The evening began by giving some background information about events that had taken place at Wylie Park in 2001 and 2002 as part of the Jesus Day Celebrations.
Throughout scripture we read about places where God and His people have had very powerful encounters. They return to that same place to re-connect. (See Genesis 28:10-22 and Genesis 35:1-15 for one example)
This Tuesday I felt God calling us back to Shelter A.
Worship music for the evening was chosen from a “God, what do you want to hear us sing to you?” perspective.
I’ve not played songs from The Best of Jesus Day CD in a long time, and yet I sensed that these were songs that God was longing to hear once again.
After our opening prayer (the same opening prayer that was prayed at The Pavilion in 2001),we sang the first two songs.
Somewhere in the midst of the sharing time that followed, the wind died down, the sun broke through the clouds and the most awesome sight appeared:
It looked as if God had turned on a garden sprinkler on a bright spring day. The rain was falling straight down (an unusual sight in South Dakota where the wind seems to blow constantly) and the sunlight brought out the most glorious shades of green as we looked to the west. Then, as we looked to the east there was a rainbow!
It felt strongly as if this natural occurrence was no accident. . .
During the sharing time we summarized what has already been proclaimed over our city in song. We also pointed out all of the change that have occurred in the natural on Main Street since God asked us to give Him the heart of our city in 2002.
We also shared about the coordinated prayer walk in April of 2007. Christians in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland (our namesake) were prayer walking the center of their city at the exact same time we were prayer walking the original 16 block plat of our city.
We then sang a song about turning our hearts. The topic of repentance and turning our hearts was shared.
Several people shared about a couple that was ministering in Aberdeen this past April. One of the things that they shared was that Aberdeen has been so prayed over; and God is saying now that “It is done.” From this point forward we are to begin thanking and praising Him for what He is about to do.
It was also shared that a group of Aberdeen intercessors saw a dark cloud hanging over Aberdeen during their prayer time several years ago. They had recently seen those dark clouds beginning to break up. It felt as if what we saw happening in nature tonight and the information that had just been shared were confirmations of the message
It IS done
People are now hearing “Get ready.”
We then asked the question: “What if 2,000 or 3,000 or 5,000 people were ready to come to Christ tonight? Would we even know how to introduce them to Christ? Would we be equipped and ready to begin discipling that many people?
This reminded me of a movie I had seen called “The Harvest”. In it there was a scene where a row of combines were bringing in the harvest at a phenomenal rate. Trucks were standing by to unload the combines and preserve the harvest.
Later that week as I was pondering that scene in the film, I saw a very old, broken truck bed. The walls of the truck bed were very thin, weak, and not well connected to each other. I also noticed that the end gate was wide open.
Could it be that “the Church in the city of Aberdeen” is the truck God is going to use to bring in this harvest?
What kind of shape are we in?
A gentleman also spent some time sharing about a praise/worship/evangelistic event that God has been asking him to coordinate.
It’s called The Mustard Seed Gathering and will be taking place in Aberdeen on Tuesday, July 29, 2008. It will be held around the Melgaard Park Band Shell (on the corner of South Lloyd Street and 17th Ave SE) from 6 - 9 pm.
Some closing thoughts:
From the book Experiencing God” by Henry Blackaby and Claude V. King:
pg 68 & 69
Learn to ask questions of people who cross your path to find out what God is doing in their lives. For instance:
How can I pray for you?
What can I pray for you?
Do you want to talk?
What do you see as the greatest challenge in your life?
What is the most significant thing happening in your life right now?
Would you tell me what God is doing in your life?
What particular burden has God given you?
There are some things only God can do: When you see someone coming to Christ, asking about spiritual matters, coming to understand spiritual truth, experiencing conviction of sin, being convinced of the righteousness of Christ, being convinced of judgment, you can know that God is at work there.
Be ready to make whatever adjustments are required to join God in what He is doing.
pg 141-142
Waiting on God: You may think of waiting a a passive, inactive time. Waiting on the Lord is anything but inactive. While you wait on Him, you will be praying with a passion to know him, his purposes, his ways. You will be watching circumstances and asking God to interpret them by revealing to you His perspective. You will be sharing with other believers to find out what God is saying to them. As you wait on God, you will be very active in asking, seeking, and knocking. In waiting you are shifting the responsibility of the outcome to God - where it belongs.
Then, when God gives you specific guidance, He will do through you more in days and weeks than you could ever accomplish in years of labor. Waiting on Him is always worth the wait. His timing and His ways are always right.