“The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.” – Joel 3:16-17
Scripture tells us that in the end, all the world will have a decision to make and the culmination of that decision will bring the world to a valley in Israel for a final battle. All the world against God, His people, and His covenant promises. The ultimate rebellion and manifestation of pride and hatred. A desire to resist and silence God, wipe out His remnant, and nullify His promises. An act of envy, of evil, and of violence.
Yet it backfires. God is not silenced, but rather comes down Himself to rawr against the rebellious. A dreadful battle that is completely one sided. As if man or demon ever stood a chance against the omnipotence of God. So is the downfall of pride. It sets itself up for destruction.
Yet in this valley does every body have a choice. What side of the fight will you be found on. God’s or the enemies of His covenants. His will or yours? Faith or rebellion? Victory or damnation?
We pray against wicked powers and principalities and for the salvation of all those deceived by them. We pray for exposure of Satan’s evil deceptions. We pray for peace and for evangelism. Yet we know that one day God will come and fight this fight to the finish. All the more reason to be vigilant and urgent in our efforts to help others make the right decision while they still can; because once the Lion starts roaring… you’re either for Him or against Him. It’s too late to change your position.
“Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and by utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” – Joel 3:12-16
“This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts. The LORD will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen.” – Zephaniah 2:10-11
God is a defender, a strong tower, a protector, a teacher, and a redeemer. He is patient, not willing that any should pariah, giving space for repentance. Yet will the wicked eventually be punished. He will not be mocked, He can defend His own Name and bring His own fame.
Yet is He not only provoked to anger when the pride of mere men is hurled against Him. But also, and perhaps more so, when it is directed against His people. He does allow hardships to come to teach them, to drive them to repentance, or to position them for a miraculous deliverance. Yet even when they are in need of a humbling, once it has come will He still rise up to defend them. What He once allowed in order to correct them, He will step in and remove it. He is not cruel, everything that He does (or doesn’t do) has a purpose. He will defend His people, and His covenant promises.
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.” – Jeremiah 29:11-14
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” – Romans 1:16-17
We can argue all the things that we want to believe, but in the end, it’s what Jesus said, that our life’s actions will be measured against.
“He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.” – John 12:48-49
Jesus said many times that only those who do the will of God will make it to heaven.
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” – Matthew 7:21
“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” – Luke 6:46
You cannot serve two masters. Until you give up your own will, you cannot walk in His. Only those who lived His will, will get in to heaven in the end. This was Jesus final lesson and message; given through Gethsemane and the crucifixion. To trust (or put your “faith” in) God, no matter what He ask of us. To trust (have faith) in Him enough to put to death your own will so that Jesus’s can live and be fulfilled through your every action. Just as Jesus showed us when He laid down His will to live out the Father’s.
“I (Paul) am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” – Galatians 2:20
Jesus said that if we love Him, we will obey Him. Paul said that if we trust God, then it will not be grievous to us. This is where the problem is. We often trust ourselves more than Him, or else we love unrighteousness more than we love Him. Both are idolatry. Both are sin. Jesus came to show us that trusting and loving God will always bring the best outcome. Even if it brings tribulations that last a moment. The end will be eternal glory, and that’s more important. That’s what faith is.
“So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” – Hebrews 3:19
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” – Matthew 6:9-10
“but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;” – Romans 2:8-9
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.” – Romans 1:18-19
“and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” – 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12
”Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.“ – Matthew 12:13
In the early verses of Matthew chapter 12, we see a contrast between the character of Jesus and of the Pharisees that were present. The Pharisees wanted to be seen and believed in by men, Jesus wanted men too see and believe in God through His actions.
Jesus heals a man and the others are envious and seek for a means to attack Him. They accuse him of healing on the Sabboth when doing good was never prohibited. They imposed their own opinions and conditions that were birthed from their own emotions and motives and not from the scriptures.
What did Jesus do about this? He kept demonstrating and teaching with meekness and patience. Then he withdrew Himself and did it unseen by the masses. The passage says that He did not fight or shout. He just left and went healing elsewhere, while telling people not to speak of it. Further proving His motive against that of the pharisees.
Do you desire to release a word of revelation from Heaven? Do you pray for a gift of healing? Do you long to cast out demons? That’s great, but check your motive today. Is it to help someone get saved? To help them to believe in God and follow Him? Or is it to make them believe in you and follow you? Be careful of selfish ambitions. Remember what Jesus did. He taught and healed with no recognition. He pointed men to God, He led them to heaven. The pharisees just wanted preeminence and attention, so the anointing was not with them, and it made them envious that it was, with Jesus. And that envy drove them to madness. So be cautious.
”For Pilate knew that for envy the pharisees had delivered Jesus unto him.“ – Matthew 27:18
Remember, it’s about saving the lost, not building your audience.
”Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; and charged them that they should not make him known: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; My beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, And he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive (fight), nor cry (shout); Neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, And smoking flax shall he not quench, Till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles (the lost) trust.“ – Matthew 12:14-21
”For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:“ – 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8
Paul gives us some important insight into the workings of the spirit of antichrist. He tells us that there will eventually be a man manifested which will be the full embodiment of this spirit, but that until then it would work in part through those who welcomed it.
An easier way to understand this is to look at how the Holy Spirit worked in the earth through those who welcomed it, through priest and prophets for all those years until it was fully manifested in the man Jesus, the Christ!
“Christ” means “the chosen or the anointed one.” The antichrist is the one that is not chosen or anointed by God. He is self appointed and empowered by Satan through control, manipulation, divination, and witchcraft.
”O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you… ?“
Galatians 3:1
”And through his (the antichrist) policy also he shall cause (witch)craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace (manipulation and deception) shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes (the real anointing/chosen one); but he shall be broken without hand (will not reveal against the chosen one).“
Daniel 8:25
Our opening passage tells us that the spirit of antichrist was already in operation. Yet while the power of the Holy Spirit was thriving in abundance, the antichrist spirit was hiding. It was showing opposition to the will and word of God in secret cunning crafty flattery and manipulative deception.
Yet the Holy Spirit keeps it in check, not allowing its efforts to take full effect. Messing up it’s plans, time and time again. However, when the time comes to deal with it, to draw it out into the open, to expose and to dethrone it. There is a falling away, a disconnect, weakening, or removal of those who resisted it in past seasons. It thinks that it is finally succeeding. The Holy Spirit stops restraining it. He allows it to build it’s pride. To think that it is winning for a short time. To let it lead, even. To show those who were deceived by it what they are really dealing with, and to give space for repentance.
Yet in the end, it is Jesus Himself that will fight against this Spirit with the sword of His mouth. The real anointing, the real chosen one will always triumph. God will not be mocked. When the devil seems to be winning, really God is only using his pride against him, and setting him up. So take heart dear servants of the Lord, satan’s time is short.
”Pride goeth before destruction, And an haughty spirit before a fall.“
Proverbs 16:18
Jesus said that you will know the tree by the fruit. That means that there are seasons when you can’t tell one tree from an other, but with a little time and some fertilizer, all will be revealed and the bad trees will be cut down and cast into the fire. While the good ones are pruned and prepared for the harvest!
So keep your sweetness, bear good fruit (one of which is patience) trust God, and trust His process. He is not always fast, and it doesn’t always makes since or feel good in the moment, but it’s always for the best, and He is always victorious!
”Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits…“
Matthew 7:15-16
”But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.“
Galatians 5:22-23
”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. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND Lord OF LORDS.“
”Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing.“ – Matthew 24:45-46
In Matthew 24, Jesus gives a parable of a servant (minister) who was given charge over his master’s (God) house (the church/people of God) while he was away. The servant stopped expecting the master to return and stopped serving and started expecting and demanding to be served.
He began to control and abuse the other servants. To use them and to live selfishly and excessively. He began to think himself the leader, rather than a fellow servant. The head and not a part of the body like all the others. He began to indulge and be harsh and brash and a bad steward of what really was not his to begin with. All because he stopped expected the sudden return of the lord and true master of the house. He began to act like the house was his, when it really wasn’t, yet he had forgotten that, because he thought the master was not soon coming.
This is why the modern church is so messed up. This is why it so often preaches a selfish message. This is why it is full of selfish, controlling, or complacent shepherds. Because at large, they have forgotten that the master is coming! That His returning will be sudden. That He is still watching and taking account of the actions of those that are in charge of His houses.
