Not in This City!

Terrorism Will Not Prevail Against the Lord!

It’s been said that those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Although we as a nation of people have not always made the wisest decisions, the opportunity to learn from history and change our course of action accordingly is available.

The first key decision we must arrive at is the understanding that our government is not going to save us. It's not that they can't, but they won't. Those who desire to take action are blocked. This president is doing what is in his heart to do, which is rebel against God. We wonder why the prescribed course of action, feeble as it is, results in neglect, double-talk, and indecision that leaves America vulnerable to its enemies. We continue to question WHY this administration, and specifically this president, refuse to acknowledge we are in a war, and WHY there is still no real commitment to call evil for what it is and commit to fighting it. It's because there is an alignment with those that conspire to do evil. When one refuses to destroy an enemy intent on destroying you, then it's because you have agreement with that enemy. This president has taken his stand, but it's not with us. We wonder why treachery and treason go virtually unchallenged but it’s because spiritual darkness has a blinding effect. We need to stop trying to appeal to our government to wake up and help us and realize THAT IS NOT WHERE HELP IS GOING TO COME FROM. We need to appeal to heaven and look to God for help. God has hardened the hearts of certain people just like He did to a certain pharaoh thousands of years ago. Moses was a key leader and prophet that challenged the tyrannical rule of an ungodly leader, and this leader had exalted himself like a god over the people. He refused to be held accountable to anyone. Time after time, Moses came with both requests to let God’s people go, and warnings of what would occur if  Pharaoh did not comply. Pharaoh’s actions, in light of repeated warnings and experiencing certain forms of discipline prior to judgment, were completely illogical. Yet, he persisted because scripture tells us that God had hardened his heart in order that God would get the glory.

“But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.” Exodus 9:12

The reality is, God simply allowed Pharaoh to continue in his sin, knowing full well that he had already determined to resist God anyway. We know the rest of the story. Pharaoh was so stubborn that even being warned that he would lose what was dearest to him, his firstborn son, did not restrain him from continuing to do evil towards God’s people. His heart was hardened to do what he willed regardless of what common sense dictated; and, in spite of having to endure painful lessons along the way he persisted in rebellion. He reproached the living God. In reality, Pharaoh was afraid of God's people, because they multiplied exceedingly. He was determined to rid himself of Israel because he feared losing control and his kingdom. In the end, he lost it all anyway. He could not prevent God's determined will! GOD allowed him to continue for a time so that Jehovah would get the glory when He delivered his people. It ended badly for that stubborn, hard hearted pharaoh and his army. This history was made available to everyone to be able to learn from it. Wisdom shouts it from the rooftops: Do not harden one’s heart against the Lord or incur the consequences. 

There is another account from history that has captured my attention as of late; it’s the story of Sennacherib. (Details are found in 2 Chronicles 32 and Isaiah 36 & 37). Sennacherib was an Assyrian king. A tyrant. He, too, made his boast in his victories. He conquered many cities and took over 200,000 captives, and built quite a reputation of terror among those that knew him.

And then, scripture informs us, this arrogant king ‘entered Judah, encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them over to himself.’ 2 Chronicles 32:1. Judah was the southern kingdom of Israel. Within this territory were fortified cities. Strong cities. But Sennacherib assumed they were going to be as easy to conquer as all the others. Now that is arrogant and over confident, and that is what trips up foolish people. Pride causes sin darkened hearts to count their victories too soon. Sounds a lot like the ISIS crisis going on in current world events, don’t you think? Or perhaps the crisis in our own government? 

