The Swordsmen Are Coming

Tags

Battle, bible, deception, Help, Truth, Weapons of War

The Swordsmen Are Coming

During the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the famous words, “The British are coming, the British are coming!” was heralded among those preparing for the battles they were about to engage in. I hear in the spirit the Lord saying, “The swordsmen are coming, the swordsmen are coming!” I believe this is being heard in the camp of the enemy, but may not be being heard in the church. But I believe the Lord is saying this to both the enemy and the church, “the swordsmen are coming, the swordsmen are coming”.

Judges 7:19-22 “Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords.”

Gideon is an Old Testament example of the swordsmen that are coming. They are coming with a sound of salvation for the nation. When the sound of these swordsmen is heard, the enemy will turn on themselves, because it is not the sound of men they are going to hear, it is the sound of God. Another example of these swordsmen is found in the New Testament, where Jesus was in a discussion with His disciples about the kingdom that is coming, on earth as it is in heaven.

Luke 22:35-38 “Then Jesus said, “When I sent you out and told you to travel light, to take only the bare necessities, did you get along all right?” “Certainly,” they said, “we got along just fine.” He said, “This is different. Get ready for trouble. Look to what you’ll need; there are difficult times ahead. Pawn your coat and get a sword. What was written in Scripture, ‘He was lumped in with the criminals,’ gets its final meaning in me. Everything written about me is now coming to a conclusion.” They said, “Look, Master, two swords!” But he said, “Enough of that; no more sword talk!”

The year 5778 is the year of the open door, Chuck Pierce at the Head of the Year Conference said, it is the year of a living 8 and it is the gate of 8. 8 as we all know means new beginning, God is inaugurating something new, but it is old, but it is new. It is new because we may not have seen it before, but it is old, because to God nothing is new. The year of the open door is opening for the Word Warriors to enter in. These are swordsmen who have learning to rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15); they know their sword is not a carnal weapon of war (2 Corinthians 10:4-5); rather they have been in swordsmen training for years, for they were willing to sit down, wait on the Lord and in the waiting, they sharpened their double-edged swords (Hebrews 4:12).

The swordsmen are coming, the swordsmen are coming for the only weapon that is going to win this war is the Sword of the Lord (the Word of God). The only weapon against deception is TRUTH, and TRUTH is a person, not a ministry, not a calling, not a title, it is a person and these swordsmen that are coming know Jesus, not in theory, in reality. They hear His voice and another they will not follow (John 10:5); they have not sought their own glory, their own ministry, their own way, they have laid down who they are completely for Yahweh. Their call is not to make a name for themselves, but to display the glory of God on earth as it is in heaven. They know who they are, but more importantly they know whose they are and in that they rejoice: Luke 10:19-20 “See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” 

The swordsmen are coming, the swordsmen are coming! For the Lord has heard the cry of His people and He is sending help from heaven. The swordsmen are coming, the swordsmen are coming!

Advertisements

What Do You See?

Tags

Christianity, Fake News, False Prophets, Gospel, Jeremiah, Kingdom, News, Prophecy, Truth, Vision

Jeremiah 1:11-12 says, “The word of the LORD came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied. The LORD said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.” (NIV)

We are living in a time in history where God is asking the question of His people, what do you see? If God were to come to you today and ask you, what do you see, what would you say? What answer would you give God? Some would say they see politics; others would say they see a world leader or leaders; still others would say they see a mighty move of God that is going to change history. What do you see? When you peer into the spirit realm, when you lean into the heart of God, when you take your seat in heavenly places and look upon the earth, what do you see? Do you see anything? Do you see darkness or light? Do you see destruction or construction? Do you see life or death? What do you see? This is the question of the hour and the answer is telling.

It is undeniable that we are living in the revived hour of the prophetic. Five minutes on Facebook and you know that many people are prophesying what they see, what they hear, what they believe. For some it is confusing, for others it is confirming, it just depends on what you see. The gift of prophecy, according to 1 Corinthians 14:3 says, “the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.” If this is what the gift of prophecy is biblically designed to do, does what you see strengthen the body of believers, encourage the believers or comfort the believers? If it does not, it may not be the gift of prophesy but rather a personal opinion based on what you are seeing.

