Build Well

We are studying the Sermon on the Mount line-by-line, section-by-section, these days. At the speed we are going we will be in this section of scripture for many months, if not years. But, we are in no hurry to move on. We have a firm conviction that the teaching laid out in Matthew 5-7 is "Christianity 101", the basics of the faith. It is a plan given to every believer to guide them along their journey toward eternity. It is meant to be taken seriously. It is meant to be lived out and not just given mental assent. If it takes us a year or two to cover all of the material, so be it. It is going to take a lifetime to make it a reality in our hearts and actions.

I think the end of the Sermon ties it together well.

Matthew 7:24-27

24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

Jesus is telling his disciples (and the rest of us) that hearing these words, even believing them, and doing nothing with them will make you a fool. A wise person actually builds these teaching into his life, believing that this is wisdom for living. Even more than that, it is direction from Jesus, the uncreated God standing before them in human flesh. He knows everything, has infinite wisdom, power and strength and is giving them direction for life. He is right...only a fool would ignore the words of such a man.

But, why is this so critical to act on? The key is found in the image of a house standing (or falling) under the force of a storm. Jesus is saying this life is going to bring storms and they are unavoidable. Every person will experience them at some point in their life. They come in the form of sickness, economic hardship, even death of a loved one. They are rarely expected and hit us like a storm out of control, powerful enough to knock us off balance if not well rooted to the ground. Seasons of uncertainty sometimes bring out the best in us, but all too often bring out the worst instead. Jesus is saying, "You are going to experience difficult times, some of which will hit you with force when you do not expect it...build well, for your house can fall if you have ignored my counsel".

There is a second "storm" that has the potential to strike us off balance as well, but is experienced on a national or even global level and is entirely out of our control. Living in the Western world, we only sometimes think of this kind of trouble, but the suffering church in China, the hungry and AIDS-inflicted children in Africa or those running from military fallout in Iraq and so many other nations will tell you differently. Trouble can come from outside your sphere of influence and completely change your life. The scriptures say that before the return of Jesus to the earth again when He comes to establish His reign on the earth, there will be "there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again (Matt 24:21). This earth is going to feel the storm like no other in that hour.

The final and perhaps most severe storm is waiting for some on the other side of this life. Again, the scripture teaches that there is a judgement awaiting all, an evaluation of our lives and real decisions will be rendered to correspond with it. He is going to judge the earth. He who knows everything about us; every thought, every action, every choice ever made by every person. There will be nowhere to hide on that day. The eternal God of infinite love will not suspend his eternal and infinite justice as He looks into our very being. His evaluation will be right. We will know it.

Be wise...build well!

Brian Creary

Ministry Director

Fasting Again...

We are on the final day of a 3-day corporate fast and it has been a good time. We have decided to join in with our friends at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City and take on a 3-day fast on the first Mon-Wed of each month. They call it the "Global Bridegroom Fast". Catchy title :) We have taken part twice now and have mostly focused around the ideas found in Revelation 22:17. It has been a joyous adventure to turn our hearts (and stomachs) toward the idea of the return of Jesus to the earth. It is not something most people think much about. It is almost never included as part of an intercession meeting. But, we are finding it to be critical to who we are and what God is calling us to pray for in this hour of history.

This passage is a real motivator for me. I love the phrase "the Spirit and the Bride say COME". What an amazing thing that the Holy Spirit is initiating an ever-increasing cry from deep within the Bride for the return of the Bridegroom to the earth! Hearts will be stirred to the reality of His return. Eyes will be open to who it is we really long for and how much better it will be to have Him with us here in this place. The Spirit is leading us into truth. He is stirring our hearts for a greater reality than what we now know. He is ushering in the culmination of the kingdom. The "not-yet" will finally overtake the "already" and we will see the plan that the Father has designed before any of us ever took a breath and called this place home.

As well, the passage says, "let him who hears say COME". The call to any who are listening and can understand what the Spirit is saying to the church right now is "COME". Agree with what God is stirring in His bride in this hour! Join our voices to His purpose. In fact, we like to ask that He will "come to us before He comes for us". We want God to pour out His Spirit in a move of power in this age that will sweep oh so many into the kingdom. We want Him to have mercy on our city and break the controls of darkness that keep people in bondage and despair. Before you return for your Bride, add to it significantly in our city!

