Stand Up!

When I first got saved there was a song we sang that said, “When the enemy presses in hard do not fear, the battle belongs to the Lord. Take courage my friend your redemption is near, the battle belongs to the Lord.” I love that as a new believer these truths were spoken into my spirit in song form, so now 30 years later I still remember these words. I was observing recently someone who was under the weight of an attack of the enemy. One who usually has his head up, a smile on his face and a bright countenance was slumped over with his head on the table. The demarked difference was evident. I was asked to pray for him, but never got a chance for his body language garnered so much attention, many out of concern surrounded him. So, I prayed for him this morning in my home and I am glad I did for the Lord revealed something to me I want to share with you.

As I was praying for this young adult man, the Lord said, “He needs to stand up. He under what the enemy is saying, He needs to stand up so he can be over what the enemy is saying.” It was such simple instructions for me to pray, stand up my brother, stand up, for God has given you authority over the enemy, you were not meant to come under him. Stand up, stand up! Paul says it this way in Hebrews 3:6-8, “Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ. That is why the Holy Spirit says, Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.” I wanted to tell him keep your courage, remain confident, stand up, Christ in you is in charge.

I share this with you, because if you are feeling the enemies attack, wanting to put your head down, feeling slouched over in the spirit, I want to say to you like I want to say to him, stand up my friend, stand up. Remain confident, take courage and remember the battle belongs to the Lord so stand up, stand up. There are more for you than are against you.

We Are In This Together

Good morning church,

Church is not a building we attend this morning, it is a people, it is who we are. Yes we will gather in different buildings and we should, for we cannot get corporate worship anywhere else; we should gather in a building because we need corporate encouragement; we should gather in a building because we need to see each other consistently; and we should gather corporately in a building because we have words of life others need to hear. But the church is not the building, it is you and me, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, we have the mind of Christ, we are powerful when we are together.

One of the enemies ancient tactics for each generation is to make us into a me for the we will crush him under our feet (Romans 16). People stay home thinking that is what is best for me, not realizing we need you with us. The enemy whispers in people’s ears about how little I get to have the microphone, the platform, the title, it is all about the me, but the we says, if he or she is on our team, then we are leading worship, we are preaching, we are praying, we are prophesying. We are a team, so which ever member is shining in that moment, it matters not, for we all get the victory and He gets the glory.

I was watching football yesterday and realizing how hard those offensive and defensive linemen work, but very rarely do they credit for blocking. The blocking is why the quarterback could made that pass to the receiver who got the touchdown. This is why you see 300 plus pound men run to the end zone and lift up that receiver, because they are playing as a we and not a me. Church, we must break the lie of me and embrace the we. We are a team, we are a body, we are in this together. The local church is a we and we need them for when the local we’s come together on Sunday that is a huge corporate we that is happening nationwide, worldwide. It’s time to stop thinking me and embrace the we, because where we are going, we need all of us.

Invisible Ink Now Visible

While in prayer this morning I saw a blank piece of paper. It was pure white and as I stared at it in the spirit, the Lord spoke to me and said, “There is invisible ink written on that paper.” I remembered from being a kid that if you wrote with invisible ink on paper it took colored ink to reveal what was written in invisible ink. I continued to look at this paper and asked the Holy Spirit what was I seeing. He said, “It is an invisible architectural design being made visible.” I then asked, what color needs to be poured out on it so we can see it? Silence.

Sitting in silence is enjoyable to me, so with the gentle breeze blowing through the screen windows of the patio, the birds chirping in the background and the sound of cars in the distance, I sat there in quiet, waiting for the voice of God to speak what color would reveal the invisible design. My mind went to blue, royal blue because that is why they call it a blue print, but I knew that was me just thinking. Then I pictured a paint can being tipped over, again me just thinking. Finally, my mind was silent, and the Holy Spirit said, “Crimson.” After a short pause, the Holy Spirit continued, “It is crimson that will reveal the royal blood print, the Father’s architectural design for the earth.”

My spirit lept as I saw the counterfeit blue print that has been laid on the earth and from which we have been building off of burn like paper. Then as the wind blew the ashes of that blue print away, I saw the original architectural design for the earth and it was the color crimson and it is the royal blood print for the earth from which we are about to build. Then I hear Colossians 1:15-17 in my spirit, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—

such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.”

The counterfeit blueprint was overlaid on top of the original royal blood print by human architects who only know how to be copycats. That’s why they call their god the grand architect, but our Father is the original architect and He wrote with invisible ink until the crimson blood of Jesus was shed on the earth, then the original design for earth was seen and the first apostles and saints began to build God’s original design, but man shut it down and built their own design. But now we are living in the day of the burning blueprints of men and the revealing yet again of the royal blood print of God. The Master Architect is our Father, the blood print is His Son and the Holy Spirit is the one communicating all this truth to us. We are going to build according to original design again. The invisible ink, has become visible in Christ Jesus and His shed blood!

