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‘GBCY Community Life’ Category
“We joyfully and willingly submit to Your leadership, Yeshua, today and forever, amen.”
Declared aloud daily by our community after worship, this phrase is simple yet powerful. I find it gives me vision and focus for my day.
As I consider the elements in the prayer, three words especially speak to me. They are “submit,” “joyfully” and “willingly.”
“Submitting” is a strong concept, by definition it means to allow another person or group to have authority or control over you. Another version even says that to submit is to give power over a person or group to someone. Yet this is what Yeshua asks of His followers. In Luke chapter 9, verses 23 and 24, Yeshua said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” He continued, ”For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.”
From this I understand that I must give all the strength I have in my life to Yeshua in order to follow Him the way He requires. At times this scares me, because I often think I know the best plan for my life, or even just the day ahead, but I am growing to trust that His ways are far better than I could ever think or imagine.
This leads to the next key word for me, “joyfully.”
I can submit to Yeshua joyfully! His love for me is beyond my comprehension yet somehow I grasp it a little bit, and this little bit fills my heart with joy. 1. John 3:16 says “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.” Yeshua loved me knowing all the mistakes I would make and sins I would commit in my lifetime. His choosing to endure the cross and bear my sins to reconcile me to my Father in heaven is so humbling and beautiful. To paraphrase another verse, I love Him because He first loved me (1. John 4,19).
The third word that I often consider in this prayerful declaration is “willingly.”
It’s defined as doing something quickly, immediately and enthusiastically. Yeshua’s love and His example elicits in me a response to submit and follow Him willingly. This word speaks to an attitude like joyfully did. While I may feel that I have little to give at times, I want to give everything to the Lord quickly, immediately and enthusiastically. This is actually the least I can do. While Yeshua walked the earth, He showed us how to have willing obedience to the Lord through the Holy Spirit.
In summary, I have the privilege at this time in my life to walk with a community who chooses to submit to Yeshua every day, in word and deed. The submission involves giving up control and allowing Him to guide daily, weekly, and lifelong decisions. Submitting joyfully and willingly both refer to heart positioning, the choice of attitude while in submission. As I continue to declare this every day, I ask the Lord to help me mean it more and more each time. Yeshua is worthy of it all!
“We joyfully and willingly submit to Your leadership, Yeshua, today and forever, Amen.”
by Rachel Williams
The lights of Cairo beckoned us as we arrived in the night. The smiling faces of dear friends greeted us in welcome. We started our 10-day outreach trip in Cairo but would soon journey to the mountainous region of Sinai.
The days we ministered in Cairo were uniquely defined by the encouraging power of God’s word. Not only did spontaneous words flow from the hearts of the team, but the undying power of prophetic books and verses, recited in just the right moment, washed away discouragement from the hearts of our Egyptian friends. Discouragement can settle like a fine dusting of sand over all that happens to be in the wake of its draft.
We all need the washing of God’s word to clean the sand from our skin, our eyes, our ears so we can feel, see and hear as we were created to. It was an honor to offer that word to our brothers and sisters in Egypt to encourage them onward.
As we journeyed to Sinai, our team was also encouraged onward by a particular voice. A booming voice. The voice that shouted “you’ve had enough rest…now it’s time to MOVE!”. Our team, along with a handful of young Egyptians, climbed into the Siani mountain range with our guide – the booming voice. We experienced the unique form of encouragement in such a powerfully encouraging voice, especially as it was accompanied by an even more encouraging smile.
For two days we journeyed together in the rugged sandy mountains to come away from the busyness of Cairo so we could meet with God in creation. Though our team was pushed physically, emotionally, and spiritually to simply make it, to support one another and to see why God had brought us to Siani, the trip was deeply refreshing. As we took time to follow Gods leading, we discovered the reason He brought us to Sinai: communion.
The source of strength and true encouragement is found in our Lord Yeshua, who brought us together in Him. As we partook of communion we also buried it in the sand of Sinai as a reminder to all of creation that He is our source, He is our hope and encouragement.
by Sarah Hicks
“Pray without ceasing… for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
– 1Thessalonians 5:16-18
While prayer has always been central to our daily community life here in Cyprus, we have been intentionally seeking to grow in it in recent years. We believe that as we spend extended time in prayer, hearing the heartbeat of the Father and releasing it, heaven and earth move in response. His heart is to speak into the destiny of both individuals and nations. Growing in the discipline of sustained prayer has added strength and health, and our own hearts are also impacted deeply. We have taken up new boldness as we speak out and believe in faith, bearing much fruit!
One major topic on our cooperate times of prayer for many years is something we call “Ringing the Med,” from a vision given to Matthew Rudolph. He saw a picture of a the gospel sweeping with incredible power through the ancient lands once again, creating a ring of fire all around the Mediterranean Sea. Even so, it is our desire and abiding prayer to see the nations that are touched by the waters of the Mediterranean set on fire with the Gospel! We pray every Wednesday for His Kingdom to come in this region.