The problem with pride is that it boasts of self-will, self-confidence and it doesn’t stop to consider that every proud, rebellious action will inevitably hit the wall when God says, “Enough of this.” Sennacherib was about to come face to face with God himself because Sennacherib desired to take the very place that was His. Judah was on God’s watch list. “Judah” means praise. Something happens when an enemy tries to take the praise out of the mouth of God’s people. This ungodly king tried to replace their praise with fear and cries of pain. He used terror to turn those cries into self-glorifying worship for his evil deeds. What he hadn't counted on was the fact that God had his man already in place before Sennacherib ever got there. There was a righteous man in charge over this city, and his name was King Hezekiah. King Hezekiah worshipped Almighty God, and encouraged the people by saying, “Be strong and courageous: do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” 2 Chronicles 32:7,8. The people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Sennacherib responded by sending out his message – a message intended to create fear and intimidation. His messenger structured it in such a way as to immediately create fear and discouragement in those that heard it, but more importantly, to destroy their faith in God. I’m rephrasing but basically his message said, “Hey, I took all these other cities and I am going to take yours, too. There is nothing you can do to stop me. Haven’t you heard about what I’ve done to all those that opposed me? Haven’t you heard about the terror and fierceness of my army? All the other cities and their gods couldn’t save them, and you think yours will be any different? Don’t listen to Hezekiah. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Your king is weak and he can't protect you!” Sennacherib made his boast against the Lord and against His servants, just as he had done to every other city that he conquered. Those cities were polytheistic. They had many gods, and worshiped at many altars. The significance is this: where false gods were worshiped, thrones of iniquity were constructed in the heavenlies, giving evil spirits dominion over those cities. Of course he could conquer those cities, because Satan had been worshiped in various forms and had been made god of those cities. So, when an evil king wanted to carry out an evil agenda, the dominion had already been given over to the one who desired only to kill, steal and destroy. But Judah was different. Judah was loyal to the true God, Jehovah. What Sennacherib didn’t realize was that his prescribed time of terrorizing others had run out.  He mocked God's ability to preserve God's people and His cities. God was about to teach Sennacherib and his army a very painful lesson. 

Whether it's drug cartels, gangs, corrupt government officials or even ISIS and other terrorists, they all operate by intimidating the masses.These sort of giants could make Goliath appear small, but none are more powerful than God. Fear is fear. It's used to control and manipulate others, forcing people to do things against their will. This is called witchcraft, and witchcraft can only have power where self-will and rebellion against the Lord have built a throne for Satan. Think about that. If we want to recover our cities, and recover our nation, then we must TURN BACK to God with all our heart. The only way to dismantle ungodly thrones where Satanic power has been given dominion is to renounce our self-will, our false gods, and worship God with all our heart. Light must become stronger than the darkness. 

The enemy will always send out propaganda that is intended to create fear and intimidation in those he is attempting to conquer. It seems that every day we see horrendous videos of ISIS terrorizing anyone within their reach. They have a vicious determination to eradicate Christians. Our government attempts to intimidate anyone that takes a stand for Christ. Those that pray are persecuted, shut down and shut out of certain places because the enemy is trying to send the message loud and clear "Stop praying!" "You are not welcome in my house!!" Satan has claimed America, our cities and our families for himself. Yet, he knows his time is about to run out! Anyone that tries to dominate another first uses the force of intimidation against their opponent. Fearful people are more likely to surrender and allow themselves conquered. We must look beyond what we see in current events to understand the outcome prescribed by the Lord.

Let’s see how Hezekiah handled the problem when it showed up in his city. He humbled himself and appealed to heaven. “Now because of this, King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed and cried out to heaven. Then the Lord sent an angel who cut down every mighty man of valor, leader and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria. 185,000 corpses were killed in one day. So he returned shamefaced to his own land.” 2 Chronicles 32: 20,21. The Lord himself had a word for Sennacherib. It can be found in Isaiah 37:21-35. I will share a portion of it here:

“Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel.” (vs.23)

“But I know your dwelling place, your going out and your coming in, and your rage against Me. Because your rage against Me and your tumult have come up to My ears, therefore I will put My hook in your nose and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way which you came.’ “ (vs.26:29)

Don’t you love the fact that God told the arrogant, defiant rebels that HE KNEW where to find them? 

