No Delay

Tags

grace, Kingdom, maturity, Prophecy, Truth, wisdom

“There is no such thing as delay, there is a lack of understanding the day.” This is what the Lord spoke to me this morning while in prayer. It has become popular to tell people they need to bind the spirit of delay; they need to prophesy, no more delay; and a variety of other variations of this vein. But, the Lord said to me, “there is no such thing as delay, there is a lack of understanding the day.” As I pondered these words, I realized we feel like there is a delay, because we put a time frame on the promise God has spoken. That is not delay, that is us not understanding the day.

In Joshua 6 the Lord speaks a word of promise to Joshua and the children of Israel about the city of Jericho, saying, “I have given Jericho, its king, and all its soldiers into your hands.” When God says something, it is going to happen, but when it happens is in the following verses, for the chapter goes on to release the strategy that needs to be employed for the promise to be actualized. Joshua 6:3-5 gives the strategy, “Every day for the next six days, you will march once around the city walls with all your fighting force. Seven priests will go in front of the covenant chest, each carrying a trumpet made from a ram’s horn. On the seventh day, you will march around the city walls seven times, and the priests will blow their trumpets.  When they play a long final blast, then all the people will give a mighty shout. The city walls will collapse in front of you, and all the Israelites will charge in and take the city.” Anyone of those soldiers could have decreed no more delay after day 1, 2, 3 or more, but it was not a delay, rather they were unaware of the day. If it is day 3, 4 or 5 there was not going to be any sign of victory for it was not the right day.

When we are unaware of what day we are in, based on the strategy God has spoken to us, we will cry, delay! But it is not a delay, we just don’t understand what day it is. People do this with so many things. We do it with prophesy, we do it with scripture, we do it with our end time ideas. If we don’t know the day, we won’t know where we are, but one thing is for sure, there is no delay. Joel 2 says, “In the last days…” (plural); Matthew 24:36 says, “On that day…” (singular); Galatians 6:9 speaks to a “due season”; whereas Romans 13:11 says, “now is the time and the hour…”. There is no such thing as delay, but there is a lack of understanding the days, day, season, time, or hour.

Many of us have a promise from God, we know that we know, God said…but the timing is where we are off. If we were honest, God did not give us a when it would happen, He only told us what would happen. For maturity to take place, it is important that we stop imposing our thoughts, our time frame, our faith in ourselves, rather we must listen not just to the promise, but the strategy about how to employ the promise and then we will better understand the day we are on, so we can be patient in the process, for the promise will not delay. Remember Habakkuk 2:3 “For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.”

“Don’t yell or shout. Don’t let your voice be heard until the day I tell you. And then I want you to shout with all your might” (Joshua 6:10).  If you are still in the silent stage, don’t worry it is not a delay, it is just not the day. Once the day arrives, trust me, you will shout, the walls will fall, the victory will be sure and the battle will be won quickly, for the Lord will say, NOW! Shout unto God with a voice of triumph! (Psalm 47:1). It is not a delay, it is design, because with God there is no delay.

Double Doors

Tags

Christianity, church, demonstration, Doors, glory, Kingdom, maturity, Revelation

Psalm 24:7-10 “Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates;

lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty—he is the King of glory.”

In Luke 1 we read about two women, one is older, married, barren and of the priestly line of Aaron; the other woman is young, a virgin, and engaged to someone of the kingly line of David. Two women, both childless, one older, the other younger, as I am reading about these two women, Elizabeth and Mary, the Lord speaks to me and says, “DOUBLE DOORS”. I had recently listened to a sermon where the Rabbi said, women are doors that open us to new dimensions, so the idea of women as doors was not uncommon to me. The story of Elizabeth as the future mother of John the Baptist and Mary the future mother of Jesus was not foreign to me either, but when the Lord put it all together in one phrase, double doors, I knew He was speaking something significant for this hour.

Throughout scripture we see pictures of people who could be considered double doors, such as: Deborah and Jael (Judges 4); Naomi and Ruth (Ruth 1); the 12-year-old girl and the woman with the 12-year issue of blood (Luke 8); so the idea of double doors is not rare, but rather common in scripture. Paul talks about a spirit of wisdom and revelation; Jesus spoke about the two greatest commandments and Moses came down the mountain with two tablets of stone. But, what I wanted to know is, what these double doors signify to us prophetically in this hour.

