Dec 10, 2021 – Notes Shabbat Call
12-10-21 Notes from the “International SHABBAT Celebration”
24/7 National Strategic Prayer Call
7-10 PM ET 712-770-4340 code: 543555 #
Now that Hanukkah has concluded, we focus fully on preparing our hearts to welcome, celebrate and commemorate the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into this world! We are in such desperate need of Him today, and we humbly acknowledge that need! Tonight, we ask that He would be present with us in a special way, and make His Presence known to each and every one of us who is seeking Him with all our hearts!
Pastor Ioan prayed that we would welcome the mystery of how God took on human flesh and became incarnate, releasing His LIGHT into the world…and into our lives! HalleluYah!
Maureen said that years ago, Don Moen released this song, which is so appropriate today, as we are anticipating a fresh reception of Christ in our hearts and in those we are able to influence, and share the GOOD NEWS with!
Our Father
Hear our prayer! We are Your children and we’ve gathered here today. We’ve gathered here to pray.
Hear our cry, Lord, we need your mercy and we need Your grace today. Hear us as we pray!
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name.
Our Father, hear us from heaven, forgive our sins we pray.
Hear our song as it rises to heaven. May Your glory fill the air as the waters cover the sea.
See our hearts and remove anything that is standing in the way of coming to You today.
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Our Father, hear us from heaven, forgive our sins we pray.
Though we are few, we’re surrounded by many who have crossed that river before,
and this the song we’ll be singing forever:
Holy is the Lord! Holy is the Lord! Holy is the Lord! Holy is the Lord!
Hear our prayer! We are your children and we’ve gathered here today. We’ve gathered here to pray.
Hear our cry, Lord we need your mercy and we need your grace today. Hear us as we pray!
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Our Father, hear us from heaven, forgive our sins we pray.
Pastor Ioan shared a story: in March 2005, there was a prayer gathering in Singapore where Jesus was to be welcomed as King in that region of the world! As he prayed about this gathering, Pastor Ioan had a vision of a young beautiful girl, in the Bride’s Room, preparing to take her wedding gown. He heard “DRESS UP!” and realized that just as the Bride was to dress, we too, were to DRESS UP! and be ready for the King! As we dress in the full armor of God, we thank God for His provision as described in Ephesian 6, and receive it gratefully from Him!
Tonight, we together put on the complete armor of God, so that we are able to successfully resist and stand our ground in the evil day of danger, and having done everything that the crisis demands, to stand firm in our place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious. So we stand firm and hold our ground, having tightened the wide band of truth – personal integrity, moral courage- around our waists and having put on the breastplate of righteousness – an upright heart- and having strapped on our feet the gospel of peace in preparation – to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news. Above all, lift up the protective shield of faith with which we can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. We prayed corporately to receive the protection God offers!
~~~
Pastor Ioan thanked everyone for the prayers offered up for him and David on Tuesday! He said that he was so encouraged by that! He was not on the call, because they were literally exhausted by the warfare they engaged in over trying to get David’s Student Visa, and the ultimate rejection they experienced! They recognized that the woman who rejected them was aligned with darkness, and yet a man who worked side by side in the same office was warm and friendly…(sad they didn’t have him helping them!)
He said that our prayers are part of helping them dress up…“praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” Ephesians 6:18.
Standing in his family home in Bucharest, Pastor Ioan extended a blessing to us…and we received it!
~~~
Maureen asked how we were receiving the information in the current focuses re: the interview with Archbishop Vigano. She urged us not to allow this information to divide us in the Body of Christ, or validate the pointing of accusing fingers at a denomination. Rather, to see that it is the Church of Jesus Christ that is being attacked, in all her parts, and pray that those heralding truth will be heard, and the saints will untie and overcome…so that those trapped in error will hear and receive the Truth and be set free! Let us leave “denominational mindsets” behind in order to adopt a “KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE!” The KING and HIS KINGDOM…it’s all about Him!
Pastor Ioan shared that in his studies of Christianity, he came to realize the many divisions and separations in the Church…in the USA, there are over 36K different denominations…so how can we all come together? Under our ONE KING! In his home country, Romania, all the denominations came together for the first time in a national meeting, and there, they realized that they all had the same LORD! He also saw that they loved the Lord, and he began to welcome and love them and enter into a relationship with them…Baptist, Orthodox, and all the others!
