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by Mary Lindow
TODAY’S PODCAST IS ONE OF SEVERAL THAT I WILL BE DOING IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS WHICH I TRUST WILL ENHANCE YOUR CHRISTMAS SEASON, EVEN THOUGHT THE MESSAGE IS ONE FOR ANY SEASON!
I am compelled by the Holy Spirit to share with you, some very tender and beautiful moments where the Lord moved upon my husband, and I to obey the spirit of God promptly, and out of doing this God did great and amazing things!
I also want to thank those of you that have been so consistent in helping me to produce podcasts. I am now reaching through the grace of God 60 countries freely, and also have been picked up by dozens of different podcast organizations. It does cost me to have to produce and publish these because they have to be parked somewhere. So again, I thank you and I know that at times it is difficult to give, and I do not take it lightly. It does help me do what I do because without you, I would have to stop!
NOW LET’S BEGIN WITH TODAY’S EXCITING “GOD STORY” PODCAST.
My husband and I were given tickets to attend any movie of choice that we wanted to. Of course there’s not much to choose from out there anymore that isn’t filled with all kinds of trashy material and narratives which we just simply choose not to support. So, we were thrilled to find out that Season Three of the tremendously well done epic cinematic story of the apostles and Jesus, the epic production of “The Chosen“ was showing at our local theater! They were releasing the first two episodes of Season Three!
We had just recently returned from a trip, and I had just returned from ministering at two different conferences. We were both a little tired, and to be honest, weary with the world. At the same time when we came home a day or two later after the last trip, my husband was rushed to the emergency room with excruciating pain, and we found out that he had a very large kidney stone. That night after 10 hours, we came home, I was sitting in our living room praying and just trying to be quiet and calm myself, and I heard a strange noise downstairs in our lower level closet area. I heard a grinding and a popping and hissing sound. Something was not right with our furnace!
COLORADO WINTER WAS UPON US AND THE FURNACE WAS NOT BEHAVING!
I went downstairs and could not see that the gas pilot was lighting, nor was there anything remotely close to heat coming out of it, so I just assumed that the pilot light was out. To cut to the chase, there were no parts to repair our furnace due to supply chain issues, and the potential for us having had carbon monoxide poisoning going on was high!
We were grateful that the Lord alerted us to this! But we were NOT happy that we were going to have to replace an entire furnace system, and up to the new specifications for “green energy requirements“ in Colorado.
WHAT AN ABSOLUTE HORRIBLE THING TO HAPPEN BEFORE CHRISTMAS! RIGHT?
And, we had just finally caught up on paying for the last of Steve’s Father’s care in assisted living, as he had just passed away in March. He was 96 years old, and of course had planned to take care of himself, but no one knew he would live to such a ripe age of 96!
So, we were feeling a little bit out of sorts and overwhelmed and COLD and decided that we would go to the movie and just enjoy something where the presence of God was allowed to flow, as well as something that was going to be meaningful and purposeful during this difficult time we were in, once again.
WE WERE SCHEDULED TO SEE THE MOVIE AT 1:45 PM IN THE AFTERNOON.
As we walked into the theater, there was no one else IN the theater but Steve and I! We did arrive a few minutes early but as time passed, it was obvious we were at an afternoon matinee close to the end of the time they were going to show this film. So, we just sat there and held hands and watched all the previews of wonderful new films that were coming out by Christian groups and their animations for children.
THEN, OFF TO THE SIDE...
...WE NOTICED A YOUNG MAN COME IN THE DOOR.
He had to be in his mid-20s, and certainly not any older than 30. He was dressed in a white snapback baseball cap, a white hoodie with red and black graphics of some type on the front, and off-white khaki type colored jeans and white tennis shoes with black laces.
Now, I noticed all of this because there was not another single person to pay attention to at that point! Just a minute or two later another couple who were fragile and older, probably in their mid 80s, came in and sat far off to the side.
THE ENTIRE PRODUCTION WAS AS IF TIME WAS SUSPENDED, as we watched our own lives passing before us, as the Lord had called us so many years ago, individually as young people, and then as a married couple into the service of the King. The hardships, the “iron sharpening iron” dialogs that shaped and fashioned our marriage. And nd the things that the Lord needed to prune away in order for us to be better, used by his plan and hands.
WE COULD FEEL THE “DIVINE TENSION” BUILDING,and we knew that this production had been created for this very time in the earth. We sat in our seats and wept, and prayed for our world and our nation. We asked God to help us to be strong and to not be afraid, and that he would use us until our very last breath.
Toward the end of the production, there was a clear understanding, that the disciples and the women who were followers of Jesus knew that this next phase of ministry they were called to, was going to be very sobering and very difficult, and, that the pressure from external governments (the Romans) and then dealing with the religious dictators of the day among them Pharisees/Sanhedrin, it was pressing in on all of them.
