by Glenice Mills
My question at this time in this nation is ‘What is happening to us?” Why is nobody speaking out against the false idolatrous worship of Mary MacKillop? Why is nobody speaking out about the rise of socialism in this nation? We are in very serious trouble and no one, particularly the church, is saying ‘something is wrong here, something is not as it should be!’ Are we, the church, so asleep or so afraid to rise up and speak out against the increase of this evil that is pervading this nation at this time?
Are we all so deceived, blind and uncaring of the Lordship of Jesus Christ that we are happy to sit back and allow these false idolatrous practices and false principalities to take their wrongful position? They are trying to set themselves up and influence, affect and blind God’s people until it is too late! Do we want to be handed over to the tricks of satan so we can go along with popular opinion out there?
I know I don’t, and I don’t think a lot of Australians want this either, particularly the Lord’s people who love Him and want Him as Lord over this nation. It does however, require us to rise up and speak against these insidious spirits that are trying to take lordship over this nation. I must emphasise at this point, this is not about the people; they are those caught up in catholic doctrine, or socialist thinking. It is about the spirit that is trying to take rulership in and over this nation! As a prophet, and as one called as a watchman for Australia, I must speak up. I cannot remain silent, for I am mindful that my silence in the face of this evil is akin to me coming in agreement with these spirits. I choose not to bow down, align myself in any way shape or form to these false powers and as one of God’s mouth piece for Australia, I say and declare these spirits must be revealed, challenged and exposed for what they are. They are a distraction, a subtle way that the enemy is wanting us to bow down to and come in agreement with these false doctrines.
Firstly the sainthood of Mary Mackillop. I have no doubt she was a woman who did work for God, under the umbrella of the Catholic Church.
I in no way want to judge her or what she did, but I do however want to challenge the emotion, idolatrous worship, and media hype this nation is being subjected to because a woman was used to speak out and perform two miracles in the name of Mary.
They were NOT done in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and this is the area that MUST be confronted. No honour or glory is given to Jesus Christ. Only the name of a woman, Mary Mackillop, used by God in the name of Mary, the mother of Jesus. We the Christian church must be careful that we do not bow to this wrong thinking or accept and believe it is a way of God. There is only one name by which we can be saved and healed and that is the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to be careful we do not agree with the practice of placing Mary as equal to Jesus. This is about a religious spirit influencing and affecting the way we think. Compromise is a dangerous thing. It is saying we, that is, the catholics and Christians are all equal and whatever we believe in or worship, that must be accepted and embraced. We cannot bow to this political correctness just to appease popular thinking. That is how wrong belief systems take a foothold over people’s thinking, until we accept and believe the lie that Mary is just like Jesus, in equal or higher position.
Ephesians 4:4-6, ‘There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God, and Father of all, who is above all, and through all and in you all.’
Jesus Christ is our mediator, He is always making intercession for us before the Father. It is Jesus only, only by His name that we can be saved. No other name.
1 Timothy 2:5,6,7, ‘For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Jesus Christ, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle - I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying - a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.’
John 14:6, ‘Jesus said to him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
The Apostle Paul had to address this issue in his time and it is no different today. We are called to serve and worship the Lord Jesus Christ, no other name. We must take a stand for His name before it is bought down as another name of a god that is to be worshipped. Many catholics would claim to be Christians. That being so why are they serving Mary, why are they bowing down to false idols, why are they placing a mere woman higher than the Lord? Perhaps the question needs to be asked: What is a true Christian? What defines a Christian? That is the question at this time in the body of Christ!!! Somehow the TRUE meaning of Christianity has got lost. We must look at what is required to serve the LORD and Him ONLY!!!
When did the nation of Australia suddenly become catholic and begin to somehow honour a dead woman who is now some great Australian icon? We need to be aware in these times of where society is going, because if we are truly Christians, ones who believe in Christ must be aware of this false flow of opinion.
Secondly, the Lord has been alerting me to the rise of socialist thinking pervading Australia. It is a false power trying to set itself up. It is binding and bringing people into a ‘false unity’ where everyone is the same, no one can rise up into who they are meant to be. Everyone must conform to one viewpoint, one thinking. It kills all creativity, and all entrepreneurial skills. To any who would rise up in the arts, in the media, who would have a viewpoint contrary to this socialist thinking, they would be cut down, and told to conform to the party thinking or else. It is bringing everyone down to a size so we are all the same, down to a level playing field. It is a false god that is arising and taking its position of rulership over this nation. It is a dangerous thing, I have an alert, alert, alert. This may seem extreme however we must be mindful the Lord shows His prophets what has the potential to come. It is actually God’s grace as He forewarns so we can pray and cry out to Him to avert these evil things from happening. It is not to inspire fear but to wake us up from coming into agreement with this way and speaking out and bringing an awareness of the enemies schemes. There is a power play going on in Australian politics at the moment. The labour party by its alliance with the greens is resulting in an unequal power struggle. The labour party to keep in power has in fact lost its power base by this alliance because it has fallen into the trap of appeasing a loud voice of influence. This green voice is going to bring about the economic, and social downfall of this nation and usher in this socialist thinking.
The concerning thing is the catholic and socialist thinking is founded in emotion. These subject matters, whether they be Mary Mackillop or greenhouse gases, are tools by groups to stir up the media to bring the people into a consensus thinking and blind the people to truth. Have you noticed the emotion being poured out by often well meaning people spurred on by media portrayal and hype that is extreme in its display. Christians are often judged as extreme and criticised for it yet when any of these other groups rise up no one comments. Political correctness is a dangerous thing. It is about people pleasing and bowing to the ones with the strongest opinions. It is going around trying not to offend anyone. The reality is we must stand for something or fall for everything. Scripture warns many will be deceived in the last days. That is the tragedy of what is happening in these times. There are many well meaning people carried along by this deception. We must hold fast to the Lord Jesus Christ and make a stand for His Name. The question we all must ask ourselves is: What is it to be a Christian? What will we stand for? The Truth of the Lord Jesus Christ or a false, appeasing gospel that accepts the middle ground of compromise.
Lord we need your help, we need your Holy Spirit to convict us, to show us, where we have believed a false gospel, where in any way in our lives we have compromised the Truth and come in agreement with the enemy.
Help us Lord, we need you! We need your Truth to come to us, followers of Jesus Christ, ones called by Your Name, ones obedient to all you require of us.
Lord I declare the Name of Jesus Christ over this nation of Australia!!!
Amen
So Be It!!!
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Lest We Be Defiled
by Daniel Chuter
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man will see the Lord; looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled” Hebrews 12:14-15.
It is time for us to be healed and to move on.
Bitterness is the seed bed for every demonic work. It will destroy any Christian. The safeguard against it is to remain in the spirit of forgiveness continually. When Satan comes to bruise, do not receive the hurt. Immediately release it by forgiveness.
In Germany for example there has been an unresolved bitterness that has sprung up and caused two world wars. It is an extreme example, but sobering to think that there are unresolved issues that might erupt like a volcano at any point.
The real problem though is that bitterness is an open door to torment from the enemy. To the believer this is as true. The writer to the Hebrews talks to believers facing a certain amount of opposition to a newly found faith.
We need to forgive and release bitterness and not give land to the enemy. We are living in times where we can be deceived into thinking that all is peaceful, but unresolved issues lie dormant, just under the surface.
The land was occupied in the story of Gideon found in Judges Chapter 6.
In verse 1 it tells us that Israel had done evil. Therefore we find our hero hiding like much of the population (verse 2). Perhaps this is very indicative of the state of much of our land these days… Are we not hiding… are there not unresolved issues lying dormant… is the enemy not living in our midst?
Understandably Gideon was bitter (verse 13). When God turns up, what’s really in our hearts? Is it disappointment, discouragement and fear? God called Gideon to rise above his bitterness. God made a similar suggestion to Cain in Genesis 4:6-7.
It appears that God requires a certain response… Is it not brokenness, worship from the heart and belief despite pain and faith? We are righteous not because of what we have done or could ever do; and in fact giving God what we think He wants will always lead to disappointment.
So we need to discover what pleases God; and it is always faith, but in the saving blood and death and resurrection of His Son!
It is time to release our bitterness unless worse attaches itself to out lives and our land.
We hang in the balance more than we think… God is looking at the heart and requires our humility. 1 Peter 5:5-8 says “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about seeking those whom he may devour.”
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man will see the Lord; looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled” Hebrews 12:14-15.
It is time for us to be healed and to move on.
Bitterness is the seed bed for every demonic work. It will destroy any Christian. The safeguard against it is to remain in the spirit of forgiveness continually. When Satan comes to bruise, do not receive the hurt. Immediately release it by forgiveness.
In Germany for example there has been an unresolved bitterness that has sprung up and caused two world wars. It is an extreme example, but sobering to think that there are unresolved issues that might erupt like a volcano at any point.
The real problem though is that bitterness is an open door to torment from the enemy. To the believer this is as true. The writer to the Hebrews talks to believers facing a certain amount of opposition to a newly found faith.
We need to forgive and release bitterness and not give land to the enemy. We are living in times where we can be deceived into thinking that all is peaceful, but unresolved issues lie dormant, just under the surface.
The land was occupied in the story of Gideon found in Judges Chapter 6.
In verse 1 it tells us that Israel had done evil. Therefore we find our hero hiding like much of the population (verse 2). Perhaps this is very indicative of the state of much of our land these days… Are we not hiding… are there not unresolved issues lying dormant… is the enemy not living in our midst?
Understandably Gideon was bitter (verse 13). When God turns up, what’s really in our hearts? Is it disappointment, discouragement and fear? God called Gideon to rise above his bitterness. God made a similar suggestion to Cain in Genesis 4:6-7.
It appears that God requires a certain response… Is it not brokenness, worship from the heart and belief despite pain and faith? We are righteous not because of what we have done or could ever do; and in fact giving God what we think He wants will always lead to disappointment.
So we need to discover what pleases God; and it is always faith, but in the saving blood and death and resurrection of His Son!
It is time to release our bitterness unless worse attaches itself to out lives and our land.
We hang in the balance more than we think… God is looking at the heart and requires our humility. 1 Peter 5:5-8 says “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about seeking those whom he may devour.”
Thursday, 7 October 2010
How Long O Lord, How Long?
by Glenice Mills
There’s a heart cry coming out from many of God’s people all around the world.
The cry is “HOW LONG O LORD, HOW LONG?” The cry is coming from a people desperate for the Lord to come and to intervene in their circumstances. I see many arms lifted up to the Lord, a loud cry coming from the depths of their beings. They are from many nations around the world, there are many peoples of different nationalities, I see the different colours of the national costumes.’
There are also many prophets throughout the earth who are letting out a great cry from their innermost being that says like the prophet Habakkuk, ‘How long, O Lord?’
The prophets question: Habakkuk 1:1-4:
‘The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw:
O Lord, how long shall I cry, And you will not hear?
Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And you will not save.
Why do you show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble?
For plundering and violence are before me; there is strife, and contention arises.
There fore the law is powerless, and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.’
The prophets eyes are being opened to see more: the injustice, the greater evil that is raging in the world. Violence will increase in coming times, and it is time for the prophets to tell of what the devises of the enemy is in these days. Even nations of peace will have increase of violence within its lands and many will wonder and question, how it could be? There are stirrings and rumblings going throughout the earth. We have seen increase of earthquakes in the natural, but that is a sign of the shaking taking place in the heavens. There is a great stirring as the apostles and prophets come into position all over the world. Nature has been crying out for such a time as this and we are seeing a fulfilment of this in these very days and times.
This is a time for the church to arise and be what it is called to be - a voice of influence declaring the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the saving grace of His shed blood for our sins on the cross at Calvary. The prophets are arising speaking the Word - arise, don’t hold back, it is time to be the voice NOW, to speak and to confront the evil that is insidiously creeping into every area of society. We can no longer compromise the Word of God. Truth must be spoken at this time. The prophets are feeling an overwhelming sense of the heart of God at this time. There is an overwhelming sense of ‘so much needs to be done’. As ungodliness takes root in society and even among the body of Christ, there is a higher demand being placed on many in God’s kingdom who would be different, and be true examples of what it is to lead godly lives, lives of honesty and integrity. There is much going on in the world that seems valid, but they are a distraction from what is really meant to be taking place. What people are saying and doing even in the church seems ‘good’ but the fruit of much that has been done has not endured. Life saving changes should remain but this is not happening. The enemy is snatching as quick as God’s goodness is being released. This is stirring one’s up, particularly God’s prophets, to arise and cry out., “How long O Lord?” That is the cry at this time. The cry is also coming from two other places: one’s crying out in desperation because they are enduring persecution and are in the midst of great evil, and others are crying how long because they are positioned ready for action knowing it isn’t quite time to come out. They are like ones in the army who have had the training, they have passed many tests and are positioned ready at ‘action stations’ waiting for the Commanders words “Go, now is the time to go.” This is the great positioning of ones for this end time people that God is preparing. Stand firm in Him. Don’t look to the right or the left, keep your eyes fixed on the Lord and you will see Him come through for you.
David in the Psalms often cried out to the Lord “How long?”
Psalm 94: 1-3:
‘O Lord, to whom vengeance belongs -
O God to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!
Rise up, O Judge of the earth; Render punishment to the proud.
Lord how long will the wicked, How long will the wicked triumph?’
Psalm 13:1-2:
‘How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?’
To those who are crying out because they feel forsaken, they feel they are fighting a lone battle: the Lord is releasing a new strength to endure, an inner strength to stand strong in Him, even if the body feels weak. He is your ever present help in times of trouble. Know that He sees all, and He will never leave you nor forsake you. There are ones the Lord is going to bring to you to uphold your arms, who have a message just for you. They are coming soon, don’t lose heart. “I will bring ones to you that will give you an aspect of Myself that will be exactly what you need.” Lord release your encouragement to these ones that they may see your glory be released upon the earth and that they may see the deliverance of the Lord.
Evil is increasing. There are ones who find themselves in the midst of huge trials, tribulations and persecutions. The circumstances are beyond what they feel they can bear, but the Lord says, “You will see My hand of deliverance come and you will know that I am truly your redeemer!” The enemy is vicious against these ones at this time and the evil being unleashed is unprecedented, like never been seen before. There are ones in countries where persecution is being accelerated in a manner not seen. I see Christians in muslim nations being rallied together, not unlike the rounding up of the Jews during the second world war. Nations such as Sri Lanka and Turkey are under assault at the moment. The assignment of the enemy is to shut down meeting places of Christians.
The mouths of God’s people will not be shut. It is time for this injustice to be made known to all. The Lord is going to expose in the media what is happening in these nations. The voices of outrage against this evil will arise, speak and confront. That which has been hidden will come to light. Corruption in government in these nations will be exposed.
Psalm 86: 46-48:
‘How long O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
Will your wrath burn like fire?
Remember how short my time is;
For what futility have You created all the children of men?
What man can live and not see death?
Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave?’
To those crying out in frustration because they see time flashing before their eyes and there seems to be nothing happening in their lives, the Lord says, “Hold fast to Me. The time is soon. You will see My hand of deliverance, You will see the fulfilment of My plans in your life. Yes, it is in your later years, but I will enable you and empower you at just the right time. Be patient!!! Don’t move until I give the command. You will see My hand move as I bring change to what is going on around and about you. I am your defender and you will see breakthrough and victory come when you are not expecting it. It will come in ways different from what you think,. It will be way beyond whatever you dreamed or hoped for. Take heart!!!”
Psalm 35:17:
‘Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue me from their destructions,
My precious life from the lions.’
The devourer is out to bring devastation to the church. It is trying to bring disunity, divisions and dissensions among God’s people. Now is not the time to isolate. It is time to come in, to belong and to receive the Lord’s love and to be strengthened and empowered for what is ahead. We need each other like never before. So come in out of the cold, out of the lonely place into My presence. Be positioned ready to see the Lord move among His people. The Lord is looking for our response. He knows all. You may be one used by God to move when He says move. So come into position, take your stand and see the Lord use you mightily for such a time as this.
Habakkuk cried out to the Lord but the Lord also replied to him. This is the promise the Lord is wanting to release right here and right now.
Habakkuk 1:3:
“Look among the nations and watch -
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.”
Stand and see the deliverance of our God!!! He will come through for you!!!
Thank you Lord.
Amen - So be it
There’s a heart cry coming out from many of God’s people all around the world.
The cry is “HOW LONG O LORD, HOW LONG?” The cry is coming from a people desperate for the Lord to come and to intervene in their circumstances. I see many arms lifted up to the Lord, a loud cry coming from the depths of their beings. They are from many nations around the world, there are many peoples of different nationalities, I see the different colours of the national costumes.’
