More Kings in Rightful Places

Song of Songs: 8:5: "Who is this coming up from the desert leaning on her lover?"

Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of the hour for love, it would be utterly scorned." (That's just rubbish- it's about discovering God's love for us and our love for God, not things.)

8:13: "You who dwell in the gardens with friends in attendance; let me hear your voice!

2 Chronicles 6:12:

Solomon stood before the altar, in front of the whole assembly and spread out his hands toward heaven. He said,

"O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth. You who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.

And now O Lord let your word you promised come true. 18: But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! Yet, give attention to my prayer and plea for mercy. Hear my cry and prayer I pray in your presence. May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this of which you said you would put your Name. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place and forgive. ..

Now arise O Gos and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. May your priests be cloted with your salvation, may your saints rejoice in your goodness. O Lord, do not reject your anointed one. Remember the great love promised to David, your servant.

When Solomon finished praying fire came down form heaven and consumed the offerings and sacrifice and the glory of the Lord filled the temple! When Israel saw this they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground and they worshiped the Lord giving thanks and saying..."He is good; his love endures forever."

They observed the festival for 7 days and on the 8th day had an assembly. He sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the Lord had done for David, Solomon and for his people Israel.

When he had finished the Lord appeared to Solomon:

"I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself...

"If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name will be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

Kings Who Took Their Rightful Places

King David sang this song to the Lord when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

Psalm 18

I love you O Lord my strenght. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call the Lord who is worthy of praise and I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the Lord. I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.
The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundation of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him- the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced with hailstones and bolts of lighting. The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most His resounded. He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them. The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of breath from your nostrils. He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he recued me because he delighted in me....

Taking Our Rightful Places

Let's look at the testimony of some Kings to see what the reality of displacement meant for them.

2 Chronicles 20:16:

"Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up the Pass and you will find them at the end of the gorge. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you." "Oh Judah and Jerusalem, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow and the Lord will be with you."

Jehosophat bowed with his face to the ground and all the people of Judah & Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. Then some praised God with very loud voices.

As they set out, Jehosophat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem. Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful."

As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men who were invading Judah and they were defeated. When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground, no one had escaped.

Taking Our Rightful Places (Once We Know We've Been Displaced)

Are we able to see how our enemy has displaced us, God's people? Nine years ago my husband and I stepped onto a hand made floor map that depicted the places where people had once lived in an area called District Six, Cape Town, South Africa. We wept.

And in those nine years we've met countless others displaced by war, greed, economics, crime, etc. Ultimately we've all been displaced since the moment Adam and Eve gave dominion over to Satan. The good news is that God knew we would, and yet, He made a plan for us to return- through His Son, Jesus. Before you go thinking this is just an evangelistic ranting....take time to see, to ask yourself... "am I where I'm supposed to be?" "Is this all there is for my life?"

Someone once asked me, "when's it all going to start, Susan?" I thought, 'how should I know?' But out of my mouth came these words... "when people take their rightful places." I was as startled and confused as my friend who'd asked the question. That night in a dream God indicated: Kings 5:5. I woke up and read it immediately. What I deduced was that Solomon knew who he was destined to be and what he was destined to do. And when his father had died and he had succeeded him as king, he chose to take his rightful place in the Kingdom of God, being and doing with all his heart exactly what God had promised his father he would do. Hmm. What about us?

Well, when we are able to admit our displacement God is then able to reveal to us our rightful place. For those of you not able to get past displacement, check out what God says in Hosea 2:14:

"Therefore I am now going to allure her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. In that day," declares the Lord, "you will call me 'my husband'; you will no longer call me 'my master. I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked. In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety. I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord."

"In that day I will respond," declares the Lord- "I will respond to the skies, and they will respond to the earth; and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine and oil and they will respond to Jezreel. I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one.' I will say to those called 'Not my people,' 'You are my people;' and they will say, 'You are my God.'"

"I will call upon the Lord!"

Psalm 18, 2 Samuel 22, 2 Chronicles 20 and Petra!

I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised!
So shall I be saved from my enemies!
The Lord liveth and blessed be the rock,
And let the God of my salvation be exalted!

