Inspired Word - March 26, 2008

INSPIRED WORD

March 26, 2008

SCRIPTURE

Psalm 95: 2 – 7: Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In His hands are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care.

SENSE

I have had this sense since we came in here that it might be a good idea to pray over this place and these pews that God may anoint them in a special way and make them truly the Holy of Holies for those who will be coming to the seminar and those who will be entering this church. We ask the Spirit of God to come and bless this place, bless these chairs and pews, bless the people who come into this place; to meet them in this place in a mighty, mighty way. What this would mean in a spirit of reverence is that we all could walk around this sanctuary in prayer, while the Music Ministry continues to play music. Pray that the Lord anoint all of the seats and the floor.

TONGUES

INTERPRETATION

My dear precious people, you are the sheep under My care. I am your Good Shepherd. I watch you by night and I keep you safe; by day I lead you to the best water, to the best pasture. You know Me by voice. I know you, I know each and every one of you; I know you by name and I know you by sight. If one of you every goes astray, I would leave the rest to find you and bring you back. I am the Good Shepherd; follow Me! Stay with Me, abide in Me! I long to lead you and shepherd you; I love you!

SCRIPTURE

In my head really loud I heard Isaiah 50 – Salvation Only Through the Lord's Servant - and so I am going to read it. Thus says the Lord: “Where is your mother's bill of divorce with which I dismissed your mother? Or to which of my creditors have I sold you? It was for your sins that you were sold, for your crimes that your mother was dismissed. Why was no one there when I came? Why did no one answer when I called? Is my hand too short to ransom? Have I not the strength to deliver? Lo, with my rebuke I dry up the sea, I turn rivers into a desert; their fish rot for lack of water, and die of thirst. I clothe the heavens in mourning, and make sackcloth of their vesture. The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled, have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame. He is near who upholds my right; if anyone wishes to oppose me, let us appear together. Who disputes my right? Let him confront me. See the Lord God is my help; who will prove me wrong? Lo, they will all wear out like cloth, the moth will eat them up. Who among you fears the Lord, heeds his servant's voice, and walks in darkness without any light, trusting in the name of the Lord and relying on his God? All of you kindle flames and carry about you fiery darts; walk by the light of your own fire and by the flares you have burnt! This is your fate from my hand: you shall lie down in a place of pain.

SCRIPTURE

John 6: 53 – 56: Jesus said, “Let me solemnly assure you if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat My flesh and drink My blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for My flesh is real food and My Blood is real drink. Those who eat My flesh and drink My blood remain in Me and I will remain in them.”

SCRIPTURE / PRAYER

Ray began this night speaking of a banquet, the banquet of the Lord that we are all invited to and tonight we have heard about the Good Shepherd Who brings us to that banquet, and about the Body and Blood of Jesus that feeds us. In Isaiah 25, I think the Lord brings us full circle with the banquet. He says, “On this mountain the Lord of Hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.” (Verses 6 – 10) Lord, I believe that Your hand rests in this place and on these people whom you have brought here tonight and on the people You will bring next week. I pray that all of us will be touched by Your hand as You prepare a banquet, a banquet of Your love, Your mercy, Your truth, and Your gifts. O Lord, we thank You even now for in this place You are preparing a banquet for Your people. We ask that we be a shining light that has been touched by Your Holy Spirit, that have fallen deeply in love with You. O Lord, throughout this week, may You fill us and make us shining lights. Help us to grow more deeply in love with You this week, so that when we arrive in this place next time, there is something about us that cannot be resisted and that something is You, Jesus! We praise You, we thank You and we glorify You!!

CONFIRMATION

I want to confirm what Barb just spoke – before she read that Scripture I had this image. If you have ever been to a banquet, sometimes when the food is prepared, everybody hesitates to be the first in line; they wait for someone else to start first. The image that I had was the Lord leading us to be first in line, to let others know that it is okay to approach the banquet; and that if we trust in Him and believe in Him, not only will we be anxious to get to that banquet, but people will see us approaching and they will know that that is okay.

EXHORTATION

When we started tonight, God gave us a Scripture. In that Scripture He said, “Listen to Me and do what I say and you will enjoy the best food of all. Come!” And we did come. He told us in a beautiful message in Tongues, “I watch you by night, I keep you safe. I lead you to the best pasture.” Not any pasture, but the best pasture! “ I LONG to lead and to shepherd you!” His desire is to lead and shepherd us! He says, “Listen to Me and do what I say, and you will enjoy the best food of all. Listen, my people, and come to Me! The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me and I remain in them. Come to Me and you will have life!” That is a promise, a promise that God has given us tonight! We came here tired, weary and beaten down, and some of us feeling dejected, and maybe in a place that we didn't want to be. God responded immediately and said, “You will enjoy the best food of all if you listen to Me!” God LONGS to lead and shepherd us and that is the message we need to give to those people coming to this seminar. He is our Shepherd and we are His sheep!!

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