Sunday, March 8, 2009

I Was Glad When They Said Unto Me "Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord!"

25 comments:

Donald said...

I was tha-a-a-t-t close to leaving the house about 3 AM and riding my scooter up there today, but it just wouldn't have been wisdom to do it THIS weekend.
But, I'm sitting here waiting on the streaming to begin.

dgm2007 said...

Beautiful Pics! The message was really good. When I heard the song at the end all I could think of was how we wake up in the morning and have all the power in our hands to create our day. And our attitude determines what comes of it. I just saw myself getting up and having all the power in my hands. It has to be your yes! I really get that. We have a second thrird however many chances to shout YEAH ya dig. Really timely.. so much has been going right and according to plan I've been trying to find the whole. But there arent any i let my yes be yes. and boy do words make all the diffrence..they are there own action. they dont stay they goooo.

I dont mean to retype your message but its true and its hitting me. And the not going back song was great.
Happy Sunday

Lise said...

Bish, I'm so glad you're human! I'm sitting here flicking back and forth to the CITN media page, because I have to have the DVD... it's not on the page yet, so I'll get back to it later. And I have more to say, but I'll do that later, too. Right now, I'm gonna get some lunch :} But... THANK YOU!

Donald said...

Concerning today's word: I GOT IT!!!

That was so good!

Yesterday Her Majesty came home and saw a piece of paper where I had written the words "YES" and "NO" on them and asked what they were for.

I told her that Bishop was needing some props for Sunday and I was drawing them up. I had intended on making them out of plywood and the yes would have been 8' X 12' and the no would have been 8' X 8'.

They would have been on casters so they could be rolled around, but I never got a good feeling about making them. OK, honestly, I got to figuring the expense of buying five sheets of plywood and all the other stuff that would be needed to complete the job and realized that between that and getting them up there it would be too cost prohibitive based on this week's budget because I had not figured that extra expense into it.

Sure, I could have made it work if I had to, but there was still something telling me that it was not the thing to do.

I figured out this morning why. I can't see how you could have driven the point home any better than what you did with the two guys you used for your yes and no.

That totally hit home.

And the thing with the "NO" on the overhead! Too cool!

And this daylight savings time. It totally mesmerized me this morning. I got up in plenty of time to catch everything, then got to watching the clock on the livingroom wall that had not been set forward and ended up not tuning in until 10:00 AM central time. Genius, pure genius.

Lise said...

Okay, I'm back. Had to have my 'moment in the now' on the deck for awhile. What a GLORIOUS weekend! God did soooooo good :)

Anyway, I heard that message loud and clear, and even better, I think that the DVD will be the channel that I need to open my mom's eyes to her current situation. I have great respect for her, although I don't always agree with her... thusly, I usually just keep my mouth shut and go about my business. I love EVERY member of my family, and I will defend them to the death if I hear anyone downtalking any of them. BUT, I don't have to agree with everything they do or don't do.

I'll get a little personal here, because I feel I can. If they read this blog, I probably wouldn't. But I mentioned the friction between my mom and my nephew. It's been largely non-stop for 4 years with a few peaceful intervals. Firstly, my mother should not have to be in this position as a grandma. The grandparenting thing is supposed to be the fun time. I'm sure many of you out there are in the same position, and I'll bet you never thought you'd be. But circumstances dictate much, and my sister has been victimized physically and emotionally several times in her life... mostly due to REALLY bad decisions. But regardless of the why, it happened, and my mom took on the task of guardianship. My nephew was the most loving kid until he turned 11. Then came the downward spiral. I think he was about 12 when his mom told him about some of the things that she had been through in the past, and if I'm not mistaken, it was shortly after that that he started 'cutting.' To my knowledge, that lasted several months, and it hasn't happened since. But he definitely has emotional issues. I'm saying all this to get to my point. Joe and I stayed with Jimmie & Sharon the night before SOTB2, and we talked a little about this. Then, at the seminar the next day, while we were going through the scriptures about the greatness of God... reading aloud, book by book... Bishop stopped and admonished the congregation to recognize the greatness of God, and mentioned specifically the family. If you had a problem or need in the family... THEN, the very next scripture came from the book of Jeremiah. My nephew's name is Jeremy. An excerpt: "Nothing is too hard for you... great and mighty God whose name is the Lord almighty, great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds." I felt like God told me right then to watch and see how great He is.

