January 25, 2007

WATCH FOR THE BIRDS!


Today I believe the Lord is admonishing His people to STAY WITH THE SACRIFICE.
I believe the Lord is speaking to many of His people in the place of waiting today.
Many have walked in obedience and done what He asked of them, but have not yet seen the fruit of that labour.
He gave me revelation out of the story about Abraham that is wonderful instruction for us in this hour.

Genesis 15:8
Abram asked God how he could know that he would gain possession of the land God had spoken to him about.
HE WANTED TO KNOW HOW HE COULD REALLY KNOW WHAT THE LORD WAS SAYING WAS TRUE.
The Lord’s response in v.9 is that He asks Abram to bring him "a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."
IT WAS GOING TO COST ABRAM SOMETHING, THERE WAS WORK TO BE DONE FOR THE LORD.

Abram brought all these to the Lord, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds however he did not cut in half.
THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN MESSY, BLOODY, HARD WORK.

THEN the birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away!
THERE IS A STRONG MESSAGE HERE FOR GOD’S PEOPLE.
Many have given an offering or sacrifice to the Lord in answer to His call. Many have laboured long and hard in obedience to lay something out before the Lord.

WE NEED TO KNOW THAT THE BIRDS OF PREY WILL COME.
There will be actions and words that seem to totally negate all that we have done, that seem to cut right across it or act as if it was never done at all. The enemy will mock our efforts, our vision, our obedience.

BUT ABRAM DROVE THEM AWAY.
We must look for what is of God and God alone. He encourages, strengthens, guides, comforts, and loves us!

As the sun was setting (at the END OF THE DAY) Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.
THEN the Lord said to him:
"Know for certain …" God began to assure Abram of his future and of his plans for future generations. Vv13-16.
When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed
between the pieces.
ON THAT DAY the Lord made a COVENANT with Abram about the land He was giving to him.

Today many are waiting on the Lord for the fulfillment and confirmation of visions and calls. There is much here to learn and note:

The Lord came to Abram in a DARK CLOUD (not in the way he would perhaps have expected).
The Lord spoke and explained HIS PROCESS.
The Lord spoke of RESTORATION in the 4th generation – He is long-term in his thinking!
The Lord promised Abram PEACE.
The Lord ACCEPTED HIS SACRIFICE.
The Lord made a COVENANT PROMISE.

THEN is a wonderful word when we come across it in the scriptures … there is always more to come!
I truly believe the Lord would encourage us to hold on in this day. To keep watch over what has been done in His Name and at His bidding. Drive off discouragement and negativity. Hold on for that moment when God will come and accept and bless what has been laid out for Him.


January 01, 2007

2007: REMAIN - ABIDE - STAND - BEAR FRUIT


POWERED AHEAD BY HIS SPIRIT!
There are four outstanding instructions for the year ahead.

REMAIN (John 15:4)
"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."

ABIDE (Psalm 91 all, but especially verses 1 & 2)
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

STAND (Matthew 24:12&13)
"Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."

BEAR FRUIT (John 15:2)
"He cuts of every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."

REMAIN

In this season the Lord is calling us to understand what it means to "remain in Him" under all circumstances.
Some have, or will, suffer loss as part of the coming change. Remain in Him, and out of the loss will come fruitfulness.

Learning to "remain" helps us to be positioned to be fruitful. The Lord gave a wonderful illustration of what happens to a blossom before it bears fruit as He showed me the importance of this:

- The beautiful blossom is invaded by insects and bees, pecked at by birds.
- Its beautiful petals fall to the ground and die.
HOWEVER, it remains attached to the branch in order to obtain nutrients to grow into fruit.

Learn to remain in Him regardless of circumstances and feelings - He is THE BRANCH to which we are to remain attached.

ABIDE

There is fresh anointing to understand and take hold of the completeness and sustaining power of this Psalm.
He is calling us to find our rest in Him CONSTANTLY. We are to abide in Him, under His wings and in His great shadow, and He will prove our faithful refuge and fortress.
Even as the battle rages around us, and it surely will, "it will not come near you."

This is a season when He will give us true understanding that 'the weapons of our warfare are not carnal' and will teach us how to fight the good fight out of His strength and presence. This can only take place as we learn not to be drawn to the battle but to take our place in Him & be led by His Spirit. This is a place of great strength rather than passivity.

Picture:
I see the sharp bow of a boat that is moving strongly forward. It is not carried by the sea or driving by a man-made engine, but is encapsulated in God's power which clears the way in front and at the sides, and powerfully, but smoothly, thrusts forward. He is completely behind the boat - the source of this great power. He is both the beginning and the destination and the vessel is held COMPLETELY in Him. This is an amazing picture of the completeness of Psalm 91!

STAND

In the coming season we will be called to STAND, having done all else, we will need to know how to find our place in Him and to STAND, REMAIN, ABIDE in it. Surely the winds will blow and the storms will come, and we are called to position ourselves on our Rock and STAND firm for as long as it takes!

