Iron Gates: Ps Mark Francey

Acts 12 - Peter’s Miraculous Escape From Prison : ¹ It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. ² He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. ³ When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. ⁴ After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. ⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.⁶ The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. ⁷ Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. ⁸ Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. ⁹ Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰ They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.¹¹ Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.” ¹² When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.¹³ Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. ¹⁴When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” ¹⁵ “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” ¹⁶ But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. ¹⁷ Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.¹⁸ In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. ¹⁹ After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.

If I was alive when Jesus walked on the earth I would have wanted to ask him so SO many questions. The bible says that Jesus was such a respected Rabbi they wanted to know everything about him. So much so that they followed him everywhere... just gleaning and learning! It's interesting that of all the questions the disciples could have asked "Teach me how to turn water in to wine." "Show me how to get people to follow me." Out of ALL the things they could have asked they asked "Lord, teach us how to pray!" WOW! Even they realised then the power and weight of prayer.

Ps Mark talks about the above passage in the context that we all have Iron Gates in out lives that need to be broken. Peter's Iron Gate was his bondage in prison. He longed to be freed so the church prayed. In life we will come to gates that can only be opened by a sovereign hand. God himself laughs at impossible circumstances, Jesus said to Sarah at the thought that she was old and the possibility of her bearing a child seemed impossible."Is there anything too hard for the Lord?"

James 5-The Prayer of Faith :¹³ Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.¹⁷ Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. ¹⁸ Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.¹⁹ My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, ²⁰ remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

There are 4 Types of Prayer:

1. Personal Prayer: v13 "Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray."

Don't call your friends... Talk to God first. Our prayer life is connected to our bible reading. They go hand in hand. If you lack in one it's probably a sure bet you're lacking in the other.

Twitter: "Venting is having a conversation with others that God designed for you to have with him... Suffering?" #yougottapray Ps Mark Francey

2. Pastoral Prayer: v14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.

God honours authority.

Everyone needs a:

Pastor Paul- A Pastor you can go to. Someone in authority over you, to speak into your life.

Brother Barney- A friend. Someone to run alongside of. Speak into each other.

Timothy- Someone your pour into. If we eat and eat we will get fat... We need to give out. Build up others.

3. Partner Prayer: v16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

4. Passionate Prayer: v17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

Elijah was just like us,flawed and human. He knew though, how to pray earnestly and passionately. Passionate prayer changes the environment. The geographical climate was change by the fervent prayer of one man, Elijah. When you get together and pray something happens.

A praying church caused the chains to fall off. Acts 12v5 "So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him." Acts 12v7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

"God's words in your mouth are just as powerful as they are in his mouth." - Reinhard Bonnke

Inspiring

94 Leadership Quotes for You and Your Church

By Dr. John C. Maxwell

Character

1. It's true that charisma can make a person stand out for a moment, but character sets a person apart for a lifetime.
2. You build trust with others each time you choose integrity over image, truth over convenience, or honor over personal gain.
3. Character makes trust possible, and trust is the foundation of leadership.
4. Character creates consistency, and if your people know what they can expect from you, they will continue to look to you for leadership.
5. Over time, is it easier or harder to sustain your influence within your organization? With charisma alone, influence becomes increasingly more difficult to sustain. With character, as time passes, influence builds and requires less work to sustain.

Communication

6. Great communication depends on two simple skills—context, which attunes a leader to the same frequency as his or her audience, and delivery, which allows a leader to phrase messages in a language the audience can understand.
7. Earn the right to be heard by listening to others. Seek to understand a situation before making judgments about it.
8. Take the emotional temperature of those listening to you. Facial expressions, voice inflection and posture give clues to a person’s mood and attitude.
9. Persuasive communication involves enthusiasm, animation, audience participation, authenticity and spontaneity.

Credibility

10. Credibility is a leader's currency. With it, he or she is solvent; without it, he or she is bankrupt.
11. Speak the truth. Transparency breeds legitimacy.
12. Don’t hide bad news. With multiple information channels available, bad news always becomes known. Be candid right from the start.
13. A highly credible leader under-promises and over-delivers.
14. Diligent follow-up and follow-through will set you apart from the crowd and communicate excellence.
15. A trustworthy leader goes the extra mile to remedy strained relationships, even when it doesn’t appear to be required.

