LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

Original Blog Post • https://presencepioneer.com/from-glory-to-glory/

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EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Worship is the natural inclination of human beings. Whether we see it or not, we are worshipping something. We don't always realize this, because we've redefined it so narrowly that now it only refers to the part of church when the music plays.

This would more aptly be described as "praise", which David referred to often, and said that's the place God inhabits. But worship goes farther.

The New Testament promises that we will be changed by encountering God, transformed from glory to glory to be like Jesus.

Sometimes, when we're in God's presence, we see instant transformation, such as healings or deliverance. But what about the moments when there is no instant breakthrough?

Often, God changes things more slowly, through the formation that happens inside of us over time spent with Him. This is what makes us more like Christ.

This is where the charismatic church could learn something from our liturgical brothers and sisters. They have learned the value of the ritual and repetition, the ongoing encounter whether you feel it or not. Andrew Wilson calls for a blending of the biblical liturgy and the biblical outpouring of the Holy Spirirt - which he calls "Eucharismatic".

Rick Joyner describes it like this - he only remembers a few great meals in his life, but they all served to keep him alive. He says reading the Bible is the same way - it's feeding our spirit and keeping it alive even when it's not particularly memorable.

There tends to be a focus in the charismatic movement on the exciting, instant transformation. But Matthew has found he can spot a person in that setting who comes from a house of prayer. They have learned to value the long game. Mike Bickle says we should measure the impact of our intercession in decades!

God's presence truly changes everything - whether instantly or over time. In 1 Corinthians we're told that we see only dimly for now - which is why the changes we need are often slow. But it also promises that when Jesus returns, we will see Him fully, and the ultimate instant breakthrough happens - we go from glory to Glory.

The Bible is a unique collection of 66 books with at least 40 different human authors that were written over the course of 1500 years. This diverse set of writings is compiled for a reason. There must be a primary theme and cohesive narrative throughout the Christian Scriptures. Yet how do we define the center of biblical teaching? 

In this episode Matthew shares from his latest blog article titled "God’s Relational Presence: The Megatheme of Scripture" which you can read here: https://presencepioneer.com/gods-relational-presence/

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.

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Matthew Lilley shares a special update on why we will be pausing new podcast episode releases until December. Until we return, you can check out our 90+ episode archive.

In this episode, Matthew chats with Don Rayno, director of Raleigh-Area Concerts of Prayer. They've been bringing hundreds of people together for years to pray, and Matthew refers to him as a "hidden gem" of the prayer movement.

Don started out as a nuclear chemist, for about 20 years. The term "concerts of prayer" actually comes from Jonathan Edwards in the 1700's, when he and another pastor wanted to bring people together for prayer across denominational lines. Don and a friend from work started the Raleigh Concerts of Prayer group, with about 30 people in 1984! Don laughs that they went through "prayer movement growth" from 30 to 3. He was encouraged by a Jonathan Edwards book that said to keep praying regularly for 7 years and then see if God wants you to keep going, so he determined in his heart to power through.

After a couple years, they reached out to local pastors and got 12-15 to join in, and by the time they did another big rally, there were 35 pastors and 1,000 people in attendance! However, one of his mentors told him after the event he needed to do more to get the pastors unified and praying. He put together a one day camp for local pastors to come together, share struggles, and encourage each other. That has continued every year except 2020!

At this point Matthew points out Don's faithfulness in the small things. As Matthew puts it, before you bring an entire city together to pray, you might have to bring together just a handful of people for a long time!

In 1996, Don's friends in Concerts of Prayer asked him about doing this full time and quitting his job. He and his wife talked about it and weren't sure. They were doing more and more prayer events, like traveling around in a bus with local pastors and a police officer to stop and pray over places that needed it the most. Then, Don got his answer - he came home smiling one evening and informed his wife he'd been laid off! This allowed them to really jump in with both feet.

Since then, the focus has been not just building prayer meetings but building prayer in the local churches. They have their big rallies in the fall, but it's never promoted on social media - every church has a coordinator and brings people from their church. This has also led to a great mix of different types of people and churches, across racial and socio-economic lines. They now have about 120 churches involved just in the Raleigh area!

What about the challenges? Don says keeping the differences lower on the agenda than just being "saturated with Jesus" is the way to get around that. He also says that he saw some people early on get discouraged and leave the prayer movement, and then miss out on the growth and excitement.

In the last 5-8 years, Don's biggest encouragement is seeing guys in their 20's and 30's, like him with he started, picking up the baton and leaning into prayer and unity. He says it won't look exactly like it has looked for the last 30 years, but that's okay. To those young people, he says : find a mentor, and prepare to be tested. You'll have to transition through the stages of your life while keeping your commitment to this ministry. God will use all the enthusiasm, but He will also build patience in you.

