Blog, Leaders write

 

Being a Christian, or in my case a Christian Minister, one has to be ready for anything, anywhere, and anytime. Not only am I referring to physical things but also spiritual. What's interesting is that God always shows up at the “wrong” time, that is from our standpoint. I’m sure you’ve experienced it for yourself. Its when you get that restless feeling as if there is something heavy on your chest. It could very well be at the time when you not only feel that you need to pray, rather you know it in your heart you must stand on your guard in prayer. Yet you are very tired, or feeling down, at times even discouraged, or you simply don’t feel like it. Another term for this would be Midweek or Post-Sunday reality. However, that’s exactly the time in which not only are you tested, but the time you MUST discern what it is God is trying to relay across. Be it a warning, or time of warfare, standing in the gap for your family or friends, or even having the most intimate time of communion with Him. That exact uneasy feeling, a feeling of loss of all peace, visited my wife Tanya and I over the past week.

Tanya and I just came back from a well deserved, week-long, South Cali family vacation, or at least we planned on vacationing. We rented a small house, just for the two us. Here comes the jaw dropper → it was on a whopping 35 acre orchard. I mean we were mesmerized by the panoramic view, the sound of the birds in the garden, and … you guessed it, the cool ocean breeze. Words such as; Romantic, beautiful, relaxing and etc., simply won't describe it.

Our minds were set on … ding! ding! ding! vacation, shopping, lattes, sushi, endless mountains of calories, and of course, ROMANTIC TIME. That very first Sunday evening both of us, simultaneously I might add, felt as if something was missing. Even to the point that something was urgently wrong. Our first reaction was to go outside to pray and invite the presence of God. After praying in tongues for 10 or 15 minutes, in a vision, I saw a black dog, about the size of a man. It had bright red eyes and was standing just outside the property. The dog was attempting to lunge forward at Tanya but was being held back by two angels. I immediately told Tanya what the Lord was revealing to me and I in turn prayed for our protection and in prayer casted down demonic plots against us. Being confused about what was taking place I asked God what was going on. I only had one word that kept repeating itself in my heart, “Labor Pains”. We continued to pray until, in a second vision, I saw the dog leaving.

Confused yet? I was. Talk about a “wrong” time. I came for a vacation, not for work. I mean so often as ministers we get so caught up with church and office work it seems overwhelming. Sometimes to the point of not wanting to do anything at all. However, I understood that Devil and his dogs don’t take a day off.

Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me they pierce my hands and my feet. Psalm 22:16

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

That evening we made a decision. We were to have at least an hour of individual prayer and in addition at least thirty minutes of prayer together. The very next morning we started praying.

Only later did I understand that our first prayer together laid the foundation for the rest of our stay there. It was not because we knew something ahead of time or were preparing for this. In all honesty, as mentioned above, I just wanted to get away for a week and not think about ANY responsibility. It was simply because we discerned the time of God's visitation, His vision, and His plans for us.

The very next day, after more prayers together, we knew that God wanted to do something great, something new. That’s when I remembered the words of prophecy of my dear pastor, Olga Muzichuk. Just a few days before Tanya and I left, the three of us discussed the birth of a new ministry to married and pre-marriage couples in our church, which Tanya was going to oversee. I remember her saying to Tanya, “You are going to give BIRTH to this ministry in prayer” “It could only be done through prayer”. Those were the labor pains God was referring to. With each prayer I could see everything starting to come together. Almost every night the Lord would show us dreams about being risen to a new level in the spiritual realm. A new level of authority, power, dominion, compassion towards people, and with it all, a new level of responsibility.

Both of us anticipated the last night of our stay, the last prayer. We knew the Lord was going to come and impart in us His seed, the seed of the new ministry. After this prayer we knew, I mean it all finally clicked, why the Lord brought us there. As we continued to pray in the spirit all of a sudden something arose on the inside of me and I couldn’t help but to screamed, “I can see a new star rising among you” I continued, “A new star is rising among its people” “The star of hope, the star of life, the carrier of the Great Light that lights the way of a new ministry in the city of Sacramento” “The star that crushes the weight of sin, that breaks divorces and confusion, the start that leads the young people to repentance. The start that carries hope and encouragement”. At these words the place where we prayed erupted. His presence overwhelmed us and touched us in a tremendous way.

To conclude, discernment not only brought Tanya and I closer together as a family but it produced spiritual growth in our lives and gave birth to a new ministry, which is expected to launch in the Summer of 2014 (follow my blog, i'll keep you posted). I can’t express how well and peaceful I feel knowing that we pleased Gods heart and were able to discern His time. We often have our own plans, ideas, and agenda … especially on vacation. However, its is so important to discern the time of God’s visitation, to know His plans, and to be guided by His Spirit. In the words of Prophet T.B. Joshua - “His timing is the best”.

P.S. We still managed to get all of our shopping, mountains of calories, and lovie-dovie time in too.

- Taras Chernyy AKA Mr. Crumbs