Presence Pioneers: A Worship, Prayer and Revival Podcast

In this episode, Matthew talks about what it means to be a forerunner. There were people in the story line preparing the way when Jesus came the first time, and there will be people called to do the same thing when He comes back!

The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

SUBSCRIBE • http://eepurl.com/gfw9vH

RESOURCES FROM MATTHEW • http://presencepioneer.com

INSTAGRAM • http://instagram.com/presencepioneer/

FACEBOOK • http://facebook.com/presencepioneer/

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Most of us are familiar with the story of Jesus' birth - what people now call the Christmas story. But Matthew points out right away that one of his favorite parts of that story is all of the secondary characters. It shows that God wanted to include people in His story line! He could have just manifested or sent angels for each part - Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth,Anna, Simeon - but His heart was to work with us and through us to bring His kingdom.

The people like the wise men and shepherds weren't necessarily prepared to be part of the story, although they certainly rose to the occasion. But you can see, especially in Luke, that there's some history with some of the characters. An angel comes to talk Mary through what's going to happen to her, and she embraces her role. Anna is at the temple praying for decades before she gets to see Jesus.

God always brings Heaven to Earth in partnership with humanity.

When you look at Anna's story, it says she stayed in the temple day and night for 84 years. It also calls her a prophet. But, Matthew says, she's also an evangelist! It says that when she saw Jesus, she went and told people about Him. She isn't just an inspiration for us, though - she's a type and example of the Church before Jesus' return. We'll be a praying, prophetic people who are in tune with God's plan and also evangelists in the great harvest. Anna was positioned in partnership with God through her prayer and worship.

Anna was a forerunner to Jesus' coming - but John the Baptist was a forerunner to His ministry. If you look in Luke 1, John was prepared from in the womb for his calling as a forerunner! He's mentioned as far back as Isaiah as the one who will prepare the way for the Messiah. John operated in the "Spirit and the Power of Elijah" - which means...? In Matthew 17, the people ask Jesus if John actually is the one who comes with this spirit and power. Jesus' response is interesting. He basically said that Elijah has already come, as John the Baptist, but also that he is still coming. He's pointing out that the Kingdom has come and is still coming at the same time. God is moving through His people, like His kingdom, even in the brokenness.

So what does it mean NOW to be a forerunner? Matthew thinks the description of John the Baptist in Isaiah 43 is a good "job description". Forerunners are "forged in the wilderness" of fasting and prayer. This is the challenging season that prepares forerunners - David being chased by Saul, Israel wandering in the desert - but it builds our dependence on God. Song of Solomon 5 gives the picture of the woman coming out of the wilderness "leaning on her Beloved" - which is a picture of our posture as the Church when we come through the wilderness. We're also the "voice that cries in the wilderness"! Forerunners come from a place of intimacy, and emerge as prophetic messengers. They can see what's coming and prepare the way.

The problem is, you can't skip steps or hang out too long in one place. Some people want the voice and authority but haven't been "forged" in their wilderness season yet, and it becomes a burden rather than empowering. Some people enjoy the intimacy in the wilderness and never want to leave - but God's plan is for us to come out from that place and be a voice. We have to live in the tension!

Then, forerunners are intercessors. They're praying His plan, and bringing people in. We're working in partnership with God to see that Kingdom come. So as we celebrate Jesus' birth in the coming weeks, let's remember the people God used to bring that to bear and agree to say YES to being those people for when He comes again!

In this episode, Matthew and Shepard take a look back at 2020. They focus on gratitude, thanking the Presence Pioneers partners, listeners, and guests. In between the (amazing!) giveaways, they discuss testimonies from the past year and plans for the end of the year. Linked below are all of the books and episodes mentioned in the episode - but you have to listen to see if you're a winner!

