One of the girls from the estate that got saved recently decided the other week to pray for her little sister whose foot always turned outwards instead of being straight. She came up to me last week and said ‘Look, Sarah; I’ve been praying for her and her foot doesn’t turn out anymore!’
What an amazing God!
Sarah Pettinger
Over the past few years, I have had a very bad and intense pain at the back of my right eye. I would have this pain on and off at least two/ three times a month and sometimes even more often. The usual route to relieve the pain would be resting or taking pain killers. At times I would just ignore it if I could!
Before I could say anything to my friend, the Holy Spirit nudged me to pray for her foot. As I laid hands on her, I noticed that there was oil on my hands. I prayed that God would heal her. The next day she sent me a text message to say that her foot was a lot better since I prayed. A few days later, I asked her how the foot was doing. Her reply was, “My foot is very nicely healed, thank you”. Praise be to God!
Maureen
Hebrews 11:6
Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Faith is the starting point with God. We have to believe that he is there in order to come to him in the first place, but faith is much more than simply believing in God’s existence. “Even the demons believe that – and shudder,” (James 2:19). Real faith – faith that sustains us through life’s difficulties, that presses us forward despite setbacks and pain, and prevents us from giving up – this kind of faith is deeper than mere mental belief. It is faith in a person, a simple, childlike trust in the goodness of God.
Life can disappoint or buffet us. Things do not always turn out the way we wanted. But when our theology runs out of steam and our understanding is powerless to assist, when we no longer have specific “faith” for our situation to change, all we can do is fall back on simple trust in our heavenly Father. And far from being in desperate straits, we are then in a strong position. “When I am weak, then I am strong,” (2Cor 12:10). We have reached the bedrock of our faith, and realise that, whatever happens, we believe that God is good and that he “rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Let’s be ‘earnest’ about seeking him this week, expecting him to reward us. We are often encouraged to ‘press in’ – being persistent in worship and prayer, reading the Bible, expecting him to speak. It’s not that God responds to our effort, as though we somehow earn his favour. We can never do that – he blesses us purely from his grace, the undeserved favour of God towards us. So why sometimes the need for persistence? Firstly, by ‘pursuing’ God in this way, something changes in us. We are then in a position to receive from him, and become a channel of blessing for others. Secondly, intimacy in any relationship takes time to grow – and intimacy brings blessing. In the end though, being with God is not a way of achieving some goal, rather it is an end in itself. Enjoy nurturing your relationship with your Creator this week. He loves it when you do!
Andy C. wrote this Word For The Week, inspired by events and contributions made by people at a recent meeting of King’s Church. Why not ask God, as you read, to show you where in your life it could apply? If you have a story to tell of a time when you stepped out of your ‘boat’ and God helped you, why not add a comment to encourage us!
Matthew 14:25-31
And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Something that I’ve learnt from the Scriptures (well, where else would you learn this lesson?!), is that the easiest way, it seems, not to sink when walking on water is to keep one’s eyes fixed on Jesus. As soon as we look at the wind, the rain, the storms or our own feet, we start to sink – and the background shout from Jesus Himself is, ‘Ye of little faith, why did you doubt?’ This call from Jesus seeks our attention and our eye-line as again and again He is calling us to keep our gaze on Him.
At this time, it feels like God is issuing a challenge to His Church to get out of the boat. Whether we are straight out and over, slowly feeling our way out or still in the boat wondering what on earth is going on – His cry remains the same….keep looking at Me! His Spirit is brooding over people, sicknesses and situations ready to burst in and show His goodness and power, and if we stay close to Him there is no telling the wonders we’ll see.
