“If you drink from Jacob’s well you’ll be thirsty again and again, but if anyone drinks the living water I give them, they will never thirst again and will be forever satisfied! For when you drink the water I give you it becomes a gushing fountain of the Holy Spirit, springing up and flooding you with endless life!…. “Believe me, dear woman, the time has come when you won’t worship the Father on a mountain nor in Jerusalem, but in your heart. Your people don’t really know the One they worship. We Jews worship out of our experience, for it’s from the Jews that salvation is made available. From here on, worshiping the Father will not be a matter of the right place but with the right heart. For God is a Spirit, and he longs to have sincere worshipers who worship and adore him in the realm of the Spirit and in truth.” – John 4: 13,14,22-24 (TPT)

Hello Everyone,
I trust your week has been good – and for those able to deny yourself some of goodies during the fast, may every new bite remind you of the awesome gift of taste buds! This week has been amazing despite the loss of food stimulus. Besides some wonderful moments of personal downloads, the huge bonus has been the incredible insights that have come during the corporate times together. As the week progressed, it became evident, that God had many things to say about us as a community. I was hopeful he would, but I honestly was not expecting it to be as incredible as it was. Borrowing from C.S. Lewis, I was surprised by Joy!

This week I have had the joy and privilege to be present at three different corporate prayer times with many of us from the UChurch community (one of the those empty nester bonuses!) . The nights all had one thing in common; a bunch of peculiar kids of his came together to simply listen to ‘Our Father who is in heaven’ – no expectation of receiving prayer for person needs. A corporate time to gather to hear what God has on his heart regarding this community, and boy did he ever have things on his heart. God spoke to us through a number of people and a myriad of ways that weaved itself into a beautiful tapestry. On one of the nights I saw Angela on her laptop capturing everything being shared (thanks Angela, you did this every night, and I believe He knew He could download way more knowing we could go back and read it again). I had assumed it was 3-4 pages worth for that particular night, but I was shocked as Angela let me know, it was 13 pages. That was just one night.

It is no wonder the enemy of God works to subtly dissuade God kids from gathering together in a posture of prayerful listening – he knows that once Gods people experience an environment where they hear directly from the heart of God, there is no going back. Having direct communication connection with the God of universe is incredible. Jesus told us, “I only say what I hear my Father saying, and I only do what I see the Father doing”,and that posture changed humanity forever. When many sons and daughters, His family, the church, who are progressively being transformed to be like Jesus are experiencing the same reality, “We only say what we hear our Father saying … We only do what we see our Father doing”…. Wow, it’s huge… this is what He wants for all of us.

As the three evening times concluded, I would attempt to write out what some of the things that were shared were for those who are not able to come. The plan was to keep everyone informed, but it became obvious, to send everything that was shared, even the high lights would have taken another 20 more emails! As I sat asking him what did he want to say about what was said, it became clear, the spirit was leading me to write was not the content but the context. He wished to remind us the method (hearing his voice) is the message for us right now. When we as individuals are in transition, or when we as community are, the priority is to press in, get in his lap and let him lead us by his presence. As Paul told the Galatians, if we are is children, and indeed we are, we are led by His spirit. The God of all creation, the alpha and omega, the maker of us all, our Father who spoke the universe into being, wants to speak to us. Not just to us as individuals, but as a community. What Jesus declares 2,000 years ago is true today… for us personally, and corporately.

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can bear. But when he the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” – John 16:12-13

If you have ever had someone share a prophetic word to you that ‘read your mail’ so to speak, do you remember the “oh my” factor? Sometimes we could hardly believe it – “God knows me that well!?” I find it life altering personally. We know the bible says that, but when our heart experiences it, it leaves a massive impression… but lets ramp this up a notch. Have you ever had a word from God for someone else, and when you shared it (perhaps even wondering if it was good), they were gob smacked asking “how do you know this!?” You answer, “I don’t, God does, he gave me this for you”. It’s amazing – in those moments you understand the truth of that verse, it is better to give than receive. What is happening in those moments is what happens anytime a group of people posture themselves to hear God.

What we call prophetic words, is simply hearing, seeing and sharing what is in the Fathers heart for his children. It’s awesome…. But lets ramp it up another notch.

