Week 7 (May 17-23) -- Serving Effectively, Stewarding the Sacred Gift -- Join in prayer that the network can serve the Church with increasing effectiveness, fostering and encouraging a global orality movement to disciple all oral learners.

As the Orality Movement of ION moves into the coming days, we are joining in prayer for more effectiveness. May we ask together how to foster and encourage a global orality movement to disciple all oral learners. At the core is maintaining the centrality of all we do to be the Bible -- The WORD is key to God's movement in orality.

Yet so many still do not have the WORD in their heart language and so many still do not have someone devoted to trust God for the way to bring the Good News of the Gospel in a way they can really understand.

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  Here we are in the last week leading up to Pentecost. Just as the disciples had to be ready to receive, we must be ready to receive. The disciples would not have been able to move forward if not for the waiting and the receiving. After the Holy Spirit came, the disciples moved from the upper room. From that time forward, they moved into the practice of serving and stewarding the sacred gift. Jesus was now in them, in Spirit and in power.

“‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ - Acts 2:17-21

Jesus was quoting from -Joel 2:28-32 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls."

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we remember Jesus' command for them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait: Jesus had nothing else for the disciples to do other than to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit (the Promise of the Father). Jesus knew that they really could do nothing effective for the Kingdom of God until the Spirit came.

·      To wait means that it was worth waiting for.

·      To wait means that they had a promise it would come.

·      To wait means they must receive it; they couldn’t create it themselves.

·      To wait means that they would be tested by waiting, at least a little.

Source: Enduring Word Commentary ​http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/4401.htm

Can you imagine what it must have been like that last week as Jesus had ascended and now they were in the upper room waiting as instructed? They were willing to wait for the promise of God to come. Will we be willing to wait and receive. For just as the disciples received, we also must receive. Let us be willing to watch and pray as we wait, believing that as the Holy Spirit comes, He will guide.

 

 

 

  Pentecost is coming

Let us pray:

Lord, we come acknowledging that in the days ahead, we desire to see the network serve the Church with increasing effectiveness, fostering and encouraging a global orality movement to disciple all oral learners. We pray that as ION moves into the coming days, that you would draw us to join together in continued prayer for more effectiveness.

We ask together how it might look to foster and encourage a global orality movement to influence the body of Christ to disciple all oral learners. We also plead that you will keep us true to you and at the core of everything, to maintain the centrality of all we do to be the Bible -- for the WORD is key to God's movement in orality.

Asking that you put a love for those who still wait in our hearts. We ask you to use us. Allow us to be effective, willing stewards of the sacred gift. While there are still many who do not have the WORD in their heart language, we pray. And where there are still so many who do not have someone devoted to trust God for the way to bring the Good News of the Gospel in a way they can really understand to them, we pray.

Just as Jesus had compassion, we pray also, " When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” -Matthew 9:36-39

Father, GIVE US YOUR COMPASSION, AND SEND THE WORKERS INTO YOUR HARVEST FIELDS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Father, SEND A FRESH DESIRE such as was with the disciples in Acts. A desire to pray, to receive. For in the receiving, we will have a greater ability to be stewards of the sacred gift. To be disciples who do what Jesus did.

 

 

 

  Finally we plead for a new sense of maintaining the centrality of all we do to be the Bible -- The WORD.

Allowing for everyone to have the WORD in their heart language is key to God's movement on the earth.

·      The disciples did what Jesus did. Let us be people of the Word doing what Jesus did.

[*Please note: This information will be posted in the ION Blog section of the website http://orality.net/blog ]

http://ionprayer.com/2015/05/18/week-7-may-17-23-serving-effectively-stewarding-the-sacred-gift/