Inspired Word September 26, 2007

INSPIRED WORD

September 26, 2007

PRAYER

He guides me in the right path as He has promised. Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, Lord, for You are with me, Your rod and Your staff protect me. You prepare a banquet for me where all my enemies can see me. You welcome me as an honored guest and fill my cup to the brim. I know, I know that Your goodness and love will be with me all of my life, and Your house will be my home as long as I live. You are our Shepherd, Lord God! You lead us, Lord, to pools of quiet, fresh water.

SHARING

Several years ago I was going through an extremely difficult time in my life due to illness. As the members of the Pastoral Team had prayed over me, a prophetic word came from God. He said, “I will never leave you alone; I will never abandon you.” Several months later, I felt alone and abandoned. The pain was so severe and the medication wasn't working. The doctors couldn't do anything else. One night as I woke up, I said, “Lord, You promised that You would never leave me or abandon me, but right now I feel abandoned. I don't sense You at all. But I still believe in You and I believe in the words that were spoken to me.” In that darkness the Lord stepped out; He didn't remove the darkness, but His light has been with me ever since. I have not gone through any medical tests or any kind of pain or trials in which I did not know that He was there with me. When we pray for others as we did tonight, we need to understand that He does walk with us through that deep water. He doesn't remove the water necessarily; He doesn't remove the pain necessarily, He doesn't cure the cancer necessarily, but He NEVER leaves us alone and He NEVER abandons us.

SCRIPTURE / SENSE

Mark 16: 15, 18: “Go into the world and proclaim the good news to every creature. They will lay hands on the sick people and they will recover.” The sense that I get from the Lord in this Scripture is that when you visit the sick and you pray for them, this is an opportunity to share the Gospel of the Lord and help them grow in their faith, especially in their time of need.

CONFIRMATION / SCRIPTURE

I confirm that and also what Mel had talked about – of never being separated from God. I think God wants us to know that no matter what happens, He love is great and deep and that nothing separates us from that love. Romans 8: 31 – 39: If God is for us, who can be against us? He Who did not spare His Own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charges against those whom God has chosen? It is God Who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus Who died – more than that, Who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger of sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

SHARING

In September 1992 I had a heart attack. I was in the hospital for about a week; they performed angioplasty. I came home from the hospital and I knew that I was going to be alright. We had a little place out in the country, and six weeks after that heart attack, I was out stringing the barded wire fence and putting railroad ties in the ground for posts and driving steel posts in the ground. I knew that I was going to be alright! I haven't had a bit of trouble since then and that is the healing power of the Lord!

SHARING / SCRIPTURE

Two weeks ago during that time when I was going through that period of darkness, I didn't realize what it was until I heard about Mother Teresa's period of darkness. It was here at Prayer Group that I experienced the love of Jesus again and I shared it with all of you. There was Scripture that was read – “for it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the principalities, the powers and the world rulers who are masters of the darkness of this world. ( Ephesians 6: 12) As I was going home that night, I was trying to remember when this period of darkness started – it started after the Life in the Spirit seminar. That night Michael gave me this reading: “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” (see Ephesians 6: 14 – 17) I realized that He was reminding me that He was with me the whole time.

SCRIPTURE / EXHORTATION / PRAYER

….cave with a stone placed at the entrance. “Take away the stone!”, Jesus ordered. Martha, the dead man's sister, answered that there will be a bad smell for he had been dead for four days. Jesus said, “Didn't I tell you that you would see God's glory if you believed?” They took the stone away. Jesus looked up and said, “I thank You, Father, that You listen to Me. I know that You always listen to Me. But I say this, for the sake of the people here, so that they will believe that You had sent Me.” After He had said this, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” Lazarus came out; his hands and feet wrapped in cloth and with a cloth around his face. Jesus told them to unbind Lazarus and let him go free. (John 11: 38 – 44) We have a Jesus Who rolls away the stone. We have a Jesus Who says, “Come out, come out from those places that you fear; come out of those places that are causing you problems; come out and give all of these things to Me! Come out, and let Me take away these things and set you free!” The Lord tells us to come out and do not be afraid! Lord Jesus, we come out to You! Jesus, we come out to You! You call to us and we come out to You! Lord, embrace us as we embrace You! Thank You, Jesus! You are a mighty God Who rolls away the stone; Who takes away the clouds and sets us free!

EXHORTATION

….I have been singing that song for a decade or more. I thought it was nice that we are thanking God for the strength that He gives us and for giving us the things that we need. But tonight when we sang that song, I realized it wasn't about what God gives us, it is about how we share what He gives us with other people. It means that we have to say out loud to everybody that ‘I thank God for everything that I have, and I proclaim His greatness.' We have to share all of this with other people and that is what it means to “give thanks”.

SHARING

I was hoping the woman would be here tonight, but she is not. Several months ago I was asked to switch places with another person on the Prayer Team after Sunday Mass. Deacon Chuck always says that there are no coincidences. For whatever the circumstances were that led me to be there in the Chapel that Sunday, I was there and I was the only one there on the Prayer Team. I was getting ready to leave when a lady came into the Chapel. Her daughter is a drug addict. For those of you who do not know me, my older son is a “meth” addict. We prayed together for her daughter. I have continued to pray everyday for her daughter. Two weeks ago after Sunday Mass, she came to me and told me to thank this prayer community for praying. She said her daughter is back home with her and she has a job. She said that she is so grateful and gives thanks to the prayer community for praying and gives thanks to God!

SHARING

Back forty years ago we had nothing, but we did have a faith in God. As Mel said, God never leaves us or abandons us. Forty years later, He is still saying that He has never left us or abandoned us. So I thank Him for the blessing of a family that He has given us and I thank Him for the forty years that He has allowed me to share with my wife, who has understood me more than anyone else and has been a blessing in my life. She has supported me in everything that I have done or tried to do. I thank God for that!

SCRIPTURE / PRAYER

I went through a period of remembering moments from September 11 th . About that same time, Max Lucado came out with a new book titled : “3 -16” – that is John 3:16 : “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Lord Jesus, we thank You for dying on the cross for our salvation. It also reminded me of the pain that God our Father had to go through in seeing His Son on that cross; seeing the horrendous death that His Son suffered; sensing His tears flowing down His cheeks; His heart wrenching and pain for His Son. Jesus and Father God, we thank You! Our thanks is never enough, so listen to our hearts because our hearts say more than words. Thank You, God!

SHARING

…..just constantly. I saw that just the other day. Our little one year old grandson, A.J., has a habit of coming into a room and looking up at you and giving you a little kiss and then goes out of the room. So it reminds of our God. Our grandson is so trusting and he

expects that love to be poured upon him. He is also showing the love of God because it just comes from nowhere – every once and a while, a little kiss. He comes asking for that love; he feels like having a little piece of love, you kiss him and off he goes. That is how we can be with God – I need a little kiss right now, God.

PRAYER OVER INDIVIDUAL

TONGUES

INTERPRETATION

I walk with you! I walk with you to the end and past the end. Be strong; be not afraid! Know that I am with you!

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