We don’t preach for money, for control, for attention, preeminence, or for praises. We preach because we want to see others saved! To relay His messages. To be a good servant to Him who has appointed us, because we love our master who has entrusted us with His words and commissions. Woe unto us, if we don’t do it.
I have preached my whole life with no financial compensation and very little thanks for it from men. My reward is to know that I have done the will of my Father which is in heaven. I say it, not as a boast or to complain, but as a demonstration that removed the excuses that the enemy may be planting in some. It can be done. Seek God, get a word, and release it however you can. In a pulpit, a street corner, to family or friends, on the internet. Preach to the trees if that is your only audience. God hears it and will pour increase upon your obedience.
Jesus said to Peter, “if you love me, feed my lambs.” In our opening passage He said to “give his people meat when they need it.” Paul said, that it was not an option, but “a necessity” for Him to keep preaching (feeding spiritually) the flocks of God. It’s a calling, it’s not a job.
If there is no money, no platform, no thanks, nothing but battles, labors, sacrifices, and opposition, will you keep preaching? If you have to live like the apostles and the greats of histories ministries will you endure it? My friend, we must. Because the master of the house will soon come and we will have to given an account, and He is the one who will pay us. For good or for bad we will be held accountable for whether or not we fed His lambs.
So seek the Lord early while He may be found. Speak, teach, preach, or write what he says down. He will provide what is needed to be able to release it. Even if you have to sit on a street corner to do it. Even if it’s only for one person. God will use you if you let him. So don’t get discouraged, lazy, complacent, entitled, self willed, or lethargic. Be a faithful and vigilant servant. Get a word from Heaven and deliver it. Rather that is to your church, you friends, your co workers, or just your own children. We all have some area of influence. Use it. Even if you get nothing for it. We are not working for men, we are working for the one who is soon coming. Be vigilant. Be a good steward. The master of the house is approaching.
”For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.“ –
”Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?“ – James 2:19-21
Well isn’t this an uncomfortable passage. Can we just ignore it so that we can keep our wrong doctrines and bad habits? Can we just pretend that this is not in the Bible? Can we overlook that this was preached by James, the son of Joseph and Mary, the physical brother of Jesus who spent his life listening to His sermons?
That it is gain to say that you are saved by faith when your works don’t reflect what you say? That Abraham (the father of our faith) was “justified by works”? How can this be? Is this a contradiction of other scriptures? No, not at all. It’s a completion of other scriptures. It’s “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) as we are commanded to do. It’s the “full council of God’s Word” (Acts 20:27) and not just part. It’s “the conclusion of the matter” (Ecclesiastics 12:13), the fruit that is produced by the root! (Mathew 7:16) The truth that real faith will produce, real works. There will be an evidence, or a byproduct of trusting (putting your faith in) God in your life that goes beyond words; or else it’s just vanity and outright lies. You deceive yourself when you think you can speak words that are not backed up with actions that are backed up with the power (grace) of heaven.
The truth is this, that it takes all of it, faith, grace, and works working together in the proper order, and the Bible is clear on that. It starts with a seed of faith, which then is rained upon by God’s grace, so that it can germinate into good works; or perhaps I should say “God works.”
”For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.“
Ephesians 2:8-10
You see the problem here is not works, works are important. It’s the order in which we put them and the source of them that can be the problem. We cannot work out way into salvation. The fruit cannot come before the seed is even planted or else it’s nothing but a weed. Faith comes by hearing the word of God and believing it. Then when we have believed what God has spoken, He sends His grace to empower it to walk in alignment with what He has asked and promised. He will fulfill His covenants but we have to trust Him enough to do the little things as He ask us too.
Covenant means “partnership.” We are in marriage covenant with Jesus. We are His bride, His “helpmate”. Created by God with a function and a purpose. To seek, submit, and partner with Jesus. To be His helper as He helps the Father. Does He need us? Did Adam “need” Eve? Not really? But God did not want the first Adam to have to work alone so He made him a wife. God did not want the second Adam (His son) to have to work alone either, so He made Him a wife. We have been offered this gift and the authority of our husband to back and empower it, if we except the proposal and take the position serious.
“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.“
Revelation 19:7-8
So according to the Bible, the wife “makes herself ready”? How can she do that? Why would it say that? Because the responsibility of receipt, belief, and action lies on you. Jesus paid the price to purchase us. He has proposed to us. He has given instruction in how to prepare for His returning. It’s up to us to receive this great gift from Him, to believe Him, and to live in preparation for it. Real faith will produce real action and there’s no getting around that. So let’s go back to our opening passage and read a little further for more context.
”Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.“
”But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your servant; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: even as the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.“ – Matthew 20:25-28
We understand that Jesus taught us to never desire to have preeminence over others. To not want to have authority over with surfs under, but rather to serve each other. Each part supplying what the other lacks so that the whole will work together to do the will of the Father. A family, a body, selflessness, humility.
Jesus plainly tells us that the greatest in the kingdom is the servant of them all, but what exactly does it mean to be the servant of them all? The one who serves all the other parts will be the greatest in the kingdom of God. So what are all the parts?
1 Corinthians, chapter 12 answers that. It list out all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the offices that will use them. We all have a calling that will fall into one of these offices, and gifts that are given by the Holy Spirit to help us to fulfill them.
”And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.“
1 Corinthians 12:28
Apostles plant churches, train up the pastors and leaders, and check in on them to make sure that they are staying in good standing.
Prophets pray, seeks, and speak on occasion when the Lord makes them, proclaiming the spiritual times and seasons, giving warning, correction, encouragement, and direction.
Teachers study and teach us the scripture making the text easy to understand and come alive to us in our everyday lives.
Miracle workers are those whose ministries are drenched in Miracles! Those prayer warriors that stir our faith and show us the impossible power and reach of our God and King. We run to them for prayer when we face difficulties. Knowing that miracles and victories happen around them continually.
Healers are those whose ministry is marked by an abundance of healings. They show God’s compassion, mercy, and care to the unbelieving. They build faith that draws the lost to put their trust in Jesus. They are typically a type of evangelist
Governments, or “administration” are those who help with the administrative works of running churches and ministers. The accountant, the secretary, the legal work, the inventory, the less seen but necessary things. Yes, that is a calling. To use you business and administrative skills for God’s Kingdom so that the ministers can keep to their ministering.
Diversities of tongues. Within the church, these are the prayer warriors that commune with the Lord in heavenly converse. Outside the church, these are the missionaries that God chooses to speak through to those of other tribes, tongues, and nations! God gifts them with diversities of prayer languages.
There is one office, or calling left. One that I failed to mention because it is the least desired and the most neglected. It is seen by men to be the “least of them”. That is the “Ministry of Helps”. The simplest way to describe this ministry, is that it’s someone who is called to help all the other offices. In other words, it is the “servant of them all.”
Could is be that this is what Jesus meant when He said that the pagans desire to be the one with the most perceived power, but not with us because the greatest in the Kingdom will actually be the ones previewed as the least among us, the “servant of them all”?
I believe so, because Jesus also told us that if we help a prophet we will receive a prophets reward. The prophet himself will only receive a prophets reward. Just as a pastor will receive a pastors reward and a teacher will receive a teachers reward. Yet the ministry of helps can help then all so that in heaven, they will receive the prophet, pastor, and teacher’s reward and all the other offices that they helped!
In this done seen that God has set it up that upon the seemingly less desirable part of the body, God has bestowed more honor. That’s the beautiful of our King, who works in mysteries, cherishes the unseen, and honors humility.
”and those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.“
1 Corinthians 12:23
”But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.“
Matthew 19:30
”And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.“
Mark 9:35
”But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.“
”And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinancefor ever.“ - Exodus 12:17
Passover starts tonight at 6pm. But what exactly is Passover? Should Christians observe it? And if so, how? This is a very easy to understand breakdown.
Passover is when death passed over Egypt and Moses and the Israelites applied the blood of the lamb to their door and each family shut themselves in their homes, had a meal and prayed, and the curse of death passed over them.
It is also when Jesus and His disciples had the last supper, and then He was killed as our Lamb so that judgment would Passover us.
The day that both those things happened is from 6pm tonight until 6pm tomorrow night.
If you want to observe it, you can get shut in with your family, pray and take communion at 6pm tonight.
If you want to do the full Passover meal instead of just communion (communion symbolizes this meal), it consist of:
Lamb or chicken: represents the sacrifice / the shedding of blood. (Jesus) It reminds us that sin cost something. It brought death. Others suffer when we sin and Jesus had to die to that we could live and be redeemed.
