How to Get Yourself in a Place to Receive God's Instruction - KATHY DEGRAW CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Receiving God's instruction requires the discipline and obedience of the cross. (Lightstock)

How to Get Yourself in a Place to Receive God's Instruction

11/20/2015 KATHY DEGRAW  charisma magazine

Join us on our new podcast each weekday for an interesting story, well told, from Charisma News. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

---

Do you walk in obedience at your convenience or do you walk in strict obedience to our Father?

Obedience requires sacrifice. It requires us sacrificing what we think is important and what our flesh wants. It sometimes requires us sacrificing the easy way out. It requires us to get rid of our fleshly tendencies. Obedience requires discipline. Discipline to be adamant about following His orders, obeying our prophecies and directions that He has given directly to us.

Some of us would say we are obedient to God. We go to church, pray and worship, but this is not the obedience I am talking about. The obedience I am talking about is following His instruction.

How closely and attentively do you follow His instruction? Do you write down His instructions? Do you remember His instructions? Do you ignore His instructions or do you listen to His instructions? We don't all like to be told what to do, even by our Heavenly Father. I assure you, we do need His instruction.   

How do we get ourselves in a place to receive that instruction and act on those instructions? It is by allowing God to instruct us in all areas of our life, big and small. We look for God's direction in big things, but when we hear His direction in the small things, often we don't think it is God and that we don't need to obey in the "little things." It is obedience in these little things that the Father uses to instruct us how to have obedience in the greater things. When we hear these instructions and obey, we will learn to hear more clearly as a result of our obedience.

As you look at your life, do you consider yourself an obedient person? Would you be obedient if God told you to give away a piece of your jewelry? What if He told you to buy a person's meal? Now let's go a little further, what if there was something you really wanted to do badly and He told you not to do it? Could you be obedient? What if there was a situation that you really had to walk by faith and not by sight? Could you be obedient? What if you thought, oh it's no big deal I will do it anyways?  That is not obedience! Doing something contrary to what He has instructed you to do is nothing but disobedience.

Obedience comes in all forms, shapes and sizes. Our Heavenly Father is requiring us to be obedient in all things—all things, not just some things, but all things. This requires us crucifying our flesh, our wants and our desires for His. Our life is not our own; it belongs to the One who sits on the throne! We must get to the point where every thought, every action is in obedience to Him, is in relationship to Him. 

We must examine our past instructions from the Father and ask ourselves, are we completing them, are we living them out? We need to go back into the past and say what has the Father told me to do, what have I written down, what did He tell me to start or complete that I am not doing. We need to make sure the things of the past, present and future are under the guidance and leading of the Father and that we are heeding His instruction willfully, obediently and quickly.

There is much more we can be doing for the kingdom if we will take the time to repent, confess, submit and take a huge step forward in complete obedience. No matter what it feels like or looks like, will you take that step forward with me in complete obedience? Remember our life is not our own; it belongs to the One who sits on the throne.

Kathy DeGraw is the founder of DeGraw Ministries a ministry releasing the love and power of God.  She travels hosting conferences, teaching schools and evangelistic love tours.  Kathy enjoys writing several books that educate, empower and equip people, including A Worship Woven Life and Flesh, Satan or God. Connect with Kathy at www.degrawministries.org.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW - Life in the Spirit is your Spirit-filled teaching guide. Encounter the Holy Spirit, hear God speak to you, and enjoy timeless teachings on love, mercy and forgiveness.LEARN MORE!

"A Time to Walk in the Spirit! 14 Days to Triumph!" - Chuck D. Pierce

"A Time to Walk in the Spirit! 14 Days to Triumph!"

Chuck D. Pierce, Corinth, TX 

The Elijah List

Newsletter dated Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Hearing the Word of the Lord!

Dear Walkers in the Spirit: The remnant in the Body is alive and well. The world is changing drastically. Dark is getting darker and light is getting lighter. This brings me to what I am seeing. 

The key to our spiritual life is learning to walk in the Lord! 

Here is what the Spirit of God is saying to us:

"Many of you are saying that you can't hear Me, but that is because you are rehearsing in your own ears all your problems and all your ills. Your thoughts can be your thoughts, but most of the time, they are Me trying to get your attention. 

Shut down all the contending voices, be quiet and still your emotions, and then listen to Me! 

I have something to say to you, and if you'd just listen to Me I can put you on the right path. I determine your times and places! Walk with ME!