What would happen if we took Paul’s exhortation to heart ever time we gather….

Eagerly pursue and seek to acquire [this] love [make it your aim, your great quest]; and earnestly desire and cultivate the spiritual endowments (gifts), especially that you may prophesy (listen and share what God has for his children)…… the one who prophesies [who hears and shares the Fathers divine will] speaks to men and women for their upbuilding and constructive spiritual progress and encouragement and consolation. – 1 Cor 4:1,3 (AMPC)

I double dog dare you… gather some peeps before any gathering with brothers and sisters and take some time to ask God what he would like to share with His community. Imagine what a gathering would be like when it is more than one or two people sharing what God is wishing to say. Paul never wrote this to the speakers of Corinth, but to all who had ears to hear!

What is God doing in the UChurch community of His kids… He is transforming us by his love to be just like him – his number one aim that we would discover who we truly are that we would know this love. And it does not stop there… these stale hearts get renewed like new wine skins. Fresh new wine pours into us and changes us, and then it pours out to a world around us.

When people feel the urge to ‘come home” to him, God does not desire that the meet the older brother, but that they would meet the love of the Father, and that is the living water in us.

He has shared lots of words, some we will have heard at the gathering this morning, others will continue to flow. This is a wonderful transition time, where we are being prepared. Transitions are never an easy thing, but as if we stay close to him, make love our #1 quest (to receive and give), and earnestly seek the capacity to hear his voice, not just for us, but for everyone, the transition bumps, turns and changes will be all right.

Much Love

-Brant

I have still many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them. But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future]. – John 16:12-13 (AMP)

A post from Rob Stobbe:

Fasting week – A chance to be intimate with our Father Individually and as a church family

Here is a question for us to consider…

“…Will we go within the veil and experience God in direct encounter, or will we be satisfied to experience Him secondhand through the Book He has written?”

( Mark Virkler – 4 Keys to hearing God’s voice)

That sounds a little heretical! Does this suggest we may be living vicariously through what Father told his other Kids and are satisfied with “second hand” revelation?? But the Bible is inspired scripture, it’s God’s word!! Aren’t we to use it to guide our lives? Don’t we look for the answers to life’s journey in its pages? Isn’t it the story of God relating to his creation? Doesn’t it reveal the Father to His kids? Yes! Yes! Yes! …. But there is more! Much more good news! (If everything was written, the world couldn’t contain it all – John 21:25).  After all, if the good old KJV was good enough for the Apostle Paul it’s good enough for me too! …oh wait, I guess the New Testament wasn’t even written then! In fact didn’t Paul write a lot of it? How did that happen? He had an experience of the Father through Jesus, and revelation from the Father in the desert and then wrote it down for his friends in the churches. That must have been awesome! I want that ( to hear Father’s voice and receive his rhema word to encourage and bless the world too! Can I have that too?

Yes, I believe we can, after all Jesus gave us a guarantee! He said “My sheep hear my voice” (John 10:27)  At first I thought “well, I guess I am not one of His sheep then because I’m not hearing anything. I didn’t realize I WAS hearing his voice, I just didn’t recognize it because my ears were plugged by fear of what He may say to CONDEMN me or of what he may DEMAND of me! – Now that I am hearing my Dad it turns out everything He has whispered into my heart comes in the shape of LOVE! – That’s FUN and JOYFUL to hear and it’s TRANSFORMATIONAL! Even His correction and direction is so soft and loving that I look forward to it and ask for it because it feels sooooo good. His words will transform us and our little tribe as we listen during this fast! Treasure Father’s scripture AND crave the rhema word from the Holy Spirit speaking right into your heart. He has YOUR secrets to speak directly to YOU! Directly into YOUR heart. Your Father WANTS this intimacy with you, it’s what we were made for! John 17:3 Philippians 3:10-11. He has words for US for OUR family corporately. Secrets to tell US about OUR destiny!

“It’s hard to have the same fruit as the early church when we value a book they didn’t have above the Holy Spirit they did have” – Bill Johnson

God sought relationship with the Israelites at mount Sinai and wanted to speak to them but they declined his offer (Exodus 20:18-20); they told Moses “you go listen to His voice and then tell us what He said because if we hear His voice we will die” (we’ll just take the revelation 2nd hand, thank you very much!) That decision didn’t really work out well for the Israelites. Fear can plug up our ears, I know it certainly plugged up mine for years. It keep me at a distance and prevented me from hearing Father’s words which my spirit craved so much.

