As you receive this letter, we have just completed our annual pilgrimage to Israel and the U.S. Embassy has been relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The world is watching this historical and prophetic event as it unfolds. I can only imagine how Heaven rejoices in the acknowledgment that Jerusalem is the Capital of Israel. Heaven established it from the beginning and now, the world has either chosen to align and support this reality or to stand in opposition.
In my March letter to you, I shared what took place the first two days of the Roundtable meetings. This was a time when all the “moving pieces” of the ministry were invited to come to Aglow Headquarters for the purpose of seeking the Lord together. It remains a hallmark meeting that resounds with the newness of our 51st year. It is no longer business as usual. Have you discovered that to be true in all you are doing in Aglow?
My Heart for Aglow
On Wednesday morning of the Roundtable meetings, the U.S. Leadership Team gathered for a few hours before everyone departed for home. Glenda Fleming, Regional Director for the South region made this statement, “Jane, your heart is always to hear our hearts, but I want to hear your heart.”
My reply was immediate.
My heart’s cry for every meeting held under the covering of Aglow is that we would be a living tabernacle for the Presence of God. Everything must flow from that place – growth, language, teaching, worship, prayer, planning, etc. The Holy Spirit has been our Leader from the beginning. As we approach the coming of Jesus, our sensitivity to His Presence and His leading must increase. We must be moving in such a way that others will desire to follow His leading simply by observing us.
- Every silence does not have to be filled with words
- Plans can go by the wayside to follow Him
- Worship leaders follow Him and not a list of songs
Our promise is that people are going to be drawn into God’s Presence in our midst. Dutch Sheets said in Richmond, “I’ve felt an amazing weightiness of the Holy Spirit on this gathering.” All of our Aglow meetings from conferences to Lighthouse meetings, from regional gatherings to GameChanger groups, must carry a sense of His Presence. I believe that comes from hearts that simply desire to connect with Him and not just be focused on the routine of a meeting. I find myself looking for the Presence of the Holy Spirit even in casual conversations. It is like looking for “the treasure in the field.” It is who we are. It is what we are about. And it is all about Him…always.
It’s His Presence
A few years ago Kevin Gabbert, a graphic designer in our Creative Services department, had a question for us as we gathered for our weekly staff prayer time. He curiously asked, “What is it that I feel in this room?” Recently Kevin told us, “When the electrician was in the meeting room doing his work, he asked me the same question, ‘What is it that I feel in here?’”
What has been building in your meetings? Do people ask, “What is it that I feel?” Aglow was born of the Spirit and has been led by the Spirit and everything we do must be from the Spirit, not the flesh.
I was recently reading DeVern Fromke’s book, Ultimate Intention. This quote caught my attention, When there is no supreme goal or spiritual purpose, people generally concentrate on motion. Instead of working toward ultimate fulfillment of the Father’s intention, they keep changing their goals and call this progress. They do not know where they are going, but they are certainly on their way!
In Richmond, Barbara Yoder declared:
- God is shifting the minds of every leader in Aglow.
- Aglow, you are called to save the cities and nations of the earth.
- God is lifting you into a spiritual dimension where the carnal mind will not war with the spiritual mind.
- For I am looking for leaders that have My heart, My mind, My vision, and that are literally broken by Me.
- Aglow, you are being called to high places where your words will literally become His words, and His words will become your words.
- Aglow, I am putting a fire in your mouth that shall go before you and shall destroy your enemies.
- This is a new day and God is birthing a whole new movement with Holy leaders.
The Lord has built us into an end time people prepared to usher in the return of the Lord. Our meetings are not without purpose. Each one must be filled with Presence.
It is Finished
Graham Cooke said in Richmond, Aglow is a Kingdom Community whose role in the earth is to exemplify the nature, power, substance, and the promise of the Kingdom of Heaven….It is time for us to bring our prophetic words from the background into the foreground and understand that the antidote to our past is not our present being sorted out, it is our future being determined.
We are living in the time of the unfolding of our prophetic words. Those words are the catalyst for our personal and our corporate transformation. God is not standing in our future saying, “Come on, it is almost done.” No, He stands in our future declaring, “It is finished! You are who I said you are the moment I spoke each prophetic word. Now rise up and live out of that identity!”
As DeVern Fromke said, without a goal or purpose, people concentrate on motion. We are not that kind of people. We are people of the Book and we walk in this earth with the full intention of fulfilling the Great Commission, of propelling the Kingdom forward with every step we take.
As teams and boards, as individuals attending Aglow meetings, look for His tangible, weighty Presence. It is what defines us. And if you realize that your meetings are bankrupt of Presence, fall on your faces and cry out for Him to come with a fresh wind of the Spirit that will transform everyone who comes.
Between now and our U.S. Conference in Spokane, or for those of you outside the U.S., before your national or regional conference – pull aside to prepare a place for Him. Remember, God is watching how we respond. We’ve been through the portal, let’s do all we can, as His army, to make a place for His Presence in ALL we do.
Love,
Jane Hansen Hoyt
President/CEO
Aglow International
facebook.com/jane.hansen.hoyt