Transcript
Speaker: um eaten dinner and you're not like delaying my accounts yeah guys yeah guys yeah i'm sorry great okay guys well you're all very very welcome thanks for joining in today um today gonna look at the theme of prayer so why we should pray and then different ways that we can hear from god And then next week, we're going to do what I call soaking in the word, which will be you sitting lying there nice and comfortable. And I'm just going to read Bible verses over you and let the word be put to work. ah The healing words of Jesus for the body, for the mind, the will, the heart, and words of purpose, words of destiny. and build up on the inside.
Speaker: Okay, every person that the Lord has ever sent to the earth, even as a little dot of flesh at conception, has a destiny.
Speaker: Ephesians 2, 10 says that we are God's handiwork, created it in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Speaker: And you know, it could look like one year you get saved and the next year, um God wants to start freeing you and breaking things off you.
Speaker: And then he wants you to start building up a large audience. Then he wants you to reach people in the margins of your day, strangers, one-off encounters, give you a church family.
Speaker: But at every step of your destiny or your timeline, God has good, perfect and pleasing plans for you. Plans not to harm you, to prosper and for you to reach an appointed anointed end, your destiny, your timeline.
Speaker: And my goodness, I wish I could end the story there. However, it's not that easy. It's a bit more complicated. Because we have enemies.
Speaker: Demons. And the people who serve the demons. And because demons have no destiny, they are determined to steal yours.
Speaker: Satan's objective is to steal your timeline, to kill people, and to destroy all the purposes and plans of God over your life.
Speaker: And the sad truth is, your destiny can be stolen.
Speaker: For example, the Israelites were promised by God that if they got into the promised land, um They would take out their enemies and they would live peacefully in a land flowing with milk and honey.
Speaker: And they arrived at the border of the promised land. And what did God say This day i have given it to you. But they didn't go in.
Speaker: They got scared and they chose not to. So all of them with the exception of two families, Joshua's family and Caleb's family, walked around in the wilderness for four decades and died.
Speaker: So we all have a destiny. God has an expected appointed end for all of us, but not everybody achieves that purpose or that destiny or that end.
Speaker: <unk>s also why the enemy tries to kill people when they're unborn, when they're babies. Why he tries to lead people to commit suicide or kill each other.
Speaker: or now have a big one is euthanasia, trying to kill old people. Or in Canada, if someone is depressed, they can be, and you know, doctors can assist their suicide. All this nonsense and all this wickedness.
Speaker: But the body of Christ, the people on the earth that Holy Spirit lives within, we're the most powerful group of people on earth.
Speaker: But many Christians don't understand why. When things get difficult, they say, oh, we'll win in the end. I've read the end of the book, Revelation 22. We're a victorious.
Speaker: Okay. Yeah. In the abstract. in the end times theology. But the reality is your destiny can be stolen in your time, in your day.
Speaker: And what's needed is boldness, bravery, courage, action of speech, because faith comes through hearing the word of God and you speak it out.
Speaker: Decision-making. Not letting everyone else make decisions and make the rules and persuade you and push you, but making a decision to stand up for righteousness.
Speaker: If you want to win in the day today, these are very important ingredients in your victory. Now your timeline can be stolen.
Speaker: I look at times in my life when I absolutely handed the enemy God's plans for my life. But God is so good that he can redeem your timeline.
Speaker: And even when it's been stolen or a hijacked or you gave it away, God can still put it back together again and put you back together again.
Speaker: So the world, due to Christians rising to the moment, showing the love of Jesus with courage, with boldness, of bravery, can be changed.
Speaker: I know right now the world looks incredibly dark and incredibly evil, and it is. But if God's kids get their act together and stand up and resist evil, the rest of the world can be peripheral to the body of Christ.
Speaker: We can set the tone. We can set the standard. We can set the spiritual temperature and atmosphere.
Speaker: The days that we're living in right now are days when the world can fall into absolute catastrophe or the greatest revival there's ever been. And I know which one I'm taking a stand for.
Speaker: And one of the ways that we take this stand is through prayer. We pray to find out what God's good, perfect and pleasing will is for us.
Speaker: Yes, in the big picture, but also in the day to day. And 1 Timothy 2.1 says, I urge you then, first of all, that for all people, you make petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving.
Speaker: Petitions, in the Greek, means heartfelt begging. Think of like, you know, when you see a baby or a child in a supermarket, Mommy, can I have ice cream?
Speaker: No. Barney? I don't have the money. Please? Aren't you allergic to milk? But I want some. I can't stand people begging.
Speaker: I'm also not an animal person, because I also think all animals are secretly beggars. But God loves it. but So, petitions. Heartfelt begging.
Speaker: Arising out of deep personal need. when you feel that there's lack in your life. Earnest, fervent pleas, urgent desires.
Speaker: Then there's prayers. Personal and communal communication with God. That's what means in the Greek. And I like this one. an exchange of wishes.
Speaker: You know, often if you have an intimate relationship with a person, friends, lovers, family, if only one person is getting something from the relationship, the other person might eventually feel used or ah taken for granted.
Speaker: And if one person is taking all the time, well, they're not really ever going to mature. But I like that prayer in the Greek is an exchange of wishes.
Speaker: You tell God what you want, and God tells you what he wants. It's communication. it's It goes both ways. You talk to him and he talks back.
Speaker: And this is an interesting one. Another translation for prayer in the Greek, and I only learned this about six hours ago, is a synagogue. And I said, what? Nonsense.
Speaker: So a synagogue was the place where you the Jews worshipped in the Old Testament to and in Jesus' day. And it translates as a place of prayer.
Speaker: and Specifically one beside a stream where people could wash their hands. I said, God, Why? why what What why?
Speaker: i guess it is a Greek. It's a different language, but why? and I was like, wow, when you pray, you're actually you're entering into God's presence and it's cleansing.
Speaker: He'll clean you up. He'll fix you up. He'll sort you out. Things that are dirty are messed up. He'll rearrange. He'll realign.
Speaker: We're also told to intercede. That means to earnestly appeal or to pray for others, to stand in the gap.