But hey, GOOD NEWS, we have a Father’s whose nature is 100% pure love and His character is a perfect Father! Turns out there is nothing to fear.

Let’s join together and receive Father’s words into our hearts to guide us into this new year!

Maybe you are still trying to clear the clutter or fear from your heart or you are still learning to tune your heart’s eyes and ears of your heart to Father’s voice. Or maybe hearing God’s voice is a new concept all together! If so you are in for a wild adventure because everything is about to change for you as a daughter or son and for us as a family. If you don’t believe me ask anybody around you who is already enjoying their Father’s words as they appear in their hearts!

Let’s talk about how to hear God’s voice:

1. Recognizing God’s voice as spontaneous thoughts (hint: they are popping up in your heart right now! – listen) We can differentiate them from our own thoughts and the enemies lies.
2. Learn how to become still before the Lord. Psalm 46:10 & 62:1,5 & 37:7
3. Look for vision as we pray (we are asked to “fix our eyes on Jesus”);  the Bible is jam packed with vision… Jesus used word pictures and symbols and illustrations to speak with the disciples
4. Realize the importance of two-way journaling (read David’s personal two-way journaling in the Psalms! ) All the Bible writers wrote down what their Father told them, If they hadn’t we wouldn’t have the Bible!)

(Read how Habakkuk did it in Habakkuk 2:1-3 and how John did it in Rev. 1:10-11)

Most of the above I attribute to Mark Virkler’s “Four Keys to Hearing God’s Voice”

-Rob Stobbe

“The gospel is absurd and the life of Jesus is meaningless unless we believe that He lived, died, and rose again with but one purpose in mind: to make brand-new creation. Not to make people with better morals but to create a community of prophets and professional lovers, men and women who would surrender to the mystery of the fire of the Spirit that burns within, who would live in ever greater fidelity to the omnipresent Word of God, who would enter into the center of it all, the very heart and mystery of Christ, into the center of the flame that consumes, purifies, and sets everything aglow with peace, joy, boldness, and extravagant, furious love. This, my friend, is what it really means to be a Christian.”     ― Brennan Manning, The Furious Longing of God

Yesterday I found myself wrestling with how to write the first prayer & fasting posting (introduction).  I struggled searching for the right amount of words to describe what has been happening in our midst in a concise fashion.  How do you condense 3+ years of transformation concisely?  What is the perspective to write from? Or who’s?  Will it adequately explain and answer peoples questions?  

Thankfully, I had some help. A number of people contributed, as will be the habit with each of the future postings…
 
The reality is that we are a community of many, and to describe where we are at, and where He has been taking us requires a bit more than one summary email can offer. The reality is that we can discern what God has been doing, and is doing, by hearing about what he has been doing in various peoples experiences in our midst. The true state of a family is determined by the state of each persons heart.  If we really want to know what God is doing in the community of His kids, it would obvious we need to hear from the kids what he has done, and is doing in our hearts. 
 
Our personal transformations reveal the incredible ways God is working.  We know His church in not a corporate entity, it is each and every person who has surrendered to His invitation of trusting him to be our savior instead of ourselves.   Each of our  personal stories reveal  what in fine careful detail what He has been doing in His church, us in this community. 

These stories can be messy, some have long stretchs of wilderness in them, others will describe very desperate cries to God, burnout, pain surfacing and acknowledgement of numb hearts and waining passion. Others will through tears, recount the moments when love itself healed their hearts and opened their hearts eyes to see what they had never seen before. Many stories describe the blocks in hearts getting revealed and gingerly removed.  Some will go on to describe new experiences of joy, peace replacing anxiety and striving. Many stories reveal moments where events in their past are brought to mind; moments that caused blocks to form in our hearts; things they we never knew were there before   A common thread through them all, is the joyful awareness of change happening. Stories of transformed hearts and incredible testimonies of breakthroughs with new hope and joy.  Many will describe hearts coming home to their heavenly Father, others will describe they are still on the way.  Some stories are in process, not yet ready to be shared.
 
