Yesterday at the 8.30am service I got up in front of the congregation to do a promotional stint for VLBTC, saying what it has done for me. I started by telling the congregation that we learnt how to do a faith project, saying that the steps involved could be applied to any problem that they were facing today.
I said the first step was to identify a need in your life. At the time I was doing this assignment, I decided that I would like to change my acommodation, my need was to find a new place to rent.
The second step was to look at what the Bible says about your situation. In my case, the Scriptures say that God is El Shaddai – the God of More Than Enough (Genesis 17:1) and that He is Jehovah Jireh - My Provider (Genesis 22:14). God is able to do immeasurably more than all I could ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20), He has promised to instruct me, guide me and teach me in the way which I should go (Psalm 32:8) and He says that when I delight in Him, He will grant me the desires of my heart
(Psalm 37:4).
The third step was to ask God for what we wanted. We were encouraged to be very specific, and I knew that I didn’t just want any accommodation, but rather, a place of quality and beauty. Therefore, I wrote down a very detailed list of everything I wanted in a place to live, not missing out any details I felt were important. This was what I wrote: “a beautiful apartment, which has all the attributes that I desire in a rental property, i.e. located in close proximity to Victory Life Centre, excellent security with good lighting and a safe place to park my car, lots of built-in storage space, nice kitchen and bathroom with fans, one or two bedrooms with a built-in wardrobe, a separate laundry, well-ventilated open plan living area with adequate room for my furniture, floors that are easy to clean, good landlord and quality neighbors, <$200/week rent and a place that is warm and welcoming to friends needing to be refreshed”.
The fourth step was to believe that we received what we asked for in prayer. In the natural, it looked impossible to find a place that met all these attributes. However, Ps Anne taught us in a class to declare we had uncommon favor, and since she said that I have been declaring that over my life every day. Every time I came close to doubting or holding onto negative thoughts, I took thoughts captive and made them obedient to Jesus Christ. Various teachers also convinced me through their personal testimonies that absolutely nothing is impossible with God and I clung onto their words.
Then, the fifth step was to thank God as though we had already received what we had asked for. Almost every day, sometimes multiple times a day, I said: “Thank you, Lord Jesus that you have granted me the desire of my heart and prepared the right accommodation for me, which surpasses all my expectations. I believe Your Holy Spirit will lead me to it at the right time. I declare my needs met in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth”. Having confessed my faith by declaring this statement, I believed that God heard and answered my prayer and that He would fulfill His Word as He promised.
Finally, the sixth step was to wait in patient expectation.
After I had finished this assignment, I started to look at rental properties and over the next few months I looked at around 30, 40 or 50 apartments. Many of the places had 70% or 80% of the attributes I wanted. Some met every criterion except for the budget! There were times when I found places that I felt would be nice to live in – they didn’t have all the attributes I had listed, yet they seemed decent. However, every time I was almost ready to commit, I felt the Holy Spirit say “no, not this one”, “no, not this one either” ….and after looking at so many properties and feeling that every time the Holy Spirit said that to me, I decided to have a break from looking. I was feeling a bit frustrated.
Then come start of the year, a person who knows me, who is not a Christian and who didn’t know about my faith project, came to me.
This person bought a duplex some time ago and over the last year has spent considerable time renovating the entire interior of this place. It could easily be rented out for at least $350/week rent. However, they offered it to me at a mere rate of $150/week rent. Before accepting the offer, I referred back to my list and was astounded that every single detail was met in this place! The most amazing thing is that this person had no intention of moving out of the property when I started this assignment in August 2008. They only made the decision in December 2008.
Bible college has taught me to pray more effectively, because we were taught how to lay hands on the sick, anoint a person with oil, use the name of Jesus and declare Scripture over a situation to dramatically turn the circumstances around. Last year, my little niece was critically ill and it was a privilege to be able to put what I had learnt into practice and apply the teaching to my situation. Yesterday, my niece was exactly 7 months old. She is completely healthy and normal – a living testimony that the things we are learning in Bible college really do work.
I have learnt that God’s Word never returns void but accomplishes the purpose for which it has been sent (Isaiah 55:11). I learnt that angels hearken to the Word of God (Psalm 103:20) and that God is ready to perform His Word (Jeremiah 1:12).
I learnt that when we meditate on Scripture day and night, which is facilitated by going to Bible college because the teachers set before you a feast of Scripture, and when we put the Word of God into practice, we are guaranteed success and prosperity in every area of our lives (Joshua 1:8). I have learnt that God’s Word is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12) and that Bible college teaches us about the Word of God, how to wield it like a sword against the trials, temptations and negative circumstances that the devil tries to throw across our paths to make us stumble. We learn how to be victorious and to overcome attacks of the enemy. I would highly recommend Bible college because it is such a worthwhile investment.
Lots of people came up to me afterwards and thanked me, mainly older folk with crowns of splendor. I guess they’re the predominant types who frequent the early service. Haha, bless their hearts :-) Rev Mandy McKenzie, who took the service, said something along the lines of “didn’t Michelle do an excellent job, she could have kept going, we should just get the students to take over the service”. Then she launched herself into a sermon about the Word of God, after being prompted by the Holy Spirit to put aside the notes she prepared. What she said complemented everything I said.
Later others came up and told me that what I said was very inspirational and really encouraged them. One lady came up afterwards and said she could sense a teacher annointing in me and maybe an evangelist. Another guy (John O’Neil – who is an ordained prophet) jokingly called me a teacher/preacher. My friend Andrew said he could see the prayer and intercession side of my calling and Dan’s grandma, Mrs Storey, told me I was a mighty woman of prayer. June and Gail and many others said my testimony was excellent. Aggghhhh, sheesh, all these compliments. Gotta make sure God gets the glory and I remain level-headed, not puffed up in pride. I am just a measly vessel God used to speak through.