GOD ISSUED A PROCLAMATION AGAINST EVIL

Sennacherib was as good as dead, he just didn’t realize it yet. He was not going to exalt himself as god over the city! God made a declaration against an evil king and his army of terrorists, and we can too. As kings and priests, we not only pray, but we legislate from our seat of authority next to Christ because we are seated in heavenly places. (See Ephesians 2:6). We also have a seat of authority that is ABOVE the principalities and powers that are operating in the earthly realm. We MUST see ourselves in the role of reigning and ruling WITH CHRIST, for this is essentially how we enforce our King’s laws! If we want evil to be restrained, cut off, and thwarted, we must operate in kingly authority. Friend, listen to me for a moment. We cannot allow all our ‘what if’s’ and vain imaginations to neutralize our faith. This is not a time to think that the government is the only answer to the problems at hand. God can deliver His people and provide for them with or without government assistance. He has always proven that! It is not up to any of us to figure out HOW God will work it all out. That is His job. He used angels before and He can use them again to accomplish what He wills; but one thing He cannot do for us is cause us to pray in faith. He cannot cause us to worship. But when we do, change occurs as a result of those things. Remember the victory of Judah! Judah means praise! So, do not look at the problems; focus on having faith in God and exercising the dominion He has already given you. YOU are not small in His kingdom. He has already given you the mustard seed of faith that it takes to exercise the faith that is needed. YOU are His authority in the earth. YOU ARE CALLED FOR THIS!

We are going to take the Word of the Lord that GOD SPOKE to Sennacherib and declare it against ISIS and those working together to perpetuate evil. (see text in Isaiah 37:33-35)

THUS SAYS THE LORD CONCERNING EVIL KINGS, TERRORISTS and EVIL ARMIES:

“You shall not come into this city nor shoot your weapons here. You will not come before it with your shields. You will not build a siege against this city, and the way by which you came you shall return. I repeat, ‘You shall not come into this city,’ says the Lord and his servants agree. ‘For the Lord will defend this city, to save it. For His own sake and for His servants sake.’ 

I declare JESUS is the MOST HIGH GOD over this city!

I declare JESUS is Lord of these people! 

I declare JESUS CHRIST is the KING of the nations! 

I declare JESUS is our shield and great reward!

Scripture goes on to tell us that when this shamed king of Assyria got back home, he went to worship his god in the temple and his own sons hunted him down and killed him. God delivered His people with a strong hand and HE got the glory. 

If we read the Bible then we are assured that God has already revealed His will, both in historical accounts such as those mentioned in this article, as well as throughout the New Testament. Yes, there will be battles. Painful ones. But every battle has a prescribed time that it must come to an end. God has already shown us His determined will, meaning, it cannot be altered. God's servants prevail over evil. ISIS doesn't win. Terrorism doesn't win. Corrupt government leaders don't win. The government is upon the shoulders of the Lord Jesus Christ and of His kingdom there shall be no end! The New Jerusalem is coming down out of heaven every time we pray and decree God's kingdom rule. Don't entertain those thoughts and allow negative propaganda to make you fearful or double-minded. Every battle has a set time and then God steps in to settle the matter HIS WAY. I truly believe that when a city prays and worships together, they establish a throne to the Lord that is not easily removed. When we worship and pray together, we construct a throne to the Lord and He comes and sits upon that throne. He ‘inhabits the praises of His people,’ according to Psalm 22:3, and where Christ is enthroned, He rules. Psalm 122:5 states that a throne is also a place of judgment. God will issue judgments on behalf of His people where justice prevails and judgment against the works of evil must be executed. Not just against acts of terror but in all things. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Your kingdom come and Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!

Outwit the Enemy With This Prayer!

You know what I really love? When I come up with a prayer that is just going to make Satan scream and jump up and down out of sheer agony and frustration! Well, this is one of them and I am so excited to share it with you! 

I was reading today about great men of God that eventually ended up falling into great deception and going down a really bad road. Many lost their lives and their ministries because of it. So, after learning some of the things that caused them to fall, I decided to write a prayer for all of us that will hopefully get out there ahead of the enemy's schemes, or at least cut them off at the pass before they can go any further. Is there anyone that cannot admit their own need for a prayer to outwit the enemy? Satan has spent thousands of years studying mankind – us, personally – and plotting how to manipulate human beings. His snares and deception sometimes take months or years to put into place, but he is patient, methodical, calculated, and without mercy. Let this be a lesson to each of us to be equally committed in how we pray lest we allow him to get one over on us! Let us PRAY to OUTWIT every devil’s schemes in order to beat Satan at his own game. Pray this over yourself and your family members.

