Creative Storms (Perth)

Job 36:27-29

He draws up drops of water, which distill as rain from the mist,

28 Which the clouds drop down and pour abundantly on man.

29 Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds.  The thunder of his canopy?

Mark 6:45-51

Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. 46 And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. 47 Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. 48 Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. 49 And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." 

Why would Jesus potentially just walk by?

Mark 4:38.  But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow.  And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

We are rebuked for our fear and doubt

We are disturbed by something that doesn’t disturb God

Why doesn’t God rush to get us out of storms?

God’s Environment

Revelations 4

• ·         there was a rainbow around the throne,
• ·         from the throne proceeded lightnings, and thunderings,
• ·        

Ps 97:2.  Clouds and darkness surround Him;

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

We want Blessings but we rebuke the conditions that bring them

Ezek 34:26-27a.  "I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing.

We want to hear a Word from the Lord, but we reject His platform

The Exodus – God talked to Moses out of a cloud.  (Ex. 34:5)

Mount of Transfiguration (Mk 9:7) – God talked to Jesus out of a cloud.

We want His Presence, but turn away His transportation

Ps 104:3.   He makes the clouds His chariot, He walks on the wings of the wind.

Acts 1:9.  Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

Luke 21:27.  Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  (Rev 1:7)

We want the Glory Cloud without the Storm

Ps 68:34.   His strength is in the clouds

We’re not talking some white, soft fluffy cloud

2 Chron 6:1.  Then Solomon spoke: "The LORD said He would dwell in the dark cloud."

Darkness is one of the first indicators of a storm

We’re talking severe storm clouds

When it gets dark, God is about to do something

God began creation with darkness over the waters

He still creates in Stormy Waters

Embryonic Sac

Give birth in the storm of pain

• ·         The closer the blessing,
• ·         The greater the storm
• ·         The greater the pain

My Water Broke!

God is moving in a Storm because something is about to be born in Perth

Perth, we must Create the Rain of God

Where do Clouds come From?

Job 36:27-29 – from rivers, lakes, streams and seas

            Create the clouds from which rain comes

We are the river that creates the Showers of Blessings

John 7:38.   "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said,

Out of his belly will flow rivers of living water."

We must become Rain Dancers

Getting Even Series - Worship

Matt 21:8-9, 15-16

A very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

"Hosanna to the Son of David!

'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!'

Hosanna in the highest!"

15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant 16 and said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?"

And Jesus said to them, "Yes. Have you never read,  (Ps 8:2)

'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?"  

Luke 19:39-40

And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."  40 But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."

Worship is critical to our Getting Even

The enemy would have us believe worship is optional

• ·         Too many make worship about entertainment
• ·         We have reduced it to a physical activity
• ·         Or an emotional response
  • o   We do worship by how we feel, or by our personality

First and foremost, Worship is a Spiritual Activity

• ·         Strengthens and stretches our spirit
• ·         It opens the door into the spiritual realm – spirit to Spirit
• ·         It connects us to our purpose – We were created to worship

John 4:23.  God is seeking worshipers – to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth

            The devil is seeking worshipers, too

                        See it clearly in the temptation of Jesus

Also see it clearly in the Book of Revelations:

            Central to the end-time battle is ‘will the people worship the beast and his image

                        Or will the people worship God?’

I know we think of that battle as being during the Great Tribulation

            But that is the issue:  Will we worship in tribulation?

There is a resistance to worship…

            In my body, and in my soul…

Worship is a discipline

Worship puts our bodies and souls into their proper place

• ·         Present your bodies… Rom 12:1
• ·        
  • o   Don’t let our emotions determine our praise
  • ·         True worship teaches me to subdue my will – what I want

To give God what He wants

Worship is a spiritual exercise that strengthens me

Must learn consistency in worship

            Not like Israel in the wilderness…

                        Worship turns to murmuring when desires not met

Worship restores my soul

• ·         The way I remind myself of the Faithfulness of God
• ·         The way I remind myself of the Promises of God
• ·         The way I cast all of my cares on Him and release the pressures
• ·         The way I deal with my Doubt & Disappointment

