The Army Of The Lord

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Hidden In Him

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When I first heard John 3:16, I had my first vision, though I didn't know what it was at the time. As I stood there listening, I saw somewhere else. It was like a curtain was in front of me, like a Jewish prayer shawl. A hand holding a sword burst through the curtain and plunged it into my belly.

VERY good symbolism. Represents that you would eventually die to self through the sword of God. I came out of the same kind of past, and in some areas it has taken me until the age of 56 to die to things Satan implanted in me long ago when I was still a teenager. But so be it. Better late than never. Dying to self is no easy or pleasant matter.
In 2005, I'd been at a downtown outreach that focused on youth at risk for 6 months. I'd never gone to so many funerals, almost all young people. My son's friend as murdered when his house suffered a home invasion. I played at his funeral. Young people seem to die so easily. The media/music/movie/T.V. industries have destroyed their hope. Much of the death was and is caused by opioids.

And this is how He will do it right here. Godly sorrow has a way of burning away that which is not of Him.
On the plus side I got to meet and get to know about a hundred wonderful young people. Then God told me to leave. I didn't. A few weeks later I was feeling miserable, and when I asked Him why, all He said was, "I told you to leave." This time I listened. I left all my friends and the opportunity to minister. I tried to join 3 other groups, but it never worked out. He has a plan for me, though. Now I'm sad.

Then I have a suggestion: Pray to Him for the opportunity to minister and lead young people again. The army is going to be built out of precisely such people. Those who have been through the most Hell are those who will give themselves to God the most, knowing that there is nothing in the world worth going back to and that the real answer is only in Christ. When you save a child you are training a soldier that could fight on for many decades after you have gone. You have the experience, you have the know how, you have the desire, and the love for God. Maybe it's not just for kids that you can serve again; maybe it's in another church. But whatever it is, 62 is not that old, and nothing in the eyes of God when you consider how desperately true servants of God are needed these days.

Not gonna meddle in your business, but pray to the Lord about it. The visions you have had were strong ones; ones applying to those worthy of being greatly used.

One other note: In your vision, you are seen (among many) as a soldier riding a horse. In visions and dreams, horses often represents movements, i.e. great moves of God. Again, you are not too old to do such a thing before your life is over. But it will start with prayer, and tons of it.

God bless, and it was nice getting to talk to you. I hope you visit this forum as often as you need to, and if there is anything I can do, please feel free to send me a conversation.