THEY WERE BEING CALLED TO COMPLETELY ABANDON ALL OF THEIR OWN PLANS, and all of their own desires and everything they owned in order to be sent out two by two, to go preach the gospel. We watched them struggle to figure out how food was going to be provided and more, even though they had seen Jesus multiply in the crowds. We watched Peter and his wife look at each other, wondering if they would ever have the children they were longing for. And yet, we also watched Matthew the tax collector have a redemptive reconciliation with his parents (who had previously, literally, disowned him), because they too had come to be followers of Jesus. It’s uncanny that the words “The Chosen” are the key words that define the name of this production.
BEFORE I GO INTO THE NEXT PART, WHICH IS THE ABOUT COMMAND OF THE LORD AND SUPERNATURAL PART OF THE SUPERNATURAL EVENT, THAT TOOK PLACE, I would like to tell you that you can download the app on your phone or onto your computer and watch season one and season two of the chosen absolutely for no cost. This entire production has been funded by crowdfunding only. It is the largest crowdfunded, crowd-sourced production ever to be done. How absolutely amazing of the Lord to have this kind of an event to be produced during the most difficult and tumultuous times that we are all now experiencing in this current era!
SO NOW, BACK TO THE STORY!
Steve and I sat there very quietly once the movie had ended.
The older couple had left.
We were just watching the credits, listening to the music and quite honestly crying and being shaken by all that we have been experiencing lately with so many deaths, the hardships of travel and ministry and strange beds, and so many people hungry for a word, or a touch from the Lord and us knowing we have very human limits. We were weary from funerals that we had been attending or hearing about from the multiple deaths during the Wuhan COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Drug overdoses, many suicides.
WE HAD BEEN WORKING IN PASTORAL COUNSELING WORK WITH SOME EXTREMELY DEVASTATING AND HARD CASES WHERE WE KNEW THAT WE HAD STRETCHED OUR LIMITS TO THE FINAL POINT, AND ONLY GOD COULD DO THE FINAL WORK.
And of course, burying Steve’s father in the spring, after having recently buried his mother during Covid, and not being able to see her was still weighing on our hearts. And then there was that shocking expense of that new furnace and entire new venting system. UGH!
We were absolutely weeping over the movie, identifying with the struggles of the apostles and disciples, as well as contemplating this time in our lives, and what God needed to do to assist us as well!
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement and I noticed the young man was now coming down the steps, and was going to exit the theatre.
As he went around the corner out into the hallway to exit, the Holy Spirit, clearly spoke to me, “Go after him! I want you to say something to him! I sent you here to this specific, showing so that you would see him.”
SO! I QUICKLY GOT OUT OF MY SEAT AND TOOK OFF AFTER HIM, and as the door was closing to the cinema entry section that we had just been in, I shouted, “Excuse me! Excuse me!”
I made it to the door and outside of the door, because the young man had heard me and held it open. I simply looked in the young man’s eyes, and I said, “I feel that the Lord wanted me to come out and speak to you. He has something he wants me to tell you and I would be wrong if I did not take the time to stop and obey him.” I asked the young man if it was OK if I told him what I felt, I was to say to him, and he said, “Yes, please!” very politely.
I BEGAN TO TELL HIM THAT HE WAS SENT TO THE MOVIE THEATER AT THE VERY SAME TIME WE WERE BECAUSE GOD WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT SOMEONE SAW HIM, THAT WE SAW HIM, AND THAT THE THINGS GOD NEEDED TO SAY TO HIM WERE DELIVERED.
ABOUT THE TIME, I SAID THAT I WAS ABSOLUTELY HIT WITH AN UNUSUALLY STRONG SENSE OF TREMBLING. Now, when I minister to people, or when I am in a prophetic vein of ministry, whether I’m teaching, or whether I am literally delivering words of knowledge, words of wisdom or songs of the Lord, I am aware of an intense presence and weight of the glory of the Lord, but this was definitely different.
I WASN’T SURE I COULD FINISH WHAT I WAS SAYING TO HIM.
I WAS LITERALLY WEEPING AND SHAKING TRYING TO TELL THIS YOUNG MAN WHAT GOD WANTED TO SAY TO HIM.
And so I spoke in my weakness, and absolutely in this undone state that I was in.
The Holy Spirit began to tell him that he himself is one of the chosen of God. That he has been called to minister to his people, to his own culture of people.(Side-note: I’m not sure if he was First Native/First Nations Individual or of Asian descent or a combination of both, but his features seemed to indicate that.)