The stories about how these are true for us individually are the best way to describe what God has been doing in this community. They are our real lives, our experiences  of vulnerability, hope, doubt, breakthrough, joy, peace, struggle and freedom. They contain the complete essence of what God has been doing; healing the broken hearted, opening eyes to see, replacing stoney bits with new life and love. 

 He loves to put the lonely in family.  But we all know, the family has to be authentic in order for people to have courage to trust giving Him all of their hearts to him. In the fruit of our own transformation, more love flows through us, and this helps others learn that there is a possibility of unconditional love and acceptance in Him for them.  It is our sense we should share some stories with one another – lots has happened in so many of us.
 
Testimonies of transformation… 
 
I would like to ask as many of you who are led, to consider writing out some of your own hearts journey in this past season  –  write about what God has been revealing, healing and teaching your heart in these years.  What has been your journey and the transformation you have been experiencing.  What has been the fruit so far of Him working in you.  This is not about what you learned in your mind, although understanding does come, but keep it focused on what HE has been doing in you.  Send them to me, short or long, sooner than later.   The hope is to share some of these with one another. 
 
Why? Because we we have been disconnected…
 
When we don’t know what God is doing around us, or in us, we can feel disconnected. As we go though some of our own challenging moments in our transformational journey, we often need to pull back from things as HE does His work within us, but that can also can contribute to feelings of isolation. Some of us may have some pockets of people to process with, but some of us may not due to life’s circumstances. Hearing what God is doing in our lives takes time, but that’s one way to spell love; T-I-M-E.   
 
Sharing our written stories will touch our hearts and help connect us (send some in)…. BUT...  there are other ways to connect as well. Ways to hear our stories of what God is doing.  

If you’re willing, ask God if you are to connect with someone in the community you have not seen in a long time this week or next.  If you ask Him, I am sure He will likely tell you specifically who.  Follow through – go with a clear intention;  go to hear their story.  Reconnect, and if they ask for your story, be vulnerable, share what God has been doing in you. 

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Joy and hunger are the foundation of authentic biblical community. Without it everything else is merely an exercise in human relations.  Jesus prayed that all his followers would find unity together, not disconnection; but his prayer makes it clear that there is only one road to unity: “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one… and the that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” – John 17:22,26. 
 
The unity that marks authentic community rises only out of people who are seeking, hungry to be changed into God’s image. And as God is changing me, I find incredible connection with others he is also changing. Without even trying, I’m suddenly aware of their needs and how I can help, while also being aware of gifts and insights they can add to my life.

For people hungering after God, opening our lives to one another is not a cumbersome obedience, but a natural means to allow the transforming love of God to bring tangible encouragement, strength, and comfort.

If you’re like me, it has taken an inner process with much time to “be in family”; it took a long time for me to begin to move out from behind insecurities, fears and wrong perceptions of God and myself and interact. I had not idea that when he put me into family, it would be the means to reveal the orphan blocks in my heart. Sounds odd coming from a pastor perhaps, but my hearts journey is the same as everyone’s.  Moving from the head knowing God loves me, to experiencing this love.  
 
God knew I needed a Father, He knew I needed freedom,  the freedom that only comes from a deep inner security of being a son. He has become that, and my heart has now begun to fully experience the adventure into Sonship (Gal 4:4-7). My heart has been awakened and now I can see – he has put this once lonely orphan into family. This is for us all. 
 
This quote describes where I once was..
“The more isolated and disconnected I was, the more shattered and distorted was my self-identity. We are not healthy when we are alone. We find ourselves when we connect to others. Without community we don’t know who we are…
When I lived outside of healthy community in my heart, I not only lose others, I lose myself… Who we understand ourselves to be is dramatically affected for better or worse by those we hold closest to us.” 
 
If you’re reading this and think you’re stuck, not sure if you’re able to lean in – simply tell Him – he will give you His courage to risk connecting with authentic people who have been down the same path. 
 
If you have a story, or questions about what I am asking for (written stories), please let me know.  And if your able, ask God to show you who to go listen too… to know, and if they are ask.. to be known.
 
May your fast week be rich!

