AWAKENING, STRONG DELUSION, AND TEMPTATION

This is the word of the Lord to whomever would heed it. There is a relationship between spiritual awakening, strong delusion, and temptation. I never thought of it before but the Lord explained it because we need to know it. Why is that? Because although this country is in a pretty significant moral decline and it appears we could fall no further or that the delusion has become quite pronounced, we still have not hit the level of strong delusion spoken of in the Bible. And, yes, we are in a time when Isaiah 5:20 seems quite prevalent: that which is good is labeled bad and that which is bad is not only labeled as good but is often applauded.

God said in Isaiah 5:20:

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

But we know that God knows exactly what He is doing and He can never fail. That is why heaven always has a strategy no matter how dark the times appear. It is up to those who are intimate with God, His ways, and His modes of communication, the chief one being His written Word, to seek out the strategy. In this blog post, I believe the Lord is sharing strategy for winning back homes, neighborhoods, cities, states, and countries. He will come back when we have done our part to share His love with the world and to occupy in faith until He comes.

OUR MANDATE WITH ACCOMPANYING AUTHORITY AND MANDATE

The Bible tells us that we are to take the Word of God throughout creation preaching as we go that His Kingdom has come and as we go, heal the sick, cleanse the leper, raise the dead, and set the captives free. How many are doing this? Most of the Church is influenced by the world system so few believers are actually doing what Jesus said to do. Most people live under the same world system they were saved out of. Few see the evidence of the Kingdom having come near with the signs, wonders, and miracles we are told would follow the preaching of the Word. Perhaps the Word is not actually preached, since the Word of God cannot lie. We need an awakening.... AGAIN!

Lately God has shown some keys to awakening the Church in a particular location. That is because we live in a fallen world with certain areas being influenced by certain fallen angel, what the Bible refers to as powers and principalities. How can you have effective revival without dealing with the blockages to revival, and the reasons, and entities that prevent people for hearing, seeing, and responded properly to the Gospel, the God News! God does not want us to be ignorant! He wants us to be wise and to move with purpose and success as we depend upon Him. What do we need, STRATEGIC PRAYER! That is the first step to God revealing His invincible strategy to take back territory from the evil one. 

1. PRAYER MOVEMENT BEFORE AWAKENING

We know that no great move of the Spirit of God happens without a person or group engaging in fervent prayer. It happened at Pentecost when the 120 shut away in that upper-room for 10 days seeking God in unity. The result of their obedience brought the precious Holy Spirit to the earth for the first time and by God's grace and mercy, He is still here. He is our supernatural Enablement to do anything for God today. That just undoes me to think about it. And although I am not one to think that God needs to send the Holy Spirit again, since He is already here, I do believe we need a renewed awareness of our need for Him, and our submission to Him. There is no more amount of Holy Spirit for God to send, just more yielding for us to do. Therefore, an awakening is really just a renewed awareness of God in our midst and yielding to Him, individually and on a larger scale. Of course, as individual believers, we experience cycles of renewal that take us to deeper levels in God - if we are progressing. An awakening is a significant portion of the society experience it at the same time.

So how do we get there? Prayer! Prayer! Prayer! I was not always a revival focused person, but it's difficult to witness what is happening in society and ignore that if something does not happen to stem the downward flow, the end result will be devastating. One wonders how long will God stay His hand of judgment after showing mercy over and over again. How much lower can this society go before the end? We are there now! We need a prayer movement by locality, city, state and nation and globe. The world is off its hinges and only God can help. Notice I did not say God is out of control. God is in perfect control. He is allowing man a level of latitude, but there is a great level of restraint involved on His part. Yet, as the people of God, our job is to pray. 2 Chronicles 7:12-16 is a key Scripture for revival that is as true today as it was to Israel before the Gentile people were grafted into the family of God. In this Scripture, God is giving the people the antidote for when the land falls into judgement and under a curse. God 's cure:

“I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. ¹³ When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, ¹⁴ if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. ¹⁵ Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. ¹⁶ For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.

Breaking it Down

God's people were/are to:

1. Choose a place to dedicate prayer for the purpose of restoration

2. Humble themselves

3. Pray AND

4. Seek His face (not superficial cursory prayer but pursuing prayer)

5. Turn from their wicked ways (things that they know are wrong but do anyway)

God would:

1. Hear from His position in heaven

2. Forgive the sins of which they repented and

3. Heal their land

Bottom line: For an awakening, we need to pray fervent prayers of intercession for the land.  That is, AFTER we have done our part in repentance and dedicating ourselves to God in prayer, an awakening will. It will not come accidentally or haphazardly. Heaven has protocol because IT IS A KINGDOM. Never listen to people who tell you otherwise. God is our Father and Jesus is our Friend but He is also Lord and King. It is not religious to treat the King of the universe according to His own protocol, that's order. Even the children of an earthly king adhere to protocol. How much more so, King of kings. Jesus made a way for us back to the Father, but He is still the Almighty One.

