Massive Encouragement!

Wednesday was filled to overflowing with teaching and encouragement! I am not even trying to attend all the possibilities. There are many more than one person can possible take in. So I am only able to give a sample of the table the Lord has spread for us. 


My morning session was to hear Rev. Bob Sorge. He worked with Jacob/Israel, who with both names is mentioned more times in the Bible than anyone else. Bro. Sorge worked through Jacob's life allowing the Lord to unfold His plan through all the mis-steps and failures that Jacob seemingly had. He very effectively worked with Jacob's wrestling with God and the limp that was given him as a result. Allow me to capture for you a few of the profound statements Bro. Bob made: 

The same Jesus' hand that healed, reach out and wounded Jacob for His own glory. Jacob in incredible pain with his joint out of socket will not let go. Every step is guarded so the joint will stay in place, because he cannot endure it out of socket - now he hobbles because he has no muscle to hold that hip in place.He, in his pain, hangs on with all even though he is in incredible pain. The pain of the body was worth the blessing. Jacob has his arm around the promise - and the promise is saying “let me go.”
He took away Israel’s ability to push. Your legs represent the ability to push and get things done. Jacob was a “pusher.” He pushed himself into everything. He would rob, steal, deceive - anything to get it done. God takes out that ability to push. God takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. In order to teach him an entirely different way of working - training him in the school of the Spirit - in one word, God is developing meekness. It is the opposite of pushing.

Bro. Sorge then related it to the injury of his own voice and how that has impacted his ability to push and get things accomplished. Through very personal and heartfelt sharing, he allowed us to see that God uses all things for His glory - but that is not the last chapter.

God was transforming Jacob’s parenting paradigm. God needed a Joseph - his other sons are not going a good direction. If I leave you to your own strengths - I will not get a Joseph. The brothers were raised by Jacob, Joseph was raised by Israel.
He continued to share Jacob's life and show that even through deep depression, Jacob was being used and then when he went to Egypt, he got everything he thought he had lost, back in his arms again, Joseph, Simeon, Benjamin, and favor with Pharaoh.
God writes the last chapter of our life. Jacob proves to be a prophet in Genesis 48-49, speaking God's will into each of the lives of his sons.

Bro. Sorge was mightily used by the Lord to encourage all present. Our God is in control and in charge of our lives. 

I then attended the Willow Women's Luncheon with speaker Pastor Victoria Triano. Nancy Clark introduced her as a "riot" and that is certainly true. However, the substance of her teaching was the highlight of my day. She, indeed very humorously, worked with the story of the covenant of David and Jonathan as it related to the life of Jonathan's son, 2 Sam. 9:1-10 Mephibosheth 2 Sam. 9:1-10.

That covenant was David's motivator. God doesn’t covenant with a phony. Covenant is the real deal. We must be real. Anything fake is worthless. So there is a realism that God is calling us to. That same grace that says come is the same grace that sustains us. We do not have to worry about no measuring up, because we don’t - none of us do.
She walked through her testimony and allowed that to display the Lord as she worked with how God sustains through covenant. Below are just a few of the comments she made as she worked through the scripture.
David delivers Mep. from a waste land (meaning of Lo-Debar) and places him in the abundance of the King’s table. We must have the same deliverance. We just need to come under the mighty hand of God. We need accountable relationships in our lives. Accountability to one another is difficult. Find someone. .
Everything that we do is covered with a relationship with the King. Change me, let me be real, let me find a group of sisters I can be real with. God will come in and change us. No such thing as retirement - just re-firing.
From condition to position. What He has in mind for you will be very different than what you think for yourself. The Lord will do for us, His plans for our lives - He knows. As we surrender everything to the Lord, He has a declaration over us.
Mep - was told from now on you will eat from the Kings’s table for the rest of his life. You do not have to prove anything to anyone - just stay in relationship with God. He will do it for us. 

We laughed, cried and identified with her and with Mep all the way through. It was a wonderful time of sharing.

The speaker for the evening session was Bishop Joseph Garlington. He has a very unique style of teaching, singing and preaching as he presents what the Lord has laid on his heart. This was a long session of almost 2 hrs, and his main scripture was the story of Hannah as she was desperate for a son in 1 Samuel 1. 

His topic was, "How Desperate are you?" Due to his speaking style, it was difficult to record many of the statements as they were all surrounded by song and story-illustrated emphasis. So  let me just summarize it all by saying that he worked with man's part in the interactive relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Prayer and its call was the main focus. Even though it was lengthy, the large crowd (800-900) stayed and prayed for a while at the end of the session. 

What a blessed day it was! 

Today is the last day, and it too is full. Lord willing I will have more for you in the morning. Thanks so for enjoying this all with me.