A Nugget from New Life Network
Scripture for the Day (September 6, 2017)
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (John 7:38)
A vision of what “can be” is sometimes very hard to explain to people that have never seen what you have seen in the natural, or what you are seeing in the Spirit. People that have never seen God touch a city in a miraculous way can become comfortable in their present conditions and surroundings and don’t realize that God wants to do much, much more.
I am reminded of a lady friend of ours that went on a mission trip to an impoverished nation. One of the goals of the missionary team was to teach the people how to plant certain seeds and grow crops that would help feed their people and at the same time create a new source of income. Our friend was astonished at the response of the people to the vision of what could be. Their response was, “why would we want to do that?”
Now, we can look at this type situation and discount it as just poor people that don’t know any better. However, we need to take a close look at ourselves. We could be the poor people. Our own religious cultures can sometimes create the hardest place for a vision to take hold. We are creatures of habit. We become comfortable in our own religious traditions. We protect them at all costs because this is how we have done it for years. Why would we want to do anything different?
We live in a medium size South Georgia town that is full of denominational type churches. There are a lot of good people in this town but there needs to be a large Oasis type church. Let me explain what I mean by an Oasis type church. Most larger cities that we have lived in have what I call an Oasis church. It’s a place where you can go get a drink from the Spirit of God. It’s a place where you can go have someone pray for your healing. It’s a place where people worship God in Spirit and in truth. It’s a place where the gifts of the spirit are in operation. It’s a safe place where all ethnic groups are welcomed. It’s a place where thousands of people come from all around that metro area to worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
One of the clearest pictures of people getting stuck in their traditions and surroundings is the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt. It was really hard for them to see how going through the desert, depending on God for water and food, and fighting numerous enemies, could be better than living as slaves in Egypt where all their needs were met. They were constantly murmuring against Moses and wanted to return to what they had become comfortable with (even though they were slaves). However, Moses had been given a vision from God about a “Promised Land” that was flowing with milk and honey. God’s vision wanted to take them to a better place which was an Oasis!
My vision for my city is that there be a place where the Spirit of God is free to flow as rivers of living water and not just a drip, drip, drip. My vision for my city is that the Spirit-Filled people of this area would have an Oasis that they could come to and get a drink. They would no longer have to be strictly secret agents for God and work undercover. They would no longer have to worry about their neighbors talking about them going to a black church or a white church. This church would be for all races and all generations. My vision is for an Oasis in our city where the Spirit-Filled believers of our area could come together in unity and not be scattered all over the area. That is when you will see the power of God multiplied. That is when you will see an entire city changed!!!
Pray for us! I believe our church and our Pastor are on the right road to becoming that large Oasis type church. That is my vision and I’m sticking with it!!!