The issue is not when Jesus is returning exactly. The issue is agreeing that, in fact, He really is coming back and we can have confidence in this. We can agree with His plans, ask for his compassion and justice in the place we live and look with love and expectation for our great and glorious hope.

Brian Creary

Ministry Director

More on Hour #2

God knows what He is doing, I tell ya!

We re-vamped our schedule quite a bit at the start of the year, as many of you know, and were suddenly faced with a significant challenge or two. We had new themes that we were excited about singing and praying through, but not as much understanding about any of them as we had believed. The focus on singing around the "one thing" concept (we focused on Psalm 27:4 and David's request that he be of one thing all his life) was really good for the first number of months. When we left it behind for a season and chose to take on singing through the Song of Songs, for example, the challenge was obvious: we had much to learn about this book.

Well, hour #2 was equally challenging to start. One of our worship leaders, Johan, came to me with the idea of focusing on the "dwelling place of God" in the scriptures. I knew what he meant, actually. It had been a private area of focus for me for the last 2 years and I was fascinated with the implications for our house and the city we pray for. God often dwelled in a very specific place in much of the Old Testament. Was it something locked in history or were there principles there for us to explore and pray into for our time and geography?

With this in mind, we set out to sing and pray through it. We had a few favourite verses and took the approach that we would ask for God to come and dwell in a more manifest way in our prayer house, the bride in our city and the city of Winnipeg itself. We decided that an intercession format was best for this. Let’s just begin to ask for more of God and see where He takes us.

The first few weeks were good but still a bit confusing. What exactly were we asking for? Did we want God to come as He did when He shook the mountain in Exodus, smoke and fire and all? Or, were we looking for His presence manifested in us and the way we lived our lives differently? Did we want some form of spiritual warfare to happen? Were we hoping that the spirit of murder or something equally powerful was going to be dislodged by our efforts? Or, did we want Acts 2 and the outpouring of the Spirit in power to come one more time? I don’t think we really knew, actually…

Last week, however, things came together a bit more. Somehow, despite our weakness and lack of understanding, the Spirit of God drew it all together and we were clear for an hour. We saw something that showed us a house where God was tangibly felt, His power made manifest in healing, deliverance, kindness and salvation. We realized He wanted to dwell in our midst and the midst of every group of believers anywhere in Winnipeg even more that we knew. He wanted to rest in us, speak tenderly of His feelings for us and make us like His son. He wanted the whole city to love the King of Heaven. He wanted the kingdom to come on earth as it is in Heaven. He wanted Winnipeg for Himself as He will one day have it when Jesus returns to rule the earth. We prayed for the salvation of every person in Winnipeg. We asked for power to come to the church in every area of life and ministry. We asked for God to rest in this city in a way that we have not experienced in living memory. And, we KNEW that this is what He wanted to do.

There are dark and troublesome days ahead for this earth. The bible is clear on it. In the days before the Second Coming of the Son to the earth, Jesus himself said that there would be "distress unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again." The indicators are everywhere. Political turmoil is coming. Disease is coming. Storms are coming. But, God has in mind to find people and cities that He will rest in, setting His kingdom in place in a profound way and drawing all people to Himself.

God doesn't dwell in a building or a box made with hands anymore. He dwells in and with the ones He loves. May He come to us and may He come quickly.

Brian Creary
Ministry Director

So Cold!

It has been a little chilly of late here in Winnipeg. Last night the temperature (with the wind chill added in) hit -53C on our streets. When I headed out to our internship class at 8:30 this morning, it was -40C...fortunately there was no wind to speak of! Even in our prayer room yesterday, the heating system struggled to keep up and many people wore their coats as they paced around and tried to remain focused.

We are a city of extremes!