"Focus on My horizon line so you know the destination that you are journeying toward! You are part of a painting that is being composed by ME! 

I am painting you into a destined landscape.

Focus on the horizon line so you're not surprised by the darkness that is in your frame! I must have both light and darkness to compose YOUR PAINTING!

Within the field of your painting there is a TREASURE to be found! You must weather your entire landscape to find the treasure in your field.

(Photo by Mike De Lorenzo "River of His Delight" via elijahshopper.com)

"SEE differently! HEAR differently! SEE ME! HEAR ME! Change your frame of reference! I am adding new colors and new events to create the MASTERPIECE of your future!"

Walking in the Spirit!

Linda Heidler walks in the Spirit. She has helped me compose this focus that will help each of us gain a new perspective and direction. 

I feel the goal of the next 14 days is to WALK IN THE SPIRIT! 

Linda helped develop a teaching on "Nourishing and Exercising Your Spirit" so that you can fellowship in the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit is one of the least understood concepts of the Christian Life! When God formed man, He blew into him and created his spirit. Our spirit existed with God. When He blew into us, He created that inner part in us that belongs to Him.

Psalm 139 states that He knit us together in our mother's womb. That part in each human is there to be housed by Him. 

This allows our best destiny to be unlocked. That is the secret place in you that He longs to come and dwell to reconnect you to Himself.

We often try to relate to God through our soul or physical body. We try to find our worth through our mind, emotions, and looks. Unless we understand our true spiritual nature, we cannot function as a whole person! Many times we tend to seek the Lord in our quiet time, but then forget that He is present all day and would love to meet with us when we are least expecting Him. He is constantly longing to visit with you.

As Penny Jackson recently shared, "I am just realizing that when something comes to my mind, most likely God is speaking to me. Most of us spend most of our lives thinking that our thoughts are ours. However, we are not our own. 

I think we have to divide our thoughts out to determine what God is saying, but I am learning that He communes with us more than we know! I am learning to listen more clearly for Him all day, rather than just in my quiet time!" (Photo via Pixabay)

I believe that this summarizes the call to walk with Him in the Spirit. Let's listen more carefully over the next 14 Days!

14 Days to Triumph!

Day 1: Read, Meditate, and Memorize 1 Thessalonians 5:23. Be whole! "And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [separate you from profane things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God]; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and complete [and found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)."

Day 2: Read Genesis 1:26 through Genesis 3. Satan wants you to believe that God is not directing you, but God created you to walk with you. The enemy also wants you to think that God is holding out on you. This is what he did to the Woman in the garden as he manipulated her desires. Ask God to break any manipulation that is aligned with your desires. Ask the Lord to let you hear Him in the cool of the day!

Day 3: Read Psalm 37. Be sure your desires are aligned correctly. Temptation is linked to desires that are not within God's boundaries. Your desires must be sanctified to walk in the Spirit.

Day 4: Re-read Genesis 2:7. Read John 20:20-22. Let Him renew your spirit by the breath of His Spirit, and then allow Him to re-commission you. "Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life, and man became a living being."

"So saying, He showed them His hands and His side. And when the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with joy (delight, exultation, ecstasy, rapture). Then Jesus said to them again, 'Peace to you! [Just] as the Father has sent Me forth, so I am sending you.' And having said this, He breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit!'"

Day 5: Read Psalm 23. This is a Psalm of Prosperity. Your path should be prosperous when you walk in the Spirit. Read this Psalm out loud three times! Psalm 23 comforts you in distress and affliction as He leads you in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. In Hebrew, the word "path" is 'agol, which means to be round or a cycle. He guides us in the cycles of righteousness. 

This is linked with the timing of the Feasts. Chag, or festival, means to make a cycle. If we understand the feast, then we understand cycles. We can be led properly, prosper and not have lack. If we stay in God's timing, we prosper. Walk in the Spirit on your PATH! Jehovah Rohi causes you to SEE your path!

Day 6: Read Galatians 3:4-5 and Galatians 5, especially verse 16 and 25! Look at the circumstances that you have been through and are going through. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how He has worked and is working in you. Feel His Spirit. Enter into the fruit of His Spirit. Evaluate His fruit. Walk and live in the Spirit. (Photo via Pixabay)

Day 7: Read and memorize Ephesians 1:3-6, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved." 