There are also many prophets throughout the earth who are letting out a great cry from their innermost being that says like the prophet Habakkuk, ‘How long, O Lord?’
The prophets question: Habakkuk 1:1-4:
‘The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw:
O Lord, how long shall I cry, And you will not hear?
Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And you will not save.
Why do you show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble?
For plundering and violence are before me; there is strife, and contention arises.
There fore the law is powerless, and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.’
The prophets eyes are being opened to see more: the injustice, the greater evil that is raging in the world. Violence will increase in coming times, and it is time for the prophets to tell of what the devises of the enemy is in these days. Even nations of peace will have increase of violence within its lands and many will wonder and question, how it could be? There are stirrings and rumblings going throughout the earth. We have seen increase of earthquakes in the natural, but that is a sign of the shaking taking place in the heavens. There is a great stirring as the apostles and prophets come into position all over the world. Nature has been crying out for such a time as this and we are seeing a fulfilment of this in these very days and times.
This is a time for the church to arise and be what it is called to be - a voice of influence declaring the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the saving grace of His shed blood for our sins on the cross at Calvary. The prophets are arising speaking the Word - arise, don’t hold back, it is time to be the voice NOW, to speak and to confront the evil that is insidiously creeping into every area of society. We can no longer compromise the Word of God. Truth must be spoken at this time. The prophets are feeling an overwhelming sense of the heart of God at this time. There is an overwhelming sense of ‘so much needs to be done’. As ungodliness takes root in society and even among the body of Christ, there is a higher demand being placed on many in God’s kingdom who would be different, and be true examples of what it is to lead godly lives, lives of honesty and integrity. There is much going on in the world that seems valid, but they are a distraction from what is really meant to be taking place. What people are saying and doing even in the church seems ‘good’ but the fruit of much that has been done has not endured. Life saving changes should remain but this is not happening. The enemy is snatching as quick as God’s goodness is being released. This is stirring one’s up, particularly God’s prophets, to arise and cry out., “How long O Lord?” That is the cry at this time. The cry is also coming from two other places: one’s crying out in desperation because they are enduring persecution and are in the midst of great evil, and others are crying how long because they are positioned ready for action knowing it isn’t quite time to come out. They are like ones in the army who have had the training, they have passed many tests and are positioned ready at ‘action stations’ waiting for the Commanders words “Go, now is the time to go.” This is the great positioning of ones for this end time people that God is preparing. Stand firm in Him. Don’t look to the right or the left, keep your eyes fixed on the Lord and you will see Him come through for you.
David in the Psalms often cried out to the Lord “How long?”
Psalm 94: 1-3:
‘O Lord, to whom vengeance belongs -
O God to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!
Rise up, O Judge of the earth; Render punishment to the proud.
Lord how long will the wicked, How long will the wicked triumph?’
Psalm 13:1-2:
‘How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?’
To those who are crying out because they feel forsaken, they feel they are fighting a lone battle: the Lord is releasing a new strength to endure, an inner strength to stand strong in Him, even if the body feels weak. He is your ever present help in times of trouble. Know that He sees all, and He will never leave you nor forsake you. There are ones the Lord is going to bring to you to uphold your arms, who have a message just for you. They are coming soon, don’t lose heart. “I will bring ones to you that will give you an aspect of Myself that will be exactly what you need.” Lord release your encouragement to these ones that they may see your glory be released upon the earth and that they may see the deliverance of the Lord.
Evil is increasing. There are ones who find themselves in the midst of huge trials, tribulations and persecutions. The circumstances are beyond what they feel they can bear, but the Lord says, “You will see My hand of deliverance come and you will know that I am truly your redeemer!” The enemy is vicious against these ones at this time and the evil being unleashed is unprecedented, like never been seen before. There are ones in countries where persecution is being accelerated in a manner not seen. I see Christians in muslim nations being rallied together, not unlike the rounding up of the Jews during the second world war. Nations such as Sri Lanka and Turkey are under assault at the moment. The assignment of the enemy is to shut down meeting places of Christians.
The mouths of God’s people will not be shut. It is time for this injustice to be made known to all. The Lord is going to expose in the media what is happening in these nations. The voices of outrage against this evil will arise, speak and confront. That which has been hidden will come to light. Corruption in government in these nations will be exposed.
Psalm 86: 46-48:
‘How long O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
Will your wrath burn like fire?
Remember how short my time is;
For what futility have You created all the children of men?
What man can live and not see death?
Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave?’
To those crying out in frustration because they see time flashing before their eyes and there seems to be nothing happening in their lives, the Lord says, “Hold fast to Me. The time is soon. You will see My hand of deliverance, You will see the fulfilment of My plans in your life. Yes, it is in your later years, but I will enable you and empower you at just the right time. Be patient!!! Don’t move until I give the command. You will see My hand move as I bring change to what is going on around and about you. I am your defender and you will see breakthrough and victory come when you are not expecting it. It will come in ways different from what you think,. It will be way beyond whatever you dreamed or hoped for. Take heart!!!”
Psalm 35:17:
‘Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue me from their destructions,
My precious life from the lions.’
The devourer is out to bring devastation to the church. It is trying to bring disunity, divisions and dissensions among God’s people. Now is not the time to isolate. It is time to come in, to belong and to receive the Lord’s love and to be strengthened and empowered for what is ahead. We need each other like never before. So come in out of the cold, out of the lonely place into My presence. Be positioned ready to see the Lord move among His people. The Lord is looking for our response. He knows all. You may be one used by God to move when He says move. So come into position, take your stand and see the Lord use you mightily for such a time as this.
Habakkuk cried out to the Lord but the Lord also replied to him. This is the promise the Lord is wanting to release right here and right now.
Habakkuk 1:3:
“Look among the nations and watch -
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.”
Stand and see the deliverance of our God!!! He will come through for you!!!
Thank you Lord.
Amen - So be it
Clear Vision
by Patsy Grubb
This morning I sat at my computer totally focused on what was before me. As I looked up from the computer screen I realised that I could not focus clearly on anything else because all I could see were finger prints and other dirty smudges on my glasses. My glasses were filthy and really did limit greatly what I could see around me. I was totally unaware of any impairment to my vision while I was focused on the computer screen, however, it would have been impossible to have been seeing clearly with the amount of dirt that was on my glasses. I cleaned my glasses and of course could once again see clearly, free from any distortion.
Life can very much mirror the above situation. There are times when we can become so focused on what is staring us in the face that we lose any real perspective of the bigger picture. We become so focused and often obsessive about a moment in time or an offence, comment, incident, action, etc. that we lose all perspective on what God is doing and indeed where we are or could be in God in the bigger picture. Similarly the every-day “stuff” in our lives has the ability to cloud our vision and in turn our judgment, and unfortunately we are not always aware that we are not seeing things clearly until we are alerted by a third party or our own reaction. Often we will react to a gesture, word, or event in a way which is totally over the top before we realise we have somehow become unbalanced in our view or discernment. We can become over sensitive or we can become insensitive to both situations and people. Either of which will distort our perspective.
In regard to the glasses, some of the dirt on them which then caused a distorted view, would have originated with me but also some of the residue would have originated from others and also simply from the atmosphere /environment in which I had been. Similarly the “stuff” in our lives which distorts our perception will come from ourselves, others and different spiritual atmospheres/environments we inhabit. Just as any type of focal lens needs regular cleaning in order for it to serve its purpose properly - in order to keep our perspective clear and untainted we must allow the Holy Spirit to continually clear the residue of sin, pain, offence, un-forgiveness, etc. from our soul. Our soul (mind, will, and emotions) will dictate to us our perception of God, others and ourselves and therefore needs to be continually submitted and surrendered to the Holy Spirit. Only once our souls are healed are we able to have correct discernment and perception. Similarly just as we need our vision checked on a regular basis by an optometrist to ensure that our glasses lenses are still the correct strength for our vision impairment, we regularly need to consult the Holy Spirit to ensure our healing has gone deep enough to continually facilitate clear vision and discernment of God, others and ourselves.
This morning I sat at my computer totally focused on what was before me. As I looked up from the computer screen I realised that I could not focus clearly on anything else because all I could see were finger prints and other dirty smudges on my glasses. My glasses were filthy and really did limit greatly what I could see around me. I was totally unaware of any impairment to my vision while I was focused on the computer screen, however, it would have been impossible to have been seeing clearly with the amount of dirt that was on my glasses. I cleaned my glasses and of course could once again see clearly, free from any distortion.
Life can very much mirror the above situation. There are times when we can become so focused on what is staring us in the face that we lose any real perspective of the bigger picture. We become so focused and often obsessive about a moment in time or an offence, comment, incident, action, etc. that we lose all perspective on what God is doing and indeed where we are or could be in God in the bigger picture. Similarly the every-day “stuff” in our lives has the ability to cloud our vision and in turn our judgment, and unfortunately we are not always aware that we are not seeing things clearly until we are alerted by a third party or our own reaction. Often we will react to a gesture, word, or event in a way which is totally over the top before we realise we have somehow become unbalanced in our view or discernment. We can become over sensitive or we can become insensitive to both situations and people. Either of which will distort our perspective.
In regard to the glasses, some of the dirt on them which then caused a distorted view, would have originated with me but also some of the residue would have originated from others and also simply from the atmosphere /environment in which I had been. Similarly the “stuff” in our lives which distorts our perception will come from ourselves, others and different spiritual atmospheres/environments we inhabit. Just as any type of focal lens needs regular cleaning in order for it to serve its purpose properly - in order to keep our perspective clear and untainted we must allow the Holy Spirit to continually clear the residue of sin, pain, offence, un-forgiveness, etc. from our soul. Our soul (mind, will, and emotions) will dictate to us our perception of God, others and ourselves and therefore needs to be continually submitted and surrendered to the Holy Spirit. Only once our souls are healed are we able to have correct discernment and perception. Similarly just as we need our vision checked on a regular basis by an optometrist to ensure that our glasses lenses are still the correct strength for our vision impairment, we regularly need to consult the Holy Spirit to ensure our healing has gone deep enough to continually facilitate clear vision and discernment of God, others and ourselves.
How Have We Strayed So Far From The Truth
by Glenice Mills
There is something in man that resists the truth of receiving forgiveness. We find ways of trying to twist Jesus death and resurrection by making it more complicated than it is. We cannot believe that we can walk in freedom because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The fruit in the body of Christ often does not bear witness to this freedom. In fact we often come across as the most restrained, uptight, serious, bound-up people around. We carry a wrong understanding of who the Lord is and what He wants to release to us, His beloved ones. Following are some questions we need to ask ourselves:
Why do we minimise the power of the Lord’s death on the cross?
Why are we resistant to believing God would want to release good things to us?
Why do we have this picture of God as a punishing God who wants to make us pay for our sins?
Why do we see God as a mean God who wants to withhold blessing from us?
Why can we not settle with believing God wants to release His blessings upon us without conditions?
How is it that we have been tricked with the lie that somehow we have to earn our way to heaven?
There is a lie from the pit of hell that has bound many of God’s people from coming into true freedom because of a wrong stronghold of thinking that is rooted in Catholicism. It has insidiously crept into the very fabric of the body of Christ and blinded God’s people and distorted how many see Father God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. It has kept people bound in shame rather than in freedom in Christ.
The lie is ‘say three our fathers and a pound in the poor box.’ The statement ‘three hail Mary’s’ is also a lie. We must be on guard watching where the name of Jesus is bought down and other names are exalted into the position that only Jesus holds. Jesus is the only name that absolves us of sin, yet mere mortal men are placed in positions that say a person is absolved from the responsibility of their sin by saying a few words and giving money. It is not the role of a Catholic priest to forgive sin.
How terrible is that!!! This lie must be exposed and challenged for many in the body of Christ have either been raised as Catholics or it is in their family generational line. Catholicism is a false doctrine. This word is not about condemning the innocent people caught up in this thinking, it is about what is being taught and the bondage that many have been entrapped in. The Lord was speaking to me about this the other night and the bondage as a result of these lies that has come upon His people. These lies must be exposed and it is up to us, the Christian body to speak up and speak out to confront them. The doctrine of doing penance must be confronted. The dictionary meaning of penance is: an act of self mortification as expression of repentance, a sacrament involving confession, absolution and act of repentance imposed by a priest. The key word here is imposed. This denies the very truth of the gospel which is we all have free choice, choosing to come and repent or to not repent. No man can make anyone repent, it is by the Spirit of the Lord that repentance comes. Self mortification is not conviction. We should not feel mortified because we have sinned but rather be convicted by the Holy Spirit. Mortification brings shame and puts a burden upon the person. This results in trying to earn our salvation and forgiveness and it is doing it in and of ourselves, in our flesh rather than the leading of the Lord. It is striving and doing things in good works whether that be doing things for God or giving money or striving to be ‘good’ to bring surety that we are forgiven and we will go to heaven. Fear driven ‘if you don’t do this you will go to hell’ is bondage of the worst order. Scripture is very clear, there is only one way to salvation and that is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 9:13-15, ‘For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.’
We are no longer under law but under grace. If we feel compelled to strive to do good works then we cannot be living under the grace of God. Grace is God’s unmerited favour upon His people. It is His free gift to us and it is up to us to receive it and not question whether we feel forgiven or not. The truth is none of us are deserving of God’s grace, as He is a Holy God and as Scripture says, our righteousness is as filthy rags.
1 Timothy 2:5-7, ‘For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle - I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying - a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.’
Scripture is quite clear here, Jesus Christ is our only mediator between God and man. The false idolatry of Mary, the mother of Jesus must be addressed. Giving honour, adoration and false prayer and worship through Mary and the icon of Mary is idolatrous. It is an abomination in God’s sight and it is sin. We need to come back to the Ten Commandments.
Exodus 20:3 - 5, ‘You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image’ - (Mary?) - ‘any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.’
Again Jesus is our intercessor and only through Him can we have redemption of sin. No man or woman can have this role and it has been lax of us lovers of Christ to have not spoken out and to have subtlety come in agreement with this evil, for it is evil.
Hebrews 7:25 -28, ‘Therefore He (Jesus) is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.’
How can these false teachings bring freedom. Jesus shed His blood on the cross that we can have freedom and abundant life. If all we say and do is subject to man made religion, following rules set down by distortion of truth and man’s laws and regulations, then it is up to us as part of the body of Christ to challenge these lies and speak truth. We cannot and must not be in agreement with these teachings. The problem arises when those that come to salvation through Jesus Christ, carry these wrong mindsets and a fear driven lordship by a ‘man of god’. This makes it difficult for God’s people to receive the pure truth about Jesus Christ. The exciting thing is we can repent from believing these wrong doctrines and ask the Lord to release us from the curses resulting from these lies. We can also stand in the gap and repent where our family back through the generations have believed these false doctrines and ask to be released from the curse of this. I started this article with questions concerning whether you feel truly forgiven or feel you always have to make things right. Perhaps there is some Catholic mindsets that have bound you and stopped you coming into the freedom found in Christ Jesus?
That is the power of the blood of Jesus Christ and He wants us to come out of the curses of religion and come into true freedom so we can be all we are meant to be in Him and not by some man made institution.
Thank you Jesus for freedom!!!
There is something in man that resists the truth of receiving forgiveness. We find ways of trying to twist Jesus death and resurrection by making it more complicated than it is. We cannot believe that we can walk in freedom because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The fruit in the body of Christ often does not bear witness to this freedom. In fact we often come across as the most restrained, uptight, serious, bound-up people around. We carry a wrong understanding of who the Lord is and what He wants to release to us, His beloved ones. Following are some questions we need to ask ourselves:
Why do we minimise the power of the Lord’s death on the cross?
Why are we resistant to believing God would want to release good things to us?
Why do we have this picture of God as a punishing God who wants to make us pay for our sins?
Why do we see God as a mean God who wants to withhold blessing from us?
Why can we not settle with believing God wants to release His blessings upon us without conditions?
How is it that we have been tricked with the lie that somehow we have to earn our way to heaven?
There is a lie from the pit of hell that has bound many of God’s people from coming into true freedom because of a wrong stronghold of thinking that is rooted in Catholicism. It has insidiously crept into the very fabric of the body of Christ and blinded God’s people and distorted how many see Father God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. It has kept people bound in shame rather than in freedom in Christ.
