Terry Virgo and Angels Snipers!!

I had a rather odd series of dreams last night mainly about Terry Virgo. I must admit I don't quite understand them but I thought I would document them and see if some sort of interpretation comes - or whether I can just hold up my hands and admit I ate too much cheese last night!

The first dream was based around some sort of cell group meeting in Terry Virgo's home. I was with my family as though I was a child (but still my own age and thought processes). I remember that there was a wonderful feeling of community and belonging. I can't quite place whether we actually were just visiting Brighton and CCK or whether we belonged to the church but it was a wonderful feeling. Of community. Of togetherness.

The second dream was the interesting one. I was following Terry and Wendy Virgo into what looked like the Stoneleigh Bible Week meeting hall. And Terry was sort of the narrator during the dream. And yet even though he was narrating - I could actually see what he was saying. He was talking about angels being present everywhere. And the angels present in the room were looking at each person gathered there - no one was missed out! But everywhere the angels looked and pointed, there appeared a target - as though it was a shooting gallery. The guns the angels were carrying were golden. And the narration explained that they were glory guns - that each person was targeted for downloads of glory. That no one would or could miss out on being "shot" with the glory from heaven! That was the angels roles.

And Terry in my dream said; "They are marksmen! They are marksmen!".

So there we have it. Too much cheese?! Or something God is trying to say?!

Angels are ... EVERYWHERE!!

I had an unusal experience and encounter with God today on a much-needed day off. I have always been challenged and provoked by Rob Rufus's plea that we cannot just live from conference to conference in encountering Him. Rob said;

"If I don't experience the Presence of God daily then I get lonely".

It didn't depress me or condemn me because Rob isn't that kind of teacher. But it did provoke me! Every day I have been waking up wondering if God would reveal Himself to me! This morning was no different. I was blessed by much sleep but didn't wake up feeling particularly heavenly. However my faith was stirred by a message from my dear friend Pete. He wrote this;

"Last night at the end of the service, Malcolm's dad Alasdair, led the closing hymn after he preached (love divine). And when we get to the line "suddenly return and never, never more Thy temples leave" I had a brief glimpse of heaven open and the angels flying over us as we worshipped. It was very brief, but it was so real. The heavens are open!".

I was driving into town after reading that stirring, wonderful encounter and I was listening to the "Glory and Grace Conference" sessions. The amazing prophet Isi de Gersigny sang a prophetic song and a line (that I have heard before) really caught me;

"Light and glory come from the Eternal Throne".

For some reason I found tears running down my face. As I was driving in two thoughts came clearly to me. Firstly I asked God; "Why am I 30 and I am only beginning to see angels? Why is this the first time I have heard from Pete about him seeing angels? What's wrong with us?!". I heard God clearly reply and sound quite amused. He said;

"Son you have only just started to see angels because you haven't really been looking. And secondly you haven't seen them because you didn't think you were worthy. You aren't worthy. But My Son is, and that's the only price required".

I had to sit in the car in the car park for a while and gather myself but as I got up and began to walk through the Bullring Shopping Centre I began to feel that something was different. I hope I can describe this experience. You know how sometimes you can see someone out of the corner of your eye and yet when you turn to look at the person they are gone. Darting away like they were never there? That was my feeling. I was walking through hundreds of shoppers yet had the sense that there were other beings in the shopping centre. Angels were walking through - angels were following some of the shoppers. I could hear the rustling of robes.

I was standing waiting for Scott at one point and looking across a balcony at another cafe and I had the distinct feeling that someone was smiling at me. No mistake. Yet when I looked there was no one there. What to make of all this?! Was I losing my mind?! As I stood there revelling in the Presence of God in that shopping centre, an old charismatic song we used to sing in New Covenant Church in Dunstable came back to my mind. A line was;

"When all things that surround me become shadows in the light of You ... I worship You, I worship You - the reason I live is to worship You".

I felt God impressing on me that the veil between heaven and earth is becoming thin. Angelic manifestations occured in the Bible! Why don't we see them now? Does the fact that we don't see them prove that they are not present or here? Not at all - the problem is ours. The angels are there. But we simply need to look. The angels are ... EVERYWHERE!! I texted Pete and told him all that had happened. I save his texts because there is so much teaching wisdom in them. He replied;

"Well we prayed that God would meet with you today! In Leviticus the priest must go in with blood, "lest he die". But Hebrews says that Jesus has gone in with His own blood so THERE IS NO WRATH. The blood covers the tabernacle (which contains the 10 Commandments - so all the times we have broken the law are covered). So only light and glory come out. The veil protected us before from the fire of God burning us up. Now the veil is torn because it is SAFE for His glory to come out and it is safe for us to go in. No more wrath - only light and glory!".

Please hear what I am saying. I am not bragging of some ridiculous hyper-spirituality or a vivid imagination. I was in a shopping centre for crying out loud! I am trying to raise faith. If God in His grace will show me this - then what will He pour out for us all? Angels are ... EVERYWHERE! Let's start looking because when we see them truly - they will point to Jesus Christ - risen, glorified and exalted!

