Unity

“And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.” – Genesis 11:1-8

Unity has been the song of the antichrist spirit from the beginning. God’s commission after the flood was to go out into all the world, into the wilderness places and to subdue them as they trust God and followed His leading. But men wanted cities, they wanted things easy, and the first archetype for the antichrist spirit wanted to lead them. He gathered them in unto him against God’s commission and will and took them out of the their harvest field and purposes, and he did it with a banner of “unity.” “We will work together and build us a city.”

Why were they building this city? To try to out engineer God. The foundations of the great architect mystery religions of Babylon that are still worshiped today by Freemasons and all manner of secret society. Rather then simply seek the Lord, submit to and trust in Him, follow His leading and obey what He speaks to them; they decided to build something that would keep them from being overtaken by an other flood of judgment if it were to come for them.

My friend this is still happening. Don’t get caught up in it. God always calls His men out into a wilderness to follow Him and unity with God will cause you to be in opposition to men and the antichrist spirit that calls men to unity with each other and with demons to work against the leading of the Holy Spirit.

“Yea, they despised the pleasant land (to come), they believed not his word: But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord. Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness: To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands. They joined themselves also unto Baal–peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them. Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed. And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.” – Psalm 106:24-31

In the time of the exodus, the children of Israel grew to love the cities of the heathen more than the promise of that one that was coming, (the one promised to Abraham) so that they joined themselves together in unity with that spirit yet again and allowed it to stop their moving toward to the promise land as they began to come into agreement with the sins of the cities and false churches around them. For this fornication with the antichrist spirit was God moved to anger and a plague of death broke out among them. Until one faithful Israelite priest was moved to stand with God against this ungodly unity and so the plague was ceased.

King Ahaz joined in unity with Assyria and Israel was judged for it. Ahab joined himself to Jezebel and her people and they killed the real prophets of God. Many times Israel joined in unity with Egypt to save their cities and try to prevent God’s judgment. When all the while it only angered God and accelerated it. While King Hezekiah made a covenant with God to simply pray and minister unto the Lord and it stayed it and brought miracle manifestations that still stir faith unto this day. So ask yourself, where you faith is? Hekiziah choose unity with God knowing that He was the only one who could change things. The others choose unity with the antichrist spirit thinking that a multitude of mighty men could alter what God had set in motion and for it were greatly disappointed. For it is surely a labor in vain to work against God’s own hand.

“Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.” – Hosea 10:13

Finally, in the time of Jesus, the priest had joined themselves to a Hellenistic world system that incorporated into, and then overtook the church of the day. Then inters Jesus calling men to come out of the system. To separate from it. To which nearly all in the establishment rebuked and hated Him (as they had all of the true prophets before Him). They accused Him of bringing “disunity”, and indeed He was! Disunity with the spirit of antichrist and unity with the of Spirit God! Because you must leave one to join the other. You cannot serve two masters. To be Holy (or set apart) unto God we have to separate from that which is contrary to what He is doing. To follow the leading of the Holy Spirit will cause you to walk away from the masses, from comfort, from what’s pleasing, from the antichrist spirit that calls men to come together and trust in their own abilities. It will call you to follow God out into a wilderness and watch Him do what no man can. Even if He has to raise the dead to do it. So it’s time to choose. Prove where your faith is, in God or in men.

“Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.” – Isaiah 30:1-3, 7

“There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.” – Psalm 33:16-22

Lena’s Story

I knew a girl once, who lived in a house of bondage. She felt trapped there because her father had a document that claim that he had legal right over her. So day in and day out she stayed in that house, broken down, defeated, hopeless, in bondage to a cruel master.

Then one day God intervened by revealing the truth to her. That the contract was not legally binding. It was expired and her captor had been holding her with a bluff. So she tore the paper up and ran to freedom. Jesus had delivered her but it wasn’t over. She had things that the enemy had stolen. So she went back to that old house, but this time not defeated, bullied, or bluffed. She went armed with the truth and authority and the police to back her up. She demanded that the enemy give back what he had stolen or face imprisonment and the wrath of an angry judge!