Worship refreshes me:  Acts 3:19 …times of refreshing shall come from His presence

• ·         Causes my faith to surge – I begin to believe…
• ·         Opens a flow of inspiration and motivation and creativity

Worship changes my view from being linear

            I begin to look up, instead of sideways…

The view from worship puts things in the right perspective

            It makes God bigger (magnified) and the problem smaller

            I stop focusing on the pain and start focusing on the promise

As I look up, I begin to move up

Worship brings us into the presence of God

                        Some things cannot enter into the presence of God

1 Sam 16:14-16, 23.  The demonic is driven from our midst

Worship releases the Word from the Lord – 1 Kings 3:12-15

We must be conscious to guard a strong atmosphere of worship here at AGF

The greatest power we have is the sound that we make

• ·         Sound of agreement with one another – symphony
• ·         Sound of agreement with God
• ·         Or the sound of Babel; it stops what’s in our imagination from becoming reality

Sing the right songs

If we don’t, the rocks will

The Spirit of God is measuring worshipers

Rev 11:1-2

Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, "Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. 2 But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles.

2 types of Worshipers:

• ·         Those who abide in the inner court
• ·         Those outside the place of intimacy

When We Sing (Perth Conf)

Have you ever noticed how you contend with things on Sunday, before going to worship, that you don't contend with on other days?

Our enemy wants to create an Environment to stop your worship

Hell:  Created for the the Devil

What makes a place “hell” is that it is away from the Presence of God

            Misery loves company...

                        Bring you out of the presence of God

Worship brings us into the presence of God - which the enemy seeks to prevent because...

1. The devil has seen the face of God in response to worship
2. The devil knows the power of worship

What happens When We Sing?

We say the same thing with One Another

• ·         Agreement: symphony

We Prophesy:  say the same things as God

The battle is for your mouth

Why?

• Death and life are in the power of your tongue – Prov 18:21
• We shall have what we say
• Our words have creative power and life

 Speak things into existence

            Why it’s important not just that we sing, but what we sing

When we sing, God sings with us

Look at what happens when we sing and God sings with us

Isa 30:29-32

29 You shall have a song as in the night when a holy festival is kept,

And gladness of heart as when one goes with a flute,

To come into the mountain of the Lord, to the Mighty One of Israel.

30 The Lord will cause His glorious voice to be heard, snd show the descent of His arm,

With the indignation of His anger and the flame of a devouring fire,

With scattering, tempest, and hailstones.

31 For through the voice of the Lord Assyria will be beaten down, as He strikes with the rod.

32 And in every place where the staff of punishment passes, which the Lord lays on him,

It will be with tambourines and harps; and in battles of brandishing He will fight with it.

It Confuses and Divides the enemy

2 Chron 20:20-23

20 So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper." 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:

"Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever."

22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. 23 For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

Living in Zarephath (Perth Conf)

1 Kings 17:8-16

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you." 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink." 11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand."

12 So she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."

13 And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.'"

15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.  NKJV

Bring water – that was in her ability

Bring bread – that challenged her ability

All she had was a handful of flour in a bin – deep place

And a little oil in jar

            She identified not just supply, but quantity – small

"Me and my son will eat and die"

            Giving up on the future

Elijah knew she was the one! 

            We would look for the one who had it to give - a rich widow

            Elijah knew that God was looking for someone to give to

“Do not fear.  Do it.”

            Bring it to me first

Then make some for you and your son

Can you imagine her walk to her house?

When she and her husband moved to Zarephath, came with hope and expectation

• ·         Now disappointed
• ·         Not just widowed, but in famine – it couldn’t get any worse

 All I have is a little bit of flour…

Every time I reach into that Deep Place I’m reminded of how full it used to be

            She had to confront the emptiness

She had to deal with loss and pain

There’s an order to the miracle

            “Bless, Break, THEN Give”

God has been preparing to give you, by emptying you out

Jer 48:11.  "Moab has been at ease from his youth; He has settled on his dregs,

And has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into captivity.

Therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent has not changed.

