My Heart Is Full ♥

This past weekend was one of the most incredible ever. Terry & Wendy Virgo were visiting the church from the UK, & it was SUCH a blessing to have them here. Terry has planted over 700 churches & is the apostle we would look to above John Lalgee if we ever needed to. They visited once on my School of Worship year, but when Terry spoke that time it was on our church history, which was great & interesting, but this time I was excited to hear him teach. Terry is the author of the book "God's Lavish Grace" that we read on the School of Worship, & the book literally changed my life & my understanding of what grace truly is. So I was REALLY excited to hear him teach at the joint meeting yesterday.

Friday night Wendy taught at a women's meeting about submission, & it was spot on with other things God has consistently been speaking to me. Submission to God truly is the safest place to be, & it's only when we've surrendered everything to Him that the adventure He has for us can truly start! It was such an encouraging, faith-building teaching.

Terry spoke yesterday about what it means to actually build within God's purpose, and not only to build but to FINISH. Christ came as our perfect example, & He finished what He started. You can listen to the teaching here. :) After the meeting they were selling Terry's new book, "The Spirit-Filled Church" & I HAD to get one. Twenty-four hours later I'm halfway through it & SO thankful to God that He has placed me into a church that is actually built in the way that Terry describes in his book. As I read, I can honestly just feel the Holy Spirit stirring inside of me & I wonder how on earth I ever survived without that stirring & prompting from within. It makes me angry at the enemy for pulling that whole cessasionism trick. In all of my reading of Scripture, I just can't see how the Church as Christ's Bride could possibly be built for a King that is coming back UNLESS we are full of the Holy Spirit, worshipping Him in Spirit & in truth.

That being said, I woke this morning to see a blog that Wendy Virgo had written about her experience at Living Light yesterday. Honestly, I cried when I first read it. I realize how blessed I am to be a part of the church body that I'm in, & I long to see ALL churches built on the same foundational truth - the Bible itself. My heart is just so full of thanksgiving, as well as the desire to build God's Kingdom here on earth in a real & tangible way...by the manifest presence of God, through the Holy Spirit.

Here's what Wendy had to say:

"The pastor called the chattering mob to order. “OK folks! Time to stop talking and start worshipping!” It was hard to get them to focus at first: 500+ people all greeting, hugging, laughing, swapping stories, kids milling about. It was warm, friendly, lively and strangers were welcomed gladly. But John the pastor persevered, and the band played some chords. “OK, are you ready to worship? God is here. He will meet with us and speak to us.” 

Somehow you knew this was true; it had already been demonstrated in the expressions of love in the large auditorium. Now the people responded, rising to their feet to sing. For the next 50 minutes we were in glory, enjoying God, celebrating our salvation, worshipping the King among us. 

A lot of the time our hands were in the air, or clapping, or both. The band was technically excellent: it was difficult to keep still! The words of the songs were declarations of truth that resonated in heart and mind. It was loud, but it seemed appropriate! 

There were prophecies, a reading or two, a tongue and interpretation, a prophetic song. From the top of the banked seating to the front of the auditorium, there was enthusiastic involvement. It drew to a close after about 50 mins. Long? It didn’t feel long. When Terry came to preach, he was speaking to hearts that were open, primed to hear and receive. 

I have been in worship that was technically excellent, but empty. I have been in long worship that seemed endless! I have been in loud worship and it was simply noise that made my ears hurt. I have also been in worship that was efficient, brief lasted exactly 14 minutes and 32 secs, and it did not leave me longing for more; no room for gifts of the Spirit. 

I have learned a technique: when I am in an unfamiliar crowd and I want to find Jesus, I imagine I am like the woman who needed to press through and touch his robe. I try to push through the obstacles to find Him. But it is so refreshing when you are in a crowd that is shouting hosanna, metaphorically waving palm branches and welcoming the King! Seeker friendly? Bah, humbug! 

So—how do you get there? You prioritise on the presence of God. Musicians learn that they are like priests who stand before God and the people, and make it easy or hard to find Him. There has to be an ethos in the church of anticipating the presence of God, to recognise Him, cherish Him and respond to Him. 

The previous day, we had looked around an amazing new facility that had become available for their newest church plant. This is a burgeoning church, a church on the move, but a worshipping church. Gifts of the Spirit flow; lives are being changed; people are being saved. 

What an edifying weekend!"