Niko Peele - Make Us One ( https://amzn.to/2J9xGve ) - Episode 17 and Episode 18

Randy Martinez - The Joseph Journey ( https://amzn.to/3lar9hv ) - Episode 35

Billy Humphrey - Unceasing ( https://amzn.to/33bM65a ) - Episode 29

David Sliker - The Nations Rage ( https://amzn.to/2J5vFjY ) - Episode 46

David Fritch - Enthroned ( https://amzn.to/2UZHfjk ) - Episode 7 and Episode 43

They look back at some of their favorite episodes from the first 50, and also give a shout out to Johan, who edits the episodes and was on an episode himself!

Kirk Bennett - Episode 41

Jose Diaz - Episode 36

Johan Heinrichs- Episode 31

Adam was A Worship Leader, Not A Gardener - Episode 47

Matthew takes a few minutes to look to the future, discuss the Charisma Podcast Network, and mention the #fundprayer event coming up. But most importantly, this episode is just to show our gratitude on the Presence Pioneers team for all the people who have made these episodes possible- and if you're reading this, that includes YOU! Thank you!

In today's episode, Matthew sits down with Peter Leithart, a Presbyterian Minister with 2 masters degrees, 10 kids, and a PhD. They'll discuss what the Bible says about worship.

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

Theopolis Institute • https://theopolisinstitute.com/staff/peter-leithart/

The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

SUBSCRIBE • http://eepurl.com/gfw9vH

RESOURCES FROM MATTHEW • http://presencepioneer.com

INSTAGRAM • http://instagram.com/presencepioneer/

FACEBOOK • http://facebook.com/presencepioneer/

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Currently, Dr. Leithart is in a training and teaching position at the Theopolis Institute. He has a focus on liturgy, and how worshipping biblically can affect us. He believes that it starts in Genesis 2, and flows through to Revelation 21 and 22 - There's an image of a place of worship that has an outflow that affects the world - worship has a missional dimension.

Matthew starts the discussion of David's Tabernacle by asking how Dr. Leithart even got into studying it - because not many people do! Dr. Leithart credits his mentor, James Jordan, first. Jordan pointed out in the Psalms that David references the temple, but there was no temple in his day - his son Solomon built it. David also has an emphasis on music rather than sacrifice. Then, he read the book The Lord's Song, by John Kleinig. That book points out the role of music in Chronicles and how David set it up. He also came across The Tabernacle of David by Kevin Conner, which highlighted to Dr. Leithart how unusual the tabernacle of David was and how much there was to explore.

This is what paved the way for his own book. In the Presbyterian Church, worship is always based in biblical truth, and David seemed to go off in his own direction. The tabernacle of Moses was still around, so why did David create his own? Why did he shift from animal sacrifice to music? How were Gentiles able to care for it (like in Gath)? How was David able to sit down and just talk to God in the sanctuary, right in front of the ark? And when the temple was built, by Solomon, why did all these go back to how they had been before?

1 Chronicles is the main source of information on David's tabernacle. In Leviticus, the language that describes animal sacrifice is the same language used later to describe the songs in David's tabernacle. The common word is "memorial", a sacrifice that "helps" God remember His promises. The same word is used to describe the Psalms that recount the good things God has done for His people, and asking Him to do it again. It's described as "reminding" God, but it's really more about building up the people's faith that He'll do it again.

Before David, only Melchizedek was able to function as priest AND king. Dr. Leithart believes that's a defining moment for David's reign and Israel's history. Solomon was able to do some things that were considered priestly, but nowhere near the intimacy of David or Melchizedek. The next man who could function as priest AND king? Jesus.

Next, they focus in on the musical aspect. In Moses' tabernacle, there were sometimes trumpets referenced, but no singing. By the time Solomon's temple was established, they went back to animal sacrifice, but included singers. The imagery is that the voices rose with the smoke and made it to God. This points forward to modern Christian worship, where it's only song and no animal sacrifice. Dr. Leithart describes it as our life's breath rising instead of the animal's life blood. It's a true sacrifice of praise. And as he points out, if the music replaced the animal sacrificed and those animal sacrifices were integral to the worship, how much more, then, should music be integral to our worship?