Having said that, we were there and given to what we do. As well, it was Super Bowl Sunday, something not quite as popular in Canada as the Grey Cup or the Stanley Cup playoffs, but still enough to keep people in their homes. I realized as we prayed and sang through the scriptures together that there is no place I would rather be. And, that was saying something. I love that we would gather together to express love and worship to God despite our comforts. I love that God loves it when we do it. I love that I am with a group of people who are just as eager to live this way. And, I know that this journey matters. Eternity is a breath away and He is waiting for me...He's waiting for you too!

Brian Creary

Ministry Director

Hour #2

Have you ever considered how things tend to come full-circle? There are a lot of those kinds of situations in life. In fact, life itself for many on this earth tends to come around to where it began . We start out as fully alive but fully reliant of others for the most basic necessities of life. We need help with everything...we can't even feed ourselves! As we get older, we get stronger, more capable and more independent. Many of us have the opportunity at some point of raising children of our own and helping them begin life in their weakness. By the time our natural life draws to a close, however, our strength usually fails us, our mind often slows and we become reliant on others for the basics of survival. What a strange moment when we realize we are once again in need of someone else to feed us. It all comes around. It is life in its most honest of moments. Death comes to all and it is the great equalizer.

For God there is a cycle unfolding as well. Being outside of time, however, this cycle is only measured within His relationship to humanity. But, there is an end that is very familiar to the beginning and God is waiting for it to be realized. As He dwelled with humans in the initial season following creation, enjoying their presence walking among them, He waits and works toward the day when He will once again dwell with His people and we will experience His presence. Revelation 21:3 tells us...

"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Amazing! God is going to end this phase of eternity by bringing it all around to the way it was supposed to be. It is in His heart that we should be in His presence forever. He longs to be closer that we feel Him in this age. He knows that, for now at least, this level of nearness to His unrestrained presence is almost the maximum we will experience. And yet...

It is our conviction that if we ask for more of His presence in our city, that He will come and dwell in our midst in a more substantial way. It is what revivals are made of, actually. It is not a new concept, just one less frequently experienced than we would wish. We at Sanctuary want to be a place where God can come and dwell in the midst of us. We want a city where He is not striving with His bride to be like Him and act out their lives as He would have them. We want Him to come with power in this age, even in part, and remove sickness, pain and bondage from this place. We want His kingdom to come now in our city as it is in heaven (ie. as it will be in the fullness of time when He dwells with us).

So, hour #2 of our Sunday setlist is dedicated to this concept. We sing and pray through passages related to the increase of God's dwelling presence among us, His advancing kingdom and what it will look it when it is fulfilled, and how we need to live in this process. We are called to move in step with Him, forsaking sin at every turn, and living lives of servanthood as worship unto the Bridegroom, King and Judge. We are called to minister to Him, to please His heart and to enjoy Him in all of it. We ask that He change us, this city and all involved. Do whatever is necessary, God, but bring changes that will allow for more of your presence dwelling richly and powerfully with us. For we are in love with you and long to have you with us.

Next time, I will tell you what it sounds like...you're gonna love it!

Brian Creary
Ministry Director

More on Hour #1

This past Sunday, I sat in the prayer room while one of the teams led us through an hour on Ephesians 1:17-18. It was Hour #1 and I loved what I saw!

First of all, it needs to be said that our format is an unusual one if you are more used to a Sunday morning worship set experience. Instead of a leader and a band backing him or her up, we function with more of a team approach. There is a leader, of course, but there is much more reliance on each part of the team to accomplish the purpose of the meeting. For example, the worship leader will lead in a song, but it will be the singers who will carry the bulk of the spontaneous singing around the specific passage (in this case, the Ephesians passage). In addition, it is a prayer leader who will inject thoughts, prayers and ideas into the mix as the set goes along. The music never stops. The ideas keep coming. Many are creative. Some are prophetic. All of it is fascinating if you are new to this.

During last Sunday's set, I watched as our prayer leader launched his first statement into the flow. Cncerning the passage, he asked "what is the hope of our calling, God?" . It was this simple statement that set the whole hour in motion and it was so much fun to watch the singers look for phrases to sing along this line, digging for deeper understanding, praying under their breath for God to bring clarity and trying to sing something nice to listen to at the same time.