Speaker: Think of Moses and Aaron standing before the Israelites when the plague was coming. To stand in the gap for those who are in distress, who are those who are in need. It means to act as a mediator to advocate on behalf of others to a higher authority.
Speaker: And we will do some of that tonight because some people aren't here with us this evening because they're very sick right now.
Speaker: And we're also told to give thanks. And Thanksgiving lit- I know this is Thanksgiving week in in ah in a America. But Thanksgiving in the Greek literally translates as...
Speaker: giving thanks for God's grace, the grace that we have received through the finished work of the cross of Jesus, that that is not something we should ever forget, but something we should thank God for every day.
Speaker: Can i ask? Sure. What is the difference between here intercession, earnest appeal or supplication to God, What is difference between appeal and supplication? I don't understand.
Speaker: Okay, yeah, good question. So for a supplication, they could be requests more generally. um if it's an appeal, think of, you can think of it in the lead the legal system.
Speaker: um If someone, and think you have Conor McGregor right now in Ireland, um if someone has been maybe accused of a crime and they've been charged a crime and they're like, I'm innocent! I don't want to go to jail!
Speaker: youre They're like, listen, I don't want that person to be in like a spiritual prison. i don't want them to um to to to do a punishment or condemnation or a guilt or an attack from the enemy. um so you're like, you know save them, Jesus, help them, help them, help them. So it's more urgent. There could be more emphasis.
Speaker: So, for example, like, when I have been praying for people sentenced to death. Big time. That is appealing.
Speaker: Absolutely. Because in that case, they're literally in trouble with the law and they're going to face the consequences for their actions. Yeah. But and you're appealing for them first spiritually, but also physically.
Speaker: God, whatever has happened, they're still a human and you still love them. And it's like you're in like heaven's courtroom.
Speaker: Oh, is it the same as petition? How do you pronounce that word? The same as? Petition. A petition. Well, yeah, a petition isn't necessarily always the same, but you're still advocating on someone's behalf.
Speaker: Okay. Yeah. Thank you. worries.
Speaker: Now when we pray, we can pray individually, we can pray corporately, we can pray out loud, we can pray silently. it would look different depending where we are, when it is But God absolutely loves when his children pray in unity.
Speaker: He says it's good and it's pleasant. And he commands blessings, even eternal life.
Speaker: Because we are ultimately one body.
Speaker: And in 2 Chronicles 714, he says, if my people, again, he's putting the emphasis on believers and plural, who are called by my name will humble themselves Now this is in Hebrew. Humble means you align with righteousness and wisdom and God's will.
Speaker: You make yourself low, you bend the knee, you admit you can't do it all in your own strength.
Speaker: You pray and you seek God's face. First, he'll forgive their sin. Now this was an old test, we're forgiven by the cross of But also he will heal their land.
Speaker: That means the ground, the soil. It means the country and the people who are living in that nation.
Speaker: So it will impact the sustenance and the livelihood of your nation, impacting life and the ability to sustain life.
Speaker: And I don't know about you, but I think all the nations on Earth but need this one right now. And what's the one thing stopping it from happening? God's people have to humble themselves and seek his face.
Speaker: Jesus also said, Matthew 18, that his kids have the ability to bind and loose things in heaven and earth.
Speaker: To bind means you take prisoner, take captive. Think of if someone, it's quite a big thing here in Ireland, and if you say something like, um ah it's raining today, the other person might say as sure, there's always something going on.
Speaker: As if to say, there's always something bad. Or if someone is upset and they say like, you know, oh, I was dying in my bed last night with the with a cold. I'm like, okay, you blew your nose, love. Take a chill pill.
Speaker: What I would do is I would say, I bind that in the name of Jesus. It's like you're putting handcuffs on those words. And you can also do it over demons, over sicknesses.
Speaker: And then loose When the enemy has been holding back the blessings of God and you say, I loose them, you're releasing them over your life because we live under an open heaven.
Speaker: But again, he does specify it in groups where two or three gather in my name, even on Zoom, there i am with them because he loves when his children work together.
Speaker: are one that really confused me growing up. um The first church went to a Catholic church, and they would pray in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And I said, okay, if they're all God, that makes sense, fair enough.
Speaker: Then I went to a Baptist church, and my main takeaway was children had to go to school on Sundays, and I thought that was pretty weird. um And then I started going to Pentecostal church, and...
Speaker: Maybe the Baptist did this too. Maybe I was just too young to realize. But I know the Pentecostal said in Jesus' name, amen, at the end of every sentence. And I never knew why.
Speaker: but No one ever explained it to me. i sat there thinking, oh my goodness, what about Father God and Holy Spirit? I mean, why is Jesus so important? um And then there was one night when I was 15 years old and I had just been through wretched time.
Speaker: and The enemy had just been plaguing me for years. And I reached this point where I said, is's even worth being a Christian?
Speaker: And I just had a very honest, frank conversation with God. And I said, Lord, I feel like you think people are pieces of jewelry.
Speaker: And you're picking us up. And you're putting us in a jewelry box. And you're slamming the lid. And we just live in total darkness. Pain, persecution, misery. And then we die and we wake up in heaven and suddenly it's happily ever after.
Speaker: And this is just the idea that that I had. um i saw pain as a badge of merit.
Speaker: I thought the unhappier you are the better kind of Christian you were. If you weren't being persecuted, you weren't being good enough Christian. It's perverted, but that's what the enemy had tricked me into.
Speaker: And I just said, God, I feel like I'm dying every single day. i can't do this.
Speaker: So I picked up my Bible and I said, but God, you made reality in six days.
Speaker: So you can do this for me. going open up my Bible. And the very first line on the very first page that I look at, you have to speak into my circumstance or I'm done.
Speaker: Because you said the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy and Jesus came give life and it all's abundance. And I said, well, stealing, killing, destroying, i understand.
Speaker: Life and all's abundance? No, that does not describe my life.
Speaker: So I opened up the Bible and the very first line on the very first page I looked at was in red, which was a good sign. And it was the Last Supper and it was John 14, 14.
Speaker: Jesus saying, you may ask anything in my name and I will do it. Well, I was absolutely horrified. it slammed the Bible shut, took to the bathroom.
