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Lets lay the foundation of this post with scripture. Really embrace these scripture and open your heart up to them. If there is a word I have for The Body of Christ today, it is, lay down your sword soldiers and let The Lord fight for you. No, not The Sword of The Sprit, but the sword of The Flesh and The Strength of Man. Embrace the humble , kind, gentle fruit of The Spirit and lay aside the need to look strong. Leave your ego where it belongs, nailed with the flesh on the cross.
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 NKJV
8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Psalm 28:7
The Lord is my strength and shield.
I trust him with all my heart.
He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.
I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
Psalm 29:11
The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace.
Psalm 37:17
For the strength of the wicked will be shattered, but the Lord takes care of the godly.
Psalm 84:5
What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
2 Thessalonians 3:3
But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
Jeremiah 17:7
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord.
The Lord is calling His people to come away from the world and the ways of man. He is calling His people to follow Him. He is calling His people to return to the first things, the key things, the Kingdom Things that will set the world on fire with His Spirit. The Lord is crying out to His Church pleading with her to come away from the things she has been being adulterous with and once again commit her ways unto Him.
I see a world full of people trying to win their way. I see battles between "religious Christian Conservatives" and entities of the world that are consuming the attention of millions of Christians. I see many churches wrapped up in the affairs of man so badly they have no room for mercy, forgiveness, kindness and the love of ones enemies. A multitude of souls are tied up in knots, worry, fret and suspicion because they either have walked into a trap with eyes wide open or have been led there by misguided and troubled leaders. Our battle is not with the world.
Our battle is not with carnal weapons. However, because so many fear looking weak, or suffering, or being persecuted for righteousness sake, they have wielded the sword of the flesh instead if yielding to The Holy Spirit. Like Saul they see what seems to be a delay in The Lords promise, and they have forsaken the meek ways of The Lord and have trusted in the ways of man.
I know, it can be hard to lay down all we think we are entitled to and deserve. I know , it can make us feel vulnerable, weak, powerless and defeated at times to not fight back, to turn the other cheek. However it is our call, it is our duty, and it is the only way The Lord can trust us with His Greater Works.
It is a journey many are on. It is a journey I am on. I wish I could say I am winning every battle and passing every test, but I am not. I can say, with every stumble , I am learning. With every slip I am adjusting and with every temporary defeat, The Lord is gracious and is strengthening me to go on.
We not only feel vulnerable when we strip off the armor of the flesh and soul, we are also open to the raw senses of each attack. It can be frightening, it can be heartbreaking. Falling into that sin, or that thought pattern, or that fear or that depression can make us want to give up. We can assume He is not coming through for us and reach out to cover ourselves with those fig leaves we have kept close by, just in case.
I challenge you believer, go before The Lord daily naked and unashamed. That is what that scripture means to the believer. You are washed by His Blood. The Father Himself loves you. You do not need to go before him covered by anything to hide your weaknesses. He knows them. He still loves you and He is not ashamed to call you his son or daughter.
Sometimes the clothing we use to cover ourselves in the presence of God and man is our own self confidence. Yes, pride, ego, machismo, personal strength and motivation. We stand proud and strong that we have educated and re-educated our minds, we carry the banner of excellence and integrity high above us as we walk into the courts of God and man. However as long as we are putting our trust and confidence in any of those things, we can not receive all that The Lord needs us and so wants us to have.
I am purposely trying not to mention any current events, but they are filled people who either confess to know Christ and really do not, or people who are truly born again, fighting battles they should not be fighting, with weapons they should not be using, in arenas they should not be dwelling in. They have put all their time, recourses and energy in, not bringing The Gospel of The Kingdom to The World, but to try and put make up and jewelry on a dead, decaying world that is turning to ash and will soon burn into eternity. The world system is not redeemable, It is on a strict timeline with one end, and only one end, to pass away.
We are not of this world. We are strangers, pilgrims, sojourners in this world. The World systems and governments will not be redeemed, they will pass away and be but a distant memory, a parable of the perversion and redemption of Gods Creation.
We have millions of Christians, myself included, who have struggled and are struggling with The Call of God on our lives, because we have failed to see that our weaknesses, or uniqueness, our peculiar and strange ways(meaning to the fallen world) are actually what should define us.
I look back on my life at all the battles I have had and noticed with every loss, every fall, every slip and every time I turned my back on God, I was in a place where I was trying to meet a need that I didn't see being met by God or man. I was trying to cover the shame of my nakedness, shame, weaknesses and pain with the fig leaves of other things, instead of relying on the grace and love of God.
For decades I kept going to the past in my mind and heart. I spent 25 years fretting and stewing over the what ifs. Especially in a couple of areas, that it is embarrassing to share about , but I am unashamed of my story and His work in it.
I have had a battle with sexuality since I was a very young child. From some terrible memories, to being exposed to extreme pornography at a young age, to an addiction to masturbation from my preteen years and far beyond. I was a hot mess and at that age I had reasons to be. During my mid teen years until I was 18, were some very difficult times in my life.
I will not go into detail, I will place a link below for that part of my story.
I have always looked on those years as being so bad for my mind and soul. It was almost as if I would look to the past, in order to somehow , only in my mind, prove I was manly, not a impotent oddball. I was to the point of obsession, with trying to go back to those years in my mind and fix them. Facebook made it worse, because with that, we can haunt our past with a few clicks of the keyboard.
I must have brought this up to The Lord hundreds of times over the years as I continued to struggle with sexual temptation. Most of the time the conversation with go something like this.
