Ain't No Party Like a Holy Ghost Party...
... 'cause a Holy Ghost party knows how!
(In case you want to know, the quote is from a Fall Conference several years ago...)
(apparently, it also can end "...'cause a Holy Ghost party don't stop", but I prefer the former)
I've been holding two partial posts for about a week and a half, and have obviously been procrastinating. I meant to finish it over the wonderful Thanksgiving break, but it just didn't come out right. Tonight at church, it became a lot clearer, and I realized how and why to share what God has been doing in my life.
Lately, I've been attending the Arvada Vineyard Church, which is much different than the churches I have previously attended. The churches that I have attended in the past have been doctrinally sound, but usually de-emphasizing the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian. One of the first times that I heard Pastor Jay (pastor of Arvada Vineyard) speak, he was introduced as "someone who expects God to show up." Little did I know all the ways that God was to "show up" and mess with (maybe mess up) my life.
The posts that I haven't posted have been about how I've been re-evaluating different areas of my life under the scrutiny of a paradigm shift from "the list of rules" to merely "Loving God and loving people", as He commands. However, they seemed really disconnected and without much of a point.
Tonight I went to the evening church service, which is purported to focus more on worship and (prayer) ministry than a message. I have been blessed by Pastor Jay's messages, and am seeking to hear from God and to have Him work through my life in all areas. I don't know what exactly that means yet, but I find out more every day. Tonight, Jay's message was on discerning the will and voice of God. Some of the relevant passages he mentioned were 1 Corinthians 13:9-12 (all prophecy is in part), 1 Corinthians 14:1 (prophecy is to be much desired) and 14:29-30 (discernment is required). Also, 1 Thessalonians 5:19-20, where it talks about not holding prophecies in contempt, but sorting through the words for the parts truly from God.
The service tonight included a time of seeking the word of God in worship and prayer, a practice that I should do more. Anyway, Jay shared some particular needs in the congregation that he was led to pray for. The last of these items was "people who just need God to speak to them." More and more in my life, I see that I need to hear from God. Therefore, I stepped out in faith and went forward for prayer.
Mike, a brother in Christ, asked if he could pray for me, and I consented. When he asked if I had any specific prayer requests, my only thought was that I needed to have God speak clearly in my face because I sometimes don't listen. We started praying, and God showed up. Mike prophesied that he saw me in a "wide-open space", something that I didn't understand until he saw me "coming out of a narrow place into a wide place where you can see a long ways. You can see a lot further now than you used to. You have a lot of opportunities, and will be able to do a lot of things." I then realized that it was indeed God's truth. For a long time, I've lived in an externally-imposed structure replete with rules and regulations not of God's making. This semester, God has been breaking me out of my man-made box into the wide plain that is His way.
My first reaction upon seeing the "wide open place" in my mind was that there appeared to be a lot of ways that I could go wrong. God may be giving me many opportunities, but how am I to choose the best way? Because my God is big, though, He had answered before I had even asked. Mike "saw" (for lack of a better word) me "walking out to an an airplane on a runway", then God spoke that "He would protect me like when I was a child." Not 24 hours ago, I was telling a friend how God had used the close structure of my past church/social environment to keep me straight for several years. God also spoke that "He would be my Shepherd now just He has always been." God has the perfect words (duh...) to show me where I was to go, and to reassure me that His hand was on me. God is always the same - He is the same today as He has been, and He will still be the same tomorrow! As He had kept me safe when I had "retaining walls" around me, so He will keep me safe without the walls. God is not a God of walls. God is a God of freedom and love.
A word about the airplane part. The last thing Mike asked was what my job was. After a moment's consideration about what my current job actually is, I answered that I was "a college student, although I used to be a flight instructor." Right about then, my cell phone "rang" (my phone almost always lives on "vibrate"). I glanced at the number and saw that it was one of my flight students that I haven't heard from in months. After church was over, I listened to the voice mail that he left, and found out he wants to come flying again. In the past week, I had twice mentioned (to different people) that although God led me into flying for a living last year, it looked like he was leading me out of aviation for a time. I still don't know how God is going to put me back into aviation as there are many demands on my time at the moment, but if He promises it, I'll believe it.
It truly takes only faith like a mustard seed. I'm new at the "listening to the Holy Spirit" bit, but God undeniably spoke to my heart tonight. He wants all of me to follow Him, something I am easily distracted from. In the next week or so, I'll try to tell you more about this wide open space that God has brought me into.
Vaya con Dios! Until next post, God bless.
(In case you want to know, the quote is from a Fall Conference several years ago...)