As I was in prayer about this phrase double doors, I began to think about what double doors represent. The first thought I had was they represent a wider entry way. If you have double doors on a house, the entry way to that house is double the size of a single door dwelling. The next thought I had was the types of houses that have double doors. In my mind, they are for wealthier neighborhoods, houses that are larger. I then began to think about William and Kate in England and the double doors that were opened as they stepped out on the balcony as husband and wife. This thought of the royal couple was the key to unlocking what I see as the prophetic significance for where we are with the idea of double doors.

I asked the Lord, what the double doors represent and who was going to come through those doors. Asking the right question, will unlock the right answer. The Lord began to share with me, that the double doors are revelation and demonstration. The Lord said, He is about to raise up leaders who carry the revelation of the Word of God and can demonstrate the power of God. The double doors are revelation and demonstration. This was incredible to hear, then the Lord went on to show me that when the doors of revelation and demonstration open, they will reveal the administration of the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven, because the King of Glory will come through the double doors of revelation and demonstration. I dropped my pen!

What we are about to see is the King of Glory, the Lord Almighty, come through the double doors of revelation and demonstration to reveal the administration of the kingdom of God. Get ready for the revealing and opening of the double doors.

Exploring New

Tags

Brand New, church, Discipleship, iPhone 7, kingdom of God, maturity, Prophecy

When you say you want something new, do you mean you want a brand new version of what you already have or do you want something completely brand new? I guess that depends on what you are talking about. I was in the car driving, meditating on what do we mean when we say we want revival? Are we asking God to make what we currently have, brand new? Or do we really want something new? And when we ask the Lord for something new, what does He think of when He thinks of something new? I know for people that don’t like to think deeply about things, this will be trivial, but for us who are serious about being leaders in the emerging future, we must ask these kinds of questions.

I turned to my 8-year old son, in the midst of this thought process and said, if I say I want a new phone, holding my iPhone 4s in my hand, am I asking for a brand new iPhone 4s or am I asking for a newer version of the iPhone? He said, of course you don’t want a brand new iPhone 4s, you want a brand new iPhone 7. Then he said, why are you asking me this? So, I told him, because when we ask for something new, do we really know what we are asking for? He just stared at me like I was weird, but I think the Lord is probing many of his leaders with this question right now. What exactly are you asking for? Do you want the same version of what you have, but just make it brand new, like it was when we first made it, or do you want something you have never seen before?

If I say I want to buy a new house, I am not saying, I want someone to rebuild my exact house, so I can have the same thing, just brand new. I am saying I love the house I am in, but I am ready for a new house, maybe I need more space, a different location, or just something completely different. We understand what we mean when we speak of things in the natural like cars, houses and phones, but when it comes to asking God to make us new, do we know what we are asking for? 2 Corinthians 5:17, says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (NIV). God does not give us a brand new version of our old self, He makes us into something brand new, something never seen before. Then in Revelation 21:5 we read, “He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true” (NIV).

I think God is making things new, new like we have not seen before, new like an upgraded version with features we have yet to see, new like you are going to love all the new features I added to the latest version, I think He is making all things new, but we are resisting the new, because we prefer the old. Luke 5:38-39 says, “No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better” (NIV). I think many people want a brand new version of the old, but Jesus is releasing something completely brand new, that has never been seen before. People can feel it, they know there is a paramount change taking place, so they are hanging on to the old because they believe the old is better. But, He is God and does not need your permission or mine to bring something brand new to our planet. Just like in the days of Jesus the old will still operate in their old patterns, but the new is about to come on the scene, so people have an alternative option, because they know the old is not working, but the new has not arrived yet.

I don’t know for sure, but I have a sneaking suspicion just like the new iPhone 7 is going to have a brand new operating system that will not work on any version earlier than the iPhone 6, I think God is releasing a brand new operating system that is not going to work in the older versions of how to do life in the kingdom. God is releasing an upgrade that is going to stir more buzz than anything Steve Jobs released and it is going to cause people to wait in line to get their hands on what God is about to release. It is going to be brand new, a surprise like none of us could have imagined, and it is going to reverberate throughout the nations of the world. I don’t know about you, but I am leaning into the emerging future, by exploring new.