Heavenly Father,

I ask You to guard and protect me, and keep me in the way of righteousness, truth and integrity in every matter. Bless me with revelation, wisdom and understanding that will alert me to the plots of the enemy and his subtle tactics of deception. Guard me from entering into temptations that are disguised as my own thoughts and feelings. I give You permission in advance of any situation that may occur - You may change my heart, attitude and responses towards situations so that I am kept in the ways of righteousness. Holy Spirit, I give You permission to possess me. I do not want to struggle and wrestle with my flesh trying to retain control. I am willing that You would make me willing to do Your will. Therefore, I surrender to You before the temptation arises. I ask You to help me exercise my will towards those things that are pleasing to You. When I struggle with my flesh wanting to lead me in the wrong direction, I give You permission to change my desires and my thought processes so that Your will for me becomes my will and my choice in that situation. Change my mind so that I just don't want the thing the enemy is using as a temptation. When I may be prone to having a wrong response, I ask You to change what comes out of my mouth so that I glorify You and honor and respect myself and others. I am asking YOU to take over when I am weak or tempted so that my true identity as Your child wins the battle.  Open my eyes to truth so that I am not blinded by pride in one particular area. Keep my feet from the snares of the enemy; rather, allow me to see the bait and step carefully around the snares so that I am not caught in them.

Help me not to neglect my marriage, family and other key relationships. Strengthen my family relationships so that the enemy cannot find anything to exploit. Remind me not to hold on to offense or grudges and to forgive others quickly. Help me remember to pray for my loved ones daily, and to pray WITH them. Help us to build strong spiritual relationships with our family and to encourage one another daily.

Holy Spirit, help me not to embrace the things I should renounce. Bless me with the grace to let go of every thing that might try to cause me to retain bitterness and unforgiveness. Help me not to entertain unfruitful thoughts, negativity, envy, jealousy, self-pity or emotional hurt. Heal my memories from all past hurts, injustices and brokenness, and help me to only remember the good about others regardless of what they may have done to me.

Help me to be full of Your Holy Spirit; to have my mind controlled, directed and fixed on Jesus. I ask You to consistently fan the flame within me and continue to create, over and over again, a passionate desire to pursue Your presence, towards prayer and a love for You. Help me not to think of myself more highly than I ought, and thus fall into error or corruption. Enable me to stand against the wiles of the enemy with grace and humility. Help me not to overstep my bounds and enter into another person’s ministry office to which I am not called. Lord, guard me and keep me from the sin of presumption.  Help me, Lord, not to get so excited over the good things that You do that I end up taking the credit for it and claiming the glory for myself. When the enemy tempts me with pride and vain glory, immediately allow me to recognize the temptation, renounce it and put the enemy in his place, under my feet! I ask you to help me recognize the subtleties of the enemy’s deception and to immediately take every thought that exalts itself above the knowledge of Christ into obedience and cast down every vain imagination. I thank You, Holy Spirit, that you are able to keep me from stumbling and enable me to stand with You for righteousness sake. In Jesus name, amen.

#strategicprayer  #unraveltheenemy  #prayerforprotection

Awake, O Sleeper!

What does the Bible really mean when it refers to falling asleep?

Falling asleep in the Bible is a reference most often used in connection with prayerlessness. A declining prayer life always precedes spiritual death. A person will often justify being overly busy, distracted, or simply too tired to pray. These are all spiritual warfare tactics used by the enemy in order to weaken a believer's prayer life. These tactics are used against even the strongest in their faith, the deception being a blind spot. Prayerlessness leaves a person spiritually naked, weak and vulnerable to temptations of the flesh, as well as sickness and disease. Eventually it will lead to the person's spiritual death if they do not wake up and realize the seriousness of the situation. The biggest problem with this, I believe, is that a believer tends to think that spiritual death cannot happen to them.

This is why we are warned in first Corinthians 11: 28 -31 to examine ourselves. Vs. 30 tells us, "For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged."  This portion of scripture deals with how we treat others in the body of Christ, but judging ourselves on any matter, and examining ourselves in light of what scripture reveals, is key to understanding what the Spirit is communicating. It could be through dreams, song lyrics, articles or prophetic words, for example. The question is, are we shrugging off those clues or are we actually asking God if it applies to us?

