Bentley Baptist Church Sermons
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Bentley Baptist Church Sermons
Local Houses of Prayer Stories
Anne de Leyser | 6/10/2024
© Bentley Baptist Church Inc.
www.bentleybaptist.org
So I just want to say yes and I'll enter that. I came to breakfast this morning and I just said I said I just have this word. I see I just want to read. I'm going to share some stories, but I just want to read this scripture from Isaiah 41. It's 18, but I just want to read a few verses around it. Interestingly, it was a lady from Perth who sent me a postcard just before I came out. I don't think she even knew I was coming to Perth, but I just took a picture of it.
Speaker 1:And then this morning I think I want to read this out when the poor and the needy seek water and there is none and their tongue is parched with thirst, I, the Lord, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the dry land springs of water. I will put the wilderness in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set in the desert the cypress, the plain and the pine together and they will see and know, may consider, understand together that the hand of the Lord has done this. The Holy One of Israel has created him. So it's a great honor and joy to be with you at Hazz's weekend. Oh, my goodness, I come from a little retreat center in Wales called Fowler Brannan, which is a sheepfold of the king, by the way. It says 10.18 there. What time do I need to land? Like 20 minutes, 25 minutes? Okay, just start waving at me, wheel me off. So a small retreat centre in Wales. As some of you may know, wales is the land of revivals and I'm not saying there's a revival going on in Wales, but many nations are looking to Wales because in the land of revivals and I'm not saying there's a revival going on in Wales, but many nations are looking to Wales because in the land. Isn't it wonderful how God takes the ordinary and the little. You know Wales, there's more sheep than there are people and yet God takes that and makes world revivals, just so that we know it's his doing, not man's. So you know we have a simple rhythm of prayer.
Speaker 1:Some of you may have come across the book Grace Not Boring. I commend it to you. But don't idolize a people or a place. It's just a taste and to start dreaming For Bentley, and your place is in Perth. But I want to tell one story. You can read so many other stories.
Speaker 1:There was a lady you can see the little corner there of the chapel. It's tiny, it's kind of like would fit almost on the stage. And there was a lady in this chapel and she sensed God while she was sitting there. I think she was alone in the chapel to go and check her coloscopy bag you know what I mean and she's like oh no, I'm here to worship, I'm here to pray. So she was kind of dismissing this whisper. Eventually she did, but to her dismay she couldn't get the tube back where it was supposed to go. So she went to her doctor and she said and the doctor sent it straight to the surgeon who was in Cardiff, wales, and the surgeon brought his team in and examined him and wrote a letter. And this was the letter. It went along these lines Me and my team have examined this lady.
Speaker 1:I had no explanation why I performed 12, I think it was level 12, operations on this lady's bowel. I have no explanation why. Everything is now in working order. He'd removed the bowel and she had been so abused as a child that she'd had these operations and even her seat. What he said was and this is why I'm telling the story was, and this is why I'm telling the story he said her vow was irredeemable. I have no explanation. You can almost imagine Jesus saying irredeemable. Nothing in my book is irredeemable. So that's what I say to you here. You know, let us dream big. God wants to redeem all things and I'm not idolizing a place. This is just a simple place where, you know, st Bernard came there in 600 AD and sowed some seeds and we're reaping some seeds. I believe he's sown in the land, and who knows the seeds that we've sown in this land. And now is the time. There have been sweat and tears, some people thought they would never make it, but now is the time. So I sense that and I talked yesterday about an appointed time. I really do believe we're in this appointed time.
Speaker 1:I was talking about just listening to our ladies who were alive during the Hebridean revival. One was blind, the other was arthritis, had arthritis, and when they prayed because the nation was just that area that young people were turning away from the Lord they start praying. They start hearing what God is going to do, they sense that they should call this guy Duncan Campbell. They called him, and when they called him he said my schedule's too busy, I'll come sometime next year. Their response was that is what man has said. God has said otherwise. He will be with us within the fortnight.
Speaker 1:And you know, when you start coming into a chaos time, do you know what I mean? We all have to tear up our own agendas and jump into the times that we're in, and I may be right, I may be wrong, but I really do personally believe that we're coming into that time. I can kind of feel the wind in my hair, I can kind of feel the acceleration, and it doesn't matter if we're a little bit old and grey. This is still for us too. I can say that with authority. That's completely right.
