Watch, Wait and Listen

Me:    Good morning Lord. Thank you for waking me this morning and for this new and beautiful day. I love you Lord.

Lord:    Good morning son. Welcome to the club this morning and thank you for your love and devotion. I love you too and I always will love you.

Down the ages, and in every age, the Church Established has tended to formalise and encase the Christian life in rules and regulations, even to the point of only allowing certain 'suitably qualified people' to pray in public. This is not to be the case amongst you. It was never my intention and it has prevented the church from growing and becoming the bride I long for. Prayer is grounded where the people are, in the people. Everyone, yes everyone, has both the right and the ability to pray prayers that I can hear and answer. I want my people to pray. I don't mind if they are not literary works of art as long as they come from the heart and are born out of love for me. When a couple get to know one another, conversation grows and they begin to share thing hitherto unshared with anyone. As the conversation grows trust increases and the relationship deepens. So it is with us. I want to talk to you and I want you to talk to me.

Yesterday I spoke about you asking. Today I want to talk to you about you listening and me answering and sharing with you. The first and only reason why prophetic words are scarce in any age, is that my people are too busy to listen to me. Many church elders, preachers and pastors are so busy 'doing things for me' that they neglect seeking me and finding out what I want them to be doing. Just because something 'needs to be done' it doesn't mean you have to do it. For every work and ministry in the world I have prepared people to fulfil that work. Often these are the most unlikely people. So no one should rush into anything without seeking me first.

In the early days of the Old Testament, when I laid down the ground rules for Temple Worship I allocated tasks and ministries to the various families. This may seem very rigid to you now, but it was to establish the principle of every member ministry as distributed by me. See also the first letter St Paul sent to the Corinthian Church, Chapter 12. 11. "All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines."

The important part of the verse being, "Just as he determines."But how do you know what my will is if, as soon as you have asked, you walk away, feeling good because you have asked? It's like asking your wife what colour she would like the kitchen wall, and then without waiting for the answer going off to the shops to buy the colour you want!

Watch, wait and listen
Because your lives are so full of 'doing', it is hard to watch, wait and listen. All three require you to stop, lay down what you are doing and apparently do nothing. In truth all three are activities that require full attention. A soldier on the watch tower has to watch for any enemy movement, throughout his entire watch. He cannot sleep on the job, for it is at the moment of sleep that the enemy will arise to attack. Watching requires many faculties: using your eyes to see any shifting shadows or glints of light, using your ears to hear any sounds that shouldn't be there. It requires you to be still, so that your own body doesn't act as a distraction for you or a target for the enemy. It also requires a sense that most humans have lost through neglect: being so in tune with both your body and the environment that your instinct will tell you when something is not quite right.

Spiritual watching is much the same, except that the eyes and ears you use are your inner or spiritual eyes and ears, and your stillness comes from being at peace with God. It is when the bodily senses of sight and sound are de-tuned and the inner senses in tune, that you can begin to hear the sounds and enjoy the sights that are there all the time but are blotted by the physical senses. It takes practice and in a way needs to be taught, and it goes against the human idea of being cerebral or intellectual. It also takes time. At first it may take a long time to 'tune in', but with practice it can become like switching on a light switch.

So, what will you hear? Well, I often don't use words that need to go through the interpretation process of the brain. My word can come to you as pictures, ideas, inspiration, or something whispered in your ear. Everything I say to you is relevant and important, so your journaling of what I say and the conversations we have is good. It helps you to go over what I have said and be clear about it, and it also opens up my word for others to hear. Much of what I say to you is personal because I love you, but when I give you something that is to share you will know instinctively in your heart. For example this word is for you to blog and share.

The more you watch wait and listen the easier it is for me to speak with you and you to hear. That is why I have taken to waking you so early. At this beautiful hour in the morning we can be alone together without distractions and can love each other and converse freely. I used to share this hour with my Son, and now we share it with you. I long for others to share this time with us so that they may hear my voice and catch a glimpse of the things I have in mind. Let my Spirit quicken your mind and open up to you a whole new universe of delight, as I reveal my plan to you, for you and for my world that I love.