Look up into Heaven and see all your spiritual blessings for your bloodlines. Claim them all, even the ones other generations did not claim. Walk in a way that they will manifest.

Day 8: Read Isaiah 55, and Matthew 16. Lean not on your own understanding. His thoughts are not your thoughts. See from His perspective. His word will not return void. Notice how Peter operated. He had great revelation, and then his mind and emotions kicked in and were occupied by satan. Ask the Lord to bring your mind and emotions under control.

Day 9: Read Ezekiel 36-37. As you read these chapters, know that the Lord is speaking and reiterating His promise for your future. He wants to break all scattering in your life. He wants to break all hope deferred. He wants you to recognize His power to perform His Word!

Day 10: Read James 5 and Matthew 4. The Word of God tells us to submit ourselves to God, draw near to Him, and then resist the devil. As we worship and submit ourselves to a Holy God, we can come into intimate contact with Him. Even though we walk here on the earth in our worshipful submission, we ascend into Heaven. 

As we individually seek God and ascend into the Throne Room, we can hear the sound of Heaven in our spirit man on Earth. Be sure to deal with any area where you are not operating in submission. Resist satan's temptation in your wilderness. Remember, the Spirit of God led Jesus into the wilderness. Stop in the midst of your hard situation and see the Spirit's leading.

Day 11: Read Psalm 34 and Hebrews 1, especially verse 14. Praise God for the angels that are encamping around you. Declare that these ministering spirits will transcend to the natural realm from the spiritual realm. 

As we ascend in worship, we also know that a portal opens for angelic visitation. During our times of prayer and crying out to God, during those times when we worship with abandonment as David did, we enter the realm of the spirit. Angels help to bring messages and direct us. Don't negate the angels around you! 

(Photo by Mike De Lorenzo "Jesus' Return on the White Horse" via elijahshopper.com)

Day 12: Read Luke 10. Ask the Lord to remove all distractions that are robbing the best for you and your family. Ask the Lord to cause your will to realign so that you choose the best that He has for you. Quit swatting at gnats. Ask the Lord to teach you about His BEST!

Day 13: Read Hebrews 4-5, and memorize Hebrews 5:14. Let the Word divide asunder your soul and spirit to know His will. Ask the Lord to release discernment in you.

Day 14: Read Romans 8. Ask the Lord to give you a new, triumphant spirit. Read this chapter three times. Ask the Lord for your spirit to be quickened by His Spirit.

These are days of learning His Spirit. Walk in His Spirit and live in His Spirit!

Blessings,

Chuck D. Pierce
Glory of Zion International Ministries

Email: chuckp@glory-of-zion.org
Website: glory-of-zion.org

Charles D. "Chuck" Pierce serves as President of Global Spheres, Inc. (GSI) in Corinth, Texas. This is an apostolic, prophetic ministry that is being used to gather and mobilize the worshipping Triumphant Reserve throughout the world. Chuck also serves as President of Glory of Zion International Ministries, a ministry that aligns Jew and Gentile. 

He is known for his accurate prophetic gifting which helps direct nations, cities, churches, and individuals in understanding the times and seasons in which we live. Chuck and his wife, Pam, have six children and seven grandchildren. He has authored over 20 books, including the best-sellers Interpreting the Times, Redeeming the Time, and Time to Defeat the Devil.

To subscribe to The Elijah List go to:http://elijahlist.com/subscribe

We Need To Hear God - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

We Need To Hear God

- Now Think On This

by Steve Martin

“My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.”

(Proverbs 4:20 Complete Jewish Bible)

How often do you need direction? Ever take a wrong turn because the GPS or Google maps app led you to a dead end road? It has done it to me.

Do you ever need wisdom to know what is the right thing to do, when to do it and how to do it? Probably everyday if we admit it.

As it happens often, I personally have to choose to give the Lord the opportunity to speak to me, so who and what I hear is coming from Him. Yes, He is speaking – through His Word, by way of other people sharing a thought with me, or having His Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh in Hebrew) drop a word in my brain at any given moment. If I am spiritually open, I will know it is Him.

Choosing to hear the Lord is up to each individual. Being raised a Roman Catholic, I thought it was the priest’s job to hear God. If God wanted to say something to me, of course He’d tell the priest and I’d hear it during his little sermonette given once a week at Sunday Mass. I could just sit back and let the man of the cloth do it. He was closer to God, right? (While at the University of Northern Iowa in the fall of 1973, my one and only year of college at the age of 18, the Lord revealed Himself to me big time. I then divinely understood what He meant when He told Peter Who the Rock was. It was Jesus Himself.)

