God's Attributes Series: God Can Handle Your Mess

Friends, listen. God can handle your mess because He knows that we will mess up. He knows that Jesus Christ is the only One who walked this earth in perfection. He knows. He ministered this truth to me recently. And it's not that I did not have mental knowledge of this, but it's another thing to have it revealed, to live it out. All glory to Him! But please know that I am speaking from experience when I say, He can handle our mess-ups. And when I say mess, I am referring to the full range from veering off a particular path to blatant sin. So what does He do in "handling" it?


HOW DOES HE "HANDLE IT?"

Out of love and in His desire to further His own plan, God orchestrates circumstances and events to match your mistakes by readjustment and realignment to make sure that all those whose hearts are inclined toward Him will indeed come to His desired end. Whose desired end? His.

So am I saying to mess up on purpose in presumption that He will fix our mess. No! You better not. Read Hebrews 10:26 on. There is crucial truth on presumptive sin. It's a dangerous game to play. If you already have a revelation of Jesus Christ in your life and you decide to purposefully sin, woe unto you.

But if you are to be a dancer, a singer, a teacher, a doctor, a lawyer, a combination of several things. He knows how to get you there. It may not be a straight path. That is extremely rare. There are going to be hills and valleys, twists and turns to how we get to where He is taking us. It makes the experience richer and gives us much precious lessons to share with others and to enrich His ministry through us. How can I minister what mercy is unless I have needed and received mercy. How can I know what forgiveness is unless I have needed and experienced forgiveness. Do you see where I'm going with this. He uses our mess-ups and veering off the path to get us our message.

The Bible tells us that Jesus, Himself, the perfect One, "though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered." (Hebrews 5:8).  We also learned that He was glorified in direct response to His suffering. He obeyed, He suffered, and He was glorified. When was He glorified? After He had suffered. Why should you be any different? You are not. The student is not better than the teacher. The servant no greater than the Master. Romans 8:17 tells us: " and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together."

GLORFIY HIM WITH YOUR GIFTS

          THE BLANK SLATE GIFTING

God knows those of us whom He has gifted to be anything, go anywhere, and do anything. We are like blank slates in a way. He writes on us what He wants to at anytime. But it is possible for us to allow others to write on us as well. Some people are great influencers for good and some for bad. The enemy will also use people to influence you for what seems good but if it is not what God wants, then it really is not good. Only God is good. So anything can be written on a blank slate. Of course, that analogy is not perfect. We come with our life experiences and histories but a blank slate does not come with preconceived goals and ambitions but to trust and obey God. Now He can and does use our many experiences to enrich our walk and our ministries. However, some tangents are colossal wastes of time. That does not keep us from going on them. Mostly because at the time we are not sure it is not Him. Yet, if you love Him He can handle that mess.


        COME TO HIM WITH A SINCERE HEART

So if my heart is inclined to do right and to live a righteous life, if my default is going God's way, then He goes out of His way to make sure that I am taken care of. There are angels encamped about me at all times and Jesus Himself is with me. That's the promise. My job is to come to Christ so that I can discover who I am and why I am here. His job is to clean me up when I come to Him in sincerity, teach Me His ways, Guide me, keep me hemmed in so that I never go so far that I miss my destiny.


Trust me. He is bringing you to a spectacular place . You would never believe it if He told you. And one thing to keep in mind, His end is really only a beginning.

God has a pretty big job, but He can handle your mess. That's where your testimony comes from. The mess give you your life's message. So don't glorify the mess; glorify God Who will use it to bring you to your spectacular end.

Ending prayer.

Hope you are having a great God-filled day!

The Gifts Series: Part II: Vision of the Lady in the Golden Bed

Vision of the Lady in the Golden Bed

The Lord gave me this vision a couple days ago. I saw this lady in her 30's on this very large bed. The bed was solid and golden with some black trip. The sheets were not gold but of that hue and they were expensive. It was a pristine bed fit for a queen - king-sized. Yet, there was no king. As the vision begins, she jolts awake on the left side (right is you are looking at the bed). And I just realized why she jolts awake. The bed starts to move, downward on a slight incline. But she still has this clueless look on her face. She is beautiful and as fresh as a daisy obviously with an incredible skin regimen. However, she is in bed with the world and the jolting was supposed to awaken her to her condition; and the incline was slight so that she could actually get out of the bed. Her husband, or king, was not there because she had abandoned him, she had been her own ruler who got herself to where she was now.