Prayer Talk

Lord:    There is much still to tell you as things begin to get busy in readiness for my great outpouring. Please be here each morning for me to share with you, then post it on the blog as I direct you.
 

Prayer
Over the past two days we have looked at Love, and sharing your story or witness. Now I want to move on to prayer. I have spoken much with you about prayer over the years, and like the other subjects much of it may seem obvious, but your relationship with me is so important to me that prayer, our means of conversation, must be both natural and regular. I cannot get to know my children if they shut themselves off from me and refuse to speak to me. Neither can I be heard or understood if my people will not listen to me.

Prayer is not the privileged domain of a few select people. Prayer is the conversational language of people who love my company and want to talk. I do not lay down rules for prayer. You don't have to follow a particular pattern or use set prayers. In fact I would prefer that you allowed my Spirit to lead your prayer by guiding the conversations. Pray what is on your heart. You cannot shock me, for I know everything. Share your innermost concerns, worries, joys and fears. Then let me take each of these and deal with them for you. Nothing is too trivial for me to be interested in and nothing is too big for me to deal with. I am your Heavenly Father, and just as you delight to do things for your children, so I delight to do things for you. Jesus told you to ask, and it would be given to you. I want you to ask. Now this is not an asking for wealth and possessions, for I have already told you that I am the Lord you provider. I always provide as much as my children need. When they stay close to me that is easy, as they are near to the table and can come running back with ease.

What I want you to ask for is for the equipment, training and insight you need, to be doing my will. Pray for guidance: who to pray for, how to meet another's need, how to use the gifts I pour out on you so as to benefit others. Never be slow in bringing both your healing needs and the needs of others to me, for I am the Lord that heals you, and I delight in doing it.

Let love be the driving force behind your prayers. I am Love, and my desire is that all men and women everywhere should come to me and be a part of my Kingdom. If you love me, that should be your desire also, so pray for a turning to me. Pray for those you know who do not yet know me. Pray for those I have called to be my prophets and evangelists to this generation. You cannot pray too much. If Love is the most powerful force in the universe, then prayer is the oil that lubricates love and allows it to flow freely where it is needed.

Do not be afraid to be personal in prayer. I want to get to know you and I want you to get to know me. Most of the prayer I have spoken of so far has been proactive prayer. It has been about your asking, your loving, your requests etc. There is another side to prayer which is more about listening and absorbing, which I will speak with you about again.

As a child you are taught to pray certain prayers at certain times, usually before you go to sleep. This is to instil within the young mind a pattern, a habit, of spending time with me. This is good but if left at that becomes an aimless ritual. As a child grows, prayer should also grow, and children need to be taught to pray as they are taught about me. Because this has so often not been the case, teaching on prayer is vital for adults. Encourage Christian fellowships and groups to engage in teaching about prayer. This is of course best done in the context of prayer. Allow me to be the teacher, because I love you.

You are My Witnesses

Lord:   There is much I still have to teach you and share with my people. much of it is obvious, but it needs to be said afresh to this generation.

I began yesterday with Love. That is your starting point. Love as I have loved you. Allow me to love others through you. Jesus said "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven." Matthew 5.16. Your light is your love. As you love one another your whole being shines with a divine light. The reason for this is that I am love and I am the light of the world. When you love I shine through you. The good deeds or works spoken of in Matthew is not a perfect translation of the true meaning. A more accurate translation would be along these lines: "Let the light of your love shine so brightly, that others may be drawn into the light and see the right pathway ahead, and so too, become the children of your Father in Heaven."

Witness 

Let us now look at the next step. My love causes you to begin to love others and that in turn puts within your heart a burning desire that those others should also know me and believe. Everyone loves a good story, especially a true one. Therefore telling your faith story is a powerful way to light up the pathway. Many people try to get out of this by saying to themselves; "My story is too personal to share with strangers, they may laugh at me!" This is an excuse that is born out of a lack of love. If you love me, and your story is about how much I love you, then you have a burning desire that others will love me too. This is the beginning of love for those others. It is not so hard to tell those you really love what is on your heart. Just as your heart leaps with joy when others tell their faith story, so it is when you tell your story.

