Intro
Part 1 of this note details a few of the myriad things I wanted to talk about Grace New Hope (Oak Hill) but didn't have the chance yet. Part 2 of this note details the sermon we heard at Grace Snellville's evening service and the worship songs we sang, which I simply loved to death. I'm trying to write as quick and efficiently as possible for sake of time. *cracks knuckles* ALL RIGHT. Let's do this.
Grace New Hope Update
Today at 3 pm we went down there where they were dedicating the building with a prayer walk - people prayed for the new church in the church, walking around the church, walking through neighborhoods in the area. What were they praying about? Specifically, they were claiming the sounding neighborhoods for the Lord and His Kingdom, asking God to bring His Kingdom here and let us be a part of it. They claimed the elementary, middle and highschools in the area - three or four are only a mile from Grace New Hope in every direction. There is a huge amount of people here who need to know the Lord, and I feel as if a branch of the Lord is filling this area to meet the need.
At 3 pm, we also spent time writing Scriptures down on the stone in front of the stage - all of us - with permanent markers. It will be shellacked so it will be visible to everyone who comes in. We were claiming promises in Scripture for the new church. I felt consumed with excitement and wrote some too. I'm so excited to see what the Lord is going to do! I could feel Him. I could feel power and energy there. I prayed weakly and passionately at the same time. In my mind, I felt as if I was aflame with fire - passion, desire, the Lord's justice - whatever - as if I myself was one of those dry bones of Ezekiel, taking their place, crying out to Him on their behalf, that the Lord would send water to these thirsty souls.
Grace's Pastor - You'd Never Know It - And That's Funny to Me
Grace is a church with five campuses that is full of the Spirit of the Lord. The pastor's name is ... Buddy. That's not a very compelling name. He's a guy that's bald with a bit of hair around the temples. He has a kind of high nasally voice. When he talks he tells long, winding, rambling and amusing stories. He's not that organized. He tells people never believe him if he tells them directions or numbers. He got the direction of the four schools around Grace New Hope completely opposite each time he tried to tell us about them tonight and was corrected by audience members, then laughed at himself.
He spoke to us when this all started, telling us a bit of his history. He said that his main prayer was that he wanted to live a life that could ONLY be described by the miraculous - and when people walked into his church, he wanted them to look at him, point and say, "There is no way that guy is in charge." That, in fact, has been accomplished. That's the way I want to live too.
Buddy said in the middle of his life, he suddenly decided to go to Bible college. He did and graduated from there. He ended up in Idaho trying to plant a church. He and his wife put fliers out around this town. His first interest meeting had two people show up, neither of whom were really interested. He kept trying to get the word out. Eventually, they found two people who had been praying for the Lord to plant a Bible-teaching church in their town for 20 years. They got to 25 people or so and met in a school or something like that. When people asked him his plan, he said, "Well, next week, we're going to go through this book of the Bible and talk about the first chapter. Then next week, we'll talk about the second chapter. And we'll pray. And we'll go through the Bible. And we'll make disciples." And he got incredulous looks and they said - and THAT'S your plan?? And he was like. *shrug* Yes. It's what the Lord said to do. Tell people the Word. And make disciples who can do the same thing - mentor people in the Word - help them grow and become strong. And if we obey the Lord, He will honor that and do what He's supposed to do. People thought he was nuts. But his church grew to number about 700 in five years.
Then, all of sudden, he woke up one night, and he just KNEW that he was supposed to go back to Atlanta, where he grew up and plant a church there. He just knew. The night before he had known he was where the Lord wanted him and in the morning, he knew he was not. He called his parents in Tennessee and told them. They were like, "Buddy, do NOT come to Atlanta. Stay up there where the Lord has blessed you. Your style won't work in Atlanta. You're just home sick. Don't do it." He told the elder's of his church. They said the same thing. "You're just home sick. You'll get over it. Go down there for a visit to get it out of your system." So he did. And when he came to Atlanta, he knew for SURE. This was what God wanted. So, he resigned from his church, packed up and moved. When one of his friends in Atlanta heard about it, he tried to dissuade him, but Buddy said, "I'm already moved. We're coming down as we speak." And his friend kind of sighed, rolled his eyes and said, "Ok. Since you're so determined, I'll help you. You can live in my basement until you get a house." And they worked that out. That was about 13 years ago now, I think, if I remember right. Now Grace numbers five campuses. Grace Snellville is large enough so that it cannot hold any more and has spawned Grace New Hope, where we are. Buddy doesn't like mega-churches. He likes to listen to where the Lord is moving and equips people to go do that, in their areas, and to spread out in campuses in many places, to help the church do it's work more effectively, listening for where the Lord is working and what is on His heart. I've never heard of the like before, except in other states, not here, and it brings me such joy!
