The Church Without Walls
The Church Without Walls
LET GO AND LET GOD
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Sometimes God will cause or allow the surface of our lifes be disturbed
, he will allow our comfortable, secure lifes, to be shaken, why ?.
Picture a lake, it is settled, it is peaceful, it reflects its
peaceful surroundings, suddenly a huge rock falls and disturbs the
surface, why does God do this ? why does God disturb our securities ?
our secure lifes ? What does it mean when it says ; In the last days
all things shall be shaken' ?
PICTURES;
I'm going to share some pictures (or visions)which came to my mind
while doing this study,I believe this is what the Holy Spirit is saying
at this time,I'm going to go
through a series of pictures to try to convey a message which I
believe is for all of us [that includes me] I ask that at some point
you try to picture these things in your own mind and say , " what are
you saying to me through this Lord ?
The bible can sometimes seem like a riddle or a puzzle, we have to keep
reading it over and over and one day we can suddenly get a revelation,
the Holy Spirit reveals a scripture to us,Jesus often spoke in
parables or picture form,These pictures can speak far more than
words ever can.
There are so many things we cannot put into words, most of us have had
times in our lifes when we just cannot describe our feelings, emotions,
language is a great thing but it is limited sometimes, pictures can
speak a multitude of words.
I saw waters of a the sea parting,making way for the people of God
and I felt the forces involved although I could not understand what
this meant at the time and I cannot really decribe in words the
forces at work.And I said Lord what does this mean ? What has this
to do with the Holy Spirit ?
A few weeks later I read about the parting of the red sea,(sea of reeds
) and it hit me, whether you believe that God sent a mighty or strong
wind to part the red sea or whether you believe it was the Holy Spirit
of God that parted the red sea,the fact is God was at work and where
God is at work ,the Holy Spirit is at work.This was the power of the
Holy Spirit of God at work,delivering his people from the bondage of
Egypt,this confirmed and is why I decided to do this series on the
Holy Spirit;
HOLY SPIRIT REVEALING,
I had another picture;
It was a stream and on the surface it looked so calm
and peaceful , but underneath there was more going on
than met the eye, the sky grew dark and a storm seemed to come
from no where.The rains lashed down and soon the peaceful stream became
a raging torrent and the under currents where sweeping up all the debri
from the bottom .What seemed to be so peaceful became
restless,things which had long since gone down to the bottom were
coming to the suface, but after the storm the river returned as before
but now it was no longer the same,some of the debri which had collected
at the bottom of the stream was now gone,swept away.
As we get closer to God so the Holy Spirit reveals things to us,
,those things which we have long
since buried,the Holy Spirit brings these things to the suface. It may
be hurts,rejections,atitudes,memories,whatever it might be ,when the
Holy Spirit brings these to the surface and we become aware of them,
then we need to discern how or what to pray.We may feel the Holy
Spirit saying that we need to ask for forgiveness or we need to forgive
someone,it may be that the Holy Spirit is bringing healing to a certain
part of our lifes,in the end we have to learn to listen to what the
Holy Spirit is saying to us and act upon what we hear, the closer
we get to God the more the Holy Spirit will be expose and bring to
the surface.
What happens to a brook or stream when too much rubbish collects at the
bottom ? the flow of water will be hindered,we need the rain to fall,
the storm to wash away the debri,we need the Holy Spirit to fall and
to wash us clean.
And so the closer we get to God,the more we know his prescence
,the more is exposed,the Holy Spirit revealing;
When the debri comes to the surface what will be seen,when the brook
dries up what will be exposed ?
Mathew 10 v 26,[RSV]
"So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered that will not be
revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
1 Corinthians 4 : 5,[RSV] Therefore do not pronounce judgment before
the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things
now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.
Then every man will receive his commendation from God.
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Satan will attack the weak points,he will see the chink in the armour,
( not everyone would agree with me and I have no problem with that )
but I believe personally that we all have those areas of our lifes
that we hold onto,secret places,things we hold onto for security or
comfort.Are any doors closed or not closed but not open either.
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LET GO AND LET GOD;
Mark 1:18 And immediately they left their nets , [put down]and
followed him.
We can pick up a lot of baggage along the way,that can weigh us down,
we need to let go,and let God.
I had another picure;
Picture a young child going away on a long trip, the parents call the
child, "hurry up, we are leaving now " the child immediately looks
around the room for security.The child picks up a teddy or a doll or
the favourite game that has been a security to them over time.
We can do the same as this,areas of our lifes can become securities
that we do not want to let go of,( have you ever tried to take the
favourite toy from a child ? ) . These are some of the things the
Holy Spirit can reveal to us.
These areas of our lifes can become part of us,it may be drinking,
smoking,a way of thinking,attitudes,hurts,unforgivesness,anger,
bitterness,jealousy,fears,habits,materialism,money,
sometimes we just like to hold onto things,they become part of us.
You hear people say , " O they've always been like that,They will
never change " we even put people into boxes because it helps us feel
secure, the enemy knows about these things.
The message is simply this - if we are holding onto anything - it will
slow us down, is anything getting between us and God ?
Like the person [me] who puts things in the loft,just in case they are
ever needed,there comes a time when the loft has to be cleared.
If you do not understand or agree then ask the Holy Spirit to reveal
and give understanding;
The Holy Spirit will reveal these things to us ,we need to hold onto
the rock,Jesus,he is our security,total security.But sometimes it can
be better staying in the boat and when Jesus calls us to walk on the
water we become insecure,we need to focus on Jesus.