Love Is A Partnership

Do you know what a gift it is when people speak to you? Have you ever thought about how it makes you feel when people listen to you? There is a partnership that is created in communication. Now communication is not just words, it is actions, sounds, gifts, expressions, it is multifaceted, but people do not speak to speak, they speak because they seek partnership from the hearer. It is why people say to someone, you don’t listen to me. Listening is the partnership the speaker is seeking. But not just listening passively, but listening with a response to what the speaker said. Can we all agree, we “feel” something, we receive something when someone listens with response to us? We have a need to hear and be heard. It is innate within us. It is because we were designed for partnership with other people.

With that said, the Holy Spirit and I were discussing this morning the idea of unconditional love. Nowhere in the Bible is this word found, now it could be implied, but it is not a Biblical word. How can I say unconditional love is not a Biblical word? It is because unconditional love does not invite us into partnership. The Biblical word is unfailing love. Unfailing love means we can depend on this love, we can trust this love, we can receive this love. Love like language demands a response. It is not one way, love is a partnership and when the One who is unfailing love wants to partner with you, it is a guaranteed love that will never fail. Is it any wonder 1 Corinthians 13 says, “Love never fails!”

The God of heaven and earth wants to be in a partnership relationship with you. When He speaks He wants you to respond, when you speak you want Him to respond. Our prayers are not unconditional, we want a response, we are not just talking to talk, we want to partner with God in prayer. God wants the same thing, for we are made in His image. Partner with unfailing love, who is God and respond to His voice. Psalm 146 says, “The LORD’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love.”

Eyes On

The weather is changing again, the leaves are falling again, the winter is around the corner again. It can feel like we are are walking in circles year after year not seeing what God has said manifest. The enemy would love for us to get dizzy in the walk; doubt what we heard; and tell us we are crazy to still be believing what God told us. But we keep walking, we keep waiting, we keep watching, we keep hoping. If God said it, God will do it. There is no other explanation for why you still believe despite all the days, weeks, months and years of unanswered prayers for promises you know He spoke.

Psalm 146:6-9 says this about God, “He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He keeps every promise forever. He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The LORD frees the prisoners. The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are weighed down. The LORD loves the godly. The LORD protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.”

He is not a God that changes, if the Psalmist knew this about God that is why we know this about God. I know it’s hard, I know it’s long, I know it’s frustrating, but can I tell you what alleviates all of that? Spending time with God. I know it sounds simple, but literally He makes us content and contentment gives us joy. Joy then becomes our strength and we realize He is the one that really matters. Then we sing a little louder in the presence of our enemies; we speak Jesus over our families; and we thank God! My friends, what you really long for is not a promise fulfilled, but the One who made the promise to you. He is so satisfying and when you lock eyes with Him, we realize all we ever needed we find in you Jesus.

God Is Taking The Veil Off

I have a friend in Malaysia who is a Christian and does pop music in her country. Her name is Jaclyn and she did a concert a couple of weeks ago and when she posted this picture of herself, I immediately heard the Lord say, “This is what a free church looks like; this is what free believers look like. You are to live with unveiled faces before me!” I could not stop looking at the picture. I have been sitting on this for weeks as I have waited for the right time to declare it. Church, God is removing the veil of the old system off of us and we are going to live in a freedom we were destined for, but have never experienced on earth as it is in heaven. This is what freedom looks like.

Paul said it this way, when speaking of Israel, but it applies to the church as well, in 2 Corinthians 3:14-18 “The people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”

God is removing the veil of religion, control, manipulation, witchcraft and deception off of the church. Truth is going to be heard and received by believers again. Repentance and altars will be restored to the church. Righteousness, peace and joy are going to be desired again. We may have fallen, but we are being lifted back up again, the veil is being removed and our freedom is going to be glorious. Jesus is lifting the veil off His bride and she is going to radiate with His glory and look more and more like Him everyday. We are the church, we are His bride and He is removing the veil off of us, so we can proclaim His goodness again!

Foreign or Fluent

We have been transferred from the world to the kingdom, from blindness to sight, but we have also been transferred from lies to truth. We know this, but listen to the way Psalm 144 says it, “Stretch forth Your hand from on high; Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters, Out of the hand of aliens Whose mouths speak deceit, And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.” In the kingdom of God, the only language spoken in truth, justice and righteousness, every other language, lies, deceit and falsehood are a foreign language. That means if we are in the kingdom lies, deceit and falsehood should be a foreign language to us that we do not understand.

I lived in Malaysia for 9 years, when you live in a foreign country, foreign to me, I did not know their language, which means I could not understand what they were saying, so what they said did not affect me. This is how it is in the kingdom, we speak the language of truth, so when aliens, foreigners speak the language of lies, deceit and falsehood, they are speaking a foreign language and we should not understand what they are saying, so it should not affect us. Unless we still speak that language, learn that language or have not been so baptized in truth, that language still resonates with us. My friends, you have been transferred, so the language of lies is foreign to us now.

