Year 2015 has come to its end, and it has been a year full of grace from God and gratitude from my heart. 2016 will be a year of a greater Presence of the Lord.
At the start of 2015, the prophetic prayer team received that it would be a year swamped with negative news about the natural, political, economic as well as social realms. 2015 has not been an easy year for 611, and yet God’s grace is sufficient. He kept watching over us and guided us through. Now we can say 2015 was a year of victory upon victory! First of all God guided us to go deeper in the core value of “God first, people second, then the Earth”, ending with a new series: “the Earth.” The Holy Spirit then started delving into our lives “INSIDE OUT” and pruned us even more severely with “Relationship before Ministry”. God has time and time again directed us to fight for this core value and establish a church of “relationship before ministry”. Moreover, this core value has been adopted by all the MG leaders and pastors in the 611 network.
I am thankful to see how brothers and sisters’ lives were moved on up last year as well as the raising up of many families and marketplace leaders. The congregation grew from 6000 at the end of 2014 to 7-8000 people in just one year. The Hand of God has taken us out of the shadows of valley onto the Highway of Revival. In 2016, God’s presence will increase further and we will enter a year of greater blessing.
We have been reading the book of Ezekiel in the morning devotions recently. From chapter 40 and 41, God showed us the future revival of Israel. In Ezekiel’s time, the Israelites were taken captive to a foreign land but God led the prophet Ezekiel back to Jerusalem to view the reality of the New Temple and that God’s glory would come once again to the highest mountain on earth, into His dwelling place. “Son of man, look carefully and listen closely and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Tell the people of Israel everything you see.” (Ezekiel 40:4 NIV)
In this passage, God gives us two types of anointing: 1) a new mind set and perspective – in Ezekiel 40, God gave us a new measuring unit, “The length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits, each of which was a cubit and a handbreadth.” (Ezekiel 40:5) Dear brothers and sisters, in the coming new days, God will give us a new 611 anointing: broader and higher perspectives. 2) God’s Presence in a greater measure – in Ezekiel 41, God told Ezekiel, “This is the Most Holy Place”, “That is the table before the Lord”. As we enter into the new season, God will grant us more of His Presence. We can enter into the Holy of Holies. We offer ourselves as the living sacrifices on the altar and His Glory will be with us to an even greater extent.
Dear brothers and sisters, as we enter into 2016, may you rise up with a new mind and higher perspectives. May we deepen our connection with Christ through the Spirit, our path widen out as we go forward into the greater Presence and Glory of our Father God! • [2016.1.3]