Go back to the picture of the child,we need to let go ,we need to
hold onto the rock Jesus,let him be the anchor ,the TOTAL security,
A while ago I started to go from room to room in our house , praying
over everything and for the people who used the room,praying protection
and the Holy Spirits prescence.I then realised that the same applied
to me,the temple of the Holy Spirit,so I started to go through all the
areas of my life { all the different rooms} and asked the Holy Spirit
to reveal things to me.
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WHEN DARK TIMES COME;
Picture a desert,dry,barren,hot,everything is still, until the rains
come,then the desert blooms;
Not everything that we like is good for us,sometimes we have to go
through the bad times,like the desert our lifes can be so secure,
peacefull, but its not until the storm comes that we see growth in
our lifes;
Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and
all these things shall be yours as well.
Elijah [ I believe] prayed for no rain,not thinking of his own needs,
so that the people might turn to the true, [THE REAL GOD].
To sum up , the closer we get to God the more will be exposed,the more
we will become aware of the Holiness of God;
This is the working of the Holy Spirit,he reveals the word,[brings
revelation] he reveals hidden things of God,he searches us,he will
reveal hidden things in our hearts,sometimes those things we never
knew were there.Why , because he loves us and wants us to get closer
to the Father, a Holy God,a Holy people,
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Isaiah 6 v 5;(KJV)
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean
lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine
eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
Isaiah 1 v 25;(ASV)
and I will turn my hand upon thee, and thoroughly purge away thy dross,
and will take away all thy tin;
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I believe during the time Elijah was by the Brook Cherith, he had much
time to pray,to listen, to hear,to wait on God,to drink from the waters
and to listen to the Holy Spirit of the Holy God,[the real God],we
sometimes want things to happen straight away,we need to learn to wait.
God was working in Elijah,he wants to work in and through us,but first
he cares more about us ,our character,the person we are,we need to let
go and let God,we need God to mold us,shape us,before we move on.{He
leads us beside the quiet waters}
We need to rest by the Brook and wait,let the Holy Spirit do his work
in us,he will show us ,reveal to us,expose,make us more like Christ,to
glorify God,then we move on like Elijah.
I ask myself this question,What voice am I listening to ?
Am I listening ?
Am I hearing but not listening ?
This was a time of strengthening,a time to reflect,a time to listen
and wait on God,we need these times. To listen to the still small voice
(quiet voice) [Good news bible - 1 Kings 19 v 12 ,soft whisper of a
voice] to be still and know that he is God.
Psalm 23 v 2,[NIV] HE MAKES ME TO LIE DOWN IN GREEN PASTURES;
v 3. HE LEADS ME BESIDE THE STILL WATERS [or quiet,restful waters];
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never
thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of
water welling up to eternal life."
Psalms 23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my
enemies; thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows.
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THE CHURCH WITHOUT WALLS;
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I will share one more picture to try to put accross one of the things
I believe the Spirit is saying,
One night I had a dream, I was in my house and everything looked
good on the surface, I was talking to people and laughing, but I was
aware there was a prescence, something else. I thought nothing of this
dream until a month later. Then I had the same dream again but this
time I was in a building and everything looked good on the surface, but
then I decided to go down into the cellar (basement) it was dark and
I noticed a prescence, it was not good,there was a door and as I looked
through the door I new there was something there in that room,
something hidden and it was evil.
I can remember shouting out loud " In Jesus name be gone, in the powerfull
name of Jesus " then I would wake up. This same dream came back three
times over a period of five months or so, the last dream I had was
the one that stuck in my mind, it was the same as before but this time,
I came up out of the darkness in the cellar and went outside. Outside
was a church with no walls {the church with no walls} it
had the foundations, it had a front and back but the sides of the
church were missing, it was open for all to see. And I noticed there
was no roof { open to God }. This was when I began to become aware of
the the Holy Spirit working deep down.
God wants us to be the church with without walls, open to the community
around us, open to our neighbours, see through, if you like, he wants
the barriers to come down, so when
people look at us they see not the flesh, not us and what we are doing,
but they see Jesus. The church with no walls {temple} being honest
in everything, holding nothing back, being open, nothing hidden, all
doors being open.
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NOTHING HIDDEN - WORDS OF KNOWLEDGE - GOD KNOWS ALL THINGS;
Mathew 9 v 1 - 8, He knew the thoughts of the scribes.
Luke 9 v 46 - 48, He knew what they were thinking in their hearts.
John 4. He told the samaritan woman the secret sins of her life.
Acts 5 v 1- 11, The story of Ananias and Sapphira.
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Let nothing be hidden, come Holy Spirit and reveal;
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Let us be THE CHURCH WITHOUT WALLS;
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MOVE ON;
God is always the same,he never changes,but he wants us to move on,
he wants us to advance forward,run the race,when the time came God
told Elijah to move on;
God is moving on,are we being pulled or moving onwards ?
We need to - LET GO AND LET GOD;
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Lord God in Jesus name thankyou for revealing those things which
can hinder us and hinder your Holy Spirit,let your Holy Spirit flow
through our lifes,let your Holy Spirit speak deep into our lifes,
and reveal anything which we may not have been aware of.Minister deep
Holy Spirit,bring healing and revelation,bring peace and comfort in
Jesus mighty name amen;
thanks tes johnson