He references James Jordan as saying that music is a glorification of the words you're singing. He also points out the role of the Holy Spirit in music. He looks to Paul, who says "Be filled with the Spirit, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, making melody in your heart." It seems to be an immediate effect of being filled with the Spirit!

Dr. Leithart believes this reflects the Trinity - God is a speaker, Jesus is the Word, and the Spirit is the one who glorifies that Word - making the Holy Spirit like the music of the Trinity. So if we're filled with the Spirit, music is the natural overflow.

It's carried through all the way to Revelation, when singing in Heaven precedes the coming of the Lamb. There's a solid connection between the worship of the tabernacle of David and the worship happening in Heaven as described in Revelation.

In this episode, Matthew teaches on a somewhat controversial topic - speaking in tongues.

The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

SUBSCRIBE • http://eepurl.com/gfw9vH

RESOURCES FROM MATTHEW • http://presencepioneer.com

INSTAGRAM • http://instagram.com/presencepioneer/

FACEBOOK • http://facebook.com/presencepioneer/

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Matthew starts by looking at Paul, and his statements in 1 Corinthians. He actually says in chapter 14 that he prays in tongues "more than anyone" at the church in Corinth, which is described as a spirit-filled church. If praying in tongues was such an important part of Paul's prayer life, shouldn't we stop and consider that for ourselves?

Then, Paul also says "I wish you all spoke with tongues" - that's pretty clear! This would indicate that it is a good thing for Christians to use. When he speaks about the gifts of the Spirit, he says we should pursue those. Getting baptized by the Holy Spirit is often followed by speaking in tongues.

What does the Bible actually say about tongues? There appear to be two broad categories. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul says "though I speak with tongues of men and tongues of angels" in his famous passage about Love. This would appear to be referencing the "tongues" (or in other words, languages) that Paul uses by the power of the Holy Spirit. There's the earthly languages of men, and the heavenly language of angels.

An example of "the tongues of men" is Acts 2, when the disciples are filled with the Spirit and begin preaching, and everyone hears them in their own language. It was supernatural, but it was still languages of men. This happens in pioneering mission groups - when people are trying to teach the gospel to those whose language they don't know. He gives us supernatural ability to speak to each other.

The other type is the "tongues of angels" - heavenly languages. These are obviously languages that we don't understand. Paul even says that it needs to be "interpreted". In Acts 2, nothing needed to be interpreted because the people understood right away. With heavenly language, the Holy Spirit has to help us understand. This is usually what people think of when they think of tongues. Paul says in chapter 14 that these tongues are a way to speak to God, not to men. He also says that praying in tongues is to edify ourselves, whereas prophesy is for edifying others. Then, he say we should pray to understand what we're praying in tongues - there's also a gift of interpretation.

Matthew does focus in on the prayer aspect of this for a moment. Paul says that praying in tongues is praying in the Spirit. The goal isn't to speak another language, it's to interact with God. Praying in tongues can make way for vision, for revelation, and for strengthening our hearts. It creates space to receive from God. The Bible also indicates that praying in tongues is a form of spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6, when it describes the sword of the Spirit. Praying in the spirit can often turn into intercession!

So, what does it feel like when you pray in tongues? Matthew shares his own journey. It's a partnership with the Holy Spirit, of him stepping out in faith. He even says that when he first started praying in tongues as a teenager, he often felt like he was making it up, because it didn't feel "super spiritual". But the reality is that if we're filled with the Holy Spirit, the supernatural feels more natural. It's not about God controlling our mouths, but about us opening our mouths in faith and God flowing out. There have been scientific studies done on what happens to our brains when we speak in tongues, and it's interesting because the speech part of their brains weren't engaged in the process - it's like God totally bypasses it. Sometimes it doesn't feel like a "flow" at first, it feels more intentional. But if you can press in, something changes and the flow begins. It's like exercising a muscle.

Matthew considers it a gift and a joy, and hopes that you begin to use it in your personal prayer time. You can simply ask God to help you - and because He's a good father, He will!

In this episode, Matthew gives a quick teaching on our role as worship leaders (not just the musician kind), starting with Adam and ending with Jesus.

