A WORSHIP ARMY ARISING: A MOVE OF GOD IN YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD

We are compelled by our love for God to love our neighbours the way He loves them.

A Worship Army is Rising

God has given Karen Wilson a vision that calls us to arise. This video, filmed to introduce the strategy to Stairway Church Whitehorse, is relevant to us all.

We see a move of God spilling His family onto our neighbourhood streets. God has moved us, as His people, into His harvest field! We can’t meet each other in the Church building but we can meet – at appropriate social distance – to walk locally! We can be God’s blessing, light and salt to our neighbours at a time when they may be shaken and isolated, struggling for hope, meaning, love and shalom peace.

We bowed low in worship day and night through July 2020. We bowed low in repentance for our state of sin – for our pride, control and shame that has fractured our relationships and in the foundational history of our regions. We have deeply repented as the church for our self righteousness, our complacency and our judgemental condemnation of world around us. Now it is time to rise and take a stand and be moved by God – to turn to blessing our neighbours.

We have been anticipating an army rising: the rumour and risk of war, the war on Covid-19  and a new army of God’s people running with the good news our world needs. Lock down, masks and social distancing will not hinder us!

This call to be an army rising has been given to us by God through Karen Wilson, a beloved colleague and Prayer Pastor at Stairway Church Whitehorse.

God has released His Church onto the streets in a move of contagious love and contagious joy. It sounds like the Jesus’ movement, but we sense this is a move of Father’s love.

van

Picture a combie van with a megaphone on it driving through the streets of our suburbs, releasing a sound. This symbolises God’s love moving through our streets, calling us out of our homes, in twos or family groups to walk the streets of our neighbourhoods. We are being moved to tumble out in joy to release the sound of worship into the atmosphere of our neighbourhoods! Our worship can be music or word sung, declared or shared as blessing and as testimony. We can worship with instruments, voice and in our spiritual languages. Hear our Praises: May our homes be filled with dancing and our streets be filled with joy!

In worship we humbly and gratefully looking to the God of our hope, the one who satisfies and with praise and adoration we are declaring His sovereign reign, His kingdom come in our particular part of the earth. We bless God and minister in devoted love to Him, welcoming His Presence into our neighbourhoods.  As we fix our eyes and connect our hearts to the One who loves us and our neighbours, through worship, we can see what His Spirit is doing in our midst, and bless what He is doing with agreement and thanksgiving.

 

Ask the Spirit to alert you when to leave your house in His timing, turn to walk right or left, to sensitively recognise the divine opportunities you are given, greet strangers with intentional love, and bless the houses and business you walk pass and those you meet. You will see people and places touched by the power and wonder of God’s presence as they encounter His shalom peace and love, salvation and transformation through His Kingdom come.
Love neighbour 21be35924cc6431471167145af94021f

Even though our sound is quiet, the Holy Spirit puts a megaphone to our worship in the spirit realm and the sound of our worship causes a shaking and shifting in the atmosphere.

Even though we are being swept up in a love move of God, we are His army rising with specific God given ‘weapons of warfare’ and strategy for each battle. (2 Corinthians 10:4) The weapon God has given us is the sound of worship and His strategy is that we worship while walking the streets around our neighbourhood. In Joshua 6, we see the outcome of obeying a similar strategy of the Lord in the battle for Jericho.

 

Would you join in God’s strategy to walk the streets of your neighbourhood, releasing the sound of worship and doing this 7 times over the period of the lock-down?

Here are some pointers to help you to do this:
 Decide on the location
 Set a day/time most suitable
 Prepare your heart for worship, remember the goodness of God, and be filled
with the love of God for your neighbourhood.
 Worship by exalting the Lord, declaring His goodness, releasing His Spirit. You
can sing songs of praise, choruses, declare who He is, declare His Names, the “I AM” declarations of Jesus.
 Through worship, be aware of releasing God’s presence and shifting atmospheres in order for the gospel to bear fruit.

Pass on this call to the family of God everywhere. What could happen in our city if all the streets of our city were constantly being soaked with worship? Let’s go for it!

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We at PIPES believe this word from Karen is God’s 20:20 strategy for our battle in 2020. He has given us 2 Chronicles 20:20-22 repeatedly confirm this in recent days.

2 Chronicles 20:13-22 “Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon [many] sons in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.” 

18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 1And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.”

20 “And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” 21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the Lordfor his steadfast love endures forever.” 22 And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.

Will you leave your house to lift your voice in worship?

Raise voice as shofar

Will you agree with this Word of the Lord by praying with us?

Holy God, we repent to You as Your Church, and on behalf of our leaders and our people, for not believing in You or Your prophets, for failing to counsel with You, for failing to trust and declare Your steadfast love, for our  fear and dismay, for not standing, for not bowing low in worship before You.

Lord, thank you for your gracious kindness to invite us into a tender 24/7 season of intimate continuous worship day and night throughout July. With deep joy and expectation, we have risen early to declare that we believe in You as the Lord our God and that Your will, Your kingdom will be established. As your people, Lord, we pray our leaders and people will come into agreement with Your leaders and prophets. We rise to declare You will succeed against your enemies! We respond to Your appointment to be those who sing to You and arise in Your holy glory to go out as the first ones in Your army. We declare our thanks for Your steadfast love which endures forever. We hear Your heart, Father, longing that none should perish. Thank you that Jesus has won the victory and made a way for us. Amen”

Will you declare through worship your agreement with God’s declaration?
“For I’m building a people of power  and I’m making a people of praise that will move through the land by My Spirit and glorify My precious name. Build Your church, Lord, Make us strong, Lord through Your Son. Make us one, Lord, in your Body, in the Kingdom of Your Son.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAVdz4a7s6s

If you would like to join us to Pray for Victoria: please send your email and mobile address to Sue Tinworth sue@partnersinprayer.org.au and subscribe at www.partnersinprayer.org.au to get updates.

God’s Strategy fits perfectly with the call from Ffald-y-Brenin for us all to be local houses of prayer blessing our neighbourhoods. My teaching on this available on a self explanatory powerpoint with links to Ffald-y-Brenin. About Ffald-y-Brenin Local Houses of Prayer

See what  God is doing in the streets of other cities: https://m.facebook.com/watch/?extid=U65ezjMndPcUhZVy&v=4108820675798408&_rdr

Australians are famous for being good Neighbours. I find myself singing,
“Neighbours, Everybody needs good neighbours
Just a friendly wave each morning Helps to make a better day
Neighbours, Need to get to know each other
Next door is only a footstep away
Neighbours, Everybody needs good neighbours
With a little understanding You can find the perfect blend
Neighbours, Should be there for one another
That’s when good neighbours become good friends.”

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