My point is (and I don't think I realized it until today) that I sent out my 'YES' that moment, and I have believed ever since, even through all of the rubbish, that my nephew will eventually come out of this okay. It may take awhile; it may take the patience of a saint, but I refuse to believe that God won't honor what He said He'd do. I honestly think that this is the reason that I don't want to know all of the details when he starts acting out. I'm NOT going to take back that 'YES'! I've felt a little bit guilty at times, because my mom has stopped venting to me about it, and I hope she doesn't feel like I'm completely insensitive to her. But I can't hear the negative w/out getting impatient with God and feeling like maybe it's time to take the 'YES' back. Do you get what I'm saying? I know... I'm taking the country road on this... the long way around. But I hope that through this medium, I can show my mom the importance of sending a word out there, and then allowing God to do His job... IN HIS TIME... and w/out trying to fix everything in the natural. Sometimes that just can't be done.

And Bishop, I just have to ditto Donald. You may have been frustrated, but God knew what He was doing today. That visual with Teezy and the other guy (didn't catch the name) had tremendous impact! I don't think it could have come across any better. And yeah, props to your media people... the chasing the 'NO' was hysterical!

Wow, I may have to monopolize the blog today, as I'd like to share a story with Kettley... I loved what she had to say! But maybe I'll get to that later. Joe just got home a few minutes ago. Safe and sound... PTL!

Blessings!

Anonymous said...

I streamed in today...(why say it anymore, like it's something new still), my home pastor must thing I'm homebound or something HA! After the computer freezing and me hitting four or five times, and then WHAT do you say about that same concept and the command giving. I just sit and smile.

Anyway....I also agree, the YES/NO subject came off fine and the message was spread. Don't sweat a thing about the details, Bishop.

More than Yes/NO, I drank in the LET ! I really like that word....LET it happen, Let me, Let go, LET GOD !

I'm done.

Peace,
Northern Light

Anonymous said...

Bishop OMG what an awesome word today.I have been going through somethings in my marriage for the last three months.I had been praying to God about it and it seem like the situation was spiraling out of control. Now I know why ,I wasn't letting my yes be yes and my no being no.I can see clearer now.You were jumping all on my toes with that powerful words. I have jammed up my prayer life with God.I pray for something and run back and grab it just like your wonderful example today. I kept saying to myself that is me,that is what I do when I pray.Thank you Bishop for that powerful word. I will let it be and I can move forward.My yes will be yes and my no will be no.Thank you

Anonymous said...

My word ver was "ritype"...

Now seriously, how many times do we have to "re-type" things to get them posted on here somedays? I don't really think this one is so funny, just annoyingly accurate.

HA.....okay,I had to HA anyway,

Peace,
NL

G.Alph said...

Ok Bish, I have to chime in on this one. That was a powerful feeding this morning. Isn't it something how when we feel a certain passion or intensity for something we want the receiving ears to at least receive it in the fullness that we felt it. We've all done it... rehearsed a line or two before we spoke it just to have it come out as we meant it. I'm here to let you know correct props or not you were spot on today with that Word. (besides I like those props) This is a message/ image that I will pull from over and over again for many years. So effective thanks it was great. G.Alph

Northern Light said...

I posted in the "prayer room" how pleased OUR FATHER is with you, Bishop, for your hospitality in this (cyber) house to let us have a warm, safe, place to gather and hands uplifted, knees bent, whatever, pray for and with one another !

I invite some of you who hang out in this room to step in, "stay and pray a spell." You will never feel the same.

Bish, GOOD things are happening!

Peace,
Northern Light
p.s......music that started as I signed on to post this "Doobie Bros" ..."You might not know me, but I'm your brother"/ (sister). AMEN

Anonymous said...