Prepare for Takeoff

Tags

Airplanes, Bride of Christ, church, maturity, Preperation, Travel

If you have ever flown on an airplane before, you know there are some mandatory preparations that must be made before the pilot will allow the plane to leave the runway. Some of those include the reality that you must have your seat belt on, you must have your tray table up and in its locked position and you must have your bags securely placed in the overhead bins or under the seat in front of you. If these things are not done, by even one person, that whole flight will be staying on the runway until everyone complies to those orders. Many in the body of Christ have been feeling the engine running in the spirit, they know they are in their assigned seat on the plane, and they have been waiting for the plane to take off. Some people have gotten frustrated by the delay, others have given up on it ever taking off and still others have fallen asleep in their seat.

 

My question for you is, are you ready for takeoff? Not your neighbor, your pastor, your spouse, your friends, but you. Are you ready for takeoff? I am wondering if some of the delay we have been experiencing is the patience of God, who is waiting for everyone that is assigned to this plane to get themselves ready for takeoff. I am not saying this is the answer, I am just wondering, so instead of complaining, declaring and prophesying, the delay is over, I have chosen to make sure all the preparations I have been called to make are completed, so I am ready for takeoff.

 

In the spirit, I have been hearing the Lord say, prepare for takeoff! In I Kings 17, Elijah has an exchange with a widow from Zarephath while in the middle of a famine. Here is what their exchange is, “Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’” So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.” (v.8-15).

 

The woman was gathering sticks in preparation for her death, but God was preparing her to live an abundant life. Much of the church is looking around them and they are preaching preparation for death, but there is a small company of people that are preparing themselves internally to live, not in heaven someday, but on earth in a powerful way. I believe we are about to takeoff on the greatest adventure of our lives. I believe we have been in training for this moment in history that we are entering. I believe we have moved from training to preparation for we are about to takeoff. While in church yesterday morning, the Lord showed me a rocket on a launch pad, and I heard a voice that said, get in. Many people are not preparing for they have been in the rocket before and it exploded on the launch pad, or shortly after takeoff it exploded in the air, but I believe the spirit of the Lord is inviting us to get in. This time is going to be different, once this rocket leaves the launch pad, it will not return without images of life, testimonies of healings and stories of deliverance.

 

It is time to prepare for takeoff, I can hear the captain telling us to take our seats, secure our bags and make sure our tray tables are in the locked and upright position. We are about to have the time of our lives! Prepare for takeoff.

Just Stand

Tags

Chuck Pierce, church, faith, maturity, Rest, Stand, Striving, Warfare, Watch and Wait

It is January and many churches have asked their congregations to fast, whether for the whole month, for a week, for a day, for whatever. Our church is no different, we are in the middle of a one week fast and for me, who has been fasting for years, this one is different. A friend of mine Leann, said to me at the beginning of this fast, that the Lord spoke to her and said, this is not a fast to ask for things, it is a fast to draw near to Me. Little did I know how true those words were going to be for me as well and maybe ringing true for you too.

This fast has brought on more spiritual warfare than I have experienced in times past, but there is a grace for this fast like I have never experienced before as well. So, last night while in worship, I was struggling to enter into worship. The songs were great, the atmosphere was heavy, but I figured it was just because people were low energy due to fasting, then I had a vision. As I was pushing, struggling, striving in worship, I felt like I was running into saran wrap, or to a screen door. I could not breakthrough, and I am not one that strives anymore. Worship comes natural to me, I love being in the presence of God and can enter there easily and quickly, but something is different tonight, so I was pushing, thinking I needed to strive a little bit. But, when I did I kept hitting this wall, and the Lord spoke to me and said, just stand! I said, what, He said, just stand!

Ephesians 6:13b-14a “…having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm…”

When I stopped pushing, striving, struggling to breakthrough, when I heeded the voice of God and just stood, in an instant, the presence of God rushed in and it was as though my bridegroom picked me up in His arms like a groom carrying His bride through the door. I saw the Lord pick me up in His arms and the door swung open and we walked through it. I did nothing, I just stood like He told me too and the door opened and we walked through it. It was different than anything I had been taught, or had experienced. It was all Him, I just had to stop striving and just stand.

As I have thought about this, I realized that we are living in a new day, the day of striving, struggling and making your own way is over. It is a day of just stand. Spirit led living is not about what we do, it is about what He does. Jesus said He did nothing, unless He saw the Father doing it. Many of us have struggled, fought, fasted, prayed, decreed, declared and we still have not seen the breakthrough. Our striving is not going to open the door we are asking the Lord to open, but our standing will. If we can learn to just stand, He will scoop us up and bring us into what He has prepared for us. He is waiting for us to stop striving and just stand.