Looking at this bed there is absolutely nothing that would detract you from getting into it. The problem though, was the downward slide. That slight incline was God's mercy to give her time to get out of the bed before there was either a sudden drop or an incline and acceleration from which she could not escape.

You see, she was not discerning enough to avoid getting into that bed, her gifts had gotten her there but she did not belong.

Another very important point to note is that she was sleeping with black satin beauty blinders, others call them eye masks. She was voluntarily blinded to her own plight. I say voluntarily because, she would have put the blinders on herself before turning off the lights and laying down.

Another problem is that this is a bed, a place of intimacy and a place of unconsciousness. Both are a problem if the partner is "the world."

The gold signifies the money and the love of it, which is how she probably ended up there in the first place. The wonderful thing is, God still considers her His because He is trying to get her out in time. He is saying, it is time to get out of bed with the world and come back to Him.

She has to remember that the gifts He has given her are not her own but His and for His purposes. She is a channel through whom He will use them to bless others.

What That Means for Us

Friends to whom the Lord has given gifts and talents. Please, please, please yield them back to him, asking Him to invest them where He sees fit. Do not take the glory and money and glitter and think that your end will be a good one. Don't be blinded by the glitter because if the slide is able to take you away from Him completely, it would not have been worth it. "What would it profit you to gain the whole world and lose your soul" (Matt. 16:26; Luke 9:25).

This is your season of mercy and grace but the Bible says that God will not contend with man forever. There will come a day of reckoning. Won't you listen to the One who loves you beyond measure? Turn to Him and know what true love and acceptance is. 

You musicians, dancers, actors and actresses, singers, poets, artists, techno-geniuses, writers, filmmakers, business geniuses, everyone with gifts from God, if this is speaking to you, then the Lord is trying to get your attention. Get out of the bed that the world has enticed you into with things that will only lead you to damnation. Turn to or turn back to God, NOW! His mercy is calling you and His grace is pleading with you. Come to Him. You will never regret it because you will have peace in your soul and He will multiply what He has already given you. If you choose not to, then you will lose a great deal.....everything!

Prayer Against Worldliness

Lord, I pray for all of the people reading this post. Father, please  counsel them through your Holy Spirit. Encourage them with a revelation and manifestation of your love. I pray, God, that they would seek You while You may still be found and that they would not be lost. Lord, strengthen them to get out of bed with the world and turn to You. Give them a heart of repentance to start afresh with You and set them among other believers who would encourage them in godliness. Let Your light shine in and through them as they yield their gifts to You, and invest in Your Kingdom, so that You would have a mighty return on your investments.

Father, plunder the enemy's camp of those he thought he had all locked down. I pray rescue, Lord! Rescue the ones who are cluelessly giving in! Rescue the ones who have been enticed, yet know they do not belong! Rescue the one is conscious disobedience! Rescue the ones in deception that they are doing what you want them to do. RESCUE, LORD!!! Rescue! And let Your Holy Spirit reveal the truth of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Let them turn their back on compromise and be champions of Truth and Light.

Let this be done, O Lord, in Your name and for the good of your Kingdom. Be glorified in all of our lives, I pray, in Jesus mighty and precious name. Amen.

Your Gift Should be Yielded Back to God to Glorify Him - Part I

We have  all been given natural and supernatural gifts. The Bible says, "a man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men." (Prov. 18:16). So not only will the gift make room for the gifted but will also bring the gifted before the great. That's amazing. Today we are talking about how to treat our gifts. And in particular, how we should invest them.

Perhaps you have heard about the Parable of The Talents. Well in that parable the Bible tells us that the master required a profit on the talents he had left to his servants. However, there was one servant who decided to play it "safe" and bury the gift so that he could present it back to the master upon his return. He had completely missed the point. 

