Exodus: Journey Of Promise

Matthew 6 starts off, “When you give to the needy…” then, “When you pray…” then, “When you fast…”. Now that’s crazy! God not only outlines the need to give, pray, and fast…but clinches them together. It’s no mistake that our House of Prayer has been called to fast during a time of collection for Myanmar for giving! This is not mistake.

Isaiah 58 says…the kind of fasting I want calls you to free those who are wrongly imprisoned and to stop oppressing those who work for you. Treat them fairly and give them what they earn. I want you to share your food with the hungry and to welcome poor wanderers into your homes. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help. If you do these things, your salvation will come like the dawn. Yes, your healing will come quickly. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind.

The Holy Spirit has led us to follow Jesus’ own teaching in Matthew 6: Giving, Praying, and Fasting.

So that He can release the promises of Isaiah 58: Salvation, Healing, Godliness, and the Glory of the LORD.

Press on Exodusians!

More from Derek Prince, Shaping History Through Fasting and Prayer:

It would appear that the potential of the Holy Spirit’s power, which Jesus received at the time of His baptism in Jordan, only came forth into full manifestation after He had completed His fast. Fasting was the final phase of preparation through which He had to pass, before entering into His public ministry.

Chapters 13 and 14 of the book of Acts indicate that collective prayer and fasting played a vital role in the growth and development of the New Testament church. It was through praying and fasting together that the early Christians received direction and power from the Holy Spirit for decisions or tasks of special importance.

Fasting deals with the two great barriers to the Holy Spirit that are erected by man’s carnal nature. These are the stubborn self-will of the soul and the insistent, self-gratifying appetites of the body. Rightly practiced, fasting brings both soul and body into subjection to the Holy Spirit.

It is important to understand that fasting changes man, not God. The Holy Spirit, being God, is both omnipotent and unchanging. Fasting breaks down the barriers tin man’s carnal nature that stand in the way of the Holy Spirit’s omnipotence. With these barriers removed, the holy Spirit can work unhindered in His fullness through our prayers.

Mighty to Save
by Hillsong

Everyone needs compassion
A love that’s never failing
Let mercy fall on me
Everyone needs forgiveness
A kindness of a Savior
The hope of nations

Savior
He can move the mountains
My God is Mighty to save
He is Mighty to save
Forever
Author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as You find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again
I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in
Now I surrender

Shine your light and let the whole world see
We’re singing for the glory of the risen King…Jesus

We had such a powerful time praying for our family members who have not yet given their lives to Jesus. We prayed that God would restore hope in us that these members will come to know Him. We told God that we believe He can bring salvation to our families, but we need Him to help our unbelief!
We prayed the prayers we prayed the past week over our family members. We prayed that they would see their spiritual poverty without God in their lives. We also prayed that they will have freedom to worship God. We asked God to remove the things that keep them from turning to Him and worshipping Him.
We laid hands and prayed for everyone with immediate family members who do not know Jesus.

God gave us some very clear pictures. We saw a picture of fire coming out of our mouths and hands. We also saw a hand dripping with oil. We prayed that as we spend time in the Presence of God, we will overflow with God’s Presence wherever we go so that even our family members cannot deny His Presence!

Fill us with Your Spirit and Your Presence, o God!

Monday, June 2, 2008

Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” In the Message Bible, this verse reads, “You’re blessed when you’re AT THE END OF YOUR ROPE. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.”
God showed us through several pictures where we end and where He begins. He showed us that the debt of love we owe Him is impossible for us to pay back. Yet He delights in us. He delights in us, in our poverty and weakness.

I Will Offer Up My Life
by Matt Redman

I will offer up my life
In spirit and truth,
Pouring out the oil of love
As my worship to You
In surrender I must give my every part;
Lord, receive the sacrifice
Of a broken heart

Jesus, what can I give, what can I bring
To so faithful a friend, to so loving a King?
Savior, what can be said, what can be sung
As a praise of Your name
For the things You have done?
Oh my words could not tell, not even in part
Of the debt of love that is owed
By this thankful heart

You deserve my every breath
For You’ve paid the great cost;
Giving up Your life to death,
Even death on a cross
You took all my shame away,
There defeated my sin
Opened up the gates of heaven
And have beckoned me in

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

We joined Transformation church at their Reformation House of Prayer (RHOP). A group of them just came back from Florida at the Lakeland revival. We wanted to go and receive whatever blessings they received in Florida.

We were encouraged because they shared about being POOR and hungry before God. Jonathan felt he saw a picture and received a message about poverty. We are to embrace poverty and not be afraid of it because poverty will bring us before God. He felt that there is a grace during this season to embrace poverty.

Transformation church also spent time laying their hands on our church and praying over us individually. We were so encouraged by the words they prayed over us! They were so kind to spend a lot of time ministering to us!

We also laid hands on the sick and prayed for healing!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

We want God to have His way with us. We want Him to have FREEDOM to move in our midst, to do whatever He wants to do. We want our own control to be relinquished so that God can have total control of our lives.
We must regularly be meeting Him and let Him prune us.

We are ordinary people, a plain group, a group without much. However, if God moves in our midst, if He chooses to turn to us, then He can do some extraordinary miracles!

