What a great meeting we had last Sunday morning (3rd Jan).
A number of people stood up to prophesy, and there was a remarkable measure of agreement between what different people had to say. Rich Taylor has very helpfully taken some notes and grouped it all under three main headings: expectation and attempting great things - hope - being filled with the Spirit.
Expecting more and attempting more
- Expect the unexpected!
- Jesus told Peter to let down the nets on the other side of the boat. Are we willing to catch something? Are we willing to try again? Do we believe God will move this year? Will we go fishing again?
- Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God, with the emphasis on attempting something great or maybe start with ‘trying something'
- Don’t be over-familiar with what God had done before i.e. restricting our expectations of him to what he had done before.
Hope
- Noah sent out the dove and it came back with an olive branch. This spoke of hope.
- 2 Peter 3: God is faithful to his promises
- There was a specific word for people who have had their hope eroded through 2009. God was saying that he wanted to bring hope in 2010, to bring the oil of gladness instead of mourning, to repair what had been destroyed.
- More than that, we are going to become known as a church where people found healing, an ‘Isaiah 61 church’ where the sad find happiness and the thirsty are able to drink.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit
- Graham Hipwell quoted from Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” and he commented, “We can do it!”
- Richard Taylor quoted Acts 4:31: “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”
- Lulu spoke about being God chasers, coming to give not receive.