have known that they were in God's hands.

This however, isn't what I want to discuss in the passage of scripture.

A number of years after my flight to Minnesota, we were due to go on another long haul flight. I was getting nervous beforehand, and on the Sunday before the flight, I got prayer from Gerry Butcher about it. He asked God to remove the fear and enable me to relax more as I flew.

The flight went well. I still took travel sickness tablets, but was less nervous than I had been, yet I stil hadn't conquered my fear. It wasn't the flying I was afraid of, it was the turbulence. I didn't like flying through a storm.

God has been changing me over the last few years, and I've seen Him do things in my life that I've only noticed a while after they happened. Part of what He's been doing in me, is teaching me that it's ok to trust in Him.
In fact, it benefits me most when I learn to trust Him completely.

Last month, I went on another Trans Atlantic flight, which was followed up by an internal flight that was about 2 1/2 hrs long.
The first flight was fine. In the days leading up to the flight, I'd noticed that I wasn't nervous. I decided not to take travel sickness tablets or anything like them. It was a step of faith by me that I was willing to take and I was happy with the decision.

We boarded our connecting flight and were told immediately that there would be no in flight service due to the weather that we were going to fly through. I briefly thought about it but wasn't worried. I had decided to trust in God, so knew I'd be fine.
During the flight, there was quite a lot of turbulence, so much that the cabin crew stayed seated for the entire flight and kept their belts on.

About an hour into the flight, I fell asleep, and stayed asleep for approximately 25 minutes.
When I woke, My first thought wasn't about my flight, or my nap I'd had, it was about Jesus in Mark 4.
Jesus lived in a place of constant victory. He let nothing overcome Him and set the perfect example of how to be a Man on earth.
Jesus was able to sleep through the storm on the lake, something that I found myself doing for the first time on a plane in a storm.

So what's so significant about that?

When you can sleep through your storm, you have victory over it. I woke knowing that I'd moved into a new place of victory, something that had bothered me for 13 years no longer had a hold over me. Jesus had demonstrated to me how to be victorious in rest. This is why He was able to wake up and command the storm to be calm. It had no authority over Him, so it didn't worry Him.
He knew they were going to reach the other side of the lake, He spoke it before they left.
The disciples thought they were perishing, Jesus showed them how to have victory.

We often get distracted by what's going on around us, and let the circumstances get the better of us. I did this and ended up with something over me for 13 years that I shouldn't have allowed take hold in the first place.
If there's anything in your life that represents a storm that has a hold over you, give it to Jesus and ask Him to show you the victory that He's already won for you in that storm. Then trust Him and watch how the victory becomes a reality in your life.


Roger C.

The Heartbeat of Heaven

Over the last few weeks there have been a number of instances of the phrase 'The Heartbeat of God' coming up in different meetings.
During our last cell meeting in the west side of the city, we were privileged to be led in worship by Yvonne.

One of the songs that she decided to lead us in was the Jesus Culture song, 'Let it Rain'. She kept going back to this song over and over again while we were worshipping and using it to lead us into a deeper place with God.
As we worshipped, one phrase spoke to me deeply and it opened up a new place of revelation for me as to who God is and what our purpose is.

There's a line,

"Now the heartbeat of heaven, let us hear" which resonated with me.

I'd never thought about that line before but the amazing thing was that Yvonne mentioned during our time of sharing, that it was this line that drew her to the song for the night.
I go to the gym and there is a facility on most machines in the gym where I can check my heart rate, or my beats per minute.
At rest, my heart rate is somewhere around 65-68 beats per minute. When I'm exercising hardest, my heart rate peaks at over 192 beats per minute, almost 3 times as much.

My heart rate beats at a speed that is relevant to the function that is required of it.

This is something we begin to experience when we spend time with Jesus. The better we get to know Him, the better we begin to understand what He is doing, where He is moving.

Bill Johnson once spoke about a heart transplant, that the dead heart started to beat in unison with the good, alive heart. This is what happens with us when our hearts move closer to God. We begin to worship Him. We begin to understand Him. We begin to work with Him. We are ready to move faster when He moves and we are ready to sit in His presence when He wants us to rest with Him.

The desire for us to hear the heart beat of heaven is the desire to know God in a closer, more personal way.

God declared that David was a man after His own heart:

And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ Acts 13 v 22, NKJV

Why was David a man after God's own heart? He spent time learning who and what God is. He spent time on his own, worshipping God when he was a boy.

He invented a completely new way of worshipping God. Up until David, worship of God required people to sacrifice an animal. David wrote songs and sang to God. He danced before God and raised the bar for what worshipping God was like. He was the one who wrote the first Psalms and he was the one who decided to create a temple where God would be continuously worshipped, all because his heart was after God's.

David's new move all those years ago was so profound that it has impacted us in a way that it became the new norm for worship. We find it weird if there's no worship in a meeting! That has come about by a man who found the heartbeat of God and introduced us to a new way of worship.

So, here's the challenge. Are you willing to have a heart that moves in unison with God's?
Do you want to worship Him like David?
Are you going to raise the bar so that God can say "This person has a heart like mine"?

Learn to hear the heartbeat of heaven and you will be astonished by what God reveals to you.


Roger C.