Letting Go

I have been pondering something that happened at the ladies Prison Ministry for a few days now. I know that from my own experience, we as humans are the single biggest stumbling blocks in our own growth and relationship with the LORD.

We have every right to combat the enemy and take authority over his plans against us but more times that I can remember, real breakthrough has happened when I have spent some quality time looking in the mirror and asking the LORD to show me the truth about myself. Sometimes these realisations are painful and hard to hand over to Him; but dying to self makes space for living in the LORD Jesus Christ.

We had a stunning service on Tuesday, which started with praise and worship that was so alive with passion and a yearning to be touched by the LORD that our emotions were deeply touched and softened.

There was a particular girl who was right at the beginning of the queue to receive Jesus ... she repented, she prayed and she begged for mercy. She said that some peace came upon her but that she did not feel His Living Water flowing inside her.

As I moved onto others for the same prayer, they were being deeply touched by the Holy Spirit and you could see their hearts of stone being transformed into hearts of flesh. I literally see their faces change and the hurt and hardness drop away leaving eyes of love and wonder. They know that Jesus died for them and that His Holy Spirit has filled them.

I always confirm if people have received a touch from the LORD that is real and tangible; something that they will be able to draw on for the rest of their lives ... have they physically felt Him take their burden and do they have an inexplicable joy that is new and yet feels almost familiar, like this is what they have been missing all along ... born of the Spirit at last !

The girl I mentioned above stepped forward and said “No, I still feel nothing like those around me are feeling”.

We spoke and prayed some more and she eventually said “Jesus and I have a journey to travel and I still need to be a better person before He accepts me”.

The prayer that I led her through was something like this:

LORD Jesus Forgive me for thinking that I need to be perfect before You will accept me; Forgive me for not understanding the depth of Your love for me; Thank You that on the cross where You died for me, you took all my sin upon Yourself; Past, present and future sins of mine ... I cannot do anything to earn that which is freely given. I know that I am a sinner and that without You I will go to hell. Accept me and the offering I give of my life, broken before you ... Fill me and transform me for eternity. AMEN

The Holy Spirit poured into her in a massive way. She had removed the lie that was standing between her and Jesus through the realisation that she will never be perfect.

Matthew 11: 28-30

“ Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Only Jesus is perfect. That is why he is our Saviour.

CHRIS

Jeremy

After church on Sunday I was at home with my family preparing lunch and the doorbell rang. It can be really frustrating and inconvenient when you are about to slide a sandwich onto a plate and there is someone at the door asking if you have anything for them to eat. It kind of changes the excitement you were building about having lunch.

I spent some time listening to him and to be honest, I was struggling with his story a bit, facts were mixed up and I could not understand how he ended up on the streets when he had been destined for a Christian hostel. His left hand was lame and his left leg was stiff and dragged on the ground as he walked. He needed money to get home and he was running low on epilepsy medication; he was desperate for the nightmare he was in to end. This man Jeremy just wanted to go home to his family.

The feeling I had was one of confusion. How do you know who to help and who is taking you for a ride ? I said to the LORD that I was not sure what to do. I then got a sense in my spirit that it was not my job to judge this man and that I had the means to assist him; all I needed was to be obedient and act in the Name of Jesus.

During the drive to the station, where he had a seat part-paid on a local transport bus, I started to pray for him. I felt the LORD’s presence very strongly and started to pray for his epilepsy. I commanded the illness to leave his body in the Name of Jesus ... he looked at me, evidently touched by the Holy Spirit, and said that his body was going hot inside.

In my heart I said “ Yes LORD, this is happening”, so I pulled the car over and not aware where I was stopping, I jumped out of the car and told him to do the same.

I had my back to the road and I carried on praying. I knew that Jesus was reaching to him and I could see his face soften as the stress he was carrying inside left him. The power of the LORD was upon him and he then said that he could feel his hand and that the ‘pins-and-needles’ were completely gone; he kept scratching his forearm and saying that he could feel his skin ...

I held his hands and prayed for the LORD to heal his leg. His hip suddenly started to ease up; I instructed him to ‘walk it out’ and he paced back and forth ... I could see his hip moving forward and his stride strengthened, he began to lift his left leg off the ground ... he looked at me and laughed, he said he had never walked like this, his ankle began to loosen and although his hand was still very tight and crumpled, he was able to extend his fingers open which he said was something he had not done in years.

Psalm 146: 7-8

“ He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. “

Thank Jesus for His mercy and grace. He is so limitless.

It was then that I turned around to see a bunch of people standing right behind me. Their eyes wide open. I noticed that I had actually parked my car in front of an entrance for taxis; I guess they had been standing there the whole time we had been praying – the LORD knows how to get people’s attention !