In this season of seeing, it is imperative that we see clearly. When God asked Jeremiah what do you see, Jeremiah responded by saying, I see the branch of an almond tree and the Lord replied to him, you have seen correctly. My question to us is, are we seeing correctly? Pulpit or periscope, microphone or iPhone, face to face or Facebook, wherever you are speaking, what you believe God is saying, the questions must asked what are you seeing and are you seeing correctly? In an age where Facebook does not hold you accountable for what you say, where your opinions on Periscope can be deleted after 24 hours, and where people can share whatever they want whenever they want, we must seek out others to hold us accountable to see if what we are seeing is correct.

Now, with that said, I believe God is speaking through people who do not have a church they preach in weekly, who do not have a platform in which they are well known, who genuinely hear from God and post those words on open platforms, but there is a lot of people who are not seeing clearly so we must see clearly so we can eat the meat and spit out the bones. Freedom without responsibility and accountability is bondage and even though you love your freedom of speech, just like Gamaliel said to the religious leaders, if this move is not of God it will not succeed (Acts 5:39), but if it is of God, which many arising leaders are not recognized yet, it will be unstoppable.

The reason we are seeing so much fake prophecy, false teachings and self-promotion is because we are in the middle of a transition of historical proportions. We are going to see a move of God that is unprecedented in our generation and it is going to have one name that is lifted high: the name of Jesus, one man that is going to get all the glory: the man Jesus and one message that is going to be preached: the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, don’t be moved by all the negative, destructive, political, things you see. Desperate people go to desperate measures to be seen and heard, but honorable people wait their turn, knowing full well that it is God who lifts us up, and then no man can bring us down. The uprising has begun, can you see it?

What’s Taking So Long?

Tags

Death, deception, Delay, Lies, Self, Truth, Wandering, Willderness

Many are asking when is this wilderness season going to come to an end? When are we going to see the manifestation of the promises God and others have spoken over us? What is causing the delay? If you are asking these kinds of questions, I have good news for you. God is not slack in fulfilling His promises, but he is patient, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to the knowledge of God (2 Peter 3:9). When it comes to the Lord God in heaven there is no such thing as delay. He lives in now time, all the time. Most will not argue with that, so then they bring it to what they call the second heaven, so the delay must be because the enemy is holding it up. This thought comes from one verse in Daniel 10:13 which says Daniel’s answer was delayed 21 days because of a principality. However, this season we have been in has been for years, not weeks, but years. So, is it possible it is not a delay due to the devil or God, but someone we have not yet identified?

1 Corinthians 10:11 says, “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.” What things? All the wilderness things. The nation of Israel is an example to us as a warning, so we don’t make the same mistakes they made. But what exactly was their issue, what hindered them from entering the promised land and possessing the promises of God? It wasn’t God, it wasn’t Moses, it wasn’t the devil, the person who kept them out of the promise land was…themselves! They refused to surrender to God, they refused to submit to God, they refused to be content with God, it was them, they were the issue. How do I know this, because a whole generation had to die off, so the next generation could enter in the promised land. Is it possible the delay is not the devil, not God, but me, but you? I believe this is where we need to look, not outside of us, but inside of us. Not to someone else, or something else, but to ourselves.

I believe that the wilderness battle is a battle with self, not with God or the devil. The point of the wilderness is to teach us how to win the battle over ourselves, not the devil, not God, but us. Our battle is with ourselves, that is why this battle is taking so long. David said in Psalm 55:12-14 “If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers.” The closer the person is to us, the harder it is to deal with it, because they are so close, we would never suspect them to be our issue. I believe God is working out with diligence and consistency the Lordship issue in our life. He is wrestling with us, not us wrestling with the devil or some principality. Until we surrender, until we stop trying to be in control, until we say mercy and let Him be God, not in certain areas of our lives, but over our whole lives, I am not sure we will leave the wilderness.