Boiled egg: the ending of a time of grieving (Egypt, bondage, plagues, curses) and a new beginning/journey (following God into the new as the bride of Christ)
Parsley: hope and redemption dipped in salt water to represent that it came mixed with tears (the curse of death fell on the first born sons in Egypt, and it fell on God’s first (only) born Son (who was shielding us from it) at Calvary.
Horseradish: reminds of the bitterness of slavery and bondage (to Egypt or to sin/satan) Horseradish makes you tear up with you eat it.
Bitter herb (lettuce): simplicity of what they had to eat in the wilderness. Reminds us that whatever you have to give up to follow God is worth it!
Charoset (smashed apples, nuts, and cinnamon): reminds you of the mortar used by Jewish slaves to building for Pharaoh
Matzoh (unleaded bread): yeast represented sin so it is an abandonment or repentance of sin. Leaving it behind in Egypt and only going with the pure bread (Jesus) into your new journey. No more puffed up counterfeits! It also reminds us that they left Egypt so quickly that they didn’t wait around for bread to rise.
Grape juice: 4 cups (or drinks) of blessing covenants (promises/commitments from God). There is a 5th cup of wrath but Jesus drank that one for us in Gethsemane. So we don’t worry about that one, but it is good to take the time to thank him for doing it.
God commanded that the Passover remembrance be kept for all generations. At the last supper (the Passover meal), Jesus said that from that point on, when we did it, to do it in remembrance of Him. Of what He did as our Passover Lamb. That His blood was shed for the remission of our sins. That we might be protected from the judgment and the curse of sin and death.
So however you choose to observe Passover, just remember that God is a deliverer! Always has been, and still is! That He did miracles to save Israel from Egypt, and He stopped at nothing to save us through Jesus. So remember it, thank Him for it, and teach your children.
”Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.“
Isaiah 26:20
”For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.“
Exodus 12:12-14
”And Jesus took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.“
This morning in prayer the Lord instructed me to pray for an outpouring of His Spirit, to come and water the seeds of faith that have already been planted, that a harvest might come to life from what now seems baron.
As I did I was reminded that while I can go to the well that never runs dry, even in times of spiritual drought, to keep my garden alive. It would be better for all, for me to pray for rain (an outpouring of God’s Spirit) to water all of the dry and thirsty of the land that are beyond the reach of my two hands. Better for all to get water, and not just my garden!
I’m speaking in parables here so bear with me. I’m not talking about physical rain, or gardens, or harvest.
After praying for rain, I did some work on HT and ran across an old video of me in the woods (wilderness) with my dad. He was explaining to us how dangerous the drought was because it made it easier for the alligators to attack the desperately thirsty.
There were only a few pools of water left, and the thirsty had no choice but to be attracted to them. So the alligators would hide in them and wait to attack.
As I watched it, knowing that we are in a spiritual drought and there are only a few pools of water left (good churches) I began to see the tactic. The enemy is drawn to them because he knows the thirsty are coming. He hides and lies in wait. He attacks and devours as soon as they drink.
So what is the solution? Pray for rain! Give the thirsty so much water that no matter where they are they can drink freely! Pray for an outpouring. Not pools of water that can be infiltrated, but a total saturation of the land that is too abundant for the enemy to use to his advantage!
So today ask for living water and we shall receive it; as Jesus promised! Only don’t ask for it only in your own little pool (ministry or churches). That will only attract the enemy. Instead, ask bigger! Ask for it upon all the land! Ask for so much of it to fall on so many, in so many places, that it will thwart all the plans of the enemy!
Satan is not omnipotent or omnipresent, only God is. The devil benefits from lack, from dryness, from pools and pockets. So pray for rain, and omnipresent outpouring of God’s spirit manifested ministering to all men what is needed bringing living water to the thirsty, and life to dead promises in such abundance that the devil can’t even infiltrate it with his limited resources!
Prayer:
Lord send the rain of your Spirit, an out pouring of Your word and truth! Fill the land with living water again. Water moving under Your control and not just pools of truth that can be so easily infiltrated by Leviathan (Antichrist spirits) or controlled by man. Lord pour Your Spirit out in mass revelation, repentance, salvation, and deliverance. Let all feel the refreshing of the latter rains that You have promised were coming. You said you would give us living waters…. If we asked for them. So we are asking… send the rain and make useless, every tactic of Satan! In Jesus mighty name! Amen
”Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.“
Hosea 6:3
Video of wilderness drought lesson mentioned in this manna can be viewed below.
A few days ago was the first of Nissan. The first month of the Jewish calendar. Scripture tells us that the latter rain will begin in the first month. The former rain in Isreal (in the physical) is to prepare the land for planting (in the spiritual, that was pentecost). The latter rain (in the physical) is to prepare the land for harvest (in the spiritual that is both tribulous times mixed with an outpouring of the power of God).
The Bible also tells us to pray for rain in the time of rain. (Remember that before the former rain the disciples prayed for days and asked for it.) In other words, there are times and seasons for things to happen, but we are still required to ask for them in order to activate them. God may choose to withhold until we ask so that we know that it was Him that did it, and not just chance or circumstance.
Why would we pray for rain? Because in both the physical and in the spiritual, we need a harvest. So we prayed for rain, and a storm came. A storm so intense and dangerous that tornadoes came with it. Lightining and thundering, rain and some flooding. Yet we’re were protected. There was some physical damage (not to us but to some) but many drew close to God in those moments, and not a soul was lost. This happened in the physical, but it is a parallel for the physical.
After asking for rain and then seeing the awesome power of the storm when it came. We might begin to fell guilty or be afraid. It then the Holy Spirit calls us to remember the last 2 summers wherein there was no rain. Everything dried and died. The fields withered away, a famine gripped the land, and even the wild life perished in a hopeless thirst. So as shaking as the storm may make us for the moment. It is needed, and God knows it.
You cannot have a harvest without rain, and sometimes that comes as a storm. After the storm had passed the air was clear and clean, water filled the reservoirs and watered the fields again. The birds sang and the sun shone. The storm didn’t last all that long.
Prior to it the Holy Spirit had called me to pray and to praise. So I did, all night and all day. Moments before it hit, He told me what to do to prepare for it. When the storm came I sat inside and sang. The tornados passed right over the top of me, but I had a covering. We were not moved, not shaken, not forsaken, not damaged in any way. We were safe, and all that we prayed for. God was faithful.
I tell you this because a storm is coming. A national and even global one. It will be scary for a moment but it is necessary to bring in a harvest. Pray in advance of it, He will tell you how to prepare for it, He will be a covering during it. Know that there is purpose in it, and praise Him through it.
Most of all, when you see the destructive power of this storm the enemy will remind you that you prayed for change to come. He will bring guilt, fear, and condemnation. When that happens, remember the years of baroness. The spiritual drought, the lack of harvest, and know that it is needed. What may not be easy for us in the moment will be good for all in the long run. So get under His covering, and trust Him. There is protection and there is purpose in the storm that is coming.
”Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field. For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.“(no one to lead them through the storms, they were not told that there was a rainy season coming. So God pronounced judgment on the shepherds who did not prepare His flock for the intensity of the latter rain and those who failed to pray for it to come. Yet those who did were blessed by it in the end. Read the whole chapter of Zechariah 10. It’s important)
In the time of Noah, God carried the ark upon the waters and caused it to rest where He wanted it. He brought it to its destination with safety. As impossible as it was to even survive the flood, God saw to it that His righteous remnant was protected. He had a covenant with man and with beast and He would do the miraculous if He needed to, in order to fulfill it.
In the time of the prophet Samuel, the Ark of the Covenant made through Moses was in the hands of the unbelieving. It was not in the right condition or position to fulfill God’s purposes. So curses were released and things got very crazy until those who tried to contain it for their own gain, released it.
They put it on a cart and hitch oxen to it that had never been bridled, who had calves. They locked the calves away knowing that it was impossible by nature for a mother ox to leave her calves much less to pull a cart having never been trained or taught to take a yoke. Yet God led them and they went straight way with the ark of the Covenant to the field of Joshua. Whose name means, “Jehovah is salvation.”
In the time of Jesus, when it was time for Him to be carried into Jerusalem leading up to the crucifixion. He called for a donkey that had never been ridden. Untrained, unbroken, unconditioned. It would have to move under the leading of the Holy Spirit and do the impossible thing. It would carry the King, the ark of the New Covenant to His destination. This was crazy. Of all the colts in Israel, why one who was not broken? Because only God could do this. He could lead it, He could bring about His Covenant.