Knowing that his bluff was up and that she knew her authority, her legal right, and who she was in Christ, he didn’t even fight. He let go of what was hers and stood by silently defeated. Oh how the tables have turned.

This is a true story, it really happened, yet is it also a perfect picture of what happens every day when a sinner is saved by faith and grace. The enemy has been defeated by what Jesus did at Calvary! The legal claim that the enemy had on us has expired. The contract is powerless to hold us captive to him, his torment, and his bondages! But he bullies and bluffs and convinces us that his claim on us is still good.

Then one day God reveals the truth to us and if we believe it we can tear that old contract up and run to Jesus! Once we do, not only is He with us to help us through but he backs us up with all the power, authority, and resources of His kingdom. Then we can go back and stand boldly in confidence against that old devil that use to oppress us and demand that he release what belongs to us! Our peace, our hope, our joy, our families, our future, our territories, our purpose, our identity, everything!

We can boldly stand and demand that he release it, knowing that the power and authority of God’s Kingdom is standing with us! Oh His grace is Sufficient!

It is in that moment that the devil finally knows, that we know that he is defeated and that there is nothing he can do about it. The tables have turned and we have learned the truth of who we are in Christ and what His blood has done for us in releasing us from the curse of contract of bondage to sin and death. That we have been given the choice to simple walk away from it. If you believe what Jesus said, then the power is there to run into the arms of freedom. So don’t be bluffed anymore, run to Jesus like Lena.

“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” – 2 Corinthians 3:17

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” – John 8:36

In the Fire

“And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.” – 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10

There is a fire now and a fire to come. A trial by fire and the Holy Spirit. A fire on the earth at the return of Jesus and a fire in eternity for those who reject Him.

There is a baptism by fire that burns within us and serves to destroy the flesh and the lust thereof. There is a judgment by fire in the end that comes to burn the flesh that refused to submit to the cleansing process. We the Saints and vessel fo honor are like gold tried in the fire. The prideful, selfish, wicked, and rebellious are like the chaff that is consumed and is cast away. All the works of man’s hand will be found to be but ash on the final day. While the works of God’s hand will be found to be a work of righteousness and perfection.

Oh he willing to be consumed now that your soul may burn bright like the stars of heaven for ever and ever. Or else stand in rebellion and be cast into the fires of damnation where your will will be consumed and burned away for ever and ever. We all burn at some point, the choice we are given is to choose our fire, to choose when, and to choose rather we will be changed into His great likeness who is a flame of fire, or if we will be cast into the fierceness of His great burning wrath because that we rejected the greatness of the gift that He offered us through Jesus. The ONLY way of escape from the dirt judgment to come.

“For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” – Deuteronomy 4:24

“And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.” – Hebrews 1:7

“John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.” – Luke 3:16-17

“Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.” – Isaiah 48:10-11

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.” – Revelation 19:11-13

“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” – 1 Corinthians 3:11-15

“They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord, they shall cry aloud from the sea. Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the fires, even the name of the Lord God of Israel in the isles of the sea.” – Isaiah 24:14-15

“For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.” – Zechariah 2:5

Where is Your Faith?

“So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath–pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me. And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.” – 2 Kings 16:7-8

Ahaz did not trust God be trusted men. He desiccated the house of God and built demonic alters in the land. He joined with foreign rulers and served them for security. He told the enemy, “I am your servant and your son.” In order to preserve His life in the short term. He caused His son to be passed through the fire to Molech. A form of child sacrifice or abortion.

Yet did he have an other son and this one escaped Ahaz’s cruel, selfish, and demonic fate, being save by his mother and raised by her. He would later take the thrown and come to be known as one of Israel’s greatest kings who would stand in opposition to everything that His physical father had been.

Hezekiah was the son of this wicked king that had brought judgment upon his nation. Yet in the face of that judgment, did Hezekiah’s faithfulness turn the tide of it for a generation. Hezekiah’s Faith not only saved his own life but countless others and even his whole nation. He tore down the false alters, he reformed the church of the day, he cleaned the temple, he stood against the practice of child sacrifice that he was a survivor of in his generation. He turned men back to the one true God. He stood against the invading armies that the king before had been in agreement and allegiance with. He trusted God and not men with his deliverance. He refused to compromise or capitulate for his own safety, well-being, prosperity, or promise of security.

