Wednesday Night Prayer Summary, 11/3

Matthew 5:3

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

BLESSED are the POOR in spirit...what is it to be poor? It is to be needy, to be desperate, to be hungry for something more. How consistently are we desperate for more of the Holy Spirit, or needy of time with Him? There is NO shame in admitting that you haven't been that way, or are only desperate for him when things are hard. The Lord really wants us, and wants us to want Him more-ALL the time! We have this sweet promise to stand on--that we are BLESSED when we are poor in spirit, and we RECEIVE the KINGDOM of heaven as we are desperate for Him. Go for it! He is worthy!

Listen to Iain's Sermons from Scotland!

Uploaded sermons from Dunfermline Link (in Scotland) can be listen to here in America! These can be accessed at sermon.net/linkchurch.

There are a few different ways to access the sermons:

• To just play a sermon, click on the sermon on the right hand side, then click the play button on the left hand side.
• To download the sermon as an MP3, click on "Sermon Player" near the top right, click on the sermon, then click on "MP3".
• To subscribe to the sermons as a podcast in iTunes, click on the icon just underneath "Sermon Player", then click on the icon to the left of "Audio". The URL to use for other podcast systems is http://sermon.net/rss/client/linkchurch/type/audio

Wednesday Night Prayer Summary, 10/27

Wednesday Night Prayer Summary

We started the evening reading from 2 Chronicles 6:14-42, and 7:1-4. In verses 6:-14-42 Solomon is crying out to the Lord, and in 7:1-4 the Lord answers him. It was such a reminder that the Lord is FAITHFUL to hear our prayers and to come and dwell with us. We spent a lot of time talking about intimacy--everything begins and ends in it. What we do, our relationship with the Lord, our relationships with others...it must begin-from, and flow from intimacy. Jesus, when He came to earth showed us how to be perfectly intimate with the Father. It takes time, and commitment to be intimate with Him. Fortunately, he is GOOD. We have to picture Him as who He is--not someone who will burn us, abandon us, or grow weary of us. He is FOR you. He cannot forsake or leave you. And He is eager to be in relationship with you.

If we say "intimate" too often it can become a buzz-word that we don't understand. John asked us to define in one word what intimacy is. Just one--not a phrase, not a definition, one word. Some words people gave were--TIME. LOVE. KNOWING. THEIR. PRESENT. TRUST. EXCITING. ADVENTURE.

What word would you use?

Women's Conference Image Recap

Wednesday Night Prayer Summary, October 13

Wednesday, October 13 Wednesday Night Prayer Summary

Therefore,

if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above,

where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Colossians 3:1

And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony,

and they did not love their life even when faced with death. Revelation 12:11

We have been raised up with Jesus. When we are hit with distractions, attacks, discouragement, or anything to that effect, it is ESSENTIAL that we turn our focus onto the Lord. Simply put, we have to turn our thoughts and our attention to Him.

Our focus needs to be on who He is and what He has done (our testimony). Do not focus on what hasn't happened yet. Remember Jesus' faithfulness and what He has done. He is unchanging. He will ALWAYS be for you, be faithful, never leave you, and love you.

After sharing the above, the group spent time in prayer for one another. John & Cindy confidently stood on their testimonies that they have of the Lord providing for them to pray boldly for provision for others.

Remember, you are always MORE than welcome to come, fellowship, and pray! Penny's at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays.

What Kelli sang tonight,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-UDWk6e_aE

John G. Elliott Devotional, 10/10/10

A Resting Place for God, John G. Elliott

“Arise, O Lord, and come to Your resting place. . .” (Psalm 132:8)

God rests. An amazing thing to consider. He rested on the seventh day after six days of creative activity. How delightful and deeply satisfying that first Sabbath must have been for Him. The world was beautiful. Every detail was completed in perfection. The man He created was in complete harmony with Himself. Their dialog that day was manifestly meaningful and full of purpose. No sin had tarnished the man or the paradise. With a great sigh of satisfaction the whole endeavor was announced very good.

Adam was created not only with a soul (a mind, volitional ability and emotion) but also with a significant dimension which distinguished him from all the animals: Adam had a spirit. This innermost component was literally God’s dwelling place. It is accurate to say that the human spirit was always intended to be His resting place- - -the place of divine convergence and habitation.

At the moment of sin this spirit was snuffed out in the garden- - -the greatest tragedy in all human history. “In the day you eat of it. . .you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17). The death occurred instantly---the spirit died. The body began the death process of decay which would take some time before returning to the elements. The soul, being indestructible, lived on but was subject to moral erosion due to the loss of its most vital organ: the spirit, where God had formerly dwelt in unadulterated nearness.

Mankind languished as a result. Most humans, from the beginning until the present, have never understood what was lost. Consequently, should it surprise us that so few have little appreciation or attention directed toward what can be saved!

The new birth is the lighting of the internal human candle that had been snuffed out. To be born again is a radical reality. With proper care, the person thus saved can foster that candle into a blazing torch of spiritual power. Such an atmosphere is a delightful resting place for the Almighty Whose very throne room is cascaded in brilliant color and unapproachable light (see Revelation 4 & 5 and I Timothy 6:16).

Our present natural body is of the old order of things but has the potential of housing the most glorious of eternal things- - -a whole new order of life- - -eternal life.

Psalm 132 described the physical realities of the ark and temple built on a plot of real estate in Jerusalem. The Holy of Holies within the temple precincts was a picture of His ultimate resting place- - -a snapshot - - -a shadow of a greater reality which was the throne room within you; the temple of the Holy Spirit; all in good time elegantly restored (saved).