God carried the Ark of Noah upon the floods of judgment and brought it to its desired destination.
Oxen that had never been bridled obeyed God and carried the ark of the old covenant to the field of Joshua.
A colt that had never been ridden obeyed God and carried the ark of the new covenant into Jerusalem.
Jesus’ name in Hebrew was Yeshua. It’s a variant of Joshua, meaning “salvation”.
When God promises to save, He will fulfill His promises…. No matter what miracle it takes to accomplish it. He keeps His covenants in spite of the condition available. He doesn’t wait for things to become perfect and able, He waits for it to become absolutely impossible.
So choose to stand in faith on the words, promises, and covenants of God. Don’t waver, keep believing. He loves to use the unqualified ones, the least expected, to fulfill His will, so that in the end, all will know that only God could have done this.
It doesn’t have to make since, we just have to seek, listen, hear, and obey Him. Trust is faith. He knows what He is doing. Stand with Him and believe in His Covenants. That His judgments are for the best, and that He will fulfill them. Impossible is not an obstacle for the God of all that is. He will carry His promises to their destination by way of the miraculous.
”and saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him to me.“
At sunset (6pm) today we will enter the first day or the first month of the Jewish calendar.
The eclipse happening on this day, is significant and representing the death or closing of something old and the beginning of something new.
There are many warnings and worries connected with this event that are not entirely unwarranted. But the Bible does tell us this, that the latter rain outpouring will beginning in the first month. (Which starts today)
So let’s pray for that as we watch and wait. We know that changes are coming. We know that God is warning. But the darker the night the brighter the light and man’s darkest hour is God’s hour of power. So people of God, an outpouring is coming but God is calling you of faith to “pray for rain in the time of rain.” Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. If you want the mountain to move, you need to tell it to…
”Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.“
Joel 2:23
”Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.“
Zechariah 10:1
”For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.“
”Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit: and the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.“ – Amos 7:14-15
Amos was a simple farmer who God called to release His warnings of impending judgment upon the nation, and call them to repentance. He sent him to the temples of Bethel where his message was ridiculed and rejected.
They told him to go back to his farm and prophesy there. He wasn’t prestigious enough to be taken serious here in their large and important palaces.
The Lord decrees a judgment of locus upon the land, Amos intercedes, and God relents. The Lord decrees a judgment of fire upon the people, Amos intercedes and the Lord tarries. Finally the Lord decrees a judgement of war and economic collapse against the leaders for their selfish wickedness and tells Amos that it will surely come to pass.
God tells Amos that He will give a sign in the skies that this will happen, becuase that the words of God through the mouth of His prophet was not taken serious. What is the sign that God decides to give them of this impending judgment? God says that He will cause the sun to go black in the middle of the day and a darkness to come upon the land. In other words… an eclipse. It’s surely a story worth reading. Know the times and the season.
”And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day: and I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.“
”that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.“ – Philippians 3:10-11
Paul tells us that he had all earthly reason to have confidence in his being somebody in God’s kingdom. He had pedigree, title, prestige, position, he kept the commandments in the best of his own understanding. Yet when he came to know Christ, he realized that we really do have very limited and screwed perceptions and understandings of what is truly right in God’s eyes. To see our own smallness is to respect God’s greatness. To know that we don’t know what we think we know is to begin to seek and walk in the greater wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
Paul laid aside his own righteousness, what he thought was right and followed after Christ. Counting all that he was, and had, and had taught and had thought as lost, that he might attain the truth in His pursuit of Jesus and the promise of His eternal Kingdom, the promise given to Abraham; the resurrection of the dead and New Jerusalem.
Whatever it cost you in this life, it’s a worthwhile sacrifice because this is all so temporary and fleeting. Like a flower in the field, here today and gone tomorrow. So that even if we have to join Christ in a life of trial and sorrow, it’s more than worth it for the promise of eternal glory and sonship. We are not living for this moment, we are not working towards retirement. We are living for the resurrection that is coming on the other side of death. We aim for eternal things and lay aside the distractions and temptations of the temporary carnal earthly things that rot and decay away.
Prayer:
Lord help us to remember this, each and every day. May we have a clear vision of Your coming Kingdom and a drive to obtain our ordained place in it. Let us not lay aside our crowns for an other to pick up because we put it down to grab at temporary stuff.
”For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.“
”Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee? Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts? And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.“ – Malachi 3:13-18
This passage warns us not to judge God’s goodness in short term experiences. Often times the devil baits with quick reward, followed by eternal damnation. While God often test with quick trials followed, by eternal rewards.
Things may not be easy in the moment, but maintain a fear of straying from under God’s covering and it will be well with you when the real dangers come. When it is no longer the enemy tormenting you with his very limited ability, but when the judgment comes from the Lord God almighty himself. He will spare and exult His faithful ones while humbling, the prideful, selfish, greedy, and unbelieving.
In the moment it may seem like those who chose to serve their own interest are set up with fame, finances and all manner of material blessings. But those things are so very temporary and very deceiving. They don’t bring joy are fulfillment, not even in the short term. We can see this in the countless lives of well known celebrities who ended their own lives in absolute misery, despite having fame, accolade, excess, and abundant finances.
We also see how quickly all that has been gained can be taken away in sudden bouts of financial decay. Yet even in times of physical lack, those who fear the Lord will not be shaken, knowing that they will never be forsaken. They have a covering, a hope, and a help in times of trouble. A good Father who will protect and provide for them.
In the times of plenty, while the judgments of God tarry as He extends mercy, giving space for repentance, it’s sometimes hard to see past the fact that it looks like the wicked are getting away with their sins. Their arrogance builds and the righteous become disheartened. But eventually judgments do come and when things shift in a sudden moment, and times get hard. It is then that God’s chosen and faithful ones are exulted.
They are tended to personally by majesty. Miracles follow after them, as their Father in heaven takes care of them. In the hard times it is much easier to see who God is far and who He isn’t. The desperation of the situation makes them walk in the miraculous in ways that become more evident to those around them. In this is God glorified, and they are validated. And even if we never see this kind of victory this side of heaven (though we do, and we do often), yet still in the end we will be validated at the Great White Throne Judgment. When all the selfish gains and material things will mean nothing, and a life lived in faith will be rewarded eternally with Sonship and placement in God’s everlasting Kingdom.
So no matter what it looks like in the moment. Keep believing. Keep praying. Keep enduring. Keep waiting. Keep praising. The King is coming.
”Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.“
Ecclesiastes 8:11-13
”But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.“
”(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)” – Ephesians 4:9-10
This passage tells us that after the crucifixion, the first thing Jesus did was to go down into the pit to deliver the saints of old from their holding place and bring them to heaven with Him, by the power of His grace!
He declared to hell, His victory and took the keys (or authority) from the enemy! Then He ascended up to take His place on the thrown of grace in the Holy of Holies and to prepare a place for us one day to join Him in His Father’s Kingsom!
So in short, He went to the pit before He went to the palace. So don’t be surprised if your Christian life, experience, and journey is no different. Are you willing to pay the price to go low in order to pull others from the pit that they are in, because God does have a good end planned for us. We do have a palace season. But it’s not solely for us, nor is it all about us.
The palace (mansion/heavenly tabernacle) that Jesus went to, was His Father’s. He went to bring people there with Him. Yes, there was a place in it prepared for Him, but the work was to bring others in, and He is still doing it.
Therefore, the work is the same for us, as we are but His earthly vessels (temples/tabernacles) in which His Spirt can inhabit to continue that mission until His returning. Therefore, if He is doing a work through us, then it will reflect His mission and purpose.
So again, don’t be surprised when following His Spirit leads you into a wilderness. When it sends you down into a pit to get God’s children and bring them back to Him. When He uses you to fulfill impossible promises and covenants. Yet when He then brings you out of the pit and into the palace, and others following after you, remember this. It’s not you. It never was you. It was Jesus in you, working through you. So give Him the glory and keep letting Him use you, He doesn’t mess up. His ways are not our ways, they don’t make since to us, but they are perfect. It’s not the way we would choose to do things, but His wisdom is greater than ours. He knows what will bring in the better harvest. He knows who can be reached and how to get to them. You just keep loving and following His leading into those low places to reach those waiting souls whom He has not forsaken, though their circumstances may make it seem so. He is our redeemer and wants to be theirs also.