I love our singers! They are bold and confident. Most of them realized a long time ago that it matters less how you sound and matters more what God is seeing and hearing in the process. Is what you are doing coming from a place of integrity? Are you connecting with God? Are you listening to the Spirit and letting Him guide you to further revelation as you honour the scriptures? Our singers have it. They are singing because they believe it matters. Their hearts are increasingly softened by God and His truth. They are serving in their weakness and it all counts.

At some point during this Sunday set, the picture was getting clearer. It's hard to explain, but sometimes at this stage of a set, as the singers and prayer leader are responding to one another as well as to the passage in question, a singular idea will emerge that everyone knows is coming from God and is "greater than the sum of our parts". It's these lines that we will sing in unison over and over, letting anyone in the room join in and interact with God around the ideas themselves. Someone on the team (I'm not even sure who...which is the way it should work) came up with the phrase "you will give us robes and crowns and we will rule with you". And there it was! Eternity was coming into focus, in a new phrase and with a melody attached, but it was a view we know about but so easily forget. The answer to the original question was being answered in a way that was inspiring our hearts and resonating in our spirits. It was causing us to think about the brevity of our life here on this earth and what was waiting for us next. Sure, we could have all sat around a table and done a bible study with commentaries on the passage. And, that would have been just fine. But, there is something about receiving revelation in the midst of worship, prayer and community that stirs the soul. God was here and helping us...it was thrilling.

And this was just the first hour....:) There were 6 hours that followed. I have much more to write, I guess. Wait until you hear what the Spirit uncovered for us in our set devoted to the Song of Solomon!! Or, what came as they sang through passages related to the Second Coming of Jesus and the end of the world.

Join us if you are in the area.

Brian Creary
Ministry Director

It's a Whole New Year!

Welcome to Sanctuary in 2007! We have made changes to our schedule that you need to know about, ones that incorporate new themes and new leaders. This is going to be fun.

Our first set of each Sunday is going to be focused on praying through an Apostolic Prayer. These prayers are found in the letters written to the churches and are amazing treasures of language and understanding of what God has on His heart for cities. Sanctuary is committed to using the bible as our prayer-book. It is God's written word to us and has power in the hearing, praying and understanding. We have found these prayers to be exceptional aids in saying it well when it is time to pray for our city. The years have passed since these were first written (centuries, actually) but the truth contained in them is timeless.

One of our favourites is found in Ephesians 1:17. This passage documents Paul praying for the church in Ephesus mid-way through the first century. He is writing to encourage them and give counsel, as he did for all the churches in his care, and as he arrives at v. 17 he is on a roll. He has just given the richest description of how God feels about them, what He has given them through this joining that has happened in Jesus giving Himself up for them and how it is all going to end. It is powerful stuff if you let it soak in to your spirit a bit. Verse 4 is a wonderful start to this discussion: "Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love." Imagine the implications of this. God knew about you before this all began and had AT THAT TIME decided that you were the focus. You were going to be the reason for it all. It was you that had won His affection and He was going to work toward having you whole and holy at the end. Amazing! Grasping this can go a long way to helping us change our approach to everyday life in its most mundane moments. There is reason and purpose to it all, and He waits for us in eternity. He is not waiting for you to get it right and attain to something...He is working for you to see that it happens!

Verse 10 tells us that God will have it all under one head when He draws this earth to a close. Everything in heaven and on the earth will come together. God will dwell with us and we are going to love it.

With all this fresh in his mind and heart, inspired by divine truth and probably buzzing from the presence of God at the mere writing of it, Paul goes on to pray for these people. Verse 17 tells us that he asks for something unexpected but obviously critical to their growth, stability and increasing joy: "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." This is an amazing request, one that we draw on again and again in our meetings. God, show us more of who you are! If we can see more, know more and comprehend more of who you are, we will see it correctly, live well and please you. It is a critical prayer in this hour for all churches and we pray it for Winnipeg's church family all the time. To know Him is to love Him. To see with His eyes is to get priorities right.

Come for our first hour and join with us as we sing and pray through this prayer and the many others like it in the New Testament.

Brian Creary
Ministry Director