He who spoke it will accomplish it…
March 5th, 2007
There are two necessary principles to keep in mind as we move forward into the plans and purposes of God’s heart for us. We must keep those principles before us as we cooperate with the grace of God towards us. In an intense season of exhortation, rebuke, and encouragement orchestrated by the Holy Spirit and the leadership of Jesus related to the zeal of His heart for His people, it is easy to fixate on the wrong issues - the negative emotions and fears that threaten to circumvent the work of God to bring us into His purposes.
There are always two options when the Lord speaks and identifies areas in which He longs for us to “come up higher”, whether those areas are related to personal holiness, obedience, ministry, or mindset. Those options, simply put, are always either “yes” or “no”. Most believers, however, have found sophisticated ways to say “no” to God when He stirs repentance and change to equip us for the road ahead. Our refusal is rarely outright or blatant. It often takes the form of helplessness, frustration, or self-pity. The operative word is “unbelief”.
The real issue for us is that God desires to give us a leadership role in the days ahead – a significant one. Location and present function is irrelevant to me – any believer who is reading this needs to understand that every believer on earth in the days to come will operate in a totally different context of life and ministry. Participation in the plans that are on the heart of God at the end of the age is not guaranteed, however. Participation in the things that God has purposed to do in the coming days is directly linked to our participation with His preparatory work in our lives today. All of us can be in the family of God and be loved by God, yet still miss out on the fullness of His plans in our life. This is not a love issue. This is about growing and being prepared to walk out what is ahead.
In His kindness and tenderness towards us, He “coaches” us into the necessary heart attitudes and lifestyles that have the interior qualities needed to endure the trials and pressures that come with leadership, calling, and function in a revival context. He can’t send us into the 100-yard dash if we haven’t trained, prepared, exercised, eaten right, and established the right mindset and conditioning needed to win. This is what Paul was saying in 1 Cor. 9:24-27:
“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”
Professional athletes are beating their body into submission and running with great resolve to lay hold of a crown that “perishes”. How much more should we seek resolve from the Lord to lay hold of an eternal crown? How much more should we labor to authentically walk out our message to the nations - without disqualification? This is the issue of God’s jealousy and zeal for us and towards us. He is committed to establish qualified messengers who can stand in the face of trial, accusation, and scrutiny. He is committed and jealous to bring you into the fullness of your destiny - the dream of His heart for you and the thing in which He has purposed in His heart for you and I to walk out in the coming days.
We must not shrink back in unbelief, overwhelmed by the number of issues the Lord is highlighting in our midst in His kindness and tenderness towards us. It is our natural response to do so. If we understand that the Lord is really giving us a framework for prayer and partnership - specific issues to ask Him for in regards to receiving help from Him, we are relived of the burden to change ourselves. In speaking from heaven prophetically, identifying issues that need to change, God is not transferring the burden for change back to us. He is simply giving us more specific “prayer points” so that we would know how to more specifically ask for “help”. When we know the issues, we can confidently approach the throne of grace for help in our time of need.
This is neither the time nor the hour to shrink back in self-pity. This is the hour to cry out for help in our time of need. This is the hour to shout “Grace! Grace!” to the mountains and obstacles of the heart that will hinder us greatly in the days ahead. This is the hour to watch the God who spoke a thing, who purposed in His heart to birth a thing, and will be the One who does the thing He has purposed. If we are faithful to go to war in the secret places and areas of need, He will be faithful to give us divine resource to follow through on the “yes!” in our hearts.
He who spoke it will accomplish it. He who wills will do. Do you believe it? Is the season of repentance to wearisome, does the way forward seem too difficult? Don’t shrink back! Don’t retreat, or surrender to self-pity because the issues seem to diverse and insurmountable! Place your hope in God. Put your hope in the only one who has unlimited power to bring you to complete and total victory. He is coming! He is not longing to find “independence” and “capability” in us at His coming. He is hoping to find FAITH in us when He comes. If you have faith to believe that He can deliver you, if you have faith to believe that He can transform your desires and change your understanding, you will stand and not shrink back from the task set before us.
This is true resolve. This is true hope. Ask, and you shall receive resource from heaven to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus laid hold of you. Even so, come Lord Jesus!