To end, Don says he always thought revival was coming in his generation, but now gets the sense that they were building to prepare for this upcoming generation, so that revival could finally come. He believes there is a lot to look forward to!

//

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.

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In today's episode, Matthew has a conversation with Dr. Jason Hubbard, director of the International Prayer Connect.

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

International Prayer Connect • https://www.ipcprayer.org/ipc-home

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.

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When Jason began his career as a pastor, he says they had good teaching, but no prayer or discipleship. The Lord confronted him in prayer one day and asked, "Do you think you can do this better than Me?" This led their leadership into establishing a prayer room at their church in 2007, and they saw growth by 1000 people in a year under "this canopy of prayer", as he put it. They began drawing other churches in, and by 2009 there were 30 churches involved!

Now from his international position, with 25 leaders in 17 nations around the world, Matthew asks Jason - what do you see happening with prayer around the world? To start with, the nation they had teach others about prayer at their meeting was Indonesia! They have 100 prayer towers (equivalent of IHOP-KC) going 24-7, including a strong children's prayer network. In 2017, the network saw a shift more towards praying for the unreached and the gospel movement. During Covid, Jason said there's been more connection built between both prayer leaders and gospel-sharing leaders than ever before. He believes this is an historic moment for the world.

Moving to the story of the Moravians, Matthew asks Jason to go into the story and why it impacted him so much. To start with, Jason says Zinzendorf was a young leader. Even at university, he started prayer societies. Then at a museum, he saw a painting of Jesus on the cross and had an encounter that ended with him on his knees. This idea of Jesus as the Lamb was woven through much of his writing and the Moravians' beliefs.

Fast forward to 200-300 people fleeing persecution and landing in Herenhut, nearby where Zinzendorf was from. In the early 1700's, there was a lot of fighting and false teaching pervasive in culture and the church. Zinzendorf goes to these families and pleads with them to forgive those who persecuted them. This led to a "summer of revival", and on August 13th they had an outpouring of the Holy Spirit often called the Moravian Pentecost. But what Jason points out is that the night before this outpouring, it was the children of the village crying out and travailing all night. He believes this children's prayer movement is what brought down the revival.

So on August 13th, they are headed to church for a communion service - still so divided that they walk on different sides of the road from each other. Zinzendorf preaches again on the Cross and forgiveness, then does Communion. And, as Jason puts it, it started with repentance. That church is now called the Church of Reconciliation. A few weeks later, Zinzendorf preached on Revelation, and the idea that Heaven looks like 24-7 prayer, so he though it should be happening on earth too. He had people sign up for one hour to sing and then pray to cover every hour of every day.

This led to a huge missionary outpouring as well. As best as they can figure it, about 5,000 missionary settlements came out of this little village. They also started the idea of being missional in the marketplace.

Jason believes this is what we're seeing today on a global scale. The prayer movement is exploding, but he believes that God is preparing the ground for the remaining harvest of souls through that. He also sees the Moravians reflected in the outpouring of spontaneous songs in the place of encounter now.

As a closing thought, Jason reflects on pastor Andrew Brunson, who was imprisoned in Turkey a few years ago. He says that after 11 months, when he was sentenced to 3 life sentences and there was no hope, he began to sing a song every day in solitary confinement. The title of the song is "You're worthy of my all", and Jason believes it's a message we need to cling to.

In this episode, Matthew goes over the lessons for how to pray in the Lord's Prayer with his 12 year old.

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.

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MORE RESOURCES FROM MATTHEW • http://presencepioneer.com

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EPISODE DESCRIPTION

1. Praise - "Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name"

This is a space for coming into God's presence with thanksgiving and praise.

2. Intercession - "Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done"

Intercession is praying for others first, before yourself.

3. Petition - "Give us this day our daily bread"

This is where you ask for what you need - in Jesus' example, He has it 3rd in line, even though this is the only type of prayer a lot of people are aware of. It's also not just about physical needs - more often we need some emotional or mental needs met, and He is able to do it!

4. Repentance - "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us"

This is where "if we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive them". This is also a good place to let go of offenses that have piled up!

5. Spiritual Warfare - "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"

This is where you can take an active role in the spiritual battles happening in your life.

6, Praise (again!) - For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the Glory forever and ever"

This is a space to re-center your heart. it can be more prayers, or it can be music, or some other expression of praise between you and God.

Shiloh's take-away advice is not to worry about exactly what you say - God's happy you're talking to Him! Matthew comments that He likes how Shiloh prays because it's very natural, like talking to a friend, to which Shiloh says "Well, He is a friend."

In today's episode, Matthew gets to interview Ray Hughes, worshiper and teacher for many decades. Ray has inspired many, including Matthew, who first heard of the Tabernacle of David from Ray.

