A HOLY SPIRIT INVASION PROMISED…..

As we were worshipping the Lord in our Fellowship Gathering this morning, the Lord brought a prophetic word: -

From street to street, from door to door, from family to family…………thus the Lord invades a community and all that seems so dead is alive, awakened, because of the Spirit of God……..in the very air! He shall come and we shall breath this air. We shall speak out the word that He gave us.

In every street, every door, every family….like a flood that floods through a community when the river breaks it’s banks and nothing can stop it. The very doors swing open on their hinges, people are touched not because they called out to God, but because HIS TIME COMETH to invade their private places, and their conviction of sin is reawakened in their hearts as they remember what they had heard in childhood of the love of God. Their ways are turned about. Who can resist the ways and might of God?

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As we were singing the chorus “Thou mighty Christ, come forth in me,” a sister saw the above vision. She said she saw the Spirit of God sweeping into a community. He came to every door in every street, and came against every door that would keep Him out. The doors swung wide open on their hinges. It was like an invasion of the Spirit of God.

He went to every family, every grouping within each house. All were being affected, stricken in their hearts by the Spirit of God. He was in the very air so people could not help but breath Him in, even if they wanted to resist. As they breathed they were drawn to Him like a magnet.

Consider the record in Daniel 12:9 “And he said “Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.”

Is God preparing us to be ready and expectant for the “time of the end?” It is a time to rejoice, not to be fearful. Are we on the brink of such a time? I believe so. What is your witness within the depths of your being? Is God about to break the afore mentioned seal and open up that which He sealed in the time of Daniel? Is God’s stirring and quickening within us heralding the approach of the new season of Tabernacles…..fullness! There is something coming far more wondrous than we have seen thus far. All creation is groaning in birth pangs!

What is my part? To live each day with a prepared heart, to be ready, to keep short accounts with God in that I forgive those “who trespass against me” and endeavour not to trespass against them, to judge my own judgements and to be a quick repenter, to walk in humility, to relate and stay accountable to the Body of Christ and to obey the promptings of the Spirit that His voice may become clearer and louder……and to stay expectant! We are living in a glorious day! As the children of Israel lived in the Land of Goshen, so we, as the children of the Living God can walk in His glorious light and fullness amongst the darkness of our nations and governments and be the “light and salt” in demonstration and power of the Kingdom of God on this earth. Jesus did it, He was the Pattern Man. Let the sons and daughters of the Living God come forth in demonstration and manifestation of the Living Christ within us! IT’S TIME!

PEACE AMIDST TURMOIL

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The road along life’s highway takes many twists and turns. As we journey on we encounter the joys and sorrows of mountain top, valley, and sometimes, wilderness, experiences. In my darkest hour, in the depths of despair, is where I prove God is right by my side and I can walk with Him. The wilderness is not a place to set up home, to stay and live there, it is a place to travel THROUGH, on my journey to the Promised Land. It is, however, the place where I prove God. In the midst of all the turmoil, (not the absence of it), I can enter into God’s rest and find “….the peace which passes all understanding,” a proven reality in my life.

Daniel proved God IN the Lion’s Den. God delivered Daniel IN it, not FROM it. Surrender to God AMIDST the conflict is the answer.

God permits in His wisdom that which he could prevent in His power………I bow to God, surrender my limited understanding to His omniscient one. He is the all knowing One, not I. At the burning bush the Lord told Moses to remove his shoes for he was standing on holy ground. How often do I tread roughshod on holy ground? God bade Moses to remove the shoes of his “UNDER STANDING.”

Psalm 103:7 God “made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.”

Isaiah 55:8 – 9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord…………As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways……”

God can bring forth something beautiful in the lives of His children from the most heart rending conflicts. If I recognise God’s ways, my prayer life is radically changed. I cannot always understand, but I can enter into God’s peace and rest and trust amidst the turmoil. This is where I prove God. Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusts in Thee.”