Prayer:
So here we are Lord. Use us. We are Your humble servants. Lead us in the way everlasting. Let Your will be done in and through us daily. Save the lost, redeem the fallen, pull the sheep from the pit and convert the wolves that desired to devour them. We don’t only desire to make it to heaven, we desire to rob hell of its captives before we do that. By Your grace, let it be done. In Jesus Mighty Name we pray. Amen
”Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
1 Peter 5:6-7
”Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.“
1 Peter 4:12-13
”and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.“
”And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.“ – Genesis 3:8
Adam and Eve sinned, then they hid, then they were separated from God’s presence. They didn’t listen to God, they failed to trust Him, they were deceived by the serpent. Their eyes were opened and they realized it. They should have run to God and asked Him to fix it. Instead they hid from Him while they tried to fix it in their own understanding. They made coverings of leaves that could not protect them from anything.
Yet even in this, did God still love them. He pursued them, He provided a sacrifice, and He covered them. He set in motion a plan of redemption. A way to restore fellowship.
Where did this account begin to spiral out of control? I think, not so much when they sinned as when they hid. We all fall short of the glory of God. The scriptures tell us that “He knows our frame and remembers that we are but dust.” (Psalms 103:14) The thing that will really cause you to mess things up, is running from God’s presence when it happens. Trying to fix it in your own limited understanding. You will creat a fake covering that will crumble like fig leaves among thorn trees.
So when you fail to listen to the simplest of instructions, when you fail to trust God for the impossible moments, when you are deceived by the enemy who is so very cunning, don’t run from God in shame, don’t try to fix things your own way. Humble yourself before the mighty hand of God, come before His throne of grace, get on your face at His feet, and worship your good and mighty King. Ask for forgiveness, ask for redemption, ask for His wisdom, and you will get it. Let Him fix it. Stay under His covering and He will turn what the enemy meant to destroy you into a blessing.
He loves you, He intercedes for you. He desires that you make it. He desires fellowship, both now and forever in heaven. So don’t run from His presence, run to it. The very thing that the enemy is convincing you to avoid is what you need to so easily make things right.
”Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.“
”Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.“ – Malachi 4:5-6
The Spirit of Elijah is often called the Spirit of Prophecy, seeing as how he was among histories most renowned prophets. The Bible also tells us that John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah and that he was the greatest prophet the world has ever known.
”For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist:..“
Luke 7:28
We think of John as a fiery preacher but he was truly a prophet by office. He preach repentance, warned of judgment, and pointed men to Jesus as their source of hope and redemption from it! Scripture tells us that the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy. Therefore, John’s preaching was prophetic.
”And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy“
Revelation 19:10
A prophet is not someone who tells your fortune, gives you a psychic reading, or tells the future even. A prophet is someone who helps you to better believe in, and follow Jesus. They help to point you back to Him when you start straying. They call you to trust Him and to be ready for His coming. So yes, future events are part of their message, because the story of Jesus is still in motion. But lay aside this notion that you need someone to tell you what’s to come or what needs to be done in your everyday life, because that is a pagan mindset that will cause you to latch onto false prophets.
What you really need is Jesus, and the true prophet will always tell you that. And when you heed it, curses will be broken, you will be blessed, and it will always produce a fruitful harvest. True Apostles and prophets rarely have public titles. What they do have is fruit, humble disciples, and everyday revival. They lay foundations for others to stand on. They labor in love and in loneliness of mind to do the work of the Kingdom, usually mostly unseen. They raise others up to put their trust in Jesus, not in them. They establish other leaders, not multitudes of followers. Learn the difference between the real and the counterfeits.
Be not deceived, prophets do still exist, but so do the wolves in sheep’s clothing that give a bad name to them. The real prophet will always come when things get serious, when a judgment is imminent, they will turn your heart toward God, and through leading you into repentance, turn His heart to yours. They are a plum line, they bring re-alignment. They help us to stay in position to complete our assignments. They are humble, sacrificial, unassuming, impartial, and selfless. Thank God for true prophets. The body still needs them.
”Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.“
Malachi 4:5-6
”And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.“
Paul tells the Philippian Christians that it is up to them to work out their own salvation in fear and trembling. That we must have a fear of being out of agreement with the Holy Spirit and should tremble at the thought of it. He tells them this as a concluding point after explaining to them how to be more like Jesus.
He tells them that Jesus was God in the flesh, greater than any of us, yet he humbled himself to be but a servant. He did not esteem masses of followers under Him to be His source of validation. As long as He had a few who believed the truth that He was sacrificing His whole life to bring them. Remember that, oh minister (servant) of the gospel.
He lived to put others before Himself at all times. No pride, no agenda, no platform, no self preservation. He was a good shepherd who thought of the sheep before His own well being. Even the lost ones were a concern for Him.
Paul, who had labored and given his all to establish this people in their faith, pleaded with them to honor his labors of love by choosing to be in unity with the Holy Spirit so that they could all be of the same mind and agreement. There is such power in unity, but only in unity with the Holy Spirit as we all follow His leading and instructions rather than our own vain imaginations, emotions, impressions, ambitions, or intentions. Therefore, we must always look to Jesus, who was our example and demonstration, an aspire to be more like Him. Let us search the scriptures daily for ways to achieve this.
”If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: ”that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.“
”For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.“ – 2 Peter 1:16
In this passage, Peter exhorts his disciples to remember (even after his passing) that the things he spoke were not vain imaginations, conjecture, or opinions. But rather, were the personal witness of the words , actions, and character of Jesus validated as divine by the miraculous! Not the little easily counterfeited performances and gifts that magicians in the antichrist spirit walk in, but the power of resurrection, the disarming, dethroning, in disposing of powers and principalities. The shifting of whole spiritual seasons under the hand of this man they called Jesus! God Himself had validated Him, and Peter had witnessed it.
Therefore did he remind others to trust what he was relaying from those encounters with Jesus and not be deceived by any other spirit, because there are many. Yet there is only one truth, one way, one Jesus, one door that gives you access to the Father. One source of love, mercy, and compassion. One who calls us to forgive and to forgiveness. One that offers life everlasting.
There is only one real Jesus. We must humble ourselves with fear and trembling and receive Him. We must lay down what we think, want, and feel before we can pick up what’s real. The prince of peace, the righteous King, the one true bridegroom, the one that is coming to judge the nations in holiness. Did we believe Him, His words and His teachings.
How will He judge this? By the fruits of the spirit. Did we bare them in ever situation? So it’s better for us to judge ourselves now, that we not be found without when the great and terrible day come.
”For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are corrected of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.“
1 Corinthians 11:31-32
Oh my friend, He pleads with us because He loves us. Don’t be deceived into thinking that gifts alone are proof of who you serve, Jesus greatest demonstration and validation was His love. That He was willing to pour His gifts, his mercy, his prayers, and His blood out for us. The ones who did not deserve it.
Peter did not just witness this from Jesus, but He also received His Holy Spirit, which then empowered Him to become a witness of this same selfless sacrificial love to others. Giving his life also for those who do not deserve it. This is the reason that the Holy Spirit it given, this is why the fruits of the Spirit or the only true evidence of it.
”But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.“
Acts 1:8
So today I remind you as Peter did, don’t be deceived by the cunningness of men, demons, or counterfeit spirits. Come and sit and learn of Jesus. His character, His teachings, His warnings, His promises. Because if we connect to and draw from Him, we will be led by Him, and will act like Him. We will produce the fruits of His Spirit, and in the end, we will be blessed with Him. The bride receives the inheritance with her husband. Don’t miss it, don’t be robbed of it. Don’t trade it for an antichrist spirit. It’s not worth it. Put pride aside and every ambition, sit at the feet of Jesus, and learn of Him. He is offering.
”Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.“
Matthew 11:28-30
”But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.“
Galatians 5:22-23
”Ye shall know them by their fruits…“
Matthew 7:16
”By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, by your love“
John 13:35
”Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing. Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love promotes not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks good of others and does not allow evil thoughts to linger; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. ”But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.“
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
”And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.“
1 John 4:16-21
”This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another.“
”If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.“ – James 2:145-17
There is a time for prayer, there is a time for faith, and there is a time when God answers by pouring on us the grace to take a step in the direction of being used ourselves to fulfill that prayer request.
What do I mean by this? I mean that I have prayed for people that were unreachable, then God made a way to reach them miraculously. He gave them a need or put them before me. He gave me His truth and gave me a way to release it to them. He set the stage, but I had to walk onto it.
