The Coming StormOld/NewIntertwined Each Other:
Isaiah 1:16-17 Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes! Cease to do evil, Learn to do right! Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Hosea 4:1 HEAR THE word of the Lord, you children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy (a pleading contention) with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no faithfulness, love, pity and mercy, or knowledge of God [from personal experience with Him] in the land.
There is nothing but [false] swearing and breaking faith and killing and stealing and committing adultery; they break out [into violence], one [deed of] bloodshed following close on another. Therefore shall the land [continually] mourn, and all who dwell in it shall languish, together with the wild beasts of the open country and the birds of the heavens; yes, the fishes of the sea also shall [perish because of the drought] be collected and taken away. Yet let no man strive, neither let any man reprove [another--do not waste your time in mutual recriminations] , for with you is My contention, O priest. And you shall stumble in the daytime, and the [false] prophet also shall stumble with you in the night; and I will destroy your mother [the priestly nation].
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you that you shall be no priest to Me; seeing you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.
The more they increased and multiplied [in prosperity and power], the more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame. They feed on the sin of My people and set their heart on their iniquity. And it shall be: Like people, like priest; I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their doings. For they shall eat and not have enough; they shall play the harlot and beget no increase, because they have forsaken the Lord for harlotry; Harlotry and wine and new wine take away the heart and the mind and the spiritual understanding. My people [habitually] ask counsel of their [senseless] wood [idols], and their staff [of wood] gives them oracles and instructs them. For the spirit of harlotry has led them astray and they have played the harlot, withdrawing themselves from subjection to their God. They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and they burn incense upon the hills and under oaks, poplars, and terebinths, because there the shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the harlot and your sons' wives commit adultery. I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot nor your daughters-in- law when they commit adultery, for [the fathers and husbands] themselves go aside in order to be alone with women who prostitute themselves for gain, and they sacrifice at the altar with dedicated harlots [who surrender their chastity in honour of the goddess]. Therefore the people without understanding shall stumble and fall and come to ruin.
Though you, Israel, play the harlot and worship idols, let not Judah offend and become guilty; come not to Gilgal, neither go up to Beth-aven [contemptuous reference to Bethel, then noted for idolatry], nor swear [in idolatrous service, saying], As the Lord lives.
For Israel has behaved stubbornly, like a stubborn heifer. How then should he expect to be fed and treated by the Lord like a lamb in a large pasture? Ephraim is joined [fast] to idols, [so] let him alone [to take the consequences] . Their drinking carousal over, they go habitually to play the harlot; [Ephraim's] rulers [continue to] love shame more than her glory [which is the Lord, Israel 's God]. The resistless wind [of God's wrath] has bound up [ Israel ] in its wings or skirts, and [in captivity] they and their altars shall be put to shame because of their sacrifices [to calves, to sun, moon, and stars, and to heathen gods].
The Lord will continue to call the Church to wake up, repent, turn from your idols and wicked ways.
Revelation 3:1 AND TO the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Sardis write: These are the words of Him Who has the seven Spirits of God [the sevenfold Holy Spirit] and the seven stars: I know your record and what you are doing; you are supposed to be alive, but [in reality] you are dead. Rouse yourselves and keep awake, and strengthen and invigorate what remains and is on the point of dying; for I have not found a thing that you have done [any work of yours] meeting the requirements of My God or perfect in His sight. So call to mind the lessons you received and heard; continually lay them to heart and obey them, and repent. In case you will not rouse yourselves and keep awake and watch, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not know or suspect at what hour I will come. Yet you still have a few [persons'] names in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes, and they shall walk with Me in white, because they are worthy and deserving. Thus shall he who conquers (is victorious) be clad in white garments, and I will not erase or blot out his name from the Book of Life; I will acknowledge him [as Mine] and I will confess his name openly before My Father and before His angels. He who is able to hear, let him listen to and heed what the [Holy] Spirit says to the assemblies (churches).
And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the Holy One, the True One, He Who has the key of David, Who opens and no one shall shut, Who shuts and no one shall open: I know your [record of] works and what you are doing. See! I have set before you a door wide open which no one is able to shut; I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept My Word and guarded My message and have not renounced or denied My name. Take note! I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not, but lie; behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and learn and acknowledge that I have loved you. Because you have guarded and kept My word of patient endurance [have held fast the lesson of My patience with the expectant endurance that I give you], I also will keep you [safe] from the hour of trial (testing) which is coming on the whole world to try those who dwell upon the earth.
I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one may rob you and deprive you of your crown. He who overcomes (is victorious), I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God; he shall never be put out of it or go out of it, and I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which descends from My God out of heaven, and My own new name. He who can hear, let him listen to and heed what the Spirit says to the assemblies (churches). And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the trusty and faithful and true Witness, the Origin and Beginning and Author of God's creation: I know your [record of] works and what you are doing; you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth! For you say, I am rich; I have prospered and grown wealthy, and I am in need of nothing; and you do not realize and understand that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to purchase from Me gold refined and tested by fire, that you may be [truly] wealthy, and white clothes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nudity from being seen, and salve to put on your eyes, that you may see. Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I tell their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten [I discipline and instruct them]. So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and repent [changing your mind and attitude]. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him, and he [will eat] with Me. He who overcomes (is victorious), I will grant him to sit beside Me on My throne, as I Myself overcame (was victorious) and sat down beside My Father on His throne. He who is able to hear, let him listen to and heed what the [Holy] Spirit says to the assemblies (churches).
In the year 2007 The Lord will deal much more harshly with His people when they sin against him.
Rev. 21:8 But as for the cowards and the ignoble and the contemptible and the cravenly lacking in courage and the cowardly submissive, and as for the unbelieving and faithless, and as for the depraved and defiled with abominations, and as for murderers and the lewd and adulterous and the practicers of magic arts and the idolaters (those who give supreme devotion to anyone or anything other than God) and all liars (those who knowingly convey untruth by word or deed) [all of these shall have] their part in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone. This is the second death.
Do not be deceived the Word of God cannot be mocked; the Pleasures of sin are only for a season. Num. 32:23 You can be sure your sins will be found out.
Amos 2:1 THUS SAYS the Lord: For three transgressions of Moab [descendants of Lot] and for four [for multiplied delinquencies] , I will not reverse the punishment of it or revoke My word concerning it, because he burned the bones of the king of Edom [Esau's descendant] into lime. So I will send a fire upon Moab and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth, and Moab shall die amid uproar, shouting, and the sound of the trumpet. And I will cut off the ruler from its midst and will slay all its princes with him, says the Lord.
Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Judah and for four [for multiplied delinquencies] , I will not reverse the punishment of it or revoke My word concerning it, because they have despised and rejected the law of the Lord and have not kept His commandments, but their lies, after which their fathers have walked, caused them to err and go astray.
So I will send a fire upon Judah and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem .
Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Israel and for four [for multiplied delinquencies] , I will not reverse the punishment of it or revoke My word concerning it, because they have sold the [strictly] just and uncompromisingly righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals;
They pant after [the sight of] the poor [reduced to such misery that they will be throwing] dust of the earth on their heads [in token of their grief]; they defraud and turn aside the humble [who are too meek to defend themselves]; and a man and his father will have sexual relations with the same maiden, so that My holy name is profaned.
And they lay themselves down beside every [pagan] altar upon clothes they have taken in pledge [for indebtedness] , and in the house of their God [in daring contempt of Him] they frivolously drink the wine which has been exacted from those [unjustly] fined.
Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above and his roots from beneath.
Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt and led you forty years through the wilderness to possess the land of the Amorite. And I raised up some of your sons for prophets and some of your young men for dedicated ones [Nazirites]. Is this not true, O you children of Israel ? says the Lord. But you gave the dedicated ones [the Nazirites] wine to drink and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. Behold, I am pressed under you and I will press you down in your place as a cart presses that is full of sheaves.
And flight shall be lost to the swift and refuge shall fail him; the strong shall not retain and confirm his strength, neither shall the mighty deliver himself. Neither shall he stand who handles the bow, and he who is swift of foot shall not deliver himself; neither shall he who rides the horse deliver his life. And he who is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked on that day, says the Lord.
Prov. 13:13-18 Whoever despises the word and counsel [of God] brings destruction upon himself, but he who [reverently] fears and respects the commandment [of God] is rewarded. The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death. Good understanding wins favour, but the way of the transgressor is hard [like the barren, dry soil or the impassable swamp].
Every prudent man deals with knowledge, but a [self-confident] fool exposes and flaunts his folly. A wicked messenger falls into evil, but a faithful ambassador brings healing. Poverty and shame come to him who refuses instruction and correction, but he who heeds reproof is honoured.
Psalm 50:18 When thou saw a thief, thou consented with him, And hast been partaker with adulterers.
Proverbs 29:24 Whoso is partner with a thief hates his own soul; He heareth the adjuration and utters nothing.
Jeremiah 2:26 As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets; The devil must repay double all he has stolen. The wealth of sinners is laid up for the just, The ministering spirits, Covenant enforcing angels are charged to minister provision to the faithfull who serve the Lord. Exodus 22:7 If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man's house; if the thief be found, he shall pay double. Rom. 2: 2 [But] we know that the judgment (adverse verdict, sentence) of God falls justly and in accordance with truth upon those who practice such things. And do you think or imagine, O man, when you judge and condemn those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape God's judgment and elude His sentence and adverse verdict? Or are you [so blind as to] trifle with and presume upon and despise and underestimate the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and long-suffering patience? Are you unmindful or actually ignorant [of the fact] that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repent (to change your mind and inner man to accept God's will)?
But by your callous stubbornness and impenitence of heart you are storing up wrath and indignation for yourself on the day of wrath and indignation, when God's righteous judgment (just doom) will be revealed. For He will render to every man according to his works [justly, as his deeds deserve]:
To those who by patient persistence in well-doing [springing from piety] seek [unseen but sure] glory and honour and [the eternal blessedness of] immortality, He will give eternal life.
But for those who are self-seeking and self-willed and disobedient to the Truth but responsive to wickedness, there will be indignation and wrath.
[And] there will be tribulation and anguish and calamity and constraint for every soul of man who [habitually] does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek (Gentile).
But glory and honour and [heart] peace shall be awarded to everyone who [habitually] does good, the Jew first and also the Greek (Gentile).
For God shows no partiality [undue favour or unfairness; with Him one man is not different from another].
All who have sinned without the Law will also perish without [regard to] the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged and condemned by the Law.
For it is not merely hearing the Law [read] that makes one righteous before God, but it is the doers of the Law who will be held guiltless and acquitted and justified.
When Gentiles who have not the [divine] Law do instinctively what the Law requires, they are a law to themselves, since they do not have the Law.
They show that the essential requirements of the Law are written in their hearts and are operating there, with which their consciences (sense of right and wrong) also bear witness; and their [moral] decisions (their arguments of reason, their condemning or approving ]thoughts) will accuse or perhaps defend and excuse [them] On that day when, as my Gospel proclaims, God by Jesus Christ will judge men in regard to the things which they conceal (their hidden thoughts).
But if you bear the name of Jew and rely upon the Law and pride yourselves in God and your relationship to Him,
And know and understand His will and discerningly approve the better things and have a sense of what is vital, because you are instructed by the Law;
And if you are confident that you [yourself] are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, and [that You are] a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the childish, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and truth--
Well then, you who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you teach against stealing, do you steal (take what does not really belong to you)?
You who say not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery [are you unchaste in action or in thought]? You who abhor and loathe idols, do you rob temples [do you appropriate to your own use what is consecrated to God, thus robbing the sanctuary and doing sacrilege]?
You who boast in the Law, do you dishonour God by breaking the Law [by stealthily infringing upon or carelessly neglecting or openly breaking it]?
For, as it is written, The name of God is maligned and blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you! [The words to this effect are from your own Scriptures.] Circumcision does indeed profit if you keep the Law; but if you habitually transgress the Law, your circumcision is made uncircumcision. So if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be credited to him as [equivalent to] circumcision? Then those who are physically uncircumcised but keep the Law will condemn you who, although you have the code in writing and have circumcision, break the Law. For he is not a [real] Jew who is only one outwardly and publicly, nor is [true] circumcision something external and physical.
But he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and [true] circumcision is of the heart, a spiritual and not a literal [matter]. His praise is not from men but from God. ………………………………………………………………………………………………
There will be tumultuous and significant changes that will literally change the face of geography (i.e. how the world looks), "politic-graphy" (i.e. how politics operate), and "Church-ography" (i.e. how the Church operates).
This shift is already taking place, but there will be an escalation. Events will transform these areas--events of
circumstance, nature, and necessity. The word speaks of a "fact" being that these events are simply realities, not events undone, but events to prepare for. They also are indications of the event that will bring in the desire of the whole earth (Romans 8:22). For we know that even the things of nature, like animals and plants, suffer in sickness and death as they await this great event.
Transformation, Revolution, Upheaval, and Creation
Daniel 8:19, "And he said, 'Behold, I am going to let you know what will occur at the final period of the indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end.'" Although we have seen much of the "Kairos" moment occurring in the earth, there will be a quickening of that, and what we thought was direction, we will find was only threshold.
Where we have been, even the new things that God has been doing in the Church, are simply threshold events to help us embrace what is yet to come. The strides ahead of us are ten times and a hundred times further down the road of God's purposes than we have walked already. Change is not the correct word for what will happen.
Transformation, revolution, upheaval, and creation are better terms. The Creator God will reveal Himself by not simply "altering directions," but by demonstrating powerful releases of new things.
! Numbers 16:30, "But if the LORD brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the LORD."
And Isaiah 42:9, "Behold, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things; Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you."
Just as the events of--The Holy Spirit coming like wind and fire, the correction of Ananias and Sapphira, the Gospel to the Gentiles, the raising of the dead, the working of the shadows of the Apostles, the meetings house to house, and other early Church events, all indicated a "new thing" to that generation which produced remarkable fruit.