Failure

16. "Failing forward" is the ability to get back up after you've been knocked down, learn from your mistake, and move forward in a better direction.
17. Don't buy into the notion that mistakes can somehow be avoided. They can't be.
18. Failure is not a one-time event; it's how you deal with life along the way. Until you breathe your last breath, you're still in the process, and there is still time to turn things around for the better.
19. You are the only person who can label what you do a failure. Failure is subjective.
20. Don't allow the fire of adversity to make you a skeptic. Allow it to purify you.
21. Generally speaking, there are two kinds of learning: experience, which is gained from your own mistakes, and wisdom, which is learned from the mistakes of others.
22. Seek advice, but make sure it's from someone who has successfully handled mistakes or adversities.
23. When to quit: (1) Quit something you don't do well to start something you do well. (2) Quit something you're not passionate about to do something that fills you with passion. (3) Quit something that doesn't make a difference to do something that does.
24. People change when they hurt enough that they have to, learn enough that they want to, or receive enough that they are able to.

Followership

25. More than anything else, followers want to believe that their leaders are ethical and honest.
26. When your people see that you are not only competent to lead but also have a track record of successes, they will have confidence in following you, even when they don't understand all the details.
27. As a leader, it's your job to get your people excited about what their work will accomplish; it’s a natural motivator.

Fostering Creativity In Others

28. People are an organization's only appreciable asset, but creative people are an organization's most needed asset.
29. Be willing to absorb some risk and failures to allow people freedom to express themselves.
30. Creative leaders inherently know when rules need to be challenged, and they can see when a more flexible approach should be taken.
31. Handle the ideas of your people carefully: If an idea is half-developed but has potential, pass it to the people in your organization who are proven process thinkers and implementers.
32. Sometimes giving your people permission to be creative is not enough; inspire them by modeling creativity.
33. The word 'reactive' and the word 'creative' are made up of exactly the same letters; the only difference between the two is that you 'c' (see) differently.

Fostering Your Own Creativity

34. When you are the leader in your field, it takes a greater level of innovation and commitment to stay there.
35. Make a point to continually search for a better way of doing things, even when things are going well, to ensure that a better alternative has not been overlooked and to keep your creative talents in practice.
36. Practice mental agility: Before you write off a far-fetched idea, back up and look at the big picture, because it might fit perfectly on another level.
37. Have fun: When you are truly having fun in your work, creativity flows freely.

Leading Difficult People

38. Consider who you are working with: Part of the art of leadership is discovering the unique relationship between the needs of the individual and the organization.
39. People only know that you and the organization intend to meet their needs when you tell them so.
40. Determine how to help the person, tell them how you will do it, and follow through –before asking the individual to do things in return for you.
41. People working together ultimately succeed or fail based on their commitment to one another.
42. Never give up easily on one of your people; it does a disservice to that individual and to you.

Leading Leaders

43. The better you are at surrounding yourself with people of high potential, the greater your chance for success.
44. Every relationship in your organization will affect you one way or another. Those who do not increase you will inevitably decrease you.

Motivating Others

45. When you delegate a task to your people, make a point to help them capture your vision for what the completed task will look like.
46. Hold your people accountable to a measurable standard of excellence, and make rewards and consequences a part of enforcing the standard.
47. Give your people full responsibility (ownership) for the completion of specific tasks and the prospect of sharing in the rewards that result.

People Skills

48. Successful leadership is about 90% people knowledge and 10% product knowledge.
49. You can have strong people skills and not be a good leader, but you cannot be a good leader without people skills.
50. The highest compliment a person can receive is one given by his or her leader; make a habit of being generous and sincere with your compliments.
51. When your people are having trouble seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, remind them of the purpose of their work and help them envision what their work will accomplish.
52. Don't judge what your people want to tell you before they've told you. Listen to them.
53. Part of your job as a leader is to help your people figure out what they're most passionate about, and then to help them pursue it.

Personal Growth

54. The more seriously you take your growth, the more seriously your people will take you.
55. Leaders never outgrow the need to change.
56. My leadership began to take flight when I allowed myself to press people to change—whether they thanked me or cursed me.
57. Eventually, you must disengage from the relationships you’ve outgrown, or they will limit your growth as a leader.
58. Leadership involves the heavy burden of responsibility, and the fear of getting it wrong can paralyze a leader.
59. Confront your inadequacies and push your personal boundaries: It’s the surest way to grow, improve and expand the scope of your influence.