He repented of, and stood against, all that his father before him had done and pushed back the tide of judgment on his nation for a generation. How amazing was this man’s faith and history remembers him for the fact that while God himself fought against his father, He fought for him. Sending an angel to defend him and defeat his prideful enemies and the enemies of Jerusalem supernaturally.

Before, in the time of Ahaz, the enemy’s of God were within Jerusalem, forcing His hand against it. Yet because of Hezekiah’s reformation there was a clear distinction made between the holy and the unholy and the enemies of God were now outside and coming against Jerusalem and it’s remnant, that His hands was now able to defend it and be turned against that which threatened them.

Oh dear Saints, the generations that have come before you have polluted the sanctuary of strength and allowed sin and wickedness to prevail in the land of their inheritance so that judgment has been decreed against it. Therefor, let your heart be determined to be a Hezekiah in the midst of it! One that stands against it, that dismantles it, that preaches righteousness, that brings the people back into alignment with the words and commandments of God. That undoes what their fathers have done. That chooses to put their faith in God to deliver them. That doesn’t compromise or capitulate with the system for the promise of security and prosperity. That believes that God is strong enough to keep His promises and defeat His enemies when we are willing to separate from them so that he can swing the rob of His authority without it being swung at us in the process. Effectively redeeming the time and turning back the tide of judgment.

“And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.” – 2 Kings 20:10-11

“And I (The Lord) will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.” – 2 Kings 20:6

Oh choose ye this day whom you will serve. Either the gods of your fathers, the gods of the culture, the gods of mammon, materialism, and Assyria like Ahaz did. Or the God of scripture, the God of Isaac, Abraham, Jacob, and Moses. The God of Hezekiah. The defender of the defenseless. The keeper of promises unto a thousand generations. The King of Glory and Righteousness.

“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” – Joshua 24:15

“Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” – Ephesians 5:14-17

Refocus

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” – 2 Peter 3:3-4

Peter who was taught personally by Jesus, both pre and post resurrection, and also by the Holy Spirit, gives us a prophetic warning that spans the history of creation to bring clarity on what’s coming in the final judgment of this physical world and our part in it until then.

He warns that there will be those who (just like in Noah’s time) scoff at the idea that the wrath of God lies at the door. They will say in their heart, nothing will change. Yet any day, in an instant, at the mere word (or commandment) of God, it can happen. Just like it did the last time.

“For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” – 2 Peter 3:5-7

It was but by the Word of God that the earth was formed in the beginning. It was but by the word of God that the earth was destroyed by flood in the time of Noah. And it will be but by the word of God that it will be destroyed again by fire, at Christ’s returning. How arrogant of men to think that they can change it by the works of their own hands or by their preparations.

This was the error and pride of the fallen ones that were destroyed in the flood the last time this word was spoken. For it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Humble yourself before Him and plead for mercy. Repent and turn from your sin and rebellion. Put away the pride of your heart and acknowledge that the only way to stay this is for His Word to change it. It may be that He will, and will leave a blessing behind in it’s place. For He is merciful and full of grace and patience and delights in mercy. Yet must His word be kept in both reward and in judgment.

So ask for mercy, for more time to get it right. Get in alignment with His word, help others to do the same that they too might be saved, and allow His decrees to come out of your mouth into the earth; and things will change. For He desires the intercessor to stand between men and their judgment; as was done by our great King.

If so be that God may terry a day in heaven, then man might be given a thousand year space for repentance, yet do not take His mercy for granted for what seems to be a thousand years away can come in a day if you don’t take Him seriously.

“But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” – 2 Peter 3:8-10

Never loose the truth of God’s word for when you do, that’s when it will be proven to you in the manifest fulfilling of it unto judgment. Take it serious. Take Him serious. Seek it daily and obey it and tell others before it’s too late. Because heaven and earth will pass away but His word will not. It will happen exactly as He speaks it. Yet is His word alive. He lives and breaths and is still speaking forth His decrees and mercies.

