Lord you said, “Seek My face.” My heart says, “Lord your face
will I seek!” Psalm 27:8
Dear local and global friends of Come Rest,
Before you read further, remember this—The Lord really and
completely loves you. Everything necessary for your eternal life and healing He
has already accomplished on the cross. You have a Savior and therefore, no
condemnation. However, you also have a Lord who is relentless in seeking to
make you more Christlike in your walk with Him on His mission. So…
Kim and I believe the Lord confirmed something deep last night
at Rehoboth at our Isaiah 58 House gathering. Therefore we are declaring “Ten
Days of Surrender” beginning this Wednesday, March 26th and ending
Friday April 4th. We invite all of you to participate with all your
hearts wherever you are. Spread the word. Invite your family, friends, and
church.
We believe the Lord is doing a work of “absolute surrender”
throughout the Body of Christ in the month of March moving into April. He is
beginning a deep work of heartfelt repentance, purification, and preparation
for what He is bringing to the earth as we move into 2014. One of our sisters
in faith believed she heard the Lord say, “It is time to weep.” Another sister
was led to Joel 2. We agree. He is calling the whole church to repent and
return to Him as First Love doing His first works of worship, witness, and
making disciples in the fruit of the Spirit.
It is time to weep. Time to come to His throne of grace with our
wounds and fears and let Him hold us in His healing arms.
It is time to weep. Time to come to His throne of grace with
sorrow for our sin and let Him cleanse us.
It is time to weep. Time to come to His throne of grace with
cries for mercy for our sinful world.
It is time to weep. Time to come with tears of joy and gratitude
for our Savior.
It is time to surrender control to the Holy Spirit.
As born again believers, Jesus’ blood covers our lives.
Therefore we can boldly, without condemnation, come before the throne of grace
confidently seeking the Lord’s smiling countenance of love. He is a Father who
lovingly corrects His children in whom He delights. As we seek His face the
Holy Spirit will shine light on areas of our lives where we have not yet
yielded our will to Him—and help us make the changes! For example, the Lord has
shown me I needed to uninstall Fox News on my smart phone. It was becoming a
distraction for me and hooking my flesh fostering sin in my heart. The Lord now
has me memorizing Psalm 27 filling me to overflowing with good news, not bad
news! You may have a different issue. He will show you what He wants you to do.
2014 is a year of our God a consuming fire. According to Hebrews 12 He is
shaking everything in believers’ lives that can be shaken to be yielded up into
His fiery, forgiving love. He is preparing us for what is coming later this
year and on into 2015.
During these ten days we invite all friends of Come Rest to
ardently seek the Lord’s face in the following ways.
·
Seek His face through meditating upon
Scripture. Set aside serious time(at least 20-30 minutes) each day to read
aloud Psalm 27, Joel 2, and Matthew 6. Note which verses grab you or comfort
you. Pause there. He is speaking to you in that moment. The Holy Spirit will
make connections and help you see practical application of the verse to your
life that day. Consider memorizing that particular verse. Certainly memorize
and practice Psalm 27:8 throughout these 10 days.
·
Seek His face daily through Spirit-led
prayer. Go into your “prayer closet.” That means set aside uninterrupted
time (at least 20-30 minutes)and space for honestly and deeply talking with the
Lord. Pray at least a full minute daily for each one of your family, friends,
and spiritual leaders. Most believers don’t do this. Try it. Watch how the Holy
Spirit helps draw you closer to Jesus as you honestly struggle through the
awkward moments of silence. You will become more confident and your prayers
will be more powerful and fruitful the more you expand this in practice. Ask
the Lord to give life and life abundant to every person you pray for. If you
have my book Real Fruit, remember Chapter 25 lays out in simple detail
how to spend one hour alone with the Lord.
·
Seek His face daily through Spirit-led
fasting. Jesus said that when He died, rose, and ascended to heaven—His
disciples would hunger after Him and His righteousness through fasting. Before
these ten days, ask the Lord which way He wants you to fast. Regardless, drink
plenty of water and avoid carbonated beverages. He may lead you to fast like
Daniel in the Bible for ten days avoiding rich foods and eating only vegetables
and some fruit. This time Kim and I feel the Lord is leading us to pick one day
each of the two weeks in which we will do a 24 hour fast from all food. We are
choosing Thursday March 27th and Friday April 4th. We
will have a light supper the evening before and break the fast with a light
supper the next day. Throughout the 10 days we will generally be eating minimal
amounts of food and feeding on the Living Word!
·
Seek His face daily through Spirit-led
charity. When you read Matthew 6 you will hear Jesus teach His simple ways of
secret prayer, secret fasting, and secret charity. “Secret” means intimate,
face to face, encounter with Him. Charity is you generously loving others while
staying in the secret place of intimacy with Him throughout your day. Charity
is letting the Spirit prompt you to extravagantly bless others personally with
your money, your words, and your deeds. In your morning or evening prayers, ask
Him to bring to your mind the persons He wants you to bless the next day. Have
fun with Him loving on others!
·
Finish the ten days with some form of solemn
assembly or prayer meeting. If you are local, we invite you to join us for our
Come Rest Ministries Solemn Assembly(Joel 2) which we will hold April 4th
at 630pm at River of Life in Cedar Rapids. We will come before the Lord in
praise; read Psalm 27, Joel 2, and Matthew 6; and get on our knees and faces in
heartfelt prayer and repentance asking the Holy Spirit to come sweep our lives,
the whole church, and the world! If you aren’t local, consider inviting some
friends to gather at home or church and do the same thing. Keep it simple and
passionate! The Holy Spirit will move as He will.
·
Questions? Call us and we will offer
suggestions for your personal practice and locale.
·
By the way, this is just the “tip of the
spear.” Watch and see what the Lord does throughout the Body of Christ on into
2014. Repentance, Restoration, Reconciliation, and much weeping in sorrow for
sin and joy for a Savior!
Love and blessings,
Dick Speight
COME REST
MINISTRIES’
SOLEMN
ASSEMBLY
Lord You
said, “Seek My Face”
FRIDAY, APRIL 4th 630-930PM
At River
of Life in Cedar Rapids
Register
at the door; freewill offering; refreshments.