The words burst out of my mouth this morning like a declaration in my prayer time! It had been so long since that song was sung that I barely could call the words to mind. Obviously Holy Spirit knew it was just what I need to utter to heaven this morning!

I googled the song and also found an interesting article on worship. I want to give credit to the woman who wrote it, just don't have the notes before me at the mo. Her blog is Just Worship. I'll get the credits after our meeting today. Gotta run off and talk about Jehosophat and King David to encourage Green Market. The city is shutting them down and relocating them for the season to the company gardens. All details are not smoothly arranged and all are up in arms about the whole thing. We so appreciate your prayers as this is their livelihood, to sell their wares at the market to pay their bills, support their family, even their families back in other African countries. This is a huge work that could truly suffer a dangerous blow to their well being.

I had some notes mulling over in my mind from last night. I was re-reading Living from the Heart Jesus Gave you. I liked this: "Every one of has a unique, God-given heart. So does every church. When a church discovers it's God-given identity its ministry flourishes."

I believe BNFRSA is at this precipice. So also is Green Market Square Fellowship. At this very time it's about the market's desperate need for salvation, to know it's God-given identity, individually and corporately. For this is when we begin to grow. Another quote from The Life Model people, "that's the beauty of a church, when it lives in community, when family encourage each other to live from their hearts!" Wow! Can there be such a place of safety and of grace? Where people's hearts are healed and set free? What's in your heart to do? There is the purpose and power of God's glory! A church is a loving family that cares so much about each other that healing and deliverance abound! It's not an introspective thing, just a revelation of the importance of being whole, so that Isaiah 61 is true! The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me! Let's take a look at someone who discovered his God-given identity. A shepherd boy named David, became a King through worship.

Have you ever thought of worship as a weapon you carry into battle? This is what invites God into our circumstances, intimidates our opponent and motivates our victory in Christ! It puts the enemy on notice, on the run and shifts us into a higher gear to be open for God's intervention on our behalf. The Hebrew word for worship is Hallal. It means to make a show or rave about, to glory or boast upon, to be foolish about your adoration of God!

King David praises God for who he is in Psalm 150. Do we know him like this? For who he is, what he's done in our lives? David had a reputation for becoming undignified when he worshiped God. I don't think he cared about his reputation with people as much as he did His relationship with God! Worship shifts our focus from the battle to the Lord! It reminds us he is bigger than any battle! Worship counters the spirit of despair- Isaiah 61:3; 2 Corinthians 2:14; Lord, help each of us to worship you with the voice of triumph. Can we worship like King David?

I will call upon the Lord,
Who is worthy to be praised.
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
I will call upon the Lord.

The Lord liveth and blessed be the rock,
And let the God of my salvation be exalted.
The Lord liveth and blessed be the rock,
And let the God of my salvation be exalted.

I will learn to trust in him,
He will save me from my sin.
So shall I proclaim him the Lord of all.
I will learn to trust the Lord.

Sons & Daughters or Slaves?

This month at Green Market Square we've been discussing what it means to be sons and daughters in God's Kingdom versus slaves/servants.

Ned did a brilliant teaching a few years ago on this. In fact, many other pastors have used it around the world. We sussed it out like this...

Sons pour into the family business for they know the heart of their father. Whereas servants are merely working for the short term pay check. They do not think in terms of inheritance. When times get tough the servant will move on to the next job while the sons will not only uphold the foundations, cover their father's nakedness and pour their very lives into the business until it thrives again and beyond.

I finally see this in the example in Matthew 25 of the ten virgins and the parable of the talents. After our discussion last week everyone had a testimony of something God had been up to in their lives.

Nathalia told us of an empty feeling she had on Wednesday, all day. By the time she reached the market and spoke to Israel about it she had a huge sense she was to pray. She did but the emptiness didn't go. So Israel encouraged her to keep praying and she did, all day. When she arrived home she found that the stove had been left on all day! There could have been a terrible fire from her house and beyond in the community. Many homes and lives could have been lost had she not prayed. God intervened in the coolest of ways! The electricity ran out so the stove turned off! Nathalia was overjoyed that all had been spared and neighbors kept asking what's this glow you have about you? Needless to say, she was a bit apprehensive to tell her story but she did and many more joined her in prayers of thanksgiving and amazement.