The Church United in Prayer

So how are we to respond to this need for awakening. Churches across denominational lines need put their differences aside, to come together in genuine brotherhood, to pray fervently for God to move in this land again. However, prior to that, we, the Body of Christ, need to seek God on individual level so that when we come together our hearts are pure and free of bitterness and pride. We need to come together in phileo love.

2. AWAKENING

In America, there have been two of these colossal moves of the Spirit and many are believing for a third and final GREAT AWAKENING before things fall apart and the Lord returns.

What does awakening look like? In a nutshell, there is such a manifest presence of God's Spirit, after those with a burden prayed and waited before God to manifest Himself in a greater way. Awakening comes for the purpose of impacting and transforming society. It's brought on by a type of hunger, thirst, and desperation for more of God. Once the Lord manifests Himself, often there is almost a tangible presence where people become more aware of their own sin and repent and experience the joy of the Lord in newness; complacent believers get "on fire for God," although not all; bars and clubs are emptied, and people can't get enough of God presence. People weep, fall down, and bow down.

There is a sense of holiness and that the Holy One is present and those responding just want to reverence His presence; many feel like they are about to or want to die because they know that they are unholy and unable to stand in His presence. Yet, God in His love for man sees the repentant through Christ's one massive act of redemption (buying back) on the Cross. He died for our sins so that those who believe in and follow Him can approach the Father without shame and condemnation. However, those who reject the Lord Jesus will remain in shame and condemnation until they accept His sacrifice for them.  

That's just a snap shot of what a society-transforming revival looks like. You may read about the great revivalists like George Finney, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, etc. And the ones abroad such as Evan Roberts of Wales. (Link of a revival library: http://www.revival-library.org/pensketches/hr_menu.php).

The point is first the Church needs to be awakened before it can facilitate a Great Awakening to the greater society, locally, nationally, and internationally. An awakening is also, and really at its core, a spiritual cleansing and a rebirth. Do you think we need one? I'd say we do ... yesterday!

3. DELUSION

I am no psychologist but I believe the Bible has something to say about what causes people to be given over to strong delusion, it is a refusal to submit. Let me go out on a limb here; everyone who refuses to submit to God now, and certainly before the coming of the level of strong delusion spoken of in the Bible actually, will fall to it and if possible be completely lost through it. I do believe that. So what prevents people from being able to submit to God or anyone? Yes, that old culprit, pride. The thing about pride is not only that it come before a fall, (?) pride itself facilitates or causes delusion. There is no clear vision when operating in pride. That's what cause Lucifer's great fall that preceded his being thrown out of heaven. Pride is not a godly attribute; it causes God to turn against you. How do I know this? Well, the opposite of pride is humility. The Bible tell us that God gives much grace to the humble. That means those operating in pride are not getting grace as long as they continue in it.

Proverbs 16: 18

Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 3:34

Surely He scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble. [scornful: proud].

James 4:6

But He gives more grace. Therefore, He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 

Proverbs 11:2

When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.

1 Peter 5:5

[ Submit to God, Resist the Devil] Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 

 DELUSION DEFINED (I just Googled a few)

Delusion is a ... 

a firm belief you have that is actually not grounded in reality or truth, often occurring as a result of a mental problem

a belief that has no evidence in fact — a complete illusion. The cook at the hot dog stand who thinks he is the best chef in the world? 

a belief held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary. 

belief in something that is not true. (http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/delusion) 

 A false belief held despite strong evidence against it; self-deception. 

As you can see, delusion is believing in something that is not true and being convinced you are right. Can you imagine what "strong delusion" would be like? If delusion is insanity, what would the strong version be like? One word: dangerous. However dismal this appears, the Holy Spirit Who is the revealer of Truth, Jesus Christ and obliterate all delusions, strong or otherwise. The problem with strong delusion is that for some, there will be no way back because God would have already given then over to their stubbornness.

So this relationship flows from a movement of prayer and intercession, which in many ways has already begun to spread. Then by God's grace and mercy the awakening will ignite the sleeping Church and usher many new and backslidden believers into the Family of God. However, strong delusion which has not yet come full force, is certainly coming as prophesied in the Bible. There are already signs that it is gaining traction. 