Stand in Now Faith (Hebrews 11:1); stand in the finished work of Jesus on the cross (John 19:30); stand victorious (Romans 8:28); stand in your armor (Ephesians 6:10-18). It is a new day, there is a new way and glory is on the way, so we need to just stand. I know that when we do, He is going to carry us through and as Chuck Pierce said in his last prophetic word, “Doors are going to fall like dominos”. Just stand!

Decision (D) – Day

Tags

Choices, Compromise, contradictions, Decisions, Evangelism, maturity, Options

Joel 3:14 “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.” (NIV)

Joshua 24:15 “If serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…” (NIV)

I Kings 18:21 “Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you ^[a]hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.” (NIV)

Romans 5:16 “Don’t you realize that grace frees you to choose your own master? But choose carefully, for you surrender yourself to become a servant – bound to the one you chose to obey.” (Passion Translation)

From Genesis to Revelation the bible is riddled with the call to make a decision, to choose, and as much as we as people would rather not choose, we have to make a choice, for the days of living in the indecision are fast ending. When I lived in Malaysia, I realized how American I was when I went to the grocery store and the choices were so limited, there were only 10 cereal choices, rather than the 50 I had in the US. But when I got back from living in Malaysia for 9 years, I realized how Malaysian I had become, because I was overwhelmed by all the choices here in the US. The more choices you have, the more freedom you think you are given, but actually the opposite is true, the less choices you have, the easier it is to decide. Once you decide on one thing, that is where real freedom is found.

It is not freedom to be sleeping around with multiple people, that is bondage, real freedom is being married and living monogamously with one person. It is not freedom to be jumping from job to job because you get offended when you are corrected, real freedom is staying the course, running the race and learning how to live with your cubicle companions over the years. We have bought into the lie that freedom is not choosing, actually, freedom doesn’t come until you make a choice. Anxiety and stress riddle people who are trying to find a house to buy, but peace comes when they finally make a decision. Freedom comes from making your choice, not from leaving your options open out of fear of making the wrong choice.

So, if freedom comes from making a decision, why are we so afraid of making a decision; why does the thought of D-Day rattle us so much? The most popular answer to this question is fear, fear of making the wrong decision. The funny thing about fear is, it keeps you from making a decision, but is nowhere to be found once the decision is made. The Christian challenge is that we have said a prayer but we never made a decision to follow a man. We got baptized in water but we never died to ourselves. We accepted Christ but we never said no to sin. So, we have altered our beliefs to match our experience, which is why you can be a Christian and still have sin as your master; you can live for yourself and still expect to be blessed; you can say whatever you want and not reap what you have sown.

The reason most people do not pick a path is because the gate that leads to life is called death; the path that leads to perfect love is called pain. Most people want relief from their distress, but they do not want to be made whole. We see, feel, experience the consequences of indecision, but yet we do not have the strength to make a different decision. We have become so comfortable with the bondage of indecision, when we meet someone who has made a decision, we get mad at them for they refuse to conform to our discomfort. Jesus didn’t die so you could be comfortable in your contradictions, He died so you could be free from sin. The Lord will never violate your free will, the choice has been and continues to be yours. Decision day is every day and what you decide is up to you, but I want to end by quoting Deuteronomy 30:19, “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” (NLT)

Young Visions…Old Dreams

Tags

Acts 2, dreams, Immaturity, maturity, Visions

Acts 2:17 “In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.”

Acts 2 is a very popular chapter in the Bible for a variety of reasons, the main one being the fulfillment of this prophesy from Joel being fulfilled in their day and age. Believers all over the world look back to Acts 2 for inspiration about what life could and should be like for us as believers today. Many have echoed the same thoughts on these verses, to the point that many see this verse and tune out, due to hearing it quoted so often, yet without any fresh revelation about. I know for I have done the same thing. But God…

One of my favorite things about God is that everything He speaks is fresh, He does not serve day old bread, rather He invites us in Matthew 6 to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread…” Bread in scripture has been referred to as the word of God, Jesus Himself even said, I am the bread of life in John 6. So, we can receive daily bread, a fresh word from the Lord, if we have ears to hear, a heart that wants to understand, and a willingness to learn something new. This morning as I was listening to Danny Silk preach about dreaming big dreams at Bethel Church in Redding, CA, the Lord served me some fresh bread through this verse.

