In April, I was in Southern California, Ontario. Yes, my friend from Ontario, where four area boards gathered together and we had a time. A prophetic word came forth in that setting that I believe was packed with destiny. It was a pastor that was speaking and this word went on for probably thirty or forty minutes. It was profound. Those of you who attended our Area Leadership Training, you heard that word. Wasn't it profound?
He said, Now I see a misunderstanding through Aglow throughout the world. I see this misunderstanding that, in the minds of the women, that Aglow is aglow. But there is a misperception of the size of the power of the authority that I have given you. The Lord says the word went on that when there is a fire, there is a burning ember at the core of that fire and it is aglow. It feeds the fire, it keeps the fire going. It is the last thing to burn out. For I have planted you in the midst of this world to keep the fire burning. And I have planted you in this nation and in the midst of cities in this nation to keep the fire burning. And when a fire burns, it consumes everything in its path. When a fire burns, it takes the fuel and it makes a fire and My Holy Spirit is the fire of Aglow. You are not just aglow, you are the lighthouse in the darkness, says the Lord, Your God.
God is saying that He has kept something alive in Aglow for His purposes. It isn't because we are so smart or great. God had a holy purpose when He brought forth this ministry that has increased and increased and increased with time as the years have gone by. We are in our 39th year. Next year, in Seattle, we are going to celebrate our 40th year, the place where the ministry was birthed. God had a holy purpose for this ministry. He had a holy calling on you, as women, when He called forth women in the earth, and when He spoke to the male and female and said take dominion. This ministry has not waned. It has grown. The ember has not gone out, God has continued to fan the flame to keep the fire burning, to make the fire hotter and it is for His sake, and His purpose, and it is for this hour. We are a ministry filled with destiny because He has designed it and spoken it into being.
So God has kept Aglow alive. To keep something of His Holy Spirit alive in the earth. That is the burning ember at the core of the fire. And the core is the central part, the foundational part, the place in a nuclear reactor where fission occurs. Fission is splitting of an atomic nucleus resulting in the release of large amounts of energy. Nuclear fission results in atomic bombs and we are carriers of the Holy Spirit, a power far greater than found in something like an atomic bomb. The Holy Spirit hovered over the earth when it was without form and void and He said let there be and there was.
Isaiah 61 says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, to preach good tidings, to heal the broken hearted to proclaim liberty, to open prison doors to those who are bound, to comfort those who mourn, to exchange beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, praise for heaviness." That is the ministry of Aglow. You and I, this ministry, has a rendezvous with destiny.
I am reading a book entitled Powerful Times. It is a secular book. So, as I said, it is entitled, Powerful Times: Rising to the Challenge of our Uncertain World. And the author poses the question, "Can we really rise to the demands of our powerful times?" He states, "We find ourselves in a period of unprecedented complexity. The world is changing at an astonishing rate. The entire planet is interconnected in ways that it has never been before. It is hard to make sense of what happens in our world today." Think of it, just in a single day, the events of a day, the things that we hear on television, read in the papers. He said, "It is hard to make sense of what happens in our world in a single day, let alone what it means for tomorrow. History is truly in motion and so is biblical history."
"We are living in a time when history and headlines are colliding. Much of what we have taken for granted today, based on centuries of experience and history, might be in the process of unraveling. Fundamental truths that we take for granted are simply the fragile constructs of history and could shift radically in the decade ahead." the author states. He goes on, "We are at a critical threshold in which much that has been established during the last five centuries, may significantly change and with remarkable speed. The world is increasingly complex, interconnected and increasingly volatile. It appears that we are living through a change of age." He stated that in the decade ahead, the collective choices and actions of people, businesses organizations and governments everywhere, will likely define and shape global civilization for the next generation and beyond. These are the words, the thoughts, and the wonderings of secular society. These are the realities of the day in which we live. But we have been called and we have been fashioned for such a time as this. If your eyes ever scan television, catch the headlines on a newspaper, you are aware of the critical threshold the world has reached. Everyone is feeling the weight of the world we live in. You as intelligent followers of God, leaders, participants called for this hour. Do you believe you were called for this hour? You have been given an unprecedented opportunity to speak from a deep awareness, from a place of peace and confidence, into the realities of today's world and to speak and pray from a biblical perspective, from a deep awareness that God is in control. You and I have a rendezvous with destiny.
The secular world asked the question, "Can we really rise to the demands of these powerful troubled times?" We hear about the third world war. The war on terrorism. Most recently Hezbollah and their war of aggression on Israel, an escalation and a more blatant expression of the hatred and everything that Christians and Jews stand for and hatred of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In Isaiah, chapter 8, verses 11-13, "Do not think like everyone else does. Do not be afraid that some plan conceived behind closed doors will be the end of you. Do not fear anything except the Lord Almighty. He alone is the holy one and if you fear Him you need fear nothing else. He will keep you safe."
Psalm 119: verses 161 and 165: The word says, "My heart stands in awe of Your word. Great peace have those who love Your word."