LET – (allow – permit - agree to – consent to - assent to) YOUR – (belonging to you as your responsibility to own, and not another, not even God, YOU Said it, and you are responsible for its validity – soundness – weight – strength – force - by faith in the promise that we are co-heirs with Christ of all things) YES – (affirmation – confirmation – verification –substantiation – validation – authentication – certification) BE – (exist – survive – continue – living – active – subsist – having substance and energy )

AWESOME MESSAGE! That’s a never-forgetter. I have really struggled with the prayer issue. I mean I have thought to myself “why am I repeating this prayer over and over, do I not think God heard me the first time, or yesterday or everyday this week?”, “do I not think God is listening or do I need to get really loud to get God’s attention?” “sounds like I don’t have much faith in my prayers or Gods hearing” “I had not better tell anybody, being a preacher and all” I have often referred to my prayers as my “grocery list” you know milk, bread, eggs, milk, bread, eggs, milk bread, eggs, every day as if I thought that if I didn’t ask everyday God would forget. Kettly answered one of my posts (it wasn’t directed at me but gave a different view of something I had said about prayer) it gave me a little straightening out and a lot of encouragement. I saved that and I have to go back and read it now and then because this is something I still struggle with because the idea that I have to “say my daily prayers” (grocery list) is planted very deep somewhere in my soul (soulish, fleshly WORKS); while my spirit is saying why are you doing that when you know that you and Christ are one and more intimate than even you and your wife; why can you not talk like that to God?” One of the fruits of the Spirit is “faith” and that should be in your relationship with God – not in your prayers. Thinking that you have to say something over and over is FAITH IN YOUR PRAYERS, not faith in God. Actually it’s not even faith in your prayers or you wouldn’t have to say it over and over. You could just “LET YOU YES BE YES” and “AMEN” = SO BE IT, or IT IS SO; this is the meaning of “amen” as Bishop said today. So if we really believed our “AMEN” we could just let it be “AMEN”. I guess we should end our prayers with “amen and I really mean it this time”.

I definitely will have this message on my mind for a while. I needed to hear this. It has reminded me that my prayers many times are not to be thought of as directed to God but by faith in God’s promise “I” am speaking to the situation. Therefore in my speaking my speech about the situation or need should not be “yes and no” which is freezing up the system (the computer illustration was very clear to me) blocking the natural order of things that God has put in motion by spiritual law that cannot be seen immediately in the physical realm. The illustration about taking a pill for a headache really spoke to me; I have to “let it BE” for a while, give it time to work. I am going to be much more careful with my words from now on in prayer and otherwise; especially what I say AFTER I pray or decree a thing. I have to remember “aahhiiii have SPOKEN!”. I am a child of my father who gave me the same creative ability with my words that He used to create this entire physical dimension. “Jesus never retracted or qualified anything he said; and he didn’t care what people though” and I have to become more like Jesus; that is the objective and purpose for this life. It now seems so foolish it say “yes” to something and later say well maybe “no” and expect to get anything. Yes and no at the same time about the same thing cannot work.

Our brother Paul also spoke of this:
2Co 1:17-20 NET.
(17) Therefore when I was planning to do this, I did not do so without thinking about what I was doing, did I? Or do I make my plans according to mere human standards so that I would be saying both "Yes, yes" and "No, no" at the same time?
(18) But as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No."
(19) For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the one who was proclaimed among you by us — by me and Silvanus and Timothy — was not "Yes" and "No," but it has always been "Yes" in him.
(20) For every one of God's promises are "Yes" in him; therefore also through him the "Amen" is spoken, to the glory we give to God.


And to quote the Beatles “let it be, let it be, yeah let it be let it be”….”speaking words of wisdom; let it be”……AMEN

Also Bishop, I am so glad you brought out the truth about the whole “easter” thing. After learning this truth many years ago it has always been a pet peeve with me and the church following tradition instead of truth. I have since always refered to that as our “RESURECTION CELEBRATION”

Great word today, even felt the Spirit quite strong here especially at the end.

Peace,
Dennis

Anonymous said...

There have been many moments that I have been glad that I was in the house of the Lord. This morning has to be in the the top ten so far for me. No doubt that if Jesus were telling people today to let their yes be yes and their no be no, He would have done it in just the way it was laid out for us today at CITN by Bishop J.E.S.