Invested Talent Yields More Talents

In that Scripture in Matthew 25:14-30, we learn that upon the master's return he called the unprofitable servant wicked and banished him to utter darkness. Seems harsh, but when you have been given something as a gift that requires a gain, you have no right to keep it to yourself. I believe the Lord is saying here that we have a responsibility to the Giver to gain more than he gave us; we must invest wisely.  The giver, the gifted and the gift must interact. You cannot become a great dancer if you never practice. That is similar burying the gift and it certainly does not glorify God with an increase. In the parable, the master wanted the servant to use the talent to make him more money. Do you think that servant would have lost anything if he had taken the chance, even if he had no guarantee of increase? Notice in that Scripture, all of the other servants only gained. None of them lost anything.

The Thing About the Gift  

God is giving us vital information about our gifts in this parable. 

Notice  -

1. the gifts did not belong to the servants.
• They were stewards of the gift.
• Stewards must benefit their masters with that was entrusted to them 
2. each servant was part of the master's larger organization so each part was necessary to the whole
3. the wicked servant was  lazy.
• He did not even investigate.
• He simply chose not to have anything to do with what was entrusted to him
4. the wicked servant also did not trust the master and regarded him harshly
5. the wicked servant did not value his talent
6. the wicked servant did not care about his master or the master's household
7. ultimately, the wicked servant was condemned and cast away
8. the good servants took their talents and ran with them
9. the good servants valued what they had been given
10. the good servants regarded the master as someone to whom they had great responsibility
11. the good servants gained double what they had been given and were entrusted with great authority and power

Read the parables. They are filled with wisdom and God uses them to teach us some vitally important lessons.

Yielding them Up for Increase

In the case of the gifts and talents God gives us as His sons and daughters, we are to yield those gifts and talents back up to Him saying, "Lord, here is what you have given me (song, dance, music, art, name your skill), I yield it back to you and ask you to anoint me to use it for Your glory alone and not for my own fame or wealth. I repent of every using it arrogantly or to show my superiority above others. Forgive me, Lord. All that I have is yours. Do with it and me as You will."

That that is a dangerous prayer, but do you know that God is obligated to do what you have just prayed. Why? Because it is His will. You are praying His will and He will always answer those prayers affirmatively. You will see that He will indeed use your gifts and you to the point where He will earn a profit for His Kingdom and His Glory.

Let's yield up the gift He has placed in us for His glory. We will be blessed in and through it.
In other words, He is the "Bank" in which we deposit our gifts and therefore can only yield a profit, never a loss.

Be Careful of Those Who Want to Glorify You

The funny thing about mankind is he is always seeking to replace God. We have an idolatry problem, whether it's a person, possession, activity, a food, a ministry (oh yeah). You name it. Here's a way to determine who or what you worship. Look at how you spend your money and your time. If any of it outweighs what you dedicate to God, you have an idolatry problem. So regarding your gifts and man's desire to place you on a pedestal, reject the glory, the gold, and the glitter if it is drawing you away from God; then deflect the glory to God where it belongs, and He will entrust more to you.

If you are a follower of Christ's, then you belong to God and so do your gifts. Yield them back to Him and He will do great things with them and you! If you are not a Christ follower, God is calling you to Himself because He has a plan for you that is far beyond what you could have ever conceived. Yield to them with all that you have and all that you are.

God bless you!

P.S. Please see the VISION OF THE LADY IN THE GOLDEN BED in the Gifts Part II post.

Walking in Fullfilment of the Law - Video Log

Hey all,

I am trying something new. This is God's idea for 2016. It will add more meat to the blog and certainly a more personal touch than word on a page alone. I have been reluctant to do it but it's a new year and we are giving ourselves even more fully to the Lord this year. Right? Please bear with me as I work out the kinks. May God bless you I share the Word He shares.

Today, I am sharing about walking in fulfillment of the law. This blog is about walking in fulfillment of what God reveals to us about our gifts, callings and destinies in Him. However, I believe that is secondary to walking in fulfillment of the law as we walk in the Spirit. Perhaps the two cannot be separated because as we walk in the Spirit we will accomplish and fulfill out callings and destinies in Him. It's really all about following Jesus.