So too, there will be "new things" released to the Church this year that will produce the same kind of remarkable fruit. Some of the events will be "positive," some will be "negative." But the fruit will be the evidence that God, the Creator, is at work doing new things.
Political upheaval is going to mirror down--those who enter the fray of politics will soon find that people's hearts will not support the same old thing. They will see politicians as mirrors of predecessors and choose new leaders who will not approach things in the same way. True kingly love for people is going to enter the hearts of some political figures and it will be noticed by all as love. In fact, it will rally multiple political views of people because of the effectiveness of it. This is not an anti-Christ spirit, but rather a r! eflectio n of a son who has walked with God and will lead with precision and love.
New Releases to the Church
"His people will not be devoid of Holiness, Power, and Love. "In the realm of the Church, there will be significant movement away from "form" and into "power." God's people will not dumb down anymore to watered down beliefs and doctrines of men. They will realize and speak boldly to those who are "holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men" 2 Timothy 3:5. As a result, there will be significant attrition in those places who provide a place of rest for God's people, rather than providing a place of rest for God.
Some significant structures will be left with a handful to try and carry the bills. In time, these structures will be turned over to the unrighteous who will have no use for them and grant them to the emerging Church to maintain.
The Lord will have the last laugh. Those who reject His Presence will find themselves seated by Him to witness the Power of Him. God will not be mocked. His Church will not be a mockery, and His people will not be devoid of Holiness, Power, and Love.
I then heard, "a storm from the south will consume the dross of the north!" The winds from the south represent a release of "warmth" that is coming. South Wind represents His Power. The direction of God's Power is directed towards the warmth of His Love. His Love is going to prevail on the North and produce stillness in the atmosphere as it occurs. This stillness will be a "pause," and as such will be a profound "event" that sets it apart from the rest of the year.
Psalm 78:26, "He caused the east wind to blow in the Heavens; And by His power He directed the south wind."
Job 37:1! 4-17, "L isten to this, Stand and consider the wonders of God. Do you know how God establishes them, And makes the lightning of His cloud to shine?
Do you know about the layers of the thick clouds, The wonders of one perfect in knowledge, You whose garments are hot, When the land is still because of the south wind?"
There will be a "finality" in the Heavens. Many of the things the Lord is bringing about is to "clear the table" for the "table that He is about to set!" This reminded me of a vision years ago, when the Lord spoke to me about the finality of His decision to separate the hot from the cold in His Church. It happened quickly, decisively, and without emotion from the Lord.
A Vision of Young Converts--We are All Involved
"The Lord said that everyone would be involved in His True Church ."
Another vision given in the early 1990's showed the dramatic salvation of the young converts to the Lord. In the vision, I was in a warehouse that was then our facility. People were divided into three groups.
The first group were those who went out and gathered "babies" in wheelbarrows. They returned with their wheelbarrows full that they would "dump" onto the floor of the facility. When the babies fell, they immediately stood up tall and become young men and women "fully trained." The second group was the group responsible for their care and training.
The third group was a group of intercessors and healers who prayed vigilantly for those going out, those coming to know Jesus, and those caring for the new Christians.
The Lord said that everyone would be involved in His True Church . There was no spectatorship at all. To be a Christian was to "function," not simply adhere to a belief system. Soon the place was filled to overflowing with young, but apparently mature, believers. They were fully prepared for the "event" that was going to result in His Name being made more famous than anything existing in the world, in both historical terms, current iconic figures, and top story current news.
The Lord's Table is Set
"The supper of the Lamb--the food that lasts for eternity!"
The Lord is setting up a table--His table to feed to His People. John 4:34-36, "Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work.'
Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest?' Behold, I say to you, 'Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.'
Already he who reaps is receiving wages, and is gathering fruit for life eternal; that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together."
The sustenance of God's people is not physical provision, but rather Heavenly fruit. The table to be set is not merely a "physical provision" for us, it is in fact the supper of the Lamb--the food that lasts for eternity! The promises of God for receiving life and prosperity are based upon "observing" the Word that is being proclaimed in our hearts. The ringing word of Heaven that says, "This is the way, walk ye in it!"
The most significant release for us is simply obeying the Voice of the Lord as He speaks to us. It is time to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as He sets before us His Table!
Deuteronomy 30:14-20, "But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it. See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.
But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You shall not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it.
I call Heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."
The Charge before us is that we do not forsake the callings and purposes of God on our lives: 2 Chronicles 13:10-11, "But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the sons of Aaron are ministering to the LORD as priests, and the Levites attend to their work.
And every morning and evening they burn to the LORD burnt offerings and fragrant incense, and the showbread is set on the clean table, and the golden lampstand with its lamps is ready to light every evening; for we keep the charge of the LORD our God, but you have forsaken Him."
We are to set the elements of God onto a "clean table," not simply mingled in with things that are not from God. When Jesus cleared the tables, and the money changers, and the temple, it was with intention to do what He planned to do with that Temple --for it to become a "House of Prayer."
There can be no "co-existence" with darkness. Light exposes and expunges darkness totally. The release before us is a "pure" release, based not on personalities, not on models, not on forms, not on styles, not on structures, but rather on a Person and His Presence-- Jesus! He Himself is assembling this great supper for us and His angels have been sent out to proclaim it!
Revelation 19:9, "And he said to me, 'Write, "Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb."' And he said to me, 'These are true words of God.'"
Revelation 19:17, "And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, 'Come, assemble for the great supper of God. This supper is the supper prepared from the Foundation of the World!
Matthew 25:34, "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'"
The Year of Fathers "The Fathers will remember age old promises that they have forgotten, because they were hidden for this generation, and they will be released."
This will be a year where "True Fathers" will begin stepping into the role of fathering as has been prophesied over some of them for years. Many of them are old. Several are near Heaven's door, but this will be a year where the blessings of Fathers will be released to God's people.
Just as Abraham, Isaac, and Israel gave blessings to their children, these fathers are going to "transmit" and "impart" true authority and promise to their children that will occur almost instantly. The Fathers will remember age old promises that they have forgotten, because they were hidden for this generation, and they will be released. When I began seeing this word about the Fathers, I realized that many had been set aside, discarded, and devalued by younger aspiring leaders. Many of them, in fact, had given these younger leaders their own ministries, only to find they would be later shunned along with their wisdom.
My heart broke as I saw it, and then I realized this was a part of the "separation" that was occurring to produce the purity that God desired. Those who paid no price for their "positions" would find that they could not hold their "positions" when the Lord brought about His clear purposes and direction for His Church, because they don't carry the wounds of Jesus in their lives! These spiritual fathers found "sheep not of this fold" who saw them as true fathers and it was there that the release for them came. Repeatedly the Lord spoke, "The sons are not the fathers...let the fruit bear witness!" The fruit He spoke of was the fruit of disciples, not converts, not fame, and not crowds. The fruit was those pursuing the Heart of God with all their hearts even into every facet of society and the Nations.
