Hi all,
We had a wonderful conference in Broken Arrow, a suburb of Tulsa, with about 100 people from 17 states present – we like to limit our conferences to 100 or less so we can get to know one another, so this was perfect. Many reported healings and many things of the Spirit occurred – visions and having their eyes opened to His realm, prophecy for others as we broke into small groups and prayed for one another, and others heard angels and smelled heavenly aromas. Not to mentioned teaching, sharing, food and fellowship. Such Life. Such peace!
The burden to pray about the things of the election the Lord told me ‘as it stands now’ and of what He said Satan’s plan was for the time around the election, has lifted, and I have a peace about it all now – even an assurance in my spirit. I praise God for that peace!
What does the peace in one’s spirit mean?
That peace is heaven’s answer that our concerns about a situation are covered – He has it under control. Many people will pray for someone they love, or a situation they need an answer for, and immediately sense a peace in their spirit. Yet the mind still wants specific answers, the mind will worry and be stirred up, seeking a direct ‘word’ from the Lord. Yet very often, all He gives is peace.
I Corinthians 2: 9:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man the things God (Father) has prepared for them who love Him.”
Our eyes, ears, and thoughts cannot know what the Father has prepared for us. Think of that for a moment. That means we don’t look to circumstances to determine if the Lord wants us to go a certain way. Throwing out a ‘fleece’ is Old Testament, but we have Christ in us now as I Corinthians 2: 9-16 tells us. We have the mind of Christ in us so we can know His will.
Fortunately Paul does not end his teaching at v9 by telling us our eyes, ears, and thoughts cannot discover what the Father has for us, leaving us without a solution to finding the Father’s provision, for he continues in v10-11:
“But God has revealed them (the things He has prepared for us) to us by His Spirit; for the Holy Spirit searches all things, yes, even the deep things of the Father God. Your spirit knows the deepest part of you, so too does the Spirit know the deep things of the Father. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Holy Spirit, so that we can know the things which the Father God has prepared for us.”
We are to know what the Father has prepared for us, but you must know the Holy Spirit for He is the One who is searching the Father’s heart for us. The Holy Spirit is searching the heart of the Father to see what His provision for you will be – so when you get that peace in your spirit about a person, about a situation, about that source of anxiety in your life – that peace means the Holy Spirit has searched the Father, and found His provision, that He is in control, that you will see that answer. Stay in that peace.
In Philippians 4: 6-7 Paul says after making our requests known to the Father, let that peace ‘keep’ your hearts and minds. That Greek word for ‘keep’ means to ‘hem in as if surrounded by a wall’. Paul is telling us to use peace as a guard wall around our minds, to battle to stay in that peace, to not give it up for worry and fear so easily – fight to stay in that peace, and if you lose it, return to prayer and worship until you get it back. Then protect that peace by not letting yourself think on ‘what if’. Stay in the giving of thanks and worship.
Is yours a living faith?
One of the things I talked about at our recent conference, and one of the subjects of Thursday’s and Saturday’s Zoom meetings, is that Christianity must be a spiritual faith, the supernatural presence of the Lord must be in our lives. It is the Word AND Spirit who are in agreement – the Word never stands alone. The Word alone leaves one dry and out of touch with God’s Spirit. Balance includes both elements of Word and Spirit. Without the moving of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our midst when we disciples of the Lord meet, our faith is nothing more than a philosophy.
We live in a spiritual fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles, which celebrates God living with man. We have ‘Christ in us, the hope of glory.’ We have ‘the mind of Christ’. Greater is He in us than he in the world. God lives with us, in us.
Remember the whole of the New Testament was written by apostles doing church in the home
They were writing to people doing church in the home – so the context of everything from the ‘5-fold’ to the moving of the gifts of the Spirit in our midst, was about the home-based meeting. The auditorium is not set up to facilitate the flow of the gifts of the Spirit among its attendees, which means it can only give the Word. Eventually a person will dry up in their faith and feel distant from God without seeing the Holy Spirit move in their lives, and as they meet with others.
House church is not just a Bible study and then we all go home – house church is a living, breathing, Spirit-moving body of Christ. If your house church is nothing more than a Bible study, it isn’t house church. Nor should it be a ‘bless me club, us 4 no more’. It is about discipleship, growing in Christ, seeing Him move in our midst. Our faith must be intertwined with the moving of the Holy Spirit and His presence demonstrated in our lives, or else we have just a philosophy and good morals to live by.
So we have Christians with stacks of notes from great teachers, but they have no clue how to be in His presence, how to be in a position to be touched by God in their spirit and soul, how to move in the Spirit – but they’ve heard some great teachers! Their faith is powerless, dried like a dead branch because it is through the Holy Spirit in our lives that we know the Father, know the Lord, know the fellowship of the Spirit. As Jesus said: “It is the Spirit that gives life.” (John 6: 63)
They don’t know what Christ in them should mean – how the Holy Spirit should be moving in their life, in the midst of that house church they attend. Take the time to pray with one another. Linger before the Lord, let Him show you things, cause His message, His peace rise in your spirit to minister to that one you are praying for.
Don’t be satisfied with a faith that is all Word but without the Life of the Spirit. That is the divine dissatisfaction so many find they have – they know the Word but don’t know Him. If our walk with Christ isn’t supernatural then we are left with an empty shell, a philosophy and concepts by which to live.
The book of Acts is presented in scripture as normal Christianity. Is that true in your life?
One of the things the Lord told me last December was that healings and manifestations of the Holy Spirit would especially be found in home-based churches now and in the near future. He will move powerfully there. He said house churches would be known as the place to go for healing and to receive from Him in the days ahead. He said the vibrant and dynamic life of those in house church, and see Him move regularly, would be in stark contrast to the faith of many.
For many of us there are so many answers to prayer among our friends in house church, healings are so common, visions and words from the Lord are just part of life so that we hardly mention them. It’s just normal life with the Father, normal life with Jesus. Normal house church.
Many are looking to start a church in the home, others aren’t in a position to start one but want to connect online with others, and pastors are wanting to convert their churches to house church. Life is busy! Thank you for your continued support and prayers. Will see some of you Thursday or Saturday in the Zoom meeting (register in the link above, and remember to mark your calendar as there will be no reminder email)
Your giving first to the Lord and then to us, allows us to do all this – thank you so much!
Blessings, John & Barb, Brian & Amy