It is my responsibility not to listen to the voices,(other than God’s), that would seek to control my life. When my heart is not Christ ruled, (peace ruled), it has an ungodly voice, so does the devil! Learn to recognise and disregard these voices for only what God says is true. James 3: 17 “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle….” This scripture bears testimony to God’s character when He speaks to me. His voice speaks with heavenly wisdom that does not bring confusion and the purity of His words bathe me in His peace – infallible proof as to whose voice I am listening to.

A hallmark of Tabernacles is peace, rest and trust in God’s TOTAL control.

Revelation 21:3 “The tabernacle of God is with MEN, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God.”

The Psalms testify to God “inhabiting the praises of His people,” but there is something greater. Will I surrender my will and my life to the Living God, that He would inhabit me and dwell there comfortably?

As the indwelling Christ within me progresses to full stature, He will be evidenced by the overflow of my heart and mouth with His praises to His glory.

TEST WHAT I SAY!

John 5:31 Jesus said, “If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true,” therefore an independent witness outside of myself is needed, I cannot bear testimony of myself. Words spoken by folks that glorify themselves, “blow their own trumpet”, or declare that what they are saying is truth and cannot be challenged should make us wary of them. Jesus’ words warn us that he who bears testimony of himself is not true.

It is far better that a man declares what he believes to be true, and then invites you to test it, witness to it by the Holy Spirit in you. The Holy Spirit will only witness to truth because He is ALL TRUTH. We are on a journey to ALL TRUTH but have not arrived there yet. During the journey, as the years go by, we have to change some of what we have previously believed to be true as it has not worked. What we believe has to work! We prove what we believe.

Scripture is often used “out of order” to confirm the truth of what people believe, but what I am in demonstration testifies far louder than what I say. Jesus demonstrated His believing in performing miracles. In John 1:6 – 8 Jesus had the earthly witness of John the Baptist and an independent witness from Heaven, outside of Himself. He declared, “I can of mine own self do nothing,” John 5:30, yet the Father’s power and will was manifest through Him in miracles, bearing testimony to all in a demonstration of God’s power and witness.

Jesus did not seek the honour that came from man. In John 5:44 He declared, ” How can you believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour which comes from God only?”

If what I am declaring is truth, I don’t have to prop it up or refuse to have it challenged. It stands by itself and has an independent witness outside of myself – the Holy Ghost, Who only witnesses to truth. I can invite people to test what I am declaring.

Jude verse 3 speaks of “contending for the faith”. Problems arise, however, when men contend for their personal expression of the faith causing contention. What a man does of faith, he does to the Lord so in God’s eyes I am “inexcusable” when I judge him for it, Romans 2. I need to stop judging others for what they do and discern that their expression of faith is different according to their believing, as what a man believes rules him.

Romans 14 talks about men’s different expressions of the faith, doctrines etc. which are an outward manifestation of an inner motive of faith known only to God. At the end of Romans 14 we are asked the question in verse 22, “Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God.”

Part of the “Bride making herself ready” is to stop judging. When I judge I am in unforgiveness and God does not forgive unforgiveness, – so I need to repent before Him of it.

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THE TEN VIRGINS Matthew 25

In the parable of the 10 virgins, all 10 were asleep when the Bridegroom came. When they were awoken it was dark and they needed the oil for their lamps in order to see. God has given me His oil to apply in the “dark” to see the way I should go in God’s light. My responsibility before God is to walk in the light He has given me, otherwise the light becomes darkness, John 12:35. God gives me light to walk in, not bask in!

The Bridegroom returns at midnight but He does not want to come for a sleeping Church………..get ready!

THE BRIDE MUST MAKE HERSELF READY

Revelation 19 prophesies the forthcoming marriage supper of the Lamb of God, when He, the Lord Jesus Christ, claims His Bride, the Church.

Revelation 19:7 declares “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife has made herself ready.”

I need to know where my responsibility lies in “making myself ready.” Whilst believing all that is contained in scripture because it is “in the Book,” there is still a diverse range in believing causing much division regarding “end times” – eschatology. I can get “hung up” or confused trying to understand all the different doctrines along this line, but, confusion is not of God! The books of Timothy and Titus have much to say regarding sound doctrine, which produces godly edifying, not confusion. However, the doctrines of man are a mixture with a measure of truth that produces confusion. The simplicity of Christ is lost in the mixture of trying to understand it all.