Your friend in Christ,
- C
 

Truman

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Not that I have a need to prove anything, but since you asked.
One night during January 1995, I had just gotten in. I'd stopped at a Christian bookstore and bought a C.D. that was new to me. It was called, "Winds Of Worship 2."
As I listened to it, it came to a song called, "Arms Of Love."
At a point, a woman started singing prophetically. Something like " they will look at you and say, "this one belongs to the Lord. You'll be saved, healed, restored in the name of the Lord." Or something like that.
It was like Jesus was singing to me. This recording is on YouTube, though they've cut out the prophetic singing. I wished they hadn't. Anyway, I felt the strong presence of the Lord. Then, I noticed what smelled like fresh flowers, but really powerful and sweet. I admit that at first, I didn't understand what was happening.
No one else was supposed to be in the house as my parents were wintering in Florida. I searched every room in the house but found no one. I checked all the windows and doors and found they were all locked.
I then recalled a time back in 1990 when I was at a worship service and I had smelled that same aroma coming from the worship team.
I realized that God had done this, though at the time I didn't know why. I went to bed. When I woke up, I picked up my guitar and started to sing a song to Jesus I'd recently learned called, "Light The Fire Again."
To my surprise and delight, I was aware of God's presence again, though without the flower smell. I thought that was really cool, though I didn't yet understand the significance of it. Just after this time, I attended the first kinship group of our new Vineyard plant.
At the second or third meeting, we were about to start singing when a woman came over, sat down beside me, and said that she liked to sit close to me while we worshiped because of the sweet presence about me.
I was quite surprised that someone else could also share in God's presence with me. A month or so later, the worship pastor asked me if I'd like to play along with the other guitarist.
As a result of God showing me His Father's love for me the year before, I responded by loving Him back. It was natural for me to express this by helping His people any way I could. So I said sure.
A few weeks later, she asked me if I'd be okay to lead myself since the worship leader wasn't able to make it that night. I said okay.
Not long after that, I was asked to take over leading the group full time. I said okay. I was really being stretched. How do you spell faith? R.I.S.K.
A while later, I was asked to lead worship at a new kinship group. I said okay. And I did. That summer, we started having monthly celebration services in the gymnasium of a high school.
I missed a month due to my recovering from back surgery. But once I was well enough, I was asked to play electric guitar with the worship leader and his team from John Arnott's Vineyard in Stratford. (This was before John started the Toronto Airport Vineyard).
Arnott was the overseer of Southern Ontario vineyard churches, of which I was a part. He bought us our sound system. I said okay.
Before this all happened, I played for my own enjoyment, though I was never a performer. When I played in front of people, I got the shakes really bad. I hated that.
I also never sang, and the few times I tried to sing and play at the same time, I couldn't. I also was terrible at writing songs. At last count, I've written about fifty. Glory to God!
Later that Fall, we were playing one Sunday and it was flat. The leader, who led on drums, asked me if I could sing that song I'd written, which was my first attempt. I said sure.
I played and sang it. God wasn't wasting any time with me.
The chorus went like this: "Come, Lord come, pour out Your anointing, more, Lord, more, soak us with Your oil, yes, Lord, yes, we bless what You're doing, we sing, "more, Lord, more, Lord, more."
As I sang it, the congregation lit up and the place was rocking. But more importantly, God's presence filled the room. After this, Dean (the worship leader) said that he felt God wanted to do something different and stopped his plans to move to my town.
Last I heard, he was pastor of a Montreal Vineyard that he'd planted. He was, and most likely still is, a really cool guy.
It was around this time that God commissioned me to become our first permanent worship leader.
Things kept happening and during the first week in January, we held our first regular Sunday morning service, with me leading the team.
The Spirit was so heavy on me that I kept falling down. The congregation laughed along with me. As I finished and was walking off of the stage, I said to God, "I never want to do that without You."
I was the happiest I've ever been and that lasted for 3 1/2 years.
At the end of 1996, I was asked if I would attend the upcoming Worship Pastors Training Program at the Cambridge Vineyard the next year. I said yes.
I made a demo and sent it to Dan Wilt at Cambridge. I was accepted. This course was started by the worship pastor of Vineyard Anaheim, Andy Park.
Other teachers included Dan Wilt, Andrew Smith, David Ruis, Dave Viglianti, perhaps Norm Strauss, and of course, Andy Park.
I knew and loved all these guys from C.D.'s, and now I was going to sit under their teaching. But most important to me was that my heavenly Father loved me the way only He could. The way I needed.
When I first started leading, I was asked to invite a 15-year-old girl to play bass with us. She was the daughter of an elder of my church who was a close friend. I asked her to join us and she agreed. She fit right in.
One Sunday, my worship pastor asked me to see if she would sing a song. No one knew if she could sing. I asked her and she said yes. I picked a favorite of mine called, " I Receive." She sang it and blew everyone away. She had one of the most amazing voices I'd ever heard. There wasn't a dry eye in the place.
Later the next year, 1998, she joined Brian Doerksen in Kelowna, I believe, to record a Vineyard C.D. If you want, look up Melissa Boraski and Vineyard on YouTube.
I left the church in 1998. I spent 2 years in a house church and then God started my sanctification in earnest. Before long, I was a disciple of Christ.
This time it wasn't any fun, in fact, it was and is painful. It's been 20 years and I wonder if it will ever end.
I have Lupus and a bunch of other stuff, but God is telling me that He is going to heal me. One plus is that the Covid shutdown hasn't affected me at all since I was already housebound. Except that my doctor told me that the symptoms I had were the same as Covid 19. But I won't get into this now.
I hope I have explained things to your satisfaction. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. Looking forward to more talks with you. Your brother in Christ, Ron. Shalom.
 
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2 Chr. 34:19

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An elder put me forward to run a church youth group. couldn’t stand their behaviour. impossible to teach them about The Lord, because they wanted games...Anointed? Was my elder wrong? Was It deception? Pride?

It wasn’t personal, and you don’t have to prove yourself...
I test everything/one these days. :) numbers 6:24-26✝️
 
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Truman

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VERY good symbolism. Represents that you would eventually die to self through the sword of God. I came out of the same kind of past, and in some areas it has taken me until the age of 56 to die to things Satan implanted in me long ago when I was still a teenager. But so be it. Better late than never. Dying to self is no easy or pleasant matter.


And this is how He will do it right here. Godly sorrow has a way of burning away that which is not of Him.


Then I have a suggestion: Pray to Him for the opportunity to minister and lead young people again. The army is going to be built out of precisely such people. Those who have been through the most Hell are those who will give themselves to God the most, knowing that there is nothing in the world worth going back to and that the real answer is only in Christ. When you save a child you are training a soldier that could fight on for many decades after you have gone. You have the experience, you have the know how, you have the desire, and the love for God. Maybe it's not just for kids that you can serve again; maybe it's in another church. But whatever it is, 62 is not that old, and nothing in the eyes of God when you consider how desperately true servants of God are needed these days.