"THE YEAR OF THE FATHERS AND THE FINALS--TRANSFORMAT ION, REVOLUTION, UPHEAVAL, AND CREATION"
"Many of the things the Lord is bringing about is to clear the table' for the 'table that He is about to set!'"
Matthew 15:4-9, "For God said, 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER, and, HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, LET HIM BE PUT TO DEATH.'
But you say, 'Whoever shall say to his father or mother, "Anything of mine you might have been helped by has been given to God," he is not to honour his father or his mother.' And thus you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'
Spiritual Overseers; The church is in a season of major change. There is a worldwide shift in how the people of God are responding to God. The changes are not yet universal, though they are widespread. There is a move toward experiencing the love of God in a tangible way that causes brokenness and leads to a more intimate relationship with Father through Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit. Intimately relating to God produces passionate holiness and purity of heart. Worshiping, loving, and serving God becomes the paramount purpose of life. Loving and serving His people becomes a practical expression and result of being in love with God.
In this real relationship the direct leadership of God by the Holy Spirit is fundamental. Hearing and obeying God is the source of heavenly wisdom and understanding that exceeds earthly wisdom and understanding. Truth is unveiled as the mind of Christ begins to be formed within, replacing our old worldly or religious minds. Our affection becomes set upon heavenly things and no longer upon earthly things.
This is not a change to a new thing, but rather it is a return to the ways of the first century church of two millennia ago. The changing church of today is truly becoming a spiritual people, a holy people.
In this season of change, the Holy Spirit has awakened many people of God to the reality that, for the most part, the church of the recent past was drastically different from the church of the first century. The first century church was birthed at Pentecost as the Holy Spirit came and empowered the disciples. Christ Jesus who had walked with them and taught them in His earthly body now had returned to earth in the Holy Spirit to indwell them. The mind and works of Christ Jesus became available in the lives of those filled with the Spirit of God. This was the formation of the church of God on earth. There is no other foundation than Christ Jesus abiding in His people and His people abiding in Him by the Holy Spirit.
This holy body of Christ permeating the world and filling it with the grace of God is the establishing of the kingdom of God on earth. It is the only avenue to the redemption and restoration of mankind and the world. Truly Christ in you is the hope of glory.
The formation of Christ within His people involves the removal of much that has been planted in the minds and hearts of people by the world's fallen ways and by erroneous and fallacious religious teaching. This makes the transformation a process of tearing down the old before the new is established. The new reality of Christ will instantly refill the places cleaned of the old, but the removal of the old involves the person's will and is often a process over time. Therefore there are those who have come further through the changing process and others that are in some lesser stage of the process. Those having moved further through the process of becoming as Christ may be thought of as mature or elder. While those coming through the earlier stages may be thought of as immature or younger. Therefore a need exists for on-the-job overseers to keep those coming through on the path of righteousness and to help them deal with the obstacles they face in the journey.
Spiritual Overseers For The Changing Church; The early church was one church spreading into many locations. The power of God was greatly flowing through the pure-hearted humble elders overseeing the called-out people. The elders were to shepherd the flock of youngers. The elders are those who had been with God longer and had experienced more of Christ by the Holy Spirit. The younger are those who had experienced less of God. The only head of the church was Christ Jesus abiding in the maturing servant elders by the Holy Spirit.
The gifts for shepherding or edifying the church are practical spiritual manifestations of Christ. Christ is the Great Apostle, the Spirit of Prophesy, the Good Shepherd, the Evangelist and the Master Teacher. Flowing through the people of God, Christ will again lead and build His Church that will bring forth His kingdom in the world.
There was and is today fundamentally only two basic classes of people in the world, godly and ungodly. Among the godly people there is only one class and that is Jesus' people - people in whom Christ dwells by the Holy Spirit. In the early church there was not a clergy / laity two-class system. There were elders among the youngers. The elders were the overseers of the youngers. Paul and Peter and other disciples of Christ were elders overseeing the youngers. The church was not an institution nor an organization and certainly not a building. It was people. Elders were overseers of younger people, not administrators of an organization.
1 Pet 5:1-6: The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears (manifest), you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Today there is an urgent need for spiritual overseers to shepherd the flock. It is the mighty hand of God that we, the church, are to humble ourselves under. There are many deceived leaders of the old way that are infected with the spirit of the adversary and many impure younger who are not humbled under the mighty hand of God that are entering into the changing church groups to propagate false teachings seeking to lead people away after them.
1 Pet 5:8-9: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
There are people who have made themselves to be overseers and institutions that have set up people to be overseers who were not made overseers by God. These false teachers may roar like a lion, but they are NOT the LION of Judah . This is not just a new thing. It began shortly after the first century overseers passed off the scene. There is today a real move to get out from under the systems and overseers set up by man and to return to humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God. The Holy Spirit is making overseers to shepherd the church. Only the Holy Spirit can produce elders to protect the younger flock from the devious and destructive ways and teachings of the wolves and perverted people who draw away disciples after themselves. The church belongs only to the One Who purchased it with His blood.
Acts 20:28-32: "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. "Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. "Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. "So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Recognizing Spiritual Overseers; Holy-Spirit- made overseers are among the flock, not above it. They walk in a daily love relationship with God and are filled with the Holy Spirit. Their true humility is obvious and their faith produces peace. There is no self-degrading false humility in them. The caring nature of Christ is felt as well as the quite powerful reality of God's grace. Overseers exercise spiritual wisdom and seek to gently but firmly correct or confront if needed. In short, the character and nature of Christ is visible in their lives. Usually they are the person that you feel you can turn to if in need of understanding. The overseer develops as naturally as family relationships develop. The elder wiser parents naturally guide the younger family members, answer multitudes of questions, and provide the safety of correction in the course of maturing.
The supernatural network of spiritual elders are the overseers of the church at large. Local elders are the overseers of the local church groups. They are all made elders by the Holy Spirit and have a great responsibility to clearly hear and fully obey the Holy Spirit as they help the younger to become elder. Elders communicate with God first and with one another. Different gifts of Christ flow by the Holy Spirit enabling elders to flow together to meet the different needs of the youngers.
This is not generic leadership without a system of order. It is a spiritual system of godly order carried out from heaven through the administration of Christ by the Holy Spirit. This is a very different thing from the man-made systems of the passing church. The lack of understanding of the workings of this spiritual system has caused many Holy-Spirit- made elders to hold back waiting for some human structure to appoint them to begin serving the people that they are among. Lack, devastating error, and misdirection can be found in some groups because the more mature ones who see the problem do not understand their responsibility to bring loving correction to the situation.
In the past one-man-rule or man-made hierarchical church government systems, there was no room for the unappointed spiritual elders to develop, and there was not place for their bringing correction in the group. Some who have been in the bondage of this system are slow to believe that they are free to mature and must begin to serve the flock among them as elders.
The terms elder and overseer as used here have nothing at all to do with man-established offices of authority. They have everything to do with the ministry of Christ flowing through those appointed by the Holy Spirit and recognized by those among them. Elders recognize elders and may acknowledge one another as mature ones and sent ones. They may also, on occasion, help the youngers to recognize the elders among them.