The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

SUBSCRIBE • http://eepurl.com/gfw9vH

RESOURCES FROM MATTHEW • http://presencepioneer.com

INSTAGRAM • http://instagram.com/presencepioneer/

FACEBOOK • http://facebook.com/presencepioneer/

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

We are all called to be priests and kings! What does that mean, though? It really just means that we are here to minister to God. We do that through our worship, and through our love. Our job is to keep the earth a resting place for God's presence.

In Genesis, God created the Earth to be a place for worship of Him. We tend to think of the Garden of Eden as a modern vegetable garden, with Adam as a farmer. If you dig a little deeper, the Garden was actually set up as a temple. It was set up as a sanctuary for God's presence, and Adam and Eve were there to steward that part as well. In Genesis 2:15, God tells them to "tend and to keep" the Garden. This is actually the same language used for the Levites with the Tabernacle in Moses' day! To "tend" actually means to serve or minister. They were there to "tend" to God. When He tells them to be fruitful and multiply, He's referring to multiplying the sacred space where He dwells.

That makes it less of a stretch to call Adam a Worship Leader!

And THIS is why we exist - to worship God, to spread the places where His glory dwells across the Earth. This is also why Adam and Eve failed as priests - they let the enemy in to the sacred place and allowed sin to create a boundary.

If we fast forward to Revelation, we see that language again - that we will be "priests and kings unto Him forever". Matthew takes a minute here to blow through the parallels in Genesis and Revelation - it's epic! But what this basically means is that we will function as worship leaders forever. Not in the current sense, but in the real sense - creating space for God's presence. So Jesus coming back was a step towards restoring us to this role!

The priestly model is important to understand in the culture we live in now - where everyone wants a stage, every worship leader wants to have the next hit song, our "likes" are priority number 1 - but the priest ministers directly to God, even when no one sees.

There are things you can get from God that you can't get anywhere else - it's why He made us to crave intimacy with Him! It all circles back - Genesis to Revelation - to His zealous Love for us and wanting to give us more of Himself.

In this episode, Matthew talks with David Sliker, a senior leader at IHOP-KC. They discuss the current state of our nation and the world, and what the Bible says about how we should respond.

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

David's Website • https://www.davidsliker.com/homepage

IHOP-KC • https://www.ihopkc.org/

The Nations Rage - Book • https://www.davidsliker.com/

The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

SUBSCRIBE • http://eepurl.com/gfw9vH

RESOURCES FROM MATTHEW • http://presencepioneer.com

INSTAGRAM • http://instagram.com/presencepioneer/

FACEBOOK • http://facebook.com/presencepioneer/

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

They start with David's history in the prayer movement, when he visited Kansas City in October of 1999. A friend mentioned IHOP-KC, saying that they had been having a prayer meeting non-stop for a month, and David had to check it out. Fast forward to October of 2020, and he is now on staff and IHOP is celebrating 21 years of non-stop prayer and worship!

Since he's got "chops" in the prayer movement, Matthew asks him to discuss some of the pros and the cons of being a part of 24/7 prayer. David says that his favorite part is easy - the relationships that have been built out of sustaining this worship and prayer. He admits that these aren't people that he may have been close to without this experience, but that when you run together and sacrifice together and repeatedly worship, pray, and study the bible together, there are special bonds formed.

The challenges are significant too, David says. There is always resistance when God establishes prayer. The endgame is at play here, as David puts it, and the response from the opponent in this endgame is rage. He compares the church to an orchestra, where each person has their part to play. Being small is no longer the same as being insignificant. The sound is only right when everyone plays their part, and the enemy knows this. His goal isn't to take out the whole orchestra, but to silence one part at a time and ruin the sound.

David's new book, The Nations Rage, is where we go next. Matthew says it brings to mind the book Let The Nations Be Glad, and asks David point blank - which is it? Do we rage or are we glad? David says it must be both. He believes the nations will rage more and more until God becomes the desire of the nations, without violating our free will. David calls it a miracle, actually. He believes there is biblical precedence for the idea that whenever God comes closer, the response is both rejoicing and rage from different people. It's not real human experience to separate the two.