For the “Protestants”, those having a pastor or teacher of the Bible can easily expect him to just tell you what to do during your weekly meeting. So why read your Bible or pray daily during a daily quiet time with the Lord? Let someone else do it for you. Or so many mistakenly think.

We can allow the constant onslaught of noise to so occupy our thoughts that even when He does speak we may not know it. That is our loss. It will cost us now and later.

The Almighty God, Creator of the universe, wants to communicate with His children. He desires to give us direction and wisdom, but we must give Him a quiet break in our lives to be able to hear Him.

It takes time to learn to hear the Lord’s voice. It is a discipline we must have. Being able to discern when He speaks is an ongoing process, even as we learned to listen in our youth. As a young child growing up, given time over the months and years, each child becomes accustomed to the sound of their parents’ voices. I heard once that even the unborn baby begins to recognize the voice of their mother. They respond accordingly when she talks. (Yet another reason to protect the unborn in their mother’s womb at any stage of their living growth.) So it is with the Lord. It takes time, but we can learn to hear His voice.

I often find myself during the day asking the Lord for help in my office accounting work for three businesses. It becomes especially necessary as the years have gone by and my memory banks do not seem to be as easily able to access the info needed. I like the joke I heard once of the aged one who said, “It takes a little longer to get the answer to a question nowadays. With all the information I have packed in my mind, those memory banks have more to process through.”

We need to hear God for our own personal lives. We need to hear God for our families. We need to be a part of the “working” Body of Christ, that rises up in our culture and declares His truth, opposing the deception rampantly spreading throughout the world. Only by hearing His voice will we be able to do it.

For the congregation we are connected to, we need to hear God. For the nation we abide in, we desperately need to know what the Lord is saying, so we can hear, obey and move forward with His directives.

Hearing God is especially more true today as His written Word has been replaced in all areas of society, including our government and the arts. Knowing what is now going on in the educational system, which presses upon our children’s minds a godless, humanistic, crumbling foundation; and Islamic and other false religions subtlety and blatantly showing up in text books and teachers’ lessons - we have got to hear the Lord, so we can act properly, and be sure our kids know the truth, and are raised right!

I encourage you to do whatever it takes for you to hear God. My practice is to give Him the first hour of the day. In order to do that I personally have to cut back the time I stay up at night watching TV. It is worth it, as He shares His heart with me in the morning hours.

How about you? Do you want to hear the Lord speak to you? Then give Him that time to do so. Believe me, He is waiting and willing to speak to you.

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder

Love For His People. Inc.

Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations.

 

If these messages minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless families we know in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. Your tax deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

Click here for safe ONLINE GIFT GIVING THROUGH OUR WEBSITE using major credit cards: Love For His People. If you don't have a PayPal account you can also use your credit card or bank account (where available). 

Contribution checks can be sent to: 

Love For His People, Inc.  P.O. Box414   Pineville, NC 28134

Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.)

Please share Now Think On This with your friends.

Email: loveforhispeople@gmail.com  

martinlighthouse@gmail.com

Facebook pages: Steve Martin and  Love For His People  

Twitter: martinlighthous, LovingHisPeople 

Blogs: Love For His People,   Now Think On This

Full website: Love For His People

YouTube: Love For His People Inc.

Now Think On This #185 “We Need To Hear God” by Steve Martin 

Date: In the year of our Lord 2015 (10.09.15) Friday at 6:30 pm in Charlotte, NC

All previous editions of Now Think On This can be found on this Blog, and on the website: Now Think On This

Please share this message with your friends on your FaceBook page, Google+, and/or Twitter account if you would. You can use the icon links below. Thanks!

4 Things to Do if You Can’t Hear God’s Voice - Jennifer LeClaire

4 Things to Do if You Can’t Hear God’s Voice

1/8/2015 JENNIFER LECLAIRE   CHARISMA MAGAZINE

If you seek God, you will hear His voice. Here's how to position your heart to hear that still, small voice. (Charisma archives)

 

I started hearing God speak to me as soon as I got saved—and I needed to. It would be an understatement to describe my situation as desperate.

See, I got saved in a county jail. I was falsely accused of a crime I did not commit and the state wanted to send me to prison for five years. (You can read my entire testimony here.) God had a different idea and sent a group of evangelists to the jail to offer testimonies of Jesus' saving grace.