Brant

This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.”   – Ephesians 2:19-22 (The Message)

It is no surprise to anyone that over the last year or so, things have been shifting in UChurch, and depending on your perception, and your understanding/awareness of the prophetic leading, how your experiencing “UChurch”, could be described as unique and varied as there are individuals.  

To begin this week together, we wanted to share with you a brief summary of where He has brought us as a UChurch family and what He is leading us into.
 

WHERE HAVE WE BEEN?

Over the last few years in UChurch, we have had a divine interruption (meaning; that we did not plan it, He led us into it). It started a few years ago as He led us into further understanding of healing, intercession and the revelation of the Father.  This combined with the fact that many in our family who served faithfully for years began experiencing wilderness seasons in their lives (difficult circumstances, hardship, trials and transitions, etc). The practical side has been many are in busy stages with growing families (something like 15 babies born in a 18 month period for example).  What that means is throughout the last 2 years people have transitioned out of different areas of serving within the church community, which inherently means a loss of familiar structure, rhythm, and connection points for others.

We chose to not rush to replace the people or “fill the vacuum” so to speak, as Father was revealing to us the heart shift of not needing to serve out of a sense of obligation. We chose to allow the tension and the void to stand as hearts began the long process of renewal.  BUT then people were left to interpret what was happening by themselves, communication was limited and depending how integrated we each were,  perceptions of what was/is happening varied. And in our North American Church culture, a diminishing number of people serving and attending consistently = a dying church.  Some of us began to panic.

WHERE ARE WE GOING?

Through many prophetic words, Father has revealed consistently that He is cultivating an atmosphere of authentic relationships.  He is looking to create a net where people can come and be healed. He is looking to create a place to know and be known by Him. He’s longing  to create a place where we don’t derive a sense of identity from a corporate vision or a charismatic leader, but rather directly from Him as His sons and daughters.  A community where we come to connect first and foremost with Him and then with each other. This is the journey of personal  transformation, and as that grows, it becomes a community that is known for its extravagant love. Some may ask, “didn’t we have that already?”  The answer is both “yes” and “no”. We did, and do have a wonderful degree of love amongst us as evidenced by the incredible servant heartedness.  But the ‘divine’ interruption noted prior has revealed there is so much more for us to being transformed into the image of Christ.

“Let love be your highest goal”  (1 Cor 14:1)

Currently, we have been in a season of deconstruction of what was ‘good’, for what is better.  In John 15, Jesus describes the process. The Father is the gardener and Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. The Father prunes that which was good so that more fruit can come. The fruit being spoken of is love. The fruit of the spirit is love, and when evident all sorts of abundant life starts to flow. We are are re-imagining  what a community surrendered to love can be in this season.
 

Authentic community is people simply learning to live out the same love with others that they have experienced in Father through Jesus. When we are being transformed in our hearts by God’s revelation, we become more and more like Him – and having experienced his love and generosity, we can’t help but let that love and compassion overflow to others.  That alone is all God needs to accomplish His purpose in His church. Its life literally flows from His presence in our hearts, and in doing so makes that presence visible to believers and unbelievers alike.

Father gives us the gift of being his children, sons and daughters, Jesus gave gifts to the ‘church’ to help us discover our true identity and equip us to know this love (Eph 4), and the spirit gives Gifts to us to give away to others when they need it.

This is a unique yet crucial culture shift for us to manage because it serves as a blueprint for the future. It has been said many times that others will come, see, and receive what is happening here within our UChurch community. Those Father is sending from around the world to us are going to need the love and security we have cultivated and can offer as a family to receive their healing and come into a greater sense of knowing Him.

As a community, we have felt the labor of birthing something new. We have chosen to journey into the new. As John Rohrer spoke to our community back in Feb 2001 “We are called to be a prototype – we are not to mimic other churches. But that God is doing something different in our community.” Dennis Wiedrick also confirmed this word years later.

So the question is how to do we manage  this transition together? We don’t really know what the destination or what new structure looks like, but we do know who we are going with. God has become our vision, His back is the thing we are following. We are actively choosing to walk the transformational path of vulnerability and be known both by Him and in community. We don’t know what exactly this will look like, but we know what it will be characterized by: Love.

This week throughout the fast,  we encourage you to process the transitions you have been feeling, sensing and enduring with those around you.  

Cheers – Brant