It is faith that enable us to stand firm - faith in the One who is the answer and who contends on our behalf. Faith that our God is big enough and is truly Who He says He is!

BEAR FRUIT

The Lord gave me a vision that was an indicator of great fruitfulness to come for those who will allow His Spirit to produce an increase of His Presence and Compassion in their lives. The fruit grows within the individual before it is evident to those who require it.
IT IS THE EXTERNAL EVIDENCE OF INTERNAL GROWTH that comes not by might or power but by the Spirit of God.

Vision:

In a recent vision I saw a lake of fire. It looked like a forest fire burning at a low level. The flames were not leaping high but were constant and the wind was constantly blowing on them keeping them at an intense heat. The flames were fueled by the substance they were burning on which seemed like thick oil.

Matthew 3:12 came to mind : “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire”.

Again came the cry: “Lord have mercy”.

I saw the fire being held back. There was a wall that it could not break through. There had been something built up that held back the fire.

I could hear only one word : “HOLINESS”.
With this word came the understanding that as the people of God pursue holiness, it is as if they are all turned with their backs to the fire, and they become the wall that holds the fire back.

I saw that the pursuit of holiness allows the RIVER OF GOD to flow, it keeps His people cool and flows over those around them, a cooling, healing stream.

I saw that the people of God had become TREES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS and were beginning to release life and healing to those around them, and especially to those who were huddled together terrified of the fire. (Psalm 92:12-15)

I saw the LOST. They were no longer ignorant, but were afraid as they saw the fire approaching and they also saw those who stood between them and the fire.
THEIR EYES HAD BEEN OPENED TO THEIR CONDITION AND THEIR DANGER.

I saw the RIVER before my feet, it was clear and there were a few small fish swimming in it, but as I looked upstream I saw more, and larger, fish coming.

I saw God’s people STANDING in this place, and those in need coming and picking the fruit of these lives and putting it into their mouths – they were HELPING THEMSELVES to what the Lord had produced.
THE HARVEST HAD BEGUN.

In the year ahead fruit will ripen and be evident, some of this has been forming for decades.
While there is still time, press into the Lord, submit to His process and work, be willing to be refined and positioned for the days that are ahead.

I see huge trees laden with ripe fruit that will begin to fall.
Will the fruit be eaten by the hungry and the lost?
Will it be lost, trampled under foot or left to rot on the ground?
Will it be recognized at all by those who have not desired eyes to see?

May Jesus not find us as He did the fig tree, looking beautiful, but all leaves and no fruit!
He will come looking for His share of the crop at harvest time (Matthew 21:41) and may He not say to us as He did to a previous people and generation:
"Therefore I tell you that the Kingdom of Heaven will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit."

Many were invited to the wedding banquet who did not come, and even some of those who came were thrown out for they had not taken the trouble to come properly dressed for the event. Some missed it altogether for they had not obtained sufficient oil for their lamps.

PURSUIT OF THE BRIDE

The Lord is coming again to His Bride, wooing her with passion and gentle strength. In this hour He is looking for real commitment, covenant commitment, there will be no turning back.

(Dream 23.12.06)
As I stood talking to someone a young man came and stood alongside of me, taking my left hand in his right hand, giving me a great sense of strength and security.
I moved off to do something else, and then as I came back to where he was, he knelt down, took my hand, and asked me if I would become his wife.
He presented me with a tray of beautiful diamond rings set in white gold that I might to chose one. He had made all of these rings himself.
I was hesitant wondering if I knew him well enough to marry him, yet he had no doubt at all that this was right and would take place.
The young man looked like an adult version of someone who had been my 'first love' at maybe 10 years of age!

This dream is very self-explanatory, but the intensity of activity and feeling in it suggest that the Lord is speaking not just to me but to His Body.
Our first love is coming to us again, and asking us for real commitment to Him forever.

There is great symbolism in this dream:
Right hand – he held my hand with his right hand – the hand of blessing.
Standing beside me – indicates uprightness, holding ground, holding position.
Marriage – “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.1” (Rev. 19:9)
White Gold – Gold tried in the fire – producing faith and divine nature.
Diamonds – Precious saints.

He is coming to call His precious saints to a wedding.
He stands in uprightness beside them, giving to them His hand of blessing.
He is offering eternal gifts of faith and His divine nature.
He has no doubt about who He has chosen, even though we may feel uncertain or unworthy of this honour.

This is VERY SIGNIFICANT and VERY PRECIOUS like the beautiful ring that was being offered.


PREPARATION FOR CHANGE

The Body of Christ has been given many opportunities/circumstances to enable them to become flexible and prepare for change.
Those who have learnt from these events will find transition easier than those who have fought them.

Even now, pray for flexibility of the Spirit, eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to know the ways of the Lord.

Pray for the spirit that was on the sons of Issachar (1 Chron. 12:32) who had understanding of the times, and knew what Israel should do.
These are men who truly had, eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to know the ways of the Lord.