The Holy Spirit then had me say to him, "you don’t know how you’re going to pull this off." You don’t know how you’re going to get to the people but the Lord says to tell you that he has called you and that you are being positioned and prepared and you were sent here today to receive this confirmation.” The Holy Spirit said to tell him, “You can do this! You can do this because I have called you and have chosen you and I have set you apart. I’ve set you aside to do this work for me. You’ve been struggling and you’ve been wrestling with the Lord today and asked Him to speak to you. The Lord says to you that he will give you the courage and the strength and the ability to do what he has called you to do.”
YOU ARE NOT TO BE AFRAID AND YOU’RE NOT TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK.
You simply step in and obey and begin to minister to those around you and the Lord is going to make the way for you. He’s going to open the doors and prepare the way for you. Then again, the Holy Spirit said, “Don't be afraid and question how God is going to do this, because you have been chosen, and we were sent to you today to tell you this.” I had told him that I had been a pastor that I had been a missionary, and continue to mentor, as well as do pastoral counseling, and have worked many hard side jobs, even now as we still serve the Lord.
I also told him it is not easy!
I told him that it will take great courage, and it will take great faith that only comes from God to be able to want to even continue. Especially during the times that you see the impossible as impossible to handle! But, that He would not be alone. That the Holy Spirit will come and give him the strength and speak to him and tell him what to do. Because He, is Chosen.
HE WAS WEEPING, AND GENTLY AND HUMBLY HAD HIS HEAD BOWED.
THIS IS A YOUNG MAN GOD IS PREPARING TO USE,
IN THIS TIME IN THE EARTH!
HE WAS HUMBLE, AND HE WAS WILLING TO RECEIVE.
I asked him if I could pray for him and lay my hand on him.
He nodded his head and said, “Yes, please! Please!”
Now about this time Steve had come out the side door himself, and stood off to the side, and was praying in the spirit because he could tell that I was engaged, and he didn’t want to break the flow of what God was doing.
I GENTLY LAID MY HAND ON THE YOUNG MAN’S SHOULDER NEAR HIS COLLARBONE, and began to pray for him, and ask the Holy Spirit to impart and infuse him with great courage and great wisdom, and great direction during this time in his life. That he would surround him with people who would cheer him on, but also help him to be strong and accountable so he would not be taken out by the temptations that often come to young people in ministry, as well as anyone in ministry!
Again, the power of God and the presence of God was so strong he and I both were shaking and weeping. This was as if a commissioning of God was taking place right there in that side lobby of a movie theater. And yet there was no one else observing this! Well, no one else in “the natural”, except Steve, but it was as if the heavens opened up and there was a shaft of divine glory and a commissioning of the Lord taking place over this young man.
This year Steve and I have had the opportunity to ordain someone who served the Lord alongside us for many years, and then moved to another state. On top of that, the Lord has been sending us more and more individuals for mentoring and training and we believe there will be more commissioning and more ordaining in the days ahead because God is beginning to send out more and more people who have served faithfully, without ever having had a title or a position named out in a church function or a church body. They just continue to do the works of the Spirit of God without fanfare.
AND SO IT SEEMED AS IF THIS WAS ANOTHER DIVINE, UNSCRIPTED APPOINTMENT OF THE LORD.
As I finished praying with this young man, I just put my arm around his neck and hugged him and told him that, “He could do this! God is with you!” He held on to me and was weeping and kept saying, “Thank you, thank you so much! I can’t tell you how much this means. Thank you!” And then he simply took off down the hallway and went out the door to the parking lot.
Once again, Steve and I stood there and I had to go lean against a wall for a few minutes, because the presence of God was so very tangibly strong. I was saying to the Lord, “Here we are Lord! Use us to your fullest!” Steve began to say the same things. “Lord, we are weary, we are poured out, and we are tired! Yet, your presence and your power and your strength comes and ignites the fire to once again deliver the word of the Lord to whoever you send to us!”
We finally got ourselves together and decided to go to a nearby restaurant called Red Robin and split a hamburger and a salad. We had a few space heaters that we were going to use in our home to keep it warm while waiting for this furnace situation to be addressed, and quite honestly, we just didn’t want to go home to a cold house and cook dinner and try to warm everything up all at the same time.
I was still very tender hearted and contemplating as we came into the restaurant and sat down at the table.We were quiet and we were thinking of what just happened and just sat there for a bit until our waitress came. She looked at me and asked me if I was OK! I smiled at her and I said, “I’m actually really wonderful, but we just had an intense experience watching a movie and it has tremendously moved us emotionally and we’ve got a lot to think about.”
AND GUESS WHAT?
She looked at us and said, “What happened? What movie was this?”
And once again, that power of God dropped down on us. With tears pouring down my face, I told her about what “The Chosen” was. Now, this girl was not a believer! But! She tenderly looked at me and she said, “I need something like this !I need something meaningful! I need something that I can enjoy and that helps me to feel better during the Christmas season!”