Freedom Reigns
by Rita Springer

Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom
Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom
If you’re tired and you are thirsty, there is freedom
If you’re tired and you are thirsty, there is freedom

Freedom Reings in this place
Showers of mercy and grace
Falling on every face
There is freedom

Jesus reings in this place
Showers of mercy and grace
Falling on every face
There is freedom

Freedom Reings in this place
Showers of mercy and grace
Falling on every face
There is freedom

Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom
Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom
So we lift our eyes to Jesus, there is freedom
So we lift our eyes to Jesus, there is freedom

Dennis and Wendy shared with us about their vision trip to Japan. They shared how they were able to encourage and strengthen some weary believers. They also shared how they were encouraged to see God move in very similar ways there as He is moving here with us!
They came back realizing that God is moving in great ways globally. He is preparing His people for His return. We can join Him and be a part of His move!
We ended the night worshipping with ‘Majesty’ in Japanese.

Ephesians 3:14-19, “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

As we gathered to worship and pray, we sensed a very strong yet gentle Presence of God. His Presence pulled worship out of us! There was a sweet freedom to worship Him. His Presence ministered to our hearts and our souls. In His Presence, He was freeing our spirits, healing our hearts and stripping us as individuals so that we can be ready for what He has called us to do.

He is such a KIND God. His kindness causes us to turn back to Him. We were so blessed together as believers, or ‘together with all the saints’, to marvel in His kind love together.
We prayed that we would become kind people as He is kind…

I Can Sing of Your Love Forever
by Martin Smith

Over the mountains and the sea,
Your river runs with love for me,
and I will open up my heart
and let the Healer set me free.
I’m happy to be in the truth,
and I will daily lift my hands:
for I will always sing of when
Your love came down.

I could sing of Your love forever,
I could sing of Your love forever,
I could sing of Your love forever,
I could sing of Your love forever.

Oh, I feel like dancing
it’s foolishness I know;
but, when the world has seen the light,
they will dance with joy,
like we’re dancing now.

We continued the theme of the week:  interceeding for one another.  We felt God wanted to remove shame from individuals.  He has taken care of it on the cross, there is no need for us to live under the weight of shame.  We also felt God wanted to bring refreshing to those who are weary.  We laid hand on every person who wanted prayer.

We sang prophetically over our loved ones who do not know Jesus:

Come to the Light
by Kevin Prosche

Come to the light
Come as you are
You can be the friend of God
Humble yourself and give him your heart
He will meet you where you are

Come to the light
just as you are
Fall on the rock for the wasted years
He will restore all that was lost
Surrender now - his power is here

We sang and prayed over Burma.  God, please have mercy!!!

Sweet Mercies
by David Ruis

It’s our confession Lord, that we are weak
So very weak, but You are strong
And though we’ve nothing Lord, to lay at your feet
We come to Your feet and say, “Help us along”

A broken heart and a contrite spirit
You have yet to deny
Your heart of mercy beats with love’s strong current
Let the river flow by your Spirit now, Lord we cry

Let Your mercies fall from heaven
Sweet mercies flow from heaven
New mercies for today
Shower them down Lord as we pray
Let Your mercies fall from heaven
Sweet mercies flow from heaven
New mercies for today
Shower them down Lord as we pray

Monday, May 5, 2008

We spent the night waiting on God for each other, laying hands on each individual and sharing words that we felt God was saying.  We also prayed for individuals of our community that were not with us.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

We felt that we needed more of God’s power in our midst.  We need more of the Holy Spirit and His gifts to edify the church.  We felt that we need freedom:  1) our spirits need to be released and freed to fully express our worship to God and 2) we must give God freedom in our midst to move as HE pleases!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

John 15:4-5, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.  for a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me.  Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.  Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.  For apart from me you can do nothing.”

Jonathan shared about the Asian American churches, particularly the Chinese churches. Where is our generation? Where is our youth? Are we out chasing the ’successes’ of the world? As we are learning about loving God first, we feel that this is a message that must be taken out to our peers!
We also felt spiritual warfare against the message that we are learning about the primacy of loving God. People felt weary and heavy throughout the week.

We decided to worship! We will worship to declare that we will continue to pursue loving God. We will also worship to stand in the gap, interceeding, for our generation, for our peers, for our people group!

I Stand in Awe
by Mark Altrogge

You are beautiful beyond description
Too marvelous for words
Too wonderful of comprehension
Like nothing ever seen or heard
Who can grasp you infinite wisdom
Who can fathom the depth of your love
You are beautiful beyond description
Majesty enthroned above

And I stand, I stand in awe of you
I stand, I stand in awe of you
Holy God to whom all praise is due
I stand in awe of you.

I Love You, Lord
by Laurie Klein

I love you, Lord
And I lift my voice
To worship You
Oh, my soul rejoice!

Take joy my King
In what You hear
Let it be a sweet, sweet sound
In Your ear

The Onething Conference for Asian Americans. This conference was from April 17-19. Each person that attended was greatly encouraged by the messages that were shared. The messages were all about the one thing: the primacy of loving God. We were so encouraged that God had been teaching us the same message and writing it onto our hearts!

We spent the night making a memorial of this season: the primacy of loving God. Liz shared from Deuteronomy 6: 4-9, “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” She also shared from Joshua 4, a passage about the Israelites making memorials for the things God has done.

First, we wrote down on a piece of paper [that we are to put somewhere we will see on a regular basis] a prayer to remember what God has taught us.
Second, we each put a stone inside one vase as a memorial for the Exodus. The vase can be seen every time we meet to remember what God is doing/ has done in our midst.

We spent the rest of the night in worship and prayer for this season…that we will never forget the primacy of loving God!