Speaker: Because by this stage, I'd been having like mass hallucinations. The enemy was just doing that really, really wicked things to my mind. So I picked the Bible up again and had to reopen it to make sure I hadn't hallucinated. The verse actually existed.
Speaker: but and I saw that it was still there. And I said, whew. And I prayed again, and this time, for the first time ever, knowing what it meant.
Speaker: I said, in Jesus' name, amen. And suddenly I realized it wasn't Christianese, it wasn't religious tradition. It's cause there's power in the name.
Speaker: His name is above every other name. Amen.
Speaker: And then there are other times in my life where I felt, I know, groanings really is the best word. I'm gonna take it from the screen. I felt something in me and I could not articulate it and I could not describe it. And there were no words.
Speaker: There was just a feeling almost like my organs were shifting around. And I said, God, I don't know what that is. But I do know that this is Holy Spirit, that there's something happening that's very important.
Speaker: So I said, okay, I don't know what's happening, but you know. So yes and amen. Whatever Holy Spirit is praying, yes and amen.
Speaker: 1 Corinthians 14, 13-17 talks about another way we can pray, which is praying in a tongue. um It can be ah a human tongue, a language.
Speaker: um I've known some people who taught that they were praying and in a language that God existed only for them. and then eventually, years later, someone said, oh, you know, I come from Romania and you're praying in my language. How do you know Romanian?
Speaker: um Or it could be an angelic, heavenly language. um Because even even angels have their own languages.
Speaker: it could be a language that God has made just between you and him.
Speaker: 1 Thessalonians 5.17, this is one that God gave me in a dream, actually. was the first time I ever saw Jesus in a dream. He walked up behind me, and I thought with my conscious mind, oh wow what's he going to say? this is brilliant.
Speaker: He opened his mouth, and... epi
Speaker: Well, I woke up livid. Really, really offended. Because I'd heard people who got healed in a dream and then they woke up with their body restored. Or people in Jesus had promised them like you know a car or their children's salvation or whatever it was.
Speaker: ah And I got a cough. I said, i don't even think that was a good dream. I think that was from the devil.
Speaker: But I felt this strong impression to look up the word coughing. um And I tried to think about it and I said, okay, the Bible has people with shriveled hands, people who couldn't walk, people who are blind, couldn't speak, who are deaf.
Speaker: One boy was seven years old and he sneezed. And I said, but coughing, really? So I typed into Google, not always the safest option, but that's what I did.
Speaker: Coughing in the Bible. And 1 Thessalonians 5.17 came up. And I said, really? Isn't that like that two line are the two-word Bible verse, you know, pray continually?
Speaker: Some verses say pray um without ceasing. In the Greek, this is how it translates. Pray like you have a hacking cough.
Speaker: Pray keeping your mouth shut is bad for your health. Pray like you can't hold it in Pray like there are germs in there and it's better out than in.
Speaker: It's gotta to come out. And I said, pray like you have a hacking cough. do not know why we pay people to translate the Bible from Greek to English.
Speaker: And they write things like pray continually where they could just write prayer like you have a hacking cough. but I don't know why they use so such a little ink and go with the most basic general description when we have such rich ones like this.
Speaker: But when we pray, God is very, very strict. And he does say, you have to believe. Don't doubt. Don't doubt. Because he is love himself.
Speaker: He is goodness personified. so you need to have belief. You need have faith. Where is the trust? You know, i used to kind of read James and I thought, he's very uncompromising. don't think I like him.
Speaker: Um, although to be honest with you, i think in my personal life, I'm probably very much like James, actually. i don't take nonsense. I don't do drama. i hate compromise and Christianity.
Speaker: um so I actually think James and I have a very similar personality. But this verse used to annoy me when I was younger. But you know what? It makes perfect sense.
Speaker: We're praying to our Father. The one who loves us more than we could ever know. And we will spend all of eternity getting to know his love more and more and more.
Speaker: So when you pray, believe. Trust him. Have that confidence that he is absolutely good and always on your side. Not doing so, it's like you're just being tossed on the waves at the beach all over the place.
Speaker: And if we don't trust God, Well, then how are we going to trust other people? You know, it's why we're told, you know, love God first. From that place, love yourself.
Speaker: And from the overflow, love other people. Because if we don't know, the heart of God will be shaky and shaken in every other area of our lives.
Speaker: And then 1 Corinthians 14, 15 says, so what shall I do? I'll pray with my spirit, but I'll also pray with my mind.
Speaker: I'll sing with my spirit and I'll sing with my mind. Ephesians 6, 18 also says to pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers.
Speaker: Jude 20, says build yourself up in faith, it's very important, and pray in Holy Spirit.
Speaker: So what is praying in the Spirit? It translates differently. One translation is pray by means of Holy Spirit or with the help of Holy Spirit, in the sphere of Holy Spirit, in connection to Holy Spirit.
Speaker: So it's about being so sensitive to Holy Spirit's voice, that when he tells you what to pray and how to pray and how long to pray, you say exactly what he is telling you to do.
Speaker: Romans 8, 26, in the same way Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness, even when we don't know what to pray for, he does, because God is amnesty and he knows everything.
Speaker: And he intercedes for us with groans we can't even put words to. I remember when I was at university in third year, um I'd kind of gotten into the habit of praying on the bus to, sorry, it wasn't my master's.
Speaker: Might have been master's actually. um I'd gotten into the habit of praying on the bus, but it it was the same prayer every single morning. It was, um dear God,
Speaker: because it was very early in the morning. I pray God that you'll keep everyone that I know and love alive and, oh my goodness, none of us will die, we'll be in a car crash or blah blah. There's like the same thing every single day for months.
Speaker: And then there was one morning in particular I prayed it, and I was like, dear God, thanks for my life. Pray God that none of us die or in a car crash. And suddenly I heard the voice of Holy Spirit say, pray that part about the car again and mean it.
Speaker: I was like, what the? So I looked around, my friend was beside me, and I'm like, she's a woman, that voice didn't come from her. Plus she's a not a Christian, so why would she tell me to pray?