Here is the proof as I share in the video. We know that Jesus Christ was and is the fulfillment of the Law of God but the Bible tells us that we can be too - but only as we walk in the Spirit. I find that astounding! We only think of Him as the Fulfillment and of course He is the Fulfillment, but just like we are little Christ's we are little Fulfillments - in line with Him.

Romans 8:1-8 shows us how to walk in this fulfillment:

8 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,^[a] who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. ² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.  

That tells us there are two sets of laws: 1) The Law of the Spirit of life in Christ and, 2) the law of sin and death. (Life in the Spirit vs. Life in the flesh).

³ For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 

The Law, though it was all they had in under the Old Covenant, it was week because it depended upon the ability of the flesh to do certain things. But until the fullness of time, Jesus could not come forth to perfect that which the Law could not. But when the Father did send Him, He who was God's love manifested, perfected what the Law could not. But He had to come in the flesh to vanquish that which was weak in the flesh. Only in Jesus Christ, could the righteous requirement of perfection be fulfilled in the flesh. And so as we walk in the Spirit with Christ, we too, fulfill the Law.

⁵ For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. ⁷ Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. ⁸ So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

So when we walk according to the flesh, we focus on worldly things and what the world hold dear. What are those things, material goods, everything the eyes, the flesh, and pride lusts after: money, power, sex, pleasure. You name it. This is a death sentence. It is impossible to please and be accepted by God and we are indeed already condemned by the law.

The only thing the law can do is to further demonstrate the weakness of our flesh. So it shows us our miserable condition, then it pronounces the sentence of death. Who would want to be under the Law? Certainly not me.

But the opposite is true when we walk in Christ because we are not condemned . Only Jesus Christ gives life, the law only facilitates death because no person, in and of themselves, can satisfy it's harsh requirements. The Lord Jesus Christ, Whom we know "comes to give life and it more abundantly." He is a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. Our dad, Adam gave us the flesh with brings death since the Fall in the Garden, but praise be to God Who sent Jesus to give us eternal life once again as the second Adam.

Paul in His letter to the Galatians shows us what walking in the Spirit looks like in Chapter 5:22-23:

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Walking in the Spirit is walking in love, demonstrating joy, being and spreading peace, being patient, kind, good, and faithful, as well as showing gentleness and having control over one's body, soul, and spirit. Notice that there is no law against this. Why? Because it's been satisfied. The righteous requirement is satisfied when we imitate Christ. I would go as far as to say, when we are in the Spirit we do operate in this way demonstrating this fruit. As we give ourselves to Him, we find that flowing with these qualities becomes easier.

And finally, it's only in the Spirit that we can flow with the Lord limitlessly.

I am not saying any of this is easy. I find getting into the flesh is very easy, especially when hungry and tired or annoyed with people. That is why resting in Him is crucial AT ALL TIMES. With practice, everything becomes "easier." In other words, as we practice today, what we know to do and how to be, it should not be as hard tomorrow or the next day.

Be blessed!

God Remembers: 7 Signs that God is the One Who Put That Dream in Your Heart

You might be thinking, "Of course, God remembers!" He's all-knowing. But you and I know that it's one thing to know something and another thing to walk in revelation of it. When the Bible talks about knowing God, it is not referring to mental assent that He exists because you went to church as a child, learned this in Sunday school and not you know. You may even attend church services now. No, when we speak of knowing God, we are really referring to an intimate relationship with and a revelation of Who God is. What do I mean by that?

I mean, to know God is to know His love poured out for us in the Form of the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 3:16) There is no relationship with God outside of a relationship with Christ. That may fly in the face of all of the other world religions but that is the point. Christianity is not a religion as are the others. Christianity is the process by which, through the expression of God's love in Jesus Christ, we can relate to the Father (through the Son) and the Son through the Holy Spirit Who came to be with us when the Son returned to the Father. When Jesus was here on earth, man related to Him directly. When He went back we still relate to Him but through the Holy Spirit, the 3rd Person of the Trinity.