In Matthew 26:40, Jesus warned his disciples to watch and pray lest they enter into temptation. He told them that their spirit would be willing but the flesh was weak, and so they fell asleep. Again, a few verses later, at a time when the need was great and He desperately needed their prayers, He came back to find them sleeping and resting. I'm sure that they were all spiritually, emotionally and physically exhausted from the warfare that had been against them, but I also believe the enemy was responsible for a spirit of slumber that came upon them so that his will and purposes could hinder their prayers and allow him to complete the very thing that he was trying to accomplish. We know that it was the Father's will for Jesus to go to the cross, however Jesus still instructed his disciples to pray and yet they all fell asleep. I don't believe Jesus wanted them to pray against his going to the cross, and perhaps the prayers were not so much for him; but, the disciples needed to pray for themselves and for what would transpire next. I believe that is why the enemy came with a spirit of slumber to tempt them to fall asleep. Do not neglect your prayer life!

Daily we hear of new terrorist activity around the world, ungodly new legislature that is being turned into laws that will strip us of our constitutional rights, and much more. There are many reasons to pray, but are we actually giving our selves to passionate, white-hot prayers to appeal for heaven's help, or are we just adding our voice to other complaints and failing to do anything to effect change? I can admit that I often neglect the very thing I am called to do, and I'm sure that many of us are also at fault. We need to do more than just have an opinion; we need to pray like we really NEED God's intervention. We need to take authority over that spirit of slumber and overcome the things that tempt us to be lazy or apathetic in our prayer life.

One of the most dangerous warnings of this temptation towards prayerlessness is that people will be unaware and insensitive to the things of the spirit. This is not a time when anyone can afford to be caught off guard. We cannot risk being blindsided and unaware of both the plans of the enemy, as well as what God is trying to communicate.

God sends messages and His messengers to warn of impending danger. Awake, O sleeper! Are you listening? Now is the time to pray, and pray like never before. Do not be self deceived into thinking that you could not enter into the consequences of prayerlessness or even spiritual death. It's like sleeping on the job, and it can do more than just get you fired! It could happen to anyone succumbs to prayerlessness, living in the flesh and allowing themselves to be spiritually naked, weak, and insensitive to the things of the spirit. I believe there will be deaths this year that are preventable, if people will just wake up to the reality of their spiritual condition. If you feel weak in your prayer life, or haven't been giving it your all, then NOW is the TIME to do something about it. Prayer is like revving up your spiritual engine and putting gas in the gas tank. Prayer is what fills your life with revelation, power, and spiritual strength for your entire body. Pray for yourself, pray for your family, and pray for world events but pray most of all without ceasing. This is the way to ensure that you stay strong in the Lord.

Resurrecting the Promise

This word may be only for a specific few. Some of you are feeling so tired, confused, frustrated. You have tried everything you know how to do and nothing seems to come together. There is no fruit on the vine, and all your efforts seem to be stalemated. You've tried to give life to your dreams, but to no avail. Your faith has pulled your promise out of the grave, but I see you sitting there beside a coffin, pleading for someone to go get help because you're not strong enough to raise the lid. There is life inside that coffin, where the promise lies, but you're afraid it will die if you something doesn't happen soon. Some of you are even thinking that by the time help does arrive, it will be too late. You feel you can't keep holding on.

I want to tell you that GOD put you in that situation and it's for His glory. You can stop struggling. It's not that you haven't tried 'hard enough,' or done enough. You've misread the situation, that's all. Every promise has a season where it must die before it can be reborn. It looks and feels hopeless, and for you, it is.

But not for God. Lazarus was completely incapable of raising himself from the dead. He was in the tomb and without life or breath. He couldn't even call out for help! Yet, Jesus heard the wails of grieving hearts and returned at the appointed time to raise Lazarus up from the dead and pull him out of the tomb. He knew that there were people that needed to hear about Lazarus' testimony and it would save many people. And so you must trust that He KNOWS your heart. He HEARS your cries, your prayers that plead for Him to move on your behalf, and I promise you, He won't be late. He hears the cries of those that are in bondage, yet to be saved, and He knows who your testimony will reach ONCE THE PROMISE IS RESURRECTED. God loves those people too much not to send them the very person that can open their hearts to deliverance and salvation - YOU! You carry His glory. You carry the testimonies and experiences, the words of comfort that will heal those that are appointed to hear from you. No one else can do exactly what He has called you to do! He WILL show up. When God pours resurrection power into a person or His dream, then it is full of power to accomplish what cannot be done in the strength of man. What feels much too late for you is right on time for Him, and most importantly, for those that He has been preparing to hear what you have to say. He waited until you KNEW in your heart that nothing you could do was enough so that you would cease from your own efforts and just rest in Him. Nothing but the power of God will raise that promise and WHEN HE DOES, God alone will get the glory.