There was a man on crutches who had broken his ankle a week or so before and we prayed for him. His toes began to wiggle without pain and he said his ankle was suddenly very hot inside the plaster cast and the pain had gone. Praise the LORD !

We were all amazed at what the LORD had done. Many just stared when I drove off, some waved, but the lasting vision I have in my mind is Jeremy grinning as he waved and shouted “Jesus has healed me, I will never be the same again ...”

Zephaniah 3: 17

“ The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. “

I drove off and repented for having such a hard heart toward Jeremy when he first arrived at my home. I felt completely humbled by the LORD.

CHRIS

Freedom

The word of the LORD says that ‘faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God’ and many of us will testify that when we spend time reading the bible there is an incredible spiritual awareness and security that permeates our entire being and enables us to be grounded in Him to receive His revelation and peace.

In contrast, are those tough times where something seems to grab us and hold us back from our LORD and His Word, which leaves us feeling famished, guilty, dry in spirit and often a bit disillusioned.

I find that it is during these times that many of us tell the LORD about our problems, when in fact, we should be telling our problems about the LORD.

In some way we humanise the character of the LORD and forget that 'He is the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, The Almighty'.

Exodus 15: 3

“ The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.”

Deuteronomy 7: 21

“ Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.”

Deuteronomy 11: 25

“ No man will be able to stand against you. The LORD your God, as He promised you, will put the terror and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go.”

Stepping into the Ladies Prison Ministry has taken on a whole new dynamic as more and more are giving their lives to Him. We are so grateful to be able to see Him at work and witness his gentleness and love.

There are also times when we are reminded about the battle that is going on around us and how the enemy has come to ‘steal, kill and destroy’ as many of us as possible.

Yesterday a lady prayed to Jesus with words of submission, repentance and humility. I could sense a conflict within her; on one side she was reaching for Jesus but on the other side she was being held back ... something else was at play here.

I laid hands on her in Jesus Name and commanded the enemy to release her ...what happened next is something that I have seen time and time again.

Her whole body shook and convulsed so I said the words “come out in Jesus Name, I command you to release her in the Name of Jesus “ ... she started to lose balance and almost like there was a big jump in her spirit, she flinched and the shaking stopped. She had been free. We came around her in love and support and explained that she had been set free from captivity.

There were tears as the realisation of the Truth dawned on her, which then led to joy and laughter as she rejoiced and thanked Jesus for His love and power that had set her free.

We all have a heritage in the LORD and we are able to walk in His authority as His agents of change, reaching out to others and giving Him the Glory.

Revelation 5: 12

“ Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise ! ”

If we repent and believe in Him: in our most broken, sinful and undeserving moments, He pours out His Grace upon us. ‘To all who receive him, to those who believe in His Name, He gives the right to become children of God’ .

1 John 4: 4-5

“ You dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you, is greater than the one who is in the world… “

Nothing is bigger than the LORD.

So, let us tell our problems about the LORD and stand firm in His Authority, knowing that He is above all things.

CHRIS

Crown Him

I have been deeply touched by the incredible relationship that we can have with Jesus and how when we respond to Him, He moves with us and enables us to accomplish more than we can imagine.

Colossians 1: 18

“ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. “

Jesus is the head and we are the body...this makes perfect sense; together we are one. We take instruction from the head to effect His will; we are the hands, feet, and other elements that make us the body of Christ.

So, if we are not responding to the will of the LORD, then we are like a hand that is not responding to the electric impulses of the nervous system; and we risk being labelled ‘disabled’ (crippled; injured; incapacitated).

Now we know that the Fruit of the Spirit are: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; and long may we represent Jesus well, internally within ourselves and externally to those we encounter.

We have a great commission from Jesus, one that cannot effectively take place unless the ‘Fruits of the Spirit’ are flowing from within us ...

Matthew 28: 18-19

“ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Our LORD Jesus came to save sinners from eternal hell. He is the way, the truth and the life and it is only through Him that we can be saved from this terrifying destiny. We give Him all praise and glory for what He has done for all of us; our Blessed Saviour.

It is only the HEAD of the body that can wear a crown – the Glory belongs to Him. We are merely the elements that make up the body of Christ.

The question is: can we afford to be a disabled part of the ‘Body of Christ’ ...

John 15: 1-4

“ I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “

To be effective, we need to be a unified body under His instruction. In fact if we were all individually unified with Christ, we would automatically be unified with each other. It is His plan, and His vision. Let us reach out in obedience to Him and continue the work of the LORD with urgency. We cannot risk complacency and inactivity.

Be encouraged to trust Him and know that He is your source of Living Water and eternal nourishment.

CHRIS