The best way to deal with the storms in our own lives is to not continue to stare at them. If we look at Him and where He is, we will walk across, by faith, the very thing (the water) that is causing the rockiness and uncertainty. We were encouraged to ‘eat and drink of Him’ on Sunday, and in doing so step into all of His promises and His power. We took the bread and wine by faith, and realised the eternal-ness of life He has placed within us. Let’s continue to step into this over this week, taking hold of all of Him by faith, and looking out of ourselves. He has promised great things for us to do, a life packed full of excitement, miracle and adventure - let’s believe it, step into it, and keep looking at Him…
Matthew 8:8-9
The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
Would you like to be able to proclaim a healing from a distance and find it happens? Or to declare deliverance for someone and see them freed from what hindered them? These things are now happening increasingly, as the people of God rediscover their authority in Christ. We are being encouraged not to simply ask God to heal, but to declare healing, proclaim deliverance and command blessing in his name.
But surely, we can’t just say any old thing and expect God to back us up, can we? He is still sovereign, after all! What makes us think we can take control like that? Isn’t it a bit presumptuous? Well, there is a key which guards us against presumption, but which frees us to act with authority. The centurion understood the principle well. He realised that his authority to command lay in the fact that he submitted to a greater authority – in his case the Roman chain of command, culminating in the emperor himself. He represented the king! So when he spoke, things had to happen. And in Jesus he recognised someone in a similar position. Because Jesus always did his Father’s will, submitting to the Father’s authority, he himself could exercise great authority, even healing without being physically present.
The great news is that if we submit ourselves to the authority of Christ in our lives, staying close to him, seeking and doing his will, we become part of the “chain of command” – representatives of the King of kings, able to exercise authority on his behalf. Not as loose cannons or free agents, but obeying his instructions through the Word and the prompting of the Holy Spirit. In that way, we can confidently begin to declare God’s will and see things change!
Zechariah 10:1 (Msg)
Pray to God for rain – it’s time for the spring rain – to God, the rainmaker, Spring thunderstorm maker, maker of grain and barley.
When the Old Testament people of God began living in the “promised land” of Canaan, they faced a real change in the manner of God’s provision for them. When they were living in Egypt, their fields had been irrigated with water from the river Nile, and whilst in the desert they had miraculously received water from a rock. But in this new land, there were no rivers and no special rock to turn to. The fruitfulness of the land, and the survival of the people, depended on whether rain came at specific times of year (the ‘autumn and spring rains’ Deut 11:14).
The people were told that the Lord would send them the life-giving rain. He, not the ‘gods’ of the former inhabitants of the land, was in charge of the seasons. But, even when it was the season for rain, they were told to ask God for it.
We are now in a season when God is beginning to rain down blessing by his Holy Spirit – healings of mind and body, supernatural abilities, salvation, the power to change, insight, faith, joy and peace. But we should not take for granted what is happening elsewhere and think that God will automatically do it for us. We need to ask God for rain in the time of the rain. And just as the rain falling on Canaan enabled great fruitfulness, so will God’s Holy Spirit-rain produce a harvest, both in our lives and in the lives of those we allow God to touch through us.
So let us not stop being thirsty for more of God’s Spirit – more of the tangible presence of God himself. Let’s be ‘greedy’ for it, not simply for the experience, but for the lasting change it will bring. Let’s make time to spend concentrating on the Lord, waiting for him to speak to us, allowing him to affect our hearts deeply. In the time of the Spring rain, let’s make time for the rain to fall on us and really soak in. It’s time for rain – so make time to be rained on!
Here is a Word For The Week article, written by JC, giving an exciting overview of what is happening at the moment in many places in the world. If you have a testimony of something God has done for YOU in recent times, then why not post a reply telling us about it?
Psalm 139:7 (GNB)
Where could I go to escape from you? Where could I get away from your presence?
God is at work and on the move and the word is spreading like wildfire. The airwaves across the nations are alive with talk of miraculous healings, breakthroughs, deliverance and the dead being raised. Cancers are leaving, depression is lifting, limbs are growing and families are being restored. Eyes are being opened to God’s truth and prodigals are coming home and as a result; faith is increasing, hope is rising, expectations are being raised and a hunger for more of the presence of God in our lives and churches is deepening.