Prayer for Croatia
Recently, the nation of Croatia was specifically highlighted to the Wednesday morning prayer leaders. Our time of praise to begin the day flowed naturally into intercession and the release of blessing over this nation. Each individual prayer and declaration wove perfectly together as the Father’s heart for the land and people of Croatia was revealed to us! One of our students, recognising her family’s inheritance, stood in authority as she blessed the country’s ports. It is always fascinating to see how intercession for other nations and peoples causes certain reactions in various individuals as God highlights prejudice, false nationalism, and pride to be dealt with in our own hearts. Praying for nations, first of all, transforms us!
This powerful morning was only one expression of our dedicated intercession times. Since the beginning of the GTS this year, we have joyfully watched as our students have immediately picked up what has been cultivated here in the realm of prayer and intercession. We are looking forward to continuing to join together, seeing the Kingdom released through prayer and prophetic declaration!
The Huguenots roof tiles
We were recently made aware of the background story of the roof tiles on our Chapel. The way that we got them was a miracle in and of itself. God has, as He does so often, used it to teach us something about His Kingdom. In this case, the Huguenot Church. Some would call it coincidence, we like to think of it as divine design. When we got our tiles for the chapel, we realised that they were called the Huguenots. Although we love church history we could not recall much more than the fact that it was a French protestant movement that was heavily persecuted and fled for refuge to Geneva. When one of our recent teachers made us aware that the Huguenots carried an unprecedented anointing of prophetic foresight and voice, we recognised that God had once again caused the natural things to speak of better things. Since the foundation of Gateways Beyond Cyprus through the Rudolph family, our call has been to be a prophetic listening post for the Middle East and a voice that declares the purposes of God. Once again, He made sure to let us know that this has not changed!
“Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake yourself from the dust and arise; be seated, O Jerusalem: loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.”
– Isaiah 52:1-2
Beginning our 21st year of hosting students, we at Gateways Beyond Cyprus have clear vision and much expectancy for this school year. It is our constant desire to point to Yeshua in all that we do, helping to hasten His soon return. With that in mind, we welcomed this year’s students into our community through fellowship, sharing with them about the year to come. God has already begun to move in the lives fo these 15 young people from Europe and America!
“Awake and arise!” we declared to the students, announcing the theme of this year’s school. They have been brought from many nations to answer this call. Our desire remains to see young people rising up into their calling in the Lord, eyes open and fully awake to how He wants to move in and through them. One of our greatest tools as a community to help the students realise their identity and destiny in Yeshua is to walk closely with them in fellowship, stewarding all that God is doing inside them.
This fellowship has begun through times of eating together, sharing testimonies, and working alongside each other. It is truly a joy to open wide our arms and embrace them! The home is the perfect place for connection, and it’s clear that beautiful friendships are beginning to grow amongst people who were strangers just three weeks ago.
Even as our hearts open wide to one another, all of our hearts are expanding more for the island itself. We walked the hills and mountains surrounding the piece of property we own on our first Sunday together and took in the beauty of this island that we have been called to. This high perspective gave us the perfect first look at the land we would cultivate together later that week.
The wind and the rain did nothing to dampen our excitement to worship and work in God’s creation on our first day spent tending the land. We believe that the Father has designed creation in such a way that trending it according to His plan unveils our identity as sons and daughters. He first placed Adam in a garden! Yeshua also, after rising from the dead, first revealed Himself in the garden. Not only are we connecting to the land itself, but we are also touching the heart of God for His creation. Especially in conditions such as the ones we experienced, we have a phenomenal opportunity to build strength both physically and spiritually. Times such as these remind us to press on with endurance and expectancy. It is with this posture that we begin GTS 2020!
“Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord…”
– Hosea 6:3
Leviticus 23:24
The feast of Trumpets, like no other, points us to the second coming of Messiah. Although the scripture does not tell us much about this appointed time it gives us enough symbolism to understand the importance of observing this feast. The blast of the trumpets, a loud noise that is to remind us of the Eternal One, is to shake the core of our being. It is at the sound of the trumpets that the Israelites remembered that great and awesome day when God appeared on Mount Sinai to give them the law. Likewise the trumpet blast reminds us of the promise that our Messiah and King will return with a shout and the sound of the trumpet of God. It is heard at the beginning of the redemptive plan of God and will be the final signal to all when He comes to restore all things in Himself. Every time we hear this blast, it is to remind us that we ought to be people walking in holiness and godliness. 2.Peter 3:11 So let it be said and proclaimed: That He who promised, is faithful! Surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Yeshuah!
Just as in the days shortly before He will return, there will be a harvest of souls breaking out of darkness into His marvellous light, we also just brought in our vine harvest. We were blessed with the great quality and quantity of grapes that after crushing turned out to be 320l of juice currently fermenting in our cellar. There is much we can say about this meaningful process that the grapes take to be transformed into a wine ready to be served to kings. In much the same it is a picture for our own life. We will have to share about this at another time. This said we encourage you to consider creation and hear what the Holy Spirit is speaking!