I heard the Lord say, "I am giving My people new strategies for this new season." I pondered this word in my heart as I prayed in the Spirit. I looked up the word "strategy" and one of the definitions I found was "A careful plan or method." Another definition referred to the science or art of combining and employing the means of war in planning and directing large military movements and operations. There is a spiritual military operation in the heavenly realms. There are various ranks of angels and heavenly hosts in the atmosphere around us.
Faith in God took Enoch into another realm of reality. Enoch agreed and walked with God. His mind was so transformed by the presence of God, that Enoch was no longer recognizable, he was not found. He became a new being by the renewing of his mind. Enoch was no more. God took Enoch up into the heights of heaven because he was found pleasing in God's sight. Enoch was able to avoid our last enemy, death. Enoch learned the ways of eternal life by walking in God's shadow.
The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1 NIV The Lord is bringing His guidance and breaking off fear. This is a time in which the Lord is renewing our strength and bringing protection and encouragement to us. There is new authority and angels from the Lord are continuing to increase. The Lord is contending for us and battling right now. Rest assured, the Lord has our best interest at heart, no matter how things might look or feel. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
And God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 1:26-27 And the LORD God said, "Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil." Genesis 3:22 In Genesis 1:26 God says, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." There is much debate as to the literal meaning of image and likeness in this verse. My intention is not to look into that debate in this teaching, but instead to share revelation I have been given on the subject.
The Bible is full of stories of men and women who waited and waited for God's promises to be fulfilled. Abraham and Sarah waited 25 years for Isaac's birth. Hannah endured years of barrenness waiting for her baby. David spent years in the wilderness before he became king. God calls each of us to join Him in His work but accomplishing anything spiritual, such as building a church, engaging in missions work or influencing secular culture for Christ, is impossible in human terms. We can't accomplish anything for God without faith.
When it comes to sickness and disease there are so many Christians that are confused about where it comes from and what is the purpose of it in their lives. Some have even been taught that everything that happens to them in life is the will of God for them. But nothing could be further from the truth. Let's look at it from this angle using the Word of God as our benchmark. If sickness was the will of God for you, then why did James say, "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up..." (James 5:14-15)
What are you building your foundation on right now? Is it your ability to know His Word? Is it your ability to hear His Voice? Are you seeking to learn from others, or do you feel that you are grounded enough to teach others? Can you define the goals in that? Are you working on finding peace in yourself, or are you working to get the favor of man? It's good to be honest with your emotions and see if your energy is really pointing you towards where you want to be. It's good to ask yourself WHY you want what you do. I do that often and it helps me realize just how well that I am hearing His Voice of direction.
Not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. (Philippians 3:9) The grace of God is the unearned, undeserved, and unmerited favor of God. When God answers you in your most undeserving moment, that is grace. That is His amazing, unmerited favor! At your lowest point, in your darkest hour, His light shines through for you, and you become a recipient of His unmerited favor, and a recipient of favor can't help but want to extend grace to others.
Being prideful is not just an attitude. It's also an emotion God hates. It's the emotion that He wants us to ditch, and He tells us exactly how to do that in His Word. Pride is the foundational emotion on which all other emotions, which lead to sin, are built. Pride says, "I'm number one, the best. I'm the best. No one can measure up to the great me." It is this worship of self that God doesn't like. It can lead to greater sins and is a huge emotion we must deal with on our journeys. To acquiesce to another, whether God or another person, means we must humble ourselves and accept their point of view or suggestion. Many have a hard time doing this. Saying, "You're right" and "I'm wrong" just doesn't seem to be in our vocabularies.
And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out. Leviticus 6:12-13 Recently I had a dream encounter where the Lord spoke to me that there is a greater need for more "fire on the altar." In this it was apparent that there was a need for prayer to permeate and infiltrate the atmosphere of the region. I could literally sense that the atmosphere was not what it needed to be - more prayer was needed.
Follow Up
