Week of February 19
Convergence & Conversion
I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.
–Galatians 1:12
Whenever I prepare for an event, I am awed at how the Holy Spirit reveals His message to me and other presenters separately and how He coordinates all the messages and music and people as a type of confluent convergence: a gathering where all elements come together to create a conversion of the heart, mind and spirit, not solely to receive Jesus for the first time, but also to receive more of Jesus.
I have found consistently that this holy conversion is as much for the presenters and worship leaders as it is for anyone else. Simply put, it begins with us; then goes out to those who are ready. I am awed that each person receives a unique restoration and that God knows just what everyone needs to the very depths of their heart. For me, He frequently offers revelation during the preparation; then later gives me more during the event, with much of it being serendipitous.
During events, I often see Him answer a prayer that I had prayed about weeks or months earlier. I believe God enjoys demonstrating His faithfulness creatively, in ways which we know it came only from Him. And I believe He enjoys honoring the gathering where His anointing is multiplied.
The apostle Paul is one who had book knowledge and revelation knowledge and presided over many gatherings. He understood the value of both forms of knowledge, resulting in great insight and wisdom. He walked with God and had a personal relationship with Him. He understood God’s principles and faithfully applied them in his life and shared them with others. He understood that when the word of God and the spirit of God come together, there is an awesome convergence of power that can be received by those who hearken.
Recently, we conducted a camp meeting. I had never coordinated a camp meeting before, nor had I ever been to one. But the Lord clearly instructed me: Early one Saturday morning, I was awakened to the sweet presence of the Holy Spirit over me in my bed. The moment I opened my eyes, He showed me a vision of the words, “Camp Meeting.” My response was the only right response, “Yes, Lord.” Then I immediately saw a vision of a friend of mine speaking at the camp meeting, and I saw that she was speaking inside of a women’s boutique, which I had visited the evening prior. This boutique was owned by another friend of mine.
Once again, I said, “Yes, Lord,” all the while sensing in my spirit the words of Mary, “Let it be to me according to your word (Luke 1:38).” Then I asked, “Lord, when do you want this to be?” And He gave me the dates through a revelation. It was to be a three-day event, with the first day a private session for the women associated with the boutique. “Yes, Lord,” I said again.
With this, I picked up the phone and called my boutique owner friend and then my speaker friend. Both agreed to the dates, and we proceeded to seek the Lord further and make plans.
I asked the Lord, “What is on Your heart? What is Your message to the people? What would You have me say?” And the Lord began to speak, to impress His heart upon my heart, to lead me to scriptures and understanding of those scriptures in a fresh way. And it came nugget by nugget. I knew I was only responsible for my piece.
Much later, when I came together with my speaker friend, she shared that the Lord had awakened her early each morning of our camp meeting to impress upon her His message for her to deliver. Not too surprising was that her message flowed perfectly with the message the Lord gave me.
Also, I noticed that the worship leaders selected just the right songs that spoke to my heart and those of others. And the prayer team spoke just the right words to those receiving prayer afterwards. One prayer leader sang a song over a woman who needed to hear just how special she was to God’s heart. The prayer leader did not know that this woman’s husband had recently abandoned her and their four children. As it turned out, the song spoke to me profoundly in that the lyrics contain God’s words from Mark 6:31, a scripture He had led me to weeks earlier. This song became a theme song for one of our annual Women’s Expos. I stood awed at God’s purposed multitasking!
What does God want to speak to you? Do you know that God wants to birth much through you? Here are a few wisdom tips for your convergence-conversion journey:
- We do not have to do everything. God will assign pieces to each person as He wills, so no man can boast (Ephesians 2:8-10, Romans 12:4, 1 Corinthians 12:12).
- We do not have to have all the understanding at the outset. We will gain understanding as we go. But we do have to exercise faith, courage, dependency upon the Lord and careful obedience to His directives.
- Expect to receive a gift from the Lord, such as an answer to a prayer or a fresh revelation, etc. (James 1:17).
- Expect increased intimacy, to know God’s heart for you and others.
Margaret D. Mitchell is the Founder of God's Love at Work, a marketplace outreach purposed to share God's greatest power source - the love of Christ.