The reason for this intense battle, the reason it is taking so long, is because our battle is within, not without and it is a battle between us and God. He is trying to get us to trust Him, not situationally, but eternally. I know many will argue with me on this point, but the truth is, the issue is not outside of us, the issue is inside of us and He is not going to let us go, until this battle over self is won and Jesus Christ is Lord over all of our life. Once He has all of us, trust me, we will possess the promised land, for He is a covenant keeping God and He is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19). If you read Psalm 105-106 it will give you a history of Israel’s battle with themselves and once they win that battle, then they begin to fight the enemies who are squatting on their promise, but if you try to deal with external enemies before you deal with internal ones, your victory will be short term, that is why God is cleaning the inside of the cup in our lives, during this wilderness season, so when we enter the promised land, the enemy will be defeated with a word. Is it possible, this is what’s taking so long?

Listening Precedes Speaking

Tags

Ear Training, Listening, Prophecy, Public Speaking, Speaking, Truth, voice of God

Listening Precedes Speaking 4.19.17

http://www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

 

It is not a new concept to understand that what you hear is what you speak. When we were new born babies, we heard many words, but we could not speak any. So, we had to learn to listen, before we could learn to speak. The same is true in the spiritual as it is in the natural. Until we learn to listen and hear clearly, we will not be able to speak clearly. Paul said, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me” (1 Corinthians 13:11). Our level of hearing, determines our leveling of speaking. I think we can all agree on this.

 

Here is the challenge the body of Christ is facing, whether on Facebook, Instagram, or in pulpits and on platforms all over the world, we have people wanting to speak before they have learned to listen. This is bringing much confusion to the body of Christ and causing many to get their hopes up around what sounds like a prophetic word, but is actually just someone’s vain imagination. Jeremiah 23:16 says, “This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.” This is not just about prosperity prophecies, this is also about gloom and doom, Jesus is returning soon prophecies. People are speaking before they are listening and it is leading the body of Christ astray.

 

When I was 19 years old and newly saved, I had zeal without knowledge. I was ready to preach to anyone who would listen, that Jesus Christ is Lord. I do not think that evangelism like this is harmful, because the zeal is so strong that you do not care what others think about you, all you know is that you were once lost and now you are found. The challenge is, when people who have zeal but no knowledge are in our pulpits, conferences or on our news feeds. Their zeal can be contagious, but their knowledge is weak, because they have pursued speaking over listening.

 

When I was in my first Bible Training School, one or our Pastor said he spent 8 hours to prepare for one sermon. I remember thinking, what are you doing for 8 hours, when you only speak for 20-30 minutes? But now that I have grown up, now that I have learned the value of listening and stopped trying to be a speaker, I realize how crucial it is to listen for many hours on end and speak for very few. Solomon even said in Proverbs 17:27 “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.” The less we speak, the more we know, because when you really know something, you have no need to be heard, rather you wait to see if anyone wants to hear what you have to say.

 

The body of Christ has been going through what I call accelerated maturity. It has been a time for those who agreed to it, to learn in a rapid way how to hear the voice of God, clearly, so they can speak the words of God, clearly. They are not taking scripture out of context to match their message; they are not slapping a verse on people’s problems; they are not pursuing a pulpit or platform; they are learning to listen to the still small voice in the secret place of the most High. They have learned wisdom, patience, timing, intimacy and authority; they are not in a hurry to make their name great, but they are prepared to make His name glorious; they went in as unbroken wild horses and are now broken power horses with a fiery love in their eyes and a word in their mouth. When they speak, demons are going to flee; the dead are going to be raised; the sick are going to be healed; relations are going to be restored; and the lost are going to come to Christ.