Procrastination

60. It doesn't matter how hard or long you work if you're not accomplishing what needs to be done.
61. Plan and execute your first failure so that you no longer have to fear it.
62. If the size of a task causes you to procrastinate or completely shy away, break it into smaller, more manageable tasks.
63. Often people fail to start or complete a task because they don't see any connection between what they're doing and what they really want to accomplish in life.

Recognizing Leadership Potential

64. Your key people can be spotted when important decisions are being made, because they're the ones explaining what needs to be done.
65. Determine how your potential leaders relate to the rest of your people; the people with the greatest potential won't have burned too many bridges.
66. A potential leader who obeys God is in a much better position to succeed than one who ignores God's will for his life.
67. Your potential leaders must have established a foundation of trust with others.
68. A potential leader is the one who would be able to mentally sustain your organization's vision if you quit thinking for the next month.
69. Potential leaders come to you to offer help more often than you go to them to give guidance.
70. True leadership requires serving others full time; potential leaders are ready and willing to do so.
71. Potential leaders make themselves valuable because they see and seize opportunities to better the organization—regardless of the nature or size of the task.
72. Though loyalty does not make a leader, disloyalty prevents a person from becoming one.

Success

73. Reaching the top is a monumental achievement, but remaining there may be the most spectacular feat of all.
74. The biggest detriment to tomorrow's success is today's success.
75. Passion creates energy and magnetically pulls co-workers and customers into a shared vision, and it is exceptionally strong when linked with a leader's values.
76. Leaders don't rise to the pinnacle of success without developing the right set of attitudes and habits; they make every day a masterpiece.
77. The best leaders are humble enough to realize their victories depend upon their people.

Teamwork

78. Teams make you better than you are, multiply your value, enable you to do what you do best, allow you to help others do their best, give you more time, provide you with companionship, help you fulfill the desires of your heart and compound your vision and effort.
79. Transmit your vision emotionally by gaining credibility, demonstrating passion, establishing relationships and communicating a felt need. Transmit it logically by confronting reality, formulating strategy, accepting responsibility, celebrating victory and learning from defeat.
80. Values hold the team together, provide stability for the team to grow upon, measure the team's performance, give direction and guidance and attract like-minded people.
81. Coming together is a beginning, and staying together is progress, but only when teams sweat together do they find success.
82. The Wrong Person in the Wrong Place = Regression. The Wrong Person in the Right Place = Frustration. The Right Person in the Wrong Place = Confusion. The Right Person in the Right Place = Progression. The Right People in the Right Places = Multiplication.
83. An organization's structure does not cause growth, but it does control the rate and size of your growth.
84. Talented performers flock to the best and brightest leaders, and these leaders in turn lift the lids off their people and uncork the latent talent inside of them.
85. The best way to serve the individuals on the team is to see that the whole team wins.

Time Management

86. Although it's admirable to be ambitious and hard-working, it's more desirable to be smart-working.
87. Though it's tempting—especially if you're a people pleaser—you have to learn to discern what wheels really need grease, what ones can be greased by others and what ones will squeak no matter how much oil they have on them.
88. The key to becoming a more efficient leader isn't checking off all the items on your to-do list each day. It's in forming the habit of prioritizing your time so that you are accomplishing your most important goals in an efficient manner.

Timing

89. The timing of your decision is just as important as the decision you make.
90. To establish appropriate timing for a decision, first discern the connection between the needs around you and the calling within you.
91. When assessing the ramifications for decisions, leaders must take into account the repercussions of failure.
92. Plain common sense can be the best deterrent to far-fetched opportunities.
93. All too often, would-be decision-makers take too much time collecting, analyzing and reanalyzing information, hoping for that one last convincing detail that will dictate the correct choice.
94. Consider if the passage of time shrinks available options or creates new ones.

She Values The Sisterhood She's Been Born Into {Part One}

{Part One}

I have started listening to the series that Ps Bobbie Houston did on Sisterhood. It's amazing. What a challenge to live a life as a sister...God's girls.

Psalm 68:11- The Lord gives the word [of power]; the women who bear and publish [the news] are a great host.