Consider the following evidence of delusion in the public square: 

1. Grown men able to use the same bathrooms as little girls seen as a good thing,
2. killing a child in the wombs seen as caring for the mother,
3. seeing some who do heinous acts to children and adults in the name religion as "misunderstood",
4. lauding politicians who life as though they were above the law, and who would have been behind bars if they were the average citizen, and of course
5. laws on the books that make it possible for people of the same sex to "marry." 

These are just a few of the signs of insanity exhibited by those responsible for stewarding the resources and people of this great nation.

3. TEMPTATION

Paul warns us that we are most vulnerable to temptation when our guard is down and our pride is up. In other words, be careful not to say, "Oh, I would never fall for that." Really? Are you Jesus? Pardon me for waxing a bit basic but what is temptation?

Temptation is defined as "a desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise." "the wish to do or have something that you know you should not do or have." 

Remember what even the great apostle Paul said:

Romans 7:15-17 (Carnality in our bodies Lead us to sin as Under the Law)

¹⁵ For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. ¹⁶ If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. ¹⁷ But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

But thank God for:

Romans 8:1-4 (Following the Spirit of God leads us to fulfill the Law as Jesus did)

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus 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. 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.

4. STRONG DELUSION

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12

⁹ The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, ¹⁰ and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹ And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, ¹² that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Although the examples of delusion above are pretty convincing, there is still more and worse to come. They are evidence that full blown strong delusion will be unimaginable to those who are in Christ and not given over to a spirit of fear but to power, love and clothed in their right mind (in Christ). (Paraphrased from 2 Tim. 1:7.) Based on the definition of delusion above, it is a level of insanity whereas strong delusion will be deeper, more widespread, and sent by God to those who rejected His love time and again. Even the elect, where possible, will be caught up in it. To put it simply, there will be two choices, get caught up in the life-giving waves of God's awakening and revival or those of the strong delusion and temptation which are coming.

Some people will make the mistake of waiting too long to submit to God in revival and get caught up in the strong delusion, at which point, it will be too late. They would not be able to choose at that point. The thing is, no one knows when any of it will begin or end. My advice to anyone reading this who does not know Jesus Christ as Savior, is to submit to God's Spirit now so that you will be well in the coming days, months and years before the Lord's return and with Him on into eternity. Make this choice today and you will be within God's move and covering upon His 2nd coming.

CONCLUSION (really important)

Fervent united intercessory prayer in obedience to Holy Spirit gives way to awakening, which then protects those who allow the waves of the awakening Spirit of God to overcome them. In other words, to be an overcomer, you have to allow yourself to first be overcome by God. Those who do not submit to God in allowing Him to overtake them will be overtaken by the waves of a stronger delusion than what is in the land today. People steeped in pride (inside and outside of the church), and who do not think they need awakening are in danger of giving into strong delusion because of pride and rejecting the Son of God. Pride is the main ingredient of this strong delusion. People will be sure they are right in their delusion and will be adamant and resist those of the Truth. Strong delusion and temptation are opposing sides of the same coin because the strong delusion will make its victims ripe for temptations of all kinds to which many would be susceptible in areas they were not susceptible before.

Again “pride comes before a fall will take on new meaning.” I also sense that many supposedly stalwart believers with large followings will give in to the strong delusion because the seeds are already in them, perhaps deeper than would be evident to the average discerner. Many will be surprised by the ones who fall during this time. Meanwhile, in this current level of delusion, we are not as surprised who falls because there has already been evidence of bad theology ad bad fruit. In this upcoming level of strong delusion, it will be more incredible to see who actually falls for it. 

And finally, it is impossible to face temptation from the devil without submission to God. Therefore, ignoring the move of God's Spirit refusing to submit to Him puts one in direct line of the enemy to be deluded and to give into temptation. Hence, the relationship between Awakening, Strong Delusion, and Temptation.

By the time strong delusion is released on the earth to people who refuse to receive His love, grace, and Truth, it will be too late. They would have passed the point of no return. The Scripture bears repeating. Please take note.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12

 

⁹ The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, ¹⁰ and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹ And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, ¹² that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

The good news is; strong delusion is not quite here yet. There is still time to accept Love and His Truth, Jesus Christ.


 

The Opposing Force to Love is not Hate but Fear

Whispers of the Holy Spirit

In those last moments before falling asleep, sometimes the Lord speaks the most profound things and they seem like our own thoughts, but they are not. He teaches those who have listening ears and ready hearts multiple lessons about Himself, about themselves, and about others. This is the university of the Holy Spirit; it's a place of perpetual learning.

The subject of this blog is that love and hate are not quite opposing sentiments. Hate can exists where there is the absence love and the presence of fear. When love comes to drive out fear, hate has no place to rest. But the key is it has to be true love, which starts with God, the Author and Personification of love.