 

The leaders that are about to arise learned that listening precedes speaking; they learned that if they don’t hear clearly, they won’t speak clearly; and they learned it is not about training your mind, it is about letting the Lord heal your heart, for they know, that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, not out the abundance in their head. They have been in the secret place getting a heart transplant, heart surgery and cardiovascular healing, so when they speak, there is synergy between their heart and their mouth, because they know they can only speak what they hear. God is more interested in you learning to hear His voice (which means consistently obeying what you hear), than He is in you speaking, writing a book or putting out another prophetic word. You can’t side step it, He is a God of order and learning to listen precedes speaking in the kingdom age leaders.

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.

Word Reformation

Tags

bible, faith, Jesus, kingdom of God, Reformation, Revolution, Romans 10, Salvation, Scripture, Truth

 

http://www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

During worship a couple of weeks ago I had an open vision where the Lord showed me a banqueting table filled with delicacies, dainties and delightful foods from all over the world. It was a true International feast, with many people sitting around the banqueting table. As I observed this scene the Lord said, can you hear them pray consistently? Can you hear them sing so beautifully? I said, yes, it is truly amazing, what I am hearing and seeing. Then the Lord said, but they are very weak, because they refuse to eat the food I have laid out before them. As I looked closer at the banqueting table and the magnificent place settings in front of the people sitting at the table, I did notice that they had not even taken one bite, even though the food was within arm’s reach. They loved to pray, they loved to worship and they loved to fellowship, but they did not want to eat, so they were weak.

 

I knew immediately what the Lord was showing me, if we do not eat, if we do not partake of the Word of God, we will pray, we will worship, and we will fellowship, but we will remain weak, because only the Word of God makes a person strong. People that don’t eat, no matter how much they pray, how much they worship or how much they fellowship, still remain weak, because they refuse to eat the Word of God right in front of them.

 

We are blessed to have a Bible in our hands. Some people have more than one bible, but they still do not eat. They go to 24-hour prayer houses, they join worship teams and go to worship events, they have coffee with friends, but to actually spend time in the Word of God, listening for His voice in His word, very few people do this and that is why the body of Christ is weak. Romans 10:17 says, “faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God.” This is not a salvation message, this is how you get strong. Faith is trust, belief is acknowledgement. It takes believing to be saved (Romans 10:9-10), it takes faith to please God (Hebrews 11:6) and Jesus said when I return will I find faith on earth (Luke 18:8), not believers.

 

Today we have a lot of believers, who said a sinner’s prayer, they pray, they worship, they fellowship and they may even go to church, but most believers do not read their Bible and many do not have faith (trust) in God. How do I know, because the church is weak and God is inviting us to be strong, but it takes a Word reformation. In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I Am the way, I Am the truth, I Am the life,” in John 1:1 it says, “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God in the beginning.” Jesus is the Word of God! Bill Johnson says, Jesus is perfect theology, so if we know the Word, we know Jesus.

 

Once believers start reading the Word of God, they will meet the man that is the Word. You can’t trust (have faith) in someone you do not know. With the reading of the Word, will come trust, once trust is established based on relationship, a covenant will be made, obedience will be the result, for Jesus said in John 15, “If you love me, you will do what I command.” Once believers start obeying the Word of God, power will be released, for they will not be ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). Then we will begin to do what Jesus commanded us to do, which is to occupy until He comes (Luke 19:13).

 

What is coming is not another denominational reformation; nor is it some new names on an old system, what is coming is a Word reformation. Believers are going to begin to eat at home, so when they come together they are strong, which will cause leaders to have to steer the rushing river of revelation, rather than pray for one to start. The result of a Word reformation is going to be healing, deliverance, reconciliation, restoration, proclamation and transformation. Everything we are asking for in prayer will be answered when individuals realize authority comes through the word of God and obedience to it. Then we can ask and it will be given to us, seek and we will find, knock and the door will be opened to us (Matthew 6). We won’t need to spend 24 hours in prayer to get an answer, for we will have authority based on relationship that is rooted in trust. I don’t beg my husband over and over for something, because to him that would be nagging, I just ask and trust him for the answer. The same will be true for us as we begin to eat the food on this banqueting table. Everything will change once we answer the call to read the Bible. Let the Word reformation begin!