Not gonna meddle in your business, but pray to the Lord about it. The visions you have had were strong ones; ones applying to those worthy of being greatly used.

One other note: In your vision, you are seen (among many) as a soldier riding a horse. In visions and dreams, horses often represents movements, i.e. great moves of God. Again, you are not too old to do such a thing before your life is over. But it will start with prayer, and tons of it.

God bless, and it was nice getting to talk to you. I hope you visit this forum as often as you need to, and if there is anything I can do, please feel free to send me a conversation.

Your friend in Christ,
- C
During a prayer meeting in June of 1996, I was resting in the Spirit after a time of worship. I saw a picture of a wave. I liked it because this told me that the Spirit was moving.
Then I was standing behind myself about 50 feet. This put the wave into a proper perspective. It startled me. It was huge. It must have been a thousand feet tall. It ended.
It seemed to me that this would've happened soon, by the coming weekend. It still hasn't happened. I guess from an eternal perspective, it is a short time.
I wrote a song about it called, "The Harvest Wave." When I write a song, it is always, I believe, inspired by God. I'll write it out for you.
"I can see a wave on the horizon." x2 It growing larger, it's getting nearer, oh can't you see it straight ahead. I can see a wave, the Harvest Wave."
"What's the Spirit saying, what's the Spirit doing, what's the Spirit bringing in our day. Hear the Spirit saying, see the Spirit doing, this is what the Spirit's bringing in this wave." "Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, to prepare the saints of God for works of service, that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity, in the faith and the knowledge of the Son Of God, and become mature."
A few years ago I had a follow-up mental image. I saw this wave, but this time it was much closer. In it, I saw Donald Trump and an F-16. That's it.
You've really encouraged me. Thank you. We'll talk again. Your friend in Christ, Ron.
 
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Truman

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An elder put me forward to run a church youth group. couldn’t stand their behaviour. impossible to teach them about The Lord, because they wanted games...Anointed? Was my elder wrong? Was It deception? Pride?

It wasn’t personal, and you don’t have to prove yourself...
I test everything/one these days. :) numbers 6:24-26✝️
Wise on your part. I encountered a few trolls earlier. Thanks for sharing. And thanks for the priestly blessing. Same to you. Peace.
 

Heart2Soul

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We had one of those ‘anointed’ leaders once. The place was virtually empty :)

Prove you’re anointed
(Not doubting your vision)
You sound like Satan telling Jesus to prove He is the son of God by turning the stones into bread.
God is not into PROVING anything to those who doubt.
 

2 Chr. 34:19

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You sound like Satan telling Jesus to prove He is the son of God by turning the stones into bread.
God is not into PROVING anything to those who doubt.
You sound like Satan telling Jesus to prove He is the son of God by turning the stones into bread.
God is not into PROVING anything to those who doubt.
I wasn’t ‘tempting’ Ron, as satan attemted with Jesus-testing always-We are told to ‘test’ the spirits. Jesus I believe! No doubts there :)
 

bbyrd009

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You sound like Satan telling Jesus to prove He is the son of God by turning the stones into bread.
God is not into PROVING anything to those who doubt.
i dunno, test everything was not written for nothing i guess. We decry "doubting Thomas" but we forget that he was under explicit instructions from Jesus to do just that! Ppl who are anointed dont go around saying they are anointed i guess, commending themselves to each other
 

Truman

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VERY good symbolism. Represents that you would eventually die to self through the sword of God. I came out of the same kind of past, and in some areas it has taken me until the age of 56 to die to things Satan implanted in me long ago when I was still a teenager. But so be it. Better late than never. Dying to self is no easy or pleasant matter.


And this is how He will do it right here. Godly sorrow has a way of burning away that which is not of Him.


Then I have a suggestion: Pray to Him for the opportunity to minister and lead young people again. The army is going to be built out of precisely such people. Those who have been through the most Hell are those who will give themselves to God the most, knowing that there is nothing in the world worth going back to and that the real answer is only in Christ. When you save a child you are training a soldier that could fight on for many decades after you have gone. You have the experience, you have the know how, you have the desire, and the love for God. Maybe it's not just for kids that you can serve again; maybe it's in another church. But whatever it is, 62 is not that old, and nothing in the eyes of God when you consider how desperately true servants of God are needed these days.

Not gonna meddle in your business, but pray to the Lord about it. The visions you have had were strong ones; ones applying to those worthy of being greatly used.

One other note: In your vision, you are seen (among many) as a soldier riding a horse. In visions and dreams, horses often represents movements, i.e. great moves of God. Again, you are not too old to do such a thing before your life is over. But it will start with prayer, and tons of it.

