Have you been experiencing spiritual warfare lately? Does it feel like there are blockades and obstacles in your way? Have things been difficult? Listen: This is happening because you have just been promoted! Promotion time is here! On Thursday, February 11th, at sundown we entered a brand-new Hebrew calendar month, Adar. Adar means completion and is known as the month of joy. It is the 12th month on the ecclesiastical calendar which started at Passover in 2020. During this month, the Jewish people celebrate Purim.
One of my favorite sayings is, "Fasting is fun and fills you with faith." I started fasting 10 years ago and have no regrets. I have seen supernatural results in fasting. Fasting is setting aside time and food to consecrate ourselves to the Lord. Consecrating ourselves to the Lord is setting ourselves apart from common secular uses. When I first discovered that definition, it was profound. The Lord wants us to set ourselves apart from common secular things.
Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Matthew 11:2 This chapter is so interesting when you examine the processes that John the Baptist was going through in prison, when he sent messengers to Jesus. This question in the title of this message means something has changed with John in his perception of Jesus, and his expectation of the Messiah. When you research how John recognizes Jesus, as the Messiah you have to go to John 1, to see what God said and revealed to him in the wilderness.
"The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let the one who hears say, 'Come!' Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life." (Rev. 22:17) Let those willing to listen to the sweet voice of the Master hear what the Spirit is saying to the church at this critical time. (Rev. 2:17) For the Heavenly Bridegroom Jesus is standing and calling to His Bride. I hear His tender call to come away with Him, to share a meal as close intimate friends in Holy Communion. For the Lord is singing a love song over His church.
"Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." Revelation 19:10b So many are worried about "false prophecy." Let me share the whole verse, because it is important: "And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, 'See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.'" We don't worship man (or angels). We worship God! People who are overly concerned about "missing it" are in fear, worrying about how people will see THEM.
Will you allow it to unfold in your life? Yes, if you watch the news then you will see that we are living in some very prophetic times. We are witnessing and living among wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, and of course the pandemic. "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit. 1 Peter 3:18 Can I show you a beautiful picture of God's love for you found in the story of Daniel? In Daniel's case, the law of the land was violated and, in spite of his love for Daniel, the king had to carry out the law and punish Daniel. If he hadn't, he would have been an unrighteous king. Now, imagine if someone came again a year later to accuse Daniel of this crime and asked for Daniel to be punished again, what would the king do?
Each of us is part of a family. We have or had parents and siblings; we may have nieces or nephews, and some of us have children and perhaps grandchildren. The writer of Proverbs suggested this profound wisdom for family life: "Through wisdom is a house built, and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge the rooms will be filled with all precious and pleasant riches" (Prov. 24:3-4). The idea behind this verse is that relationships within the family system take wisdom, understanding and knowledge. Family life offers us the opportunity to practice our relational skills. Think about it. You are most like your true self when you're at home, right? There is no pretending at home.
The year 2020 was a year that we will never forget. It seemed as if a dark cloud hovered over our nation, and the heavens were as brass. We heard people repeatedly say, "Things can't get any worse." But even in the darkest of times the Lord says: "Be still and know that I am God." The Holy Spirit is about to move in a mighty way once again. In October 2019, I shared a prophetic word titled "The Roaring 20's." I wrote about the 1920's which brought about a major change to our culture and impacted all aspects of society in our country. I shared the comparison of the 1920's to this decade of the 2020's.
God is calling us to rise up as the Sons (and Daughters) of God in order to manifest His glory. This is only possible with faith. Faith is a master key that creates and unlocks our internal doors and spiritual gateways. It is one thing to have faith IN God; it is another to have the faith OF God. The plane of faith and the degree of godly character we master determines the depth, height, width and breadth of the future we will decide to demonstrate. Faith defines the levels of God's grandeur we will choose to exhibit in our life.
Follow Up