The lie is ‘say three our fathers and a pound in the poor box.’ The statement ‘three hail Mary’s’ is also a lie. We must be on guard watching where the name of Jesus is bought down and other names are exalted into the position that only Jesus holds. Jesus is the only name that absolves us of sin, yet mere mortal men are placed in positions that say a person is absolved from the responsibility of their sin by saying a few words and giving money. It is not the role of a Catholic priest to forgive sin.
How terrible is that!!! This lie must be exposed and challenged for many in the body of Christ have either been raised as Catholics or it is in their family generational line. Catholicism is a false doctrine. This word is not about condemning the innocent people caught up in this thinking, it is about what is being taught and the bondage that many have been entrapped in. The Lord was speaking to me about this the other night and the bondage as a result of these lies that has come upon His people. These lies must be exposed and it is up to us, the Christian body to speak up and speak out to confront them. The doctrine of doing penance must be confronted. The dictionary meaning of penance is: an act of self mortification as expression of repentance, a sacrament involving confession, absolution and act of repentance imposed by a priest. The key word here is imposed. This denies the very truth of the gospel which is we all have free choice, choosing to come and repent or to not repent. No man can make anyone repent, it is by the Spirit of the Lord that repentance comes. Self mortification is not conviction. We should not feel mortified because we have sinned but rather be convicted by the Holy Spirit. Mortification brings shame and puts a burden upon the person. This results in trying to earn our salvation and forgiveness and it is doing it in and of ourselves, in our flesh rather than the leading of the Lord. It is striving and doing things in good works whether that be doing things for God or giving money or striving to be ‘good’ to bring surety that we are forgiven and we will go to heaven. Fear driven ‘if you don’t do this you will go to hell’ is bondage of the worst order. Scripture is very clear, there is only one way to salvation and that is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 9:13-15, ‘For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.’
We are no longer under law but under grace. If we feel compelled to strive to do good works then we cannot be living under the grace of God. Grace is God’s unmerited favour upon His people. It is His free gift to us and it is up to us to receive it and not question whether we feel forgiven or not. The truth is none of us are deserving of God’s grace, as He is a Holy God and as Scripture says, our righteousness is as filthy rags.
1 Timothy 2:5-7, ‘For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle - I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying - a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.’
Scripture is quite clear here, Jesus Christ is our only mediator between God and man. The false idolatry of Mary, the mother of Jesus must be addressed. Giving honour, adoration and false prayer and worship through Mary and the icon of Mary is idolatrous. It is an abomination in God’s sight and it is sin. We need to come back to the Ten Commandments.
Exodus 20:3 - 5, ‘You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image’ - (Mary?) - ‘any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.’
Again Jesus is our intercessor and only through Him can we have redemption of sin. No man or woman can have this role and it has been lax of us lovers of Christ to have not spoken out and to have subtlety come in agreement with this evil, for it is evil.
Hebrews 7:25 -28, ‘Therefore He (Jesus) is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.’
How can these false teachings bring freedom. Jesus shed His blood on the cross that we can have freedom and abundant life. If all we say and do is subject to man made religion, following rules set down by distortion of truth and man’s laws and regulations, then it is up to us as part of the body of Christ to challenge these lies and speak truth. We cannot and must not be in agreement with these teachings. The problem arises when those that come to salvation through Jesus Christ, carry these wrong mindsets and a fear driven lordship by a ‘man of god’. This makes it difficult for God’s people to receive the pure truth about Jesus Christ. The exciting thing is we can repent from believing these wrong doctrines and ask the Lord to release us from the curses resulting from these lies. We can also stand in the gap and repent where our family back through the generations have believed these false doctrines and ask to be released from the curse of this. I started this article with questions concerning whether you feel truly forgiven or feel you always have to make things right. Perhaps there is some Catholic mindsets that have bound you and stopped you coming into the freedom found in Christ Jesus?
That is the power of the blood of Jesus Christ and He wants us to come out of the curses of religion and come into true freedom so we can be all we are meant to be in Him and not by some man made institution.
Thank you Jesus for freedom!!!
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
An Encouragement To The Church
by Patsy Grubb
Integrity: honesty
Honour : (on or upon one’s )
(a) acknowledging personal responsibility for one’s actions.
(b) pledging one’s reputation as to the truthfulness of a statement, etc.
(c) promising obedience or good behaviour.
As Christians, representatives of Christ Jesus, it is our responsibility to ensure we do not discredit or dishonour God by representing Him inaccurately within the context of our daily lives. I am not talking about being perfect people all of the time. I am referring to how we conduct ourselves in situations in which we witness behaviours and ethics, etc. contrary to our beliefs and Christ’s teachings. For example - How do we respond to injustice in our work place? Do we ignore it ? Do we get angry about it but not speak up ? Do we respond in the same spirit or simply mind our own business?
God requires that we make a stand for justice. This is imperative regardless of the cost. Even if we do not address injustice by verbally speaking out against it we must address injustice with our actions. We must be a living example of justice within our work place and broader community because that is both the battle ground and the harvest God has entrusted to us for this time. Regardless of what flows down from the top we must always conduct ourselves with integrity, and we must honour our word, promises, agreements, and commitments regardless of the consequences. We must weigh our words, measure them and only speak them if we can do as we say.
It is imperative that we honour the authority over us even when that authority is not Godly because they have been placed in that position by God and He will work within us what He desires through our honouring of that authority. Honouring authority does not mean however, adopting ethics, standards, etc if those standards etc are contrary to God. If we truly honour God we will adopt the standards, ethics, etc . that He has set for us.
Compromise is not an option when it comes to justice issues. Our behaviour must reflect our conviction. If we do not stand for righteousness in our everyday lives, how will we be counted as righteous in times of true persecution? If God alone sees our efforts to stand for what is good and right, is it not worth the battle?
Integrity: honesty
Honour : (on or upon one’s )
(a) acknowledging personal responsibility for one’s actions.
(b) pledging one’s reputation as to the truthfulness of a statement, etc.
(c) promising obedience or good behaviour.
As Christians, representatives of Christ Jesus, it is our responsibility to ensure we do not discredit or dishonour God by representing Him inaccurately within the context of our daily lives. I am not talking about being perfect people all of the time. I am referring to how we conduct ourselves in situations in which we witness behaviours and ethics, etc. contrary to our beliefs and Christ’s teachings. For example - How do we respond to injustice in our work place? Do we ignore it ? Do we get angry about it but not speak up ? Do we respond in the same spirit or simply mind our own business?
God requires that we make a stand for justice. This is imperative regardless of the cost. Even if we do not address injustice by verbally speaking out against it we must address injustice with our actions. We must be a living example of justice within our work place and broader community because that is both the battle ground and the harvest God has entrusted to us for this time. Regardless of what flows down from the top we must always conduct ourselves with integrity, and we must honour our word, promises, agreements, and commitments regardless of the consequences. We must weigh our words, measure them and only speak them if we can do as we say.
It is imperative that we honour the authority over us even when that authority is not Godly because they have been placed in that position by God and He will work within us what He desires through our honouring of that authority. Honouring authority does not mean however, adopting ethics, standards, etc if those standards etc are contrary to God. If we truly honour God we will adopt the standards, ethics, etc . that He has set for us.
Compromise is not an option when it comes to justice issues. Our behaviour must reflect our conviction. If we do not stand for righteousness in our everyday lives, how will we be counted as righteous in times of true persecution? If God alone sees our efforts to stand for what is good and right, is it not worth the battle?
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
I Love You Africa
by Belinda Jabore
I was given a ticket to go and see a show called “Mother Africa” at the casino here on the Gold Coast and the highlight of this show was a man who played an instrument (I think it was ) called the Kora. As he was playing I had such an amazing interpretation of Gods heart for Africa. It was like I wasn’t at the casino but in a heavenly place and I was feeling and sensing His love for Africa. I probably will not do this justice as I felt words could not describe what I felt, but with my inability to express heavenly words and feelings I pray you would get the Lords, His heart for Africa.
“Oh how I love you Africa. Africa My love, My pearl, My jewel, My sweet smell of hope and glory. I love you with a passion of the wind sweeping over My land of beauty, every crevice is filled for My love for you oh Africa. The fragrances of heaven surround you and are in your midst. I have smelt your fragrance and longed for you to be by My side for all eternity to see. As you are enriched deep into me and as the land needs the rain and thirsts for rain, this is how much I long to smell and breath you in oh Africa. As you are My refreshing and My amazing sign of My hope and forgiveness. Your jewels are like the rays of hope and life. Where there was once shabbiness in the light now it will break forth into My heavenly delight, in to what it was always meant to be. To shine forth like the brightest of the morning glory stars that bring forth prisms of light to save and bring forth My radiance and My delight. Oh My beautiful Africa how I love you, as you are with Me you will come into your finest moment to serve Me and to glorify Me.
You are a whirlwind and hurricane of unexplained rainbows in the sky and there will be new hope scattered forth from these prisms of light that will be a spectacular display of My love and hope to your land oh Africa. You have a light that will never go out for Me, as My love for you will be the very thing that holds you to Me. For see, only My love and those who love Me will stand in My glory and see My glory. Oh Africa, oh Africa, My beauty, My fragrance of love and hope.
I was given a ticket to go and see a show called “Mother Africa” at the casino here on the Gold Coast and the highlight of this show was a man who played an instrument (I think it was ) called the Kora. As he was playing I had such an amazing interpretation of Gods heart for Africa. It was like I wasn’t at the casino but in a heavenly place and I was feeling and sensing His love for Africa. I probably will not do this justice as I felt words could not describe what I felt, but with my inability to express heavenly words and feelings I pray you would get the Lords, His heart for Africa.
“Oh how I love you Africa. Africa My love, My pearl, My jewel, My sweet smell of hope and glory. I love you with a passion of the wind sweeping over My land of beauty, every crevice is filled for My love for you oh Africa. The fragrances of heaven surround you and are in your midst. I have smelt your fragrance and longed for you to be by My side for all eternity to see. As you are enriched deep into me and as the land needs the rain and thirsts for rain, this is how much I long to smell and breath you in oh Africa. As you are My refreshing and My amazing sign of My hope and forgiveness. Your jewels are like the rays of hope and life. Where there was once shabbiness in the light now it will break forth into My heavenly delight, in to what it was always meant to be. To shine forth like the brightest of the morning glory stars that bring forth prisms of light to save and bring forth My radiance and My delight. Oh My beautiful Africa how I love you, as you are with Me you will come into your finest moment to serve Me and to glorify Me.
You are a whirlwind and hurricane of unexplained rainbows in the sky and there will be new hope scattered forth from these prisms of light that will be a spectacular display of My love and hope to your land oh Africa. You have a light that will never go out for Me, as My love for you will be the very thing that holds you to Me. For see, only My love and those who love Me will stand in My glory and see My glory. Oh Africa, oh Africa, My beauty, My fragrance of love and hope.
Pressure
by Johanna Van Weeren
My saints have been under great pressure. Pressure which I have allowed. Pressure by it’s very nature must be released or destruction will come to the vessel holding that pressure. All those who have held together under the pressure will be released. Those who have not held together or who have released their own pressure will not be used in this next move of Mine.
All saints from ages past have waited and longed for this final move of Mine. Those who have walked out this journey with Me know who they are and they will walk in My Glory in the days to come. This Glory cannot be taken from them nor can another be given it. I have sealed those to hold it. It will be envied but those who carry it have earned the right through trial by fire. All others will be subject to that Glory.
My saints have been under great pressure. Pressure which I have allowed. Pressure by it’s very nature must be released or destruction will come to the vessel holding that pressure. All those who have held together under the pressure will be released. Those who have not held together or who have released their own pressure will not be used in this next move of Mine.
All saints from ages past have waited and longed for this final move of Mine. Those who have walked out this journey with Me know who they are and they will walk in My Glory in the days to come. This Glory cannot be taken from them nor can another be given it. I have sealed those to hold it. It will be envied but those who carry it have earned the right through trial by fire. All others will be subject to that Glory.
Thursday, 12 August 2010
If We Love Him We Will Obey Him
by Belinda Jabore
I would like to continue in the Sabbath and its promises for us. The safety and protection it will bring to us His people.
I love it how the Lord clearly keeps saying it is a sign between Me and you (twice) in
Ezekiel 20:12, ‘Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me , that they may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’
Exodus 31:13, 31:17- In these scriptures the Lord speaks about the Sabbath being a sign between Me and you again, (twice) in the same verse. God is really trying to make this clear heh. Yet I love the part that He speaks about it being throughout the generations, that you may know that I am the Lord God who sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. (Holy meaning- morally and spiritually excellent or perfect, and to be revered; belonging to or devoted to God. consecrated, sacred.) (Sanctified – meaning consecrate; treat as holy; free from sin; justify.)
So to me His promise to us is that we will be continually sanctified, made holy and refreshed in the Sabbath. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to miss out on His promises. We need all the help we can get. This is a conditional word to us as His people to be obedient, faithful (not rebellious) - being sanctified and refreshed in His presence. This is a sign between us and God that we follow Him. This is about God’s authority. When I spoke last time re holy days or holidays this is about the catholic church changing the holy Sabbath day of God almighty Himself from Saturday to Sunday. Ultimately, this is about Gods authority verses mans. This is why coming into the Sabbath is so crucial as it will separate the sacred and the secular. “It will be a sign between them and Me, that they may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them”. It is also about standing for righteousness.
We must come and receive and believe Him. If we don’t it then goes on to say in Exodus 31: 12-18, ‘Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death: for who ever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.’ (profane means- irreverent, blasphemous, not sacred or biblical; secular; treat (especially a sacred thing) irreverently or with disrespect)- Of coarse that is not literal – But it is and would be a spiritual death not being able to hear His voice and to know His ways. Being deceived, and not being able to hear Him. Ahh what could be worse than that!
It also says that to observe the Sabbath as a perpetual covenant. (Perpetual meaning- lasting forever or indefinitely; continuous; uninterrupted.) It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever: for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.
Isaiah 58:13, “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honourable, and shall honour Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
So here is one of the promises the Lord has for us that He will cause us to ride on the high hills of the earth. What will that look like I ask myself? It sounds too good to miss to me.
In Exodus 20:8 10th Commandment.
In Deuteronomy 26:16-19, It says you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. Then the blessings come that He will set us high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honour, and that you may be a holy people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken. More blessings on obedience in Duet 28:1-14. Then the opposite comes as it continues on in curses on disobedience. Ahh I sure know which one I am choosing!
I would like to end in this, Hebrews 3 and 4 says it all but especially this part;
BE FAITHFUL
Hebrews 3:7-15
“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says;
Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
In the day of trial in the wilderness,
Where your fathers tested Me, and tried Me,
And saw My works forty years.
Therefore I was angry with that generation,
And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart,
And they have not known My ways’
So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest’.
Beware, brethren, lest their be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today”, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said:
‘Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in rebellion”.
Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:
“So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’”
Although the works were finished from the foundations of the world. For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “ And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”, and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”
Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:
“Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”
For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, and shaper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Gods love for us is such an amazing thing.
No eye has seen or ear has heard what God has in store and prepared for those who love Him.
If we love Him we will obey Him…
I would like to continue in the Sabbath and its promises for us. The safety and protection it will bring to us His people.
I love it how the Lord clearly keeps saying it is a sign between Me and you (twice) in
Ezekiel 20:12, ‘Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me , that they may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’
Exodus 31:13, 31:17- In these scriptures the Lord speaks about the Sabbath being a sign between Me and you again, (twice) in the same verse. God is really trying to make this clear heh. Yet I love the part that He speaks about it being throughout the generations, that you may know that I am the Lord God who sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. (Holy meaning- morally and spiritually excellent or perfect, and to be revered; belonging to or devoted to God. consecrated, sacred.) (Sanctified – meaning consecrate; treat as holy; free from sin; justify.)
So to me His promise to us is that we will be continually sanctified, made holy and refreshed in the Sabbath. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to miss out on His promises. We need all the help we can get. This is a conditional word to us as His people to be obedient, faithful (not rebellious) - being sanctified and refreshed in His presence. This is a sign between us and God that we follow Him. This is about God’s authority. When I spoke last time re holy days or holidays this is about the catholic church changing the holy Sabbath day of God almighty Himself from Saturday to Sunday. Ultimately, this is about Gods authority verses mans. This is why coming into the Sabbath is so crucial as it will separate the sacred and the secular. “It will be a sign between them and Me, that they may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them”. It is also about standing for righteousness.