I am in agreement with other bloggers who have noted their focus on the the word let. As much as there is a great word on the yes and no there is an even greater confirmation of that word in the let and that is where the so be it has its greatest effect.

I am pulling something past into the now as a point of validation on what it means to 'let' the yes be yes. The following is a celebration of spirit;

Every black woman saw themselves as the Queen of style and grace and not as the Queen of Drama. And the whole world saw a black man show love, respect and honor to a his black woman, and love for his children(daddy girls). We have seen forever the complete opposite on TV, in the media, and in the magazines. This one defining moment in history has spoken to so many emotions, stereotypes, and prejudices, So to say people get over it, NO! that just will not do. It’s like when Halle Berry won the Oscar, She said, ”do not rushed me, it took 60 or more years for us to get this award”. We deserved every minute of this glorious moment. And today we ALL deserve every glorious moment of this history making milestone!

This was entered by someone who doesn't know me and probably doesn't care to but it is an excellent example of letting our yes be. Finally and in the face of unlikely odds the yes of a demographic in our nation has made itself real. That is what all of us need to understand, that our let doesn't neccessarily mean that it is going to happen right now but it will if we just give it a chance. There are some examples of our let being made real in a more immediate way and that is usually associated with an emergent condition but the word this morning seems to me to encompass a much larger place in the progress of humanity.

It was in complete unity with the anointing on the word that the service was layered with the sweetness of singing the song that we are moving forward. The let is all about moving forward and not just saying the yes or no to our situation.

A most excellent word was given to all who had ears today. Thank you Jesus, all of us who love you recieved it.

JB

Larry Usher said...

Amen to all the posts!

Elle-God appreciates your openness and will reward you for recognizing and voicing your need!

Bishop- such a resonating word today- the "amens" I was hearing around me as your point on the yes/no finally hit home were full of power and inspiration.
Another thing that hit me during this service is not only to let our yes be yes and our no be no, but to take more time in the Word and with the Lord to find out if my yeses and nos are correct in the first place.
The expression, "measure twice, cut once" came to mind. I found myself looking over the motivations of some of the things I have been, at different times, believing for and found that maybe I need to go back to the drawing table on a few.
However, there are some things that are so strong in me- The Covenant, for example, my identity in Christ, the fact that I am an ambassador for the Kingdom of God- these are bedrock- some of the peripheral stuff maybe not so much. It's never too late to go back to the Lord and ask Him to show the thoughts and intentions of the heart and check you lovingly on your path.
Hail to the Good Shepherd!
You were His voice today Bishop and I expect to see big changes for "the house" as a result.
The visual with Teezy & Joel REALLY hit home with me- it was an "Ohhhh!" moment.
An the "no" running away WAS hysterical!

Kettly- you are too funny! I'm glad you and Fritz are my friends!

Blessings,

Larry

Anonymous said...

This is one Sunday I am glad I was in the house because it was one of those had to be there messages. This message really hit home with me when you talked about the computer and how it freeze up when too many commands are put in. Oh my how I got it, the flood gates opened and revelation came flooding in. As if that wasn't enough the worship song at the end sealed the message, tears roll down even now even as I think on it because as I stood there singing it was if I could see Jesus and I was moving forward toward him and it was just awesome.

When I got home I got a phone call but I had already put my NO out on that and I shall let it perform its perfect work so I didn't answer.

Lise said...

Larry,
Thanks for that! And BTW, regarding your comment about the sheep the other day... that was so funny :) I loved it!

P. Dennis,
WOW! Yours is one I will be printing out and referring to many times over, I'm sure. Thank you!

Kettley,
Still want to share my story with you, but it's getting late , so I'll try to post it tomorrow. It's also about a house, and about the way God worked... but in a completely different way!

Sweet dreams, precious BITNers...
love you!

Larry Usher said...

I was reaching down, grabbing handfuls of confetti and throwing them in the air. Much joy filled the place. The confetti turned into oil as if it were from an oil rig spewing in the air and falling on everyone. The oil of gladness of the Holy Spirit-immersed in joy!