My part in “making myself ready” is to walk humbly with my God. Micah 6:8 answers the question to what God requires of me, “….to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with my God.”

I need to prioritise hearing God’s voice and walking in the truth that He reveals to me. If I humble and empty, He will guide.

God has a TREMENDOUS day ahead for His people. We know in our spirit that there is something coming far more wondrous than we see. God’s Spirit witnesses to our spirit that we are on the brink.

The Gospel is a “whosoever” Gospel for all mankind, but each one of us has to choose to receive God’s gift of salvation – then man’s responsibility is to respond to God’s Holy Spirit leadings in each of our lives – “to make ourselves ready.” Remember, God often comes “in disguise,” in the form of another member of the Body, and we can refuse Him, set ourselves up and miss “making ourselves ready.”

Paul, the Apostle, prayed that we would receive spiritual understanding which is necessary to understand the things of God. Our natural mind is soulish and we often wrongly apply it. Fear cannot function in the Spirit. It has no rights or place in the Kingdom of God.

James 3:17 declares “The wisdom of God is first pure and then peaceable…..” We often receive a mixture and then have to sort it out. When I partake of the Tree of Life it is pure – there is no mixture, but, there is much taught that brings division because it is a mixture based on truth, but including a lie.

Church history records much division and controversy because of the mixture of truth and lies. There is no lie in the truth, but there can be a measure of truth in a lie. If I do not open myself up to Christ, this mixture will be produced in me. My readiness, (making myself ready), is to disappear into Christ, lose my identity. It does not matter what Jesus does because He ALWAYS does the Father’s will, – so if I disappear into Him He will live His life in and through me. I will be unaware of it, – so all the glory goes to God, and my Heavenly Father will be well pleased.

My unity is not in “what” I believe, but “Who” I believe in, as what I believe is always changing. The abiding presence of Christ in me can overcome differences in other people, thus I am travelling light, nothing to uphold, nothing to prove, nothing to cling to except the Cross, the Blood and the Word – because in these there is no division.

God made me who I am, man tries to make me something else and conform……………. My prayer is, “Dear Lord, please help me to be what You made me to be, and to live my life as a gift back to You. Amen.”

HOLY GHOST LIVING

Romans 14:7 “The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in THE HOLY GHOST.”

God created mankind in His image and for His good pleasure. Secular society, choosing to leave God out, produces a dysfunctional world that endeavours to show us how to live, but only God and His principles can bring order out of chaos. Life is in Jesus Christ. How do we live it? By the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, but so many in the world are trying to seek out the key to a better life by the wrong source.

1Timothy 6:17 Timothy charges us not to trust in uncertain riches but to trust in “…….the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.” God desires for us to enjoy this life He has given us! His purpose is that we enjoy life and function in the Holy Ghost – “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.”

We all claim something, but without the Holy Ghost we cannot even know Jesus. How many of us learn to function by the Holy Spirit? So very often we leave Him behind, trust in ourselves, our acquired knowledge and the world’s ways, resulting in ship-wreck! We have so much to un-learn. Countless times we repeat the scripture that our ways are not God’s ways………yet we go on to prove it again and again by doing things according to pattern and tradition independently of God, and getting things wrong, instead of being led by the Holy Ghost.

There is a certain school of thought in the Church that thinks functioning in the Holy Ghost only relates to manifestations of healings, miracles, soul-saving – but what about every day living? We need Him to function in daily relationships with one another, decision making, to live lives that glorify God without the stresses and pressures of the world. Stress, anxiety and pressure are not of God. The world is full of it. The Holy Spirit shows us how to live at peace amongst it, – “…in the world but not of it.”

We know Jesus said, “Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” – but do we do it? Do we walk in the birthright of a Believer? – rest, by the Holy Ghost, our Teacher, or do we continue to stress and fix our lives our way? I need the Holy Ghost to keep humble.