We must come and receive and believe Him. If we don’t it then goes on to say in Exodus 31: 12-18, ‘Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death: for who ever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.’ (profane means- irreverent, blasphemous, not sacred or biblical; secular; treat (especially a sacred thing) irreverently or with disrespect)- Of coarse that is not literal – But it is and would be a spiritual death not being able to hear His voice and to know His ways. Being deceived, and not being able to hear Him. Ahh what could be worse than that!
It also says that to observe the Sabbath as a perpetual covenant. (Perpetual meaning- lasting forever or indefinitely; continuous; uninterrupted.) It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever: for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.
Isaiah 58:13, “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honourable, and shall honour Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
So here is one of the promises the Lord has for us that He will cause us to ride on the high hills of the earth. What will that look like I ask myself? It sounds too good to miss to me.
In Exodus 20:8 10th Commandment.
In Deuteronomy 26:16-19, It says you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. Then the blessings come that He will set us high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honour, and that you may be a holy people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken. More blessings on obedience in Duet 28:1-14. Then the opposite comes as it continues on in curses on disobedience. Ahh I sure know which one I am choosing!
I would like to end in this, Hebrews 3 and 4 says it all but especially this part;
BE FAITHFUL
Hebrews 3:7-15
“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says;
Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
In the day of trial in the wilderness,
Where your fathers tested Me, and tried Me,
And saw My works forty years.
Therefore I was angry with that generation,
And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart,
And they have not known My ways’
So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest’.
Beware, brethren, lest their be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today”, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said:
‘Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in rebellion”.
Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:
“So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’”
Although the works were finished from the foundations of the world. For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “ And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”, and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”
Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:
“Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”
For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, and shaper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Gods love for us is such an amazing thing.
No eye has seen or ear has heard what God has in store and prepared for those who love Him.
If we love Him we will obey Him…
Freedom in Surrender
by Patsy Grubb
I am constantly amazed at the innate ability creation has to adapt to changing surroundings and circumstances. God in His infinite wisdom has caused His creation to be as resilient and flexible as it is diverse.
There are creatures who live in water and yet in times of drought bury themselves deep in the earth to survive until the next wet season arrives. Camels who like to drink once a week, however, survive for much longer periods without water. Trees that require fire in order to reseed. Animals who shed their skins or lose or lessen their coats through malting, depending on their needs. Lizards and reptiles that drop their tails in order to escape predators. Animals that have the ability to blend perfectly with their surroundings through colour change. Everywhere we look in nature we can see amazing examples of adaptation, often due to extreme circumstances and of course due to the natural cycles of life.
We as humans seem to be in many ways less willing to adapt to our surroundings and /or circumstances, preferring instead to control our environments very carefully in order to minimise it’s impact upon us. We take every opportunity to control every aspect of our lives to ensure our safety and security lies within our own hands. We invent and reinvent ……….. surroundings, gadgets, relationships, communities and entire lives.
Rarely do we embrace that which will strengthen, discipline and develop us, but rather we search out that which will comfort, appease and pleasure us; often to our great detriment. Regardless of our need or desire we will always control from a base of fear. Fear will always be at the heart of control regardless of our consciousness of it.
Just as we seek to control in the natural, we also attempt to control in the realm of the soul. In order to feel safe and secure we distance ourselves from our negative experiences and the resulting emotions and begin to create an environment or false reality that enables us to feel less threatened and less hurt. Pain is an alarm system that warns us that something is not right, out of balance or order. It is a powerful indicator. However we tend to mask pain to gain temporary relief rather than investigating the origin /source of it. We begin to erect barriers and structures around us that enable us to better deal with the situation/experience and the pain thereof. We deal with our pain and discomfort and for a time are satisfied, however, because the source has not been found and treated it is only a matter of time before the pain and discomfort returns often in a greater measure and so the need for greater control arises. For many this process is repeated time and time again until they are surrounded by mechanisms that allow them to cope ,to exist, but have robbed them of any quality of life.
When we receive the revelation that we must deal with our pain at the source, in order to be free of it, we then find ourselves with the unenviable task of having to dismantle the very structures we have erected for our self protection, in order to get to that original source.
By nature we take that which God has made simple for our sake, and inadvertently complicate it until we become almost lost in its complexities. Our pain and grief along with the structures we have put in place to deal with them become like a giant spider web which entangles us. The more we struggle to escape the more entangled we become until the very fear we have been seeking to avoid paralysis us and causes us to become devoid of life.
Our only true escape from fear is to surrender to the love of God.
John 4:18 tells us, “there is no fear in love: but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”
In order to be free from fear and the subsequent need to control every factor of our lives and the lives of others, we must allow ourselves to be filled and perfected by the love of God. Only then can we be truly free to be all that we were created to be. Just as God Himself ensures the rising and the setting of the sun, the ebb and flow of the tides, the phases of the moon, He Himself has orchestrated a perfect plan for our life.
In order to truly live we must draw what we need from the source of our existence, not try to manufacture for ourselves that which we believe we need.
The perfect love of God is the only true source of total security and it is freely available to everyone through Jesus Christ.
My prayer would be that we swiftly find freedom in surrender.
I am constantly amazed at the innate ability creation has to adapt to changing surroundings and circumstances. God in His infinite wisdom has caused His creation to be as resilient and flexible as it is diverse.
There are creatures who live in water and yet in times of drought bury themselves deep in the earth to survive until the next wet season arrives. Camels who like to drink once a week, however, survive for much longer periods without water. Trees that require fire in order to reseed. Animals who shed their skins or lose or lessen their coats through malting, depending on their needs. Lizards and reptiles that drop their tails in order to escape predators. Animals that have the ability to blend perfectly with their surroundings through colour change. Everywhere we look in nature we can see amazing examples of adaptation, often due to extreme circumstances and of course due to the natural cycles of life.
We as humans seem to be in many ways less willing to adapt to our surroundings and /or circumstances, preferring instead to control our environments very carefully in order to minimise it’s impact upon us. We take every opportunity to control every aspect of our lives to ensure our safety and security lies within our own hands. We invent and reinvent ……….. surroundings, gadgets, relationships, communities and entire lives.
Rarely do we embrace that which will strengthen, discipline and develop us, but rather we search out that which will comfort, appease and pleasure us; often to our great detriment. Regardless of our need or desire we will always control from a base of fear. Fear will always be at the heart of control regardless of our consciousness of it.
Just as we seek to control in the natural, we also attempt to control in the realm of the soul. In order to feel safe and secure we distance ourselves from our negative experiences and the resulting emotions and begin to create an environment or false reality that enables us to feel less threatened and less hurt. Pain is an alarm system that warns us that something is not right, out of balance or order. It is a powerful indicator. However we tend to mask pain to gain temporary relief rather than investigating the origin /source of it. We begin to erect barriers and structures around us that enable us to better deal with the situation/experience and the pain thereof. We deal with our pain and discomfort and for a time are satisfied, however, because the source has not been found and treated it is only a matter of time before the pain and discomfort returns often in a greater measure and so the need for greater control arises. For many this process is repeated time and time again until they are surrounded by mechanisms that allow them to cope ,to exist, but have robbed them of any quality of life.
When we receive the revelation that we must deal with our pain at the source, in order to be free of it, we then find ourselves with the unenviable task of having to dismantle the very structures we have erected for our self protection, in order to get to that original source.
By nature we take that which God has made simple for our sake, and inadvertently complicate it until we become almost lost in its complexities. Our pain and grief along with the structures we have put in place to deal with them become like a giant spider web which entangles us. The more we struggle to escape the more entangled we become until the very fear we have been seeking to avoid paralysis us and causes us to become devoid of life.
Our only true escape from fear is to surrender to the love of God.
John 4:18 tells us, “there is no fear in love: but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”
In order to be free from fear and the subsequent need to control every factor of our lives and the lives of others, we must allow ourselves to be filled and perfected by the love of God. Only then can we be truly free to be all that we were created to be. Just as God Himself ensures the rising and the setting of the sun, the ebb and flow of the tides, the phases of the moon, He Himself has orchestrated a perfect plan for our life.
In order to truly live we must draw what we need from the source of our existence, not try to manufacture for ourselves that which we believe we need.
The perfect love of God is the only true source of total security and it is freely available to everyone through Jesus Christ.
My prayer would be that we swiftly find freedom in surrender.
My Beloved Intercessors
by Johanna Van Weeren
Revelation 2:26-29, ‘He who overcomes, and he who keeps my works to the end, to him I will give authority over the nations. He will rule them with a rod of iron, shattering them like clay pots; as I also have received of my Father: and I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.’
Leviticus 10: 10, ‘and that you are to make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean.’
The Body of Christ is coming into a new and living way, which our current path of self death and severe purging has prepared us for. It is now time to pass through those last barriers and to be found in Him. We will each obtain profound understandings that we longed to walk in but were unable to in our previous condition. But now, the Grace is given to move into the deep, deep truths that will launch us forwards into fulfilling our high call.
The current apostolic reformation has only begun. God is maturing and positioning apostles to set the church in order and to wisely distribute His authority until every last follower is walking in maturity and power. Then the creation itself can be restored to its perfect state through the sons of God.
My Beloved:
My beauty is being released in this hour. Mantles of favour and beauty are beginning to fall upon my people. You ask why beauty, you would say, I can understand favour. But why beauty? I am a God of beauty, my creation is beautiful and drawn to beauty. In this hour you shall see my glory. My glory is beautiful, it is attractive and wooing to the lost. This is an hour unlike any before it’s time.
A time to ponder and tarry in prayer. Position your self upon your knees and lay before me to seek my face. Although you would look around you and you feel the “cards” are in the enemies hand, you must remember I “own the house, and the house is on your side”. Things may look grim globally and the very ground you walk upon seems unsteady and unsure, but remember that you don’t trust in horses or chariots, but you trust in the name of the Lord.
I will have my purposes come to pass and I will use you in this hour to display my glory, my beauty and my favour. Get ready, and position yourselves before my throne face down, for I have much to share with you. I have much to impart to you in this hour.
For I would further say to you that this is the hour of my open heaven. This is a season of a window of heaven being opened and I am purposefully and intentionally mantling you anew for this hour and season. Again, I would say to you, position yourselves that you may receive what I have in store for you. These mantles will not only sustain you for the years ahead, but will release those who are captive, and lost. Come unto me for I am lowly of spirit, and I am gentle with my beloved one’s. You have a saviour who adores you and who longs to adorn you with his heavenly treasures, gifts and impeccable character.
Watchman it is time to get up out of your slumber. It is a time to wake up for the alarm clock has sounded and you must rise early. You will hear the call of the geese as they pass over your land for they call out for the intercession that will be needed in the days ahead. Many are being called in this hour to prayer. Many. Will you answer the call, or will you stay in your slumbering state? Awake O sleeper and rise to the occasion. I have sent my precious Holy Spirit upon you preparing you for this hour. As the redwoods have been burned out and all that remains is the shell, so is it that I have burned out your flesh so that I could have a place to rest within you. I have prepared a place for my presence to dwell within you. Arise My loves, my fair ones and come and dine with me. For I have so many things that are upon my heart that need your intercession. Come, I say come while it’s early and join me in intercession before our Father.
Isa 58:10-12, “And if you pour out that with which you sustain your own life for the hungry and satisfy the need of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in darkness, and your obscurity and gloom become like the noonday. And the Lord shall guide you continually and satisfy you in drought and in dry places and make strong your bones. And you shall be like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose waters fail not. And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of buildings that have laid waste for many generations, and you shall be called Repairer of the breach. Restorer of streets to dwell in.”
Rise up mighty intercessors!
Go in peace. I have it all in hand. Be not distressed. I AM.
Now rejoice in the Lord your God. Truly the time for rejoicing has come. We have crossed a threshold, entered a new era, having come a long way to this point. The new has begun. See it, sense it in the Spirit. Relax and rejoice.
Oh, my soul, rejoice! How many times have you sung that? Now is the time to release that joy. When the world is mourning its losses, let the people of God release and express their joy, which is resident on the inside of them, a joy no one can take away. I say, let joy be released!
Revelation 2:26-29, ‘He who overcomes, and he who keeps my works to the end, to him I will give authority over the nations. He will rule them with a rod of iron, shattering them like clay pots; as I also have received of my Father: and I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.’
Leviticus 10: 10, ‘and that you are to make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean.’
The Body of Christ is coming into a new and living way, which our current path of self death and severe purging has prepared us for. It is now time to pass through those last barriers and to be found in Him. We will each obtain profound understandings that we longed to walk in but were unable to in our previous condition. But now, the Grace is given to move into the deep, deep truths that will launch us forwards into fulfilling our high call.
The current apostolic reformation has only begun. God is maturing and positioning apostles to set the church in order and to wisely distribute His authority until every last follower is walking in maturity and power. Then the creation itself can be restored to its perfect state through the sons of God.
My Beloved:
My beauty is being released in this hour. Mantles of favour and beauty are beginning to fall upon my people. You ask why beauty, you would say, I can understand favour. But why beauty? I am a God of beauty, my creation is beautiful and drawn to beauty. In this hour you shall see my glory. My glory is beautiful, it is attractive and wooing to the lost. This is an hour unlike any before it’s time.
A time to ponder and tarry in prayer. Position your self upon your knees and lay before me to seek my face. Although you would look around you and you feel the “cards” are in the enemies hand, you must remember I “own the house, and the house is on your side”. Things may look grim globally and the very ground you walk upon seems unsteady and unsure, but remember that you don’t trust in horses or chariots, but you trust in the name of the Lord.
I will have my purposes come to pass and I will use you in this hour to display my glory, my beauty and my favour. Get ready, and position yourselves before my throne face down, for I have much to share with you. I have much to impart to you in this hour.
For I would further say to you that this is the hour of my open heaven. This is a season of a window of heaven being opened and I am purposefully and intentionally mantling you anew for this hour and season. Again, I would say to you, position yourselves that you may receive what I have in store for you. These mantles will not only sustain you for the years ahead, but will release those who are captive, and lost. Come unto me for I am lowly of spirit, and I am gentle with my beloved one’s. You have a saviour who adores you and who longs to adorn you with his heavenly treasures, gifts and impeccable character.
Watchman it is time to get up out of your slumber. It is a time to wake up for the alarm clock has sounded and you must rise early. You will hear the call of the geese as they pass over your land for they call out for the intercession that will be needed in the days ahead. Many are being called in this hour to prayer. Many. Will you answer the call, or will you stay in your slumbering state? Awake O sleeper and rise to the occasion. I have sent my precious Holy Spirit upon you preparing you for this hour. As the redwoods have been burned out and all that remains is the shell, so is it that I have burned out your flesh so that I could have a place to rest within you. I have prepared a place for my presence to dwell within you. Arise My loves, my fair ones and come and dine with me. For I have so many things that are upon my heart that need your intercession. Come, I say come while it’s early and join me in intercession before our Father.
Isa 58:10-12, “And if you pour out that with which you sustain your own life for the hungry and satisfy the need of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in darkness, and your obscurity and gloom become like the noonday. And the Lord shall guide you continually and satisfy you in drought and in dry places and make strong your bones. And you shall be like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose waters fail not. And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of buildings that have laid waste for many generations, and you shall be called Repairer of the breach. Restorer of streets to dwell in.”
Rise up mighty intercessors!
Go in peace. I have it all in hand. Be not distressed. I AM.
Now rejoice in the Lord your God. Truly the time for rejoicing has come. We have crossed a threshold, entered a new era, having come a long way to this point. The new has begun. See it, sense it in the Spirit. Relax and rejoice.
Oh, my soul, rejoice! How many times have you sung that? Now is the time to release that joy. When the world is mourning its losses, let the people of God release and express their joy, which is resident on the inside of them, a joy no one can take away. I say, let joy be released!
His Will Not Ours
by Tony Clark
I was out shopping the other day and noticed a couple walking together and John 1:12-13 was impressed upon my spirit.
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13
I believe that what God was speaking to me about was not in relation to people being born of God, but more the fact that there are things being birthed out of the will of man and the will of the flesh that are far from the will of God – So much goes on in this world that originates in self will and fleshly wants and desires and is far from what God intended and is not birthed in Him nor is it pleasing to Him.
In relation to marriages and relationships, in the world and in the church, many people follow “a way that seems right to man but it’s end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14:12
People get into relationships for all kinds of reasons, without consulting God and their God given leaders, and because of fleshly wants and needs, or because they have been wounded in their hearts, try to fill the voids that are created, and look to relationships for comfort or to escape the pain they feel, but this can result in compounding the very problems they are trying to fix in further damaging their hearts, relying on and trusting in others instead of God – who is the only one that can heal them. Ask me how I know this!