Friend4Life said...

Well, I'm up. Had 2 catch up on my sleep. (smile)

Today's service was so on point! I wonder has this ever happen to anyone; put a movie in when we got home and heard today's message in the movie. Husband and I were laughing so hard. That's been happening a lot lately. Movie we were watching was an old classic Shirley Temple-"Susannah of the Mounties." She was getting frustated w/the little chief indian. When he said Yes, it didn't sound like yes. It was more like a grunt sound. They were making a treaty. Shirley told the little indian, "Let your yes be yes, and your no be no." He grunted and she said, "I guess that'll have to do." (smile)

Amazing how the word follows you through out the day, week..etc. This week my son has been writing his last name wrong. I told him we are not the "Wellnos"; it's Wellons. I guess my 5 year old has his "No's" down. (JK) Anyway, Great Message!!

~Peace, Love, Dream BIG, & Keep Believing~

Larry Usher said...

Psalm 91

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him will I trust."

Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence.

He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust; His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flieth by day,

nor of the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor of the destruction that layeth waste at noonday.

A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee.

Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

Because thou hast made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation,

there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

For He shall give His angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways.

They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample underfoot.

"Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he hath known My name.

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life will I satisfy him, and show him My salvation."

Anonymous said...

Yes and amen!! What a now message this morning Bishop! If you were not there you must watch it. I love the way that yes works for until you choose to stop it with your own thoughts and words. The yes is such a power creative force in my life that I refuse to confuse it with yeah or any other variation. My yes is always yes not yeah. Equally as power a creative force, my no is always my no and not nah or any of its variations. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Also want to say this. I was watching DVD of Pastor Debye's message "I Got the Power!" on Feb. 1st. It was the first Sunday and sp a Communion Sunday. She mentions the power of the Blood and I remembered Something you have said before. I believe it was Paul who said if the Communion was truly understood it would bring healing. I know that Jesus said "this is my blood and my body" and the Holy Sprirt shows me that it is the Christ who speaks through Jesus and therefore the Christ's body we share and that because you have the Christ in you and I have Him in me we are partaking of each other. In this recognition of our oneness all need is met. Your need becomes one with my abundance and my need becomes one with your abundance and healing takes place.

Unknown said...

"the word this morning seems to me to encompass a much larger place in the progress of humanity."

Amen, JB.

"I expect to see big changes for "the house" as a result."

Amen, Lar.

"if the Communion was truly understood..."

A-men, Centurion!

Anonymous said...

I was glad, too.

Anonymous said...

Regarding Yes and No here's my Ps. 33:11 praise.

Recently, I had a craving for chocolate cake. Instead of actually baking one & feeling immediate remorse (diet-wise), I bought a pack of cupcakes, instead. Bleh!

The Yes and No dilemma ensued. Did I want dessert? Duh. Did I need it? No.

Finally, I said, (alone, in my living room, but out loud to the Universe) "Remember how I didn't want cake for my birthday? Could I have a slice, now? (what's the statute of limitations on it, if a day's like a thousand years to Him, anyway?)

I want a chunk of chocolate cake. That's not too much for You. Just a tiny sliver - only a taste. I don't want to have to bake one, beg my neighbors to take the rest, freeze it, or have to scrape its mortar-like frosting off the plate after a week." Period.

Miraculously, I resisted all the goody aisles while grocery shopping. Three days later, my oldest daughter called. Her mother-in-law had brought over a chocolate cake. Correction: a multi-layered chocolate cake. (a slice was about 2 stories tall & an elephant-wide).

Could I take some off their hands? (all I could do was laugh out loud)

Guess what I'm saying, is that's how yesterday's service was for me. Sweet. Praise and worship, the word, a baby dedication (her smile - oh, God!)& pleasant conversations.

All of it made me glad. Yes, it did.

Bishop Jim Swilley said...

Thanks so much, everyone, for the confirmation...this word is working in me in a big way...to the point that it's nearly disorienting...it's forcing my brain to develop new thought patterns...I'll just let my YES be YES about the message of letting your YES be YES...

Bishop Jim Swilley said...

Selah.