When we first came into the kingdom truth was a foreign language to us, but once you speak fluent truth, lies becomes your new foreign language. Lies lose their power, when they no longer make sense to you. The more language of truth you understand, the more foreign lies, deceit and falsehood are to you, for you are now fluent in the language of truth. When you don’t understand a language it does not have the same impact on you. I pray we become so fluent in truth, we not only no longer speak lies, deceit and falsehood, but we no longer listen to it.

Proved True

Thus says the Lord, “The test wasn’t to flunk you, the test was to prove you!” I heard this moments ago like a thundering statement from heaven. It was spoken with such authority as I read in 1 Kings 17 the story of Elijah and the widow at Zarephath. Here is the situation this word came in, “It happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. Then the word of the LORD came to him (Elijah), saying, Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there.” As I read this verse the Holy Spirit said, look up what Zarapheth means, so I did. It means smelting place, refinery, goldsmith, purge away, to test and prove true. As soon as I read to test and prove true, the Lord said, “The test was not to flunk you, the test was to prove you!”

Friends, the wilderness was a test, not to flunk you, fail you, frustrate you, the wilderness was a test to prove you. It was to prove to you, who God made you to be. There is so much gold in you, but all that dirt hides the gold and the dirt speaks to you telling you things that are not true. The wilderness was to prove to you who you are. You are gold to God! The wilderness was also to prove to the enemy who you are. When you wanted to quit, you kept going; when you want to give up, you got back up; when you said I can’t do this anymore, hope came from an unexpected place. “The test was not to flunk you, the test was to prove you.”

In Luke 4 Jesus went through a 40 day wilderness test, in Exodus Israel went through a 40 year wilderness test, I don’t know how long your wilderness test was or is, but I am here to tell you, the Lord says, “The test is not to flunk you, the test is to prove you!” You are gold and He is refining you so He can distribute you to the nations. You are blessed because you went through or are going through the wilderness test. “The test was not to flunk you, it was to prove you!”

From the Ark to the Throne

It’s a new day! I love that we serve a God that is continually creating new days for people. When you are born again, it is a new day. When you get married, it’s a new day. When you have a baby, it’s a new day. When you get a new job, it’s a new day. When you move to a new city, it’s a new day. When you meet a new friend, it’s a new day. There are so many things made new all time all around us. We experience new things all the time. It is so refreshing to see the new, feel the new, walk into the new. It is unknown, like going from single to married, or married to parenting. It is unknown going from being an unbeliever to a believer, the new day brings a lot of unknowns, but we know when it is a new day and we learn to navigate the new day.

When it comes from going from single to married, the new day means no more other lovers, for you have chosen the one. The new day always brings with it, the shedding of some old behaviors and the embracing of some new ones. No one made us get married, have children, take that job, give out life to Jesus, we said yes, we want the new day. Well, God has chosen a new day for us in our generation. It is going to mean letting go of some things we used to do in order to learn life in this new day.

Reading Jeremiah 3 this morning, put language to this new day. “I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding. And when your land is once more filled with people, says the LORD, you will no longer wish for ‘the good old days’ when you possessed the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant. You will not miss those days or even remember them, and there will be no need to rebuild the Ark. In that day Jerusalem will be known as ‘The Throne of the LORD.’ All nations will come there to honor the LORD.” The new day God has given us is not one of the Ark of the Covenant, but one of the Throne of the Lord. It’s a new day!

The kingdom of God has a king, henceforth, the throne of the Lord. We have lived with the ark, but now the new day has a throne. We have a king who is in charge, who provides, protects, heals, delivers. He is the King of kings, He rules with righteousness and justice. There is no need to rebuild the ark, for we have a King and His name is Jesus and we have entered the new day of His kingdom era. Welcome to the new day of the Throne of the Lord!

Final Preparations

Prayer for this nation has been consistent for years. There has been assemblies in Washington, DC to declare 2 Chronicles 7:14, If my people, who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, turn from their wicked ways, I will heal their land. This has been the go to scripture for this nation and probably many other nations. The challenge is we have called abortion wicked, homosexuality wicked, Las Vegas wicked, Hollywood wicked, and the list goes on, but we have not called anything we as believers are doing as wicked. 2 Chronicles 7:14 doesn’t say if the world or unbelievers turn from their wicked ways, it says if my people do.

God is healing our land, I know it, I see it, I hear it, I know it. His mercy is falling like rain from the sky on this land and we are going to reap great benefits from His outpouring of mercy and grace. But the truth still remains, God’s people must turn from their wicked ways. The reason I think the church doesn’t turn from their wicked ways, whether leaders or congregants, whether at home or in a building, is because we do not see what we are doing as wicked. Wickedness has been described to us as behavioral, and it is. But not all behavior has been identified, so we do not realize what we are being called to turn from.

Jeremiah 2 gives us clarity into what the Lord is asking His church, His people to turn from, for to God it is wicked (twisted, out of order). Here is what Jeremiah says, “Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones, even though they are not gods at all? Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols! The heavens are shocked at such a thing

and shrink back in horror and dismay,” says the LORD. For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me— the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!” My friends we need to repent of turning from the glorious to the worthless and for digging our own cisterns. When we do this, we will be able to carry the outpouring that is being released even as we speak.