In particular I felt the Holy Spirit focusing on the fact that there is a lot being done in the earth that is not of Him and is purely the will of the flesh and the will of man. This grieves the heart of God.
One prevalent incorrect attitude in the church that God has been highlighting to me is that “If it’s God’s will then it will happen, what I do doesn’t affect that.” (Which is really eastern philosophy). But the fact remains that there is a lot happening in our lives that is not His will and some things that He has willed for us have never happened, because we are resisting Him and we have another way of doing things that we think will get us what WE want, and get our needs met.
A scripture that comes to mind is that “All things work together for good to those that love Him, to those who and are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 – People love that scripture.
We can look at this to mean that no matter what I do, all the trouble I get myself into, all of the things I choose over His will, all the results of me doing things my way: God will in some way make it all work out for me and get me where I need to be and fulfil His will for my life. But I wonder whether doing our own thing, our own way and resisting Him is what He meant by “those that love Him” in this verse – when we know that to love God is to obey Him?
And there is grace, God is amazingly long suffering and patient with us, and we all go through stages of learning and immaturity, where God allows us to mess up and teaches us, in and through our experience, and although there are still consequences for our actions somehow we get to where we need to be because of His favour. But then there’s a time to grow up, as we become more aware of the consequences of our actions and what our sin does to the heart of God, to ourselves, and to others, and find that the grace that once shielded us from the harshness of the penalty of sin is meant to empower us to live a holy life so that we can honestly continue to say “I love You” without contradicting ourselves by choosing our will over His every time. That’s not Love.
Another scripture – “The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord” Psalm 37:23
I once wondered whether this meant that the things I found myself doing were predestined or controlled by God, and that I had very little real choice in the way I did things. But once again it’s the righteous man that has his steps ordered by the Lord, the man that is led by the Spirit, not the fleshly man that walks according to the lusts of his evil heart. As we choose Him, and are led by Him we will walk in His perfect will.
I feel that the plan of God in this dispensation is to have men and woman that are led by Him, that are no longer controlled by the lusts of this world, that have chosen Him, over themselves, and their own desires and will, and have truly come into the reality of “It’s no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.” When a people like this are alive and well on this planet we will see great fruit and a massive harvest for the Kingdom of God, because its what He does that is perfect and it’s what He does that brings the result. We cannot do anything of value without Him, our “good works” are really selfishness and bear little real eternal fruit in God. But coupled with the Holy Spirit, led by God every action will send ripples into eternity.
God loves us, and patiently works His perfect purpose in us, but I cant help but feel that things are getting more serious, and there is a lot more required of us than there has been in the past, because time really is short. We can have our own lives and our own plans and our own agendas but we will miss out on so much!
“I know the thoughts(plans) I have for you, thoughts(plans) of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
The only thing that will last is what we do in Him, everything else will fall away. There is such reward (of GREAT magnitude) for those that will choose His way, and only they will taste of it.
Get healed, seek God, submit to your leaders, repent of your sin as the Holy Spirit makes it visible, as He convicts, and trust in the God who can do ALL things!
I was out shopping the other day and noticed a couple walking together and John 1:12-13 was impressed upon my spirit.
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13
I believe that what God was speaking to me about was not in relation to people being born of God, but more the fact that there are things being birthed out of the will of man and the will of the flesh that are far from the will of God – So much goes on in this world that originates in self will and fleshly wants and desires and is far from what God intended and is not birthed in Him nor is it pleasing to Him.
In relation to marriages and relationships, in the world and in the church, many people follow “a way that seems right to man but it’s end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14:12
People get into relationships for all kinds of reasons, without consulting God and their God given leaders, and because of fleshly wants and needs, or because they have been wounded in their hearts, try to fill the voids that are created, and look to relationships for comfort or to escape the pain they feel, but this can result in compounding the very problems they are trying to fix in further damaging their hearts, relying on and trusting in others instead of God – who is the only one that can heal them. Ask me how I know this!
In particular I felt the Holy Spirit focusing on the fact that there is a lot being done in the earth that is not of Him and is purely the will of the flesh and the will of man. This grieves the heart of God.
One prevalent incorrect attitude in the church that God has been highlighting to me is that “If it’s God’s will then it will happen, what I do doesn’t affect that.” (Which is really eastern philosophy). But the fact remains that there is a lot happening in our lives that is not His will and some things that He has willed for us have never happened, because we are resisting Him and we have another way of doing things that we think will get us what WE want, and get our needs met.
A scripture that comes to mind is that “All things work together for good to those that love Him, to those who and are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 – People love that scripture.
We can look at this to mean that no matter what I do, all the trouble I get myself into, all of the things I choose over His will, all the results of me doing things my way: God will in some way make it all work out for me and get me where I need to be and fulfil His will for my life. But I wonder whether doing our own thing, our own way and resisting Him is what He meant by “those that love Him” in this verse – when we know that to love God is to obey Him?
And there is grace, God is amazingly long suffering and patient with us, and we all go through stages of learning and immaturity, where God allows us to mess up and teaches us, in and through our experience, and although there are still consequences for our actions somehow we get to where we need to be because of His favour. But then there’s a time to grow up, as we become more aware of the consequences of our actions and what our sin does to the heart of God, to ourselves, and to others, and find that the grace that once shielded us from the harshness of the penalty of sin is meant to empower us to live a holy life so that we can honestly continue to say “I love You” without contradicting ourselves by choosing our will over His every time. That’s not Love.
Another scripture – “The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord” Psalm 37:23
I once wondered whether this meant that the things I found myself doing were predestined or controlled by God, and that I had very little real choice in the way I did things. But once again it’s the righteous man that has his steps ordered by the Lord, the man that is led by the Spirit, not the fleshly man that walks according to the lusts of his evil heart. As we choose Him, and are led by Him we will walk in His perfect will.
I feel that the plan of God in this dispensation is to have men and woman that are led by Him, that are no longer controlled by the lusts of this world, that have chosen Him, over themselves, and their own desires and will, and have truly come into the reality of “It’s no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.” When a people like this are alive and well on this planet we will see great fruit and a massive harvest for the Kingdom of God, because its what He does that is perfect and it’s what He does that brings the result. We cannot do anything of value without Him, our “good works” are really selfishness and bear little real eternal fruit in God. But coupled with the Holy Spirit, led by God every action will send ripples into eternity.
God loves us, and patiently works His perfect purpose in us, but I cant help but feel that things are getting more serious, and there is a lot more required of us than there has been in the past, because time really is short. We can have our own lives and our own plans and our own agendas but we will miss out on so much!
“I know the thoughts(plans) I have for you, thoughts(plans) of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
The only thing that will last is what we do in Him, everything else will fall away. There is such reward (of GREAT magnitude) for those that will choose His way, and only they will taste of it.
Get healed, seek God, submit to your leaders, repent of your sin as the Holy Spirit makes it visible, as He convicts, and trust in the God who can do ALL things!
In Pursuit of Equality
by Jesse-John Jabore
To the ‘shoulder nudges’
Written in the expressive form of Ecclesiastes
I have no need for order
Order cause me pain
It’s authority in love I disdain
My God tells me ‘He’s no respecter of man’ – He wastes no time in comparisons – He loves us all equally and because of this leaves us to our own devices to implement His word and His will, both personally and corporately. For so long now the established order of Church government has lorded it over the masses and, prophet-like, we should ‘shout this ill from the roof-tops for all to hear’. We’re children of God, with one Father who parents us in love, Jesus His Son who rules over us and the Spirit who teaches us. Yes, the Bible is ‘Spirit breathed’ and ‘divinely sourced,’ yet my interpretation of it may differ from yours, and if they differ, in the words of Mark Twain “never the twain/two shall meet.” AND ON & ON IT GOES! Possibly, for your good pleasure I should write a book.
God’s response: (from His word and by His Spirit in truth)
2nd Peter 2:10 ‘But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities’.
Let’s break it down: Let them that have ears, let them hear what the Spirit of the Lord is saying.
The topic here is KINGDOM government. In this dispensation of time the apostle is being restored to the five-fold to complete it. This word is not to prove to the reader the truth of the previous sentence. Specifically, it is dealing with our attitude to authority, especially God ordained authority. Some may say though it’s timely in light of the federal election in Australia on August 21st.
The question being posed, ‘Is it possible that in your desire to rid the’ body of Christ’ of ungodly government you be likened to Balaam who was rebuked for his iniquity? (verse 16 – specifically directed to prophets). The verse above (2 Peter 2:10), applied to those opposing God’s implementation of Kingdom government is damning. Let me spell it out and in so doing, expose my heart at the risk of being despised. The kingdom of God is not a democracy. Its authoritative structure of rule in essence is more a military one. Be assured like Moses and David of old, God generals are being revealed and along with it the mandate of things to the body of Christ worldwide. The Australian band Midnight Oil wrote a song and it went ‘when the generals talk you better do what they say’ – they were mocking the American ‘control’ over lesser powers/subjects. These words ring out true to the end-time army though. We’re not to fear or despise true Godly authority. Remember as someone once said “a person who possesses true authority is superior to it, not driven by it” The cry of God’s heart to the disenchanted is “DARE TO TRUST AGAIN – DARE TO TRY AGAIN – ENLIST – PUT AN END TO THE CIVIL WAR” and upon doing so “KNOW YOUR PLACE – TAKE YOUR PLACE – IT’S TIME FOR WAR – FEAR NOT, YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES!”
Following are dictionary meanings to help in the specific application of 2nd Peter 2:10 in relation to Kingdom government -‘But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities’.
‘flesh’ – the body, especially as opposed to the spirit or the soul
‘lust’ – ‘I must have it at once’ (Oswald Chambers)
‘uncleanness’ – spiritually impure
‘despise’ – look down upon, as with hate or contempt, scorn; disdain
‘government’ – the form or system of rule by which a grouping is governed
‘presumptuous’ – supposition of something as true; inexcusable boldness
‘self will’ – a strong power to act according to one’s own wishes
‘dignities’ – persons who hold high rank or office, especially in government or church
To the ‘shoulder nudges’
Written in the expressive form of Ecclesiastes
I have no need for order
Order cause me pain
It’s authority in love I disdain
My God tells me ‘He’s no respecter of man’ – He wastes no time in comparisons – He loves us all equally and because of this leaves us to our own devices to implement His word and His will, both personally and corporately. For so long now the established order of Church government has lorded it over the masses and, prophet-like, we should ‘shout this ill from the roof-tops for all to hear’. We’re children of God, with one Father who parents us in love, Jesus His Son who rules over us and the Spirit who teaches us. Yes, the Bible is ‘Spirit breathed’ and ‘divinely sourced,’ yet my interpretation of it may differ from yours, and if they differ, in the words of Mark Twain “never the twain/two shall meet.” AND ON & ON IT GOES! Possibly, for your good pleasure I should write a book.
God’s response: (from His word and by His Spirit in truth)
2nd Peter 2:10 ‘But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities’.
Let’s break it down: Let them that have ears, let them hear what the Spirit of the Lord is saying.
The topic here is KINGDOM government. In this dispensation of time the apostle is being restored to the five-fold to complete it. This word is not to prove to the reader the truth of the previous sentence. Specifically, it is dealing with our attitude to authority, especially God ordained authority. Some may say though it’s timely in light of the federal election in Australia on August 21st.
The question being posed, ‘Is it possible that in your desire to rid the’ body of Christ’ of ungodly government you be likened to Balaam who was rebuked for his iniquity? (verse 16 – specifically directed to prophets). The verse above (2 Peter 2:10), applied to those opposing God’s implementation of Kingdom government is damning. Let me spell it out and in so doing, expose my heart at the risk of being despised. The kingdom of God is not a democracy. Its authoritative structure of rule in essence is more a military one. Be assured like Moses and David of old, God generals are being revealed and along with it the mandate of things to the body of Christ worldwide. The Australian band Midnight Oil wrote a song and it went ‘when the generals talk you better do what they say’ – they were mocking the American ‘control’ over lesser powers/subjects. These words ring out true to the end-time army though. We’re not to fear or despise true Godly authority. Remember as someone once said “a person who possesses true authority is superior to it, not driven by it” The cry of God’s heart to the disenchanted is “DARE TO TRUST AGAIN – DARE TO TRY AGAIN – ENLIST – PUT AN END TO THE CIVIL WAR” and upon doing so “KNOW YOUR PLACE – TAKE YOUR PLACE – IT’S TIME FOR WAR – FEAR NOT, YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES!”
Following are dictionary meanings to help in the specific application of 2nd Peter 2:10 in relation to Kingdom government -‘But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities’.
‘flesh’ – the body, especially as opposed to the spirit or the soul
‘lust’ – ‘I must have it at once’ (Oswald Chambers)
‘uncleanness’ – spiritually impure
‘despise’ – look down upon, as with hate or contempt, scorn; disdain
‘government’ – the form or system of rule by which a grouping is governed
‘presumptuous’ – supposition of something as true; inexcusable boldness
‘self will’ – a strong power to act according to one’s own wishes
‘dignities’ – persons who hold high rank or office, especially in government or church
Spiritual Metabolism
by Patsy Grubb
Metabolism is an interesting phenomena.
The human body requires that in order to have a healthy metabolism it must consume healthy food often. When our consumption of food is irregular our metabolism slows down causing it to be ineffective. When we fail to eat, as in a fast, within a short time, usually around the third day we cease to be hungry .When we starve our bodies of nutrients for a prolonged period of time our appetite becomes non - existent and our bodies cease to function effectively. The body goes into survival mode and begins to break down the storehouse of nutrients within, which in turn robs us of valuable muscle and protein. If this continues our muscle begins to waste and our internal organs and even our brain are affected in their ability to function effectively. Sustained deprivation of food of course ultimately leads to death. On the other hand when we eat small healthy regular meals our metabolism speeds up and we become extremely efficient at processing food to create energy. Our appetite increases as do our energy levels, we burn excess fat, our internal organs work more efficiently and our thought processes are clearer. We eliminate waste more efficiently and generally enjoy improved health and lifestyle.
As it is in the natural so it is in the spiritual.
When we consume good healthy teaching/preaching/prophecy our appetite is stimulated and increased and we find we are hungry for more. As we spend time in God’s presence and in His word we become hungrier, healthier and more efficient and effective. Waste /rubbish is dealt with more efficiently and processed and eliminated faster. The areas in which we have been depleted are strengthened, built up and balance is restored. Our thought processes are changed and we think clearer and discern more effectively. Similarly when we starve ourselves of healthy balanced spiritual food, we soon lose our appetite, we become sluggish and ineffective and our inner storehouse begins to be depleted resulting in us losing spiritual muscle mass and if sustained for long enough this can result in spiritual death.
Just as the human body is composed of large amounts of protein and water, and in turn cannot survive or function properly without these 2 components in its dietary intake, the spirit also needs a healthy balance of the Word of God and the Spirit of God in order to survive and indeed thrive.
So if you are finding that your appetite has been suppressed, if you are simply not as hungry as you would like to be or once were, if you are feeling weak or depleted , be encouraged to look at your spiritual dietary intake and partake of small balanced meals OFTEN until your hunger returns and increases . If you persist your hunger will return and then once more you will find that you can freely feast …………The Lord has set a banqueting table before us ……….we simply need to come.
Psalm 34:8, ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him’.
Metabolism is an interesting phenomena.
The human body requires that in order to have a healthy metabolism it must consume healthy food often. When our consumption of food is irregular our metabolism slows down causing it to be ineffective. When we fail to eat, as in a fast, within a short time, usually around the third day we cease to be hungry .When we starve our bodies of nutrients for a prolonged period of time our appetite becomes non - existent and our bodies cease to function effectively. The body goes into survival mode and begins to break down the storehouse of nutrients within, which in turn robs us of valuable muscle and protein. If this continues our muscle begins to waste and our internal organs and even our brain are affected in their ability to function effectively. Sustained deprivation of food of course ultimately leads to death. On the other hand when we eat small healthy regular meals our metabolism speeds up and we become extremely efficient at processing food to create energy. Our appetite increases as do our energy levels, we burn excess fat, our internal organs work more efficiently and our thought processes are clearer. We eliminate waste more efficiently and generally enjoy improved health and lifestyle.
As it is in the natural so it is in the spiritual.
When we consume good healthy teaching/preaching/prophecy our appetite is stimulated and increased and we find we are hungry for more. As we spend time in God’s presence and in His word we become hungrier, healthier and more efficient and effective. Waste /rubbish is dealt with more efficiently and processed and eliminated faster. The areas in which we have been depleted are strengthened, built up and balance is restored. Our thought processes are changed and we think clearer and discern more effectively. Similarly when we starve ourselves of healthy balanced spiritual food, we soon lose our appetite, we become sluggish and ineffective and our inner storehouse begins to be depleted resulting in us losing spiritual muscle mass and if sustained for long enough this can result in spiritual death.
