FRESH WORD

Last night we capped off 21 days of church prayer, fasting and the Word with a prophetic night. As a student I grew up with prophetic nights often. It was not uncommon to sit in 3 hour church services and experience the Holy Spirit through spontaneous ministry, laying on of hands, prophetic words, focused prayer times and inspired preaching. I loved it and, at the same time, I became skeptical of some of the manifestations. At times I discerned some were conjuring up a movement of some sorts. The funny thing was when I was skeptical I also felt guilty for being skeptical because I never wanted to grieve the Holy Spirit by inadequately judging something I saw. The Lord has taught me a lot about prophetic ministry since those early days of my faith.

What I've learned about prophetic ministry in the last 20 years can be summed up this way: black and white. The prophetic is black and white, it's not blurry, clouded, fuzzy. You don't have to work it up, push it out, make it happen. When God moves prophetically He does so in His sovereignty. It is His right, desire and delight to bring fresh direction, encouragement, hope, faith, word and revelation to our life. Nothing quite compares to the black and white Word of God being released tangibly in our lives.

A Couple Personal Thoughts:

The Rock Church.
It is fantastic our church is so far from any blurred lines! Last night was a night where the Holy Spirit spoke through dozens of men and women in a powerful black and white way. There were times of prayer with laying on of hands. There were times where the prophetic voice was heard: altar calls to be evangelistic, powerful worship, salvation's and most of all encouragement. There were no kooky manifestations! It was just a night full of prophesy!

The Crowd.
The place was packed last night, largest FUEL service ever. This was great feedback about the spiritual climate of The Rock Church. It says to me that our church is hungry for more of God and His work in our lives. I was so motivated by peoples hunger.

Mike Bull.
Our Communications Director, whose primary role is administration. I turned and saw him praying over someone and thought, Mike got saved here 7 years ago, has been raised up to be a Christ follower, came on staff because of his unique skill-set and now he's proclaiming the Word of the Lord other people! That's not only cool, that's GOD!

The Kids.
When we asked the kids to come forward for prayer it was special. When I pray over children I keep it simple. I pray the Lords' favor, blessing, protection and that what they put their hands to would prosper. Sometimes I pray they would be good to their parents and focused in school. I think when we pray over children we must speak to their future.

The Words.
The common theme was "Appointed Time." Now is the appointed time to "rise up and stand firm." There were words about perseverance, not quitting. There was a specific call to grow evangelistically and begin to reach our community. To quote, "Your City has been given to you." Where you put your feet God will give you. The Jericho's in all of our lives will be overthrown and given to us by God. All the things spoken of happen at the appointed time. Noah waited 120 years for rain, Abraham 25 years for a promised son, Joseph waited 14 years in a prison cell, and Job waited 60-70 years for a double portion in his life. Everything happens at the appointed time in God. This year is the appointed time for our church to rise up and stand firm. Connecting People to Life is our mission, our core values guide us in that mission and we will follow the Word of God and Jesus Christ to the fullness of what God has prepared for this church! I'm excited!

Thank You.
To all those who prayed, fasted, and sought the scriptures in preparation for last night. Your labor is evident in the lives of those whose hearts are after Him. Thank you for the tireless effort in making certain the atmosphere was prepared for the movement of the Holy Spirit. TRC is blessed with some of the best volunteers, support leaders and musicians in the World! Love you all.