I said the first step was to identify a need in your life. At the time I was doing this assignment, I decided that I would like to change my acommodation, my need was to find a new place to rent.
The second step was to look at what the Bible says about your situation. In my case, the Scriptures say that God is El Shaddai – the God of More Than Enough (Genesis 17:1) and that He is Jehovah Jireh - My Provider (Genesis 22:14). God is able to do immeasurably more than all I could ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20), He has promised to instruct me, guide me and teach me in the way which I should go (Psalm 32:8) and He says that when I delight in Him, He will grant me the desires of my heart
(Psalm 37:4).
The third step was to ask God for what we wanted. We were encouraged to be very specific, and I knew that I didn’t just want any accommodation, but rather, a place of quality and beauty. Therefore, I wrote down a very detailed list of everything I wanted in a place to live, not missing out any details I felt were important. This was what I wrote: “a beautiful apartment, which has all the attributes that I desire in a rental property, i.e. located in close proximity to Victory Life Centre, excellent security with good lighting and a safe place to park my car, lots of built-in storage space, nice kitchen and bathroom with fans, one or two bedrooms with a built-in wardrobe, a separate laundry, well-ventilated open plan living area with adequate room for my furniture, floors that are easy to clean, good landlord and quality neighbors, <$200/week rent and a place that is warm and welcoming to friends needing to be refreshed”.
The fourth step was to believe that we received what we asked for in prayer. In the natural, it looked impossible to find a place that met all these attributes. However, Ps Anne taught us in a class to declare we had uncommon favor, and since she said that I have been declaring that over my life every day. Every time I came close to doubting or holding onto negative thoughts, I took thoughts captive and made them obedient to Jesus Christ. Various teachers also convinced me through their personal testimonies that absolutely nothing is impossible with God and I clung onto their words.
Then, the fifth step was to thank God as though we had already received what we had asked for. Almost every day, sometimes multiple times a day, I said: “Thank you, Lord Jesus that you have granted me the desire of my heart and prepared the right accommodation for me, which surpasses all my expectations. I believe Your Holy Spirit will lead me to it at the right time. I declare my needs met in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth”. Having confessed my faith by declaring this statement, I believed that God heard and answered my prayer and that He would fulfill His Word as He promised.
Finally, the sixth step was to wait in patient expectation.
After I had finished this assignment, I started to look at rental properties and over the next few months I looked at around 30, 40 or 50 apartments. Many of the places had 70% or 80% of the attributes I wanted. Some met every criterion except for the budget! There were times when I found places that I felt would be nice to live in – they didn’t have all the attributes I had listed, yet they seemed decent. However, every time I was almost ready to commit, I felt the Holy Spirit say “no, not this one”, “no, not this one either” ….and after looking at so many properties and feeling that every time the Holy Spirit said that to me, I decided to have a break from looking. I was feeling a bit frustrated.
Then come start of the year, a person who knows me, who is not a Christian and who didn’t know about my faith project, came to me.
This person bought a duplex some time ago and over the last year has spent considerable time renovating the entire interior of this place. It could easily be rented out for at least $350/week rent. However, they offered it to me at a mere rate of $150/week rent. Before accepting the offer, I referred back to my list and was astounded that every single detail was met in this place! The most amazing thing is that this person had no intention of moving out of the property when I started this assignment in August 2008. They only made the decision in December 2008.
Bible college has taught me to pray more effectively, because we were taught how to lay hands on the sick, anoint a person with oil, use the name of Jesus and declare Scripture over a situation to dramatically turn the circumstances around. Last year, my little niece was critically ill and it was a privilege to be able to put what I had learnt into practice and apply the teaching to my situation. Yesterday, my niece was exactly 7 months old. She is completely healthy and normal – a living testimony that the things we are learning in Bible college really do work.I have learnt that God’s Word never returns void but accomplishes the purpose for which it has been sent (Isaiah 55:11). I learnt that angels hearken to the Word of God (Psalm 103:20) and that God is ready to perform His Word (Jeremiah 1:12).
I learnt that when we meditate on Scripture day and night, which is facilitated by going to Bible college because the teachers set before you a feast of Scripture, and when we put the Word of God into practice, we are guaranteed success and prosperity in every area of our lives (Joshua 1:8). I have learnt that God’s Word is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12) and that Bible college teaches us about the Word of God, how to wield it like a sword against the trials, temptations and negative circumstances that the devil tries to throw across our paths to make us stumble. We learn how to be victorious and to overcome attacks of the enemy. I would highly recommend Bible college because it is such a worthwhile investment.Lots of people came up to me afterwards and thanked me, mainly older folk with crowns of splendor. I guess they’re the predominant types who frequent the early service. Haha, bless their hearts :-) Rev Mandy McKenzie, who took the service, said something along the lines of “didn’t Michelle do an excellent job, she could have kept going, we should just get the students to take over the service”. Then she launched herself into a sermon about the Word of God, after being prompted by the Holy Spirit to put aside the notes she prepared. What she said complemented everything I said.
Later others came up and told me that what I said was very inspirational and really encouraged them. One lady came up afterwards and said she could sense a teacher annointing in me and maybe an evangelist. Another guy (John O’Neil – who is an ordained prophet) jokingly called me a teacher/preacher. My friend Andrew said he could see the prayer and intercession side of my calling and Dan’s grandma, Mrs Storey, told me I was a mighty woman of prayer. June and Gail and many others said my testimony was excellent. Aggghhhh, sheesh, all these compliments. Gotta make sure God gets the glory and I remain level-headed, not puffed up in pride. I am just a measly vessel God used to speak through.
No comments:
Post a Comment