Just as the human body is composed of large amounts of protein and water, and in turn cannot survive or function properly without these 2 components in its dietary intake, the spirit also needs a healthy balance of the Word of God and the Spirit of God in order to survive and indeed thrive.
So if you are finding that your appetite has been suppressed, if you are simply not as hungry as you would like to be or once were, if you are feeling weak or depleted , be encouraged to look at your spiritual dietary intake and partake of small balanced meals OFTEN until your hunger returns and increases . If you persist your hunger will return and then once more you will find that you can freely feast …………The Lord has set a banqueting table before us ……….we simply need to come.
Psalm 34:8, ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him’.
Australia’s Federal Election
by Toni Gordon
Australia’s Federal Election
Christians unite - in prayer and fasting. What type of Prayer? Prayer where we are quiet before God and ask God what He wants in the Federal Election. Not prayers telling God who we think/believe should be in government or how God should act.
Time is short. Do we as a nation want what God wants. If so, what are we prepared to do about it?
IT IS TIME FOR ACTION - GET ON OUR KNEES, AUSTRALIA. REPENT FOR OUR ARROGANCE, PRIDE, APATHY AND WANTING OUR OWN SELFISH WAYS.
Seek God and His Will for Australia while there is still time.
God says, “Seek Me and know what My Will is for Australia in this crucial time.”
Challenge: How will you handle it if God asks you to vote in a different way to what you have voted in the past? Are you going to vote as God has instructed you to? Or are you going to stay with your tradition (the way you have always voted or the way your family has always voted or the way a leader is telling you to vote).
Have you sought what GOD wants for Australia and who HE wants in power? Have you asked Him what He wants. This cannot be emphasised enough – God wants what He wants and always has. Are we going to be His Hands here on this earth to do His will. Walk into the polling place and mark with your hand the one/s He has instructed you to vote for.
Christians - it is time for you to get involved in what is happening in Australian politics. If we cry out to God after the election, He will ask us, “Did you seek My counsel on the elections before the day and did you do what I asked You to do?”
Christian you can hear from God for yourself. You are responsible before God to ask Him who He (God) wants you to vote for and THEN DO IT.
I WANT THE GOVERNMENT THAT GOD WANTS FOR AUSTRALIA! DO YOU?
It is not time to sit back and say, “I’ll just see what happens in the elections or I will leave the praying to someone else.”
God is asking you to be part of what is going to happen in this Federal election on 21 August 2010.
Australia’s Federal Election
Christians unite - in prayer and fasting. What type of Prayer? Prayer where we are quiet before God and ask God what He wants in the Federal Election. Not prayers telling God who we think/believe should be in government or how God should act.
Time is short. Do we as a nation want what God wants. If so, what are we prepared to do about it?
IT IS TIME FOR ACTION - GET ON OUR KNEES, AUSTRALIA. REPENT FOR OUR ARROGANCE, PRIDE, APATHY AND WANTING OUR OWN SELFISH WAYS.
Seek God and His Will for Australia while there is still time.
God says, “Seek Me and know what My Will is for Australia in this crucial time.”
Challenge: How will you handle it if God asks you to vote in a different way to what you have voted in the past? Are you going to vote as God has instructed you to? Or are you going to stay with your tradition (the way you have always voted or the way your family has always voted or the way a leader is telling you to vote).
Have you sought what GOD wants for Australia and who HE wants in power? Have you asked Him what He wants. This cannot be emphasised enough – God wants what He wants and always has. Are we going to be His Hands here on this earth to do His will. Walk into the polling place and mark with your hand the one/s He has instructed you to vote for.
Christians - it is time for you to get involved in what is happening in Australian politics. If we cry out to God after the election, He will ask us, “Did you seek My counsel on the elections before the day and did you do what I asked You to do?”
Christian you can hear from God for yourself. You are responsible before God to ask Him who He (God) wants you to vote for and THEN DO IT.
I WANT THE GOVERNMENT THAT GOD WANTS FOR AUSTRALIA! DO YOU?
It is not time to sit back and say, “I’ll just see what happens in the elections or I will leave the praying to someone else.”
God is asking you to be part of what is going to happen in this Federal election on 21 August 2010.
We’ll Get The Government The Church Deserves
by Glenice Mills
‘We’ll get the government the church deserves.’ What a statement. The other night the Lord spoke this to me. At first I thought it was my own thoughts but soon realised it was the Lord. The tone was firm and commanding. He got my attention! Such was His concern! He was concerned about the state of the church here in Australia and the consequences to this nation. We are in God’s prophetic timetable and there are some things that will happen whether we like it or not, as this is about His kingdom purposes coming here on earth, ushering in the Lord’s return. Some things will happen that we as Christians will have to ride through and it would be naïve of us to think that we will by-pass every negative thing that is going to happen here in Australia and the world in coming days and times.
For too long we Christians have been lulled into a complacent false peace and rest because a people pleasing, user friendly, watered down version of the Word that has been preached. There has been a false evangelistic message preached that says ‘come to the Lord and your life will go well from then on.’ There is next to no talk or preaching about sin, and the consequences of sin. Sin in the church is not confronted, instead a blind eye is turned. The reality is: there is a battle we all face in different areas of our lives that we need to learn to over come in. There must be a deeper knowledge and revelation of the character and ways of God as we grow up into Him. There is an appeasing gospel being preached that keeps God’s people stuck in immaturity. Unfortunately it renders them ineffective and unable to stand when the storms of life come.
So what is happening in the church that is also taking place in our government?
Those in authority positions MUST lead. That can mean a losing of one’s reputation and the ire of those to whom the leader must lead. What is more important: reputation or popularity? That is the crux of the matter in both government and church leadership. The truth is a leader cannot and MUST not be all things to all people. It will result in compromise. In the end there will be a dishonouring and irreverence of the leader, resulting in a take over by someone who appeals to the status quo. There is a line a leader must not cross: Will you bow to the demands of the people or risk unpopularity for making the tough decisions? A true leader will die to their reputation and embrace what they believe and stand for. This requirement is even more so for a church leader who has the Word of God to teach and guide them as to the right and wrong things to do. A leader must STAND FOR something or fall for everything. That is why we must pray for those in positions of authority such as government and church.
The government of Australia, all sides of politics, have a dangerous thinking. The position of parliamentary representatives is a serious position, one that the people expect to be treated with respect. The people need to know that their elected representatives are looking out for their best interests. Unfortunately this does not always happen and it is breeding a discontent and cynicism of those that we should in fact think highly of because of the position they hold. It is in fact a servanthood position of the highest order. Unfortunately the revelation of this is generally lacking. Pride because of the position takes root and blinds them to seeing what really are the issues and concerns of the people.
Replacing leaders is not like replacing a coach when a football team loses a few games. However, there is the same thinking: that a leader is somehow disposable if they don’t reach an expectation put on them by the people. This is how both politicians and church leaders succumb to people pleasing, thereby compromising what they stand for. Popularity polls are not a good way to gauge whether a person is doing a good job leading a nation as people are fickle. The reality is people love the good times and the good things that come because of it, but opinions quickly turn if there are bad things happening and people‘s self interests are not being met. It is a sad indictment on us that we are shown to be this shallow, though sadly I think most of us are. We are selfish in our motives and only see things as to how they affect us. As Christians we should be rising above this thinking, instead we bow to the general consensus of opinion out there. If we are to be the salt and the light in a world of darkness perhaps we need to see things differently. It is about the bigger picture, what the Lord wants for this nation at this time, and where we can best play our part as watchmen and being a voice at this pivotal time in history.
In the past three years we have had five leadership takeovers if you count the leaders of the opposition. This is concerning. We can say to ourselves what’s the big deal however it is a warning as shown in Scripture. Leadership is about maintaining stability whether that be church or in a nation. If there is instability among the key leaders of a nation it is a sign that some things are very amiss. Often where there are many leaders it means sin is a reason for this.
Proverbs 28:2, ‘When a land transgresses, it has many rulers, but when the ruler is a man of discernment, understanding, and knowledge, its stability will long continue’.
We see an example of this throughout the Books of 1 Kings and 2 Kings where if the people were doing what was right before the Lord there was a righteous king governing, and where there was disobedience and the breaking of God’s covenant unrighteous kings led.
It is no different today. God’s principles still apply. The church of Australia must ask whether they are walking righteously before the Lord?
We will get the government the church deserves. It is a righteousness issue.
It always was and will continue to be, however the onus is on us to individually and corporately repent where we have chosen ways that grieve the heart of God. The church likes to quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 as the verse for praying for a nation. However if you take a deep look at what this verse is truly saying we must first examine it. The first statement of this verse: If My people, who are called by My name, is a challenge in itself. Are we truly God’s people for if we were we would be different, we would be a people of influence and would stand out as having and being light in this world. Perhaps we need to ask the question: what is required to be My people, true people of God? What is required to be a people called by His name? This is about belonging to Him, being His disciple, and walking in obedience to all the Lord requires. Are church leaders in this nation walking in true obedience and teaching, training and equipping the saints to come into their destiny in Christ? Are they allowing the Holy Spirit to have His way in church meetings so that breakthrough can come into people’s lives and for this nation. Is the individual aspect of God in and through His people able to be expressed so the fullness of Christ can be released? Are the people being trained and positioned so the Kingdom of God can be advanced here on earth at this time in history? Is the church here in Australia a force to be reckoned with, with a voice speaking out what is right and true or are we rightly deserving of the mocking and ridicule that seems to be pervading all aspects of society here?
How can we be a voice of influence when we are impotent to even helping our own people because we don’t truly believe and embrace the power and authority of Jesus Christ and the gifts - both motivational and ascension gifts - that He wants to release to His church?
We see bickering, backbiting, slander, gossip and contention being shown by our government representatives. Is this not how the church also behaves? Our behaviour must be exemplary if we are to be respected and have standing in the community.
The church has lost its way but the good news is it can come back on course.
Things can change and it starts with us individually to examine our own hearts and ask the Lord to show us where our lives do not line up with the Word of God.
The church can no longer stay asleep and continue bowing to an appeasing gospel, shutting its eyes to blatant and hidden sin. This means confronting sin not talked about such as sexual sin, dishonesty, and prejudices. Unless and until true honesty and the truth of the Word of God is preached, and repentance as a part of church life we will continue to be dissatisfied with our parliamentary leaders and the laws they pass. This word is not a judgment or criticism of the church but rather a challenge to stir up the church so it can be positioned, respected, acknowledged and honoured as the influence in this dark world that it was always meant to be.
It is time to arise, to influence and to be the hope that the Lord shed His blood for: that is His church, His body of believers who have the answer to a dying world. We need God’s grace and His mercy like never before, and this is a rallying call while we can still speak publicly and through the website, before evil increases in this land and we won’t have a voice anymore.
We must speak now before it is too late!!!
‘We’ll get the government the church deserves.’ What a statement. The other night the Lord spoke this to me. At first I thought it was my own thoughts but soon realised it was the Lord. The tone was firm and commanding. He got my attention! Such was His concern! He was concerned about the state of the church here in Australia and the consequences to this nation. We are in God’s prophetic timetable and there are some things that will happen whether we like it or not, as this is about His kingdom purposes coming here on earth, ushering in the Lord’s return. Some things will happen that we as Christians will have to ride through and it would be naïve of us to think that we will by-pass every negative thing that is going to happen here in Australia and the world in coming days and times.
For too long we Christians have been lulled into a complacent false peace and rest because a people pleasing, user friendly, watered down version of the Word that has been preached. There has been a false evangelistic message preached that says ‘come to the Lord and your life will go well from then on.’ There is next to no talk or preaching about sin, and the consequences of sin. Sin in the church is not confronted, instead a blind eye is turned. The reality is: there is a battle we all face in different areas of our lives that we need to learn to over come in. There must be a deeper knowledge and revelation of the character and ways of God as we grow up into Him. There is an appeasing gospel being preached that keeps God’s people stuck in immaturity. Unfortunately it renders them ineffective and unable to stand when the storms of life come.
So what is happening in the church that is also taking place in our government?
Those in authority positions MUST lead. That can mean a losing of one’s reputation and the ire of those to whom the leader must lead. What is more important: reputation or popularity? That is the crux of the matter in both government and church leadership. The truth is a leader cannot and MUST not be all things to all people. It will result in compromise. In the end there will be a dishonouring and irreverence of the leader, resulting in a take over by someone who appeals to the status quo. There is a line a leader must not cross: Will you bow to the demands of the people or risk unpopularity for making the tough decisions? A true leader will die to their reputation and embrace what they believe and stand for. This requirement is even more so for a church leader who has the Word of God to teach and guide them as to the right and wrong things to do. A leader must STAND FOR something or fall for everything. That is why we must pray for those in positions of authority such as government and church.
The government of Australia, all sides of politics, have a dangerous thinking. The position of parliamentary representatives is a serious position, one that the people expect to be treated with respect. The people need to know that their elected representatives are looking out for their best interests. Unfortunately this does not always happen and it is breeding a discontent and cynicism of those that we should in fact think highly of because of the position they hold. It is in fact a servanthood position of the highest order. Unfortunately the revelation of this is generally lacking. Pride because of the position takes root and blinds them to seeing what really are the issues and concerns of the people.
Replacing leaders is not like replacing a coach when a football team loses a few games. However, there is the same thinking: that a leader is somehow disposable if they don’t reach an expectation put on them by the people. This is how both politicians and church leaders succumb to people pleasing, thereby compromising what they stand for. Popularity polls are not a good way to gauge whether a person is doing a good job leading a nation as people are fickle. The reality is people love the good times and the good things that come because of it, but opinions quickly turn if there are bad things happening and people‘s self interests are not being met. It is a sad indictment on us that we are shown to be this shallow, though sadly I think most of us are. We are selfish in our motives and only see things as to how they affect us. As Christians we should be rising above this thinking, instead we bow to the general consensus of opinion out there. If we are to be the salt and the light in a world of darkness perhaps we need to see things differently. It is about the bigger picture, what the Lord wants for this nation at this time, and where we can best play our part as watchmen and being a voice at this pivotal time in history.
In the past three years we have had five leadership takeovers if you count the leaders of the opposition. This is concerning. We can say to ourselves what’s the big deal however it is a warning as shown in Scripture. Leadership is about maintaining stability whether that be church or in a nation. If there is instability among the key leaders of a nation it is a sign that some things are very amiss. Often where there are many leaders it means sin is a reason for this.
Proverbs 28:2, ‘When a land transgresses, it has many rulers, but when the ruler is a man of discernment, understanding, and knowledge, its stability will long continue’.
We see an example of this throughout the Books of 1 Kings and 2 Kings where if the people were doing what was right before the Lord there was a righteous king governing, and where there was disobedience and the breaking of God’s covenant unrighteous kings led.
It is no different today. God’s principles still apply. The church of Australia must ask whether they are walking righteously before the Lord?
We will get the government the church deserves. It is a righteousness issue.
It always was and will continue to be, however the onus is on us to individually and corporately repent where we have chosen ways that grieve the heart of God. The church likes to quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 as the verse for praying for a nation. However if you take a deep look at what this verse is truly saying we must first examine it. The first statement of this verse: If My people, who are called by My name, is a challenge in itself. Are we truly God’s people for if we were we would be different, we would be a people of influence and would stand out as having and being light in this world. Perhaps we need to ask the question: what is required to be My people, true people of God? What is required to be a people called by His name? This is about belonging to Him, being His disciple, and walking in obedience to all the Lord requires. Are church leaders in this nation walking in true obedience and teaching, training and equipping the saints to come into their destiny in Christ? Are they allowing the Holy Spirit to have His way in church meetings so that breakthrough can come into people’s lives and for this nation. Is the individual aspect of God in and through His people able to be expressed so the fullness of Christ can be released? Are the people being trained and positioned so the Kingdom of God can be advanced here on earth at this time in history? Is the church here in Australia a force to be reckoned with, with a voice speaking out what is right and true or are we rightly deserving of the mocking and ridicule that seems to be pervading all aspects of society here?
How can we be a voice of influence when we are impotent to even helping our own people because we don’t truly believe and embrace the power and authority of Jesus Christ and the gifts - both motivational and ascension gifts - that He wants to release to His church?
