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

The Holidays Are Here!

This is just a short note to let everyone know of our hours over the holiday break. As both Christmas Eve and New Years Eve fall on Sundays, it was tempting to just do what we do. But, people away and all has made the following adjustments to our schedule:

December 24th: we are meeting from 2:30 to 5:30 for this one day only. It is all about Christmas on this day, with a Going Deeper set dedicated to singing and praying through passages related to "emmanuel--God with us" starting the day. We will have two Devotion sets where our leaders will sing from their heart and minister to God in preparation for the special day to follow. And, in the third hour, we are going to have what I like to call "The Gratitude Set", a time focused on bringing the gift of thankfulness to the King on his birthday. The mic will be open for all to come and express thanks to God about anything that moves them. We may even have a rapid fire session :)

December 31st: we are taking the day off! Many of our people are on their way to the big event in KC and we thought a rest now and then is a welcome thing at this point in our journey. We may be wishing for these kinds of natural moments someday if our path takes us to where I think we are going...

January 7th: we are back and beginning at 2:30pm as usual. There will be a new schedule of meetings in place for the new year. Check the schedule page in the weeks to come for themes and times. As well, come to hear teaching on our study of the Sermon on the Mount. We are going to take our time and go through it line by line, believing this is a basic framework for life in pursuit of God and living like the Son. Teaching begins each Sunday night at 6:30pm.

Have a great holiday!!

Brian Creary
Ministry Director

Shane Says More...

Last night, Shane told us a bit about the Holy One and our call to be holy as He is holy. Here is a brief recap:

-people don't like the idea of living a holy life...it hurts too much or it's considered unnecessary.

-the Sermon on the Mount in Matt 5-7 is the picture of a holy life.

-it is mandated to us by Jesus Himself.

-are we going to do it perfectly? Never!

-do we need to do it perfectly? Of course not...but we need to try.

-its all about the heart. Joel 2 says to "tear your heart as you turn wholeheartedly to God"...sounds like he really means "tear it!"

-Jesus said it too..."gouge out your eye"...did he mean it literally? No, but the level of severity toward sin is the point. Take it seriously.

-Grace is not permission to live as close to the edge of darkness as possible without getting caught or kicked out of the kingdom.

-Grace is empowerment to live a life "worthy of the Lord" (Colossians 1:10) and gives us the ability to say NO to sin (Titus 2:11).

-Grace is receiving what you do not deserve!

-God loves you more than you realize.

-God is committed to you living well and being with Him for eternity more than you are.

-there is a difference between immaturity and rebellion (and in your own heart, you know the difference...and God knows it too).

-God will give grace upon grace to an immature believer who is sincere in the journey to love God and hate sin. Rebellion will be resisted by He who knows everything and has all power in the universe. This sounds like a bad place to live...

-saying YES to God continuously, fighting to live right before Him even in the secret place of our heart, will be blessed by God and make a difference in eternity.

-the reward at the end is an eternity with this very same Holy God who has allured you forward all your life. All will be revealed at that time; the measures He took to win your heart and draw you to love Him instead of the pleasures of this world and the sin that so easily entangles. It will be worth it all!


Brian Creary
Ministry Director

The Awakening

Last night we had the honour of being asked to serve an inter-church gathering by leading a time of intercession for our city. It was a pretty big prayer meeting by our standards. There were certainly 250 or more people in attendence and we got almost 50 people to the mic for our "rapid fire" section. We did go a little longer than expected but Trevor, the organizer and pastor of "The Link" church, was cheering us on the whole time.

It was fun to be part of something larger than what we are used to for a change. The music was loud, the band was tight and the people were into it. It had the basics for an exciting night.

Still, the whole time I felt the pull to our small prayer room and meetings with attendence often in the single digits. We focus upward to the throne of Heaven. The folks sitting in the room with us get to come along for the ride but our time before the Lord is literally seen as OUR TIME!

As well, big meetings are useful to gather, encourage and empower on a certain level. But, the reality that this whole thing is lived out in the day-to-day remains unchanged. What it looks for each of us, on our own in secret as well as in the public meetings, is what will really matter decades from now.

So, the night was a success. But, for Sanctuary it is an enjoyable moment on a journey forward that will be done more in secret or mostly alone than anything else. We are committed to praying with passion and determination for the city of Winnipeg and all that he planned for this place. May the efforts of Trevor and the many leaders who are pressing ahead in this be greatly blessed. I truly desire that this be the beginning of a significant move of God in our community. We will do our part to see it come to pass.

Brian Creary
Ministry Director

Beyond The Fast

So, it was a great 10 days of hunger and devotion to Jesus. Sure, many of us felt weaker, colder and hungrier than we ever want to feel again. But, the general concensus is "it was all worth it!". In fact, Shane's humurous announcement that we were beginning a 40 day fast today, ending on Dec 24th, didn't really phase most of us.

