WATA at FATA

Wata (water at the altar) at Fata

Being text of my message on Sunday the 29th of December

Let’s read our key text

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
They make it a spring;
The rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
Each one appears before God in Zion.[a]

8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah

 

This text describes a pilgrimage, it states that the man who sets his heart on this is blessed, it tells of a process for passing through and that by passing through, valleys are turned into water.  In verse 7, it talks about an appearance before God, this appearance before God being a one by one process.  It says -Each one, each one appears before God in Zion.

 

The psalmist says in verse 8 “O Lord of hosts, hear my prayer!!– (a singular prayer) give ear o God of Jacob,

 

The psalmist ends this psalm with Selah ---- meaning settled

 

 

Let me tell you some things about a pilgrimage and why you need to embark on a personal one in this season.

 

A Christian needs to discern the seasons of time and of pilgrimage; a Christian needs to recongise that there is a season for taken a personal pilgrimage.

 

The season of FATA is one of personal pilgrimage. It is one based on a one or one appearance before God, where each one appears before the God of hosts in Zion, just as they are.

 

We can recall that the pilgrimage in the old testament, usuallystarted as group trip, the children of Israelites making their way to Israel, however towards the tail end of the journey, key leaders recongised that to distinguish, themselves and to come into a full relationship with God and into his manifestation for their life; a personal pilgrimage was of the essence.

 

Let’s consider the story of Jacob. Jacob travelled from hisfather’s house, as he moved from one destination to another, he relied on self, on people and trusted from time to time in the God of his father’s for strength but he came to a point where he knew that the next step for him in terms of a journey, was a personal one. ( this is what he did in Gen33: 18 on wards)

 

The spiritual  journey for the rest of the year is a personal one  Itis a one to one journey, with no relying on any one.  That is where we are in this period.

 

We have come to the place of Zion, though we started off at the beginning of the year as a multitude with joint prayers, will jointrequests, with joint appearances before God for this journey of FATA, it is an individualised one.

 

 

FATA- feeding at the altar is one where you appear before God your maker, just as you are and present to God that which concerns you.

 

Everyone must take charge and take responsibility for their own spiritual presentation before the Lord.

 

Why embark on FATA?

 

You need to embark on this journey for your word and with a word.

 

In waiting on the Lord for FATA and for the New Year, God said to me, people must be taught and groomed in the word, people must be taught to know the word and use the word.  There is no gain in people waiting on the Pastor for a word, for help with prayers or for personal revelation. this method will not yield much fruit, so in the New Year we are going to be spending time teaching and growing individuals in the word-

Yes the pastor may well spend time during the year praying for you but the pastor will not know your desire as you know them and is unable to presence your desire as you will present them. I cannot even present my wife’s desire for her at this time.  I need to present mine and she needs to present her.  You need to present yours before your Maker- This is the “why” of FATA.

 

What is FATA?

 

Fata is the place where you come to build your tent to God.  It is a place where you appear before God just as you are and you ask of your own request, just as you desire (see Psalms 84 5-8).  It is the place where you say to your maker, this is my heart of gratitude and this is my pain, Father accept my gratitude and my thanks, forgive me my sins and take away my pain.

 

In the atmosphere of Fata, there is an assurance for 2014, thateveryone will be blessed, everyone will come to a point of knowing how to reach God without the help of the pastor.  At that place, you will not have time for gossiping or backbiting, your focus will be the altar of Christ.  It is the place where you make the choice to blessed, the place where you make a bid with your maker for a life changing experience.  Everyone who desires to break through must have a place for a personal one to one phase with God, our Maker, this is the place of FATA.

 

This is the place where you say to your maker, I want to hear, I need you to feed me, I need you to feel the burden in my heart.  I have plans concerning this forth coming year and I desire your direction at every point. I don’t want to go into this year without you my Lord, Help me.

 

 

What you doing when you come to the place of  FATA?

 

1.

You are doing the needful (separating yourself to the Lord): (see Luke 10: 41).  In this text, we note that Mary of a deliberate act, chose to sit at the feet of Jesus. She separating herself from worrying and even from serving, her focus was to be at the feet of her Maker. Martha her sister was occupied with service, she was worried about how to get things right for all, and she was stunned that this was not her sister’s priority. Jesus said to Martha,  Martha you are worried and troubled about many things... but one thing is needed and Mary has chosen that one good thing which will not be taken away from her. Fata is what is needful for this season.

 

2.

You are choosing to hear the word: Not only did Mary choose to sit at Jesus’s feet, she chose to hear the word. ( see Luke 10:39).Mary’s choice of being in God’s presence, at his feet, hearing the word; can’t be compared to none. Your desire for 2014 will not be taken away from you in Jesus name.  We must understand that we can only eradicate  the needy by doing the needful and it is at the point of the needful that we hear the word.  The best meal of all is the meal that Christ feeds us with personally on a one to one and for this to happen, we must wait for and feed from Jesus’s feet.  I recall a few years ago, I said to myself I do not want to have 100’s of clients, I just want 5 clients and from these five clients I want to prosper, that was my only prayer request that year and in the following year, God gave me 5 key clients who paid more to my firm than 500 clients and on whom I could have sustained life for 5 years. When you choose to sit at Jesus’s feet,  You gain a word directly from God: One word from God can separate you for blessings for the rest of your life. One word from God can resolve your business dilemma for life in the  mighty name of Jesus

 

3.

