Training at Life Church of Monroe
Pastor Billy, Senior Pastor at Life Church of Monroe, was led by the Lord to start a Sunday evening prayer meeting. RHM Worship Leader Doris Norwood, a former member, was asked to lead worship for this prayer time. and a good company of members have been faithfully praying together on Sunday evenings for months.
In response to Holy Spirit’s directing us to move out county to county, Doris arranged lunch with Pastor Billy and his wife Jean to see how we might co-labor together for Union County.
In April, we did a Watchman-style Worship & Prayer Training session during one of their Sunday evening prayer meetings with a focus on helping them host some additional Outreach activities. Life Church is already engaged in the community through various ministries including a restoration ministry, a motorcycle ministry, a food ministry and a ministry training center but they want to do more to transform their city and region.
Some excerpts from our training:
Our modus operandi:
The goal of all creation is to join in the symphony of praise – the rocks have a sound, the stars have a sound.. There is continual praise in heaven – Rev. 4. If you want to know what someone likes, go to their most intimate place (John Dickson). God longs for the earth to echo the sounds of heaven. As the sounds of heaven invade earth…& we respond to the heavens by lifting up praise in the earth…The gates of heaven are opened (Chuck Pierce).
Luke 18 1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”6 Then the Lord said, “… 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Our posture:
The ruling. legislative authority – “ekklesia”. Bold! Persistent! The gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church – we have authority to bind and loose (Matt 16: 18-19; Matt. 28:18–19); like the sons of Issachar, we are informed, knowing the times & seasons and knowing what to do (1 Chronicles 12:32); we are seated in heavenly places with Him (Eph. 1:15-22); coming boldly before His throne (Heb. 4:6); we issue decrees according to the Word (Dan. 4:17); we are persistent like the widow – we keep on asking, we keep on seeking, we keep on knocking (Lk 11:9-10) UNTIL our master returns!
As priests and kings, every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has authority to release heaven on earth…through our worship and through our prayers…His kingdom come, His will be done!
AMEN.
Our purpose:
Isaiah 58:6-12; Isaiah 61:1-4; Epheshians 4:11-12 – to feed, to clothe, to heal and set free; to give beauty, comfort, joy; to build up the waste places; to equip the repairers of the breaches and the restorers of the streets to dwell in; to occupy until He comes!
Our model:
- Jesus worshiped and He prayed.
- Jesus walked the land and walked amongst the people.
- He used the gifts and power of Holy Spirit – He prophesied, gave words of wisdom & knowledge, loosed healing and deliverance, and released decrees.
- He trained those who would follow Him.
- Then he sent them out to do likewise.