We've been praying with Babalwa for her mother to be healed of diabetes. She now only has to go back to the doctor every six months! Yay! Huge progress from the daily out of balance and great sickness she was experiencing! Bibiche also had a wonderful story about her kids instituting family prayer and bible study each night. She spoke of their great faith in prayer for their family home with a pool. How the children themselves are doing the reading, praying and sharing with one another. I was overjoyed to hear of their rising up in faith, particularly because my physical strength has not allowed me to get with them weekly like I used to. The list goes on... I am so grateful for the grace, peace and prayers from everyone this past year. It's been a hard one but our God has been with us every step of the way. And we rejoice!

This morning I read Isaiah 9:6, thinking of all the testimones last week I wonder if they saw what I saw- God's sons and daughters, like Solomon realizing who they are in the Kingdom! Read 1 Kings 5:5 and see the revelation Solomon had and what God did with that! Wow! Can we see how far God has brought us?

Remember, God said to Abram, "Leave this place, your people and your country and go to the place I will show you. And I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. And so you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Wow! We are descendants of Abraham! Do you think God's promises are still yes and Amen? I sure do!

Xenophobia, Displacement, Forgiveness & Unity

Our son was admitted to hospital on Monday. We will not be able to see him or speak to him for seven days. It's been very hard for all of us. The only other time we've not been able to communicate was when he was in my womb and we eagerly anticipated his birth, he is our firstborn.

This morning I played his harmonica while praying for him hoping somehow he could hear the sound in his heart. I hoped he would know at that moment we were praying for him and then it hit me- Does God feel anything like this? He knows us and speaks to us and is quite near to us but often we are too busy rushing from here, there and doing this and that good work to make time to just sit for a visit with Him. Could we sit and have coffee with Jesus? We make the time to breathe, think, maybe even listen to someone else talk? What if we had the opportunity to have that cup of coffee with Jesus? What if we took the time to listen for his still, quiet voice within us? We might just hear his voice!

That’s what happened with my friend Lawrence. A few months ago he visited our church at Green Market Square. His prayer request was always the same, “please pray for me, I need to spend more time praying and talking to God. I know I need to do this but I am finding it difficult.” We always prayed. Then three months ago Lawrence was hit by a car on the way home from work. It was a hit and run. While Lawrence lay on the ground unconscious his cell phone and money were stolen from his body. He eventually got transported to Somerset Hospital. At first he wasn't expected to live, then it wasn't likely that he would walk again. When we visited him we asked, “Now do you have time for God, Lawrence?” He laughed. We prayed. Then the doctor said, “you must be praying very hard because I am going to be able to repair your leg and there is a chance you will walk again.” Lawrence replied, “No sir, the people from church are praying for me. That is why God is healing me.” Lawrence now has a steel rod in his leg and he walks without any help at all. Lawrence has not been able to return to his business as yet at the market. But that’s not only because of limited funds. It’s because during Lawrence’s recovery time he has been seeking to know God daily. His niece, her husband and small child recently fled for their lives due to the Xenophobic riots occurring in South Africa, they showed up at her uncle Lawrence’s door in tears. All their belongings had been stolen and their car burned. Lawrence said, “Stop crying. Stand and see the deliverance of the Lord.” Days later Lawrence’s niece and her family moved into a 3 bedroom home in Parklands, fully furnished and food and clothing had also been provided for them. Prior to this they lived in a one room shack.