Peter and Paul and others were not appointed by their denominational government but were recognized by those whom they were among (their peers) that the Holy Spirit had appointed them. Nor had they built their own kingdom of "their" church or churches. As you probably know, the mess came in as Paul had warned when they passed away. The man based structures replaced the Holy Spirit led governance. Paul along with the people of the groups recognized the people that the Holy Spirit had chosen to serve as overseers in the local groups. The word appointed is used to describe the recognition of elders. It probably was more like Paul "pointed out" whom God had chosen that had matured more than others in the group.
It is probably obvious that the church as you have it today in your group and as others are currently experiencing, as wonderful as it may be, is not the final product of the church our saviour is building but is in process of becoming more of the reality of the kingdom of God. There will continue to be less institution and more reality of Christ as practical head through the Holy Spirit, as the church continues to mature into the kingdom of God age.
In this season of change it is important to look forward to the goal God has in mind. Where we focus our spiritual eyes is where we will go. If we look up to the mountain we will go up, but if we only look where we are we will not move. There will continue to be many expressions of church and church government as the transformation continues over time. Thank God for everything He is doing and may His kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Loren Sanford recently wrote, "I recall a very wise seminary professor 30 years ago teaching us concerning church government. He said that contrary to the claims of many, there is no final and definitive form of church government put forth in Scripture and that there is therefore room for many varying expressions. Having said that, he went on to say that no form of church government is ever any better than the character of the people involved. So, again, let the true shepherds emerge, no matter what structure they operate under, who have this attitude in themselves, considering the needs of others more important than their own (Philippians 2)....."
Praise the Lord for preparing everyone to fully receive the changes God is bringing to His church and to church government. We can all seek the leadership of the Holy Spirit and continue in the unity of love with one another as God continues to work with all of His people. Matthew 15:4-9, "For God said, 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER, and, HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, LET HIM BE PUT TO DEATH.' But you say, 'Whoever shall say to his father or mother, "Anything of mine you might have been helped by has been given to God," he is not to honour his father or his mother.' And thus you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN. The Lord has ordered "Honour Fathers this year!" the time has come for God's people to sustain those who are true spiritual fathers. Many have even been discarded in their old age to "fend for themselves," and some have even had to pursue a living as young men, not because they were faithless, but rather that the Church had no value of honouring those who served well. This error will be exposed this year, and there will be sons who will weep for the trauma they put their fathers through--knowing their failure also resulted in the blessing being given to another. A Heart Without Idols
Francis Frangipane When we first come to Jesus, He accepts us just as we are: problems, sins, and all. As our needs are met, however, we gradually discover that God is seeking something from our lives. What He seeks is our worship. But true worship is the consequence, the result, of seeing God as He is. It springs naturally from a soul purified by love; it rises like incense from a heart without idols. The God Whose Name Is Jealous
Christ does not personally destroy the idols of sin and self within us. Rather, He points to them and tells us to destroy them. This message is about repentance. If you withdraw from the sound of that word, it is because you need a fresh cleansing of your soul. In fact, we are talking about a type of repentance that is uncommon to those who only seek forgiveness but not change. We are speaking of deep repentance - a vigilant, contrite attitude that refuses to allow sin or self to become an idol in our hearts. In Exodus we see Christ's view of idols. He warns,
"Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, lest it become a snare in your midst. But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim - for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." (Exodus 34:12-14). There are many aspects to the nature of Christ. He is the Good Shepherd, our Deliverer, and our Healer. We perceive God through the filter of our need of Him. And thus He has ordained, for He Himself is our one answer to a thousand needs. But how does Jesus see us? Looking through His eyes, the church is His bride: bone of His bones and flesh of His flesh (Eph. 5:22-32). He has not saved us so we can live for ourselves again; He has saved us for Himself (Col. 1:16). True salvation is a betrothal. He purifies us for our marriage. From His perspective, our independent ways are idolatrous. They kindle the fires of His jealousy. An idol is not an occasional sin; it is something that rules us and makes us its slave. For some, fear is an idol; for others it is lust; for still others it is rebellion or pride. Whatever challenges Jesus' right to our hearts becomes His enemy, which He will confront. Because of His jealousy toward us as His bride, in regard to these false gods, the Lord demands we destroy these idols ourselves. From the above Scriptures we see that Jesus does not want us to "carefully" take down that hidden altar of sin so we will not break it; rather He commands that we "TEAR DOWN" what is offensive. He is not politely asking us to dismantle, bolt-by-bolt, our pillars of pride; instead, He demands that we "SMASH" them to pieces. When He shows us an inner idol, we must demolish it completely. We cannot secretly harbour the slightest intention of ever using that idol again. It must be destroyed. You may feel you are not worshiping any idols. You do not stand, morning by morning, before a statue of Baal and ! praise i t as your god. Indeed, we do not worship the idols of the ancient heathen. Like everything in our modern world, man has sophisticated idolatry as well. Paul talks of the antichrist who will appear in the last days as that one "who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God" (2 Thess. 2:4). Where is the temple of God on earth - is it a building? Perhaps, but in no other place in Paul's teaching does he refer to the temple of God as anything other than the church. Yet, even if Paul is referring to a man seated as a god in Jerusalem , somewhere in that man's life he had to first think of himself as "being God." Let us perceive the antichrist as did the apostle John, who saw it not only as one who was coming, but also as a spiritual enemy that sought to infiltrate and then replace true Christianity (1 John 2:18; 4:3). The antichrist spirit is a religious spirit; it is manifested in that thinking which refuses to be taught and corrected by Christ or anyone else. The spirit of antichrist is resident in much of the church today, opposing the move of God, displaying itself as being God. Simply put, the spirit of antichrist is that spirit which exalts self as deity. You see, the spirit of antichrist is much more subtle than someone suddenly announcing to the world he is the Creator. Again, our world is far too sophisticated for that. For us today, we must look for the influence of antichrist in our religious traditions: are those traditions founded upon Scripture or upon man? And then, beyond our traditions, in the immediacy of our own hearts, we must discern the disposition of the antichrist spirit in the thought structure of our flesh nature. Is there something in your soul which opposes and exalts itself above God, taking its seat in the human temple of God , displaying itself as being God? The resistance in you against God is an idol. It is the most powerful idol in the human heart. But the false god of self-rule does not stand alone in man. The ancient god Mercury would be hard pressed to keep pace with today's gods of Anxiety and Haste. The world has taken its bloodlust out of the ancient Roman arenas and put it into violent movies. They have taken the goddesses of fertility from the Greek hillsides only to idolize sex in our theatres and televisions. What mankind has done is move the pagan temples from the high places of the countryside to the hidden places of the human heart. If we exalt money, status, or sex above the Word of God, we are living in idolatry. Every time we inwardly submit to the strongholds of fear, bitterness, and pride, we are bowing to the rulers of darkness. Each of these idols must be smashed, splintered, and obliterated from the landscape of our hearts. "I Am a Jealous God"
"You shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God!" (Ex. 34:14) The Lord did not say He was, at times, jealous; He said His Name, which reveals His nature, is Jealous. Right next to His Name "I AM" is His Name "JEALOUS." His love is not some ethereal principle of "higher cosmic consciousness. " His love is focused upon us, actually jealous for us as individuals. He "calls his own sheep by name" (John 10:3). Jesus knows your name. He loves you personally. The fact that Christ is jealous for us as individuals, caring and providing for each aspect of our lives, and that He suffered humiliation and death on the cross to pay for our sins, demonstrates how great a love it is with which He loves us. He gave all. He deserves all. His jealousy for us is perfect. It is not the same as human jealousy: petty, possessive, and insecure. He is not sitting in heaven wringing His hands, wondering what we really think of Him. His jealousy is based upon His pure love for us and His desire to bless us and fulfil our lives in Him. He understands us, yet knowing our weaknesses, He still "jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us" (James 4:5). His promise to us is faithful: "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Heb. 13:5 KJV). He refuses to stop loving us. You may think of yourself as a sinner, as unlovable - as though no one wants you, but Jesus desires you. Early in my ministry, upon occasion I gave up on certain individuals, people who seemed to me hopelessly unreceptive to God. As the years passed, I would later discover these same individuals were now walking with God. Jesus is faithful. He loves you with a love that is jealous for you as a person. |
God knows, however, that in order for you to experience His love, the idols of self and sin must be destroyed. And to prove our intentions and love for Him, He tells us to smash these idols. Would you be holy? Then remove the idols of self and sin from within you. For holiness exists in a soul purified by love; it exudes like incense from a heart without idols.