Speaker: yeah And I was like, okay, dear God, I thank you that I'm alive, that you're so good, that you've given me breath in my lungs. You've given me this day to show up and show Christ.
Speaker: So God, yeah, I pray actually that I'll achieve my destiny in life, as will everyone that I know. and I know a lot of unsaved people keep them alive. I need them to have that encounter with you to get saved.
Speaker: I know the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, but may we not die in any car crashes today. You keep us alive, God. May we not be damaged in any road traffic incident. In Jesus name, amen. And it was the first time I prayed like that in ages.
Speaker: Well, let me tell you, by the time that day was over, I had completely forgotten this moment. but But the next day, i arrived university and I was, maybe an hour early for class. So I was sitting in a common room area. And then one of my friends, Suzanne, came over. I was like, hi, Brendan. And I said, hi, Suzanne.
Speaker: Because apparently I spoke like that when i was 19. And she sat beside me and I said, so how are you today? And she Brendan, you'll never guess what. I almost died yesterday. And next thing, the prayer came back to me.
Speaker: was like, let me guess. there was a car involved. So she had finished class early the day before, the day that I prayed. And while driving home, something happened the wheels of her car.
Speaker: And instead of facing this way, they faced horizontally. flipped her car off the road, boom, boom, boom, boomo boom boom boom boom boom down in a hill and into a field.
Speaker: She sat there frozen, like paralyzed with fear for ages, just crying and terrified. and then she saw smoke coming up out of the bonnet.
Speaker: And she said, this is going blow up. So she tried to open her door, but it was crushed and wedged against um a bush or shrubbery.
Speaker: So then she had to lower the passenger window, climb out the passenger window, run up the hill, climb over a fence, and she just stood on the side of the road for half an hour waving until someone stopped.
Speaker: um Someone finally stopped and and called her to her father. um And the car was so badly damaged, she had to pay to get the car scrapped.
Speaker: But there was not even a scar on her body. She looked immaculate. Perfect. That is the power of prayer. but That is praying in the spirit. Holy Spirit says, pray this. but And you do it straight away.
Speaker: When he tells you, how he tells you, interceding for whoever, whatever. And even if you only have prayed that part about the car and mean it, just pray about the car and mean it.
Speaker: ah Sometimes he's very specific. um Sometimes he'll be very detailed, only little bit of detail. Whatever he says, you press into.
Speaker: And the wonderful thing with prayer is... Even if the enemy has stolen your timeline, you can still get it back.
Speaker: Hezekiah, for example, was told by a reputable prophet, Isaiah, who has an incredible track record. I'm sorry, king, but you will surely die. The sickness is going to kill you.
Speaker: And on that good note, Isaiah just left, was like, bye. ah See you in Abraham's bosom. Walked away and was halfway across the courtyard when Hezekiah rolled over in his bed and faced the wall and said, God, I've done evil in your sight. Hezekiah was a great king, but he had a few few character issues. In general, he was great.
Speaker: And he repented before the Lord and the Lord said, okay I'm going to give you another 15 years. going restore life to you. And then Isaiah had to turn around and come all the way back and say, surprise, you're going to live after all.
Speaker: That's 2 Kings 21 to 6.
Speaker: And in Jonah, we have another instance of this happening. where Jonah was sent to Nineveh, and Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, which was an evil empire in the Old Testament.
Speaker: Its people were incredibly wicked, had reprobate minds, were told that there were 120,000 people there who could not tell their right from their left, so children, toddlers,
Speaker: Too young for school. um And destruction was coming.
Speaker: Jonah went and he said, oh, destruction's coming. You've offended God and he's going to judge you. You're all going to die. Adios, amigo. And they were like,
Speaker: So they put on sackcloth, which is not very comfortable. And when they wore a sackcloth, they were physically uncomfortable because the condition or state of the country was uncomfortable. It was a physical picture of what was happening in a nation.
Speaker: And they put soot and ashes all over their bodies and they fasted and they prayed and they cried. So God said, okay, you can live. and And Jonah was livid. He was furious.
Speaker: And then Jonah said, God, I knew you would do this. I knew you wanted to save them. Because as a prophet, Jonah knew the heart of God. But he did not share the heart of God. He shared the warning of destruction.
Speaker: He did not even tell them repentance was an option. So, to be honest, he was probably afraid that people were going to call him a false prophet. It's like, you said they'd be destroyed and they didn't die, they're still alive. and then he got all suicidal and and messed up.
Speaker: But God's will for Nineveh was their salvation. And even though a bad report came, because they aligned with his will, God's real heart was revealed and he gave them life.
Speaker: And even in these days we're living in days of incredible wickedness, disorder, malevolence. I know a lot of Christians are saying it's the end times and they're lying on their rapture rug and they're just waiting for the end to come.
Speaker: I'm telling you, it's not over until it's over. And as long as we are in the church age, the age of grace, I have 100%
Speaker: belief and faith and trust in God that if the body of Christ rise to the moment, we can be like Hezekiah. Facing the wall, crying our heart out to the Lord, you've got more time, you've got more years.
Speaker: Nineveh, wearing sackcloth and ashes, it's the end, we're all going to And God says, no you won't, here's more life. um I'm convinced.
Speaker: Absolutely convinced. Not the shadow of a doubt. But it's dependent on God's kids choosing to resist evil.
Speaker: To stand up for righteousness. God's aim in these days is to bring in the fullness of the Gentiles. And I've made the decision. So long as there is one Gentile that I know who is not saved, it's not over.
Speaker: And I think... as a generation, if that's our declaration, we can see this world won for Jesus.
Speaker: And then another instance of prayer is sometimes it needs to go hand in hand with fasting. Now, I don't normally tell people to abstain from food for a few hours or days or a week or a month because they're begging for something from God necessarily.
Speaker: But if you're involved in deliverance ministry or the likes, um there are certain things where if you weaken the body, you'll strengthen the spirit and and you'll be that more i' aware what's happening around you. So out even i love my food, but even I'll be doing this this weekend for deliverance. I've got scheduled for next week.
Speaker: And in 2 Kings 13, 18 to in this one it's another story where someone was told, okay, your enemies are coming.