Come to Him in humility and ask for the opportunity to bring a few more into the Kingdom. He delights in this and will grant you pardon yet again. When you choose to believe more in Him then in the works of men and of demons and trust His word and His majesty above all of creation and let that change your words and conversation to relay His and the decrees and message of heaven rather then the affairs of men. For all that they labor for will be gone in an instance, but the work of God’s Kingdom will continue from everlasting to everlasting.

“Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” – 2 Peter 3:11-18

“I Will Raise Up The Decayed Places”‬‬

“that Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, and said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: but if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.” – Nehemiah‬ ‭1:2-9‬ ‭KJV‬‬

This is proper response to the affliction and reproach of the Church. The Lord heard the prayer of this man because of the response he had to the condition of the Church in his day. He saw the physical decay as it was: the Spiritual decay… for God is the judge of all the secrets of men’s hearts. And Our Holy God does act accordingly to His own Words and promises made, even the parts we’d rather like to overlook. God is HOLY from beginning to end and is always faithful to His Word!

It was once stated by a respected man of God: It would have been well, if we would have studied the warnings in Scripture as well as His promises. 

And how true a statement! We must be careful to note the if’s  and but’s of God’s Words to recognize that there are conditions in His Word that are required to meet to receive those promises! We have a roll to play in God’s desired plans and purposes. Because from the beginning we were created for fellowship to work with God in the earth.

God saw the turning of this man’s heart long before the turning of the nation, and because He delights in mercy, used him to rebuild what was torn down as rubble. 

I can certainly relate to this in my own personal life… as often as I begin to leave the safety of the arms of the Father, for the desire of the flesh, and see the demolishing of my Spiritual life with Him how I find myself in much affliction and reproach to Him; but when I turn back unto Him with my WHOLE HEART, He will then begin to restore what I allowed to be broken down.

It’s never God’s desire for this brokenness but it’s usually what it takes to get me out from the enemy’s camp and back into His love and grace walking and working with Him again. 

It is His mercy that lets us see the consequences of our own selfish sinful way that we might remember how much better we were in His will and in fellowship with Him! 

The walls Nehemiah and the remnant began to rebuild were the separation from the enemy and that which reserved them Holy (set apart) unto GOD in the physical since. See the desire of God’s heart in this verse:

“Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.” – Isaiah‬ ‭60:18‬ ‭KJV‬‬

But until we rise and build (Spirituality speaking) we will not see the desired end of God’s will or we will not be part of it. Don’t find yourself left out of it, because if we allow ourselves to follow our own way we will be!

“But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.” – Nehemiah‬ ‭2:19-20‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Opposition will always come to the work of the LORD, but don’t let yourself be one of them.

“Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall. Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity: and cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders. So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work. But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, and conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it. Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.” – Nehemiah‬ ‭4:3-9‬ ‭KJV‬‬

The flesh and the Spirit are continually at war with each other so feed yourself on God’s whole council Word and receive the Holy Spirit of Grace (power) to overcome it.

So let us draw near and humbly bow before Our God in sincerity and truth with true hearts of repentance. Seek His face and learn His way that we may be part of His Kingdom while on this earth. That which we cling to, we will become like, let us forsake the world with all it’s pleasures of flesh, and take hold of the LORD GOD through the blood of atonement in Jesus Christ, be born of His Spirit and filled with all the fullness of God to walk in unity with His Spirit and  as Jesus said work while it is day for the hour cometh that no man can work.

“And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: and Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” – Nehemiah‬ ‭8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them. And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God. Then stood up upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God.” – Nehemiah‬ ‭9:1-4‬ ‭KJV‬‬

(This whole chapter is their prayer of repentance returning to the Lord in covenant relationship)

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” – 2 Corinthians‬ ‭7:1‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, Nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall 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; lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (for they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: and so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) but ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire.” – Hebrews‬ ‭12:1-29‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Submitted by Heather Wright

Wages

“A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.” – Proverbs 28:20

The steps of a righteous man or ordered by the Lord. The righteous have never been forsaken, nor their children left begging for bread. Those who are faithful in the little things will be trusted by God with more. The Lord loves to give good gifts to His children. He blesses the meek and showers the humble, selfless, and long suffering with His presence and His blessings, both now and forever! Amen!

