Eternity Is Reality

Mark 10:21,24, and 25. (The rich young ruler) How hard would it be if we were the guy the Lord told to sell everything!?!? Let’s personalize the Gospel and not escape the tough question, and say “we are saved by faith”. Let us examine our faith. Would we sell all? Your first answer is YES! However consider the question. It is tougher than we think. I submit to you, that most of us are in the category of the seed that was sown amongst the thorns. We unknowingly let the cares of everyday life choke out the Word. The world system has an amazing pull on us. Have you ever found yourself being to “busy” to read the Bible and to truly fellowship with the Holy Spirit? Take a moment to reflect. How will we die for something, if we can’t even live for it?

Lastly, do we take care of the poor? Or do we say they are lazy and foolish. Then we buy ourselves a High Definition Television and a Playstation 3 to feed our dull soul. How hard is it for a rich man to enter the Kingdom? ……..

If you live in the U.S.A you are richer than 90% of the world’s population. How much is enough?

The Pharisees were the most devout Jews alive when Jesus appeared. They had a mixture of true Judaism and a religion of traditions. They were extremely devout, but had their religious pride blind them to truth. They had everything figured out. They knew the scriptures inside and out, and had all the external realities of godliness. There was no room for Jesus to be who He truly was. They were expecting The Messiah to set up an earthly kingdom and to reign on the earth. They couldn’t conceive that the prophets spoke of 2 comings of Christ. They couldn’t see through the paradigm they created for themselves. Either they were wrong or God was. Since they were so well versed in scripture, and could point out false teachers and doctrine, it couldn’t possibly be them who were wrong. If we look at many of the Old Testament prophecies, I too could have missed His first coming. If you were honest with yourself, and took time to reflect on it, you would agree.

I see many in the Body of Christ today who are rehearsed in their doctrine, and fixed on seeing through the paradigm they have created. They are unteachable. Anyone who disagrees with them is wrong and guilty of corrupting Christianity. Yet these people have no life to give. They promote paranoia. They can’t glean from other streams in the Body. They tend to promote their books and resources, most of which have nothing to do with growing in our relationship with God, but helps indentify what is wrong with certain teaching. Pure doctrine is an honorable goal, however these pseudo-theologians barely have a surface understanding of Scripture or church history. They take quotes and edit them to make the target of their slander seem foolish. They come off as very knowledgeable, but rely on the listeners’ ignorance of Church history and scripture. Satan is described as the accuser of the brethren. Could it be that when we talk about our brothers and sisters in a negative way that we are agreeing with the enemy, and in a sense partnering with him in his work? I ask for grace to bless my brothers and sisters and not to curse them. I commit to really pray for them. God help me to expose false teaching, but not to slander Your annointed ones. (every believer is annointed!)

Acts 1:1-8. (a dead man eating with friends) One of IHOP’s main themes is the end of the age. Their view is Post Tribulation, Pre Millenialism. The end times seems very unrealistic, however think about the Resurection of Christ, that God put on flesh and became a man to save humanity, that Jesus was born of a virgin, or that He can raise a dead person by speaking a word. Imagine a dead man walking around and eating with men (Acts 1) It has become trite and common to just take for granted and not to think as I muttered the foundational doctrines of Christianity. However upon meditating on the fact that Jesus really died and rose again. I have to ask myself do I REALLY BELIEVE it?!?! These thoughts are very offensive to the logical mind. The message of the Cross is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing. This belief is a gift from the Father. It can only be revealed by the Father to our spirit.

I am really asking the Lord to confirm what we are hearing by an encounter with Jesus or an angelic visitation. He is in the business of these things according to the Bible. He is more real than the breath I breathe. So He hears the desire of my heart. Lord I want to experience You. Not just hear and read stories ABOUT You. I want to go deeper!

Romans 11. Israel is still the apple of God’s eye. v.20 We must not be prideful, because we have faith. Help me to have real faith. Don’t let me deceive myself, and have a name that I’m alive, but be dead on the inside. God broke off the branches of Israel in the time of the Pharisees. One of the most religious periods in Israel. God wants things done His way. Not just 90%, but 100% obedience.

Are we in the church trapped in a state of imaginary grace? Wth the Reformation did we swing to far toward grace? Are we bound to a religion that requires nothing of us, that allows us to come to the Father of Glory like a heavenly santa claus?

Holli finished her Intro to IHOP on Wednesday. We had a party for the class, then I literally drove to my orientation. It is very hard to communicate exactly what is going on here. God is stiring a Global Prayer Movement, that is growing exponentially, and is about ready to explode onto the scene. Jesus prophesied that “My House will be a House of Prayer” I believe we are starting to scratch the surface of this reality. Many in Holli’s class will stay here in Kansas City to serve in the house of prayer here. Many will return to their hometown to begin one there. It is amazing to see so many, ready to do whatever it takes to make an impact and see The Son of Man glorified. I was pretty surprised at the number of families we have ran into that are similar to us, in the aspect of leaving material comfort, family, and great ministry opportunities, in search of what the Lord is really calling us into.