Speaker 1:So we were sharing about how it's very, very simple. I have no idea why God pulled me into this ministry, because I wouldn't even say I'm very titty-pitty good at praying. But I am passionate about what's coming and I am passionate about the presence of God and that's really the vision I love. Your vision on the back of your chairs, oh, my goodness. But anyway, it is about the kingdom of God coming in power on my piece of earth. This is the street I live in, bemberley and I want to see this kingdom come and I do some simple things and those who are at the training might be able to share it, but ultimately it's all about the presence of God and what I love and what I sense God is doing is, you know, sometime, probably post-Reformation. You know, the Reformation was great, but we also lost a few things. You know, suddenly somebody says, oh, it's all about social justice. Another person says, oh, it's all about evangelism. There's a wovenness that God is willing to give. I think he says yes. So I just want to share a few stories about the journey with Local House of Prayer because, honestly, it's just been such a privilege as it has been to come to you here at the place, because I learn so much as I did.
Speaker 1:You know, as we walk out of the things, and I remember the first place we ever did training was in Uganda and there was this lady her name was Jane Atchjoy and this was right on the landing board. It was a picture of a guy who was in the second grade, who wanted to fly everything. So he got his piggy piggy and he started making an aeroplane. But my point is this when we were doing some stuff in Uganda, I said to Jane. I said, jane, tanzania became interested in what we were doing. This was before the Zambians got on board. We were really taking it, giving up the Zambian family. So anyway, I said, shall we leave Tanzania and focus on Uganda and see if this works? And she looks at me with all seriousness and she says, you know, the thing is, anne, in Africa we build our aeroplanes as we fly.
Speaker 1:Now I'm an engineer. That sounds a pretty dodgy thing to do. Do you know what I mean? Now I'm an engineer and that sounds a pretty dodgy thing to do. Do you know what I mean? At any level? It sounds a bit dodgy, but I hope there's a Jesus on it. You know, like we can have our agendas, we can have our plans, but let's maybe just step out and decide.
Speaker 1:You know Abraham, he left his country. He didn't know where he was going. He probably made, and that more when he succeeded, when he did his successes. This is the father of our faith. Why should it be any different for us? So that was the first kind of whisper. We've been all over the place. I counted recently. Australia is kind of overtaking on the inside Over 30 nations, no plan, no budget. I don't know how many languages in Japanese we're going. After New Zealand, we go up to Japan. I was looking bursting into tears when we were front running and it was all the resources we were doing. Yesterday, gospel of the Kingdom in Japanese. So you know, this is the craziness of it.
Speaker 1:But what I want to say is, well, my first job ever actually was not in Africa, it was in India, and as I was going, somebody said to me and I realized now it was not a compliment. They said and you are the only person I know who wears pearls around their neck and has a rucksack on their back. I realize it wasn't a compliment. Yeah, obviously it wasn't a compliment. But my point is that as I've gone to seek to serve people, beautiful people, places I've learned probably more than they've learned from me, and I want to share some of the things that I've learned along the journey, in case some of it kind of you know it's history, isn't it History? And somehow our story are woven into history that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God, and that's why I'm so excited about being here, seeing what being okay is, serving around Australia and learning from you.
Speaker 1:So I'm just going to share a few stories from around the nation to the people that I've been learning about, and the first one was, as I say, from these two ladies in the Hebrides. These are the two ladies where I sat at their feet in the Hebrides. These are the two ladies where I sat at their feet and I just. They told me the stories of even the ships that went past in the sea knew the presence, the manifest presence of God. This is our last revival in the UK. We landed on the land and with tears running down their face, the message I might do it again because I love Hypercote 2.3. The vision is for an appointed time. I don't like a waiting bit. You know what I mean. I love that. But there's also Habakkuk 3, 2. I've heard the stories of what we've done before. Do it again, do it again in my day. So I sat at these two ladies' feet and they recited the same two verses at an appointed time. So I gave the Holy Spirit the benefit of the doubt. So I just throw that out, that I think we're in this point in time. I was sharing yesterday. We were sharing yesterday about the power of blessing. I believe this is something that God is just breathing on. It's not you, but those times you weren't in.
Speaker 1:This is a group of Marines. Actually, I have to say that's another privilege. It's just worshipping with people, with different. Even if you don't understand the language far too good, you can kind of jump onto the side and worship. And these are guys in Turkey, iranians. But both of these groups, the Turkish and the Iranians in Turkey, just said there's something powerful about blessing, because we spend so much time cursing our nation and we do the same thing in the beginning. So I throw that out. It's something that God is breathing in this season.