So getting back to God does not forget. I will use myself as an example. There have been times in my life when I have left a dream. By that, I mean I failed to pursue it or, perhaps, it was a project I left unfinished. Then, suddenly opportunities emerge to pursue the dream  or an urgency in my spirit to complete a particular project because the fullness of its time has come. I may never find out why that particular time was the time it needed to be done other than it was God's timing. You see time is in His hands and we are on His timetable and not He on ours. He is not trapped in time and space like we are so He can, by His own will, bring around an opportunity again that we may have missed. Or did we miss it?

Perhaps our character was not yet properly developed to handle the responsibility of a particular position if we achieved it too early. The point is, we don't have to figure it all out. Whether we missed it or we did not, God's mercy and grace and His desire to see us become the people He has designed us to be and to complete our tasks He has ordained us to complete, is enough to make sure it happens.

When the Scripture tells us that "He Who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ," it means He takes all of our missteps, mishaps, sin, backsliding, mistakes, all of it, into consideration and is still able to bring about a great result. Will we get some bumps and bruises along the way? Absolutely! A perfect Christian walk is not a Christian walk. Only Jesus was perfect.

Obviously, I am not advocating willful and habitual sin because His grace has been poured out. It is indeed poured out but is not covered by the blood. That is after the person has received the revelation and the truth. See Hebrews 10:26-end. That's witchcraft. It's saying we have a better way than God, so we operate in our own human, then soon after, a demonic spirit. Any type of habitual sin is energized by a demonic spirit. That is really a open rejection of God and a deification of self - making self god over your life. The ultimate idolatry. Why is that so bad? It's what god Satan tossed out of heave with a third of the angels. He meant to ascend to God's throne - attempting to make himself god. Of course He could not do it. Which demonstrates another point - the heightened level of self-deception to the habitual sinner who has already received the truth. That person is given over as Paul said to the point where they can no longer receive.

You see many will preach grace as if it has not end, but even grace and mercy have ends. The Bible says "God will not always strive with man." Isn't it ridiculous that God should have to strive with man to do what is good for him? This all goes back to love, really. If you love you trust. If you trust, then there is no need to strive to have your own way.

So God remembers. He did not forget the dream He Himself put into your heart. Even when you forgot, He did not forget. He is faithful, even when we are not.

7 Signs that God is the One Who put the dream in you:

1.) You would never be able to complete it without Him.

It's far too big and too far outside of your reach and current level of influence and network. This is a good indication that you are not the author of the dream. God love to use the most unlikely people to do the impossible in areas they have not prior training. Or even if they are strain by man's standards, God may add a who new dimension so that without Him it would fail miserably. A time of fasting and prayer is not a bad idea in this case in order to get God's perspective and God's divine strategy. This is often a huge hurdle that stop most people from going forward with their God's dream. It is so unreal they cannot get past the fat that they have to rely on God so much that it may appear as if you are doing nothing. Stay close, connects, prayed up, read up, fasted up, and worshipped up... AT ALL TIMES!

2.) It is risky and to others you may even look like a reckless fool

Too many, you just seem like an idiot. "You're going to do what?" Are you kidding me? You're to old. You're too young. You're too fat. You're too skinny. You don't have the education, the training, the expertise. Blah, blah, blah, blah.

Now there are times when the person is being reckless because they did not hear from God. But when you know that you have heard from God and He has confirmed it, you must ignore the scoffers. You simply must. The dream will test your tenacity and ability to believe God above others.

Stay faithful to what He has told you even when others mock you.

3.) He would be the One to gain the fame, not you

Like Moses you are reluctant to be put into the spotlight. You know you are not able to do it and frankly you would rather not do it. You would rather just have you nice life on the backside of the desert with you Midian wife and your new Midian family. Until, the call come to go back to Egypt to make God famous and to free captives

Make sure you are pointing others to Him.

4.) His Kingdom is being built up, not yours

Even though Jesus came to bring His and His Father's Kingdom to earth as, for lack of a better term, an extension of heaven (your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven), He never did anything on His own authority. He was always submitted to and in deference to His Father. We know that He never came to establish His Kingdom. That is why the Roman Centurion impressed Him so much. That man understood authority. He told Jesus, "I too, am a man under authority." (CITATION). Don't ever believe your own press. So many believers get to a place of prominence and you would never know they did not get there on their own.