Isn't being positive all the time a good thing? David says we're living in the danger of leaning positive only right now. The message in January 2020 was everywhere - 2020 was going to be everyone's year! But then, March hits. And then, the racial conflict blows up. The hope only message didn't have any answers for this, because the rhetoric was just, "no worries, tomorrow will be awesome" and tomorrow kept being worse. A lot of the polarization has come out of this lack of answers. People are flocking to whoever will give an answer.

How do we live our lives in hopefulness but prepared for the rage? David responds by asking this question - how do you define better? He says we need to examine whether our definition of "better" is based in biblical truth, or simply in our culture's beliefs. He sees the two responses as either healthy introspection or "doubling down". Either we check ourselves, and see where we aren't in alignment with God and repent, or we dig in our heels and just yell our opinion louder.

What it really comes down to is being rooted in intimacy. David says the charge against the charismatic church is that it is "old testament" oriented. To build a theology of presence, he says, you have to go to the old testament - the ancient Hebrews were very presence-oriented! In the garden, we rejected God's presence.When we brought burnt offerings into the picture, it was humans saying "I miss you, God! I want you here with me." And the response is that other humans actually kill these people who want God to be near. He jumps forward and says that the Tower of Babel was humanity's attempt to get close to God without sacrifice or accountability. This is the problem with humanity now - we want the benefits of intimacy without the boundaries.

The two critical questions related to presence are "what does it take?" and "what are we after?". David says it's about that internal breakthrough, where it changes from being about us to being about Love, about just wanting Him. Revival on the outside is great and powerful, but revival on the inside shifts nations.

In this episode, Matthew catches up with Chris Burns - author, worship leader, and most definitely a presence pioneer.

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

Chris' Site • http://burnsministries.com

Pioneers of His Presence • https://amzn.to/37qk8FX

The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

SUBSCRIBE • http://eepurl.com/gfw9vH

RESOURCES FROM MATTHEW • http://presencepioneer.com

INSTAGRAM • http://instagram.com/presencepioneer/

FACEBOOK • http://facebook.com/presencepioneer/

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Chris got radically saved at 19 while touring with his band, and had no background in the church. He jumped right into leading worship and found himself enjoying extended, prophetic times of worship right away. He loved finding others who felt that, and it's taken him all over the country - from Ohio, to San Francisco, to New Orleans, and many places in between.

Fast forward to now, leading a worship movement out of a bar on Bourbon Street - right in the middle of the French Quarter! While serving in San Francisco, he got a call that a bar owner in New Orleans had gotten saved and wanted to bring someone in to host worship in his bar. Chris agreed, and began an adventure he wasn't expecting.

Instead of just being another worship event he traveled to lead, it quickly became clear that this was a God-ordained moment in time. All he did was show up to worship, and as he puts it, God showed up. Not only were these worship nights filling the bar and wrecking the people who were there to worship, but from the street, it looks like such a great party that drunk people are wandering in and immediately getting touched by God and saved on the spot. It's been so impactful that Chris and his family have now moved to New Orleans to plug in more permanently. And Chris doesn't believe it's a move that's only for Bourbon Street. He believes they're seeing a part of what God wants everywhere! As Matthew points out, we are seeing more and more of this "public space" worship happening with groups like the Burn and Awaken the Dawn. Covid restrictions even seem to be fueling this movement rather than hindering it, as more and more churches and organizations move services outdoors to allow for spacing out.

Chris says he gets asked a lot if they'll turn the bar into a church as things grow and evolve, and his answer is that it IS a church - it's just one that sinners come to. They are more along the lines of Jesus as the One who hung out with the sinners where they were. They just open the doors and worship, and "church" happens. For now, at least, he feels like that's the format they're called to.