At a church in Dudley, the Spirit of God is being poured out in great measure. So much so that for the past 32 days nightly meetings have been held as people from as far away as Holland are coming to experience the presence of God. As I sat in one of their meetings, I was amazed as person after person gave testimony of what God had done that night – healed bodies and restored minds.
And here, amongst our own congregation, God is on the move. Once again, I sat amazed last Sunday as people testified about God’s intervention in their lives – releasing blessing, breaking bonds, opening doors of opportunity, healing sickness and remaining faithfully strong and present in the midst of their trials and difficulties – and not just in the four walls of the Kings Church building, but out there in homes, schools and in the market place.
Where can we go to get away from Him? It seems nowhere, as God is moving amongst us in great measure. These are exciting times and it seems that things are just warming up. Let us keep on talking about what God is doing – causing faith to increase, hope to rise, expectations to grow and our hunger for the presence of God to deepen.
God is on the move and there’s no escaping Him.
Romans 12:11
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord.
“Be fervent!” Gareth Duffty exhorted us last Sunday. That’s what ‘zeal’ is – a persistent, energetic, unflagging enthusiasm. And the Scripture commands us never to lack it. But surely, someone might say, we can’t always be living in a total state of excitement, or some kind of manufactured emotional high? True. Emotions cannot be subject to commands – they just ‘happen’ (although they are strongly influenced by our thought life). I don’t always feel zealous – in fact sometimes I feel tired, even unmotivated. But does that mean I’m not zealous on those occasions? Well, it all depends - not on how I feel but on how I decide to act at these times. The emotions can sort themselves out later (and they usually do).
How do we stay fervent? If it’s not about whipping ourselves into an emotional frenzy then do we simply grit our teeth and trudge ‘zealously’ but miserably onwards? No, it’s not that either. The key is that it is “spiritual” fervour that we need – in other words, fervour given to our spirit through God’s Spirit in us. He is the source. The secret of staying zealous is to be close to God. He himself cannot help being zealous – the Scriptures tell us again and again of the “zeal of the Lord Almighty”. As we spend one-to-one time with him, giving his Spirit free access to the deepest part of us, then his zeal will rub off on us. You become like the company you keep.
And the end-goal of this fervour, as the Scripture above says, is to serve him. Just as there are many ways of serving, there are many ways to express our zeal. The important thing is that, no matter how we may feel from time to time, we do not give up. Rather we are to get our zeal from God, and express it in the way he directs, for his glory.
Isaiah 61:3
…They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendour.
In the last few weeks, as the Spring has really taken hold, the trees have provided us with joyful sights and smells as the blossom has emerged from previously dead-looking branches. How refreshing it has been to feel the warmth of the sunshine and to enjoy the fragrances and colours the various trees produce.
We are entering a new season spiritually as well as in the natural sense. A time when God’s presence is more keenly felt and new life breaks out around us, whether in people becoming ‘born again’, or in physical and emotional healings, restoration of relationships, new gifts of the Spirit being used and a renewed joy and peace for God’s people.
These are exciting times. But what is the ultimate point of it? Our enjoyment? Not really – although we can and should enjoy what God is doing. More people being saved? Partly – but even this is not the primary thing. Rather it is for the glory of God – to bring honour, recognition and praise to the gracious creator and ruler of the universe, who deserves nothing less. And our lives can do just that! Just as the trees did not have to strive to work up their blossom but did what was natural to them in their environment, if we place ourselves in the environment of God’s Spirit and his Word, and allow him to work in us and through us, we will display his splendour!
God has ‘planted’ us as his people for this very purpose. The way we live our lives in righteousness, the joy we experience which does not depend on circumstances, and the ‘fragrance of Christ’ that stays with us when we have spent time worshipping and seeking him – all this displays God’s splendour to those around us. And as the season progresses we will not just bear ‘blossom’ which people find attractive, but real fruit – fruit that will last – changed lives that glorify our King!