We see bickering, backbiting, slander, gossip and contention being shown by our government representatives. Is this not how the church also behaves? Our behaviour must be exemplary if we are to be respected and have standing in the community.
The church has lost its way but the good news is it can come back on course.
Things can change and it starts with us individually to examine our own hearts and ask the Lord to show us where our lives do not line up with the Word of God.
The church can no longer stay asleep and continue bowing to an appeasing gospel, shutting its eyes to blatant and hidden sin. This means confronting sin not talked about such as sexual sin, dishonesty, and prejudices. Unless and until true honesty and the truth of the Word of God is preached, and repentance as a part of church life we will continue to be dissatisfied with our parliamentary leaders and the laws they pass. This word is not a judgment or criticism of the church but rather a challenge to stir up the church so it can be positioned, respected, acknowledged and honoured as the influence in this dark world that it was always meant to be.
It is time to arise, to influence and to be the hope that the Lord shed His blood for: that is His church, His body of believers who have the answer to a dying world. We need God’s grace and His mercy like never before, and this is a rallying call while we can still speak publicly and through the website, before evil increases in this land and we won’t have a voice anymore.
We must speak now before it is too late!!!
The Law of Accumulation
by Patsy Grubb
The law of accumulation.
Accumulation can both advantage and disadvantage us throughout life. Over time cents become dollars, raindrops become dams, seconds become hours, hurts become wounds, grams become kilos, habits become addictions. We are by nature creatures of habit .We rarely if ever do things only once.
Satan in his quest to destroy us does not always attack with one huge onslaught but rather he uses our human nature against us and to his advantage. The attack can be very subtle and yet very effective and debilitating. Often we are unaware of our wounding, deception, etc until we are in the critical stages and we are fighting for our lives (spiritually and/or physically). For example, cancer does not usually result from a one- time exposure to a toxin but rather to repeated exposures. Emphysema is generally not the result of one cigarette but rather sustained exposure to an irritant. Obesity is not the result of one bout of overeating but rather the result of sustained surplus intake of food. Often these conditions are not realised until they are at a critical stage.
As it is in the physical so it is in the spiritual.
Deception is not the result of exposure to one falsity but rather to extended exposure to the false and /or sustained absence from the truth. Hardness of heart is not the result of one offence but rather to self protecting from regular wounds, offences, bitterness etc. We are by nature creatures of habit. Our habits if they remain unchecked have the potential to lead to our demise.
Equally if we have positive habits they also have the potential to lead to our success.
If we save small amounts on a regular basis we will have a financial storehouse. Should we exercise on a regular basis we will have increased physical well being. If we regularly examine our lifestyle we can avert health risks etc. If we regularly expose and submit ourselves to the truth we will avoid deception. If we regularly engage in true fellowship within God given relationships we will avoid isolation. If we engage in regular fellowship with God and have a truly repentant spirit we will avoid hardness of heart. If we regularly submit ourselves to the process of having God search our hearts and motives we will avoid pride.
If one dollar a day was saved in a year it would become three hundred and sixty five dollars available to be drawn on in times of need, If one scripture a day was read and meditated on in one year that would be three hundred and sixty five scriptures within one’s being to draw on in times of need, etc, etc. If we are diligent and disciplined we can achieve much with little because what we sow will accumulate whether it be positive or negative. We need to examine what it is we have allowed to accumulate in our lives and similarly what it is we need to accumulate in our lives. Great things can come from small beginnings. Remember the mustard seed …..?
The law of accumulation.
Accumulation can both advantage and disadvantage us throughout life. Over time cents become dollars, raindrops become dams, seconds become hours, hurts become wounds, grams become kilos, habits become addictions. We are by nature creatures of habit .We rarely if ever do things only once.
Satan in his quest to destroy us does not always attack with one huge onslaught but rather he uses our human nature against us and to his advantage. The attack can be very subtle and yet very effective and debilitating. Often we are unaware of our wounding, deception, etc until we are in the critical stages and we are fighting for our lives (spiritually and/or physically). For example, cancer does not usually result from a one- time exposure to a toxin but rather to repeated exposures. Emphysema is generally not the result of one cigarette but rather sustained exposure to an irritant. Obesity is not the result of one bout of overeating but rather the result of sustained surplus intake of food. Often these conditions are not realised until they are at a critical stage.
As it is in the physical so it is in the spiritual.
Deception is not the result of exposure to one falsity but rather to extended exposure to the false and /or sustained absence from the truth. Hardness of heart is not the result of one offence but rather to self protecting from regular wounds, offences, bitterness etc. We are by nature creatures of habit. Our habits if they remain unchecked have the potential to lead to our demise.
Equally if we have positive habits they also have the potential to lead to our success.
If we save small amounts on a regular basis we will have a financial storehouse. Should we exercise on a regular basis we will have increased physical well being. If we regularly examine our lifestyle we can avert health risks etc. If we regularly expose and submit ourselves to the truth we will avoid deception. If we regularly engage in true fellowship within God given relationships we will avoid isolation. If we engage in regular fellowship with God and have a truly repentant spirit we will avoid hardness of heart. If we regularly submit ourselves to the process of having God search our hearts and motives we will avoid pride.
If one dollar a day was saved in a year it would become three hundred and sixty five dollars available to be drawn on in times of need, If one scripture a day was read and meditated on in one year that would be three hundred and sixty five scriptures within one’s being to draw on in times of need, etc, etc. If we are diligent and disciplined we can achieve much with little because what we sow will accumulate whether it be positive or negative. We need to examine what it is we have allowed to accumulate in our lives and similarly what it is we need to accumulate in our lives. Great things can come from small beginnings. Remember the mustard seed …..?
Thursday, 15 July 2010
If?
by Glenice Mills
If? What a powerful little word!!! Think about it. IF? IF? IF?
It’s a word that hangs out there. It is a word that defines a line. A line in the sand that actually says will you or won’t you? The Word of God comes with conditions and this is a time of, ‘Will you come up to living your lives abiding by the conditions in My word or will you continue to do your own thing’. Every day we have choices. Not one of us can say we have it altogether. We all have areas in our lives that are not yielded to the Lord yet. The question is: are we prepared to have a look at the area/s that the Lord is wanting to highlight in our lives at this time? We are all at defining times right now, particularly as to whether the Lord is able to use us and to the degree that he can entrust us with His anointing and with the gifts He has given us. For too long His name has been bought into disrepute by what appeared as well meaning, anointed ministers of the gospel. However, times are changing and there is a higher demand being placed upon all at this time. What we had got away with before is no longer acceptable. The bar has been raised higher, because the Lord is wanting to release His kingdom here on earth at a greater level. He can only use ones that have stood the tests of time, have not wavered to compromise and have held onto Him even when things seemed impossible. To whom much is given much is required. We dare not squander what the Lord has given us individually or corporately. Sadly there has been much that has been squandered, that is, spent wastefully, without achieving what it was meant to because of immaturity and lack of the true fear of the Lord. We have got away with much, and now is a time of restraining, of pulling us in tight, so we don’t run off amiss. Perhaps it could best be described as coming into greater maturity. Toddler like behaviour - throwing tantrums when things don’t go our way, sulking, saying “No” every time we don’t want to do something required of us, can no longer be accepted as a right way of behaving. Our no is a bit more sophisticated as adults and manifests in different ways, however it is rebellion. Perhaps it can best be spoken in the following Scripture.
James 4:17 - Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
God has requirements for righteous living and the Bible is our instruction manual for helping us to learn of the ways of God and how to put into action those requirements.
There are some key Scriptures that focus on what the Lord is requiring of us at this time. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts, however, the Lord is looking for a people who are willing to go deeper with Him and are prepared to allow the Holy Spirit to show us our deep and hidden sin. This means it will get ugly, and the Lord will bring situations across our paths that will challenge us in the areas He is wanting to reveal and bring to the light. For too long sin has been seen as a shameful thing, best kept hidden and brushed under the carpet. In the general church it is a subject that is rarely spoken of, but it is the Truth, and IF we are going to move forward as a mighty army our sinful nature must be confronted, confessed and change made in our personal choices.
Following are some key Scriptures the Lord is wanting to highlight at this time, dealing with particular areas.
1. FORGIVENESS:
Matthew 6:14,15 - “For IF you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. BUT IF you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Wow, what a word!! In other words, if you choose to hold onto offence and unforgiveness the Father cannot forgive you. That is the condition. To the degree that we hold onto any grievance against another, any resentment, bitterness, and offence, that will be the degree that the Lord cannot allow His grace to come and bring his forgiveness. Our grievance may be right, we may have been seriously wronged by someone but that does not make it an excuse for staying in our sin and unforgiveness.
That is a serious thing. So who in your life are you still holding onto offence and unforgiveness that the Lord is highlighting at this time? Do you want to be right and get even with the person or do you want to forgive them and release them to the Lord?
The choice is yours! IF?
2. ARE YOU LISTENING?
Jeremiah 26:4-6 - And you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “IF you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law which I have set before you, to heed the words of My servants the prophets whom I sent to you, both rising up early and sending them (but you have not heeded), then I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.”
We have a responsibility to listen to what the prophets are saying and to heed what is being said. We are without excuse. We are spoilt in these days and times for we are in danger of being fat, fat from hearing the word, but not so active in doing the word.
When a prophet speaks, it is not to tickle your ears. It is God speaking and in the fear of the Lord we need to do what is required. We dare not take the word of the Lord for granted for we have a responsibility to put into place what is asked of us. I don’t know about you, but I want the Lord’s blessings, not His curses. I don’t want to become deceived, thinking I know everything and am above correction and discipline. I want to come into all He plans for my life. Time is short and the choice is: do we want to muck around playing games with God or do we want to get serious and address the areas in our lives not yet yielded to Him?
The choice is yours: IF?
3. FAITH:
Matthew 21: 21, 22 - So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, IF you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also IF you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.
And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
This is a big one. The Lord is dealing with our unbelief and doubt at this time. IF we are going to be a courageous army standing for what is right and true we must know our Lord with such a depth that no matter what assails us we will stand strong.
That is the challenge. The Lord knows the areas we struggle in with our faith and He individually hit’s the mark to bring up the areas of unbelief. This is exciting as it brings opportunity for us to arise and make a stand in God, to not bow to fear and unbelief but to see the hand of God move to bring about His plans. IF we are faithful to trust Him with what is beyond what we know or can do. Are you willing to go beyond what is comfortable trusting Him with all concerning your life?
The choice is yours. IF?
4. THE SABBATH:
Jeremiah 17: 21 - 23, 27 - Thus says the Lord: “Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; nor carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. But they did not obey nor incline their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear nor receive instruction.
But IF you will not heed me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.”
We see clearly, there will be a consequence IF we do not keep the Sabbath’s requirements, such as not working. It is a holy day, a day set apart to the Lord. Are we obedient to set the day apart or do we compromise His day by getting caught up in the subtle things that would derail this day from being His. Does our focus go away from Him to the concerns of this world and the everyday traps that would lead us astray? It is interesting to note that those who do not obey become stiff necked and do not hear or receive instruction. That is serious. Deception will come and we will be blinded to truth. Will you keep the Sabbath a Holy day dedicated wholly to the Lord?
The choice is yours. IF?
5. WALKING IN THE LIGHT:
1 John 5 - 7 - ‘This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. IF we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But IF we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.‘
This is about our relationship with the Lord. When we blatantly make wrong choices choosing darkness rather than light that impacts and has a flow on effect on our relationship with the Lord and with each other. There is a clear distinction between darkness and light, there is no grey shaded areas. For too long we have muddied what should be a pure stream of living water by compromising the Word of God and preaching an appeasing gospel that waters down sinful behaviour. So what area in your life are you compromising the Word of God, trying to justify or deny sin in your life? Are you prepared to have the light of God shine into your heart and have the impure motives, the hidden sin be exposed, so light can shine in at a deeper level? There is a condition. Darkness or light?
The choice is yours. IF?
6. OBEDIENCE:
1 Samuel 12:14 -16 - ‘IF you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God. However, IF you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers.‘
Walking in the fear the Lord is an everyday choice. It is how we live our lives, so aware we do not grieve the heart of God by deliberately going against what He requires. Often our actions show complete contempt of walking in the ways of the Lord as we open doors to the enemy by the choices we make. To obey means to do what one is told to do. That is not doing half measures, not doing enough to just get by, not being half hearted in our actions or just getting by. It does not mean we twist what we have been instructed by doing something the way we think because it seems the better way in our eyes. It means following instructions, whether by obeying the Word of God, or by obeying an instruction given to us by someone in authority, such as a church leader or someone who speaks into our lives with the greatest detail. It is pride if we think we know more than God because disobedience is actually saying my way is a better way than the Lord’s, I can do my own thing because God does not know what He is doing.
So it is with whoever instructs certain things into your life, whether that be someone in authority in the church or out in the workplace. Do you want the hand of God to be against you because you think you can do things a better way than God? There will be consequences to the choices you make - good or bad. It come down to one word with a condition attached to it. IF?
Will you come into all the Lord has for you and give up those things that entangle you and hold you in bondage or will you choose your own way?
The choice is yours. IF?
If? What a powerful little word!!! Think about it. IF? IF? IF?
It’s a word that hangs out there. It is a word that defines a line. A line in the sand that actually says will you or won’t you? The Word of God comes with conditions and this is a time of, ‘Will you come up to living your lives abiding by the conditions in My word or will you continue to do your own thing’. Every day we have choices. Not one of us can say we have it altogether. We all have areas in our lives that are not yielded to the Lord yet. The question is: are we prepared to have a look at the area/s that the Lord is wanting to highlight in our lives at this time? We are all at defining times right now, particularly as to whether the Lord is able to use us and to the degree that he can entrust us with His anointing and with the gifts He has given us. For too long His name has been bought into disrepute by what appeared as well meaning, anointed ministers of the gospel. However, times are changing and there is a higher demand being placed upon all at this time. What we had got away with before is no longer acceptable. The bar has been raised higher, because the Lord is wanting to release His kingdom here on earth at a greater level. He can only use ones that have stood the tests of time, have not wavered to compromise and have held onto Him even when things seemed impossible. To whom much is given much is required. We dare not squander what the Lord has given us individually or corporately. Sadly there has been much that has been squandered, that is, spent wastefully, without achieving what it was meant to because of immaturity and lack of the true fear of the Lord. We have got away with much, and now is a time of restraining, of pulling us in tight, so we don’t run off amiss. Perhaps it could best be described as coming into greater maturity. Toddler like behaviour - throwing tantrums when things don’t go our way, sulking, saying “No” every time we don’t want to do something required of us, can no longer be accepted as a right way of behaving. Our no is a bit more sophisticated as adults and manifests in different ways, however it is rebellion. Perhaps it can best be spoken in the following Scripture.
James 4:17 - Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
God has requirements for righteous living and the Bible is our instruction manual for helping us to learn of the ways of God and how to put into action those requirements.
There are some key Scriptures that focus on what the Lord is requiring of us at this time. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts, however, the Lord is looking for a people who are willing to go deeper with Him and are prepared to allow the Holy Spirit to show us our deep and hidden sin. This means it will get ugly, and the Lord will bring situations across our paths that will challenge us in the areas He is wanting to reveal and bring to the light. For too long sin has been seen as a shameful thing, best kept hidden and brushed under the carpet. In the general church it is a subject that is rarely spoken of, but it is the Truth, and IF we are going to move forward as a mighty army our sinful nature must be confronted, confessed and change made in our personal choices.
Following are some key Scriptures the Lord is wanting to highlight at this time, dealing with particular areas.
1. FORGIVENESS:
Matthew 6:14,15 - “For IF you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. BUT IF you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Wow, what a word!! In other words, if you choose to hold onto offence and unforgiveness the Father cannot forgive you. That is the condition. To the degree that we hold onto any grievance against another, any resentment, bitterness, and offence, that will be the degree that the Lord cannot allow His grace to come and bring his forgiveness. Our grievance may be right, we may have been seriously wronged by someone but that does not make it an excuse for staying in our sin and unforgiveness.
That is a serious thing. So who in your life are you still holding onto offence and unforgiveness that the Lord is highlighting at this time? Do you want to be right and get even with the person or do you want to forgive them and release them to the Lord?
The choice is yours! IF?
2. ARE YOU LISTENING?
Jeremiah 26:4-6 - And you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “IF you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law which I have set before you, to heed the words of My servants the prophets whom I sent to you, both rising up early and sending them (but you have not heeded), then I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.”
We have a responsibility to listen to what the prophets are saying and to heed what is being said. We are without excuse. We are spoilt in these days and times for we are in danger of being fat, fat from hearing the word, but not so active in doing the word.
