For most of my life, I have struggled with identifying my purpose in God's kingdom. As such I have been a doer and an achiever, always trying to get things done for God because I wanted Him to value me. This is the same issue that Martha had with Mary. If you remember the story, Jesus basically told Martha that she needed to take a lesson from Mary and chill out. Well, that's my interpretation. I knew that but I still had this drive to achieve and be identified by what I did. I was a writer, then an editor, and finally a publisher. I thought I had arrived, but then everything went south with the newspaper industry, and who was I?
So don't be impatient for Yahweh to act; keep moving forward steadily in his ways, and he will exalt you to possess the land. You'll watch with your own eyes and see the wicked lose everything. Psalm 37:34 TPT The Lord knows you better than you know yourself. He sees your past, present and future all at once and has grace and unconditional love for you. He replied, "Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you." (Matthew 13:11 NIV) We are entering a new season of breakthrough. Have you felt like you are going to break down instead? Just keep moving forward! I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world. Matthew 13:35 NIV
"And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers."(Mal. 4:6, KJV) Recently, the Lord has been working overtime in many family relationships, especially between the parents and the children. Speaking as a father, looking back, I can become overwhelmed by how I was honestly blinded by my weaknesses, or how I felt powerless to change my children while I was raising them. When you hear about how God is going to grow us up in His body, you can count on God showing up in the core of the church - the family we live with every day. We can go no further in God than our personal "home address."
You just received a prophetic word and believe it is from the Lord. Your concern is, "What do I do next?" My concern is what you didn't do next. The next step is not taking action on the prophetic word you received but testing it. Ask yourself questions such as "Will this bear fruit and glorify the name of Jesus Christ, or will it distract and detour me from my godly assignment?" With prophecy, your first responsibility is to discern the accuracy of the prophetic word delivered. When receiving a prophetic word that you believe is from the Lord, you should stop and verify that it is from the Lord and not your flesh desiring it or the enemy trying to distract you.
God is calling you to be a mighty warrior. The world we live in is not for the faint of heart. We must stand in our position as sons and daughters of Christ, finding our strength in Him, to have an impact. It can seem easier to sit back and say "I am trusting God" from our armchairs than to take up our weapons and fight for the kingdom of heaven. As I was sitting with the Lord, He began to speak about this issue. The Lord says, "You do not have to stand like a child, covering your ears as the enemy hurls insults at you. Uncover your ears and listen, listen for Abba's voice.
When I first came to the Lord at age 19, I remember asking the Lord to restore my heart and mind as I was laying hands on myself in the place of prayer. Knowing that I had come out of a lot of stuff in the world I knew that I needed a refreshing and renewing of my soul in every way. Have you ever been tempted? Of course, you have. We can all be tempted in many ways. You can be tempted to do so many things that are outside the sphere of God's plan for your life. Outside of the most obvious of sins - you may be tempted to complain, to hate, to be rude or many other things.
Last weekend after I spoke at a church in Jacksonville, Florida, a young woman came to the altar to ask for prayer. She had heard me share how Jesus wants us to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that we can have the boldness to share the gospel - and so that we can experience all the Spirit's miraculous power when we minister to others. This woman was a bit shy, but after I prayed for her, she began to speak in tongues for the first time. It was a new experience for her, but she wants all God has for her. Her fears didn't keep her from claiming something new from God. Her life was changed in that moment.
God calls weak and tender people to do His work. Many will try to play that down, challenge them, and even expect them to be like God in all His power, even invincible. They will even provoke them. But He says that His Strength is made perfect in weakness. And the faith that is required to believe will be exalted. It's part of the maturing process. Attacks will happen. And they will be exposed for what they are because Light in its strength will shine on the darkness and expose it for what it is!
In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul is talking about prayer armor. In verses 10-11 he says, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Notice Paul did not say, "Be strong in your own might," but "in the Lord." It is His might. It is not something we have to work up to. We must simply be obedient and be clothed in His might. Put on the whole armor or, as the Greek says, the complete armor of God.
We all know that feeling - waking up gasping for breath and beaded with perspiration from an intense dream. We wonder, "Did that dream mean something? Was that from God? Am I being warned of something?" If I told you that every thought that pops into our heads isn't always from God, most of you would readily agree. Often, we are more reticent to recognize that the same is true of our dreams. We do have those Holy Spirit-breathed revelations that come to us in dreams. We also have the dreams that bring fear, temptation and distortions from the enemy.
Follow Up
