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Visit P.A.C.T. Th7The Tabernacle Times - Jan.– Mar. 2007 COMMENTS? blog@nextga.us |
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The “Ark”ive © Joseph Sazyc |
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More Heaven in ‘07!
Jesus said, “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’” (Matthew 6:9-10). Part of what prayer is all about is pulling heaven down to earth. Let’s shoot for “more heaven in ‘07.” What’s in heaven? Is there sickness? Is there poverty? Is there depression? Is there demonic oppression? Obviously not. So let’s pray that more and more of heaven (and thus less of the other) will be manifest in our region. We also bring heaven down by constant, day and night prayer and worship: something we call “harp and bowl” prayer. When we do that, we literally are doing what is happening in heaven 24/7/365. We actually bring a little bit of heaven down to earth. An alignment occurs between heaven and us! Let’s experience “more heaven in ‘07!” |
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January 2, 2007 |
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God is Serious About This Prayer Thing! Are We?
A 24/7 Prayer team member in Mexico challenges us in Red Moon Rising (p.200): “God has been so faithful, but taught us a huge lesson to do with patience and perseverance. I really want people with a heart to do prayer rooms in specific locations to be encouraged and challenged that when God clearly speaks about his heart for prayer in that location, He means it. We need to take God at his word and persevere in prayer until it happens.” Peter Greig, author of the book, adds, “Perseverance has been a key theme for 24/7. In many ways, continual prayer is exactly that—a refusal to quit! …The reality is that we all live with far more frustrations in prayer than breakthroughs. And we are called to persevere as we seek to love God, love one another, and love the lost.” This is a good message for us. Success is not so much the numbers praying, but that we are praying! |
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January 9, 2007 |
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“All Together In One Place”
Did you ever notice that, in reference to the earth-shaking, church-shaking Day of Pentecost, the Bible explicitly points out that the disciples “were all together in one place” (Acts 2:1)? That little phrase may escape most, but in reality, it brings into the New Testament one of the central tenets of the Old Testament: “You must seek the LORD your God at the place he himself will choose from among all the tribes for his name to be honored” (Deut. 12: 5, NLT). From that point on, Israel’s spiritual health was evaluated by whether the “high places” were usurping the “one place” (e.g. 2 Kings 12:3, 14:3, 15:4…). God honors unity! The Spirit will fall when we are in unity! On Dec. 9, 2005, over 30 area leaders determined our county needed “one place” where we could seek God together. Let us cry with David, “I will not enter my house or go to my bed — I will allow no sleep to my eyes, no slumber to my eyelids, till I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob ...arise, O LORD, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might!” (Psalm 132:3-8, NIV). |
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January 16, 2007 |
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January 23, 2007 |
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We’re Out of the Boat!
Several years ago I received a vision from the Lord. The Lord showed me the story of the disciples in the boat while Jesus walked on the water. The Lord explained to me that like Peter, there was a core of people who wanted to take part in the miraculous. They wanted to step out of the boat, or 'church as usual', and to go to where Jesus was, walking in and seeing the supernatural. The Lord told me that this 'core' would see these things happen if we stepped out and pursued Him, not looking at the wind and waves. As time has passed I have begun to believe that this vision refers to those who have committed themselves to unity and prayer for the church in our county. Be encouraged today to stubbornly pursue and pray, not focusing on the wind and waves around us. In time we will rejoice together as we see the kingdom of God ushered into our churches and cities! - Jeanne Sazyc |
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“3XTerrorists” in Ann Arbor Today
We have been praying intensely that the Gospel would be proclaimed in this very humanistic/atheistic community of Ann Arbor. Perhaps tonight is an answer to some of those prayers. Three former Islamic terrorists, know as the “3XTerrorists,” have arranged a speaking engagement on the U of M campus this evening. They are “former” terrorists because their hatred has been replaced by the love of Christ. Their lives are a powerful testament to the saving power of of the Gospel! They are in constant danger because of their boldness from those who still are terrorists. Yet they are not shaken. One of them, Zakariah Anani, recently said on WJR radio, “The Apostle Paul was beheaded for his faith. Should I be afraid?” Wow! May we pray for such boldness! We will pray for 3XTerrorists today! |
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January 30, 2007 |
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County-wide “24/1” Prayer (on our way to 24/7!) Tuesdays, 12AM—Midnight Present location: Summit International Assembly of God, 2118 Ann-Arbor Saline Rd.—Ann Arbor
Rev. Joe Sazyc, Director - joe@im-pact.us |
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February 27, 2007 |
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An Audience of One Intercessors and worship leaders take heart! Sometimes it's discouraging when you are the only one filling a shift in the house of prayer. It seems kind of strange when there may be a worship leader and one singer or intercessor. Do we go to all the trouble of playing and singing songs when "nobody" is there? Let's not forget the most important person who's always there: God Himself! When King David set the ministers in the Tabernacle, there was no audience in mind but God. To whom is prayer and worship targeted? Do we pray to people? Do we worship people? He's what it's all about in the first place. IMPACT is not a show... except to God! He's our audience of one! |
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March 6, 2007 |
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Restoration Before Visitation In the book of Malachi chapter 4, God tells us that He would send Elijah the prophet to come and 'restore all things' before the coming of the Day of the Lord. The New Testament tells us that John the Baptist did just that. He restored the 'hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers' through his preaching and water baptism before the revealing of the Messiah to the world. We can see from this that God has a pattern of restoration before visitation. As we are seeking God for His visitation in our churches and communities, let us be aware that He may first begin a process of restoration in our relationships and in the church at large. Let us be diligent to welcome His move and pave the way through prayer for restoration within the whole church. Then, like in times of old, we will joyously welcome together a tremendous visitation from the Lord! |
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March 13, 2007 |
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Unity is NOT an Option Out of courtesy, an area pastor visited several other area pastors to inform them that he was planting a new church, asking for their counsel and blessing. One pastor responded, “Why are you coming to me about this? If God tells you to do something, just do it. I don’t believe in this unity stuff!” Most people would not be so brazenly against something the Lord himself prayed for in John 17:20-23,"My prayer is… that all of them may be one… May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” But we often defy Jesus’ heart’s desire through neglect. We simply don’t believe it a priority to work and pray with other churches and believers. In the Palm Sunday story in Mark 11, it is clear what Jesus was looking for in his visitation: fruit (v.13-14), prayer (v.17), and unity (v.25, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."). The fact is, fruitfulness depends on the other two: prayer and unity. May he find all three in our county! |
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March 27, 2007 |
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What If? Just recently, my wife and I had the privilege of sitting together at a dinner function with a local school board member. It was a pleasure to get to know this fine public servant and hear about the needs of the school district. What was a joy was that the feeling was mutual. He felt it was privilege to sit with us and hear about IMPACT. We told him we would be praying for him and the school district. Also recently, two of our PACT pastors set up a meeting with a local mayor. When he asked, “What can I do for you?” the pastors replied, “Actually, that’s our question.”
What if our governmental officials regularly visited IMPACT and saw it as a safe place to reflect and to lift their burdens and souls to God in prayer? What if we regularly saw local mayors, council members, school board members, commissioners, law enforcement officers, etc... dropping in to get an eternal perspective and counsel from the Holy Spirit? This should not seem strange or impossible. It is what God wants to do here in our county. - Joe Sazyc |