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

Ray's Website • https://www.rayhughes.org/

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 VIA EMAIL • http://eepurl.com/gfw9vH

MORE RESOURCES FROM MATTHEW • http://presencepioneer.com

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

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

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

To start off, Matthew asks Ray if King David was the first person ever to form a band,sort of as a joke - but of course Ray knows the answer- it was Samuel! He formed what was called a "band of prophets", which would've been a group of musicians, walking in a straight line and worshiping into the atmosphere. David would definitely have been influenced by this set up!

Next, Matthew brings up Ray's book, 107 Things I Forgot to Say the Last Time I Talked About Worship, Creativity, and Music. Ray's first point in the book is "If we change the way the Church thinks about music and worship, we'll change the way the World encounters God". Matthew asks simply, why is that the case? Ray says we've learned everything we know about music from more Greek lineages, instead of Biblical ones. He believes there is a lot we're missing about what David's worship actually looked like. True biblical worship reveals truths about God.

One of the things Ray is known for is his pursuit of Creativity in worship - Matthew quotes this book again, number 34 - "You think you're not creative, but you are. You may not be artistic, but you're creative." So what's the difference? Ray puts it this way - Art is not decoration; art is exploration. He argues that we wrongly believe that perfectionism and excellence are the same thing - but they're not! Everything God created, creates. It's not about what you produce - it's about walking through the process and being in partnership with the Creator.

When it comes to worship and the Church specifically, Matthew wonders if Ray has suggestions for bringing creativity into those environments. Ray says it's about building a sense of community where there can be an authentic and humble atmosphere. As he puts it, we're worshiping God, not tip-toeing through the tithers. It can be a challenge to pastor creative people, he admits, but it's where the Church needs to go.If you see the manifest presence of God, Ray says, I challenge you to go away unchanged!

In Ray's experience, in 50 years of being in church, Matthew asks what is happening now. He sees a lot of it moving in seasons, but warns that worship is NOT seasonal - it's eternal. He sees a tendency to copy and paste cultural truths into our services and beliefs. He points out that the Church is typically 20 years behind the world in creativity, and we need to be more open to trusting the creativity in the Church to take that back. What he warns about happening is the casualness of modern Church, where we forget who God is, and downplay His Holiness and Majesty.

Last question - Matthew asks Ray what he'd say to himself 45 years ago as a young guy starting out in ministry. Ray says the main thing is that ministry is never about success - it's about sacrifice. If you know that going in, you'll face a lot less disappointment when a dream doesn't come true. But, he says, dreams don't have to come true to be valuable. God will use those dreams to give you hope and sustain you through the dark times. He says he seldom knows what's next, but he knows it starts with him saying yes.

In today's episode, Matthew interviews Dick Eastman, international president of Every Home for Christ.

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

Every Home for Christ • http://everyhome.org

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 VIA EMAIL • http://eepurl.com/gfw9vH

MORE RESOURCES FROM MATTHEW • http://presencepioneer.com

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Every Home for Christ actually started in the 1940's in Canada as a radio show! At the time, people were more likely to be handed communist pamphlets than a piece of Christian literature, and this radio show host wanted to change that. Then, on a missions trip in Japan, the founder of Every Home noticed that for every one person they could engage, ten got past them. Seeking God for help, they were pointed to Acts, where the disciples preached the gospel in the temple courtyard and "from house to house" - and their ministry blueprint was set.

Matthew first asks Dick how we should be praying right now, looking at the crisis in Afghanistan. He says first of all, to actually pray! Just thinking about praying isn't enough. He says that we need to pray for the protection of the Christians there, since they are a direct threat to the Taliban's way of thinking. We should pray that God can take this curse and tun it into a blessing. He believes we are in a battle spiritually, and we need to show up and pray.

Next, Matthew asks Dick to share something encouraging from their ministry. Dick says openly that in April 2020, they had to really look at their ministry's supplies and finances and wonder if they would even exist by the end of the year. Covid initially knocked down some of their supporters' businesses, and made it hard to replenish printed supplies. But as time went on, they realized that while most officials we scared to travel and provide transportation, their staff and volunteers were ready to go. They were able to help in practical ways, like transporting medical staff, while also being allowed to share the gospel everywhere they went.

Going from there, Matthew says he's curious to know more about the Prayer Corps that Dick started. In the 60's, as the Jesus Movement was breaking out, Dick was a youth pastor in California. They were seeing growth, and seeing kids get saved, but he felt like there was something else they needed to do. He organized a prayer retreat up in the mountains for any of the youth that were interested. Only 22 signed up, but he went ahead anyway. It started normal and awkward, but God broke through and these 13-17 year olds got caught up in all night intercession! The Prayer Corps was born out of this youth group - the calling was to take a year between high school and college and sustain a year of night and day prayer. The Change the World School that came out of the Prayer Corps went on to touch future leaders like Mike Bickle and Lou Engle!