Grace New Hope service was canceled week before this one - which made me slightly happy, since I didn't have to miss it and that made me glad. I have in my notes here from one of the prayers prayed today, "We claim Dacula and all the schools because You can do more than we ever imagine, Father." That, indeed, is the prayer on my heart.
Grace Snellville Sermon Cliff Notes
The speaker today at Grace Snellville said they were in the middle of a series about praying through the Bible. [...] If there is a thing I love more, I cannot think of it. I was stunned with joy. He said that he was praying that God's kingdom would come in this room and to put an anointing upon all of us and strengthen our inner man. Here are sermon cliff notes, what he said, combined with a few short thoughts from me and then more of my comments and the songs at the bottom.
Sermon Cliff Notes
God desires to be with His creation. He desires to be intimate with us and speak with us.
Genesis 3:8, "And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden."
With the fall of man, guilt, shame and fear entered into the world. The first murder occurred and Abel's blood cried out to the Lord for justice. The world became more and more violent until that's all people thought about. Then the Lord sent the Flood, but He saved a remnant, Noah's family.
Genesis 4:9-12, "9 Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is Abel your brother?' He said, ' do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?' 10 And He said, 'What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. 11 So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.'"
Genesis 6:5, "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."
[The Lord told Noah precisely how to proceed and what to do] Genesis 6:13-21, "And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.21 And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.”
Genesis 9:1-17, "So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand.3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. 4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.
6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed;
For in the image of God
He made man.
7 And as for you, be fruitful and multiply;
Bring forth abundantly in the earth
And multiply in it.”
8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: 9 “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. 11 Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
12 And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 15 and I will remember My covenant which isbetween Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
Genesis 11:1-4, "Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top isin the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
Genesis 11:5-10, "5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth."
Today, we look at a jewel about prayer that was revealed not to an Israelite, but to an Egyptian slave girl. Hagar. Turn to Genesis 16. We see that God called Abraham to the land of promise and he didn't know where he was going. The Lord gave Abraham a promise - that he would bear a son and would have children so numerous they'd be like the stars for multitude.
Genesis 13:14-17, 14 And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants[b] forever. 16 And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. 17 Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”
Genesis 15:12-16, 12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
Genesis 17:1-8, When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. 2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying:4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. 8 Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
Hagar and Ishmael
16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearingchildren. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. 3 Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. 4 So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.
5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me.”
6 So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.
7 Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”
9 The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.”10 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” 11 And the Angel of the Lord said to her:
“Behold, you are with child,
And you shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,
Because the Lord has heard your affliction.
12 He shall be a wild man;
His hand shall be against every man,
And every man’s hand against him.
And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi;[a] observe,it is between Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
Proverbs 14:12, There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
Genesis 12:16, "He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels." [speaking of Abram's sojourn to Egypt, in which he got men and women servants. This is likely where Hagar came from and how she joined his family. She was forced to leave her home for a wandering home with Abram and Sarai.]
God does not call us to run from the wilderness but to hold on to the promises and blessings that He has given us even if no one believes and calls you every name in the book.
The angel of the Lord says something interesting when He says that her son will be a "wild donkey of a man." Turn to Job 39, for a look at the meaning of this in the Hebrew.
“Who set the wild donkey free?
Who loosed the bonds of the onager,
6 Whose home I have made the wilderness,
And the barren land his dwelling?
7 He scorns the tumult of the city;
He does not heed the shouts of the driver.
8 The range of the mountains is his pasture,
And he searches after every green thing.
She calls Him, the "God who sees." God sees you in your wilderness and in your misery. The speaker said that his mother prayed for eighteen years for him to know the Lord before He finally did so.
Then, finally, Hagar is cast out by Sarai. She wanders in the desert again. Perhaps she shouted to the Lord, "Where is the one who hears and sees? Do you not see our pain? Your promises are rotting in the sun."
But He comes to her again and gives her water. He is living water and those who drink of Him will never thirst again.