Re-Tiring: It’s Going to Be a Good Year

Tags

arise, Dry bones, Encouragement, Ezekiel 47, Good Year, grace, Isaiah 43, Kingdom People, life, love, power, Prophesy, Truth

Re-Tiring: It’s Going to Be a Good Year 2.7.17

http://www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

 

I got a phone call the other day from a friend who was concerned she was going to be retired by God from doing ministry. I said to her, you think you are going to be retired, what happened. She began to explain her situation and asked me to pray as she was uncertain of how this situation would turn out. Then 4 days later, I got a text message from her that said, she resigned and now had been retired. I knew she was in pain, so I did not want to call as she was in the process of retiring from the place she was in up until that morning. While I was praying for her the Lord spoke to me and said, I am not retiring her, I am re-tiring her! I sent her a text immediately with this word from the Lord and I added, this is going to be a really good year. She immediately called me and disappointment and discouragement turned into hope and joy of what is coming with this re-tiring.

 

This statement from the Lord, I am not retiring her, but re-tiring her, has been ringing in my spirit for the past 24 hours and I sense this is not just a word for her, but for many in the body of Christ. Lana Vawser has released prophetic words related to a shift in direction for many in the body of Christ; Doug Addison has prophesied this is a time of realignment and reassignment; so I sense the words God spoke to me are just another piece in this puzzle of the major changes many of us are going through right now. The reason I decided to release this word, is because I think there are people who feel like they have been retired by God and I am here to declare to you today, no matter your age, your gender, your race, or your nationality, that God is not retiring you, He is re-tiring you!

 

Re-tiring is a word we do not hear often, and if you are in the tire business or know anything about retreading, you understand that retreading is putting new tread on old tires. Re-tiring is God giving many in the body of Christ a brand-new set of tires. When we drive on the same set of tires for many miles, they have what is called tread wear, they lose their ability to grip the road, to withstand various weather conditions and are more susceptible to go flat. Some people have been riding on the same old tires for many years, but the Lord is not retiring you, He is re-tiring you. The Lord is inviting us to accept a brand-new set of tires, so we can continue to go for many more miles and make many more memories.

 

The challenge some are going to face in this season is that it is cheaper and easier to just keep the same old tires and when they wear out to just retire. Unfortunately, there is no scriptural backing for that attitude, so I am here to speak life into those dry bones (Ezekiel 47) and say, you will live again, you are a great army and we need you, arise! Or in the words of Isaiah “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise” (Isaiah 43”:18-21).

 

Remember the word of the Lord to us…we are not being retired, we are being re-tired! and I would like to add, it’s going to be a good year!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What Is Love?

Tags

God's Love, Gospel, Jesus, love, Truth, Unconditional Love, Valentines Day, Veterans

February is traditionally the month where love seems to be the topic of discussion. With Valentine’s day coming on the 14th, many are thinking about who they love, who they used to love and who they want to love. So, I decided to ask the question, what is love? Many would point to 1 Corinthians 13, the “love chapter” or John 3:16, the “love verse”, but still the question remains, what is love? Is love a noun or is it a verb? I believe the answer is yes! Love is a noun and love is a verb, but one thing love is not, is unconditional. Unconditional means not subject to any conditions according to dictionary.com. So, what is love?

 

Love is a noun and a verb! 1 John 4:7-9 says, “Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.…” Love is a noun, because God is love! Love is a verb, because God sent His one and only Son into the world. If love was unconditional, if God could just declare He is love and never show that love, is it really love? The answer is NO! Love cannot be love unless it has a corresponding action of love.

 

One reason people like the idea of love being unconditional, is because they have bought into the lie that something is free. Nothing is free, freedom is not free, just ask the veteran or Jesus who died on the cross for your sins, so you could be free. Your freedom cost Him His life. It may seem like its free or unconditional to you, but someone, somewhere paid a price for everything you believe is free or unconditional. If love was unconditional, why did Jesus have to be obedient unto to death, even death on a cross? (Philippians 2); if love is unconditional, why were there two trees in the garden?

