prayer school - ask of me

Psalms 2:7-8 – I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to me, You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of me and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.

We are sons of God. Part of the inheritance given to us through Jesus is the nations.

John 17:20 – I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word

Jesus prayed for the disciples and the impact they were going to have upon the world through the preaching of the word, and the empowering by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:14-15 - For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, We are joint heirs…

Acts 1:8 - But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.

We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to make disciples throughout the earth.

Ephesians 6:19 - And [pray] also for me, that [freedom of] utterance may be given me, that I may open my mouth to proclaim boldly the mystery of the good news (the Gospel),

Paul was very aware of his calling and his dependence upon the power of God to fulfill his calling.

Romans 10:14-17 - But how are people to call upon Him Whom they have not believed [in Whom they have no faith, on Whom they have no reliance]? And how are they to believe in Him [adhere to, trust in, and rely upon Him] of Whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? And how can men [be expected to] preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings! [How welcome is the coming of those who preach the good news of His good things!] But they have not all heeded the Gospel; for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed (had faith in) what he has heard from us? So faith comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the preaching [of the message that came from the lips] of Christ (the Messiah Himself).

Matthew 9:37-38 - Then He said to His disciples, The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few. So pray to the Lord of the harvest to force out and thrust laborers into His harvest.

Ekballo – forcefully eject; Not apostello – send forth

But God does not force us. It is with His persuasive love that He moves His people into the harvest field.

prayer school 21072011

Taught on using the Word of God in prayer.

• "The only way we can get acquainted with God is through the Word" - Kenneth E Hagin
• Shared two prayer tips from George Mueller (using the bible to pray - finds a promise, pleads that promise, receives what he asks; and how through meditation on scripture, he was more able to experience a meaningful prayer time)
• Not considering feelings or situations (Romans 4:19) but Jesus (Hebrews 12:3)
  
• Isaiah 55:9-11 - Speaking forth God's word which will not return to Him void...
• Students prayed for 15 minutes using Philippians 1:9-11 and also prayers taught (from Eph) by other instructors

prayer tips from george mueller

Two "Prayer Tips" from George Müller:
(from http://www.prayerfoundation.org/prayer_tips_george_mueller.htm)

1. Open Bible Before Him, and His Finger Upon That Promise, He would Plead That Promise, and So He Received What He Asked

One of the mightiest men of prayer of the last generation was George Mueller of Bristol, England, who in the last sixty years of his life (he lived to be ninety-two or ninety-three) obtained the English equivalent of $7,200,000.00 by prayer. But George Mueller never prayed for a thing just because he wanted it, or even just because he felt it was greatly needed for God's work. When it was laid upon George Mueller's heart to pray for anything, he would search the Scriptures to find if there was some promise that covered the case. Sometimes he would search the scriptures for days before he presented his petition to God. And then when he found the promise, with his open Bible before him, and his finger upon that promise, he would plead that promise, and so he received what he asked. He always prayed with an open Bible before him.

-R. A. Torrey on George Müller; "The Power of Prayer," 1924 (P. 81)

2. Müller's Discovery Was That After Meditating On Scripture He Was More Able to Experience a Meaningful Prayertime

"Reading without meditation is unfruitful; meditation without reading is hurtful; to meditate and to read without prayer upon both is without blessing."

-William Bridge, Puritan Writer

Christian meditation (thinking deeply on Scripture) is "the missing link between Bible intake and prayer." If there was a "secret" to George Müller's prayer life, it was his discovery of the connection between meditation and prayer. Müller's discovery was that after meditating on Scripture he was more able to experience a meaningful prayertime.

-Donald S. Whitney, "Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life" (partial quote and partial paraphrase).

the secret of george mueller's power in prayer

God then began to show me that the word of God alone is our standard of judgment in spiritual things...

a modern paraphrase of john wesley's journal entries

Heard this in a recent message. Just had to post it.

The paraphrased journal entries below display John Wesley's perseverance and determination in the face of persecution and rejection:

Sunday a.m., May 5 -Preached in St. Ann's; was asked not to come back any more.
Sunday p.m., May 5- Preached at St. John's; deacons said, 'Get out and stay out.'
Sunday a.m., May 12 -Preached at St. Jude's; can't go back there either.
Sunday p.m., May 12-Preached at St. George's; kicked out again.
Sunday a.m., May 19- Preached at St. Somebody Else's; deacons called a special meeting and said I couldn't return.
Sunday p.m., May 19-Preached on the street; kicked off the street.
Sunday a.m., May 26- Preached out in a meadow; chased out of meadow when a bull was turned loose during the service.
Sunday a.m., June 2-Preached out at the edge of town; police moved me.
Sunday p.m., June 2-Afternoon service, preached in pasture; 10,000 people came.