It is a good thing to be counted a faithful friend to the one who holds all true wealth in the palm of His hand! Because friends help their friends. So to those who may seem lowly by the haughty standards of man, their storehouses are filled with all the blessing and provision of heaven!

Yet the one who would haste to make himself rich will move in abundant selfishness. He will not look to the needs of others. He will not care if he offends his brother. He will not consider how he dishonors God. He will get out of the position that he was placed in to learn lessons and gain eternal blessings. He will chase after distractions. He will oppress the innocent. He will slander, rob, still, and character kill. He will suppress the hireling in his wages. He will compromise his convictions. He will get riches in the quick, but he will not be found innocent before God, and in a moment of judgment, he will loose all of it.

It’s not worth it. There is a reckoning coming. Give to those who need while you can, so that God will give to you when your moment of need comes. Take the low seat and wait for God to elevate. Be humble, be kind, keep eternity in mind. There are far greater riches then can be gained in the quick. Which are bought with patience, with prayer, with faith, and with endurance. Better it is, to be paid a good wage by God than by man. For the time is coming when we will get what we earned for the work we have done.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Romans 6:23

“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” – Matthew 16:26

“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” – Revelation 22:12

Fighting For Them

“Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you;” – 2 Thessalonians 3:6-7

There is power in unity. We are a family. When we fight the enemy in one minded obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit, there is nothing in hell that can stand against it! But unity with God will put you at opposition to demons and many times, the men that they influence. Therefore, blind unity can be very dangerous.

Paul had to address this in the church family of Thessalonica. He had to let the faithful know that when there are those who are not behaving by the fruits of the spirit or speaking by the leading of of it, then we are not called to remain in unity with error. Though we are to remain in good character in exhorting a brother to truth and repentance and lovingly praying for their realignment with the teachings, words, and Spirit of Jesus as one would pray for their own brother, father, or mother.

When the enemy causes men to stir up confusion, deception, rebellion, disagreement with the words or leading of Jesus, pride, offense, contention, any ungodly characteristic, then it is ok to walk away and prayer for them from a distance. It’s ok (as advised by Paul) to separate from that which pollutes your spirit or tempts to draw you away from unity with Jesus.

However, it is not ok, to abandon them to this state. You are called to pray. If you know there is a problem then you are obligated to pray for them. Be relentless, fight in the spirit, make the devil regret that he dared to use them against the brethren. Fast and cry out for them until they respond to the prompts of heaven, get a revelation of their disunity with the Spirit, and are restored through humble repentance. Pray that they come into subjection to God, deliverance from the enemy, and can safely be unified again as both friend and family. This is your call and purpose and proper response to a problem in the body of Christ.

Just like in your natural family. When there is a problem that is effecting your Spirit, sometimes you have to step away, get your own heart right again, and pray from a distance until the Lord steps in with correction and restoration. Because if the enemy can get you and the other party in the wrong spirit and in disagreement with the words, teachings, and character of Jesus, then you are both defeated.

Yet if you will stop, separate for a moment to pray, get instruction, and be reminded to love them, then you will be more likely to fight for them then against them, and in doing so see them brought to redemption and the devils plots and plans defeated and turned against him. So use wisdom. Maintain your righteousness, be set apart unto Jesus, and pray with authority that all might be restored unto unity with Him who is the head of the family.

“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” – James 4:17

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:1-2

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” – Matthew 5:44

Vessels of Honor

“The vessels also that are given thee for the service of the house of thy God, those deliver thou before the God of Jerusalem. And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king’s treasure house.” – Ezra 7:19-20

When the temple was restored in the time of Ezra he brought the vessels of the house of God before the Lord to be sanctified. Then stated that what ever else would be needed would be provided by God Himself.

The house of God today has vessels of service all the same. They too need sanctification before God can use them. Let us pray today for God to cleans all those that we know who are of the household of faith. Knowing this, that once this has happened, then will God Himself fill them with whatever else is needed out of His own treasuries! All of the resources and grace of heaven is ready to be poured out into these vessels in order to rebuild His house! But first the vessels of service must be sanctified, purified, made fit for the masters use.