It's Love vs. Fear not Love vs. Hate

God's ultimate act of love was demonstrated when He sent His Son, Who is an inextricable part of Him yet a separate being, in perfect union with Him, into this world for one purpose and one purpose alone, TO DIE. Why?

Why would God come to die? There was no other way to regain His family. And how can God die? By making Himself a Man.

I am glad you're asking these great questions. I have to ask you another. Can God do anything? Yes! Will God do anything? No!

However, we know that the essence of everything God does is love because "God IS Love." 2 John 4:8. Another point to note is that "God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and sound mind." 2 Tim 1:7. Love cannot give fear because fear cannot exist where love is.

     Not the Instinctive "Fight or Flight" Fear but "Paralyzing Fear"

When I say fear I am not referring to the instinct of "fight or flight" in the presence of danger. I am referring to an emotional state that prevents you from moving forward, something more paralyzing, which includes phobias, but not limited to them. Some people have a fear of success, others have a few of failure, some have a fear of people, others a fear of poverty, etc. The fear to which I am referring affects a person's behavior to do or not to do something because they believe something, realistic or unrealistic, may happen. This is a few that stops you from doing something you should do. In addition, a person with a spirit of fear, believes that the thing that might happen will affect them negatively and in a way from which they might never recover.  This type of fear is similar to a level of hopelessness. Now do you see which it is not for the believer in Christ. Christ is our Hope and He is the Victor over all. There is nothing that can come against us that he cannot conquer. He tells us


An Important Lesson about Fear, Hate, and Eventual Loss

Another question: Can God hate? Yes! He hates sin; and He even hated Esau, Jacob's brother, Isaac's son.

But Esau I have hated, And laid waste his mountains and his heritage For the jackals of the wilderness.” Malachi 1:3.

(As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.” Romans 3.)

Seems harsh doesn't it? But unless you understand the ramifications of what Esau did, really his inner attitude, you would think it harsh. However, we know that God is always just; and based on who Jacob became, we see that the entire destiny of mankind was hanging in the balance on someone who did not take his position and responsibility in the Isaac's family, and really the Family of God, with the right degree of seriousness. What do I mean?

In the Malachi 1:3 Scripture reference, above, God tells us why He hated Esau and mentions the punishment for Esau's sin in mentioning his heritage. Remember how Esau sold his birthright to his brother Jacob (Israel) for a bowl of stew because He was hungry. He considered his birthright as something worthless to be cast away in place of physical fulfillment. God hated that he thought so little of that blessing that he sold out to feed his hunger. That's a bit of over-simplification and I am sure you can find many theological treatises on the subject matter, but that is the gist of it. I am sure you get the point. So we see that the heritage that Esau's threw away was both his downfall and his judgment. God does not like it when we take His blessings lightly. 

Remember that Jacob (who ended up with Esau's birthright) became Israel. Now do you see why Esau's actions incensed God to that degree? He was reportedly so hungry he feared he'd die without the bowl of stew so. But his impulsive and irresponsible behavior subjected him to God's hatred. In throwing away his birthright he also threw away his blessing as the first son. Yet, Esau still expected to receive the blessing of the first son; and when he lost that as well, he was filled with hate for his brother Jacob. He made an irresponsible decision but still expected the same level of prosperity as before. 

Lesson: Treasure all that God has given you, even when there is difficulty involved because it the end, there will be cause to celebrate when the momentary affliction gives way to a level of blessing that you cannot contain.  Otherwise, it can, like Esau's heritage, become a place of waste.

That was one of the few places in the Bible where God actually says that He has hated a person. So many others who engaged in great sin never warranted that level of response from God. So what am I saying? God, Who is love, can hate but He can neither fear or give fear. Those, love and fear, are opposing forces to each other, yet one always wins over the other, and that is Love. 1 Corinthians 13:8 tells us "Love never fails."  Now you might say, that is only referring to love as a spiritual gift since it's where Paul is referring tot he gifts. But I believe God is telling us that as a spiritual weapon, love never fails. The reason is because he tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:5 that the weapons which with we fight as soldiers of the Cross as not carnal physical weapons they are spiritual. The spiritual gifts including intercession are weapons of our warfare in the battle against darkness.

Love is an Action Verb

1 John 4:18

1 John 4:18New King James Version (NKJV)¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

Did you see that? Love is not passive, it is active and it is violent to that which is not of God. Love is a weapon of destruction when it comes to fear. Here we do not see love casting out hate but love casting out fear. Love hurls fear out on its rear-end. Love being synonymous with God, how far do you thing that fear is being cast out. Get the picture? WHEN LOVE COMES ON THE SCENE, FEAR HAS TO GO.