Praise the Lord!

"We are fools for Christ's sake..."(1 Cor 4:10)

"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." (1 Cor 15:57-58)

church camp in jb in june

We taught and ministered at a church camp in JB last week. The topic was Joy in the Presence of God.

Throughout the camp, we were amazed by God's presence. It was a joy to teach and minister to hungry hearts - as they opened their mouths wide, God filled them (Psalms 81:10).

One person prayed to receive Jesus, and five people were baptised in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in new tongues. A lady was instantly filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke with new tongues just by waiting on the Lord as part of corporate worship (she testified later that this was her heart's desire - to be filled and speak in tongues).

The Lord imparted His joy to the campers - spontaneous joy and laughter were evident as they experienced that the joy of the Lord is their strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

The Lord also ministered healing at the camp - many were healed of aches and pains in their necks, backs, shoulders, feet, etc., and of flu and stomach upset.

The Gifts of the Spirit were in operation during ministry time as words were released to encourage, exhort and edify the campers. People were refreshed and set free from oppression/ depression as they experienced God's love, joy and power during this camp.

Praise God that He is faithful and confirmed His Word with signs following (Mark 16:20). All glory be to Him!

dreams three (19 june 2011)

I dreamt that i was travelling to a place, and was in a conference in that vehicle (probably a ship, but not shown in the dream). As i entered the conference room, i just saw sheaves of wheat on the seats, ready for the harvest. They were very light golden colour, almost white, and moving slightly. I was amazed by the sheaves, but as i looked closer at a few of them, i realised that they were like crackers with the tops like wheat.

I left the room to a smaller adjoining room, where hubby was seated and there was a red umbrella beside him - used and wet. A lady was talking to him, and as i approached, she decided to give that umbrella to him, saying that they had two similar ones. The umbrella had 4 words printed ( i remember three of the words 福禄寿. The fourth is probably 喜 or 康). She was also thanking Oon for the ministering to her and her husband.

I showed Oon the three crackers with the wheat tops from the conference room, and these transformed into something shaped like umbrellas with wheat coming from the tops of the umbrellas. We chose two to bring back.

When i returned to the first conference room, many of the seats had the wheat (umbrellas or crackers?) removed by different people in the room. I put one back.

dreams two (15 June 2011)

i dreamt that my dad and my youngest brother were at my place, fixing and tidying some stuff.

Then mum came to visit, and i was surprised to see her ( i'm not sure why i was not surprised to see my dad as they are both in England at the moment). She said they came back on 13/6 instead of 23/6, so we talked and i needed to change so we shut the bedroom door.

Suddenly, my aunt appeared at the bathroom door and called me. It was such a surprise. She had come to visit me with another aunt and they brought a cake.

I woke up.

dreams one (15 June 2011)

I dreamt that i was teaching the word of God to a group of people in a room.

Then i started singing about Jesus, the melody is somewhat familiar, the words are just Jesus (over and over). As i sang, i began to show some of them how to sing in the spirit/flow in the spirit. (Later i critiqued myself and was aware that i had spent a little too much time on showing them how to sing).

The Holy Spirit then led me to pray for people specifically for healing of bodies.

Quote from John Wesley

The Rev. John Wesley, M.A., preacher, author, teacher and reformer, whose name is treasured in the hearts of believers ever since the Great Revival, would be a competent judge as to whether the miraculous gifts should be in the church today.

This is what he says:

"It does not appear that these extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were common in the church for more than two or three centuries. We seldom hear of them after that fatal period when the Emperor Constantine called himself a Christian, and from a vain imagination of promoting the Christian cause, thereby heaped riches and power and honour upon the Christians in general, but in particular upon Christian clergy.

From this time, they almost totally ceased; very few instances of the kind being found. The cause of this was not, as has been vulgarly supposed, because there is no more occasion for them because all the world were become Christian. This is a miserable mistake, not a twentieth part of it was then nominally Christian.

The real cause was: the love of many, almost all Christians, so-called, was waxed cold. The Christians had no more of the Spirit of Christ than the other heathen; the Son of Man when He came to examine His Church could hardly find faith. This was the real cause why the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were no longer to be found in the Christian Church; because the Christians were turned heathen again, and had only a dead form left ...

The grand reason why the miraculous gifts were so soon withdrawn was not that faith and holiness were well nigh lost, but that dry, formal, orthodox men began even then to ridicule whatever gifts they had not themselves, and to decry them all as either madness or impostures."