I've heard the word mentioned as I've been listening to a preaching tape
about the apostle Paul (seemed like, maybe it was the apostle John in
Revelation) sending out letters to the seven churches and have been
wanting to send out some things that have happened recently. Now, I'm
not an apostle, my names nothwithstanding :) and I don't have seven
churches to send this email to, so I'm just sending it to some people,
probably seven churches included.
Sunday morning as I read a Special Bulletin from Rick Joyner about Todd
Bentley, at a certain point in the note I got the impression of seeing a
woman wearing a black mantilla. (I'm not sure it was a mantilla; as I
researched afterwards, this was the name I found. The closest picture to
what I saw is at http://www.cilice.co.uk/images/mantilla_05.jpg Other
items they have there are related to Catholic pennance, found after I
wrote the last of my note. Just to clarify, the woman had a white
complexion, with some kind of possibly black lace draped over her head.
I first thought it was a "tiara" then a "tierra" and as I researched it
thought maybe it was a mantilla, so I myself can't count any of that as
being the meaning of what I saw, just an element. Also, the picture
doesn't convey the spirit of what I saw, though it's in the visual
vicinity. The feeling was a deeper spiritual sense of some desolation,
some shame, some being without other power. I don't know how important
it is to get an exact sense of the person, or that I'm conveying the
sense accurately or that I'd even know.)
I think this was the part of the bulletin where I had the impression.
Rick said, "I also think the issues raised by Todd's problems must be
addressed by the body of Christ before we go further or similar issues
in the future could be even more devastating. As we are able to get more
specific, I think you will agree. Handling this correctly is a great
opportunity for the strengthening of the body and preparing the church
for the times ahead. Though there is good reason to be both encouraged
and discouraged by the way many have handled this to date, how it is
resolved can strengthen the whole church in a way that we desperately
need at this time. The potential benefit from this is huge. The Lord
always leads us in His triumph, and I am confident that we will see this
here. "
When I saw the woman one of the first things I thought of was Todd's
wife, but possibly also the church itself, though I do not want to say
the woman indeed represents Todd's wife or all Christians. The black
mantilla contrasted with what I would have expected of the bride of
Christ, to be dressed all in white.
1. Even the epistles address the church with correction, as not yet
being the bride who has made herself ready. The correction applies to me
too.
2. Being earthly minded is sure to conflict with God leading.
3. Then there's the conflict of not following God's leading for a
husband to love his wife and treat her well.
To reason a bit from the picture I saw, I get the impression of the
culture of Spain from the black mantilla, maybe a sense of suffering in
silence for a while and then deciding to take action. There could even
be the attitude, could you please help me?
Also, MorningStar, the ministry where Rick Joyner is, had some
expectation that they believed was from the Lord that September 21st was
an important day for them or for the church. On their video stream I
heard Rick say at church that morning that it could be an event at
MorningStar or elsewhere in the church, and they were asking the Lord
for it. I haven't heard anything else about something happening, but
something new happened to me that day, so I'd like to make it known.