So looking ahead - Matthew asks "Where do we go from here?" Dick insists that we need to pray consistently, not just count on "crisis prayers". He recalls a time in prayer where he felt burdened by all the things NOT happening in the world because people weren't praying. He decided then he'd memorize all the nations of the world so he could pray for them every day - and he has. His encouragement to those in the prayer movement is to actually pray! And to those not in the prayer movement who have a heart for prayer, he encourages you to find like-minded people to join in with. He also suggests diving into books on prayer, to read the stories of those who have gone before, to "pour gasoline" on your fire.

In this short teaching, Matthew discusses our two options in prayer according to Matthew 6 - to please people, or to please God.

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 VIA EMAIL • http://eepurl.com/gfw9vH

MORE RESOURCES FROM MATTHEW • http://presencepioneer.com

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Something that stands out to Matthew as we look at Matthew 6 and what Jesus says about prayer, is the emphasis on a secret place. He believes that there is a real need (especially for worshipers ) to cultivate intimacy with God through this secret place.

In this passage, Jesus really gets into HOW we should pray. There is a temptation to get prideful and self-righteous if we devote ourselves to prayer - but the correct posture is always humility. The challenge is, simply, that it's hard. We feel weak, or get bored, or get antsy - and that's where our pride starts to die. That's where Jesus can step in and satisfy. There's a promise in Matthew 6 that you will receive your reward when you pray in the secret place, and Matthew believes that reward is the Father Himself.

We may go through seasons where we feel overlooked or abandoned, but when we are finding our joy in the secret place with Jesus, we know that God sees us. He never overlooks us. Think of David, totally alone on the hills in the obscurity of being just another shepherd boy - his own father didn't think of him when Samuel came to anoint the new king! But God had not overlooked him. He was prepared in that season of solitude to step into His very public calling.

When we reach a place of intimacy with God from the secret place, it doesn't matter if anyone ever sees us. We're set free from all other ambition and worry, because we know we're a son or daughter and our Father is pleased.

When Jesus talks about the vain repetition or empty phrases, He's not saying to pray less. He's pointing out that we don't have to earn our way into God's presence. He's made the way for us, and we can simply come in. Trying to earn God's favor through "praying harder" is pride. Jesus does teach us in other passages to press in and be persistent, but that's about spending time with your Father, not getting to Him.

Jesus goes on to say that God knows what we need before we ask, and most people would go from there to say "well, then, we don't need to pray" - but Jesus does the opposite. He goes on to say "therefore, pray like this" - and gives us The Lord's Prayer. When we can come humbly to God like a loved child, we are set free from pride if people exalt us, and pain if they reject us. That's the power of the secret place.

In today's episode, Matthew goes over 5 benefits of fasting regularly. Fasting is catching on as a way of eating in our culture for health reasons, but Matthew has some spiritual benefits as well.

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.

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For the purposes of this talk, Matthew points out that fasting in the Bible typically means not eating food. There's a place for giving up things like TV or social media, but that wasn't the biblical context. Also, he submits that this is normal Christianity - not just for the extreme people. In Matthew 6, Jesus lumps fasting in with serving and praying, as a typical part of daily life.

So, on to the benefits:

1. Intimacy with God. Fasting is a way of drawing closer to God. It's not just to get breakthrough or answers to prayer (although those are good things and often do happen), it's about gaining intimacy with God as our Father and Jesus as our bridegroom.

2. Hunger for God. Something that happens when you're hungry physically on a fast is that out of that discomfort and dissatisfaction, God can bring comfort and satisfaction that causes us to want more of Him.

3. It Sustains and Prepares Us. Matthew references Anna in Luke 2 as a foreshadowing of the Church. Fasting doesn't earn us the good things that come with it, but it does make space so that we can receive those good things that God's been wanting to give us while our hands were full of less valuable things.

4. It Give us Faith. In Matthew 17, the disciples couldn't get the demon to come out, but Jesus showed up and could do it. He rebuked them with the famous words, "some only come out by prayer and fasting". What this suggests is that Jesus was living a lifestyle of prayer and regular fasting, since He was successful at removing the demon. It links the faith to preform miracles with that lifestyle of fasting.

5. It Helps Launch Us into Our Mission. In Acts 13, they were ministering to God with worship, praying and fasting - and that's where Paul and Barnabas were sent out as the first missionaries. When we fast, God can speak into our hearts and also position our hearts for what He's calling us to.

There are many more benefits, and also lots of practical wisdom Matthew could bring to the table for those interested in fasting as a lifestyle. Definitely reach out if this content was helpful to you and you'd like him to do more teaching on this subject!