God’s purpose was to make an incomplete man that we might find our completion in Him. God completes me! Only with the Divine Guide, the Holy Spirit, can we do it as we lean on His direction and dependency.

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BENEFITS OF THE DIVINE COURTS OF THE KING

Psalm 65:4
“Blessed is the man whom You choose, and cause to approach to You, that he may dwell in Your courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house.”

We may often think that we started something in our walk with God. This Psalm of David clearly states that right at the beginning, God CAUSED me to approach Him. There is a “cause” that comes from the Spirit of God that He would be “all in all.” God chose me that I might dwell in His kingly courts. I just responded to His call.

In the natural realm, in times past, it was highly sort after to be in the king’s court. It was a position of great favour to be in the King’s presence and receive all the court benefits. So it is with us with our divine King, Jesus.

What a comforting, settling thought that God started this. He caused me to come and chose me that I might dwell in His courts and enjoy His presence. He has made a divine deposit inside of me, His treasure that stretches beyond me and will have an effect in spite of me, for His glory!

GIFTS AND CALLINGS

The Lord graciously bestows His many and varied gifts and callings on us, His children, and we each need to know what our function is in the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit of God will bear witness to the gift, by giving unction (anointing) on the function. There will be fruit in the lives of those who are operating in their divine giftings.

A man has no place to glory (take the credit) in his divine function because the source is all of God. Christ in me – the hope of God receiving His due glory! Paul speaks of this in 1Corinthians 4:7; “For who makes you to differ from another? And what have you got that you didn’t receive? Now, if you did receive it, why do you glory as if you hadn’t received it?” As we saw last week, “Of Him, through Him and to Him are ALL things.”

In Matthew 7:15 – 20 Jesus gives a warning and sound advice for us. A good tree is recognised by it’s fruit. A godly life will bear fruit for God’s glory in many ways. The fruit of the Spirit will be evident (Ephesians 5:22 – 23) and the Kingdom of God will be extended in many ways.

When a person is called and gifted of God in a particular field, it is their responsibility , in stewardship of the gift, to keep in tune with God and operate in their function.

In 1 Corinthians 4:2 Paul declares “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”

1Peter 4:10, “As every man has received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Have I ever considered that God showered me with His grace that I, in turn, might minister it to others? It is not for me to just keep to myself and revel in. God will be glorified in my life as I show it to others.

Jesus declared that man should live “….by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God,” Matthew 4:4 – so I need a proceeding word, i.e. a living word/reimer word, to operate in my gift. When God says “Go,” I need to move, but if He says “Stay,” I need to withhold. Jesus was never primarily moved by need. He was firstly related to His Father, who then directed Him where to relate to a particular need. Jesus came to do the Father’s will. He was always tuned in to listen to His word of instruction. The Amplified Bible records it like this, John 5:30, “I am able to do nothing of Myself – independently, of my own accord; but as I am taught by God and as I get His orders, (I decide as I am bidden to decide. As the voice comes to me, so I give a decision.) Even as I hear, I judge and my judgement is right, because I do not seek or consult My own will. I have no desire to do what is pleasing to Myself, but only the will and pleasure of the Father Who sent Me.”

Often when God blesses a person operating in a particular gift, they want the rest of the Body to function as they do. Sometimes they go as far as writing a book on “How to ……whatever,”…………but that is for them, not everyone else! We need to be faithful in what God has called us to without trying to make our glove fit another’s hand. It is for everyone
to know their gift and calling individually, and together we make the whole. Unity not conformity!

1 Corinthians chapter 12 declares the diversities of gifts, but of the same Spirit in a many membered Body. Verse 11, “The Spirit divides (the gifts) severally as He will.”

Let me delight in each member’s gift that is bringing forth fruit for the Kingdom, but let me not err in trying to make everyone move in my gifting!