Devotional from Francis Frangipane

Love Me Where You're At
by Francis Frangipane

I have discovered that, as we seek the Lord, our most difficult periods can be transformed into wonderful breakthroughs into God's love. For me, one such season occurred during the years 1979 to1981. The association of churches with which I was aligned had fallen under spiritual deception. Not only were its core doctrines increasingly seeded with New Age influences, but immorality crept in, and key leaders began leaving their wives for other women. I could no longer remain silent. As a result, in 1979 I left my congregation in Detroit, Michigan, where I had served as pastor, and traveled to the organization's regional headquarters in Iowa. I came to plead for repentance. However, after meeting with the senior leaders, I was asked to leave the group.

So here we were – we had left our church, we had no money, and we had four little children; we couldn't even afford basic housing. Desperate for anything, we finally found an old farmhouse in rural Washington, Iowa. The home was over a hundred years old, but it actually looked much older. After negotiating with the landlord, we were given a year of free rent provided I did basic repairs to the house, such as cleaning and painting.

Even so, the house needed more than I could provide. The furnace did not work well, so we installed a wood burner stove in the kitchen. That first winter, it turned out, was one of the coldest in Iowa's history. Frost formed on the inside walls, spreading a foot or two around each window; wind chills dropped to 60 below, and even colder on several occasions.

To keep warm each night, the whole family cuddled tightly on one large mattress on the dining room floor, about 18 feet from the wood burner in the kitchen. A fan behind the stove nudged warm air in our direction. My nightly project, of course, was to build enough heat in the stove to keep us warm until morning.

While I worked the fire, I also would pray and seek God. The wood burner became a kind of altar to me, for each night as I prayed, I offered to God my unfulfilled dreams and the pain of my spiritual isolation. Yes, I knew the Lord was aware of our situation. Though we had virtually nothing, He showed Himself to us in dozens of little ways. I just didn't know what He wanted of me.

As the seasons came and went, another child was born, and then we fostered a young girl from Vietnam, giving us six children. Still, as the family grew, the little area around the wood burner became a hallowed place to me. Even in the summer, I would sit on the chair next to the stove and pray and worship.

I would like to say I found the joy of the Lord during this time, but in truth, though I gradually adjusted to my situation, I felt an abiding misery in my soul. Our deep poverty was an issue (I barely made $6,000 a year), but more than that, I felt like I had missed the Lord. My continual prayer was, "Lord, what do You want of me?"

Three years of seeking God passed, and I still carried an emptiness inside. What was God's will for me? I had started a couple Bible studies and spoken a few times in churches, but I so identified with being a pastor that, until I was engaged again in full-time ministry, I feared I had lost touch with God's call on my life.

In spite of this inner emptiness concerning ministry, I actually was growing spiritually, especially in areas that were previously untilled. I went through the Gospels, hungry to study and obey the words of Christ. Previously, I had unconsciously defined a successful ministry as something born of my performance. During this time, however, the Lord reduced me to simply being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Indeed, a number of things I thought were biblical I discovered were really just religious traditions. The Lord desired that I take inventory of my heart and examine those few truths for which I would be willing to die. He said the truths for which I would die, for these I should live.

Frankly, things like the timing of the rapture or nuances about worship style or spiritual gifts dropped in their priority, though I still considered them important. Rising to the top of my focus was a passion to be a true follower of Jesus Christ – to obey His teachings and approach life not merely as a critic but more as an encourager. I also found myself increasingly free to enjoy and learn from Christians from other streams and perspectives.

Yet, these changes, though deep and lasting, occurred slowly, almost imperceptibly. They were happening quietly in my heart, and only in hindsight did I see what the Lord had done. Throughout this time, I was preoccupied with feelings of detachment from God's will. My prayer to know the Lord's plan for me continued daily.

The Breakthrough
One day, as I stood in the kitchen pantry, I repeated again my abiding prayer: "Lord, what do You want of me?" In a sudden flash of illumination, the Lord answered. Speaking directly to my heart, He said, "Love Me where you're at."

In this time and season, remember, I was not a pastor or minister. I was a television repairman doing odd jobs on the side to provide for my family. I hated what I was doing. In my previous church I taught against TV and now I was "laying hands" on television sets and raising them from the dead! The Lord's answer cut straight to my heart. I was awed at its simplicity! I asked, "Love You where I am at? Lord, is that all You want of me?" To this He responded, "This is all I will ever require of you."

In that eternal moment peace flooded my soul and I was released from the false expectation of ministry-driven service. God was not looking at what I did for Him, but who I became to Him in love. The issue in His heart was not whether I pastored, but whether I loved Him. To love the Lord in whatever station I found myself – even as a television repairman – this I could do!

A deep and remarkable transformation occurred in me. My identity was no longer in being a pastor but rather in becoming a true lover of God. Having settled my priorities, amazingly, just a couple days later I was invited to pastor a church in Marion, Iowa. In spite of all my previous anxiety about returning to ministry, I did not jump at the opportunity. For I had found what the Lord truly desired of me. Though I eventually accepted this call, my focus was not merely on leading a church but on loving God.

What God Seeks
More than one's ministry, God seeks our love. His great commandment is that we love Him, ultimately, with all our mind, all our heart, and all our soul and strength. If we love Him, we will fulfill all He requires of us (John 14:15). And it is as we love Him that He orchestrates all things to work together for our good (Rom. 8:28).

Beloved, loving God is not hard. We can fulfill any assignment – auto mechanic or housewife, doctor or college student – and still give great pleasure to our heavenly Father. We do not need ministry titles to love the Lord. Indeed, God measures the value of our lives by the depth of our love. This is what He requires of every true God-seeker: to love Him where we are at.

Lord Jesus, the revelation of Your love has swept me off my feet. Lord, You have drawn me and I run after You. Master, even in the mundane things of life, I shall express my love for You. Consume me in Your love.