So when James says that faith without works is dead, he means (I think) that God gives life to it, but you can kill it. Abraham believed God, God is the one who fulfills that covenant, but Abraham had to believe enough to do something in order to prove that His faith was genuine. He had to get up and move. He had to walk out the land. He had to take a step in the right direction.
So whatever it is that you have been praying for, don’t be surprised if God makes a way for you to be involved in the answer in some part. Don’t refuse to be used. If it really matters to you, you will step up to the plate.
Now there are those of us who tend to mess things up by taking matters into our own hands before God has called us to do something. Like Abraham later did with the Egyptian servant. God will test our faith in this as well, by asking us to lay something down and walk away in faith. We may birth something in prayer and in action, and then be asked to release it to God in faith that He will finish it. Abraham had to do this with Issac, Moses’s mom had to do this with him, Mary had to do this with Jesus.
We pray, God answers and empowers, His grace flows through us and does the miraculous. Then He ask us to release it. To guard us from believing that “we” did it. He will send it forth to accomplish it’s works. And we go back to praying for it. Like a parent does. Into God’s hands we commend it and trust that He is the one who started it, He will finish it. After all, we would not have even had the heart to pray for it in the first place had the Holy Spirit not drawn us to do it.
So if you have prayed for something, then don’t run from your chance to be part of the answer to that prayer. If you have done your part and see the miraculous work of the Lord, don’t stake claim to what He has done and try to keep it all for your own. Let it go, pray for it, thank God for it, and seek Him for the next prayer assignment. Wait for new instructions, obey with new steps of faith, see new fulfillments, and prepare to release new victories, destinies, and purposes for others to walk in.
Abraham did not see His children take possession of the promised land, or that Jesus would be born in it from him. All he was called to do was to take a step of faith in that direction (one obedient action) and trust God to finish what He had started. That’s all that God ask of any of us. So guard your heart from both inaction and from being over controlling. Find the balance in the prayer closet by seeking, hearing, and obeying. Do no more and no less than God is asking, and He will do the rest in completely impossible ways that are far beyond your hopes or imagining.
”But without faith it is impossible to please God: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is (God), and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.“
Hebrews 11:6
”But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, Neither have entered into the heart of man, The things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.“
”For He that will love life, And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; Let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, And his ears are open unto their prayers: But the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.“ – 1 Peter 3:10-12
This passage implies that a righteous man will do what it says, but an evil man will do the opposite, causing the Lord to stand against him. So maybe we should slow down, take a good look, digest it, and do some self reflecting?
The very first thing that it tells us, is to take control of what we say. So stop allowing the devil to us your mouth as his gate. Say nothing that is contrary to the teachings of Jesus or the character of the Holy Spirit. That goes beyond swear words and filthy conversations. That includes lies, deceit, gossip, slander, control, and manipulation. Even if the control is only emotional, if you are directing people to think or feel the way you want, for the sake of having some form of preeminence, or power over them, it is witchcraft, it is guile, it is sin.
The Holy Spirit will speak only to direct men to Jesus, to point them to His words and teachings, and to validate Him as the Holy and Anointed One, their savior and hope, their redeemer, their teacher, their great commander, the Son of God, the heir of Heaven!
Yes your words are important. Yes they can cause you to loose right-standing. Yes you will be held accountable for them. So take your tongue to the prayer closet and let the Holy Spirit give you a new one!
The Bible tells us that no man can tame the tongue, but the Holy Spirit can. With man it is an impossible thing, but nothing is too hard for our King. Ask and you shall receive!
Don’t loss everything over such a small thing. Don’t assume that it isn’t important. What you say matters. Every word is being recorded. Bring it to Jesus, confess, be forgiven, and get back into right standing. He will take the guile away, and replace it with His righteousness.
”But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”
Matthew 12:36-37
”Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: but the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.“
James 3:4-10
”For with God nothing shall be impossible.“
Luke 1:37
”If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.“
1 John 1:9
”For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.“
2 Corinthians 5:21
”And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.“
Has God given you a vision or promise and immediate the devil rose up to resist it? Don’t get discouraged, this is to be expected! There is no greater endorsement under heaven, than to be hated by hell. The level of resistance is always a direct reflection of the potential that Satan (the adversary) is trying to stop, if you let him. And yes, you have to “let him” because there is no weapon that he can form that can prosper against a child of the Lord! So be encouraged and enlarged by resistant, as you exercise your faith, that it might strength your resolve, deternimation, and expectation.
Make no mistake, God does not loose, nor waver in His faithfulness. He will finish what He started. If you don’t quick. You will win. The end… So make up your mind to be determined and don’t be shaken or surprised by resistance. If the devil didn’t fight it, I would question if God really said it. Resistance that doesn’t prosper will be your greatest confirmation and faith builder. So praise through it and when the devil roars at you, roar louder!
”…the righteous are bold as a lion.” –
Proverbs 28:1
So let us pray now together against the tactics of discouragement, intimidation, and retaliation with all faith and knowledge that our God is stronger!
Prayer:
We stand in agreement against a spirit of retaliation. We thank You Lord for confirmation. If the enemy resist then we can have confidence that we need to persist. He doesn’t fight for no reason. So resistance is a good confirmation. So Lord we ask for persistence and determination. We cancel every plan of Satan. We thank You that the camels are coming with provision for the vision, in the mighty Name of Jesus! We call for the armies of heaven to come and teach the devil a lesson about the consequences of touching God’s anointed! And that it happen swiftly. Please and Thank You. In Jesus Name Amen!
”Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.“
Be careful not to get into a pattern of complaining and fault finding, as if to imply that you have it all right and others are all in error. That is arrogant and immature. It is often rooted in woundedness or frustration, and often pride. Yes we all feel like that sometimes, even Elijah did, but what did God tell him?
God corrected him by informing Him that He had 7,000 others who had not bent the knee to Baal. Not just him. He was not the only one paying the price to do what was right in God’s eye, just like him.
Yes we must correct. Yes we must expose the false. Yes we must protect the innocent from falling into the deceptions of counterfeit spirits and wolves in sheep’s clothing. But take a moment to examine your motives. Have you made a ministry of trying to prove others wrong? Have you gotten into a habit of murmuring and complaining? What are you doing to change things?
If you are not praying continually with fasting and weeping for the deceived then you have no place correcting them, your not sent. The Holy Spirit will not give someone His sword who has not first received His heart. A prophetic gift is not meant to help you see through people, as much as it is meant to help you see people through.
Yes there is a lot wrong with the church, but as you follow the leading of the Spirit you will tend more and more toward the work of redemption. Yes there is a time for cracking whips and flipping tables when so many or doing things that are contrary to God’s character. But the majority of your time should be spend training up those who will do it right. In other words, you can’t complain about empty weed filled fields, unless you are willing to put your hands in the dirt and do the work to prepare the soil and plant the good seeds that are needed to bring in a pure harvest.
Pray without ceasing, fast regularly, sacrifice everything, bare the fruits of the spirit, not just to those who love and flatter you but to those who hate, dispise, use, abuse, reject, and persecute you.
Raise up so many that are doing it right that you start to loose sight of the ocean of wrongs that once tormented your soul! See the shift in the spirit, believe that God can do it, and that He can use you in the work of it. Don’t get discouraged or heard hearted. Know that God is victorious, because Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when it comes, it is a wellspring of life! So have Hope and Faith for this!
We are called to bring the lost to salvation, the straying to repentance, to do the work of restoration and reconciliation! Not to become drowned in complaining.
So yes, when the Holy Spirit directs, correct. But do it from a place of love and brokenness, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Jesus did crack whips, but He wept as He made them. And I know that He wept for the lost harder than He whipped them, because His weeping drew great drops of blood, and His whip didn’t.
So be willing to speak the truth, but examine yourself first to see why you do? Is it to feel like you have it right and they have it wrong? Is it because you are frustrated like Moses was? Or are your truly broken, not only for those who are being deceived, but for those who are already in deception? Do you desire still, to save them? Or just to draw men to your meeting where they can amen your complaining?
”Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.“
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
”Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?“
”LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; But he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, Nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.“ – Psalm 15:1-5
Psalms 15 ask the question, “who will make it to heaven? Who will have a place in New Jerusalem? Now we know that faith in Jesus is a requirement, but faith is trust. Therefore we must put our trust in not only Jesus, but also in everything that He came to teach us. He died because of the words that He came to relay to us. That is what Satan hated and was trying to stop with the crucifixion. Only he did not realize that God would raise Jesus, further eternally and irrefutably validating His words and teachings as being endorsed by the giver of life, the creator, the God of heaven and earth. It was all about His words!