The Bible says in Acts 2:17 that young men will see visions. Young can refer to immature, undeveloped, still learning, and unbridled. Young men see visions when the spirit is poured out, because “Where there is no revelation (vision), people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction” (Proverbs 29:18). When God pours out His spirit young or immature people see a vision that will restrain them or teach them to say no to ungodliness. One of the marks of immaturity is the inability to control oneself and the so when they get a vision or who they are called to be; who God is; what their destiny looks like, it bridles their passions. Vision is like the banks of a river that take all of the power of that river and directs it, so its power is a blessing to those that experience it.

As one that has a BA in Youth Ministry, I wish I had understood this revelation many years ago, for it would have given me a biblical precedence for why I did what I did in the way I trained the teenagers under my care. Vision keeps youth focused; vision gives them a reason to say no to pleasure, peer pressure and people who could be problematic. The Lord releases vision to the young or immature, for they need a reason to stay the course.

On the other side of the same coin, the Lord pours out His spirit so the old, the mature, the advanced in years can dream dreams. The older we get the less risks we take; the slower we are to change; the more comfortable we get and the less uncomfortable we want to be. The old need to dream dreams so they can stay alive, so they can stay active, so they can stay awake. Dreams propel you, dreams invite you into adventure, dreams call you out of complacency, dreams keep us connected to the vision God gave us when we were young.

This is one of the many reasons why we need an outpouring of the spirit, for we need the young to have visions and the old to dream dreams!

Discipleship Training Camp

Tags

Character, Discipleship, Growth, life, maturity, Perserverance, spiritual growth, Training

Job 5:17 “Truly, that man is happy who has training from the hand of God: so do not let your heart be shut to the teaching of the Ruler of all. Blessed is the person God corrects. So don’t hate the Mighty One’s training.”

When I was a teenager, I watched a movie called The Karate Kid. This was the original version, with Ralph Macchio, 1984. During that movie, Mr. Miagi was an older man who was a master teacher of karate. And Ralph Macchio was this young kid who thought he knew more than he really did. In the movie, Mr. Miagi had Ralph doing some chores, but Ralph had signed up to be trained in karate, so his attitude was sour at times and his understanding was limited. Little did the Karate Kid know that painting the fence and waxing the car was training for being a national and international karate champion.

God is a lot like Mr. Miagi, He doesn’t always explain to you why He is training you the way He is, but when we are faced with a fight that is going to require specific skills, we are going to see that He trained us for such a time as this.

Maybe it is just me, but I have been in training for over 15 years now. The training has brought me into a church that taught me how to die to myself and have no opinion; into a country that advanced my training to the back side of the desert, where I learned that God alone is the one I can depend on; and it has brought me through the narrow gate by which I have experienced the reality of the kingdom of God and the love of the Father. But I am still in training and sometimes, I have no idea what all the training is for. Some of the things He has had me do, like write books that no publisher wants, or love people that don’t know how to love back, has been like painting the fence or waxing the car. What is it all for?

Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”

When you are in training and it takes longer than you thought, it can cause hope to be deferred, but the thing about hope is that it keeps rising up in your spirit, keeps pushing you to not give up, to never quit, for you know, that a longing fulfilled is coming. Training is never fun, sometimes it is painful and there are even times when you may ask, what is this all for anyway? But one thing I have learned through all this training, is that I have gotten stronger and stronger on the inside. Circumstances don’t move me, people can’t detour me, and the presence of God is more real to me than ever before.

I know there is a championship fight coming very soon and just like David who had to beat the lion and the bear so he had confidence to take on Goliath, we have been in God’s discipleship training camp. It has built confidence in us that God is a good Father; it has taught us self-control; it has trained our ear to hear His voice; and has taught us what is truly valuable. Wax on, wax off, because we are about to defeat the giant and liberate all the people of God. God is a master teacher and we are in discipleship training camp.