Jesus, knowing the wilderness that His disciples were about to walk into in John 15-17, gave them words of encouragement to be of good cheer, because He overcame the world already and gave them peace - not the world's peace - but a peace that overcame trials and suffering. There is a God who sees. Not only does He hear but He responds. We live for one reason alone - His glory.
Comments
In fact, a piece fell into place for me. Maybe. Here's the general outline of what I see. It's starting to make some sense. The last prayer I prayed on Wednesday, when the Lord strengthened me, I felt His power on me, His energy, very strongly, like I did in the summer. Part of it was that I prayed He'd disguise what He was doing until it was finished and that no one would bother Him while He was doing it. Hmm.
I felt on that day, He said that He was going to be fighting the enemy for a while and would be silent. He certainly was silent. It was hard for me to pray much while I was in exile in the hospital. And if all good things come from the Lord, does not bad come from the enemy, allowed by the Lord for a time, similar to what happened to Job?
Hmm. I think I see.
The Lord is doing something. Something. I know not what. But He's doing it. It's not me. It won't look like what I think it will look like. But that's fine. I want it to be not me. I want to live exactly how Buddy described his life. Miraculous - that could not be explained by the person themselves.
I think I see. And I'm terribly excited to watch the Lord working. It's so much fun to watch the Lord working and see His plans unfold. It's really almost ... magical. :)
Appendix: Songs
[Verse 1:]
This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides
[Verse 2:]
And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me, Lord, through the flame
[Chorus:]
And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here
[Verse 3:]
And this is my prayer in the battle
When triumph is still on its way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand
[Chorus:]
And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here
[Bridge 4x:]
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship
[Chorus 2x:]
And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here
[Verse 4:]
This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've received I will sow
You are good You are good
When there’s nothing good in me
You are love You are love
On display for all to see
You are light You are light
When the darkness closes in
You are hope You are hope
You have covered all my sin
You are peace You are peace
When my fear is crippling
You are true You are true
Even in my wandering
You are joy You are joy
You’re the reason that I sing
You are life You are life
In You death has lost it’s sting
[Chorus]
Oh I’m running to Your arms
I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign
You are more You are more
Than my words will ever say
You are Lord You are Lord
All creation will proclaim
You are here You are here
In Your presence I’m made whole
You are God You are God
Of all else I’m letting go
[Repeat Chorus]
My heart will sing
No other Name
Jesus
Jesus
Tear down the walls see the world
Is there something we have missed
Turn from ourselves
Look beyond
There is so much more than this
And I don’t need to see it to believe it
I don’t need to see it to believe it
Cause I can’t shake this
Fire deep inside my heart
Look to the skies hope arise
See His majesty revealed
More than this life there is love
There is hope and this is real
Cause I don’t need to see it to believe it
I don’t need to see it to believe it
Cause I can’t shake this fire burning
Deep inside my heart
This life is Yours and hope is rising
As Your glory floods our hearts
Let love tear down these walls
That all creation would
Come back to You
It’s all for You
Your Name is glorious
Glorious
Your love is changing us
Calling us
To worship in spirit and in truth
As all creation returns to You
Oh for all the sons and daughters
Who are walking in the darkness
You are calling us to lead them back to You
We will see Your spirit rising
As the lost come out of hiding
Every heart will see this hope we have in You
Cause I don’t need to see it to believe it
I don’t need to see it to believe it
Cause I can’t shake this fire burning
Deep inside my heart
This life is Yours and hope is rising
As Your glory floods our hearts
Let love tear down these walls
That all creation would
Come back to You
It’s all for You
Your Name is glorious
Glorious
Your love is changing us
Calling us
To worship in spirit and in truth
As all creation returns to You [x2]
"Always" by Kristian Stanfill
My foes are many, they rise against me
But I will hold my ground
I will not fear the war, I will not fear the storm
My help is on the way, my help is on the way
Oh, my God, He will not delay
My refuge and strength always
I will not fear, His promise is true
My God will come through always, always
Troubles surround me, chaos abounding
My soul will rest in You
I will not fear the war, I will not fear the storm
My help is on the way, my help is on the way
Oh, my God, He will not delay
My refuge and strength always
I will not fear, His promise is true
My God will come through always, always
I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
From You Lord, from You Lord
Oh, my God, He will not delay
My refuge and strength always
I will not fear, His promise is true
My God will come through always, always
Oh, my God, He will not delay
My refuge and strength always, always