Jesus came to serve and not to be served. He encouraged us to “wash one another’s feet,” John 13:4 – 17, in a powerful demonstration of humility. So many want to use God’s gifts for personal gain, recognition and self glory. This truth stands that GOD WILL NOT GIVE HIS GLORY TO ANOTHER, as many ship-wrecked lives testify after taking the credit to themselves. Jesus made Himself “of no reputation,” and He is the Son of God! All the glory He receives of men is safe in His hands because He re-directs it to the Father.

So….let us humbly walk in what God has called each of us to and trust Him to take care of the rest – just a link in a divine chain – not desiring to be seen of men, but to be functioning in line with God’s purposes. Our reward is to feel the warmth of His smile, the touch of His presence in our lives, for indeed!….we have this treasure, (Jesus), in our earthen vessels. Priceless!

RIGHTEOUS ANGER OR CARNAL INDIGNATION?

It is vital that I know the difference between righteous anger and carnal indignation.

A good friend walked into her local bank this week, transacted her business and bid the cashier, “Goodbye.” Instead of the usual “Good day!” expected, the cashier responded with a question that arrested the customer in her tracks, and set alarm bells ringing in her thoughts. “Mrs. Jones, are you aware that the bank considers you a prime customer to be offered a loan?”

These were the words that caused an eruption in Mrs. Jones’ peaceful composure. From the depth of her being a volcano erupted. “Loan!”, she retorted. “LOAN!”, she exploded, “When will you people realise that’s why this country is in such a mess because of the irresponsible encouragement to borrow and spend what can be ill afforded! My generation grew up being taught to save for your goals, not borrow finance. This evil Loan Culture has ruined our nation!”

The cashier looked embarrassed and subdued. On the other hand, Mrs. Jones was amazed at the eruption of words that she had spewed from her mouth, totally out of character in such a situation. On seeing the cashier’s embarrassment, Mrs. Jones immediately humbled before her and apologised, saying that she realised that she was only doing her job as a representative of the Bank, whose policy decisions were nothing to do with her. After a profuse apology, Mrs. Jones left the premises somewhat disturbed.

On returning home she examined herself before the Lord. Where had that outburst come from? It was so out of character in such a situation!

Many reading this will have had similar experiences in life. There is a great difference between uncontrolled anger in a person – carnal indignation, and righteous anger. One of the problems regarding this is that many will claim they are demonstrating the “righteous anger” of God, but it is nothing but the old enemy of their own pride resurfacing. Pride is always the last to leave and the first to show up again. The only way to deal with pride is to humble yourself.

If I refuse to humble where God has shown me I am wrong, then in His timing He will humiliate me in His righteous judgement. BUT….He always gives me opportunity to humble myself first. If I refuse to humble in my pride, then I have to accept the consequences…….pain, heartache, loss of His Presence, peace and joy, – what a price to pay!

1Peter 5:5 “God resists the proud.”

What Mrs. Jones was experiencing was the righteous anger of God against an evil culture. Consider this: Isaiah 59:19 “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” In retrospect, Mrs. Jones realised she had wrongly verbally attacked the cashier who was only doing her job as a company representative. Quite rightly she immediately humbled herself and apologised for directing her outburst at her. She could have handled it differently and her complaint was with the hierarchy of the bank.

Matthew 21:12 – 17 records the well-known account of Jesus’ righteous anger on behalf of His Father, when He overturned the tables of the dishonest money changers in the Temple. Verse 13 – Jesus said,”It is written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer”, but you have made it a den of thieves.”

The Lamb of God became the Lion of Judah on behalf of His Father’s interests, not His own. This was the governing factor, the factor that governed all His earthly life.

He came to do His Father’s will and demonstrate His submissive humility in that governing factor. Jesus said to Philip, ” He that has seen me has seen the Father,” John 14:9. CAN PEOPLE SAY THAT OF ME?

THINE IS THE GLORY

John 1:12 “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God.” I am called to sonship. God has changed my worm-like nature to the nature of His Son! Hallelujah!

Let us give God the ascendancy and glory/credit for what He has accomplished through, and in, our lives. “For in Him we live and move and have our being,” Acts17:28. We can do nothing apart from the Lord giving us breath and ability.