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7 PILLARS OF A LIVING INTERCESSOR
by Sandy Warner
www.thequickenedwor d.com
Teaching
Intercessors are called, but few are chosen. To be chosen, is to have gone through the fire and yielded to His Sovereignty through death to self. In the process, also yielding to Him to perfect the character/ alignment of one's body, soul and/or spirit to His image.
An intercessor may walk their whole life in preparation for one moment in history: for the moment they cast their vote and pray just one prayer. It is like Moses when he interceded for Israel . So intercessors are not necessarily prayer warriors, that pray all the time and thus their volume of prayers is what bears weight in the kingdom. Rather it is their walk in the Lord that bears the weight.
PONDERINGS: The pillars of walking and being sustained in this place of intercessory assignments are: Free will, Sacrifice, Faith, Hope, Love, Favour, Peace, Partnership.
These pillars are all gifts from God's grace and measure, so they are not earned nor are they the criteria of being chosen for a task. They grow with each assignment. So these are the marking or gifting of an Intercessor. Here is a brief description of these gifts.
1. Intercessors are Volunteers, the calling is not commanded of them. Each assignment is offered, then accepted by free will with no coercion by God in the offering. But the option is made clear in advance, that there are risks, challenges, and great reward, no matter what.
Isa 6:8-11 NKJV Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." And He said, "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' 10 "Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart,
And return and be healed." Then I said, "Lord, how long?"
2. Intercessors have the Gift of Giving and receive pleasure in sacrifice, even if bittersweet.
Ps 50:5 NKJV "Gather My saints together to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice ."
Isa 53:10-11 NKJV Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
3. Intercessors have great Faith for breakthrough when in the midst of the sufferings of many loved ones.
1 Sam 30:6-8 NKJV Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, "Please bring the ephod here to me." And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 So David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?" And He answered him, "Pursue , for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all."
4. Intercessors have Hope enough to visualize the victory, the point of breakthrough. This hope carries them through anything that comes their way, acknowledging that nothing passes by them by accident. That whatever burns was meant to burn and whatever is multiplied is meant for great harvest for many.
Rom 5:3-5 NKJV And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations , knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
5. Intercessors have stubborn love. This is God's Fatherly heart for His people, that simply won't quit or change. God's love covers a multitude of sins and it is that love that an intercessor draws upon when the chips are down.
1 Cor 13:7 AMP Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
1 Peter 4:7-8 NKJV But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins ."
1 Cor 13 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I knew all the mysteries of the future and knew everything about everything, but didn't love others, what good would I be? And if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, without love I would be no good to anybody. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would be of no value whatsoever.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. 6 It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
8 Love will last forever, but prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will all disappear. 9 Now we know only a little, and even the gift of prophecy reveals little! 10 But when the end comes, these special gifts will all disappear.
11 It's like this: When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now.
13 There are three things that will endure " faith, hope, and love " and the greatest of these is love. NLT
6. An Intercessor is marked with great Favor of being daily loaded with benefits. The provision is liberal Favor/ Grace in whatever gift is necessary in heaven and on earth to be able to complete the assignment, stay stable and be kept. The provision is ALWAYS more then enough.
Ezra 7:19-20 NLKV And whatever more may be needed for the house of your God, which you may have occasion to provide, pay for it from the king's treasury.
7. An Intercessor knows the power of walking in Peace. It requires learning how to daily lean/ abide to find the balance of keeping one's peace in daily living. God's peace is the barometer that holds him stable and when that peace is challenged, the intercessor will do whatever is necessary to re-gain that peace.
Rom 16:19-20 NKJV For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. 20 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. Amen.
8. An Intercessor becomes God's Partner and is willing to express His heart in whatever way He sees fit to express it. The partnership eventually becomes the greatest joy, passion and desire to be able to give pleasure to Him and receive intimacy from Him in the process.
Ex 33:12-17 NLT 12 Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, 'Take these people up to the Promised Land.' But you haven't told me whom you will send with me. You call me by name and tell me I have found favor with you. 13 Please, if this is really so, show me your intentions so I will understand you more fully and do exactly what you want me to do. Besides, don't forget that this nation is your very own people."
14 And the LORD replied, "I will personally go with you, Moses. I will give you rest " everything will be fine for you."
15 Then Moses said, "If you don't go with us personally, don't let us move a step from this place. 16 If you don't go with us, how will anyone ever know that your people and I have found favor with you? How else will they know we are special and distinct from all other people on the earth?"
17 And the LORD replied to Moses, "I will indeed do what you have asked, for you have found favour with me, and you are my friend ."
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JOURNALING; WRITING DOWN THE VISION IS A MUST...
by Sheryl L. York
www.imentoru. com
www.theyorksonline. com
Believe it or not I still have dreams written down that I had over a decade ago. Many of you probably do as well. Even before I had the ability to interpret them (better understand what God was trying to say to me) I kept them in a book in my closet. The funny thing is I don't even know why I did it or how I knew God was speaking to me, but I had the impression that I should keep them. I knew very little about God when He first began speaking to me through prophetic dreams and I still to this day remember how it blew my mind to have a few dreams and within the same year see them manifested before my eyes. Those dreams were the beginning of my journey with the Lord in learning not only to hear what He was saying, but to trust that He was truly the one speaking.
HOW IT ALL BEGAN FOR ME...
The first thing the Lord was teaching me even before I understood it was scriptural was that God will often give you a dream that may appear different, but in reality means the same thing.