Speaker: um And you just have to smack the floor with all your fervor and all your energy. And if you do it, you'll beat the enemy.
Speaker: And think the guy was probably a little embarrassed and was like, oh God, help my nation, please. But actually what was required was having no shame, total humility, total transparency, and repeated prayer, a repeated declaration. Sometimes we just have to press on.
Speaker: I like when you pray once and God does it straight away. Not always and enough.
Speaker: And just like I said, that prayer is an exchange of wishes. We talk to God and he talks back. We do also need to know how to hear from God as well. The Bible is absolutely the best way we can.
Speaker: When we read the word, wisdom is done it's available to us. Understanding. It's more profitable than material wealth.
Speaker: You get so much more than you give. Because what we give, we give in our humanity. What we get, we get from Holy Spirit.
Speaker: Long life is a reward for being steeped in the Bible. The ways of your life are pleasant. God gives you peace.
Speaker: The word of God is a tree of life. It's like you're walking in the Garden of Eden. Think of, you know, on the first day, God said this, God did this, there was evening, there was morning.
Speaker: On the second day, God said this, God did this, there was evening and morning. The rhythms of grace. It's like your're you're dancing. The Lord is your dance partner. He sets the rhythm, he sets the beat, and you move the rhythms of grace.
Speaker: You get blessed by reading the word. You're able to preserve sound judgment and discretion, to read situations and people and spirits accurately.
Speaker: Safety comes upon you. You don't stumble, you don't fall apart, and you're not afraid. You get a sweet sleep, amen, and he keeps your foot um from being snared.
Speaker: You'll see the traps of the enemy ahead of time, so you'll be able to navigate around them or disable them for your benefit and the benefit of others.
Speaker: Can you please tell me the word disabled? What's that mean? Which one? Disabled. Yes, to disable a trap would be if the enemy, let's say...
Speaker: My phone is inita. And my piece of wood, which is now a T-Mash, is a trap. If you avoid the trap, you're like, oh, I see you. as Stupid Satan.
Speaker: To disable the trap, you see it there. And you think, okay, I could avoid this. But my neighbor or might fall in. My church family might fall in.
Speaker: So instead of there being a hole, you cover over the hole with cement, you make it a ground. Or if he has broken glass, you sweep it up with a sweeping brush. So whatever the trap is you actually remove it so it no longer exists.
Speaker: Okay, thanks, now I understand. Great.
Speaker: Then there's also hearing from God. call to me and I'll answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you don't know. just God speaks. You know, my favorite character in the Bible, apart from Jesus, is a Joseph in the book of Genesis.
Speaker: And when he got out of prison and he became the prime minister of Egypt, Pharaoh gave him a new name, Zaphonet Paneah.
Speaker: God lives and God speaks. So imagine like when he's walking around this pagan kingdom and someone wants to know where like the toilet is God lives and God speaks. Where's the loo?
Speaker: Or when there was a meeting, God lives and God speaks. Meeting at 6 p.m. sharp. These were pagan. They worshiped demons. And every time they spoke to him, they declared our God is alive and active in our lives.
Speaker: um I remember there was one day, i was maybe 19 or 20, about 10 years ago.
Speaker: And I sent my dissertation off for my master's. um I think I had finished it, like, ridiculously early. and for some reason, and I just didn't submit it until, like, two days years before the deadline. and And next thing, I was in my bedroom in the afternoon just cleaning up or something.
Speaker: And i just heard the letterbox or the post box at the front of the house. And it was the most surreal thing. But I just pictured my own dissertation arriving in my house.
Speaker: Back to me. That's the picture had in my head. And the voice of God said, be still and know that I am God. And I said, what is this nonsense?
Speaker: So walked up to the front door. but I had written the address of the university, but somehow it arrived back at my house.
Speaker: And I said, oh my goodness, like 100% of my grade goes towards this paper. This is ridiculous. And I opened it up and said, it's my university is three counties away. How is this? And I was, I had a momentary freak out for two or three seconds. Yeah.
Speaker: And I remembered, okay, God gave me a picture of this. And what did he tell me? Be still and know that I am God. So I said, okay.
Speaker: So I decided to look up the number of all the university lecturers and try calling them all. And to tell them what had happened. I did not know how it had happened. it made no sense that it had happened. It was going to sound like such an excuse. Oh, he's looking for an extension. um None of the man answered the phone. Because it was the summer holidays. They probably were not at work.
Speaker: um But eventually i got through to somebody in the office. And I said, look, this makes no sense. This is crazy. It will sound like a lie. But here it goes. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker: And the person on the other end of the phone said, that's okay. Just send it back. We'll give you an extension because it's you're sending it by post. It's fine. And i was like, oh, thank God. but but but Because I used to be such a worrywart.
Speaker: I always assumed the worst thing would happen. I walked on eggshells waiting for them to crack, waiting for something bad to happen.
Speaker: And suddenly i got this word from God, be still, be at peace, take a breath, chill out, chillax. I'm still God. I'm still on the throne. I've got you.
Speaker: You're okay. I'll work it out. And um it was one of those amazing, small, but amazing moments when actually I really learned to start trusting God with the bigger things.
Speaker: And another great way, well, it depends on your church life if it's grown-up, that God speaks to us is through his kids. I do honestly believe that because we are a family, God's people are your best resource on the earth.
Speaker: I know for many years i just wanted a personal relationship with Jesus, just Jesus and me going it alone. um But actually, he does want us to be connected to each other.
Speaker: He wants a healthy dependence or cooperation between ourselves. And we see that in Acts chapter two, when they were teaching one another. There were wonders and miracles happening amongst each other, building the faith of one another.
Speaker: and They were living together in these in these communities. They were selling property and possessions so that they had enough resources to give to those who were poorer.
Speaker: um They were having communion with each other. um There was sincerity of heart, of love for each other. And I know at times in my life, yes, Christians have driven me crazy.
Speaker: but they've also been the very best people in my world. And at times when I was just at the end of myself, God always had one of his children lined up to pull me back from the brink or to speak to me in a way that I understood, that was tangible, where I heard the heart of God through a human voice face to face. So, uh,
Speaker: Yeah, God's kids are your best resource.