By doing points 1 &2, you receive a pathway/ a roadmap for your life and you subdue the land: When you come to the presence of Jesus, He shows you the path of God for your life.  It is a peaceful place to be; it is not a place of battle, it is a place of gathering of God’s blessings, a place of victory, a place of refreshing, a place of direction.  (See Joshua 18: 1 ) And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them.  This is what happens at the place of FATA.  The land gets subdued before us.  There is no need for war ; it’s a dialogue with God to gain our victory, our advancement, our breakthrough, our healing because the Land gets subdued before us.   It’s a place of receiving God’s blessings so you can become a distributor of that blessing

 

At the place of FATA, you come alone, you take away every distraction and you subdue the land

 

Jacob had this experience.  He knew God early in his life as the God of his fathers ( God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and He called God by these names.  He battled with the angel and prevailed... he battled with his flesh, tried to work with the knowledge he knew about the God of his fathers but by  Genesis 33:18 -20, Jacob had come to a place of a “self alone pilgrimage”.  He had come to realise that this journey of  knowing God was a trip he had to take on his own in Genesis 33:18-20, the bible says

 

•

Jacob arrived all in one piece in Shechem in the land of Canaan.  He arrived in one piece- one mind, having prepared.

•

Jacob then camped near the city ( meaning he spent time there)

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He bought the land ( he paid a price, he had to be made a self sacrifice) and at that point,  he pitched his tent.

 

We see in this scripture that once he had pitched his tent, he paid for the land, and then built an altar and that altar he named it El-Elohe-Israel (Mighty Is the God of Israel).

 

Jacob appeared before God alone, following a process of preparation and it was at that point that He got to know God on a personal level.  The God of Isreal!

 

We all need to get to the point that Jacob got to, the point of Knowing God not by the name that others call him, but by the name of who he is to you as an individual

 

How do you prepare for a place of FATA?

 

1.

Come with a clean heart. You need to have a clean heart ( see Psalms 51: 1-6)God wants us to come before him with a clean heart, he wants us to resolve all differences, all bad feeling before appearing before him.

 

2.

Come divorced from all iniquity (psalms 66:16-20).  God cannot hear our prayers, if we have iniquity in our hearts

 

3.

Come with a peaceful mind. Determine to pursue peace with all and determine to enter God’s presence with total peace in your mind( Heb 12:14)

 

4.

Come with a heart of gratitude and with a heart panting for God’s heart ( see Ps 42:1-4)

 

5.

Come with an offering. Always come to God’s presence with an offering.  ( Ezra 7:17)

 

6.

Come with a fasted day.  Try to fast at some point during the day, this will help you focus more on God

 

What do I ask for at the Place of FATA?

 

1.

Ask from the position of  your portion not from the position of your condition. God knows about your portion, he equally knows about your condition.  However, he desires more for you to trust him, for you to love him and for you to then remind him of his promises and your portion based on the word, then the Lord will move on your behalf

 

2.

Remember that you are a child of God.  Children of a loving parent or the king don’t beg, they seek to please their parents and then ask for their portion.  Look at King Solomon, he sought to please God and God was so pleased with Him, God asked for him to make a request of him.  Solomon did not ask based on his condition, he did not ask for the heads of his enemies; He asked god for wisdom. God was even more pleased with him and give him not just wisdom but also blessings.  God desires to do the same for us.

 

3.

Ask in Faith ( see James 1: 6-8).  God is not pleased with doubters.  The bible describes a man without faith as a double minded men, unstable in all his ways.  The bible equally tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God

 

 

FATA Day 1-Prosphesy

 

Lord had subdued the land for your sake

A son is found, a child is found, a son returns home , a child is restored

A business is crystallised.  2014 is a year of harvest for a business here today

A long term employment issue is resolved.  Long term unemployment is ended

Covenanting married for a single person here. A strange marriage ordinate by God will take place

Young people of marriageable age are getting married

A long outstanding prayer is being answered

Laws have and are being made in the land to favour us, laws that have blocked us from being free

Debt cancellation is taken place. God is clearing someone debt

Long term sickness is now healed.  God has broken the yoke

5 people are reaching spiritual maturity, gaining political status, gaining economic status and becoming great giants in God’s Kingdom

God has settled you so that the mystery of misery has come to an end

In 2014, the mystery of misery is exposed and broken and this is replaced by victory.

 

Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God : “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.” ’ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God : “I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.” ’ Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 11:16, 17, 19, 20 NKJV)