Destruction Detox

Tags

Blood Moons, Christianity, Destruction, Detox, maturity, spiritual growth

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are.” (NLT)

I was in a conversation with my husband last night about the differences between the kingdom of God and religion. During this conversation the Lord spoke to me and said, “It is time for a destruction detox”. As I meditated on this statement all night long, I began to see how much destruction theology is in religion. Now religion in this context is not Pharisees, but rather Christianity, for spirit-filled believers along with tradition or orthodox believers all have a destruction theology, whether we realize it or not. It is actually the air we breathe in the world. Just watch the news one time, bad news sells, good news does not, that is why all they report on is the bad news.

Destruction theology is everywhere from our understanding of the 4 Blood Moons, to our ideas of the rapture. Many Christians believe and have been taught that we are going to fly away one day and escape this evil corrupt world that is going to be destroyed by fire, so the Lord can make a new earth. I know the verses in I Thessalonians, Revelation and Jude where it speaks of these things, but again it is our obsession with destruction theology and the Lord said, “It is time for a destruction detox.”

Pastor Steve Gray of World Revival Church in Kansas City, MO said, “Our God is one of restoration not destruction.” God is not interested in people, nations, races being destroyed, but rather in them being restored. So, any “destruction” we may think is happening, is actually a set up for divine restoration. This does not mean there is no judgement of sin, consequences for choices or even fire for the sake of purification, but it does mean that if those things are deployed it is for restoration of the earth, a person, a nation or a race, not for their destruction.

“It is time for destruction detox” says the Lord. He is a good good Father, He promises us we will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! He is for us and not against us, we are the sheep of His pasture! And in the words of my husband Pastor Amos Great, “The gospel is really good news!” So let’s surrender to the destruction detox, then the Lord can release to us, every perfect gift that is coming down from above. I know good news does not sell, but freely we have received, so freely we are to give good news, not sell it. Once we are detoxed of all destruction, then we can begin to release to good news to everyone we meet and love will win, for we allowed God to do a destruction detox in our lives.

http://www.mouthpieceministries.net – My new website, check it out if you have time.

Who’s In Charge, Really?

Tags

Christianity, Created, Image, In Charge, kingdom of God, maturity

Genesis 1:27-28 “So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them. God blessed them and told them, “Multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.”

When God created humanity, male and female, every human being, He commanded us to be in charge, but in charge of what? In charge of the earth. As human beings we are given the command to be in charge of the earth. When Jesus died on the cross and went to hell, He came back with the keys of the kingdom, what are these keys? They are for human beings to be restored back to the original plan of God, which is for us to be in charge of the earth. Now the earth is under our control, at least it is supposed to be. So, why are the vast majority of Christians not in charge, if this is a command from God?

I believe we are not in charge, because we don’t know how to be in charge. We think we know how to do something’s, but for many that is even iffy. Most people second guess themselves, because they do not see the evidence of what they think they have faith for (Hebrews 11:1) or what they are called to do. If the lack of confidence was not enough to deal with, we have to add the self-deception (Galatians 6:1) that we have bought into which will not allow us to face the reality of how much we are really a slave to. So, how do we restore, or get back to God’s original command to us, which is to be in charge?

We need to start with repentance! We need to repent of a powerless mindset, one that says, we can’t, we shouldn’t, we won’t. If you listen to Christians speak, you realize how powerless they feel over their situation, but we are not powerless, we are the most powerful people on the face of the earth. However, to be powerful, we must repent, we must change the way we think, Jesus said, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is here. Well, the same words He is saying today, the kingdom of heaven is here, right now on earth, and unless we repent, we are going to miss it. So, to start you have to repent, to do that you must read the Bible and believe it. Many people listen to the word of God, but very few learn from it, that is why we are powerless.

So, here is the entry point for being in charge, we must learn to be in charge of ourselves, before we are going to be in charge of a family, a city, a nation, a company or a church. You and I have to realize we are not a slave to our choices, we are in charge of our choices. We are not slaves to our emotions, we are in charge of our emotions, we are not slaves to our money, we are in charge of our money, we are not slaves to our appetites, we are in charge of our appetites, at least we are supposed to be.

John 8:32 says, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free!” In the movie A Few Good Men, Tom Cruise says, “you can’t handle the truth.” You have a choice, are you going to face the truth that someone other than you is in charge, that is why you are driven by _______________ or a slave to ____________________, and repent so you can start being in charge. Or are you going to live in the perpetual self-deception, believing something that is not in the Bible, because you can’t handle the truth?

The question remains….who’s in charge, really?