Beyond the fasting, however, we are excited about the future. The Lord has been speaking to us recently about the priesthood and ministering to Him with our lives. The story of Hezekiah in 2 Chronicles 29 contained much for us to consider in our journey to minister to God. This new king, only 25 years old in fact, was wise enough to realize that God was no longer dwelling with His people in the way possible because the temple had been desecrated and left unattended. He knew that God would come and dwell in the actual building, and as a result in the midst of the people, if they would restore the structure and take up their role to minister before Him once again. In fact, Hezekiah is so confident of God's willingness to return and dwell with them again that he calls the priests to activity with determination. In v. 11 he says to the priests among them (in essence), "Now is not the time to negligent of your calling. Time to stand and do what you are called to do, because I am about to make a promise to God and ask Him to return. If I promise to Him, He will respond...so, get ready!".

After this he calls them to "stand, serve, minister and burn incense" before the Lord. Be bold. Be confident before Him. Do what He asks of you. Do what is the essence of the kingdom and do it before this audience of One. Please His heart as you do it. Find out what He loves and do that. Seek out His heart and mind on things. Agree with His plans and decisions. And offer up the prayers of others as incense for He loves to receive it from you.

Sanctuary exists to create a place for God to dwell with us more than He does in this age. It will not be the only place, but it will be a place intentionally created and maintained for the presence of God. He will be served, ministered to and adored constantly. Those who come will be called to stand before the Uncreated One, to not shrink back and become negligent. His eyes are never off of us for He loves us and will have us for Himself. We are going forward with this reality as our fuel for the journey.

Brian Creary
Ministry Director

Fast Day #8

We had a good day yesterday! We certainly are moving a little slower and feeling a whole lot weaker, but there is a tenderness I notice in most of us that is God at work. Fasting truly is an amazing experience when combined with prayer and devotion to Jesus in a determined way.

Hour after hour was rich with hearts engaged and the room filled with worship. I was really struck by the intensity with which everyone brought to the intercession set. It felt like we were never more honest before Him, never more desperate for His presence and never more convinced that He enjoyed us in our efforts than at that moment. Sure we were cold, tired and hungry...that is all part of the experience and there was no holding back last night.

Today, in our internship class, we were listening to some of the prophetic words given that have shaped some of where we are and what is emerging in the prayer movement world wide. A phrase caught my ears: "You don't really understand whats happening here, do you?". Funny, because the context was a prophetic-man saying this to an emerging leader in intercession. I remember listening to this same dialogue a few years back and being struck that I was in the very same place. I really had no idea what I was doing here. I was beginning to "experiment" with worship and intercession but I could never have concieved of that time producing all that we are now. I had no concept of what was happening in my city, in our nation and in the earth. What was God doing and why was this little group of people in Winnipeg important to Him in it all?

Its a few years later now and I smiled as I heard it again. Things are considerably clearer now. There is a reason for all this and it doesn't have much to do with whether anyone out there recognizes it or not. We are called to stand before the Lord God of Heaven! That is much is certain. He is doing things in the earth right now and He is inviting people to partner with Him through intercession and agreement with His plans. This is more than a place to bless our city in the hope that things will improve around here. He is striding forward and we are invited to move with Him in this simple way.

God is so faithful. I am sure there is even more to the story, but there are years ahead for us and He seems more than willing to keep us informed and shape us according to what He has for us.

Continue to pray with us. We conclude this fasting period as the day ends this Wednesday.

Brian Creary
Ministry Director

Fast Day #4

It has been a good week so far. Although I missed the meeting on Tuesday, I understand that it was a packed house and a good meeting. There is something powerful about gathering together during a fast to seek God together. The theme of interceding for the under-30 generation was put aside for the night to focus on asking for the Sanctuary community and for an increase in revelation. Good stuff!

No majour encounters have been reported yet. "Stay steady", I have heard over and over again from those who are feeling hungrier, weaker and more in touch with the things of the spirit these days. You have no idea what you are giving yourself to, folks! Turning to God with your whole heart really matters!!

There is some increasing excitement about this weekend's meetings, as well. Maybe its because people are more sensitive right now, but the feeling seems to be spreading that this weekend could be a significant one for us. More on that next Monday, I guess. I am eager to find ourselves together again, offering who we are in our weakened state to God. It is pleasing to Him and that makes me very happy. We will ask for more from that headspace. Ministering to Him is thrilling once you see it for what it is.

I was talking with a pastor of a church in the city recently and we talked about the awesome transcendence of who the Lord is and the seperation that exists in the minds of believers as they set out to serve in the community. But, if you can get it in your head that He really is as awesome and near to us as we dare to imagine, it makes perfect sense of standing before Him first on our way to ministering to people in His name. He stands King and Bridegroom over this city. He loves these people more than we ever could. He calls us to partner with Him in HIS WORK! But, never forget it; He is God...and we are not. So, with love, fear and excitement we stand before Him to minister to His heart, knowing He is pleased by this.

To say it another way, "go through the fire on your way to loving your neighbour".

Brian Creary
Ministry Director