The Power Socket

2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (NIV)

What is the Holy Spirit?
God living inside of us. Our good conscious. A special power that we can use only to do good that comes directly from God.
Some characteristics of the Holy Spirit are: discernment, wisdom, knowledge, common sense, dependance on God, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Some of the things it does are: Illuminates, convicts, teaches, guides, assures, intercedes, directs, and warns.

Believe in yourself and what God can do through you. Remain constantly in prayer and allow the Spirit to give you guidance during various situations in the day. I have seen how being in prayer and allowing the Holy Spirit to work makes me very effective. Recognize negative feelings and deal with them daily, don’t ignore and stuff your feelings.
Phil 4:13, I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (NIV)
2Cor 10:5, We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (NIV)

Enlisted In His Service!

Yup! I did it! I have now officially enlisted as one of the Air Force in God’s Army. :)

One of my main reasons for that would be that there is possibly nothing that can so radically change the church, and the lives of individual believers, than having our criticisms changed into intercession.

If you read Isaiah 58:8,9, you see that this addiction to criticism could be the church’s biggest malady. “That church doesn’t share our convictions, This church has a different agenda from ours”…the list goes on….

While its true many churches today have other agendas besides the Lord Jesus, remember that all you are required to do as a believer is to

1) Matt 6:33-Seek First the Kingdom
2) John 3:5 - Be Born again of Water and Spirit
3) Matt 28:20-The Great Commission

Ignore criticism. Turn it into intercession.

....God's Army and the Farmer

The prayer warrior’s work is not finished with the moving in of the ground assault. Once Ground assault starts then air force (intercessors, prayer warriors) become subject to them. Prayers are directed as missiles to the areas that Ground Assault draws our attention to.

We need to ensure that not only are principalities cast out, but that they are displaced as well. We must send out teachers and leaders to hold the ground that has been won. To build temples that Our Lord can inhabit where earlier Powers of darkness ruled. If we leave it empty then another principality will come to roost and we would be launching never ending attacks.

Let’s get rid of the war analogy and take it down to the farming analogy our Lord was so fond of using:
The ground is prepared and plowed (intercessors, prayer warriors) and awaiting the sower (field workers, evangelists, church planters.) After the seed is planted, then comes the care and fertilization(pastors, teachers.) The harvest is ahead of us. Our Lord's coming soon!

God's Army!

I am sure all of us know the song about never being able to march in infantry, ride in the cavalry, shoot with the artillery…but Oh Yes Sir! I am in the Lord's Army.

1990-1991
Ajman, UAE.
I was 11 during the First Gulf War. The TV constantly updated us on the status and the various sophisticated weapons that were to be deployed. Our school issued warnings. We were urged to silicon seal our windows to prevent gas attacks. Many panic stricken aunties preferred to stock up on even salt among other essential commodities rather than fly back home and face a life of drudgery in Kerala.

My dad never let us panic among all the other negative influences around us. But with his enthusiasm, he made sure we know what was going on and what to be doing at any situation. In fact we kids were more fascinated and humored than scared. (It was only later in college when I became fast friends with a girl who traveled the deserts of Saudi Arabia on her own, got separated from her family and then reunited after 9 months back in Kerala that I realized the Provident hand of protection over me and mine.)

Anyways in the Gulf War, the first things to happen were the air strikes and then the ground assault. Apply that in the context of our ministry. If you want to testify or share the Good News with someone, first launch air warfare. Pray that the contraries are bound in heaven before we move on Earth. Unless the enemy is bound in Heaven, he can't be bound on Earth. And what is loosed in Heaven is released on Earth.

Our cavalry (Field workers, church planters, evangelists) can accomplish more if we move in with our Stealth Bombers first (prayer warriors). Once the cavalry has taken ground then it is upto us to hold that ground down as ours. We need to put our claim on that land. This is where our artillery comes in ( pastors, care cell leaders.)