Realize that the Kingdom you are building is His.

5.) He gets the glory for any and all accomplishments, not you

When God allows your gift to not only make room for you but to cause you to shine, man will put you on a pedestal and try to exalt you. The minute you accept that exaltation, it's the beginning of the end. But let me be clear, it may not be the beginning of the end of the exaltation, but it is most certainly the beginning of the end of the relationship with God unless you take steps to avoid it all together, or if that's too late and the slide has already begun, then repent, ask Him to forgive you, and  get back into fellowship with the One who loves you beyond any measure of human love. Losing the relationship with Him is never worth it.

Make sure to give Him the glory at all times.

6.) It humbles you instead of putting pride into you

The Bible tells us that  Jesus was a meek man. Notice I did not say timid. Meek means although He had an unimaginable amount of power to overcome any force with which man could withstand him, He restrained it that power. He was the most patient individual Who ever lived. To know what He knew and be capable of what He was capable of would take the ultimate amount of self-control not to defend himself or overthrow the tyrannical Roman government. That is why the fruit of the spirit, which witnesses Jesus life through us, is: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. (Gal. 5:22) Jesus was the ultimate in all areas and to walk like Him means we must walk in all of these areas. Four and seven are my areas of challenge and in some cases number nine. But either I am getting more seasoned with age or more like Jesus. Prayerfully, it's the latter. I find the more I am able to give over to Him by not worrying, the more I am able to exhibit the nine fruit of the Spirit.

As an important side note, my words for 2016 are "intentionality" and the closely related "focus". These 2 are my rally-cries this year. I am not sure how I am doing but they are very much front and center as I make decisions about my time and my actions. If we focus on what God has called us to do and do it with intentionality, then there is no need to try to control other people, places, and things. I believe we lack all 9 of the fruit especially peace and patience when we try to branch over into areas that are not ours.

This is very important to remember. It is the reason why you have to know what you are here for. Most people will just stumble through life, end up in a job, stay miserable in it, retire, die and never do what they were intended to do. So if you never meet the One Who is Love, you can never do the other 8 fruit. That means you won't have joy; you won't have peace; you won't patience; you won't have kindness; you won't have goodness; you won't have gentleness; you won't have faithfulness; and you won't have self-control.  By the way, you might be able to pretend at all these things but you would neither be genuine in your experience nor your demonstration.

Stay humble. And...

Be real. Find the thing for which you were put here and do it!

7.) There is a very steep learning curve as in you are not qualified

That is, you are not qualified until God equips you, the whole of you. That means, an anointing (empowerment) in your spirit, the maturity in your soul, and the practical training necessary to represent the Lord Jesus Christ in excellence. The learning curve on all of those areas are quite steep. It would take a miracle for you to be the one to do it. And if you are a, shall we say, "strong-willed" child like me, you might walk with a limp because you would have tried to do things your own way and end up with a wrestling that would leave you with a blessing but with a limp as well. Yet the blessings so far exceeds the limp, I believe we will hardly notice it.

Now on those last 3, I don't mean the cursory, "Oh, God did it. You know...not just little old me." Meanwhile we are all led to think you did it. Don't be pretentious and don't be like Nebuchadnezzar who had to lose his mind before he ascribed all of the glory to God. Friend, without God we can't take a breath.

Trust Him in the preparation but do not hesitate when He is ready to launch you. If He thinks you are ready, then you are ready.


Conclusion

What does all of this have to do with God remembers the dream? Well, when you are stewarding a big dream, the enemy will come at you in many different ways to get you off course. I wanted to introduce some his tactics so that you are not surprised by them. We all fall short, none of use are perfect, yet God chooses to use us, as imperfect as we are, to accomplish His will here on earth. He has made it our domain. We lost the key to our domain in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve fell. But those who are in Christ have regained that authority. "The earth is the Lord's, and its fullness thereof." And "we are co-heirs of Jesus Christ." That means His stuff is our stuff, too.....IN CHRIST. So don't be disqualified from living the dream He has placed in your. Be ready, put on your armor (manifested in Jesus), Eph. 6:10-20, stand your ground, and take back what belongs to God wherever He causes your feet to tread.

