It’s been extremely hot lately! We’ve seen 100°F 35 times this year. It’s hot! It’s dry! We need water. Lake Hefner, OKC’s primary drinking water reservoir has dropped seven feet and is at about 50% capacity.
As I was praying into this If felt there is a lot of spiritual significance in all of this for us to observe today.
This world can be exhausting. It’s hot! It’s dry! We need living water.
Twenty years ago, January of 2006 was OKC’s warmest January on record. We were in a severe short-term drought, and catastrophic wildfires were breaking out. 846,000 acres burned damaging 869 homes.
We gathered in the kid’s chapel where we were meeting at that time for church on Wednesday night, January 4th. As we arrived that night to pray, we could smell the smoke from fires all around.
We rehearsed James 5, Elijah was an earnest man just like us. He prayed and the weather changed. Out of that time of prayer, I sensed the Holy Spirit saying specifically, “It will rain in 7 days.” Went home and watched the weather saying, “Okay God I need you to do this.” I was watching the weather closely and the 7-day forecast did not look cooperative in the least. However, on Wednesday, January 11th the weather shifted slightly, and we actually woke to a light snow on the ground. It wasn’t until March that we saw heavy rains that year, but we knew God was speaking to us in the midst of it all.
The season change that is happening right now has spiritual significance. As we observe the shift in weather taking place this week the Holy Spirit is going to remind us of these things and awaken a greater reality of what it means to live by listening.
Water is being released from Canton Lake today and is flowing right now down the North Canadian River into Lake Hefner over these next 3 days. Felt that was significant, so I researched it. Interestingly I stumbled onto this statement:
Every river you can name has a destination that needs it.
Ezekiel 47:7-9 When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. 8 He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh. 9 Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. NIV
As this river flows from the temple into the Dead Sea it is teeming with life! In the New Testament Living Stones have become the temple of the Holy Spirit!
(1 Corinthians 6:19)
Everywhere we go we bring God’s presence to real life.
This world can be exhausting. It’s hot! It’s dry! We need living water. Are you thankful you found Jesus? He called you from death to life so you could would be a river not a reservoir!
Every river you can name has a destination that needs it.
You have a God-given assignment to make this river that flows from the Temple available to every person in your 5-foot circle. Pay attention to moments throughout your day when the Holy Spirit is awakening an engaging atmosphere in any given conversation with any given person. Watch for grace. Follow favor. Love others well. Always remember that God is not trying to draw people into YOUR BELIEFS. He's drawing them into HIS LOVE. We are told in the Bible to share our HOPE not our RELIGIOUS BELIEFS. (1 Peter 3:15).
Write down two words that describe you before Christ? Then write two words that describe your life after you followed Jesus. Sharing Christ is simply sharing the reason for the hope that you have. This can be done in less than 15 seconds using the 4 words you just wrote down.
There was a time in my life where I felt ___ and ___. Then I met Jesus. He forgave me for my sins, and I chose to follow him. Now my life has ___ and ___. Do you have a story like this?
The question to the person is what turns your story into an interaction helping people examine their own life. When they reflect on if they’ve experienced the love of Jesus or not it allows God to reach deeper in the conversation.
For me this is: There was a time in my life where I felt empty & unfulfilled. Then I met Jesus. He forgave me for my sins, and I chose to follow him. Now my life has meaning & purpose. Do you have a story like this?
GP2RL: Every day pray and ask God to give you an opportunity to share your 15 second testimony.
Some Christians say they’ve never heard the voice of God. This can’t be true. You would not be born again if you had not heard God. Salvation is conversion in response to invitation. We don’t initiate that. God does and we respond.
Col 2:6 So then just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him. NIV
Salvation is a conversational lifestyle where we learn to sense God’s presence and hear God’s voice as our way of life. Watch for grace and follow favor. James 2 cautions us against faith that has no action saying it produces death instead of life. Releasing this life requires you to be a river not a reservoir.
Water that sits still breeds stagnation and loses the very life it was holding. Faith that doesn’t flow into the lives of others breeds stagnation and loses the very life it was holding when it came to life in you.
When we come to ch our lives are enriched. When we become the church our world is enriched.
The measure of your faith isn’t about how much you’re able to contain. The measure of your life is about how it impacted those who God has positioned downstream from you.
Your life is perfectly equipped with the relationships, resources and experiences your destiny requires!
Sometimes God redeems your past by surrounding you with people who need to hear your story so it doesn’t become their future.” What are some reasons we try to hide our past and how can we take steps to more effectively allow God to use our past to help others?