Therefore, even though psalms 15 does not mention Jesus, it does reinforce His teachings to us. It reminds us that we must live by them to get into heaven. So let us examine it today and be reminded of what is expected of those who would make it into heaven.
”LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle?”(Heaven. Remember that the earthly tabernacle was a small scale replica of heaven given to Moses by God in a vision)
“Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?” ( New Jerusalem)
“He that walketh uprightly” (with integrity according to what is true and right by God, innocent of selfish acts and behavior),
“and worketh righteousness” (doing what God says is right),
“and speaketh the truth in his heart” (not just doing what God says is right outwardly but also only allowing those thoughts that are aligned with what He says is right inwardly as well. Taking every thought captive and maintaining good fruit and character on the inside, in the inter man, and not just in the outward actions. Jesus reiterates this when telling us that thinking lustful thoughts are just as damning as preforming the act of adultery, and hating someone makes us just as guilty as murder does. Not physically preforming an act shows that you know it’s wrong and don’t want to be judged by man for it. Resisting and removing the inward thought of it proves that you know that it is wrong and don’t want to be judged by God for it! Knowing that God sees all, even the inward thoughts of the heart).
“He that backbiteth not with his tongue” (causing discord or damage with one’s words, such as through slandering, gossip, character killing, lying, hurting, discouraging and so forth. Anything spoken from a place other than of love, mercy, brokenness, or compassion will tend to be guilty of this action.),
“nor doeth evil to his neighbor” (take no action against another that is selfish, brash, prideful, or contrary to God’s character expressed in the fruits of the Spirit, which are love, joy, peace, gentleness, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self control),
“Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.” (The same as above, only this one is not a physical action but rather an emotional one. Usually done through words or manipulative emotional actions taken against someone such as shaming, taunting, spreading offense against them, swaying others opinion of them needlessly, scorning, controlling, just being emotionally mean in general)
“In whose eyes a vile person is contemned”; (having a distain for wickedness, which is always rooted in selfishness and is hurtful to the innocent. A love of good will make you condemn that which attacks it. In person or in action. The righteous must, in meekness and in love, be willing to speak against that which is wicked in defense of the innocent that will be effected negatively by it)
“But he honoureth them that fear the LORD.”(one that is reverent, respectful, and helpful to those who serve God)
“He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.” (One who keeps his word even when it is not to his advantage to do so. One who is trustworthy and full of selfless integrity. Keeping his word and covenants. Doing what is right in God’s eyes and not what he thinks is right for himself in the moment. He can be trusted by God and by others)
“He that putteth not out his money to usury,” (usury is charging interest, he is someone that does not look to prophet from others misfortune but rather seeks to help them with mercy and commission, that lends without conditions, that loves to give and be a blessing. That does not seek to take advantage or to gain from men or from his own scheming, but trust God to repay him for his kindness, compassion, and charitable actions, as the scripture promises us)
“Nor taketh reward against the innocent.” (One who does not prophet from the detriment of others. Who does not harm the innocent for a living or for gain of any kind. But to the contrary, one who defends the innocent, even to his own detriment, if necessary. Just like Jesus who did it even for those who were not innocent but who might one day be redeemed from their bondage to wickedness)
“He that doeth these things shall never be moved.“ (seeking God for the grace to do these things, to live these Godly teachings, will put you in the right position to inherit the Kingdom. This is the character that He will trust with kingship. This is what He teaches and is watching and testing to see if we really believe Him.) – Psalm 15:1-5
Now understand this, that you will not be able to do it without Jesus and His Holy Spirit. Yet if you believe God and desire to obey His words, and you ask for it, then the Holy Spirit will empower you to accomplish it!
Open the Bible, read of your need, then seek and receive! Don’t assume that just because you believe in the person of Jesus, that you will inherit His eternal Kingdom. The book of James tells us that even the demons believe in Him. The question is, do you “believe Him”. Because believing that someone exists and believing the person that exists are very different.
We must believe Jesus, what He came to teach us, we must seek and live in that truth daily. We must take eternity seriously. Jesus took it serious enough to suffer to bring the truth to us. He Himself said that on the day of judgment it was the words that He had spoken that would judge us.
Does the actions of our lives line up with what He taught us? Does the fruit of our character and actions prove that we believed and received the root of His words and instructions?
God will judge us, the fruit of our lives will prove what we put our faith in. In word, in thought, and in action. So seek Him today for the grace to be the person that psalms 15 is describing. It matters now to someone, it matters in the light of eternity, and it will matter at the day of judgment. Take it seriously.
Seek and receive what you need to be this person. And everyday when you wake up, seek again. Ask to be refilled, instructed, corrected, and forgiven. It’s a narrow path. It takes some effort and intention to stay on it. It takes daily abiding communion with Jesus. It takes us seeing our need for it, to drive us to seek for it, that we might receive what we need to stay on it. That we might be made worthy of the rewards of it, by His blood, His Spirit, and His righteousness. He will empower us, if we believe enough to read, to seek, and to ask Him for it. Do you believe?
”But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is (God), and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.“
Hebrews 11:6
”He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.“
”All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt. And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.“ – Ecclesiastes 8:9-10
Solomon was a king over Israel. He was granted great wisdom by divine anointing. He sat and watched other leaders and in this passage, he came to the conclusion that those who ruled brashly, controllingly, harshly, and oppressively were moving in vanity. That it would only hurt others and themselves with it.
People are resilient. They have a way of forgetting the bad and holding dear to the good. Like a mother holding her baby, she does not remember the pain of the labor, but instead she looks to the joy that is set before her.
We all tend to do this in some way or another, therefore Solomon determined that a leader that does evil will eventually be forgotten. Yet the opposite holds true, that one who is selfless, gentle, loving, sacrificial, compassionate, you know… all the characters of Jesus (the fruits of the Spirit) … will be remembered.
I have to agree with him. Looking back on a lifetime growing up in ministry. I remember with endearment the ministers that were there for me. The elders that were loving, selfless, kind, patient, and sacrificial. I never think of the controlling, brash, arrogant, selfish, trouble making domineering, judgmental, pharisees that daily surrounded me. They have been forgotten. I never speak of them, though I speak of the good men and women often.
The strange thing is that the good ones were few and the bad ones were many. Yet I have to try very hard with intent to remember any of them. When we look back over our lives the first memories that come to mind are always the good ones. So if you desire to be impactful then be a part of them for someone.
Be kind, be selfless, be patient and understanding. Be gentle, be there for them. Be a friend to the lonely, a parent to the parentless, a patient teacher to the unlearned, a source of joy, peace, and comfort to the broken. Lock arms with someone who is going through a battle and help them. You will become stories that will be told to their children and testimonies that their children will use to inspire their generation. As a leader in ministry, I have “seen” this. I have “done” this, and I pray that I have “been” this. May we all aspire to be remembered for making someone’s life better, not forgotten for making it harder for no reason.
God desires for us to bare the good fruits of His Spirit and too uproot the weeds that come to smoother them. There is a harvest coming, a day of judgment, where one will be blessed with eternal purpose and the other cast into the fires and forgotten. Souls are precious, people are important. Liberate them, don’t oppress them. Bow down and elevate them, don’t domineer over them. Be a leader that is selfless, sacrificial, kind, patient, and humble, and they will remember you with endearment, long after you have gone from them. As will God, on the day of judgment.
”For evildoers shall be cut off: But those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plotteth against the just, And gnasheth upon him with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him: For he seeth that his day of judgment is coming.“
Isolation is a symptom of self preservation. God does call us to cave seasons, but not to live in them. What we learned in the cave we share in the palace. What you get in the Prayer closet is meant to be poured out for others.
Self preservation will cause you to waste it. Pick up your cross, seek and save that which is lost. God first, others second, self last. This will cause you to fulfill all of the laws of God and words of the prophets; making you eternally blessed. The only preservation, that will amount to anything in the light of eternity.
So get alone and pray. Get poured into and soak up God’s presence. This is the essence of a true baptism, but then be sent to pour it back out where it is needed. Come and sit, then go be spent, then come back to the feet of Jesus, and do it again.
Without Him we are nothing. We cannot just keep running. We will get in the flesh, we will make a mess, we will become burnt out and utterly exhausted. With Him, however we can move mountains, lay foundations, change dispensation, effect the generations, shake that nations, and do all manner of impossible things!