The Wisdom of Love

Proverbs 10:12

Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins.

Proverbs 17:9

He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates friends. 

We are told when we love our enemies an do right by them, it puts us in a position with God where He will not only fight our battles but it releases us from being imprisoned in our emotions and into the blessings of God. God blesses us in numerous ways when we love others who may not deserve it because in so doing we are following Jesus. Jesus could have defended Himself against the angry mob that called for His death, against Rome, again the Sanhedrin and those bent on destroying Him and on and on, but He did not. He has a "job" to do and they were facilitating it and helping Him to please His Father while setting themselves up for judgment. You see that, when an enemy with no just cause resists you, your response of love, puts that person in a very precarious position with God and sets you up for blessing. No matter what you do, love!!! You can never lose when you love. Of course, I am only referring to love as the Lord intends it, not what the world calls love, which is usually lust and self-interested motivations. 

We Have No Excuse for Hating

Please do not take this to support hating a person, that is absolutely forbidden by God. He is the only One who can make people, we cannot. However, we are commanded to hate what God hates never who He hates. I know that goes without saying but just wanted to make sure I'm clear. Our command is to love people and hate things and events and that what is not living.

The bottom line and the take away is that God can only give love not fear because He is love. Fear is given by the devil and can start by some soul issue that is not resolved or submitted to God. Conversely, hate and fear function very much as a team. People hate because there is some level of fear in them of something that can either be real or imagined.

Jesus is our Hope and Personification of God's Love

Jesus was the Love of God manifested to bring His kids back home to Him, but the only way to do so was for Jesus, the Son of God, to die in a cursed manner for man's sins as a spotless sacrificial lamb. In dying in such a way, Jesus simultaneously took away the sin of man and the curse that man earned in the Garden by falling away from and out of agreement and fellowship with God.

But there is a catch. In order to know, have, and operate in love one has to know God and in order to know God one has to accept the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no other way to God but through Jesus Christ and until you come back to God through Christ, you cannot know love as it is intended to be by the One Who authors and is the embodiment of it.

Bottom line: God loves us:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.     (John 3:16)

Encouragement 20160409

The Ephesians 3:20 Power Sandwich - Encouragement for Faithful Saints

14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,^[c]

¹⁵ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, ¹⁶ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,  

²¹ to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

I have been wanting to do a peace on this verse that many use to "claim" material prosperity when in fact the Scripture is not about that and it does not apply to everyone. So I want happy when the Lord used a situation to trigger this revelation on Ephesians 3:14-21, particularly verse *20. I am calling it a "sandwich" revelation. It is the victorious result of His love and power. 

My mom's home helper was off one day when at lunch time, I was wondering what to serve her for lunch. Without any prior notices the worker stopped by on their way from NY to introduce us to her family. I was in the midst of prepping my mom's lunch when I noticed her helper put something on the microwave. I simply acknowledged it and kept going.  It was not until she was leaving, and we'd eaten the Trader Joe's pizza, that I peaked in the Styrofoam container. The meal was a Jamaican one: akee and salt fish, cooked green banana and callalloo/greens. We immediately warmed it up and ate it. Over the top delicious!

I heard the Lord speak through this chain of events. He was saying "how many times have you prayed, I provided the answer, you failed to notice and went ahead and prepared your own provision, which paled compared to what I provided exactly in the time that you needed it? In other words, I needed the lunch, God delivered one that was already prepared and delicious but I failed to notice it, asked no questions and simply continued as I was before the visit. He wants us to open our eyes because He has already provided the answer to whatever is our greatest prayer need. (We receive it by faith. Open up our eyes, Lord!!! Amen. (See this great song asking God to open up our eyes. "Open up our Eyes" ). 


The Act of Prayer:

         14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,


Our Position in Christ:

¹⁵ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

The Blessings From His Limitless Resources:

¹⁶ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,

Our Access Point of Faith Grounded in Love:

¹⁷ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Crucial Revelation of His Love and Desire to Fully Provide:

¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

The Over Abundant Blessings According to His Revealed Power at Work in Us:

20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

      THE EPHESIANS 3:20 POWER SANDWICH

Half bread bun: "filled with all the fullness of God" then (end of V. 19)
Meat: we receive the wonderful promises of abundance beyond our comprehension (V.20)
Half bread bun: "according to the power that works in us." (end of V. 20)


Through It all Christ Continues to Glorify The Father Forever:

²¹ to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Remember as we operate in faith to God, His promises will find us and His blessings will chase us down. The problem is when some try to claim Scriptures that do not apply to them due to bad teaching and greed. The Bible is not to be used as a "name-it-and-claim-it" gimmick. This relationship is based on covenant and life-time commitment. It is impossible to operate in His true power without first being in a love relationship with Him. His power works through love.