John the Baptist and Jonah the Prophet - He Must Advance We Must Retreat - Getting In or Out of God's Way

Have you been praying about anything for what seems like an eternity? Perhaps you've been praying for unsaved family members? A breakthrough in your ministry? That's a good one. Maybe in your finances or relationship? Take your pick. The fact is, sometimes it's not about you waiting on God, it's about God waiting on you. For what? To get out of the way. That's what.

Yes, I know I'm getting a bit cheeky but I am not only the messenger but also a target of this word.

So how do we get out of God's way?

John 3:20- 21

"For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed."

Look at verse 21. "But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."  Remember, "faith without works is dead." James 2:20. It is impossible to be a true person of faith without doing what the Word instructs. Someone who says they have faith in Christ where there is no fruit is deceiving themselves and everyone around them. How do we do truth? Obey His Word, follow the Way the Truth, and the Life. Be a doer of His Word and not just a hearer only.

JOHN THE BAPTIST - PREACHER OF REPENTANCE

Move on or Drop Back When God has Sent Another Leader

John 3:30

"He must increase, but I must decrease."

In other words, John is saying, "now that the One for Whom I made a way is here, I can fade into the background." Keeping in mind, that up until around this time, John was the only one preaching and baptizing in the name of Jesus Christ. So I translate this to say, "His ministry must advance and mine must retreat. He has come to replace me because I was sent to make a way for Him Who is the Way."

John's ministry, therefore, was absorbed into that of Jesus. John had done his part in advancing preparing for Jesus before He came on the scene. But once Jesus came on the scene, John was no longer needed. That is why the message John was preaching is exactly what Jesus continued to preach, only Jesus was the Anointed One.

Leaders have to be willing to "drop back" when God raises up another. The Lord may have something else for the leader to do and perhaps he is to move on. This is a huge pride test. Ideally, the old leader would willingly mentor the new leader to be an even better leader than he or she was. Yes, John was modeling a kind of leadership that is rare today. He bowed to the Master and completed His mission. Once the mission is over, please move on. When we remain where God's grace for leadership is no longer present, it only sets the stage for the enemy of our souls to cause havoc among the body of Christ. This is the way to guarantee strife and ineffectiveness. Move on or drop back when God has raised up another to lead.

JONAH - HE NEEDED REPENTANCE

Salvation Belongs to the Lord - God will Show Mercy Upon Whom He Chooses

Jonah 4:11

"And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left - and much livestock?"

We don't get to choose where God sends us to preach the Gospel. Jonah had gotten it all wrong and God had to talk him down from the proverbial ledge. He wanted to die because God did not destroy the people of Nineveh. Have you ever heard of someone being so successful in an evangelical crusade that he wanted to die because He did not what to see the people experience God's mercy. Isn't that crazy? Not only was he disobedient, we was also defiant in his response to God about a plant that had died that he apparently loved. Whereas, the people of Nineveh, he wanted to see them destroyed. And isn't it interesting that God includes the animals in that group of important lives.

That one of the many things I love about the Bible. God never presents His servants as perfect people. They were all messes.....like us. But He used them to do great things for Him anyway because it was never about them and their abilities but their yieldedness. Sometime, they are not even that yielded. Like Jonah. Hiding from God! Really?


The Book of Jonah Ends With God's Question?

What is interesting about the book of Jonah is that it's ends with a question. I believe God asks us the same question today. You may ask yourself the same questions of that person your consider your enemy.

"And should I not pity whomever the person(s) is(are) in your life, that great ____, who  cannot discern between their right hand and their left - and much ________?"

You get the picture. God is not asking Jonah for his advice. Instead, God is saying, though Jonah's revelation that, Salvation is of the Lord, (Jonah 2:9), not of Jonah and whomever he considers worthy. It was in the belly of the whale when Jonah repented for rebelling against God that he realized this. I don't get to decide who is worthy of God's mercy. Similarly, we don't get to pick and choose the people whom God seeks to show mercy. Jonah, who had blatantly rebelled in his disobedience to God's direct order, experienced God's mercy ad salvation to live on dry land again after living in the belly of a great fish for 3 days. He was restored to His place in the Lord. (Remember when Peter denied Christ?)