So get alone with your King and get equipped to be sent. What you get is to be given. Seek Him, seek wisdom, seek His gifts and the fruits of His spirit. Then, when you are filled up and He says that you are ready, go find someone who needs it and share what you have been given. Don’t keep it. His goodness is worth sharing. Tell someone about Jesus.
”And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.“
We all know that we don’t know when Jesus was born. The most likely time would have been on the first of Nisan, in the Spring. Many may also know that the time of year that was chosen by the early church for us to have a yearly remembrance of the arrival of Jesus had previously been a dark time of pagan demon deity worship. There was a desire to cause these practices to cease and for something more pure and righteous to replace them. So the church decided that this was a good time to honor Christ, who was light and selflessness, as a way to fight back against the dark and selfish practices of the previous era.
So knowing this in recent years there has arisen a division in the body of Christ on whether or not they ought to be celebrating Christmas. So take a moment to allow me to share with you some history, some context, and my opinion as a third generation minister and someone who has served my entire life in deliverance ministry and is well aware of the spirits in operation in this conflict. Because make no mistake about it. This, like so many other conflicts that we see stirring up recently, is absolutely a fight over territory.
Is there biblical context for an action like this being taken that God approved of? Well off course, all through the scripture in Israel there was a territory battle. The enemy would set up his alters desiring to be worshiped and God would call His servants to go, dethrone, and set up His own in place of them. Gideon did just that, as did Elijah, and many others.
Yet when Jesus came, something changed. The last lesson that He taught to His disciples before His crucifixion was also a powerful prophetic declaration. He took them to a large rock alter called “The Gates of Hell” in Caesarea Philippi. It was a place where gentiles summoned and worshiped demons, hence the name “The Gates of Hell”.
At this wicked and dark place, just before His death and resurrection, Jesus tells His disciples that “upon this rock He will build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16). I think that there is no greater fulfillment of this prophetic declaration made by Jesus, than Christmas.
Jesus was telling them that things were changing, it would not be the way that it had been. They needed to be ready for something different. They had been fighting for generations to hold territory in Jerusalem, but soon they would be sent out of Israel to new and dark place in order to take and overtake it!
The places where demons had previously been worshiped and summoned would now be the target of their evangelism. They were being called to overtake them, to shut the gates of hell and open the gates of heaven in place of them. They were being sent out to take the land for Jesus!
So here is where I stand on Christmas. The saints of old who were selfless, sacrificial, and bold, fought a fight with their very lives to take this huge territory away from the darkness, and replace it with light. It is spiritual laziness (or at best, unawareness) for this generation not to hold it. If you do not possess the land, then the enemy will come in and reclaim it.
What was once the darkest time a year, far worse than Halloween, now has been replaced with the joy of families telling their children and friends about Jesus. Placing the good news of His coming on public display. Demonstrating the fruits of the spirit and practicing selflessness.
The selfish acts of old demon worship were replaced by Christian’s in mass (Christmas) sharing what they had, being giving, loving, joyful, charitable, spreading peace, gentleness, cheer, and the gospel message. It was there greatest time of evangelism. It was war against the enemy! It was a great victory that cost them dearly. Don’t be deceived by that defeated enemy into giving it all back to him.
It is a clever tactic of the adversary, that has influenced many to begin to abandon this territory. To simply walk away from one of the greatest territory victories that the early saints had obtained, making this “just an other dark, cold, lonely, winter day.”
If you don’t possess that land the enemy will rush in and refill it and the latter end will be worse than the first. Because while Christian’s stop making the season to be about Jesus, the pagans will not stop trying to summon the old deities that were once worshipped on it, but who cannot prevail as long as the church keeps possessing. So where do you think that this tactic of simply abandoning territory, came from? Surely not the Holy Spirit who calls us always to be a witness and to fight the good fight with all due diligence.
So I think that it is clear that I believe that it is very important to hold this ground with dedication and determination, but how exactly should Christian’s be celebrating Christmas? Well, as with all things, the war still rages so use some wisdom, honor Jesus and your convictions. I do not think it is wisdom to lie to your Children about Santa Clause (a relatively new addition to Christmas). When we give gifts for either Hanukkah or Christmas we tell our little ones that they came from Jesus. Because they did, all that we have, our blessings and provision comes from Him; as well as the grace to take great joy in giving. So if there is something that has crept in that stands against your convictions, then don’t do it, but keep the season about Jesus. Use it to teach your children about Him and How different His character is than the enemy. Which was the principal reason for the original choosing of this season.
Where the enemy demanded to be brought gifts and sacrificed too, Jesus brought gifts to us and sacrificed himself for us. He was love, He was selfless, He was light in the darkness, and He expects us to be the same for others as we carry His Spirit to the ends of the earth and allow it to influence us to continue His good work.
My grandfather was one of the greatest preachers the world has ever known, yet I remember very few of his sermons. Instead I remember his love and gentleness, his care and kindness, his joy and the joy that he brought to us. Among my greatest memories of all of this were the ones that came at Christmas. That’s why it is important. It’s for the children. Like all the feast days were. They are meant to teach your children for perpetual generations the principles and foundations of the faith in a way that they will remember and carry on to their children.
So yes, we do celebrate Christmas. We do it with wisdom. We keep it about Jesus. We share with the less fortunate. We stand as lights in the darkness.
Therefore, today my advise to you is simply this, choose to stand (as the saints of old did) against the adversary and hold this territory for future generations. The enemy cannot defeat the church of Jesus, he cannot prevail against it. All he can do is get you to relinquish your authority and abandoned territory, so that he can fill it with wickedness in your absence. The darkness cannot overtake the light, but if the light is not there, the darkness will be.
If you don’t celebrate Jesus with your children, and leave them a good inheritance, than their generation will have to fight to retake the territory that you abandoned. That’s just how things work in the spirit. So recognize the tactic and use wisdom.
”When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, AND HE FINDTH IT EMPTY, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.“
Matthew 12:43-45
”In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.“
John 1:4-5
”Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.“
“even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” – 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
The antichrist will move in signs and wonders that come from a dark source in order to validate lies and justify unrighteousness.
What is unrighteousness? It is anything that is contrary to what God has said is right. Which is not trusting God or His words. Which is unbelief. It kept the Israelites out of promise and it will keep many out of heaven.
The passage continues to say that those who follow the spirit of antichrist, who validate teachings that are contrary to Christ’s with satanic gifts and charismatic speeches, will perish.
Jesus said that all who will not repent will perish. We see this in those who allow themselves to be seduced by the antichrist spirit. They love their agreement with things that are contrary to Jesus and will not repent, or turn away from them!
They like to idolize mammon, money, and material possessions. They like for people to respect and idolize their persons. They like their pride and selfishness. They like their elevated pulpits. They like being worshiped by the masses. They like controlling others and manipulating the simple minded. They like to feel intelligent while speaking foolishness. They like to be self willed, self made, self promoted, and self validated. They like everything that is the opposite of Christ. They like that which is the opposite of what He said was right. They serve the spirit of antichrist.
So willingly deceived will they be that when Jesus returns, scripture tells us that He will have to “convince” them that they were wrong. Standing face to face with the King of creation and they still think they are right when they were so far from it. What a great deception a love of unrighteousness leads you into.
“And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
Jude 1:14-15
My friend humble yourself today. Learn to love to be corrected. Spend time in the quiet with Jesus. Put the books and the distractions away and listen to what God has to say. Open the Bible without any added input, bias, or colored lenses, and ask the author to explain it. Then be patient and you will be surprised at the depths of the revelation that He will bring to surface.
Humility is key to gaining authority and unlocking the greater things of God. You have to first know that you don’t have it, then you have to know that you need it, them you have to know that only He can give it, then you have to ask Him for it, then you have to sit with the teacher until He teaches it.
This can take lots of time and patience. This happens in prayer, fasting, and waiting. This is the birthplace of God’s greatest. This is where deception dies and God opens spiritually blinded eyes. This is where truth comes alive and you realize that revelation is a person and that the anointing is Christ. That gifts are His delight and that miracles reside where He abides, and if no one ever knows what He uses you to do, then that’s alright. He was real to you, He led you to truth, and He became real to others through you and if that is only known by you, him, and them, then so be it. All glory, be to King Jesus. He knows best. Determine to trust Him and His righteousness. There is no deception in Him, only truth, the narrow way, and everlasting life.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Daily Manna 