Speaker 1:And this is another one. This is a group of Nepalis where we went on a training in Bangladesh or in India, and just these beautiful ladies, tears running down their faces. I didn't know that I would bless. I didn't know that I have the authority, as part of a royal priesthood, to speak and release his blessings. And so God giving a voice to the voiceless Isn't that the way we just love to bring this kingdom in? And just to say too, that sometimes we scatter seeds and honestly I think, wow, jesus, what was that all about? You know Seriously Well, we were in Korea about a few days ago and we've been to Bangladesh, I don't know, seven years ago, got some resources translated. There's a new waiver guys. We said come over to Bangladesh, we will do all the resources and everything. So sometimes you throw seeds, you don't know, you think nothing's happened, but there's a deposit because Jesus is looking after those seeds.
Speaker 1:And then this is another one we were doing some air hop training in Cameroon and this is the African Mercy the ship. And the ship moved to Senegal. Well, david and I my husband and I, a family used to work in Senegal. So when they said, will you come over to Senegal to play before the ship arrives, I said yes, I will, but in my heart I had two conditions. I said I'll do it if this guy comes from Nigeria because he was carrying disciple-making movements and this guy comes from Chad because he was carrying church community transformation. And they both came and we met in an Airbnb and it was all very simple and somebody said I saw a ship and it was cutting through ice. And then my husband said listen, jesus, it's on the bow of the ship. You can see the way I'm telling the story. I wasn't taking it too seriously. I was just thinking you know we're in Africa, there is no ice here. Anyway, you know we're in Africa, there is no ICU. Anyway, you know, I heard it.
Speaker 1:Three days later I'm back at our little retreat center in Thamudaran. A lady comes in from Singapore. I'd never spoken to her. She starts the conversation with I don't normally get pictures she came straight over to me and she said but I saw a ship and it was cutting through ice and Jesus is on the bow of this ship and there are many, many riches on this ship. Does that make sense? I'm like, well, it doesn't really make sense. I don't really know Jesus, but my sense is we are stronger together. You know and this is the beauty of coming you know, the churches from Perth are also being ministrous and carrying something that we need. How can we do this together? What is this looking like? We are stronger together. Some of the big churches and the big ministries think they can do it all. The joint being lit is we know we can't. We know we need to link up. My geography is improving slowly.
Speaker 1:A few years ago I was invited to go to Ukraine to a global health campaign. It wasn't a big thing, but it was there. The Russians were interested in what we were doing and I'm thinking about it. I mean, this was before the war. Basically I was thinking, oh well, you know, ukraine, russia, just pop over, just like we brought over the sustainable direct flights. But anyway, I then go to Russia and this guy comes up to me and just calls there. I mean, before I came here to Perth, we were in Korea and we had a store on local mass and there were a hundred different nations, five, six hundred people there. And somebody said to us oh, have a jigsaw of the world map, and you know that would attract people to find out what you're about. So we did this. Do you know what there was? A Chinese lady came up. He got all the pieces there. I don't know why, but she picked up one piece. She gave it to me. Do you know what it had on it? Perth, I mean. The probability of that is one in 500.
Speaker 1:So here I am in Russia and this guy comes up to me and he says here I am in Russia. And this guy comes up to me and he says, in Russian I'm giving you this sweet. And that's the sweet he gave me. He said it's got Italy on it and I think you're going to Italy. And I'm like I was going to Italy two weeks later. So that was sort of the will of Jesus Pay attention to this guy because he is the mistress of Jesus. So, okay, I'm paying attention.
Speaker 1:And then he says something, and I'm saying these things to you to take hold of. This isn't just like a mad woman from the UK throwing things around. These are things for us as a community. That's why I'm telling you the stories you know. So anyway, so he says there's a river in Africa. And I'm like I mean, some of you who saw me yesterday know that I get overexcited when I get rocked. You know when I get overexcited, et cetera.
Speaker 1:So when he said there's a river in Africa, it might be the time that we were living in Mozambique and we crossed over the Lopopo River and it was small. And then by the afternoon it and we crossed over the Lopopo River and it was swarmed, and then by the afternoon it was massive. I mean, I don't know where the Lopopo comes down from, but something had happened upstream and this river suddenly, you know all the way to Croswell blown out and it was mad. I wouldn't have believed it was possible. So when he said there's a river in Africa, I was thinking, when God's blessings come which I believe, there's going to be a summary time and we better get ready for it because there's an acceleration. So he let me get away with it for a while, like maybe 10 minutes, and then he came back to me and he said I just want to be clear about this. This is a river of his glory and you haven't seen anything in that. I don't know where that river will start. I've got my.