That same morning I went to the Sunday service at my church and almost
no sooner had worship started that I started yelling. I wasn't
thinking--it's September 21st, better do something--and I don't usually
yell this way on a person's prompting (though it seems to *usually* go
along with something I'm thinking and I've seen me send my emotional
upsetness in the yells before). The yells are usually unusually loud (at
least for me) and just quick bursts of sound, not words. This time I
yelled seven times. The most I remember yelling before was four times
and that seemed very eyebrow raising to me. The thing that was happening
*that* day was a girl was dancing in the front of the church,
Consecrated *may* have been there that day, and I was in the back of the
church, and I felt disapproval of her (not saying my disapproval) and
then I yelled. The first yelling I remember like this was when I yelled
three times at an IHOP conference where Mike Bickle told a dream he had
had the night before the conference. He saw an angel raise a trumpet to
his lips three times. And as Mike was telling this, I felt what I have
described to myself as two fists gently pushing out in my stomach, more
and more, though all the while gently, so I yelled. And I kept getting
the prompting, so I yelled again. Meanwhile Mike is declaring in a loud
voice between my yells. I am coming, I am coming, I am coming to judge
the earth. And he said other things also. And I'm thinking, that's two,
he said three trumpets. I *better* not yell three times, and I still
felt the pressure so I did. Then, because Mike had said earlier that a
proud spirit puts out it's chest when the Lord appears but a humble
spirit bows, going for the humble spirit I got down on my knees where I
was standing. Well Sunday September the 21st there wasn't a context for
*why*. We'd just got started. Nothing that I knew of was happening
different, and I started yelling. I was keeping count, not with undue
attention, I hope, but I was keeping count, and as I got to four yells,
I started wondering is this ever going to stop? Around five yells I
started thinking of numbers. I'm pretty sure when I got to six, I was
thinking six is the number of man, seven is the number of God, seven
would be better, so I can't say if I was prompted the same way all the
way through the seven yells. The next morning during prayer I was
remembering and singing a song. As David did in Jehovah's sight, I will
dance with all my might before the King of kings. As Miriam did with the
tamborine I will clap my hands and sing before the King of kings. As
Joshua did--and then I thought, now *what* did Joshua do, oh yeah, As
Joshua did at Jericho we will shout to defeat the foe, before the King
of kings. And then I remembered that the children of Israel shouted
seven times on the seventh day and the walls of Jericho fell down.
While listening to an archived worship session on IHOP's webstream the
other day I was reading some online notes about an early version of
IHOP's prophetic history. I had gotten to a section where, as I
remember, Bob Jones told a group of youth that God was going to show
Mike Bickle something that night. (I might be remembering two different
events.) And that night Mike had an experience where the Lord showed him
two scriptures, one that no one could come to the Lord without the Lord
drawing him and two that if he (the Lord) was lifted up, he (the Lord)
would draw all men unto himself. As I was reading this, the worship team
got into a powerful chorus that was something like, "it's my glory, my
story, and it's ready to unfold" and I thought that Jesus had to draw,
that what he had done had to be proclaimed, and then he would draw all
men. Also, that apart from our need for the Lord it's his right and due
that his glory in the gospel be made known. The new idea to me was that
the saying of it was almost a functional piece. I've held back from
saying Jesus' central part in the gospel because I couldn't perceive my
faith in his salvation *at that moment* in myself. Where does it say
that? If you feel it, say it. It says if he is lifted up, and it sounds
like present tense and from other scripture we know that doesn't mean
crucified again, then he will draw all men unto himself. I'm trying to
talk myself into it. Today I imagined the Lord saying, would you be
willing to say "the capstone is on the mortar board" and I said, yes.
Would you be willing to yell it in church? Yes. Would you be willing to
yell it at a conference of 3,000? Yes. At the Super Bowl? Yes. Even if
you didn't know what a mortar board was? Yes. And as these thoughts were
going through my mind, I realized at some point that I *didn't* really
know what a mortar board was until I started thinking that I might not
know what it was. I guess it's a board where they mix and hold mortar to
use to build a structure to hold the stones together. I thought I
grabbed the phrase out of my mentality as two slightly complicated ideas
that could be combined to be kind of "way out there". Then I realized
that the meaning of the phrase is kind of encouraging! But the point I
intended was--if I'd be willing to go "out there" and say something
evidently beyond myself, why not just say what the Lord has already said
is central, Jesus Christ and him crucified. Amen.
Finally, at church we've started a 30 day prayer event praying for
America. Day 1 was yesterday and the first prayer item was pray that God
would pour out his Spirit on America as it says in Joel 2:28 and Acts
2:17. I recently sent some comments to a website about Joel chapter 2.
http://www.heisatthedoor.com/wordcast/?p=267
As Judah did on the battleground, we will release a joyful sound before
the King of kings.
Have a nice day
John Paul Fullerton
j-fullerton@tamu.edu
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