In a court of law a witness is called to tell, "The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." A witness is not called to persuade or convince the jury, but to tell it how it is. In sharing your faith story or testimony, all you need to do is to tell it how it is. You can then leave the persuasion to the Holy Spirit. You need not worry about what to say because the Holy Spirit is very good at bringing to your remembrance the things that are relevant. Having told your story it is time to leave it. No further arguments, explanations or excuses are necessary. It is now the work of the Holy Spirit to persuade, convince or convert. Is is an act of great love and trust to entrust your story to others. It is my work to protect that story from abuse. That is why I have promised that when anyone confesses me before men, I will confess them before my Heavenly Father. In other words, both I and my Father delight in your story and bring blessing through it. Witness is a vital part of kingdom growth, but it must be born out of love. Jesus said to those who loved him; "You are my witnesses, go and tell your story everywhere, so that all men might hear it and come to me." Do not be afraid for I am with you. I shall be with you in every word you speak for me, and you shall see the fruit of your labour. I love you.

Love is the Answer

My son, Love is a key which will unlock a door that leads into a room of blessing. Blessings are not withheld from my children, neither are they earned. Blessing is part of the equipment I have provided for you to use. It is equipment that requires certain training. That training is love.

Love:

All love begins with me. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4.7-9. The first step is to get to know me, and that can best be done by getting to know my son Jesus. All of scripture points to Jesus, from Genesis to Revelation. As you read my word, Jesus is revealed. Those who seek him, find him, and those who find him, discover the great love he has for me and for all the creation I have made. Just as all scripture points to Jesus, so Jesus points to me. John 14.9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Jesus always does what I command. My will and his will are one. So, as you get to know Jesus you get to know me. As you learn to love Jesus, you begin to love me. I have always loved you. It was because I loved you that I created you. As any parent loves the child of their flesh, but the child cannot articulate that love until they have absorbed the love given, so you need to absorb the love I am pouring out upon you. As you take this love on board so you will begin to show that love and radiate it back to me and eventually to those around you. You cannot create love. I am love! You can respond to my love and give it back to me. As you share the love I give you, I cause that love to grow.

Because all love comes from me, whenever you find it hard to love someone, ask me for my love for that person, and I will channel my love through you and you will experience my love for them. It is my desire that love should abound, and that you should love even those who do not love you back. Love is the greatest power in the universe because I am love. True love is a wall upon which hatred and death will dash themselves to pieces. My love is a safety belt thrown to those who are drowning. It will not break or let them go until they are safe with me.

Never underestimate love. It is never conditional, and never exacts a price. True love is freely given and unconditional, and never comes to an end. I love you with an everlasting love. The love I had for you, when I first conceived you in my mind, before the foundations of the universe were put in place, has grown as you have loved me back. But even had you never loved me, my love would have gone to the ends of creation and beyond to seek you out and bring you home. Mankind can never begin to comprehend the measure of my love. All he can do is absorb it, and allow it to flow though him and out to others. Love one another as I have loved you.

The Harvest is Ready

A time is coming, and is near at hand when my spirit will sweep not just through this land, but through the whole world. The harvest is near and I am even now employing labourers for the harvest field. I require those who will devote their hearts to me and listen to my voice. I require those who will faithfully do the things I command them. I am not interested in denominational ties, or race, or colour. I purpose to bring into my kingdom those who call themselves Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, and all the other religions of the world. Indeed even atheists, Communists and those opposed to religion will meet with my son Jesus and be attracted to Him. Any who call upon the name of Jesus for help will be able to receive full salvation through Him. Jesus is the key to the revival that is to come. No one can come to  God except through Him. Do not be distracted by teaching that calls upon saints or angels. It is my beloved son Jesus, who has brought salvation, through the Cross. All who turn to Him will be saved. Those who need healing will find healing through the blessed name of Jesus and his name alone.

    Hold onto My Word, which points to Jesus, both Old and New Testaments. Remember also that I made man to worship me, and I love to hear the praises of my people. I join in their praises and love them. I ride on their songs and music as if on the wings of an Eagle.

