‘But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.’ (James 1:22)
I recently went on a trip to our Four12 Partners in Ireland, Firebrand Church in Dublin, as part of a team from Living Hope. The aim of the trip was to encourage the saints at Firebrand as they planted out into the community. Having been part of a church plant in Ramsey on the Isle of Man, we (my husband and I) thought we had some idea of where they were at as Firebrand Church, under the leadership of Tommy and Brenda. We have been well fed on the Word of God at Living Hope, but now it was time to move out of our comfort zones. God had much bigger plans for the weekend and we were blessed to be a part of it
As I looked into the sea of unfamiliar faces, I saw such passion and hunger for the Lord and what He wanted to do amongst us. People newly saved, others freshly healed, delivered and set free, so on fire to be part of what was happening right there in Dublin. As a body of saints, we poured ourselves out, and the Lord heard our cries as we came together in unity. Those unfamiliar faces were our brothers and sisters. There was no heavy religious spirit here, just the reality of knowing Jesus and following the leading of the Holy Spirit in the love of the Father. There was joy in the house!
They couldn’t stay away from meeting together. By the time the final evening came, every single person was pressing into God for more of Him
Great things happened as people moved closer and closer together and deeper into the presence of God. They couldn’t stay away from meeting together. By the time the final evening came, every single person was pressing into God for more of Him, and no one left the venue the same. God really moved amongst us and brought unity and vision to the church. Something was broken open that night as people’s hearts were knitted together. I know that the Lord has so much more for Dublin and the Isle of Man, and that’s what I pray for each of us: that we will move into the more of what God has for us here and now and not settle for what we had in the past. These are exciting times and I don’t know about you, but I want to be part of what’s happening and be a ‘do-er of the Word’!
Be sure to pray for the next team (led by Jonathan Stanfield from Living Hope) who will be heading into Firebrand Church to encourage and build with our Partners from the 27th – 29th January 2017.