Finally, it's important to always be on the lookout for Him and He will always show up, often in unpredictable ways and at inconvenient times through the most unlikely people.
That's what happened that day when right at lunch time God provided a delicious meal that I did not have to prepare. I pray that when He shows up, not only will you notice Him, but that you stop everything and turn your attention completely to Him that you do not miss the season of your visitation.

God bless you! 

The Encouragement of Betrayal: 10 Lessons We Learn From Jesus' Betrayal in The Garden of Gethsemane

John 18:2-6

2 And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples.

³ Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.  

⁴ Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?”

5 They answered Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am He." "And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them.

            ⁶ Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

Yes, God can use even the awful experience of a betrayal to encourage us.

This all started with a late-night conversation my sister and I were having about betrayal. She had said something that I'd either never noticed in the Bible nor gave much thought. Whatever the reason may have been, the Lord was speaking by highlighting this fact about His arrest and the chain of events happening at that time. Then I began to notice some interesting facts about His betrayal and arrest.

A few highlights before we get into the lessons Jesus modeled during His betrayal:

• Submitting to God in the betrayal, resisting the temptation to fight back, and instead giving in to God's plan, will yield a major harvest.
• Those who betray us will eventually regret it.
• Even at his time of apparent weakness, Jesus' submission to God invoked the full power of God into His circumstances to the point where those against Him could not stand in His presence. The full force of truth of that "I AM" statement hit them like a ton of bricks.
• The arresting party included a Roman Cohort, which is anywhere from 500 - 800 soldiers. Accompanying the cohort were temple guards and others from the temple --  all to arrest one nonresistant man.
• "The Encouragement of Betrayal" is the perfect title because, like Jesus, we will be betrayed; therefore, we can learn from Him how to walk in victory for a glorious result.

Here are 10 demonstrations we can follow when betrayed by a trusted one:

1. Jesus Did Not Revile His Betrayer But Continued in Love Toward Him

This is huge! A betrayer is really someone, trusted and close, who voluntarily becomes an enemy, often siding with those against us. Yes, Jesus told us to love our enemies. Talk about an impossibility in the flesh! It's not natural to love someone who has purposely harmed us -- at least without the power of God working in us to do it. Notice Judas, His betrayer, was standing with Jesus' enemies. The Bible tells us Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Can you imagine letting your betrayer kiss you knowing they have facilitated your death sentence? Incredible. Yet, Jesus allowed Jesus to kiss Him. What does that say about how we are to treat those who betray us.

2. Jesus did not Cower When Faced With His Enemies

Courage in the face of conflict comes from security in knowing Who you are and Whose You are. He was sent by the highest Authority for the highest purpose and He was not about to cower to any person. Yet, He was humble and meek. He showed no fear because all that was happening to Him was according to the Father's plan and would accomplish the Father's ultimate goal. He did not cower even when He knew the challenge and confrontation would result in His death. Neither are we told He showed any trepidation to the vast amount of Roman soldiers who showed up to arrest Him.

3. Jesus' Power Was Not Diminished Because of the Betrayal

He did not allow the betrayal to cause an emotional downward spiral. Notice when He proclaimed Who He was in verse 5, they all fell over in verse 6. The "I AM" was speaking and who could stand? You would think by that time they would know He was the Son of God. Did they all fall over voluntarily? I highly doubt it. Jesus allowed Himself to be betrayed and arrested. This was in the plan and His purpose from birth. Judas Iscariot played to that plan by allowing himself to become demonized and betraying the Son of God. (As an aside: you can see Judas did not have a very charitable attitude towards service.)

4. Jesus Continued to Honor the Father in His Submission During and After His Betrayal

We return to the subject of submission. (See 2 previous posts on Submission: Part 1 in February 2015 and Part 2 in March 2015) Do you get the idea that submission to God is  the crux of our walk with Him? Following Him requires submission and without it the life in Christ will be unfruitful. Unless we submit our sin knocks and walks right into our lives and sin unchecked leads us in the damnation and eventually hell. Sin is another form of betrayal and is against God Himself. Submitting to God is submitting to Love personified in Jesus. So hell is completely avoidable by placing our lives and trust in God.

His Continued Submission to God Made Him Formidable.

Notice that Jesus had to repeat to those who came to arrest Him several times that He was the One they were seeking. And when He told them, they all fell to the ground. Notice the Bible does not say some of them fell down, it simply states in verse 6 "they drew back and fell to the ground." They all fell. It brings to mind the Scripture that tells us that one day, "every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." (Rom. 14:11; Isaiah 4523). Well that day, they all fell.