For his last point, Chris looks back to the revivals of history. He submits that when God introduces a new way to worship, He does it outside the four walls of the church. Songs used for worship were actually well-known bar and pub songs that people re-wrote the words to, so that everyone could sing along. This was God stepping outside of the church and reaching people where they were. That's what Chris believes is happening in the church now with these new expressions of worship!

As a closing encouragement, Chris says this : We must be a priest in secret first, and that when we do step out, these things don't look amazing at first. There's something to being faithful in the small things that gives you strength to sustain as it grows. And finally, he says simply - don't miss it!

Basically, we need help to live our lives for God. In this episode, Matthew dives in to how to get that help from the Holy Spirit.

The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

SUBSCRIBE • http://eepurl.com/gfw9vH

RESOURCES FROM MATTHEW • http://presencepioneer.com

INSTAGRAM • http://instagram.com/presencepioneer/

FACEBOOK • http://facebook.com/presencepioneer/

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Matthew starts out listing several verses that indicate our need for the Holy Spirit in order to pray or worship (all are listed above). So it's clear that the Bible is saying we need help! We need the Holy Spirit to be present in our lives. He believes that the baptism of the Holy Spirit can be an ongoing thing in our lives, but often we don't really know how to ask for or receive it.

If you look in John chapter 20, after Jesus is resurrected, He interacts with His disciples and He "breathes on them" for them to receive the Holy Spirit. But hold on - in Luke 24, Jesus tells them to stay in the city after His death until they receive "power from on high". That's referring to Acts chapter 1, when they're waiting in the city until they all receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. So why did Jesus breathe on them to receive the Holy Spirit but also tell them to wait for the Holy Spirit? Did they receive the Holy Spirit or not?

Matthew is saying that in John, when Jesus breathes on the disciples, they received the Holy Spirit the way we do when we accept Jesus. That's what people sometimes refer to as the "indwelling" of the Holy Spirit in us. The disciples couldn't fully accept Jesus as their savior before this moment because He hadn't died for their sins and resurrected until this moment(even though they definitely had faith). So this is their moment of salvation and becoming a temple for the Holy Spirit.

But they were still told to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. In Acts chapter 2, we see that moment. This is a different experience with the Holy Spirit than when Jesus breathed on them. This is what they refer to as being "clothed with power" from the Holy Spirit. In Acts 8, it says that while Philip was teaching, as people believed they received salvation and were filled with the Spirit. Then in verse 14, the disciples sent Peter and John to come pray for these new believers so the Holy Spirit would "fall on them". They had been baptized in water, but not yet in the Holy Spirit.

Using Jesus as an example, in Matthew 1:18 it says He was born of the Holy Spirit. Jesus didn't need to be born again like we do, because He never sinned. But in Matthew chapter 3, Jesus was baptized in water, and that's when the Holy Spirit rested on Him ("like a dove"), while He was fully man. Even Jesus, because He was fully man, needed that interaction where the Holy Spirit came down on Him. How much more, then, do we?

What results do we see in these stories from this baptism of the Holy Spirit? First, we see boldness. Boldness to do the ministry they've been called to do. Then, we see the gifts of the Spirit - like speaking in tongues and prophesying. Also, there's an assurance of sonship and identity. Jesus is a good example. For us, the bible refers to it as a spirit of adoption. There's the supernatural power to worship and pray - like in Ephesians 5:18. The indicator is that the power of the Holy Spirit enables us to worship and pray in a sustainable and impactful way.

There are people who believe that being baptized or filled by the Holy Spirit is a one time thing, but scripture would seem to show that it can happen to us more than once, like the disciples in Acts 2 and again in Acts 4. In Ephesians 5:18, the Hebrew is in "present progressive tense" which would literally translate to "be being filled with the Holy Spirit". This shows that it's an ongoing process. It's a relationship with the Holy Spirit.

The purpose of the Holy Spirit is power and identity. Power to love one another, power to love God. The Bible openly says to pursue those gifts of the Spirit. So, pursue Him!

In this episode, Matthew catches up again with David Fritch, discussing his new course. David takes us through some ways to study the Bible that take it from a struggle to something supernatural.