    Satan cowers and shrinks back into the dark when my people praise me with all their hearts. Many of my people are held in bondage by him because they have forgotten their first love and have neglected to praise me. Set my people free, and bind up Satan, for he is a defeated foe. His end was secured by Jesus on the Cross, and the very least in the Kingdom of Heaven can banish him from their presence by calling on the blessed name of Jesus. His work is to chain up, to deceive, and to tell lies. Go forth and destroy the works of Satan with the whole truth of Jesus.

    I am raising up in this generation prophets, pastors, evangelists and teachers. Each of them needs to be covered in prayer and supported in every way, so that they may fulfil the ministry I have called them to. That support will no longer come from establishments and religious organisations, who can cut them off with out a thought or a prayer. It must come from the faithful who are listening to my voice and following my lead.

    I need every group throughout the world, who faithfully meet together, to pray, be they a house group or a congregation of the faithful. I need them to concentrate their prayers on supporting the new generation of Christian leaders I am raising up and sending out. Let them seek me, and I will guide their prayers.

    Foremost amongst your teaching must be teaching on how to hear my voice, how to read my word, and how to pray. You must encourage worship through music. However I want you to stay away from 'methods, formulas and mindless ritual'. I am real and I want our relationship to be real.

    Bless one another, as I have blessed you. Do not think that a blessing is the private domain of priests. Everyone should bless one another and be a blessing to those around them, for in doing this they are copying the Godhead. We live as a close family unit and have a perfect relationship of love. That love is a source of blessing to us and to those we touch. We would that all men and women that we have created in our image, would live in this state of pure love and harmony. Jesus taught his disciples to "Love one another as He has loved them". That is what I still require of all my children, that love abounds amongst them.

A Blessing, Not a Curse

Me:    Good morning Lord. I Love you, help me to follow in your way and stay close to you. remind me each day of your love. I love you Lord.

Lord:    I love you to son and I really do love these times in the morning we spend together. I want you to build with me on these times and make them something even more special and precious.

The covenant which I made with Israel, they broke. They followed other gods and turned their backs on me, the Lord who brought them out of the land of slavery and back to the land I promised to give them. It is still in my heart that they should return to me and that the land will be theirs in peace. But until they turn around and look at me, it cannot happen. In the mean time I have made a new covenant with the other peoples around about them, for I purpose for all men to come to me, and be a part of my kingdom. This new covenant is not with the nations, although it applies to nations as well as individuals. This new covenant is with all whom I call. If anyone respond to my calling I will be their God and they will be my people. I want my new people to open their eyes to the possibilities of immediate circle evangelism. The Harpenden Group was very good at it, not so good at mass evangelism. Learn from the pattern of sharing your personal story with those around you and build up a local fellowship of faith. Never try to become a church and do not set up structures of leadership on the pattern of the establishment. I want a fellowship of believers who all follow me and have a real vital and living relationship with me. A fellowship of equals.

In the earliest days of the church, its members all brought their spiritual gifts to the whole body and shared them, no one person dominated or dictated to the rest. When that sort of 'leadership' began to happen, and the establishment was formed, I, the Lord your God was squeezed out.

My heart grieves for the establishment. It is exactly because it is a man made institution, that it has become impotent, unable to do anything or say anything, to this modern world. In the time ahead I shall not be working through man made structures anymore, but through my real organic church, the fellowship of believers. No man will be able to pin them down, because I shall be with them and in them. When my people who are called by my name turn to me and obey the Word I give them, then I will turn and heal their land. and heal all their hurts. I want to show this to the world in little ways but lots of them. Isolated Christians who stay close to me will find that the passage you read in Deuteronomy this morning will be theirs. In stark contrast to those around them. Theirs will be the second passage.

For the believer I give:

Deuteronomy 28:1-14  Blessings for Obedience

All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:

You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. 

The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. 

Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. 

You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. 

The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. 

The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. 

The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in obedience to him. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you. 

The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 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. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them. 

For those who refuse to love me and turn their backs to me:

Deuteronomy 28:15-44  For the Disobedience  

If you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you:

You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.

Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.