Oh Lord we lay ourselves, our congregations, our brethren, our churches, and our nation before You. Do what you need too! Sanctify Your church, purify Your bride, consecrate and equip Your remnant in these last days. For the harvest is ripe but the laborers are few.

We humble ourselves before You and let go of the spots, the chaff, the filth, the pride, the ambitions, distractions, and vain imaginations. We align with You word, Your will, and Your teachings. Polish us in the furnace of affliction if need be, until we reflect the countenance of our Jesus!

Then fill us and send us to fulfill our purpose for Your Kingdom. Make us vessels of honor unto you, our great craftsmen King, we ask You too in humility. For the choice is our to make, as Your scriptures say, “purge yourself”, yet we ask for Your help; for our help comes from You alone.

Show us the spots, show us what needs to go, show us what defiles us an prevents the oils flow. Cleanse us, forgive us, train us, fill us, anoint us, and send us. Use us for your purposes. Make us Your vessels of honor.

“But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” – 2 Timothy 2:20-22

The Warning

“The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us.” – Micah 3:11

So many times in history did God’s people claim immunity from calamity because they claimed His name. Yet Jesus said, “why do you call Me Lord when you do not do the things that I tell you?” (Luke 6:46) To simply say that He is your King does not make Him your King, but to obey Him as your King does.

Balaam could not curse Israel, nor could Balak overthrow them because their King was in the midst of them. They were obedient to His words and leadings. Yet when they began to trust in the council of men, demons, and their own vain imaginations did the Holy One depart from them and the curse overtook them.

In the time of the judges there was wave after wave of judgment because that “there was no king in Israel and every man did what was right in His own eyes.”

To claim God as a king and to truly have Him as your King can be two very different things. Jesus warned that many who call Him Lord do not truly belong to Him because they are still working iniquity and are not doing the will of the Father daily.

In our opening passage, judgment was being decreed upon Israel for sin yet again and the guilt of it was being placed on leadership. The government made laws for reward, favor, and financial gain rather then in accordance with God’s words. Not unlike our lobbyist and politicians today. The priest charged money to teach and preach God’s words to the people. Not unlike our religious conferences and colleges today. The prophets “divine” for money. They seek a word from any spirit that will speak to them so they can get a crowd to follow and seek after them by which they make their living. Not unlike the false prophets of today. Yet they all say, that no judgment can befall them because the Lord is with them when in truth, He has long departed from them and in their pride they keep pushing forward deeper and deeper into a dark and ominous tide.

It will overtake them in a suddenly to break them free from the lie that God is ok with their misrepresenting Him. With their decrees of vanity and selfishness. With their refusal to let Him rule them. Because what they have to learn is this, when you want to be your own king, then you are your own source, supplier, and protection and that is not a place that you want to be in when the kingdoms of the enemy come rushing in like a flood.

It is in that moment that you realize why you need to be under the Lordship and covering of the King of Kings and ruler of the greatest Kingdom. Because we need His protection, His wisdom, His leading, and His equipping because we have a real enemy and only God can defeat them. Therefore does judgment come when He withdraws for a moment to show us how quickly we can be overtaken without Him. That He alone is Salvation.

When we trust in our own leading we end up trusting demons. They are cunning and very skilled at convincing you that their ideas are yours. Trust the word of the Lord, it is pure, it is sure, it is selfless, and it is right. Humble yourself before Him and make Him the true King of your life.

“In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” – Judges 21:25

Pride goes before destruction and the heart of pride is to know what God says and to think that you can do things any other way and think that it will be ok. It will not work out, humble now and seek Him while He may be found. Repent, submit, make Him your King and get under the covering of His protection because the enemy is coming and the prideful will regret thinking that they can claim God’s Name while trusting in themselves and that no evil will be fail them. The devil will turn their own pride against them. They are trusting in the wrong spirit, they are under the wrong kingship and they will see exactly how cruel of a master he is. Yet even this is mercy if it leads them to repentance, dependence, and commitment to the words and teachings of Jesus. The true King and Lion of the tribe of Judah.

“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.” – Numbers 23:19-24