 

I have come to realize that we like staying children in our faith and in our lives because then we think we can continue to receive something for nothing. Look at all the things we believe are free, salvation, grace, love, just to name a few. Salvation is a covenant and ask any married person, covenants are not free, they are very costly; grace is empowerment, not a free for all, just ask the apostle Paul (Romans 6 & 7); and love is not free as we noted above. If we are going to grow up, we must realize that responsibility and requirements are not striving or living under the Law, but rather they come with maturity and a biblical understanding of what love really is.

 

Whether we realize it or not, we have been immersed in a spirit of lawlessness, which is why we want everything for free and when boundaries are set for safety reasons, some will reject them. Love is God and love has requirements. God required Himself to provide a sacrifice for our sins when He loved us enough to give us a free will. Our government loves us, that is why there are speed limits and traffic lights. Love is not lawlessness, love is having requirements. If love was unconditional then there would be no reason to believe in Jesus Christ as the One and only way to the Father (John 14:6).

 

When I was a youth pastor, I would tell the parents of my students, L-O-V-E are the boundaries that you set so your student feels safe. There is a difference between rules and boundaries, but that is another blog. So, what is love? Love is freedom, love is truth, love is grace, love is power, love is life, love is what will grow us up, but one thing love is not is free. You must choose to love, so if it costs you nothing else in your mind, it costs you your will. For Jesus said, If you love Me, you will keep my commandments! (John 14:15)

What the world needs is love, what I need is love, what you need is love, and when we understand love, then we will never go back to something masquerading as love. If it has no cost, it has no value. This is love, God is love!

The War We’re In

Tags

antichrist, Battle, deception, Kingdom, Truth, War

One moment on the news and you know we are in a war. One hour in church and you know we are in a war. One post on Facebook, Instagram, Google+ or Twitter and you know we are in a war. One statement that is not politically correct, no matter how truthful it is and you know we in a war. Very few people cannot recognize that we are in a war, but very few people are identifying what that war is accurately. Politicians believe we are in a political war between Democrats and Republicans. Hate groups believe we are in a war over freedom of speech. Terrorist groups believe we are in a war over religion. Other groups believe we are in a war over the color of our skin, the definition of marriage, or the status of your visa. 
Depending on the way you think, you may believe that one of the listed wars are the war we are in. Honestly, I can understand why you would think that, because on the surface that is what it looks like to the naked eye. However, as believers in Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Son of God who was manifested in flesh on earth and is seated in heaven at the right hand of the Father, who have a Bible, we must remember 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 “Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes”; 1 John 2:18 “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour”; and 2 Thessalonians 2:7 “For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work”. 
The war we are in is an age-old war that began when Lucifer was kicked out heaven (Isaiah 14) for seeking to exalt himself against the knowledge of God. The war has not changed, in the words of Bill Johnson, we were born into this war. Therefore, as believers we should not be alarmed when the anti-Christ spirit manifests in violence of its varying kinds, not just in America, but around the world. We should not be shocked that when law and order are restored, the spirit of lawlessness that has been at work silently in the hearts of men and women worldwide, would begin to put up a fight. The apostle Paul told us in Ephesians 6:10-18, that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against powers, principalities and rulers in the heavenly realms. He then went on in those verses to tell us how to dress so we are ready for the battle. None of this should surprise us. 
The war we’re in is a spiritual one that is manifesting physically. It is not the first time it has manifested on earth and unless Jesus comes back in this war, then it will not be the last time this spirit manifests on earth. The war we’re in right now is the same war, we see all throughout the Word of God. From Genesis to Revelation, we see this war and we see the strategies from heaven on how to win this war. The spirit of anti-Christ, the spirit of lawlessness and the spirit of deception are all three, one in the same spirits. They have the same father of lies as their commander and they seek to counter any activity the kingdom of God makes. When you see anti-Christ manifestations, take heart, for it is evidence of kingdom activity. 
The war we’re in is not one to be afraid of, for fear is a tool the enemy uses to paralyze the believer into inactivity. The way to win this war is to love deeply, forgive consistently, read the word daily, connect with others faithfully and worship unashamedly. The way to conquer the anti-Christ spirit is not to engage in tit for tat arguments, but to “praise until the spirit of worship comes, worship until the glory falls, then stand in the glory” – Ruth Heflin. Your greatest weapons are the word of God and the presence of God, for they protect you from deception. Once you are vaccinated by the presence of God and the word of God, then you can go out into the world and rescue those who are being held captive by the spirit of the world. In the words of the old hymn, they will know you are Christians by your love, by your love, they will know you are Christians by your love. 
The next thing we need to address in a future blog is, what is love? One hint, it is not unconditional.