It is right for me to give honour where it is due to others, to praise and encourage, but it is wrong to take that credit to myself, instead of recognising that God is the Enabler. His grace and power in me enables me.

The credit is all God’s. Romans 11:36 declares, “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him ARE ALL THINGS, to whom be glory for ever.” What can you, or I add to that? Nothing! It is complete. The wonder of this great mystery is that this divine completion lives within me in the form of God’s Son, when I am “born again” by His Holy Spirit.

A recipe for spiritual tragedy is not giving God the glory due to Him. A foundational building block of spiritual life is as John the Baptist put it, ” He must increase, I must decrease.” So often a divine blessing becomes a stumbling block to the person and others, when the due glory is not given back to God, but kept to themselves in pride.

If I do not recognise the source of my abilities and give God the credit, then He withdraws the grace from my life. In Ezekiel 36:26 – 31 the Lord promises His people to replace their stony hearts with new ones of flesh, increase their crop yields of field and orchards to replace famine, to rebuild and inhabit ruined cities…..BUT……here the Lord gives a stern warning that in the times of great blessing, NOT TO FORGET where He has brought us from and delivered us out of.

God recognises the danger in great blessing that we often fail to see. It is easy to become complacent with, and even take for granted His blessings, becoming careless with our stewardship of His provision.

In our ever changing world, secular organisations require qualified employees to take Refresher Courses, to remind and update their memories to all important procedures and requirements relative to their particular field. This is done for the safety and benefit of the company and it’s employees.

So it is with us Christians. We need a “Refresher Course” occasionally. It is healthy to “take stock”. God’s warnings, (Ezekiel 36:31), are for our greatest good and spiritual health. It is vital that we do not become complacent and sloppy with this great treasure God has given us, the life of His Son! May this truth sink into the very depths of my being and become the fabric of my everyday life: Christ in me produces the hope of God receiving the glory for His work in, and through my life.

God enabled B. Rhodes to pen the words to the great and well known hymn; “My heart and voice I raise, to sing Messiah’s praise……” The last verse proclaims:

Hail, Saviour, Prince of Peace,
Thy kingdom shall increase,
TILL ALL THE WORLD THY GLORY SEE…….

Where will this great kingdom increase? The Kingdom of God is within us when we are “born again” of His Spirit. As we yield to, and are led by, the Holy Spirit the “measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” will come forth in us as we lose our identity in Him. God’s glory will be manifest through us……….LIVING EPISTLES – to the glory of God!….for His divine purposes.

THINE IS THE GLORY!

THE HEARTBEAT OF GOD

The passing of the New Year is often accompanied by a positive expectancy in our humanity. If the expectancy is birthed of God, it will surely come to fulfilment, for the seed determines. Just as carrots and onions grow from their respective seed in the right environment, so that which is planted and birthed of God will come to fulfilment……but sons/daughters of the Living God are not grown overnight. It can take a lifetime.

Often during the New Year our humanity craves change and looks at the growth factor. My beloved Heavenly Father “watches over me.” HE LOVES ME. He doesn’t just put up with me! He carries on His business of “growing sons” regardless of the calendar. God is not in time, time is in God. He is never in a hurry but He is always on time for His purposes.

Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” LET….has tremendous significance. If I “let” something, then I “allow” it in responsibility and choice. Not my mind but the mind of Christ ruling and over-ruling my mind, for His glory. What is His mind? “He made Himself of no reputation………He humbled Himself…….” Phil. 2:5 – 8. For the student sons and daughters of God, who graduate from the School of Humility, rare gems are produced to God’s glory.

God is unchangeable and so is His purpose for our lives. Father, Son and Holy Ghost are one in unity, and that was Jesus’ prayer for all Believers in John 17:20 – 23, that we would all be one. That prayer is eternal and therefore always current. Jesus is returning for a Bride that “has made herself ready,” Rev.19:7. He is not returning for a Bride that is not ready.