Speaker: And one way in which God uses the body of Christ today is through something called the fivefold ministry. Now we will look at this in more detail a later point when we look at the gifts in particular.
Speaker: But the fivefold ministry refers to five particular offices in God's house. Apostles, which in the Greek means one who is sent, one who has a special commission from God, one who's responsible for teaching, guiding,
Speaker: and maintaining doctrinal purity in the Christian faith to make sure you're not being lied to, that what you believe is the truth.
Speaker: We've also got the prophets.
Speaker: Prophets are people who are divinely inspired to communicate God's will and his messages.
Speaker: Your God's spokesperson, delivering warnings, guidance, encouragements, and revelations.
Speaker: It can mean that God tells you about someone's past, their present, or their future.
Speaker: That you have insight, special insight, into God's plans and purposes for the earth, as well as the enemy's plans.
Speaker: And prophets are also officers of the court of heaven. Almost every prophet you see in the Bible, maybe all of them, ah dealt with kings, queens, and politicians.
Speaker: It's not something Christians like to talk about today. a lot of Christians say, you don't get political. If you get political, you'll offend someone. And if they get angry, you've lost the argument, and then they'll get ahead. It's your fault. in it Nonsense.
Speaker: Every prophet in the Bible, Moses spoke to Pharaoh, Elijah, Ahab, and Jezebel. John the Baptist, Herod and Herodias.
Speaker: um Joseph, Pharaoh. Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar. All of them had a specific mantle to deal in the political realm.
Speaker: Again, it's something a lot of Christians don't like to do but demonic principalities look for political personalities through whom to do their will.
Speaker: So God sends prophets, officers of the court of heaven to say, i will anoint you or I will remove you.
Speaker: Then we also have evangelists. So missionaries, it literally means a bearer of good tidings. You're bringing the good news of God's salvation through the cross of Jesus Christ.
Speaker: This is something I realized today, at least in this verse. Maybe I don't know if it's true in the whole New Testament, at least in this verse. There is no word for pastors. doesn't exist.
Speaker: Instead, the word actually is shepherds. And I know like I'd heard people say, know, oh, you know, that you're a shepherd and the church of your flock before. i thought it was like a picture, of metaphor.
Speaker: But actually, there is no pastor in the Greek. It translates a shepherd. um So the Lord raises someone up to raise up his kids.
Speaker: That means to care for their total well-being, to feed them, to protect them, and in a godly way, to rule them, to lead them.
Speaker: And then the fifth... Of the five-fold ministry are the teachers. Now, this is not me being arrogant, calling myself a master. It's literally what it means the Greek. It means to be a master in your field.
Speaker: um An instructor with a or moral instruction and to impart spiritual or doctrinal knowledge.
Speaker: And again, it's very similar to the last one that I shared, the book of Acts. This is just more direct for us. um But one the best ways that God wants to speak to you through his kids.
Speaker: And it's okay if you look at that list and you don't see yourself reflected on it. God has so many gifts. These are just five particular offices um in which he uses some of his kids.
Speaker: Can you please a little bit more explain this officer, this word in this context is confusing me. You said prophets are officers, God of heaven.
Speaker: Yep, great. Could you please explain this more? Sure. So let's say, ah yeah I'll give you a very recent example. um We have elections coming up in Ireland this Friday.
Speaker: Um, so through dreams and visions, God speaks to me a lot um about politics. And let's say if you're a nation, kill the unborn, for example, kill children.
Speaker: ah That nation is under a curse. I'm not saying God's people are cursed, but on national level, That country is doing what God destroyed Old Testament countries for doing, right?
Speaker: um So let's say God can raise up prophets, and does raise up prophets, to actually speak, okay, I've got my eye on this politician, they're pro-life.
Speaker: I've got my eye on this one, I'm focusing on this one. I want that person in position for these days, in this hour. That one is a murderer. That one is a cheat.
Speaker: That one is a killer. That one is a thief. That one betrayed his nation during COVID, destroyed so many lives. Meanwhile, he did the the opposite when the news cameras were off him.
Speaker: This kind of thing. When God speaks you that way as a prophet, you're declaring God's report. God's, declaring God's opinion. um And it's not that it's not your own political preference. I'm talking specifically when it's inspired by God, because there is nowhere, nowhere that spiritual warfare rages more powerfully than in the political realm.
Speaker: Even in the days of Moses, um you know, we often focus on the plagues afflicting the Egyptians But God says, remember in the days of Moses when I punished the gods of Egypt, when I punished the principality demons of Egypt.
Speaker: What you read in Exodus is very physical. But actually, there was a spiritual war happening behind the scenes in the spirit realm. And that has never stopped.
Speaker: God's not condemning people today. but he's still fighting the good fight against the forces of evil in the spirit realm. And these spirits, they want to inhabit, indwell, and manipulate human kings, queens, and politicians.
Speaker: But as a prophet, there is a call in a prophet's life to actually speak what God has to say as it relates to the political rev but realm and level of your nation, or of other nations.
Speaker: But sadly, we live in days with a lot of cowardly Christians who don't want to do that. And so they tell their prophets, you know, sit down, shut up, don't do that.
Speaker: Or in some cases, there are pastors who actually make their prophets sign um and contracts that say, i will not prophesy anything without my pastor's permission, for example.
Speaker: But, uh, It goes beyond congregations. It goes beyond human relationships. You're speaking heaven's report and into into the earthly realm.
Speaker: So, basically, and for it for example, you know, there is court and let's say in heaven there is jury Jesus is the highest judge.
Speaker: Sure, he is. Yeah. And jury has made decision guilty or in a innocent. And this person is, hold on, yeah. ah Well, at least here in Earth, yes in USA, such is asking this officer, whoever this person is, is asking paper thing ah that pay baring Hey, please give it to me. And then judge is reading.
Speaker: Oh, this person is guilty. Send him to death. Is that kind of official? Exactly. Yeah. It's like you're reading the verdict that heaven has decided.
Speaker: Yeah, precisely. Okay. Thank you for explaining to me. That's a good connection.