God is calling us to open our hearts to one another…to acknowledge our sisterhood and brotherhood in Christ…and to receive one another in His Name, blessing one another and working together for the Kingdom! On this call, that is our practice…we are ONE BODY in CHRIST…and we do NOT stand alone!
When we take a stand for Christ and begin to love His whole Body, there will be trials, attacks, and often, separation from those who disagree with our decision to accept all of our brothers and sisters in Christ, regardless of denomination! That is part of our assignment, and we will be faithful to what He is showing us!
Carlo Maria Viganò (born January 16, 1941 and now 80 years old) is an Archbishop of the Catholic Church who served as the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States from October 19, 2011 to April 12, 2016. He previously served as Secretary-General of the Governorate of Vatican City State from July 16, 2009 to September 3, 2011. He is best known for having exposed two major Vatican scandals.
- These were the Vatican leaks scandal of 2012, in which he revealed financial corruption in the Vatican,
- a 2018 letter in which he accused Pope Francis and other church leaders of covering up sexual abuse allegations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.
Viganò was ordained a priest in 1968 and spent most of his career working in a diplomatic capacity for the Holy See. As a priest, he served on a number of diplomatic missions before being consecrated as a bishop by Pope John Paul II in 1992. Viganò was appointed Secretary-General of the Vatican City Governatorate in 2009, where he reformed the finances of Vatican City and turned a budget deficit into a surplus. He complained directly to Pope Benedict XVI about financial corruption. The unauthorized publication of two of his letters led to the Vatican leaks scandal, exposing financial mismanagement and wrongdoing in the Vatican.
He was then transferred to the position of Apostolic Nuncio to the United States in 2011, over his objections. While in the United States, Viganò earned a reputation as a conservative, arranging a controversial meeting between Pope Francis and former county clerk Kim Davis, known for her opposition to same-sex marriage, during the Pope’s 2015 visit to the United States.
Maureen again invited us to share how this topic is impacting us. Pastor Ioan suggested that we pray corporately into this matter, asking for the Breath of God, the Ruach HaKodesh, to stir up our spirits, and then offer individual prayer. We did!
- Mary Ellen (IL) her background was in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, through which she received the Holy Spirit. She met others (Protestant) and has expanded her horizons through AGLOW and embraces the whole Body. She appreciated Archbishop Vigano’s remarks.
- Ydia (FL) is a Christian and is part of the Roman Catholic denomination! We are all one in Christ!
- Diane (MT) she grew up in a non-denominational church. Her brother was a priest and her husband is Catholic. When she went to church with him, she was amazed at the amount of Scripture that she heard spoken in the context of the Mass…(the Catholic traditional prayer service).
- Jim (CA) the Bible speaks about those who sow discord, but this call has the blessing by Psalm 133
- Judy (VA) thrilled that we have a brother in another country who is standing firm for truth, and thanked God for Archbishop Vigano, and prayed for his protection
- Albert (CA) appreciated what the Archbishop said; it was refreshing to hear him speaking out. The Lord knows those who are His…and He is preparing the Bride “without spot or wrinkle!” Jesus commissioned us to go and make disciples. At Antioch, the believers were first called Christians and they went from being “disciples” to being called Christians. He referred us to the Great Commandment…love God and love your neighbor! He also spoke of the verse: “And Enoch walked with God and was no more!”
Antioch was also one of the earliest centers of Christianity; it was there that the followers of Christ were first called “Christians”, and the city was the headquarters of the missionary St. Paul about 47–55 CE.
What is the meaning of the word Antioch? The name, also borne by several Syrian kings and an eclectic philosopher, is a Latinized form of Greek Antiokhos, literally “resistant, holding out against,” from anti “against” (see anti-) + ekhein “to have, hold”.
- Sam (TN) was raised Catholic and was taught the Catechism, which is based on Scripture. He has wonderful Catholic friends, and tries to find their “common ground.”
Maureen interjected that our “common ground” is at the foot of the Cross in the Lord’s Presence.
Pastor Ioan shared that he was labeled as a “Bapticostal” and was known as the “Charismatic” Baptist in Romania, and was becoming known for speaking prophetically. When he returned from a trip to Jerusalem in October 2004, he told the people what God had spoken to him about the USA, and a Baptist leader in Romania challenged him saying that he was wrong to believe that he could speak prophetically. Ultimately, over time, some of the Baptists’ leaders came to believe in the operation of the gifts of the Spirit, and accepted what they had not known before! God did that…and He will show us what we must know in order to grow in our faith and service to Him!