(apparently, it also can end "...'cause a Holy Ghost party don't stop", but I prefer the former)
I've been holding two partial posts for about a week and a half, and have obviously been procrastinating. I meant to finish it over the wonderful Thanksgiving break, but it just didn't come out right. Tonight at church, it became a lot clearer, and I realized how and why to share what God has been doing in my life.
Lately, I've been attending the Arvada Vineyard Church, which is much different than the churches I have previously attended. The churches that I have attended in the past have been doctrinally sound, but usually de-emphasizing the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian. One of the first times that I heard Pastor Jay (pastor of Arvada Vineyard) speak, he was introduced as "someone who expects God to show up." Little did I know all the ways that God was to "show up" and mess with (maybe mess up) my life.
The posts that I haven't posted have been about how I've been re-evaluating different areas of my life under the scrutiny of a paradigm shift from "the list of rules" to merely "Loving God and loving people", as He commands. However, they seemed really disconnected and without much of a point.
Tonight I went to the evening church service, which is purported to focus more on worship and (prayer) ministry than a message. I have been blessed by Pastor Jay's messages, and am seeking to hear from God and to have Him work through my life in all areas. I don't know what exactly that means yet, but I find out more every day. Tonight, Jay's message was on discerning the will and voice of God. Some of the relevant passages he mentioned were 1 Corinthians 13:9-12 (all prophecy is in part), 1 Corinthians 14:1 (prophecy is to be much desired) and 14:29-30 (discernment is required). Also, 1 Thessalonians 5:19-20, where it talks about not holding prophecies in contempt, but sorting through the words for the parts truly from God.
The service tonight included a time of seeking the word of God in worship and prayer, a practice that I should do more. Anyway, Jay shared some particular needs in the congregation that he was led to pray for. The last of these items was "people who just need God to speak to them." More and more in my life, I see that I need to hear from God. Therefore, I stepped out in faith and went forward for prayer.
Mike, a brother in Christ, asked if he could pray for me, and I consented. When he asked if I had any specific prayer requests, my only thought was that I needed to have God speak clearly in my face because I sometimes don't listen. We started praying, and God showed up. Mike prophesied that he saw me in a "wide-open space", something that I didn't understand until he saw me "coming out of a narrow place into a wide place where you can see a long ways. You can see a lot further now than you used to. You have a lot of opportunities, and will be able to do a lot of things." I then realized that it was indeed God's truth. For a long time, I've lived in an externally-imposed structure replete with rules and regulations not of God's making. This semester, God has been breaking me out of my man-made box into the wide plain that is His way.
My first reaction upon seeing the "wide open place" in my mind was that there appeared to be a lot of ways that I could go wrong. God may be giving me many opportunities, but how am I to choose the best way? Because my God is big, though, He had answered before I had even asked. Mike "saw" (for lack of a better word) me "walking out to an an airplane on a runway", then God spoke that "He would protect me like when I was a child." Not 24 hours ago, I was telling a friend how God had used the close structure of my past church/social environment to keep me straight for several years. God also spoke that "He would be my Shepherd now just He has always been." God has the perfect words (duh...) to show me where I was to go, and to reassure me that His hand was on me. God is always the same - He is the same today as He has been, and He will still be the same tomorrow! As He had kept me safe when I had "retaining walls" around me, so He will keep me safe without the walls. God is not a God of walls. God is a God of freedom and love.
A word about the airplane part. The last thing Mike asked was what my job was. After a moment's consideration about what my current job actually is, I answered that I was "a college student, although I used to be a flight instructor." Right about then, my cell phone "rang" (my phone almost always lives on "vibrate"). I glanced at the number and saw that it was one of my flight students that I haven't heard from in months. After church was over, I listened to the voice mail that he left, and found out he wants to come flying again. In the past week, I had twice mentioned (to different people) that although God led me into flying for a living last year, it looked like he was leading me out of aviation for a time. I still don't know how God is going to put me back into aviation as there are many demands on my time at the moment, but if He promises it, I'll believe it.
It truly takes only faith like a mustard seed. I'm new at the "listening to the Holy Spirit" bit, but God undeniably spoke to my heart tonight. He wants all of me to follow Him, something I am easily distracted from. In the next week or so, I'll try to tell you more about this wide open space that God has brought me into.
Vaya con Dios! Until next post, God bless.
posted by The student of life at 9:22 PM
2 Comments:
Yay, God! It sounds like you're in a scary, good place. Keep us posted!
Someone shared some verses with me recently that seem applicable to your new situation. Check out Isaiah 28:10-13, 29:13-14, and Mark 7:5-8.
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