Speaker: um And then with the gift of prophecy, we see it alive and active in men and women the whole way through the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament. I've only included a few examples here, but there are just dozens and dozens and dozens of prophets in the Bible.
Speaker: And Amos 3.7 says, Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing. without first revealing his plans to his servants, the prophets. So it's such an ah an amazing way that God does communicate are his intentions.
Speaker: um But he also exposes the plans of the enemy as well. I remember 2017, God gave me a vision and a dream, and I saw something coming out of Asia,
Speaker: that would turn the nations into zombies. They would be walking around, living half a life. And on every single TV, I saw witches and vampires.
Speaker: Witches, people lying to you. Vampires, people sucking the life out of you. And that happened three years later, in 2020, with COVID.
Speaker: When COVID came out of China, The nations were living like a half-life. They say, you know, the world stopped. And what happened?
Speaker: The media absolutely showed just how much they despise the citizenry.
Speaker: Another amazing way God can speak through us is prophetic songs. We see them in Ephesians 5, 19 and 3, 16.
Speaker: um What I absolutely love is going to a church and seeing people singing original songs, ones that they acquired through a difficult time in their lives, or a spontaneous worship. when Holy Spirit just begins dropping lyrics in their minds, rather than just singing the same songs that Australia or the USA have produced.
Speaker: um But unique sounds, unique songs, unique frequencies.
Speaker: Another incredible way God chooses to speak to us through dreams. For example, in Thug du Matthew, ah You have the true uncrowned king of Israel, um Joseph, and the true uncrowned queen of Israel, Mary, living in Nazareth, the back end of Israel, hiding from King Herod, who was not even an Israelite.
Speaker: He was an Edomite, descended into the Esau. And suddenly... Three, well, a number of wise men, we often say three, but we don't know how many, said, oh, a king has been born, the king of Israel.
Speaker: So obviously they head to the castle, the palace of Israel, and Herod's like, I don't think I have any more children, do i Wife! And then they go following a star until they find the baby, and Herod wants this child dead.
Speaker: So the Lord gave Jost of the dream and said, take the baby and run away as refugees into Egypt and stay there until Herod's dead.
Speaker: In an amazing way, God speaks our visions. I mean, we have the book of Revelation, which is the entire book. It's a vision. ah where the Lord shows spiritual creatures, the good, the bad, and the ugly, ah things to come, ah glimpses of the millennial kingdom, and eternity, the remade heaven and earth.
Speaker: Again, the latter of which we will all look at and together closer to ah to the end of the series. And the wonderful thing is God will often speak in dreams and visions,
Speaker: And he'll share the same message or different steps to the message. I remember in 2017, think was the 7th of January, 2017, God gave me a dream and he told me that there was a big castle, which I understood to represent a particular part of my life, um which was just full of dead religion.
Speaker: And he said, at some point, you're going to walk away from that castle. And yesterday, on the bus home from work, at about 6pm, spontaneously gave me vision.
Speaker: And I was right back there, outside that same castle. Only this time, its walls were even bigger. the obstruction, the religion was even bigger. The oppression was even bigger.
Speaker: But I saw an archway, a doorway. And God said, okay, now it's time for you just to walk away. To leave. So that was a case where God spoke to me seven, eight years ago in a dream.
Speaker: And then yesterday evening spoke me in a vision about the same thing.
Speaker: Sometimes angels will come and visit you. They might visit you in a dream. They might just appear their heavenly form, or they might appear as a human, because they can take on solid flesh, human form, temporarily. And you might not even know it.
Speaker: Hebrews 13, 2. This is not something that we do anymore, but it was common in the Old Testament and the Early New Testament. Urim and Thummim.
Speaker: um The high priest would take two precious stones, gemstones. Urim means lights. Thummim means perfections.
Speaker: The Bible never specifically says exactly how it worked, but a lot of theologians suspect that it was kind of like a true or false, yes or no, you will, you won't.
Speaker: They would seek God's face concerning an issue, and a lot of theologians assumed
Speaker: Let's say if Urim is yes, Thummim is no, the Urim would glow or light up if God's answer was yes. Or the answer was no, Thummim would light up.
Speaker: And we see that happen right up until early Acts. But then when Holy Spirit came down to the earth, you never see them do this again. Because it was no longer necessary. But when they didn't have Holy Spirit down here, um they would use urim and thummim stones to show God's will.
Speaker: All right, then a few more um strategies on how to hear from God before we pray to him. One is the word of knowledge, 1 Corinthians 12, 8. A supernatural ability to know divinely given truths.
Speaker: It's that the light bulb goes on and you just know. do you know? I don't know. i just know. No, I need an explanation. i don't have one. i just know. Someone when asked me a few years ago why I didn't like Taylor Swift and I said she's a witch. What?
Speaker: don't know. do you follow her career, Brendan? i don't know nothing about the woman. I just know she's a witch. Well, there's no denying it now if you watch my music videos. but but but I could say that two or three years ago.
Speaker: Didn't know why, i just knew. Word of knowledge. So you see people the way God sees them. You see situations the way God sees them.
Speaker: You can spiritually discern facts and you can't even justify it. It's just Holy Spirit telling you these things.
Speaker: And another way God speaks to us is through a word of wisdom. Knowledge, is such a cliche, but it's so true. Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Speaker: Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. Knowledge is what you know. Wisdom is the application. What you do with the knowledge.
Speaker: And there will be times when God will just say, ok you see this person? and Cut them out of your life. It's like, but God, they're a Christian. And God said, they're they're toxic, don't talk to them. And you're like, okay.
Speaker: And then there's another Christian who drives you crazy. And God says, be patient, still love them, keep them in your life. But God, why? and then he'll tell somebody, another person, another person, another person.
Speaker: Because we often see things in black and white. Wisdom helps you navigate the gray, the mysterious. Because God knows the best way to lead you, what to do with that knowledge.
Speaker: God can also speak you through nature. um For example, he spoke to Job in chapters 38 to 42 about how powerful the Leviathan was, but how Leviathan was super weak compared to how amazing God was and how God knows everything.