Genesis 41: 32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon. NIV
I remember my first dreams vividly. I was young in the Lord and I was also the only one in my family saved at the time. I was pregnant with my first child and I kept having dreams about my younger sister and I being pregnant at the same time. I was so excited that I would call her up and tell her about the dream, but inevitably she would say I was wrong and that she was not pregnant. This actually happened to me three times in about a 6 month time frame and each time I would call her up knowing full well that God was trying to tell me something.
About a month and a half after I had my first born child my sister and her husband invited everyone out to their home for a Bar B Que. While we were all sitting outside talking she walked up to our mother and her husband's mother and handed them both a long box. It looked like a watch box or something. She told them they had to open it at the exact same time. Upon opening the boxes they both began to cry so I walked over to see what it was. I figured it had to be some pretty expensive jewelry to make them both cry like that, but it wasn't jewelry at all. Inside both of the long boxes that they held in their hands was a pregnancy test. The results were positive. We were later told that when they found out my sister was pregnant they (she and my brother in law) wanted to make it a surprise, so my sister purchased another pregnancy test because she had two watch boxes and thought it would be cool to share this news with both Mother's as a gift at the same time.
I have to say it was a miracle. My sister had female problems early in her teen years and she wasn't expected to ever become pregnant at all. I walked back over to take care of my newborn and all of a sudden all three of those dreams flooded back to my remembrance. I then turned around and asked her how far along she was. She informed us all that the Doctor believed she was at least 3 months pregnant already.
Now wait a minute here, I thought. My newborn was only a month and half old. In fact my sister was in the Hospital with me when I gave birth. Although none of us realized it at the time we had both been pregnant at the exact same time. It was only for a month and a half, but God had been speaking.
Do you know to this day my sister and her husband only have that one child? I now have 4, but she has never been able to get pregnant again. Not only was God teaching me to hear and believe Him, but I wholeheartedly believe that by giving me those dreams, He used me to prophetically speak my sisters pregnancy into existence. Sort of like planting the seed in her that she possibly could become pregnant. Each time I called I said; "God is showing me that you and I are both pregnant together." and even though the Doctors told her it wasn't going to happen I was used to speak it into existence in her life.
The above scripture in Genesis most definitely came to pass in my life even before I knew it existed. I was given several dreams with the same meaning and it came to pass within only months as Joseph said would happen.
DANIEL KNEW THE IMPORTANCE OF JOURNALING,
Daniel 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream. NIV
I love this scripture because it tells us that Daniel wrote down the substance of his dream. What does the word substance mean? In the Webster's New Dictionary there are actually several meanings for the same word, but only a few pertain to what Daniel would have been referring to. It means essential nature or the fundamental or essential part or quality. Often times we struggle to remember certain parts of dreams, but if God is truly speaking dear ones, He wants us to hear Him.
What kind of a Father would He be if He expected us to do something, yet never plainly told us 'what' it was that He wanted us to do? John Paul Jackson explains it best by saying that when we are given a dream it is like looking at something through a magnifying glass. There may be many scenes or parts to the dream, but there will be something that is magnified so that we will see and remember it. In these types of dreams it is not possible to take every scene or symbol and interpret them, but God may be speaking volumes through the one thing that is magnified through out.
I hate to admit it, but I didn't fully understand the importance of journaling until about 5 years ago and even then I probably didn't take it as seriously as I should have. If there is one thing I hope to accomplish in this teaching it is to help you understand 'why' it is so very important to journal the things that God is saying to you. He felt that His Word was so important that He inspired the writings in the Bible and we live by these truths still to this day. He felt that His Law was so important that He wrote the 10 commandments with His own hand on stone tablets so that His people would have something set before them to live by and, He felt that the words He has given us were so important that He told us to write them down.
Habakkuk 2:2 King James Version~ And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
Habakkuk 2:2 Amplified Bible~ And the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision and engrave it so plainly upon tablets that everyone who passes may [be able to] read [it easily and quickly] as he hastens by.
For this reason I have taken the time to write things down when I believe they are from the Lord. In fact many years ago I added an additional page to our website off of our 'About the Founders' page called ?Prophetic Words, Dreams & Visions'. You might wonder why I would do such a thing. Weren't these prophetic words, dreams or visions for us? Yes and no. They were given to speak to us, but prophecy is of no private interpretation. Therefore, something that God has said to us might also speak to another.
The reason I added both the King James Version and the Amplified Version of Habakkuk 2:2 is because the first (KJV) says 'that he may run that readeth it.' Interpreted that could mean just one person or many, but it really opens up in the Amplified version when it says; 'that everyone who passes may [be able to] read [it easily and quickly] as he hastens by'.
By adding this page to our website I believe that it gives others the opportunity to hear from the Spirit of God. I believe it might help them to interpret what God is saying to them and finally I believe that there are others called to the very same things the Lord has spoken to us. By allowing others to read what God has said to us, I might also be giving them opportunity to see a part that the Lord would like them to play and therefore we might make a God connection.
DON'T ALLOW YOURSELF TO FORGET...
Something as important as God speaking should be treated as such. Many years ago people told me I had a memory like an Elephant. What that meant exactly I don't know, but I have heard that Elephant's never forget. However, I can tell you that no matter how good a memory you believe you have there are many reasons to journal. Let me lay out just a few here below.
~ YOU WILL FORGET.... Think for a minute. Can you really remember something your mother or father said to you 20 years ago? What about 10 or 15 years ago? It might have been extremely important information, but I'll bet through time you forgot some of it. If we give ourselves the opportunity to forget we are at greater risk to make things up or allow the enemy to speak into things that were once considered 'divine'.
~ KEEP A HARD COPY OF DREAMS AND INTERPRETATIONS. ... About a year ago I thought I was doing a great job of journaling until I had computer problems and found I lost many dreams along with the interpretations just because I didn't keep a hard copy. Another error I made was that I would write down the dream, print it out and copy it to a computer file, but I forgot to make a copy of the interpretations that I had received (whether on my own or through another). I have found myself to be quite frustrated that I can't remember, but even worse is hunting and hunting for something you no longer have because you know that God is bringing something to your remembrance and you didn't keep a copy so you can't fully remember it yourself.
~ BEING FORGETFUL SOMETIMES COMES WITH AGING... I have also noticed that I no longer have the memory I had in my younger days. Oh, I remember some phone numbers, most of our billing due dates, some family birthdays, social security numbers and so forth like anyone else, but if asked, I couldn't even tell you what all four of my children weighed at birth. In fact when asked to write down the birth dates of my children I really have to take a minute to think on it because 3 out of the 4 were born in the month of January. 3 different children, 3 different dates and 3 different years. So you see dear ones, it's not really a good idea to rely on youth.
~ GOD WANTS YOU TO REMEMBER... "God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, while slumbering on their beds, then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction. " Job 33:14-16.
How will we remember the instruction the Lord has given us if we take the dreams, visions or even prophetic words that He gives to us without taking them seriously? In Job 33 we find that He literally gives us dreams to seal our instruction. Therefore, dreams are much more important to us then we might perceive.
THINK ABOUT THIS...