Speaker 1:You know we did some LHOP training in Burundi. Actually, don't Give me my phone, but my guess, if you ask me, is it will be in some of the most broken places for the most broken nations, and this is a picture of two Ugandan bishops, rather from DRC, from DRC Congo. Sorry, I'm just good and so I just that's. Another thing that I say to you is just as you take your place here in Bentley and you are so well positioned for it, serve the most broken and watch what he might do. And you know, when you jump into something that God is doing, it's almost like I'm not saying any of this is easy. It's not, but God is on the case and he multiplies our little pieces, our crumbs that we bring, and he multiplies it beyond what we can dream or imagine. And this was just. You know, this might be the beginning of a river of his glory, because it's from these guys.
Speaker 1:We were with these guys in Burundi doing local house of prayer training. Do you know? We couldn't use any electrical stuff because, honestly, they had no electricity there, like people were queuing for two days for fuel, so you weren't even allowed to have electricity, to have any fuel for generators. So we used the kids' resources to try and explore the local house of prayer principles. But this is the message that we got and I just encourage you with it. This is from Jean-Claude, amazing guy who we serve there, heads up Alpha Burundi and has taken local house of prayer. We can't explain what the Lord is doing among us and the joy and peace we are experiencing. From the different testimonies we have realized that transformation is happening in different parishes where they are running local houses of prayer, and we are looking to move from the three existing areas to five places where we hope that communities are going to be transformed.
Speaker 1:You know we just watch for the little green shoots. We bring our crumbs. We watch and entrust these that God will multiply our offerings. We take our place as an army of ordinary people. We invite his manifest presence. You know, sometimes we say how long, jesus? How long that the sons are full of them. How long, jesus, until this just is on the earth. You can almost hear an echo coming back from heaven. How long will it take you, my sons and daughters, to know who you are and who you can?
Speaker 1:I shared this. This was a word that a six-year-old boy, seven-year-old boy, when David and I decided the only strategy was to give up, he came to my door and told us to get a pen and a piece of paper and he was teaching us how to price a D gold. And then he told us never give up. I mean, I wrote it down. He told us never give up. You are important to God and he is fortunate for you. Spread happiness and regard to yourself. And this was the car that I was looking for. So I said that to a guy from Ukraine who had started a local house of prayer in Ukraine and he said will you come and help us? And I'm like, yeah, I will, of course I will. But then I said these words and never gave them. He picked his car up from Chikasi Airport and this was the car that was opposite him. This was two months after the war broke out in Ukraine.
Speaker 1:I want to just land with this. You know, again, I may be right, I may be wrong, but I do believe the time of greatest growth is here, and I think the key is thankfulness. I am so thankful for what God has done with our brain. I'm so thankful for the extraordinary journey that we've had the privilege of giving people in the nations. But what I'm thankful for are these two things, because if we're just thankful and we're not hungry, we can become complacent. We're like, oh, I come for a lovely retreat, sent in the presence of God. No, no, no, that's just a taste. And see, I'm not dismissing it, don't worry, I'm not dismissing it. If we are hungry and not thankful, we can always be thankful for what we're missing.
Speaker 1:So I want to bless you all now in this place, that you may be thankful for every little green shoot that you're already seeing break forth in this place. But I want to bless you too that the Lord would indeed give you dreams, visions, revelations, remind you of the promises that he has given you. Where you have not yet seen what he has promised you, I want to bless you with faith to meet those promises and to be fresh and to dream the immeasurable for his kingdom and his kingdom. I am, honestly, I'm so excited to be with you guys it's just been such an honour and I'm so excited for what? With you guys. It's just been such an honour and I'm so excited for what God is going to do.
Speaker 1:I didn't bear the white horse. I mentioned that yesterday. This was a piece of prophetic art that was done by a friend of ours whose husband is a cousin of the person who brought Father Brennan and I sense, promises about our land like 20 plus years ago, and it was around that summer that really rocked with me. I don't know if anybody remembers him, but somebody said to me build a team to mobilize an army to celebrate the summit, the summit of the kingdom breaking through. So may we, from our different nations.
Speaker 1:I want to keep in touch with what God does. It might not, it will not probably happen overnight, but as we keep going, it will not probably happen overnight, but as we keep going, as we never give up, as we keep striking the ground and we will see where we are. And I believe that over Australia, because through this journey with Local House of Prayer I didn't go into it today but I did yesterday every strategic war that's been somebody from the great Southland of the Holy Spirit. So you know, we call you down under, but I think I need to find a different way of saying it, because in the Spirit you are not down under, you are way down. So I bless you all In Jesus' name, amen.