Speaker: how many seconds there are in eternity. um But stupid animals, clever animals, where snow comes from, where ice comes from, how God just knows everything. He was there before the beginning. He will be there when it's all over.
Speaker: And Angela's in the chat and i we do like going for hill walks and mountain walks. And once this election's over, Angela, we'll get some exercise back in. but but i don't care how cold and frosty it is.
Speaker: Because there was one year i was going through a wretched time, so I ran away to Germany and I decided to hide in the German Alps for a while. And during my seclusion, i went for a walk one day and suddenly it hit me that I was walking on top of six feet of snow on these mountains.
Speaker: And I said, God, before the Great Flood, none of this existed. When the flood began, It just looked like total destruction and devastation.
Speaker: But now look at the beauty that exists. And I said, God, my life has been pretty flutty. but There's been a lot of destruction.
Speaker: But you're gonna do something beautiful, aren't you? Sin had left a crimson stain, but you're gonna make it white as snow. that's what you're doing now, isn't it? And then I was empowered and released then to come back home again.
Speaker: And he can also speak through physical pictures. At one point, Jerusalem had fallen into the worship of Ashtarah, which was the goddess of transgenderism.
Speaker: um Her servants would castrate boys and dress them as women, and then rape them, and dress women as men. And call the the she's he's and he's she's.
Speaker: So ah I wonder where transgenderisms come from today. Hello. And the she was also famous for stealing the symbols of other gods.
Speaker: And even thousands of years ago, she stole the rainbow from God, from Yahweh. So that's why when you see pride marches today and you're like, oh no, they're they're using the rainbow for evil. They've been doing it for centuries, centuries.
Speaker: Our Israel were also worshipping Shemosh or Chemosh, the god of the Moabites. That's the second image you see there. And another one was Malek.
Speaker: Malek would sit on a throne And there would be a hole in the idol's belly. And they would light a fire in his belly.
Speaker: Then they would put a baby on the hands of the idol. Pull a lever. And the baby would roll into his belly into the fire. So it would look like the demon had eaten a baby.
Speaker: This is what God's people were doing. The Israelites. So at that time, a prophet Abijah came.
Speaker: He took off a new coat. That's probably my least favorite sentence in the Bible. It could have been an old cloak, but no, it was new. He just spent money on it. um And he tore it up into 12 pieces.
Speaker: And he said, one piece will remain faithful to Yahweh, the house of David, the kingdom of Judah, And 10 pieces will become the nation of Israel, the kingdom of Israel.
Speaker: So Israel had been one nation, but now it was going to split. Now you might say, but that still leaves one piece. The Levites didn't have land, they were just priests.
Speaker: But that's how you end up with the kingdom of Judah and then the kingdom of Israel where the nation split in two. And it was because of all this evil that they were doing. But God used a coat, a cloak, a physical picture to show a spiritual reality.
Speaker: And the Lord is also able, not that we make it happen, disclaimer notice, by his own will, he can also take a layer of your soul and spirit and catch up to heaven or send you elsewhere.
Speaker: So for example, in Daniel 7, Daniel didn't do anything. It was all God. But God took Daniel into heaven in the end times where he saw the Ancient of Days sitting on a throne talking to the Son of Man about how to destroy the Antichrist regime.
Speaker: Or for Zechariah, he did nothing. He did not manipulate us. He did not astral project. But the Lord, by the Lord's own will, took him into heaven, into one of heaven's many courts.
Speaker: A lot of people think heaven has like one courtroom. Heaven is a world, people. It's got as many courtrooms as God needs it to. And he saw the devil accusing the high priest Joshua.
Speaker: I know what you did, Joshua. You're a bad man. And the Lord stepped in front of him and said, no, no, I choose him. i pick him. I love him. and the Lord dressed him up in a heavenly garment and restored him and said, i I have a plan for you and you will fulfill that plan.
Speaker: And Revelation 4, most famously, John was in his physical body, a slave in Patmos, an island, a prisoner of war, an enemy of the Roman Empire.
Speaker: But the Lord took a layer of his soul and spirit and sent him into the end times where he saw what happened on heaven, earth, Hell and the lake of fire.
Speaker: And then the last one. um i don't even watch TV, but i I think I watched it and gave up in 2021. But this was one of the last shows that I watched.
Speaker: um God can speak through entertainment. He can. Now, I don't encourage it because a lot of it is woke communist trash these days. um But he can.
Speaker: And here's one example. um The Mandalorian Season 1. um It's set after Star Wars The Return of the Jedi. um And it follows a character who walks around in armor, who has to protect little green alien who was called The Child, from wicked evil people who want to kidnap and dissect The Child.
Speaker: So the hero walks around in the armor of God, And he will not take off his helmet. He always keeps his face hidden with the the helmet, the helmet of salvation, Ephesians 4.
Speaker: And effectively, his intention is to protect the child from enemies who want to dissect the child, abort the child, kill the child and sell it for parts.
Speaker: And look at the titles of the episodes. The Mandalorian? Okay, have child. Fine. Episode 3, The Sin. Episode 4, Sanctuary. Episode 5, The Gunslinger. Okay. 6, The Prisoner. 7, Reckoning. 8, Redemption.
Speaker: Very Christian titles. And at one point... The villains are trying to kill the child, and they actually walk through the Arch of Baal.
Speaker: The Arch of Baal, in the ancient world, was where Jezebel's priests would walk under the Arch of Baal holding children before sacrificing them to Baal, before sacrificing them to the devil.
Speaker: And a few years ago, ISIS blew up the Temple of Baal in Syria, but they kept the arch. And after that, it was 3D printed and dispersed around the world. I know Boris Johnson unveiled it in Trafalgar Square at one point. And then one was also put up in 2016 in Washington, D.C., as well as New York. when Hillary Clinton was running for president because obviously abortion was very, very big on her to-do list. um Abortion for all without restraint or hindrance.
Speaker: um And the same way, we could look at that story as the church or the Mandalorian, and we have a mantle, a responsibility to protect children from the demons and the demonic regime that want to slaughter them.
Speaker: Okay, so there are just some ways in which we can um pray, also in which we can hear from God as well.