God bless, and it was nice getting to talk to you. I hope you visit this forum as often as you need to, and if there is anything I can do, please feel free to send me a conversation.

Your friend in Christ,
- C
Wise words. You don't know how accurate you are. Thank you, friend.
 
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Truman

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VERY good symbolism. Represents that you would eventually die to self through the sword of God. I came out of the same kind of past, and in some areas it has taken me until the age of 56 to die to things Satan implanted in me long ago when I was still a teenager. But so be it. Better late than never. Dying to self is no easy or pleasant matter.


And this is how He will do it right here. Godly sorrow has a way of burning away that which is not of Him.


Then I have a suggestion: Pray to Him for the opportunity to minister and lead young people again. The army is going to be built out of precisely such people. Those who have been through the most Hell are those who will give themselves to God the most, knowing that there is nothing in the world worth going back to and that the real answer is only in Christ. When you save a child you are training a soldier that could fight on for many decades after you have gone. You have the experience, you have the know how, you have the desire, and the love for God. Maybe it's not just for kids that you can serve again; maybe it's in another church. But whatever it is, 62 is not that old, and nothing in the eyes of God when you consider how desperately true servants of God are needed these days.

Not gonna meddle in your business, but pray to the Lord about it. The visions you have had were strong ones; ones applying to those worthy of being greatly used.

One other note: In your vision, you are seen (among many) as a soldier riding a horse. In visions and dreams, horses often represents movements, i.e. great moves of God. Again, you are not too old to do such a thing before your life is over. But it will start with prayer, and tons of it.

God bless, and it was nice getting to talk to you. I hope you visit this forum as often as you need to, and if there is anything I can do, please feel free to send me a conversation.

Your friend in Christ,
- C
I never thought of it representing a move of God. Interesting. Thanks, friend. Through my short time here, I'm developing a new love for the brethren. Shalom. And thanks again.
 
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Heart2Soul

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I wasn’t ‘tempting’ Ron, as satan attemted with Jesus-testing always-We are told to ‘test’ the spirits. Jesus I believe! No doubts there :)
I guess using the word "prove" is the same as test in your understanding but for me to test means to discern spiritually and to measure it with the word of God.
 

Heart2Soul

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i dunno, test everything was not written for nothing i guess. We decry "doubting Thomas" but we forget that he was under explicit instructions from Jesus to do just that! Ppl who are anointed dont go around saying they are anointed i guess, commending themselves to each other
Same answer I gave 2 Chr. 34:19....and Paul said many times he was anointed.
 

amadeus

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Get back into the bible and learn about the true and living God.
Do not pay attention to odd daydreams.
If the dreams comes from God, even if they seem odd, we had best pay attention. Can a sheep not recognize His voice?

"And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice." John 10:4
 

bbyrd009

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hmm
leaning toward "daydreams" myself, wadr
Same answer I gave 2 Chr. 34:19....and Paul said many times he was anointed.
well, Paul maybe said many times what is translated to you as "anointed," along with your now set understanding of that term, sure. Paul is hard to read, and many do so to their destruction, right? So wadr, anyone claiming to be on a level with Paul, we should maybe at least examine some vv where Paul claimed to be "anointed?"
But even then, who claims to be Paul? Paul wrote Books of the Bible, right, we read them, do we not? Ergo Paul's "anointing" has been confirmed, iow, and your argument becomes specious i think

And if you are refuting commending themselves to each other, then how would you interpret that? Why did Paul write it, if it is not a thing, iyo?

and since i guess i wont get any reply, best of luck to you, ok
 
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Truman

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An elder put me forward to run a church youth group. couldn’t stand their behaviour. impossible to teach them about The Lord, because they wanted games...Anointed? Was my elder wrong? Was It deception? Pride?

It wasn’t personal, and you don’t have to prove yourself...
I test everything/one these days. :) numbers 6:24-26✝️
I see you're in the U.K. In 1772, my ancestor Thomas Coates, along with his wife and children left Yorkshire on the Duke Of York and arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia. He settled in Amherst, N.S.
After some years, he and his family moved to Smith Falls, New Brunswick. The land was basically wild and undeveloped. He later moved to Corn Hill, N.B., where he died.
The house he built was the same house my father was born in. About 1950, my dad moved with my mother and 2 oldest siblings to Toronto, Ontario, which is where I was born. Small world. Peace.
BTW - My post about bad attitudes wasn't directed at you. When I saw where that post was positioned, I thought I should clarify this with you. There are a few bullies who tried to pull their B.S. on me and that is what triggered my post.
 
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