5. Jesus never insisted on His own innocence.

Jesus trusted His Father, His mission, and purpose in coming to earth. He knew what would befall Him but He also knew it was the very thing for which He was sent. Therefore, He never insisted on His innocence, although He had committed no crime, except to say exactly Whom He was, Who had sent Him, and proclaiming His identity as the only Son of God. He was hated and treated as the worst criminal although He was the Son of the same God the chief priests and temple leaders claimed to serve. Remember when Jesus shared about the master who sent His servants on an errand and they were beaten, then he finally sent his son assuming a son and heir would be respected but the son was killed, treated with even more contempt than the servants. Just as God had sent His servants the prophets, who time after time lost their lives because the people, especially the leaders, did not like the message the messengers brought. (See the "Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers" in Mark 12:1-14).

6. He completed His task by allowing Himself to go with His captors

Jesus went with His captors, knowing what would happen to Him. He was obedient even to death because of what was on the other side of His torture and death. He knew that the other side of His suffering was glory the likes of which are not possible to experience before suffering. Yes, He came from glory, but in order to get back there He had to complete the task for which He was sent including the suffering. Short of that, He would not have been able to go back to heaven as His disobedience would have been sin. No one can enter heaven with sin and since He was the only one by Whom sin can be abolished, He would have had no hope, and the entire world would be damned forever. He would have stayed dead in that case and we would all be dead in our sin. Praise God He obeyed and was raised again from the dead.

7. Through His suffering of this Betrayal and Death Sentence, Jesus was glorified

Jesus was betrayed, suffered, and died but there came a time when He was raised to glory and the glory is eternal while the suffering was only for a short time. Most people would rather skip the bad stuff, like suffering, pain, lack, even inconvenience, and go straight to the glory. However, that is not the pattern and certainly not the case for Jesus. Since the servant is no greater than our Master, we, too, must suffer before enjoying glory.
In this fallen world that is how it works: The blood (suffering) comes before the glory. The Bible tells us that even Jesus learned obedience through suffering. (Heb. 5:8, 1 Peter 1:11, Heb. 2:9) Can you believe that?

7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, 

 ⁸ though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. ⁹ And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,

Notice the process of being "perfected" involves suffering.

8. Those Who Betray a Man or Woman of God Will Someday Regret it

Look at the story of Judas, who went out and hung himself once the full weight of what he had done fell upon him and literally did him in. Consider on a lesser degree the story of Joseph, whose brothers sold him into slavery only to be in dire need of his help years after their hideous act of brutality. Joseph became vital to their very survival during a time of regional, if not global, famine. They came to regret their betrayal to be point of fearing for their lives.

Imagine those who betray God by falling away from Him only to regret it later on. It happened to Adam and Eve and it continues even today. The betrayer someone knows that he or she is doing something wrong but the desire to exact some form of revenge on the person being betrayed is much stronger.

9. SPECIAL NOTE TO THOSE IN MINISTRY: GREAT MINISTRY OFTEN EMERGES OUT OF GREAT BETRAYAL 

If you are in ministry, keep in mind how Judas betrayal set the course for Jesus to suffer for a short season, but even more so for His eternal reign of glory. No great ministry is without great betrayal. Often, that very betrayal forges the ministry ahead to birthing or greatness as the ministers remain loving to their betrayers and faithful to God.

10. The Two Greatest Betrayals on Earth Both Happened in a Garden

The First Great Betrayal happened in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve turned their backs on God and their faces to Satan, obeying the evil one rather that the One Who only made them in love and gave them everything good. The Second Great Betrayal occurred in the Garden of Gethsemane to redeem mankind from the First Betrayal. And the perpetrator of the first betrayal, Lucifer, had himself been the very first betrayer when he led a revolt in heaven against God His Creator.

This proves that at the base every betrayal you will find the evil one. That means that somehow betrayers get themselves into Satan clutches and it behooves us to pray for them. Judas because of his own dark and unrepentant heart was beyond even Jesus' help. But our betrayers are not beyond His help. We never know whether they would turn from their wickedness and come to God either for the first time or as a prodigal returning to His Father from a far-off land.

Do you see how we follow Jesus? We look at His life because He experienced everything we do. That is the why the Bible calls Him our Great High Priest who is not without understanding of what we face daily.

When you are betrayed, and if you have not yet experience betrayal you will at some point in your life, don't despair, follow Jesus' example and walk through that valley in divine victory. Then watch how God will use it for your advancement as you remain faithful to Him.

The Next Steps .... Are you Ready?

PSALM 24

³ Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
⁵ He shall receive blessing from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
⁶ This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face.

PROVERBS 3

³ Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart,
⁴ And so find favor and high esteem
In the sight of God and man.