So God's word to each of us: John 3:30 - "He must increase. But I must decrease." 

Side bar: Now why a "but" instead of an "and"? That implies a correlation between the two, the "increaser" and the "decreaser." They depend upon each other; they cannot co-exist. For instance, if of the 100% of a thing, I have 60%, then 40% remains for you. If you have 50%, then an equal portion of the whole, the other 50% is reserved for me. This means, whatever part of the ministry John insisted on holding onto, was not released to Jesus so that He could use it for God's glory. Stated another way, the "but" meant, "He must increase, but [in order for that to happen] I must decrease.

We have looked at John the Baptist and Jonah's approach to ministry.

JOHN THE BAPTIST or JONAH THE PROPHET: Which One Are You?

Jonah's Call - Ignored then Obeyed

Jonah decided He knew better than God, disobeyed a direct order, and attempted to hide from God by "running" in the opposite direction to where God has sent Him to preach the need for repentance. And yet, before the end of the whole ordeal, Jonah himself needed to repent and seek God's mercy. Nothing like the worst object lesson you ever want to learn.


John's Call - Obeyed with Passion and Reckless Abandon

John the Baptist on the other hand, saw that the reason for which he was sent was nearing the end, as he had indeed made the way for Jesus' ministry. But even before that, John gave up all to follow the call of God on His life. That call caused him to be ostracized and ridiculed but he passionately obeyed the call on his life.

But now, the reason for which he had been born has culminated on the appearance of Jesus Christ to bring the Kingdom of God near to man once again. Jesus was on the seen and instead of John trying to hold on to the power and authority, not to mention, his followers, he graciously stepped out of the way for Jesus to do what He had been sent to do. John was a team player. His days as a "Kingdom quarterback" were over, Jesus was now on the scene to run that Ball to the End Zone and score the ultimate Touchdown on the Cross of Calvary. He had one plan and one play and He had to win it regardless of all of the ones who tried to intercept Him, some like Peter and Judas, from His own team. There are so many lessons here for us today.

Our Response to our Naysayers and Detractors

For one, there are many reasons people marginalize, or even, sabotage us. But that's not where we focus. We focus on God and let Him deal with malefactors in the Body of Christ. Those who object to God's plan in our lives, or try to sabotage what He is doing, will have to answer to Him. We move on and keep pure hearts towards everyone, especially our "enemies." Not sure why I mentioned that but someone needed to know it. 

Our true enemy is stealth. He knows if he can get our focus off of Jesus, he's beginning to win, because, like Peter, instead of walking on water, we'll begin to sink. But we can't. So be encouraged. What often seems to be the end, such a Jesus death on the Cross, is very often just the beginning, like mankind's reconciliation to God. We need to be drastically removed from some situations in order to encounter and advance God's new beginnings in others. Can you think of some other "ends" that were only "beginnings?" Remember David, Joseph, Moses? How about in your life? Remember how, although times were rough, God brought you through to the other side. Well, this time, it's no different. Keep you eyes on Jesus!


The Conclusion of the Matter

What is the end of the matter then? To paraphrase John's powerful words, He must advance, but I must retreat. He is here now, I can exit this scene, I have done what I was sent by God to do. But Jesus is no longer here physically. He resides in us in a spiritual and more powerful sense, and we know from Paul's experience, that He can show up anywhere. He is omnipresent - everywhere at once.

So, like John, as Jesus steps forward in you to minister through us to anyone anywhere in the world, we must take a step back for there to be real Kingdom fruit that remains. The true anointing is not a person being a spiritual superstar. The true anointing by Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with fire, is Jesus ministering using our members. No room for the flesh. In fact, the flesh has to die because it only ruins good ministry, and when it goes unchecked, often a "good" minister.

God bless you as Jesus steps forward in you this year, take a step back and watch what He will do in, and through, your life.