I was sold on the gospel—and sold out to Jesus—but I was still facing five years in prison on a false charge. I didn't know what to do, so I just started reading the paperback Bible they gave me after the jailhouse crusade, praying and attending any sort of quasi-church service I could find behind those cold hard walls.

Then He spoke to me. God made it clear that I would be released from that jail on the 40th day. I told everyone who would listen that I would be released on the 40th day. I told my "bunkie." I told the correctional officers. I told my mother.

I didn't know it, but I was warring with the prophetic word—and I won. I was released on the 40th day, completely vindicated. It was just as God said it would be. I write more about my testimony—and share daily prophetic words that Lord used to inspire, comfort and counsel me—in my new devotional Mornings With the Holy Spirit. But in this three-part series I want to share with you some fundamentals of hearing from God.

1. Believe That God Wants to Speak to You

If you don't believe God wants to speak to you, it's likely that you won't hear His still, small voice. The key here is that you expect Him to speak. David said, "O Lord, in the morning You will hear my voice; in the morning I will direct my prayer to You, and I will watch expectantly" (Ps. 5:3). The Holy Spirit lives inside you and may be speaking to you more than you realize. Jesus said, "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you" (John 14:26).

2. Position Your Heart to Hear His Still, Small Voice

Jesus Himself said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me" (John 10:27). Our part is to position our hearts to hear His still, small voice, or to recognize the other ways in which He communicates with us. (God can speak to us in many ways, which we'll discuss in later articles in this series.) Practice the presence of God. Cultivate an awareness that the Holy Spirit dwells in you and He longs to fellowship with you daily. Pray that He would make you sensitive to His Spirit and His voice.

3. Learn the Fine Art of Listening

Many people talk to God but they don't stop to listen—or they don't develop listening skills. Listening truly is a skill that you can learn, whether in your natural relationships or your spiritual relationship with God. You need to "have an ear" to hear the Holy Spirit and that may mean training your spiritual ears to recognize the ways He is speaking.

Jesus said, "He who has ears [to hear], let him be listening and let him consider and perceive and comprehend by hearing" (Matt. 13:9, AMP). Solomon prayed that God would give him a hearing heart (1 Kings 3:9). Many translations say "understanding heart" in that verse but the Hebrew word translated "understanding" in that verse is shama, which translates to hear, understand, listen or obey. Pray that God will give you a hearing heart, then listen and obey.

4. Fellowship More With the Holy Spirit

This is fundamental. If you want to hear from God more clearly, spend more time with Him and His Word. Paul told his spiritual son Timothy, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16-17, MEV).

Knowing the Word guards us from deception—and from falling into the trap of listening to other voices or even following vain imaginations. If you seek God, you will hear His voice. You don't have to be in a quiet room to hear from God. Your soul just needs to be quiet and focused on Him. Let your spirit dominate. Listen with spiritual ears. You can hear Him!

In my book, Mornings With the Holy Spirit, I share with you many of the words the Holy Spirit spoke to me in my times of devotion, worship, prayer or just everyday living. My hope is that this book will not only inspire you but also show you one way the Holy Spirit speaks. In the next article, we'll look at four ways God speaks to His children. Be sure to sign up for my Plumb Line newsletter so you'll get Part 2 of this series on hearing God's voice. You can also download a sample chapter of Mornings With the Holy Spirit by clicking here.

Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma. She is also director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale and author of several books, including Satan's Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and Witchcraft, and The Spiritual Warrior's Guide to Defeating Jezebel. You can visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

Did you enjoy this blog? Click here to receive CHARISMA MAGAZINE by email.