David
Entry Filed under: end times, life in the spirit, prayer
7 Comments Add your own
1. ChriS | March 5th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Prophetic Word Cast!
Now, how is it that you can remain silent when the “Wordcast World” has been shaken with Randy B’s announcement? We must hear from you!
2. Molly Mosack | March 5th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Timely. My anchor the last two weeks in the face of said insurmountable issues has been threefold:
1. “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy…”
2.”and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see him as He is. And everyone who HAS THIS HOPE IN HIM PURIFIES HIMSELF, just as He is pure.”
3. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
But, these three verses only accomplish their intended outcome if we embrace the following:
1.”If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
2. “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violence take it by force” (Violence against ourselves, mostly - the opposite of self-pity).
Beware, beware, beware self-pity! Let us not pet our demons, nor expect Jesus to comfort us in our frustration. He will not whisper soothing words to our sin. A Father chasten those whom He loves, so let us receive it.
3. Dave | March 5th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
This is an important issue. I feel as if I have experienced first hand the issues of self pity and also self-flagellation (being too hard on yourself and not being tender with your brokenness). I’ve seen both issues deeply hurt people that I love. Both places are dangerous and very easy to unknowingly slip into. What do you all think are some good practical “guardrails” to keep us balanced safely in between the “sloppy grace message” and the religious perfectionism of the “Navy Seals for Jesus” mentality (those who have no grace for themselves and endlessly beat themselves up).
4. Dave | March 5th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
P.S. - When I mention “practical guardrails,” I don’t mean to exclude prayer language, meditations, ways of thinking, etc. Even extremely inward reflections can be very practical tools.
5. Joe | March 6th, 2007 at 4:56 am
In the gospel of Luke. Jesus tells Peter that satan has asked to sift him like wheat. Jesus has not prayed deliverance for Peter but faithfulness.
This scripture came to me this week while facing a cross road that will impact every aspect of my life. In the natural I want to sieze control.
I have prayed for faithfulness that keeps it’s eye on the prize.
Blessings
Joe
6. David | March 6th, 2007 at 9:23 am
Dave - I think that the divine “guardrail” is the dual power of the fear of the Lord and the first commandment, to quote a friend. The fear of the Lord keeps us from complacency and makes us perpetually disrupted and dissatisfied with our carnality while being confident and anchored in the tenderness and love of a God who is more committed than we are to bring us into full and total victory.
We need both. It is not a bad thing, however, to be disrupted and go the “Navy Seal” route - as long as we are doing it for love and not personal pride or accomplishment.
7. genavieve | March 6th, 2007 at 11:07 am
Dave/any other flagellators,
I agree from experience with David’s comment about growing in the fear of the Lord and the greatest commandment…When I experience “self-flagellation” as you put it, the quickest way to feel tender about my brokeness is to ask God to increase my fear of Him. When we are near to Him we are aware of our weakness. a “Gaurdrail” He has given me lately is stubburness. When I see it coming, the patterns that move me away from God, thats when I need to get stubborn and start FIGHTING, contending, for as long as it takes to be free of it.
I read something this morning that encouraged me in this area of “Running with perseverence” by Oswald Chambers.
“When you have no vision from God, no enthusiasm left in your life, and no one watching and encouraging you, it requires the grace of Almighty God to take the next step in your devotion to Him, in the reading and studying of His Word, in your family life, or in your duty to Him. It takes much more of the grace of God, and a much greater awareness of drawing upon Him, to take the next step, then it does to preach the gospel. Every Christian must experience the essence of the incarnation by bringing the next step down into flesh-and-blood reality and by working it out with his hands. We lose interest and give up when we have no vision, no encouragement, and no improvement, but only experience our everyday life with its trivial tasks. The thing that really testifies for God and for the people of God in the long run is steady perseverence, even when the work cannot be seen by others. And the only way to live an undefeated life is to live looking to God. ask God to keep the eyes of your spirit open to the risen Christ, and it will be impossible for drudgery to discourage you. Never allow yourself to think that some tasks are beneath your dignity or too insignificant for you to do, and remind yourself of the example of Christ in John 13:1-17″
phew, that was longer then I thought.
GT
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