What are You Hearing?

Tags

Authority, bible, context, integrity, kingdom reality, Prophecy, Truth, voice of God

Is God saying more than one thing at one time? Is He declaring one thing to you and another thing to me about the same nation? Is the Lord the author of confusion? In a social media world, there are many benefits, people who do not have a platform for a variety of reasons, can use social media to get their message out. But social media is extremely dangerous as well, for it is riddled with confusion as many self-proclaimed and self-appointed prophets are saying, “Thus says the Lord.” With many people on a spiritual quest, one of the places they are looking for spiritual insight is online, but the challenge is, the church, Christians are proclaiming many things that are not biblically accurate. This is both dangerous for the hearer and the speaker, for the Bible is not silent on the issue of making declarations that God did not make. 

Ezekiel 13:1-3 says, “Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, Listen to the word of the LORD! ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing.…” (NASB). Jeremiah 23:15-17 says, “For from the prophets of Jerusalem Pollution has gone forth into all the land.'” Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the LORD. “They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD has said, “You will have peace “‘; And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, They say, ‘Calamity will not come upon you.’…” (NASB). 

Yahweh speaks with clarity, not confusion. He is not speaking many things at the same time, He has so much authority He only needs to speak one thing at a time. One word from heaven has the authority and power to transform the earth. As prophets in training, the first thing that must be learned is how to discern the voice of God, amidst all the other voices. Many people who prophesy, don’t know the word of God in context, so their prophecies are of their own making. One of the greatest challenges we face in Christianity today is the inability for people to hear the voice of God. Because this is an epidemic in the church, many people are looking to those who say they hear God to tell them what God is saying. The challenge with this is, if God is not saying it, but they are told God said it, then they get disappointed for they thought God said something God never said. 

1 Corinthians 14 says, all should desire to prophesy and in the book of Numbers, Moses said, he wished all of God’s people prophesied. But in order to prophesy, you need to know the word of God, for that is the first step in hearing the voice of God. The second indicator of whether you are hearing God is if what you are hearing is being confirmed by those who are seasoned at hearing the voice of God. For example, the Lord spoke to me and said, 2017 is a year of Victory, I posted this on January 1st on my Facebook page, then today, Chuck Pierce came out with a video today that declared 2017 the year of Victory and Bill Johnson of Bethel Church in Redding, CA said at their Sunday morning service on January 1st, that the word God gave him for 2017 is Breakthrough. So, when men and women that are known for hearing the voice of God are saying the same thing you are hearing, it is a good indicator you are hearing God and not your vain imagination. 

The Bible says to whom much has been given, much is required. If you have not been given much, not much is required of you, but if you want to be given more, than be a good steward of what you have been given. You have been given your Bible, it is the voice of God to you and to the nations, but it must be righty applied. 2017 is a year of Victory, for you to experience victory, you must learn to hear the voice of God. You hear the news, you hear your family and friends, you hear what others are saying on social media, but can you hear the voice of God in His word? What are you hearing? Hearing the voice of God is the key to the abundant life. He loves to talk, that is why you have a Bible, my prayer is that this year, you will hear His voice.