Disappointed? Today an Angel Might Stir the Pool

I mentioned in my last post on my Rob Rufus blog that I was quite saddened by Terry Virgo's latest "Firstline" from the Newfrontiers Magazine. While he emphasises his continued desire for revival, he very honestly admits that he is disappointed revival hasn't come ... yet. I have seen this disappointment before. At my home church it was a disappointment that we didn't see more genuine Isaiah-like prophecies uttered from the congregation, or we didn't see the Word of Faith point out people who were sinning and call them to conviction and repentence. In other circles it has been to observe the Toronto Blessing and hope for more from the charismatic movement. Rob Rufus himself wisely has counsel for these two scenarios I observed;

"Disappointment is a disastrous father of theology. It develops heresies and pervasive traditions that lowers and limits the word of God down to the level of your experiences, and unwittingly surrenders to the Spirit of unbelief while masquerading as main line orthodoxy!".

How therefore do we do it? How do we keep our hope for more of God high? How do we keep expecting, as it says on Jesse's blog; "because God has more!". I read an awesome chapter in the latest book I am reading which is highly relevent. It was recommended by Kylie and Ryan Rufus from their sermon; "Unlocking Your Ability to Hear God through Dreams". The book they recommended was;

"Dream Language: The Prophetic Power of Dreams" by Jim and Michal Ann Goll.

In this particular chapter, they were discussing the man by the pool at Bethesda. I was reading it before I went to sleep and was once again floored by something mentioned so casually in the Word of God. The verse went like this;

" ... for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted".

Now has anyone else ever heard a sermon preached on THIS verse?! Has anyone else satisfactorily consulted a commentary that opens this part of the Word of God up that is profitable for our teaching and taught us rightly that we can and should expect angelic manifestations just as similarly today? Or, like me, have you heard that the period that Jesus walked on earth was a "special period" (which it was) and we shouldn't expect the same today (why not?) and there is a spiritual meaning to the angel stirring the water (which is?) and it means we should read our Bibles more or something (well - that's fine if it means finding more verses like this!).

That being said, here is what the Goll's had to share from this wonderful account of Jesus miracle by the pool at Bethesda.

"Why did that crippled man stay at the pool of Bethesda every day? He probably could have gotten someone to take him away or simply stopped coming. But he didn't. Perhaps, despite years of disappointment, he still believed. He still held out hope that his day would come. What are you going to do when God seems silent and the dreams do not come or their promised fulfillment appears to be delayed? Are you going to give up and say "I guess this isn't just for me?". Or are you going to stay by the pool and wait for God to stir the waters?

Why are you still here? What keeps you coming back? Is it because somewhere, somehow you caught a glimpse of the unshakeable Kingdom of God that is being established in the earth? There is a Kingdom that will stand even when the earth itself is shaken! Hold fast to that belief because it is in these times of waiting, when God seems silent that the enemy will come and say, "Well you don't deserve revelation anyway".

It sounds very familiar doesn't it? I guess we can all associate with that - Terry included clearly. How do we do it? How do we cope with the fact that our hopes and dreams may not quite match up with the time scale and plans of Almighty God?

The Goll's have some advice;

"When God seems silent, there are several things you can do.

1. Stick with what you already know.What was the last thing the Lord said to you or told you to do? Have you done it? Why should He tell you something new until you have completed what He has already revealed?

2. God may be testing you. What do you believe?

3. Don't doubt in darkness what you have seen or heard in times of light.

4. Don't compare yourselves to others. This is one of the biggest ditches to avoid. Just because God works a certain way with someone else does not mean He will work the same way with you. God will work with you in a way that is significantly personal to you.

5. Be childlike. Don't be overly complicated! Hold out your hand, take hold of His and say "Daddy".

6. Don't expect everything to be so dramatic!

7. How about the person sitting next to you? Can God speak through him/her? Could it be that God wants to use one of His little princes or children to speak a word of encouragement, exhortation or comfort to you?

8. Walk by faith and not by sight. Sometimes going from word to word is walking by sight and not by faith. Stick to the Word! Obey the Word!

9. Learn the wisdom lessons of true guidance".

What can we learn from all this? Times of perceived silence from heaven aren't always what they seem. God made certain promises in the New Covenant that don't change. "I will NEVER leave you or forsake you". "Suddenly from heaven there came a sound". "I will pour out My Spirit on ALL flesh". "The veil was torn in two from top to bottom". "Seeing as we have such a great High Priest let us enter BOLDLY".

I'll close with another quote;

"When God seems silent, recognise this as His invitation to you to come into greater union with Christ. God's silence is His way of calling you to press in. It is a strategic chess move on His part. "And now", He says, "It's your move". Press in, because silence is God's invitation to greater union with Him. When your dreams seem to fade away, press in because the God of dreams has not faded away. He is there waiting to embrace you and to expand your heart's capacity to receive more of His Word, His will and His ways.

When God seems silent, press in!".