There are some miracles that we play a part in, by activating our faith and taking some sort of action. God is not a god of confusion. If there is some action He wants you to take, He will communicate it so that you know what to do. He doesn't want you to just guess and proceed in your own strength. The world doesn't need more of man's strength, for man cannot deliver. What the world needs is anointed, spirit birthed ministries that are filled with power to deliver, and those can only be birthed BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. There are also the kind of miracles that only God can do and He is not looking for our participation. He will involve others so that we understand, and others understand, that this is the type of thing only God could do. It is then that we simply wait, trust, and praise Him. God has heard your cry to send help and help is on the way. Your promise, YOUR miracle is about to show up with resurrection life.
#WakeupLazarus #birthingthepromise #resurrection

Beyond Awakening: Entering Into Personal Revival

Have you ever wondered how to truly enter into a personal revival? There is a pattern that precedes every personal and corporate revival. First, there is a time of frustration, discouragement and depression. Apathy sets in, and often leads people into sin; even if the sin is simply unbelief and double-mindedness. Unbelief speaks words of discouragement, for it is tied into a spirit of fear. The voice of fear tells us that God is not going to take care of us or bring the answer to our prayers, and when we come into agreement with unbelief then we are actually preventing God from answering prayer. He responds to faith, not unbelief! The downward spiral pulls people deeper into apathy as the voice of the enemy becomes stronger and louder. The farther away from God we get, the louder the voice of fear becomes. Fear magnifies problems and makes God small. The enemy’s goal is to draw people away from obedience and their loyalty to God, indulge in sin, and listen as he does all he can to convince them that God is too distant to care.

WHAT DO WE SEE? Do we see the giants, or do we see Jesus? Hopelessness is a huge factor in whether or not people will hold on to their faith or surrender to unbelief, sin and apostasy. If people allow Satan to deceive them into thinking that their problem, their sin, or the situations that affect them are too big for God to do something about, then they waiver in unbelief and double-mindedness. Scripture tells us that a double-minded person receives nothing from the Lord! This is why it is so necessary to combat the spiritual warfare with the word of God. God has spiritual laws attached to His word, and the lies must succumb to the truth. But, if a person lays down their sword and shield, they have no protection. Eventually they will become casualties of war if they refuse to fight.

PICK UP YOUR SWORD!!

The way out of the battle will always be through wielding the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, because that is the only thing Satan must obey. It is the only thing that cuts through the cobwebs of deceit.

The first step to personal revival is to admit where we got off track. When a person has a sense of defeat and discouragement, temptation is sure to follow. It’s the enemy’s way of enticing people into sin so that he has a legal entrance into their lives. He will always attempt to convince a person that their sin is justifiable and without consequence; and, without being legalistic, we all need to discern the things that God is personally dealing with us about because they are all significant. Grace is not to be taken lightly. Maturity calls us higher in accountability and personal sanctification. Have you ever been so tired of listening to yourself get angry, complain, or whine about your problems that you really can’t stand yourself anymore? Have you ever made yourself sick with your own sin and bad behavior? When God wants to change a person, sometimes He does it nice, but often he makes us feel like we’ve been hitched to a runaway horse and dragged through the mud on our faces. God will let us get so weary and exhausted that we have no more desire to resist His will. When we are tired enough to surrender, that is when He throws us a lifeline of revelation and pulls us in. He lets us know exactly why we've been going through certain things and what He expects of us. 