God is preparing a people. How am I responding to His preparations, His work in my life? God is conforming us to the image of His Son. He is using a different set of circumstances in each of our lives to do the same work.

Jesus was one with the Father, unity. Am I one with the Father? Out of Jesus’ unity with His Father came the authority of God and unity with His brethren. Authority speaks of power. So many are seeking the power of signs and wonders with wrong motives, and some have disunity with members of the Body of Christ. It is not my job to put others right, “The Bride must make HERSELF ready”, not others. I need to keep MY heart right before the Lord. “These signs shall FOLLOW them that believe…..” Mark 16:17-18,….. FOLLOW…! – they are not to be pursued after by us.

The greatest miracle that can happen in me is that I may be one with my Heavenly Father, and therefore one with the members of His Body. God never deceives, but He often comes in disguise………..in the form of another member of the Body.

THE HEARTBEAT OF GOD FOR THIS HOUR IS UNITY.

GOD IS NOT IN RECESSION!

John 4:14, Jesus said, “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst again.” A wonderful place!

Jeremiah 17: 7-8, “Blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; AND SHALL NOT BE CAREFUL IN THE YEAR OF DROUGHT, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”

We all have periods of drought in our lives, but, somewhere in God, there is a place where I do not allow the drought to control me. At present there is much recession in the world, but GOD IS NOT IN RECESSION. As Believers we are safe in the Kingdom of God.

There are 3 positions to consider in my walk:-

CARELESS – when I am irresponsible. This is not acceptable to God.
CAREFUL – full of care/anxiety. This is not acceptable to God.
CAREFREE – I take my responsibility and roll it on God’s shoulders. By trusting Him He enables me to walk through my spiritual recession and He causes the spiritual waters to flow again.

1Peter 4:7-10
7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be sober and watch unto prayer.
8 And above all things have fervent love among yourselves: for love shall cover a multitude of sins.
9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging.
10 As every man has received the gift, even so minister one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

The manifold grace of God……..Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. They are married. Above is mentioned the Jeremiah quote, ” and shall not be careful in the year of drought,”. If I encounter a place of drought then I must have truth before the Lord, which turns on the tap of grace again.

I am so thankful for God’s SAVING grace, but I also need CHANGING grace. I have to embrace what I am in truth, but God wants change, to move me on. I will never have changing grace until I glorify God in PARDONING grace. His alone is all the credit (glory) for His work and change in my life. Then He moves me on to KEEPING grace, He keeps me! Still the credit is all His.

This manifold grace of God: saving grace, pardoning grace, changing grace and keeping grace. Am I a good steward of God’s manifold grace?

God gives more grace to the humble. Acts 10:34 declares, “I perceive that God is no respecter of persons,” but He is a respecter of humility. There can be no unity without humility. God resists the proud. I do not want God to resist me. I love and revere Him and have an acceptable, healthy fear of Him, encompassed in the security of His deep love for me. Do I recognise my vulnerability in my spiritual walk?

In God “I live and move and have my being”. Most of us do not have access to vast finance or insurances. If God wants to gain my attention, He can easily tweak the tap of grace and turn it off. I acknowledge my vulnerability – I am a kept man by the grace of God alone.

God’s grace enables me to be the child of God He has created me to be and empowers me to do what He has called me to do.

“Christ in me, the hope of glory!” The glory is all God’s! Mercy has surely walked into my life, in the form of His dear Son, Jesus Christ.

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At the end of our Gathering at Sunday Fellowship the Lord gave this interpretation of a tongue:

There is a quickening to be had in the presence of God. His presence will quicken your mortal flesh that fails. His nearness will quicken your body and spirit as you touch Him again, for there is quickening in the presence of the Lord. He makes alive again. He brings to bear on your failing life and makes alive again. He redeems and brings back the strength and replaces the weakness of humanity, for there is such a quickening in the presence of the Lord.

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Quicken…………the very word discharges power and life. When God touches us, or we touch God, there is such a quickening in our spirit and it overflows into our body, into our mind and lifts us.

Phil. 2:5-10
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.