The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.

The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish. The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. The LORD will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.

The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth. Your carcasses will be food for all the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away. The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumours, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. At midday you will grope about like a blind person in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.

You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and rape her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit. Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them. Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand. A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days. The sights you see will drive you mad. The LORD will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.

The LORD will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your ancestors. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone. You will become a thing of horror, a byword and an object of ridicule among all the peoples where the LORD will drive you.

You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it. You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off. You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity. Swarms of locusts will take over all your trees and the crops of your land.

The foreigners who reside among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. They will lend to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, but you will be the tail.

What I say to you today is not a curse for my people, it is a blessing. I will contrast to the world, the blessing I pour upon my children, with the absence of blessing, for those who curse my name, and worship other gods.

Continue the work of blessing those around you. Bless your locality, your neighbours and those who you have contact with. As you bless them so I will bless you all, and transform your community. I love you.

Self Aware- God Aware

Me: Good morning Lord. Thank you for waking me this morning and for a good night's sleep. Thank you for the song of the birds and for the fresh morning breeze. Thank you for this lovely home and for this special time you have given us. I love you Lord.

Lord: Good morning Martin, thank you for joining us this morning. Mornings have always been beautiful like this one, but mankind in general is so busy seeking ways to make money or mischief, he doesn't spent time in quiet with me and does not hear the heart beat of creation.

I want to talk to you about 'being' this morning. I wasn't created like you for a purpose. I am. I always have been and always will be. I created mankind in my image. Man is self aware, and God aware. When I made man I placed him in a special place, a garden made for him. It is an island in creation, a unique place at the heart of all that I have made. It is a place designed for man to be man.

Self Aware 

I spoke of man being self aware. This is very apparent in western culture today, and you live in an age of 'the great I am'. Man thinks of himself as being at the centre of his world, and everything is about getting, owning and self gratification. Most of these things man seeks after, are an illusion, but they have become so important to him that he pursues them relentlessly, blind to anything else, not realising he is a slave to them. In the end the only truth self awareness will bring, is that man is a slave, unable to gain his freedom. Oh even those who think they have control of their lives and hold sway on the lives of others, are hopelessly lost in slavery. All the material wealth in the world cannot buy them out, and when they perish they will be forgotten for ever.

God Aware

But that is not what I intended when I made man. I also made him God aware. There are two ways of being God aware. The first is to be sufficiently self aware to recognise the God shaped hole in everyone, but to be so in awe and fear, that the God who should fill the hole seems far away and someone to be afraid of. A healthy respect and even fear of me is a good thing, for I am greater and more powerful than man can even begin to imagine. However, I am never far away. I am incredibly near, and I do not need to gleefully keep a list of things man does wrong! Indeed I know very well what man can do and it grieves me. Therefore I long for man to do what is right. It is these things I cling to, not his sin.

The second way to be God aware is to know God through the revelation of His own dear Son, Jesus. It is Jesus that fills the God shaped hole inside every man. The kind of relationship I want every man woman and child to have with Jesus, is the close intimate relationship that we enjoy in the Godhead. It's a family bond, a oneness that runs deeper than just friendship. It's intimate, loving and whole. This relationship is not dependant upon others in that, you don't need intermediaries. However it is a shared relationship, just as the relationships in the Godhead. The Son loves the Father, he also loves the Spirit. The Father loves both the Son and the Spirit, and at the same time the Spirit love both the Son and the Father.

Me: So, as we love Jesus and He loves us, at the same time others love him and he loves them, and because of that, we have a family relationship with each other.

Lord: That's right, Our desire has always been to have a close relationship with the whole of mankind. We are working towards a people who will all know us equally.

Jeremiah 31:34
    No longer will a man teach his neighbour,
    or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,'
    because they will all know me,
    from the least of them to the greatest,"
    declares the LORD.
    "For I will forgive their wickedness
    and will remember their sins no more."

Lord:  I am not interested in a religious system. I am building a family where all men will know my voice and be able to ask of me without the need of a teacher or advisor.

So you see, 'Being' means being truly 'self aware' and 'God aware'. I want you all to be in me and I in you.