• You need to be poured out, because you still smell like yourself

God put her (and you) in Zarephath, which means "refinery"

            Let you get to your last

When you get to your end, some things don’t matter anymore

Not worried about what people say anymore – or your image

            There was a time I wouldn’t pick up sticks in public

Corrected my priorities

All I care about now is my son – the future

All I have is a little bit of flour…

Don’t make it and divide it

            Do for God first…

Go back to that deep place that reminds you of your emptiness and loss

            Disappointment, betrayal, abuse, wounds

Reach in and recover your hopes and dreams

            Recover your future

Reach in – all you need is a handful

Heb 4:2.  The word did not profit them, not being mixed with faith

The Leader's Revelation (Perth Conf)

Matt 16:13-23

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" 14 So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.

19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. 22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!" 23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

“Who do men say that I am?”

“Who do you say that I am?”

Are you going to say what everyone else is saying?

How you see Jesus will determine what you receive from Jesus

In Nazareth, their familiarity with Jesus caused them to miss the revelation

Which caused them to missed their reward

When Simon got the revelation of who Jesus was

It set the stage for Simon to become who he was supposed to be – Peter (Rock)

This principle applies to you and your Pastor

1. Without a revelation of “who” he is, you will only say what others say
2. You will deal with the Pastor based on your expectations – creating limitations
3. Miss who he is to be in your life – and the reward from who he is in your life

When you miss who he is in your life, you can miss who you are supposed to become

When we see Him correctly, we get a correct view of ourselves.

When we get the revelation of our man or woman of God

            God will use them to help us achieve our destiny

If we don’t see our leader correctly, we will resist the process of change

            Because Simon can’t reach Peter’s destiny

            Just as Saul couldn’t reach Paul’s destiny

The release of the prophetic word was not the release of the person

            He still had to go through the process of change

                        God calls you father, not because you are, but because you will be

Change happens from relationship, not revelation

Just because our revelation was from God, doesn’t mean our interpretation is from God

Our spiritual revelations are subject to personal interpretations

                        ex. a few verses later, Peter is challenging Jesus’ destiny

We must have relationships that develop us – Father, Mentor, Coach or Teacher

            People in our life who can correct us – “Get behind me Satan”

                        “Where else can we go?  Only you have Words for my life.”

Notice this: Peter got the revelation of who Jesus was, but he still denied Him

Because Peter’s change was not complete until he got Jesus’ Spirit

            His leader’s spirit

Difference…

Revelation of Leadership – Ex 18

            Leaders of 1,000s, 100s, 50s, 10s

Spirit of the Leader – Num 11, Pastor Moses still frustrated & ready to quit

(vs.17) I will take of your Spirit and will put the same upon the 70 who have a revelation of leadership

1 way I get the spirit of my Pastor?

• ·         Stand with him & away from the congregation
  • o   Catch Pastor’s spirit and not the people’s
    • § Tell the people what the Pastor is saying, not the other way around

Num 11:17. I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone.

The burden:  “prophetic utterance”

• ·         Jer 23:33-38 “The burden of the Lord” 8x
• ·         Other prophets “The burden of a nation” is the prophetic word to that nation

You will say the same thing, not because you are quoting the pastor,

But because you have the same spirit

Amplify the Pastor’s Vision, which is the Vision of the House

            A silent friend is a public enemy

Revelation of the Church or “Discernment of the Body” – to “build the body”

1 Cor 11:29-30.  For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep (or die).

Discernment leads to the Body being Strong, Well, Alive and Growing

Things aren’t working because we haven’t discerned His Church

            Functioning on other’s expectations of what church is

                        Former church, former pastor

When you do…

You will begin to get Super-Vision

            For the part of the body you are responsible for

God will give you Keys

Unlock things in the heavens – leadership and building becomes spiritual

There will be Supernatural Release of Provision

Phil 4:19.  My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Everyone doesn’t have access to this promise

It's a promise into the account of those who give to the man of God

Phil 4:15-19

Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. 16 For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. 18 Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. 19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus

So…

Ezek 44:28-30

And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.  29 They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.

30 And the first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest's: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.  KJV