At the start of our online gathering on Sunday 4th August we were reminded of something the Lord spoke to us previously. Just as when physically ascending a high mountain there is a point at which supplementary oxygen is needed, so too, as we ‘ASCEND’ to occupy our spiritual position in Christ, we do not depend upon our natural resources but upon God’s Spirit. When we depend upon theHoly Spirit there is no limit for us . This potential also applies to the way in which God can fill silence, helping us to reach beyond the constraints of verbal expression. We simply ‘BEHOLD’ the Lord, without trying to define what that means.
Here are some further points made during our gathering:
- The Lord has invited us to ‘explore the heavenly realms’. In this there is an invitation to know God Himself. As we are aware of so much going on in the world, it can be bewildering to determine our priorities in prayer. God says to His people, “Know Me first”.
- Just as water has to change its form to move in different ‘media’, eg. to be changed from water to steam to rise into the atmosphere, so we need to be transformed in order to explore the heavenly realms. This may be related to our ‘measure’ of faith. Similarly, the Lord is calling us to pursue ‘refining’ prayer – not simply to settle for the first prompting we may receive, but to ask the Lord to develop and distill it further. In this way we gain heavenly wisdom, understanding and knowledge.
- In order to pursue a deeper relationship with God, there will be things we have to surrender, even those things which the Lord has given us in the past such as particular patterns of life, relationships or ministries.
- The word ‘disorder’ was given with the scriptures: James 3.16 “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” The context of this passage is the pursuit of heavenly wisdom.“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (Eph 5.15-16).
- The current situation in the UK is a time of opportunity. The Church is being challenged to take responsibility for the spiritual atmosphere in the nation(s) and to exercise leadership rather than to be subject to circumstances. We were reminded of God’s word to His people Israel, “The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.” (Deut 28.13). The Lord is calling His people to learn how to govern (in the heavenly realms). Obedience to Him is key.
- We should not underestimate the impact of our oneness as members of the Body of Christ. We can ‘ADVANCE’ the Kingdom of God in the places the Lord has positioned us for this very purpose. During our gathering we prayed for a disabling of any demonic incitement to lawlessness and violence taking place in the nation at this time.