When a prophet speaks, it is not to tickle your ears. It is God speaking and in the fear of the Lord we need to do what is required. We dare not take the word of the Lord for granted for we have a responsibility to put into place what is asked of us. I don’t know about you, but I want the Lord’s blessings, not His curses. I don’t want to become deceived, thinking I know everything and am above correction and discipline. I want to come into all He plans for my life. Time is short and the choice is: do we want to muck around playing games with God or do we want to get serious and address the areas in our lives not yet yielded to Him?
The choice is yours: IF?
3. FAITH:
Matthew 21: 21, 22 - So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, IF you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also IF you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.
And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
This is a big one. The Lord is dealing with our unbelief and doubt at this time. IF we are going to be a courageous army standing for what is right and true we must know our Lord with such a depth that no matter what assails us we will stand strong.
That is the challenge. The Lord knows the areas we struggle in with our faith and He individually hit’s the mark to bring up the areas of unbelief. This is exciting as it brings opportunity for us to arise and make a stand in God, to not bow to fear and unbelief but to see the hand of God move to bring about His plans. IF we are faithful to trust Him with what is beyond what we know or can do. Are you willing to go beyond what is comfortable trusting Him with all concerning your life?
The choice is yours. IF?
4. THE SABBATH:
Jeremiah 17: 21 - 23, 27 - Thus says the Lord: “Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; nor carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. But they did not obey nor incline their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear nor receive instruction.
But IF you will not heed me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.”
We see clearly, there will be a consequence IF we do not keep the Sabbath’s requirements, such as not working. It is a holy day, a day set apart to the Lord. Are we obedient to set the day apart or do we compromise His day by getting caught up in the subtle things that would derail this day from being His. Does our focus go away from Him to the concerns of this world and the everyday traps that would lead us astray? It is interesting to note that those who do not obey become stiff necked and do not hear or receive instruction. That is serious. Deception will come and we will be blinded to truth. Will you keep the Sabbath a Holy day dedicated wholly to the Lord?
The choice is yours. IF?
5. WALKING IN THE LIGHT:
1 John 5 - 7 - ‘This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. IF we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But IF we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.‘
This is about our relationship with the Lord. When we blatantly make wrong choices choosing darkness rather than light that impacts and has a flow on effect on our relationship with the Lord and with each other. There is a clear distinction between darkness and light, there is no grey shaded areas. For too long we have muddied what should be a pure stream of living water by compromising the Word of God and preaching an appeasing gospel that waters down sinful behaviour. So what area in your life are you compromising the Word of God, trying to justify or deny sin in your life? Are you prepared to have the light of God shine into your heart and have the impure motives, the hidden sin be exposed, so light can shine in at a deeper level? There is a condition. Darkness or light?
The choice is yours. IF?
6. OBEDIENCE:
1 Samuel 12:14 -16 - ‘IF you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God. However, IF you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers.‘
Walking in the fear the Lord is an everyday choice. It is how we live our lives, so aware we do not grieve the heart of God by deliberately going against what He requires. Often our actions show complete contempt of walking in the ways of the Lord as we open doors to the enemy by the choices we make. To obey means to do what one is told to do. That is not doing half measures, not doing enough to just get by, not being half hearted in our actions or just getting by. It does not mean we twist what we have been instructed by doing something the way we think because it seems the better way in our eyes. It means following instructions, whether by obeying the Word of God, or by obeying an instruction given to us by someone in authority, such as a church leader or someone who speaks into our lives with the greatest detail. It is pride if we think we know more than God because disobedience is actually saying my way is a better way than the Lord’s, I can do my own thing because God does not know what He is doing.
So it is with whoever instructs certain things into your life, whether that be someone in authority in the church or out in the workplace. Do you want the hand of God to be against you because you think you can do things a better way than God? There will be consequences to the choices you make - good or bad. It come down to one word with a condition attached to it. IF?
Will you come into all the Lord has for you and give up those things that entangle you and hold you in bondage or will you choose your own way?
The choice is yours. IF?
Sunday, 4 July 2010
Ready for War?
by Patsy Grubb
I saw a vision of Father God sitting on a throne, obviously in His capacity as King.
There was a cry to prepare for war that went out throughout the Kingdom and I saw many begin to gather to seek counsel with the King. A small group of warriors, about a dozen, were granted access to the King and each came individually before the throne, and on bended knee, pledged their allegiance to the King and the King in turn gave each individual a blessing and commissioned them for war.
Many stood outside the court eager to fight - loud, rowdy and gung-ho. The King looked sad and concerned as the mob cried out and spurred each other on to fight. The scene inside the courts was somber, serious and yet I sensed the tenderness of the King’s heart toward the people.
The warriors (knights) were humble and respectful in the presence of the King, with a genuine love that was apparent, and I knew that they were preparing for the fight ahead, knowing that they may lose their life and being fully prepared for that outcome should it eventuate.
I enquired of the King as to why He would not grant those outside the court counsel, especially as those He had blessed were small in number. He responded that He would not allow the people‘s lives to have been in vain. He paused then asked the question -
How can they lay down their lives for a God they do not know?
I saw a vision of Father God sitting on a throne, obviously in His capacity as King.
There was a cry to prepare for war that went out throughout the Kingdom and I saw many begin to gather to seek counsel with the King. A small group of warriors, about a dozen, were granted access to the King and each came individually before the throne, and on bended knee, pledged their allegiance to the King and the King in turn gave each individual a blessing and commissioned them for war.
Many stood outside the court eager to fight - loud, rowdy and gung-ho. The King looked sad and concerned as the mob cried out and spurred each other on to fight. The scene inside the courts was somber, serious and yet I sensed the tenderness of the King’s heart toward the people.
The warriors (knights) were humble and respectful in the presence of the King, with a genuine love that was apparent, and I knew that they were preparing for the fight ahead, knowing that they may lose their life and being fully prepared for that outcome should it eventuate.
I enquired of the King as to why He would not grant those outside the court counsel, especially as those He had blessed were small in number. He responded that He would not allow the people‘s lives to have been in vain. He paused then asked the question -
How can they lay down their lives for a God they do not know?
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
Bathrobe Prophets: A New Breed is Surfacing
by André Lefebvre
(written Jan ‘05)
The profile contours of a new breed of prophets is starting to be recognised. When I say this, I don’t mean they bring something which never existed before, but rather that it’s easy to forget or be oblivious to them due to the type of church culture we have, stage/pews, even in the prophetic/charismatic movement.
Their existence is a collective force we have to recognise, embrace, validate, affirm, mentor, nurture and cherish, because it is a breed of believers which touches ground zero in terms of an incarnated prophetic lifestyle, a much needed model for everyone.
Many of them are survivors of tragedies and traumas, have difficult issues with their health, physical and emotional, and don’t fit in the present paradigm of mainstream ‘ministry’ types. However, they are like hound dogs hitting the prophetic trail, joined by kindred hearts, running in the direction they feel the Lord leading them, scouting the land for those coming behind.
They love God with a consuming passion. Seasoned through trials and tribulations, they walk a path of eagerness to know more of Him. They journal, write on forums, have their own blog, support and pray for ministries and people, in fact, the Internet is their preferred vehicle. They spawn virtual communities all over the world. Their ministry of encouragement is outstanding and their compassion runs deep.
They recognise each other when they meet, and form spiritual friendships anointed with a fierce passion to share blessings and discoveries, working tirelessly to mentor each other and witness the establishment of spiritual revival at a level never seen before. They are usually recognised for having visions much bigger than their own lives, visions that can’t be beaten into smaller packages to fit the mainstream ‘box’ paradigm. They speak of heaven as if it’s next door, pray and intercede for strangers with dedicated passion, they worship with tears and usually can be prophetically ministering art deeper levels than any counsellor could expect to reach, all this without even knowing it!
Some dream of bigger ‘ministries’ but what they mostly mean is that they would like to see their lives be a greater blessing to many. They can’t flow as well within the boundaries of rigid religion, but will find patches of sun anywhere they can. They give sacrificially, long for meaningful spiritual fellowship, dream big dreams and often live a hidden, almost anonymous life. But they are giants. We have heard it said in many ways that praying mums may be of greater stature in heaven than 100 great preachers on earth. These are chips from the same block.
Their destiny is the Bride’s. Their song is for the Bride to awake and walk in her prophetic stature and maturity; Jews and Gentiles united in Christ; purity in the media and in our cities; unity in the Body of Christ; daily signs and wonders on a very, very large scale; power and miracles through faith-based prayers; no-nonsense leadership in our churches and government; prophetic understanding of social and international events, and subsequent prophetic strategies applied to specific tasks in response to the Lord’s guidance and assignments, etc.
Most of these people don’t have a secular day job, a huge number of them are women, many mostly home during the day, some are ’stay at home’ mums, many are people living with a disability, dealing with debilitating conditions. But if you try running with them, you could end-up out of breath! They tirelessly read, pray, minister, worship, all the while tackling difficult life situations. Yet, they grow by leaps and bounds, cross-pollinating through the vast international network of home-based communications that the Internet has become, creating a new breed of anointed ministers who are, to use a prophesied term: “the nameless and faceless.”
I call them “Bathrobe Prophets.” I don’t use the term ‘bathrobe’ in a derogatory way, like in ‘couch potato.’ I use it because at times, that’s what many would wear most of the day, due to their condition.
They write tons of dreams and miles of prophetic words, thirst for the Presence of the Father, and hunger to see the Kingdom of God be all it can be. They love to speak words that bring life and healing, encouragement and truth, they are ever learning about proper prophetic ‘etiquette’ so they walk in love and not arrogance, and will astound many with their tireless scribing activity and vibrant need for fellowship.
There are so many prophetic ‘ministries’ today, and our attention will usually be solicited by the most noticeable and loud ones. These are more like Mary Magdelene, the apostle John, Daniel and many others, loving God’s presence, and fellowship with Him as friends is their utmost passion.
If you recognise yourself in this, blessed are you. You have not been overlooked, passed by or ignored by God. You simply may be part of one of His secret armies. Your prophetic life is not barely lived on a stage before thousands, or addressing a limited number of issues relevant to the latest prophetic fad. Your life is a rich and glorious prophetic canvas where God is weaving the words of His heart as they resonate and transform your daily life. You are not ignorant of the enemy’s fire and brutal attacks on your life, but you still pursue God’s fire.
Healing is in His wings, and you believe it, yet, as broken and disabled as you are, you do not give up, trusting with a robust, unpretentious and unadorned faith that He will come through some day. Many of you believe that your sicknesses or conditions are used by the Lord as intercession material, and so it is. We know little about how much we are carrying in our bodies the prophetic assignment of intercession for His Body on earth…
A voice of one calling:
“In the desert prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the wilderness
a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40:3)
Prepare a way. For the Lord. As you are in the desert. A highway (huge and faster traffic). Not just a trail. In the wilderness. Isolation. Barreness. The pace can increase full speed on a highway. Multiplication. We are to prepare this highway for the Lord. Not ourselves. Making straight a highway so we won’t have to make detours. In the desert, detours can cost you your life if water is not present.
I just can’t keep from thinking: “Bathroom Prophets of the world: UNITE!”
1 Cor 12:14-18, “Now the body is not made up of one part but many. […]” But in fact God has arranged the parts of the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
1 Cor 14:5, “I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.”
1 Cor 14:24, “But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”
(written Jan ‘05)
The profile contours of a new breed of prophets is starting to be recognised. When I say this, I don’t mean they bring something which never existed before, but rather that it’s easy to forget or be oblivious to them due to the type of church culture we have, stage/pews, even in the prophetic/charismatic movement.
Their existence is a collective force we have to recognise, embrace, validate, affirm, mentor, nurture and cherish, because it is a breed of believers which touches ground zero in terms of an incarnated prophetic lifestyle, a much needed model for everyone.
Many of them are survivors of tragedies and traumas, have difficult issues with their health, physical and emotional, and don’t fit in the present paradigm of mainstream ‘ministry’ types. However, they are like hound dogs hitting the prophetic trail, joined by kindred hearts, running in the direction they feel the Lord leading them, scouting the land for those coming behind.
They love God with a consuming passion. Seasoned through trials and tribulations, they walk a path of eagerness to know more of Him. They journal, write on forums, have their own blog, support and pray for ministries and people, in fact, the Internet is their preferred vehicle. They spawn virtual communities all over the world. Their ministry of encouragement is outstanding and their compassion runs deep.
They recognise each other when they meet, and form spiritual friendships anointed with a fierce passion to share blessings and discoveries, working tirelessly to mentor each other and witness the establishment of spiritual revival at a level never seen before. They are usually recognised for having visions much bigger than their own lives, visions that can’t be beaten into smaller packages to fit the mainstream ‘box’ paradigm. They speak of heaven as if it’s next door, pray and intercede for strangers with dedicated passion, they worship with tears and usually can be prophetically ministering art deeper levels than any counsellor could expect to reach, all this without even knowing it!
Some dream of bigger ‘ministries’ but what they mostly mean is that they would like to see their lives be a greater blessing to many. They can’t flow as well within the boundaries of rigid religion, but will find patches of sun anywhere they can. They give sacrificially, long for meaningful spiritual fellowship, dream big dreams and often live a hidden, almost anonymous life. But they are giants. We have heard it said in many ways that praying mums may be of greater stature in heaven than 100 great preachers on earth. These are chips from the same block.
Their destiny is the Bride’s. Their song is for the Bride to awake and walk in her prophetic stature and maturity; Jews and Gentiles united in Christ; purity in the media and in our cities; unity in the Body of Christ; daily signs and wonders on a very, very large scale; power and miracles through faith-based prayers; no-nonsense leadership in our churches and government; prophetic understanding of social and international events, and subsequent prophetic strategies applied to specific tasks in response to the Lord’s guidance and assignments, etc.
Most of these people don’t have a secular day job, a huge number of them are women, many mostly home during the day, some are ’stay at home’ mums, many are people living with a disability, dealing with debilitating conditions. But if you try running with them, you could end-up out of breath! They tirelessly read, pray, minister, worship, all the while tackling difficult life situations. Yet, they grow by leaps and bounds, cross-pollinating through the vast international network of home-based communications that the Internet has become, creating a new breed of anointed ministers who are, to use a prophesied term: “the nameless and faceless.”
I call them “Bathrobe Prophets.” I don’t use the term ‘bathrobe’ in a derogatory way, like in ‘couch potato.’ I use it because at times, that’s what many would wear most of the day, due to their condition.
They write tons of dreams and miles of prophetic words, thirst for the Presence of the Father, and hunger to see the Kingdom of God be all it can be. They love to speak words that bring life and healing, encouragement and truth, they are ever learning about proper prophetic ‘etiquette’ so they walk in love and not arrogance, and will astound many with their tireless scribing activity and vibrant need for fellowship.
There are so many prophetic ‘ministries’ today, and our attention will usually be solicited by the most noticeable and loud ones. These are more like Mary Magdelene, the apostle John, Daniel and many others, loving God’s presence, and fellowship with Him as friends is their utmost passion.
If you recognise yourself in this, blessed are you. You have not been overlooked, passed by or ignored by God. You simply may be part of one of His secret armies. Your prophetic life is not barely lived on a stage before thousands, or addressing a limited number of issues relevant to the latest prophetic fad. Your life is a rich and glorious prophetic canvas where God is weaving the words of His heart as they resonate and transform your daily life. You are not ignorant of the enemy’s fire and brutal attacks on your life, but you still pursue God’s fire.
Healing is in His wings, and you believe it, yet, as broken and disabled as you are, you do not give up, trusting with a robust, unpretentious and unadorned faith that He will come through some day. Many of you believe that your sicknesses or conditions are used by the Lord as intercession material, and so it is. We know little about how much we are carrying in our bodies the prophetic assignment of intercession for His Body on earth…
A voice of one calling:
“In the desert prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the wilderness
a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40:3)
Prepare a way. For the Lord. As you are in the desert. A highway (huge and faster traffic). Not just a trail. In the wilderness. Isolation. Barreness. The pace can increase full speed on a highway. Multiplication. We are to prepare this highway for the Lord. Not ourselves. Making straight a highway so we won’t have to make detours. In the desert, detours can cost you your life if water is not present.
I just can’t keep from thinking: “Bathroom Prophets of the world: UNITE!”
1 Cor 12:14-18, “Now the body is not made up of one part but many. […]” But in fact God has arranged the parts of the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
1 Cor 14:5, “I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.”
1 Cor 14:24, “But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”
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