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

I don’t know about you, but you might be where I am. The next steps count. And for me that means if the job/post/position/function/role has nothing to do with what I am called to do in ministry, it would be a waste of time for me to pursue it – no matter how attractive it was.

What is my purpose? It is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with demonstrations of His Kingdom, through the multiplicity of media outlets to which the Lord has given, and is giving, me access. No longer can I do something solely to make money. I could have had gobs of it if it did not feel wrong and compromising, and that I was trying to be what I was not. Pretending has never been my strong suit and having to do it is …. well, you get my point.

Let’s face it, we all have a part of the old man that wants to hold on to something because it means a level of control. I get it. That is why the Word says we are working out our salvation with fear and trembling. It's a process. But, guess what? He can and will use us in the process. No one is exempt from doing the work of the Kingdom in some way. But our flesh often holds us back from moving forward. That’s what this whole walk of sanctification and transformation is about – putting away the old man.(2 Cor. 5:17) 

Was your old man shy, a blender, a compromiser, a blabber, too [something], not enough [something]…? That is why we cannot live without Holy Spirit. He is the only One who can help us overcome our issues. Yet, on the other hand, we are each called to these “ridiculously” influential places for His Kingdom and glory that are ‘scary’ and  so we have difficulty:

1)  Wrapping our minds around it

2)  Focusing on it because it’s incredibly hard and the enemy is fighting us

3) We know how difficult a road it will be

4) We don't like the thought of persecution or that people would think you either nuts or   stuck up (Who does she think she is?). [Many of our persecutors have not a clue what it is to “pick up their cross, deny ourselves and follow Christ”]

5) Our own minds war against our motivation to do the difficult thing

6) Our faith waivers that it could actually be God and be attainable and more

7) Believe it or not welcoming our own success [many sabotage themselves with things like procrastination and a lack of discipline....that would be me

8) Being still and knowing that He is God (regardless of what others say or do)

It takes a tremendous amount of resilience, patience, endurance. and perseverance to stay on the path and land our destinies. But guess what? We are not alone in this pursuit. That is why Holy Spirit is here. It is more important to God that we take His designated path than it is to us. And that is why we have each other. In my case, 

I tend to do things because I have the ability to do it or can easily attain it. That means, that during that time, I am really going against the counsel of Prov. 3:3-6. Instead I need to trust Him first, not lean on my own understanding or strengths. If I do that, I’ll invariably end up at the wrong destination. Keeping in mind that at the wrong destination I could be successful in the eyes of men but an utter failure in the eyes of God. We have to start with Him first, then He uses our strengths AND weaknesses to accomplish His will. Then He directs our paths.

Proverbs 2 and 3 would be great to study now. It's all about wisdom. As a matter of fact, this is a great time to do a Bible study on wisdom. It is the key to all success because it begins with a fear of God.

I propose that we hold each other accountable to do that thing which God has been whispering but is perhaps tedious, makes no sense, too menial to mean or accomplish anything, etc. So, what if it is the thing that will cause you to “punch through” your ceiling or wall or whatever is blocking your progression to the next level? What is keeping you tethered to your pass? A failure of some kind, a bad relationship, a job, a habit that is sucking the life out of you? What is it? What is Holy Spirit putting His finger on RIGHT NOW?

Getting into the presence of the Lord alone is crucial, hence the reason I recently took off. I needed answers. I believe this is a crucial time for the remnant who will say, “I don’t care what you say or do to me, I belong to Christ. His will alone I will do and no other.” Then we need to move with the singleness of heart of our Model, and Big Brother, Jesus Christ did. Knowing what He would face, yet knowing it was His destiny to face it and His reason for being, He set His face like flint (with full determination and laser focus) as He headed towards Jerusalem.

And since no man is an island, we also need godly counsel and trusted advisers whom we know hear from God and walk in wisdom. I will pray for each of you to get your “key” to your destiny, or the next step of it, and to shift onto the path to your purpose. It just might be the next thing you launch into it. YOUR DESTINY AND THE PATH TO IT IS UNIQUELY DESIGNED TO SCARE YOU SO THAT YOU WOULD RELY ONLY ON THE ONE WHO CAN ACCOMPLISH IT – JESUS.

Our ‘problem’ is that we have a lot of ability and that’s great and may suffice in the lower plains of life. But when it comes to “ascending to the hill of God” (Ps. 24) it is not enough.

We need wisdom to secure the next steps of our ascendancy up to the hill of God. It’s time.

So I guess what I am doing is calling us all out and UP! Yep, it’s time! No more hiding under a bushel! Our Father says, “come out, come out, wherever you are (course He knows exactly where we are.)

He is ready.

Are you?