"Lord I am messed up because of those years and my childhood trauma. If I was just allowed to "sow my wild oats" like all my friends did, I would have not ended up going deeper into sin to try and make up for it and comfort my soul. It would have quelled the trauma of what happened to me as a toddler and fixed me"
There are other things that came against my wife and I shortly after marrying that shut down any activity for a few years. So those years were usually added to the complaint. That full on attack of the enemy against my wife's health and my soul, was intense and long.
God would always say, what you look at as a curse, and a weakness and a shame, was actually my sovereign grace protecting you. What you see as a weakness was actually a strength you couldn't recognize because of the ways of the world and fallen man. What you look at as being a part of the problem , was intended to guard you and set you aside.
Could it be that we spend our whole lives trying to be or do something, failing over and over, and it be God that is allowing us to fail, or even causing us to fail in some mysterious way? All while we beat ourselves up for not being strong enough, or faithful enough, or brave enough? I can testify to the fact, that God indeed does hobble us, in a way, in order to guard the path of our lives that were ordained long before we were born.
I know we are getting into things that do not necessarily apply to everyone at the same level. It seems some people can work at what job comes their way, live in whatever city they feel like living in and attend any church, or not attend, and seemingly have a real relationship with Christ and are excelling in life with no roadblocks.
However there are some who are called to a very specific path, a very specific time and a very specific people. Many times, I believe anyway, God will do different things on the earth and from within the person to ultimately bring about His will through them, even if it means allowing a weakness or persistent failure to do so.
If a believer is so caught up in the world, and themselves, they will never realize that the angels are around them, helping them. They will not be able to see God's hand working in their lives. They will see all uncomfortable and painful things as weaknesses to be eradicated, instead of opportunities to be made perfect in God's strength.
They do not realize that the act of surrender, even if that surrender means being vulnerable and admitting natural weakness , is an act of supreme obedience and great power. They may see the wicked flourishing and instead of putting their full trust in The Lord , they join the battles of the world. They get themselves in between the fight of two dogs. They puff themselves up with pride and take on the carnal weapons, seeing Gods spiritual weapons as weak and powerless. They do not realize that the only way to fight , is to remove themselves from the fight. They fear by surrendering to the Lord and coming out of the carnal battles and systems of man, they are somehow giving up.
The Lord is calling His people to come out of the ways of the world. He is calling His leaders to lead His Flock into the green pastures of The Spirit. It is only when we remove ourselves from the ways of carnal man and the influence of The Anti-Christ that we can truly abide in Christ. We can not abide in The Spirit while transgressing Gods Word with our words and actions. We can not trust in chariots and then cry out for Gods Power. We can not rail against leaders and have the anointing to intercede that God turns their hearts. We can not trust in riches, comfort and worldly systems and also receive the greater things of Gods Provision and Spirit.
Many times the journey to full reliance upon The Lord and the supernatural, resurrection power of God has to begin with The Lord allowing us to lay over in a place of what we will see as weakness and vulnerability. He will allow the "prophet" to delay his arrival to see if we will commit the sin of Saul. He will allow a vacuum of the soul to see if we will turn to the soothsayers of our day. He may hobble us to see if we will continue to fight according to The Word. He may allow the wicked to rule to see if you will joyfully continue to serve him and not attack those he has allowed to rule for a time.
He may allow all of these at once, not to cause you to fail, but so that you can see that it is okay to be in a place of natural weakness and powerlessness. Where in the natural you are powerless to change anything on your own, and to make things worse if you try. Where all of your own natural power and abilities are crucified with Christ, and the pain of being stripped and dead has been fully realized. Then you are in a place to know the power and fellowship of His Resurrection.
Will you humble yourself as Jesus did? Will you lay down your right to be heard, to be right, to get your way, in order to walk in love, the full Love of Christ. When you pray, as Paul did, to know the fullness of the Love of Christ, do you realize what you are praying? Love is kind, gentle, not boastful, nor prideful, doesn't demand its own way. Love turns the other cheek. Love cares for and gives help to the enemy and stranger. Love sacrifices for those who hate us.
.I had a vision once in prayer. I took off what seemed to be a shell covering my body that was keeping the Light and Power that God put in me hidden and inaccessible to my own mind and soul. It was if I could not operate in the gifts he placed in me. I felt the frustrations of the past few years building up, until at last I tore this shell off me. The rerelease of light, joy, power , love and freedom was something I thirsted for.
A Poem
Come out, Come out, from among the lost,
Come out, Come out, and count the cost.
There is a great shout, coming from above
The SPIRIT of The Lord, crying out to His beloved
Come out, Come out, from the worlds of men,
Come out, Come out, and Be Born Again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There is a song coming straight from The throne
The voice of a Father, calling His wandering ones home
Come out, come out, from the darkness your in
Come out , come out, and be cleansed from your sin
Let our hearts be, one with The Lord
Let our voices cry out what our spirits have heard
Come out, Come out from among the lost
Come out, Come out, and count the cost
Come out, Come out, from the worlds of men,
Come out, Come out, and be Born Again
Come out, Come out, from the darkness your in
Come out, Come out and be cleansed from your sin
COME ALL THAT WILL,
AND RECEIVE THE NEW BIRTH!!
COME ALL THAT WILL,
THE FATHER IS WAITING FOR THE PRECIOUS FRUIT OF THE EARTH!!!!!2 Corinthians 12:8-10 NKJV
8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Read 2 Corinthians Chapters 11-13 with a heart to know The Lords heart concerning His Love and Will for us. Would anyone dare say Paul was weak and not relevant? Some did just that, even in his day, because he did not battle using the weapons of man.
Link to the "my story" mentioned in the post CLICK HERE