I would like to try to explain what my training will involve. This is quite different than a traditional Bible School or missionary function. We receive a lot of Theological training, and a lot of ministry opportunities, however there is a real emphasis on taking what we have learned, and depositing it into our heart. It is designed to fuel our prayer life with truths of God’s Word, so that it becomes alive in our hearts, not just a history book about what God used to do. We are required to be in the prayer room 24 hours per week, on top of any homework, classes, or practicums. Our prayers become so much more effective when we are connected with God’s heart and His desire in prayer, rather than focusing solely on our own needs and surface prayers. (Not that the Lord doesn’t care about our needs! Matthew 6:33)

Now for Orientation. On the second day we went from noon until 10pm getting familiar with the leadership, requirements…. From 7 until 10pm was a time of consecration. We had a time of worship, then Lou Engle gave a message about making a covenant before the Lord, and with our brothers and sisters not to speak evil of one another. We commited to go to them if we have been offended, and not to become bitter. This way we will never be looking behind our backs and thinking about what others may be saying about us. We took a moment to pray about this, and to think about it, then we went to the Communion Table. We were instructed to get in a group of about 5, and to pray for one another and partake of the elements together. It was one of the most powerful times I have had in the Lord. Praying with 5 strangers pouring our hearts out and asking The Lord to bless our brothers and sisters. We prayed for a guy named Jim. He had not received his prayer language yet.(1 Corinthians 12 and 14) He was really wanting this gift, so we prayed for him. I knew that the Lord had did something inside of him. He said he felt really peaceful inside. I told him that it is done, and go back to worshiping the Lord, and while you are praising him, let it rip! After the meeting he came to me and said it was like a river! I was so excited to see his reaction. We just stood there and laughed and hugged. WOW what a way to start!

On friday we had a team scavanger hunt, to familiarize us with practical places around here, like Wal Mart (yuk!!!) and Chipotle. I met an 18 year old girl from Las Vegas who just got saved in January. She had went to The Call in Nashville, and heard the intimacy message and decided to come to KC. Her whole family is Catholic, and thinks she has joined a cult. She gave up a full ride scholarship to UNLV. She doesn’t know anyone here, and has no money, but knows that God has something for her here! Her faith is amazing for such a young believer! I hope to believe God in that way someday! I think the Lord is making it clear that Holli and I are to be spiritual parents to these kids. (gee I sound really old right now!!!)

Speaking of old, I need to go bed. We just got back from the Prophetic Conference tonight, and I wanted to share this with you.

Prayer
The impact of “The Eternal Glory of an Intercessor”
by: Holli Nicholson
The impact that the summer Intro class has had on my life, and specifically the section on The Eternal Glory of an Intercessor, has been phenomenal. There are so many things that God has opened my eyes to that I had not known before. One of the greatest truths about prayer that I have learned is that because of our position in Christ, being seated with Him in heavenly places (Eph 2:6), we can pray from that vantage point. If I believe that God authored the bible, then I must believe it is all true. What that means to me, is that when I pray what is on God’s heart it will come to pass. It is only a matter of contending until it comes. I do not have to convince God of anything or beg of Him my requests. I simply pray to Him what He has told me to pray and believe until! My place with Christ at the right hand of God lets me pray with a different perspective. We have power and our enemies are being made our footstool. We are not begging God, we are agreeing with His will and proclaiming it to come. We contend until the days of fulfillment. I realize that my prayers count for something. They move heaven and God loves to hear my voice (SoS 2:14) and is overwhelmed by my heart (SoS 4:9).
Corey Russell said in our class on July 26^th that prayer is only powerful when you are connected to who you are talking too. It seems that it all comes down to knowing God. Out of this place, a desire birthed to pray and commune with the Uncreated One. Our flesh can not pursue God long term. Trying to pray in our own strength will lead to burnout. It is because there is no experience or revelation to drive us to keep at it. There is no passion to make us sacrifice legitimate pleasures to invest what it takes to know Him. It is sad to see all the things that we run to when we are tired and feel we need to rest. We choose to allow our weak vulnerable spirit to be fed with things that do not produce life. Sitting and resting in God’s presence is the way to life. The Word is life. It starts with the Word abiding in us. Meditation in the Word will get God’s character and nature implanted in our spirit. We must get scripture out of our head and into our spirit. This is done through long loving meditation on God’s Word. Once the Word is thriving in our spirit it makes us hungry for more. If our little bit of knowledge of God is really true then what else can we know? How far will God let us go in the knowledge of Him? I want to find out. When we get God’s truth in us we want to pray and contend for the things He tells us are true and ours. We have a drive to pray because we know it does something. We lack praying because we truly do not believe it makes a difference. Prayer has become a last resort when there is a bad circumstance. When we build a history with God and know Him, His promises, His will, His desires, and His nature circumstances do not shake us. We know that His desire is for us and for our good.
Praying in the spirit has also been an extremely powerful tool. It makes considerable time in prayer go by so fast. When I start to get distracted praying with understanding I pray in the spirit and know that my spirit is being edified. I have been able to hear God’s voice more clearly when prayer for others when I pray both in the spirit and with understanding. I can see why praying in the spirit is such a controversial subject. It is one of the most powerful weapons of our warfare. Also focusing on the Throne and Revelation 4 has helped me to stay focused while praying in the spirit. The first time I went to the prep rooms it was a very distracting environment for me. Cramming 23 people into a little room proved to be a battle to stay focused. But it is in the battle that something happens when you stay at it. The prep rooms have also helped to create more of a daily desire to pray in the spirit for longer periods of time.
When Intro is completed, my husband will be attending the Forerunner School of Ministry and I will be at home with three children (the third will be born in September) under the age of three. I am so encouraged that in my everyday life of changing diapers and cleaning dirty faces that I can move heaven with my prayers and teach my children to do the same. This summer has been a huge milestone in my life. I love to love God and set my heart to seek after His heart for the rest of my days.