Lawrence’s sisters came down from Zambia at the time of his accident to care for him. One young niece was left in his care and the sisters returned to Zambia. The young niece asked her uncle when he would be looking for work as there wasn’t much in the house to eat. Lawrence replied that God would provide for them. Although Lawrence could no longer sell his wares at Green Market he began to make necklaces at home, thinking perhaps he could sell them to friends at the market who could sell them for him. People from around his community dropped by his home to buy from him! Lawrence continued to spend time with God daily. One day the Lord told Lawrence he was going to give him a wife. He had already spoken to a woman in Zambia about him and his sisters should go and meet her. When Lawrence called his sisters they thought he'd been taking too many painkillers! He laughed but told them exactly what God had said and where they could find the woman. The sisters followed Lawrences directions to the letter and to their great surprise found a woman to whom God had spoken about Lawrence! The families are presently arranging the wedding for these two young people! Lawrence is looking forward to the wife God has chosen for him and to building a new life in South Africa.

Hosea 2:14:
“Therefore now I am going to allure her. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards and will make the Valley of Achor a door of Hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth as in the day she came up out of Egypt. “In that day,” declares the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’, you will no longer call me ‘my master.’ I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips, no longer will their names be invoked. In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that they may lie down in safety. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord. “In that day I will respond,” declares the Lord- “I will respond to the skies and they will respond to the earth and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine and oil, and they will respond to Jezreel.
I will plant her for myself in the land, I will show my love to the one I called, ‘Not my loved one’ I will say to those called “not my people’; ‘you are my people,’ and they will say, “You are my God.”

This is a promise from God! God’s word does not return void. South Africa! God has called you the last greatest place on the earth! People come from around the world to see what God is doing in this nation! A miracle occurred in 1994 and people want to see what else God is up to here! Mandela was not only released from prison but promoted to the highest office in the land! God has been working on your behalf! Mandela was not bitter, he forgave and God blessed Him! He had no enemies therefore God could bless him and confidently put him into office to lead his people! He had not a corruptible heart. He survived the desert, the Valley of Achor and God made it a door of Hope! Not only for Mandela but all South Africa, and ultimately Africa and the world! The natural speaks of the supernatural! People are flocking to this country to glimpse the New South Africa; there is hope around the world for a new and better way. Why are you not part of this? Why are you taking matters into your own hands? Why are you only caring about yourselves? Madiba, like Martin Luther King had a dream straight from the heart of God! He waited for it and God put him in power to help his people just like Moses! Zuma says the priests prayed for the ANC and that ANC will remain in power until Jesus comes back. Jesus stands at the door knocking, just like the refugees from the nations of Africa who’ve come across your borders seeking new life. They seek that same door of Hope that God has made in South Africa!
God said, “I will show my love to the one I called ‘not my loved one.’ I will say to those called, ‘not my people, ‘you are my people,’ and they will say, “You are my God!”

Now is the time, says the Lord. Now is the time for the prophetic fires to be lit in South Africa to go throughout Africa! It is the fire of the glory of God! He is a consuming fire! Either you will be part of His glory that will go forth into the nations or you will be consumed and destroyed by this fire. The Lord has said he will remove the names of the Baals. Stop the rumors and bitterness; come out of agreement with it in your hearts and from your lips. He longs to abolish bow and sword and battle to betroth you as His Bride in righteousness, justice, in love and compassion and faithfulness. The Lord has invited you time and again to humble yourselves, pray and seek his face! Turn from your wicked ways that he can hear from heaven, forgive your sin and heal your land! He longs to make covenant with you! He proclaimed a great blessing which South Africa can partake of in Psalm 133:
How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity-
It is like the precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aarons’ beard, down upon the collar of his robes. It’s as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mt. Zion. For there the Lord commands his blessing, even life forevermore!

Oh South Africa! Here and receive God’s direction in this dire hour! Do not conform any longer to the world’s ways! God has such good plans for you! To bless you and to prosper you; not to harm you, but to give you a future and a Hope! Open the doors of your hearts and let him in!

Lay down your agendae! Give him your burdens, fears and worries! He will abolish them all so that you may lie down in safety, so that you may be betrothed to him forever. It was the Lord who allowed all to be taken away. Not to punish you or prefer anyone over you but to prepare you to “plant you for himself as His Kingdom!” Those you call not my loved ones have given safe haven to your leaders when they were in exile. Where would they be had these countries not opened the doors to them? Say to those you have called, ‘not my people,’ ‘you are my people,’ and they will acknowledge the Lord! He will command His blessing, even life forevermore!