So I told her about the app, I told her about the season one and two being a free opportunity to watch. She said she wanted to watch season one and two, first, and then she would go with her friends to watch season three because she thinks her friends might need to see it too. We then ordered our meal and just sat there and looked at each other again and said this is what we live for! YAY GOD!!!
Several times throughout the meal she came by and just stood there and wanted to talk to us. You could tell she was feeling something, she was sensing something.
She was sensing what her soul was longing for, and that was safety in the presence of the Lord and safety in the presence of his people.
She didn’t know how to define it, but she was longing for it. As we got ready to leave, she came over and thanked us and told us how much it meant for her to talk with us and meet us at that time.
STEVE AND I GOT OUT INTO THE CAR AND JUST SAT THERE AGAIN IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD, KNOWING THAT WE WERE SPECIFICALLY SET APART FOR THAT VERY DAY, FOR THOSE TWO INDIVIDUAL SOULS TO HEAR OF THE HOPE AND THE TRUTH AND THE LIGHT OF CHRIST.
WE KNOW THAT WE ARE IN A TIME RIGHT NOW WHERE GOD IS LOOKING BACK-AND-FORTH
ACROSS THE EARTH FOR HIS PEOPLE WHO HAVE PREPARED
AND WHO DISCIPLE AND TO TRAIN OTHERS.
BUT ABOVE ALL, HE’S LOOKING FOR THOSE WHO HEAR THE VOICE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND OBEY THE VOICE OF THE SPIRIT PROMPTLY.
MY DEAR LISTENERS!
I CAN TELL YOU THAT SOME OF THINGS THE HOLY SPIRIT IS TELLING YOU TO DO OR NOT TO DO IS CRUCIAL IN THIS TIME THAT WE ARE LIVING IN.
If you have even the slightest hesitation inside of you about something you are about to commit to, and you do not feel at peace, no matter what others think about you, you must withdraw, you must not do that thing.
WE ARE IN A TIME WHERE THE ENEMY IS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO SNARE AND TRIP UP INDIVIDUALS, TO DESTROY BELIEVERS AND GET THEM OFF THE TRACK OF HEARING THE LORD’S VOICE, AND ABOVE ALL, OBEYING THE LORD‘S VOICE.
The word of the Lord says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21)
IF YOU DON’T HEAR THE VOICE OF THE LORD TELLING YOU WHICH DIRECTION TO WALK, THEN YOU DON’T MOVE. But if you do hear him, you get up and run like I did towards that individual or that situation that God is going to immerse you into.
This powerful presence that can shake our flesh to the core is what God is about to pour out upon those who are willing to hear the voice of the Lord, and no matter what the cost, no matter what the assignment, they run towards it!
He is also going to bring a strong conviction over those who are moving out of his will, because they are still moving in the patterns of the things they feel they want to do for him and he has not made that way clear. Others are pushing and attempting to motivate many, into things that are not of the Lord right now.
WHAT IS THE KEY ELEMENT THAT GOD IS USING RIGHT NOW?
It is an atmosphere that you choose to step into through worship.
Through worshipping, waiting in his presence, and praying and interceding. And, there will be during that time, a great presence of the Lord where there will also be much repentance and adjustment done to our souls. Why? Because God knows that the days are dark, men are evil, and human beings are easily led away from doing difficult things.
WHAT IS THE LORD IS SHOWING YOU TO DO DURING THIS SEASON?
There are hundreds of thousands of people that are longing for one word of encouragement, one word of kindness and the Lord is calling up all of his troops, all of his great army of believers to be on the alert for the opportunity to let the glory of God come and move through you to reach out to those who are now facing this confusing, dark time.
LET’S PRAY TOGETHER RIGHT NOW!
Heavenly Father! I pray that you help people to be strong and courageous to not be troubled nor be dismayed for in Isaiah you said, I the Lord am with you and I will hold you up with my righteous right hand!
Lord, we ask that you use us to the fullest extent of your glory until there’s nothing left in us! Oh Lord, I pray that those that who are listening to this podcast today would feel your presence drop down around them and that they too would weep and stand before you, and pray saying those words, “Here I am Lord! Send me!”
Lord I ask that you would open their eyes to see the many who are just waiting for them to come and speak to them. We adore and give you all honor today Father, in the most marvelous and mighty name of Jesus! Amen!
I truly hope that you were encouraged and inspired by this wonderful experience that I shared with you and I also hope that you will pop back in next week when I will have another amazing Christmas “Miracle story” to share with you and that it will encourage you and challenge you to take a risk and step out and let the Lord use you in the most wonderful and seemingly impossible situations!
Goodbye for now!
May God greatly bless you with Peace, Joy,
and great Anticipation of how he’s going to use you.
Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed, as long as the complete message, website, podcast link and information for Mary Lindow is included.
Thank You! "2022"
"THE MESSENGER" - Mary Lindow
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