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

David's Website • http://davidfritch.com

David's New Course • https://www.davidfritch.com/bible-study

David's Book • http://amzn.to/2DCs8CI

The Bible Project • https://bibleproject.com/

The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

SUBSCRIBE • http://eepurl.com/gfw9vH

RESOURCES FROM MATTHEW • http://presencepioneer.com

INSTAGRAM • http://instagram.com/presencepioneer/

FACEBOOK • http://facebook.com/presencepioneer/

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

David began his deep dive with the Bible began when he was asked to teach a college class on studying the Bible, and he realized he didn't actually know how to do that for himself! He had been through bible college, but having to walk with his students on their journey learning how to really study the scriptures changed his life. It's one thing to know the facts of the Bible (still good), but he realized that the goal of the Bible was to lead us into a deep relationship with God.

So before you begin, David says you must realize that you need supernatural assistance. There are things in the Bible that only reach your heart via the Holy Spirit.

Next, David goes over a 3 step process to help you:

1 - Observation. Ask simple questions about what you're reading. What's really happening in this passage? This is the who, what, when, where, how part.

2 - Interpretation - So what does it mean? This is the "why". David says for this step it's imperative that we come as students, knowing that the Bible never contradicts itself, instead of searching for a specific verse we can use to prove our point.

3 - Application - This is the prayerful part. How does what you've just read impact your life when you get up from reading?

While these are the steps David gives to help you make the best of your time in the Bible, he points out that the most important step is actually reading your Bible. The average Christian reads the Bible maybe once a week. Compare that to all the other sources of information coming at you in a typical day! If you never pick it up, the Bible never has the chance to affect your worldview. It makes it very easy to misinterpret when you do decide to pick it up.

Next, David goes through some practical ideas for praying the Bible. He uses Psalm 23 as his example. He suggests reading a verse or two and then praying it - whether thanking God for whatever truth is in it, praying it over yourself, or praying it as intercession over someone else. Even in the tougher passages, you can simply say to God, "Help me understand this and why You wanted it in here."

It's all about reading the Book with the Author.

In this episode, Matthew chats with Patricia Bootsma, a prophetic leader in the prayer movement both in the US and Canada.

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

Patricia's Website • http://patriciabootsma.com

Election Prayer Group • https://www.facebook.com/Firewall-USA-104656064697171/

Connect on Facebook • https://www.facebook.com/bootsmapatricia/

School of Revival • http://schoolofrevival.com/

A Lifestyle of Divine Encounters (book) • https://amzn.to/3cI93Re

Raising Burning Hearts (book) • https://amzn.to/2HFPKMN

The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement.

SUBSCRIBE • http://eepurl.com/gfw9vH

RESOURCES FROM MATTHEW • http://presencepioneer.com

INSTAGRAM • http://instagram.com/presencepioneer/

FACEBOOK • http://facebook.com/presencepioneer/

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Matthew and Patricia start off their conversation with Patricia's backstory, which goes all the way back to her childhood, when she had that childlike faith that God could hear her prayers, up to the time when she and her husband John were having their 6th child and "stumbling into" starting a house of prayer in their hometown in Canada.

Then Patricia shares about a group called Firewall USA (linked above) which unites people to pray for the elections in the United States.

This leads Matthew into asking Patricia for her insight into sustaining prayer. She talks about a revelation she had that instead of looking for the people she thought would show up, God showed her that she could work with whoever did show up - including Him. She says it hit her that it wasn't her prayer room, but God's - which in her words, took all the pressure off of her. Her job was simply to work with Him. As she puts it, God won't do our part and we can't do His part!

So what is God saying in 2020? Patricia says people are missing the good that God is accomplishing and wanting to accomplish by focusing on the negative. She refers to quarantine as the gift of more time in His presence! She compares the church to a caterpillar in a cocoon, and says that we should come out on the other side of this changed. She believes the prayer movement will continue to grow.

She sees this pandemic as an opportunity for God to get our attention, to bring us to repentance and back to Him. That's always His goal.