This principle is at work in us both as individuals as well as a nation. Daily we turn on the news and we are inundated with reports of human beings at their worst. Both as a church and as a nation, we have been in a spiritual slumber for a long time, but as threats of very real enemies such as ISIS and government over reach attempt to control every aspect of our lives, we have awakened to the reality of our great need for personal and corporate change. We cannot stay the same or we will lose our freedoms and perhaps much more besides. We see the cowardice of our government leaders in confronting evil and it disgusts us. We see the blatant disregard for human life when workers of iniquity mock our God, our justice system and our very lives, and it disgusts us. We see the treachery that had made us vulnerable to our enemies – and we are disgusted. We get it now, God. We’ve compromised with everyone that had an agenda. We compromised and allowed ungodliness and those hell bent on living in sin to intimidate us, all in the name of tolerance and political correctness. We’ve lowered the bar on our expectations from ourselves, others and from our leaders, and we’re suffering because of it. We didn't want to rock the boat by taking a stand, so we remained silent. We stood around with our hands in our pockets while evil agendas gained strength because all we could see was the giants screaming in our face and making their demands and we felt so small. We felt so inadequate. We felt powerless and we FORGOT how big You really are. We caved into to cowardice because we FORGOT about all the great things You've already done for us, so many times. We stopped rehearsing the testimonies of God and we lost sight of the fact that YOU ALONE ARE GOD, and NOTHING IS TOO DIFFICULT FOR YOU. We listened and agreed with all the lies, and now we’re scrambling to recover our peace. We’re scrambling to recover our freedoms and our nation from those that desire to take it from us, but we can’t tackle a job this big without You. God, have mercy on our souls. Please! Have mercy on us for allowing the enemy to convince us that the way of sin would have no consequences. We let down our guard and now we need You, Lord Jesus, to help us recover what’s been lost. We can’t compromise with evil and think we have the power that is needed to take back our land, our families and our future. We MUST change. We must upgrade to a higher level of holiness and commitment to God. There are no other options left.

The way God awakens our heart to a sin He is trying to deliver us from is by letting us get sick and tired and utterly disgusted with our own behavior. He lets us sit in it a while and it seems that nothing we do delivers us from ourselves. All the other factors that seem to contribute to our unhappiness hinge on us becoming willing to truly surrender to God and turn away from whatever it is that has had us bound. That being said, it’s often because we need to understand where we have willingly participated in something God considers sin, and where our participation has allowed demonic activity to attach itself to us. When God has you in a headlock, the ONLY thing that will deliver you and severe those attachments is genuine repentance.  He uses our discomfort with circumstances, disgust with ourselves, and dissatisfaction with our spiritual condition to awaken us to the fact that He won’t stand for us staying the same. Sin weakens us. It strips us of confidence of who we are in Christ. It strips us of anointing, power and authority. Our Father loves us too much to allow us to remain complacent and spiritually weak. Gradually, the lights come on and we figure out what He has been after all along: our hearts. Not just the portion we are comfortable with, but all of us. We must come to a place where we are truly committed to forsaking those sins (even the ones we may consider minor) and surrendering to a new level of holiness. This is God’s process to giving His church an upgrade.

Perhaps a person has never truly made a commitment to Christ. They might have said a prayer at one time or another, inviting Jesus to be their Savior, but the desire to fully commit was lacking. Jesus isn’t moved by halfhearted devotion or a bride that is in bed with a bunch of other lovers. He is looking for those that mean what they say and will demonstrate loyalty to Him. He is after a solid, steadfast commitment to stand for righteousness, justice and equity. We all go through the various stages of growth and maturity, and the truth is, the Holy Spirit within us will fight to help us get there, if we allow Him to convict us for our need for change. The struggle comes when we insist on retaining our ability to make our own decisions and live by our own will. The good news is, no matter how long we may have been riding the fence on our willingness to fully commit, if we will just tell the Lord we are willing, and ask Holy Spirit to give us the power to live for Christ, He will pull us over to His side. 

When we get to the place where we truly ‘get it,’ and are ready for change, then personal revival is not far behind. Sorrow may last for a night but joy comes in the morning. Repentance releases joy to flood our soul and renew our heart. All we have to do is determine to show gratitude and ask Him to help us love Him the way He deserves to be loved, right where we’re at. Whether or not our circumstances have changed. Whether or not the answer to prayer shows up, because He is still good and worthy of our praise. The difference is, repentance and gratitude fulfill the process of change that he has been taking us through. The result is a renewed desire to worship the King and exalt the Most High God.  It's a desire to pursue purity not out of a sense of legalism, but a desire to please God. Purity precedes power. This, this love affair with our Lord, that is revival. That is spiritual renewal. This is the personal breakthrough that opens the heavens and unlocks answers to prayer. 

#Spiritualawakening, #revival, #Spiritualrenewal, #Breakthrough