Sisterhood by definition is: 'The empathy and loyalty that women feel for other women who have shared goals, experiences, or viewpoints | a group of women who have shared goals.'

"A movement of Women, united in friendship and united in cause."

Bobbie, talks about the idea of covenant sisters. We have been born into a covenant connection, a covenant partnership.

Covenant Sisters:

1. Believe in each other.

When you believe in someone it draws confidence to the surface.

Ecclesiastes 4:12- 'Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.' {NIV}

If God is the third person in your friendship your bond cannot be easily broken.

2. Refuse to compare.

Refuse- Just don't go there!

The devil thrives on comparisons. He walks in darkness. He can't traffic in the light so, turn the light on.

Comparison makes you want to draw back because you lose confidence in your life.

2 Corinthians 10:12- 'For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.'

Compare means to 'separate'. Look at others and rejoice. Rejoice at everything, rejoice at their good looks, gifts, talents and where they are going.

It builds security in who you are and is a sign of maturity, that is appealing.

3. Don't get jealous when God blesses your sisters'.

God loves all of us equally. He knows how to bless and when to bless because he's wiser than us.

He watches our attitude and in the same way as a parent wouldn't reward bad behaviour, bad attitude or sibling rivalry, God doesn't reward a lousy attitude either.

Proverbs 8:32- 'Now then, my sons, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways.Listen to my instruction and be wise;do not ignore it.'

2 Jan {Worship & Adoration}

{Worship & Adoration}

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 100 : 'Entre his Gates with thanksgiving and praise.'

THE MESSAGE: On your feet now-applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence. Know this: GOD is God, and God, GOD. He made us; we didn't make him. We're his people, his well-tendered sheep. Enter with this password: "Thank You!" Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him. For GOD is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever.

PRAYER:

● Worship God giving Thanks for his Grace & Love.

● Worship Leaders

● Muso's & Singers

TUNES: 'Still' -Hillsong Hope

I love that the message puts it so simply... The password to enter his gates is "Thank You!" That is all you need, a heart of gratitude. Sing yourself into the presence of God. Make yourself at home. He is SO worthy of our praise and adoration.

Phillip Wagner- I Married Someone Who Is ‘Out Of My League’.

This is something I came across by Phillip Wagner... It's awesome.

...Can I let you in on a little secret? Do you want to know a great secret to a strong marriage?

I married out of my league! I married ‘over my head.’ To use a sports analogy – I was a college player who married a pro. What’s funny is – I didn’t even realize it at the time.

When I was in High School and was interested in certain girls, my friends might tell me –“Hey bro – don’t try to ask that girl out – she’s out of your league!!” They were probably right. Some times, just teasing, like most friends do.

You’ve probably seen somebody you know dating someone that causes you to think – “How did they get that person?”

As it turns out – my wife is smarter than I am, she’s quicker, more perceptive, she has better instincts, better social skills, more charismatic… ok that’s enough, (…the longer this list gets – the more discouraging it could be) but you get the point.

“Marry over your head.” In a way I’m kidding when I say this.

You do have to marry someone that is on a similar level as you are – in intelligence, communication ability, life experience, spirituality, or personal values etc. If you do not – the challenges that everyone faces when working through typical differences will be multiplied because of these important areas that determine ‘what league you are in.’

The point I really want to make is – marry someone or invest time in dating someone you perceive as ‘a great person.’ I don’t believe that I’m a lousy person and that I don’t deserve someone like my wife – I just think she’s awesome.

A BIG mistake that many people make is that they compromise in whom they pursue because:

o They don’t feel like they deserve better

o On an emotional level, they are just happy to be with anyone who is interested in them, or

o They don’t value themselves enough.

It’s called - settling for second best. A good marriage requires two people who have great and compatible qualities.

A single person might say, “We’ve been together so long, I don’t want to break up now, I’ll be wasting all that time and effort.”

My encouragement to you is, if you don’t look at that person and think, “I’m so happy to be dating someone like them, because I have so much respect for them. Their positive qualities far outweigh their weaknesses.” Then I suggest you move on. It’s better to waste some of the time you have spent than to knowingly jeopardize your future.

Struggles in marriage are so much easier to navigate through when you’ve married someone with great qualities.