Maureen shared that early on in her ministry, as a spirit-filled Catholic, she was a “token” Catholic representative (many times the only one) in several groups she participated in…something “novel” for some of her Protestant brothers and sisters who had no connection with Charismatic Catholics, many of which had negative attitudes toward that denomination. As she developed a “KINGDOM perspective”, she left her former “denominational mindset”, and God revealed to her the beauty of the Body of Christ! It was life-changing!
~~~
Pastor Ioan said that he used to have a prayer group that met regularly in his home. He offered to share with us how God taught that little faith community in Bucharest about the “protocols” of approaching and entering heavenly places! We need to respect those protocols and operate accordingly…through the prescribed way!
These protocols lead us to:
Radical Holiness
Unity of the Body
and
The Perfection of Love
The first thing necessary to approach the Lord is to allow Him to remove all that is dead in us, and restore our purity! We appropriate the Blood of Jesus to cleanse and purge us, purifying our hearts, so that we can enter His Presence! We prayed and experienced waves of GLORY flowing over us, as He administers the LIFE and the BLOOD of Jesus to us now, all across the USA!
13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean,
sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,
14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Hebrews 9:13-14
With the joy of having clean hearts, we start to ascend in the spiritual realm.
We remember that the Apostle John wrote: “A voice came from heaven saying: COME UP!” There is resistance from the enemy, for he does not want us to be in the Lord’s Presence. Therefore, we deny and reject satan and his rulership over us and this world! He is a usurper, and has no hold on us! We have been set free by Jesus Christ, and are no longer in bondage! We declare that satan has no hold on us, and no right to stop us from going into the Lord’s Presence.
Free from satan’s grip, we now lay down any worldly burdens that we have been carrying…releasing them to the Lord, unburdening ourselves! All burdens, troubles, worries… past, present, and future…we give to the Lord! It’s the GREAT DIVINE EXCHANGE! His burden is even His precious Presence!
With clean hands and pure hearts, unburdened by the past, present, and any concerns of the future, we are free to enter in! We welcome the SHALOM of God that is the peace that passes understanding and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus! We ask God to dress us in Christ, to give us His mind and heart!
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
Now, we can enter His gates with thanksgiving in our hearts…with praise and worship! We are ONE in the Spirit!
As we prayed, Pastor Ioan heard: REST IN ME! We corporately chose to enter into His rest…His SHABBAT!
This is a SHABBAT CALL…a call to enter into His Rest. We receive the “Ruach HaKodesh”…the breath of God…the Holy Spirit…Who leads us.
We prayed the Lord’s Prayer…and bowed low before the Lord….silent in His Presence!
9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Mathew 6:9-13
~~~
I love You, Lord and I lift my voice to worship You, oh, my soul, rejoice!
Take joy, my King, in what You hear, let it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear!
Here in His Presence, we petition Him for that which is in our hearts…each offered their own petitions as we prayed corporately for our Nation!
Lord, have mercy on us. Come and heal our land.
Cleanse with Your Fire, heal with Your Touch.
Humbly we bow and call upon You now.
Oh, Lord, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
~~~
We fall down, we lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus.
The greatness of His mercy and love, at the feet of Jesus.
We cry holy, holy, holy! We cry holy, holy, holy! We cry holy, holy, holy is the Lamb!
~~~
The Lord spoke to Pastor Ioan and said: “DO NOT BE ASHAMED THAT YOU ARE MY CHILDREN!”
He also received the understanding that President Trump will undergo a test and we must support him in prayer. We prayed that he will hear the voice of the Spirit and quickly accede to it! Part of President Trump’s test will be to let Christ shine in his life…and we will pray into that and rejoice as we see him do so!
We took communion, and sang:
Father, I adore You, lay my life before You. How I love you!
Jesus, I adore You, lay my life before You. How I love you!
Spirit, I adore You, lay my life before You. How I love you!
~~~
We welcome all the gifts that the Lord by the Holy Spirit wants to distribute to us this night…we believe and receive!
To each, He gives what He knows is needed and necessary for us to grow in His love…and to minister to those who do not know Him yet or those who are at odds with Him or us! Restore, renew and revive!
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord!
As we closed, we welcomed the joy of the Lord and collectively chose to remain in it for the rest of SHABBAT!
With love and blessings to all!
Maureen and Pastor Ioan
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