If God were sitting in your living room having a conversation with you I'll bet you would take notes. You would be in awe and you would have a great understanding of how very important what He was sharing was just by His visit. I believe that we should take our dreams just as seriously. Some give us direction, some bring slight correction, some are cleansing and healing and some are even prophetic.
In the book of Revelations we read that one who looked like the Son of Man came to John and showed him many things. In John 1:19 Jesus says; "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later." Jesus goes one further and even helps John interpret the symbols he has seen. I wholeheartedly believe that if it was so important to the Lord that John understood what He was seeing, and helped him not only to interpret, but also wanted him to write it all down, wouldn't it also be important for us today?
And now I will leave you with to ponder. Is it possible that some of the dreams, visions or even prophetic words that God has given you through the years might one day have meaning in the lives of many people that you have never even met?
Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you. 2 Samuel 7:3
I have borrowed this from another group In Yahoo so All people can see it's truths in this blog for all the world to view in having hope for the Lord to turn from wickednesss and come home unto the Lord and not be left o ut when Jesus Christ returns for All mankind upon the earth.
Please Put Your name in All of the blank Lines that's on this page! Come in for ones delieverance into the Kingdom of God so that Anyone of will not be forfeited going into the Kingdom of heaven and be lost in All eternity forever and ever. If and when Whomever comes into being "Delievered" by this piece of Information that All of You have read, Let me know and You will be welcomed and praised unto God in what You've done with Your life in being saved . May All of Make the right decision about Your own life today, I will keep it in prayer always about the Lost in this world. I don't want Anyone to not enter into Heaven and be lost for All Eternity. God Bless Each Reader. catcmo2006@sbcglobal.net.
I bind the strong man over this temple in the name of Jesus Christ. I plead the blood of Jesus against or on anything ________has touched, is touching or will touch. I bind all outside demonic activity and all the forces of evil in, around, about, beneath and outside __________ that would try to interfere including principalities, powers and rulers of darkness, forces of spiritual wickedness, spirits of distraction, deception, confusion, repression, witchcraft, strife, stress and competition. I bind the carnal and passive mind of __________ and command it to cease and be shut down in Jesus Christ’s name. We refuse the carnal and passive mind from interfering in any way. I command those voices of evil spirits to be silenced. I bind and forbid them from communicating with each other and with the outside spirit world. I bind the forces of evil from this room and from having any knowledge of what is or what will take place in these rooms. I bind and break the power and effects of all doorkeepers and gatekeepers in Jesus’ name be gone. In the name of Jesus, I claim absolution for __________ from all negative schemes that have heretofore been set in perpetual motion such as bottomless holes, endless needs, repeated conditions, problems without end, and mazes. I command that Satan’s legal rights over __________ be broken, and that all back up systems be destroyed. I command there to be a purging and healing of __________ spiritual being; a purging and healing of __________ physical being. I direct the healing lights of the Holy Spirit to the source of each physical problem. I command a purging and a healing of all relationships; a purging and a healing of __________ personal ministry and a purging and a healing of __________ material being. In Jesus’ name, Father sever any demonic link between ________’s soul and spirit and we ask you to completely cleanse, purify and sanctify this spirit. Father, we actively will __________ soul to you. All evil human spirits be bound, be gone and cast out. All human occult evil spirits be bound, your power and effects of ___________ life are broken. I forbid the forces of evil to use any human spirits against __________. I take authority over the blood line and bind and break any negative transfer from __________ ancestors and all spirits of iniquity passed down from the third and fourth to the twentieth generation since the time of conception within the womb. I break the lines of inheritance in __________ life. We come against all inherited demons in Jesus Christ’s name and say be gone in ___________ life. In the name of Jesus, I destroy every legal hold and I renounce and withdraw all legal ground that Satan and his demons and devils feel they have in __________ life. I bind and break the power and effects of all demonic curses, spells, incantations, blessings of evil, bewitchments, enchantments, hexes, cult and occult transfer; all evil effects of sins, all physical transfer, all spirits passed down, all soul ties, evil oaths, commitments, vows put upon __________ and __________ children because of disobedience and the disobedience of ___________ ancestors and family in the name of Jesus.Father, in the name of Jesus, I come against all former marriages and previous negative unions and break the influence of the present effects it has on the life of __________. Father, in Jesus Christ’s name, I erase all negative suggestions and attitudes recorded in the conscious and subconscious mind of _________ I deprogram and break every evil program, negative evil tendency and pattern in _________ I destroy all support and supply spirits and evil networks and past effects in Jesus name. Hypnotic trances, damnations, grinders, puppet strings, evil seedpods, pressures, contracts, hindrances, blockages, fogs, jinxes, false burdens, pulsators and auras into the abyss. In Jesus name, we loose __________ bands of wickedness, undo heavy burdens and let ___________ oppressions go free and break __________ every yoke. I break the core of evil and I break the fleshly carnal will and every evil desire in Jesus name, over, about, on, or within _________ I command the carnal mind to be silenced, in Jesus name. I command all evil claws, oppressions, barriers, bondages, strings, grudges, stumbling blocks, evil alliances, evil eyes, camouflages, molds, stigmas, bands, yokes, traps, walls, entrapments, mood swings, blinders, masks and plagues in Jesus name to be broken and into the abyss. We pray over the spirit, soul, body, mind, will], emotions, memories, and heart of__________ hi the name of Jesus, I come against words, predictions, power of words, I bind the words, the fear and results of hearing the words.In the name of Jesus, I close all cult, and occultic and psychic doors and seal them with the blood of Jesus and cut free from all commitments previously made to satan or to cult or occultic societies, knowingly or unknowingly. In the name of Jesus, I bind and break the power and effect of every evil unpleasant memory and every evil word spoken to or over ___________ since conception. I bind and break the power and effects of every evil prayer to or over _________ since conception.I ask you Lord Jesus to begin to heal all hurts and wounds caused by _________ own sins, all hurts and wounds caused by others, all hurts and wounds caused by ancestral transfer, all hurts and wounds caused by spiritual warfare, all hurts and wounds caused by idolatry, decisions, and wicked works, in the spirit, soul, body, mind, will, emotions, heart and memories by the blood of Jesus, the name of Jesus and the healing balm of Gilead: I command __________ to be sutured and healed in Jesus name. Now, Father, 11 ask you to send your Holy Spirit and angels to gather together and restore to its proper place all the pieces of ___________ fragmented mind, _______ fragmented will, and _______ fragmented emotions, and _______ fragmented memories and soul Bring them into proper original and perfect positions as you planned them to be. Thank you Jesus, for all that is taking place and will be taking place because of your love and grace for us. In the name and by the blood of Jesus, Amen.
Thank You for stopping in this site,group Sites, web sites and other prayer sites as well in holding one another up for prayer's being totally united in everyone around this world, it's about Jesus Christ first and prayers,intecessory prayer's and at other times about this vast world we live in today which this old world as we all know it is slowly departing to be reaching our home in glory.
Power In The Word Of God: THE NATURE AND POWER OF THE WORD OF GOD