RESPONSE TO EVIL by Morris E. Ruddick

RESPONSE TO EVIL (c) Morris E. Ruddick "Lord, You have set up a banner for those who fear You, a standard displayed because of the truth. That Your beloved ones may be delivered, save with Your right hand and answer us." Ps 60:3-5 Mind-sets are a compilation of assumptions that influence how we live our lives. They are the predispositions of our attitudes which determine how we respond to the circumstances around us. Mind-sets shape an individual's behavior. Cultural mind-sets mold the identity shared by a people. Working with believers in cultures where freedom is at risk has often challenged me to take a closer look at my own individual and cultural mind-sets. One culture I've worked with in particular includes a number of leaders who have spent extended time in hard-labor prisons for their faith. The intent of these incarcerations of brutal conditions was to undermine their faith. It had the opposite effect. In each case, I've been struck by the strength of character, decision-priorities and genuine humility of these friends who bear these brand-marks of their faith. On the other hand, what I have not observed is the focus that the West can give to issues that impact the soul. In conditions designed to break their spirit, those issues included severe deprivation of such essentials as having enough food to live and the realities of facing death. In short, what I have witnessed has been a distinct absence of a victim's mentality. In lands of persecution, almost everyone has a story of tragedy and serious loss. Yet, contrary to Western predispositions, the choice has been to put their tragic pasts behind them to more fully live in "the now." "Forgetting those things that are behind and reaching forth for that which is ahead." Phil3:13 Paul's admonition is not to "stuff it," but rather to renew our minds and make a choice to transform our thinking by giving focus to remembering those things that are true, noble, just, pure and of good report (Phil 4:8). That's the rallying banner. It's the standard upheld by those we regard as heroes of faith. Foundations to How We Respond At the core of the way of the Kingdom is how we respond to evil. Our mind-sets play a significant role in this response. The first premise is that we cannot hope for much by responding in our own strength or cleverness, no matter how much we verbalize it. It takes a great deal more, even for the most talented. The opening Scripture is about that added dimension that only comes through God. It is from a Psalm describing a people who have strayed and lost the power and protection of God against evil. It outlines the need to be restored and highlights what is required to maintain that place in which God intervenes on their behalf. Over the centuries, the Lord has imparted banners and standards for the good of His people. They serve an initial function to help us avoid the subtleties of evil. When ignored, they still provide the means of deliverance, although at a higher cost when evil inroads can only be met by judgment. The banner displayed gives first priority to embracing the unequivocal fear of the Lord. That calls for a choice. The standard then sets the stage to unveil the truth and the reality of God that empowers deliverance. It is the foundation from which we can cry out to the Lord and expect the manifestation of His power. Bondages result when God's supernatural standards are watered down with the natural. Within the Body are many who enjoy God's blessings yet are constrained from crossing the boundaries into what is represented by the fullness of their callings. The constraints typically are self-imposed, driven by precepts of men, with the standards influenced by both individual and cultural mind-sets and predispositions. The response to evil draws a line in the sand. Not recklessly or arbitrarily, but rather as a choice and a priority to uphold the standard. That choice is contrary to the way the world responds. That sometimes means sacrifice. Yet, that choice is the very foundation that Jesus imparted to His followers during His three year earthly ministry. The Subtle Influence For years I have worked with men and women of God being prepared with modern-day Joseph-type callings. The calling of God in the marketplace is not one of position or status, but a calling of influence. The influence evolves around establishing God's standard against evil, harnessing resources, and bringing deliverance and transformation within the infrastructures of the world's systems. Yet, again and again the pressures and subtleties faced by these modern-day Josephs bring challenge and distortion to their mantles. With the distractions and deceptions, the result is being drawn into safe-places, of spiritually treading water. As an illustration of the subtleties that distort and diminish the standard, the Western media has long advanced a cultural mind-set that turns returning military heroes into victims. It has undermined the standard of the cause of freedom with subtle, downgraded and distorted moralizations. The brand-marks of true heroes are then dishonored and reduced to pity. Pilate's challenge to Jesus was based on this very premise: that Jesus was facing death and Pilate had the authority to release Him. Jesus' response to Pilate was that his authority was limited and defined only by the Father. Figuratively speaking, Jesus spit in the face of death. Jesus was never a victim. His response refused a mind-set of pity, as He held to the standard. Jesus said He came not to destroy the law and the prophets, but to fulfill, to bring completion to them. He drew a line in the sand with destruction and death. Yet, until the time He was turned over to Pilate and Herod to face crucifixion, the focus of His earthly ministry dealt with the response to evil within the household of faith. "From the days of John the Baptist, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force." Matt 11:12 The Evil Within The evil within the household of faith is far more subtle than the evil from outside the community of God's people. Ranging from factors such as obsessive introspection leading to majoring in minors and spiritual myopia to outright misuses of authority, the result has long been a people of feeble power, fragmented and divided. Nevertheless, overcoming these vulnerabilities represents the cohesive foundation needed to maximize the power in responding to evil coming from the world's system. No one group has the total picture, which is why we need one another. The level to which the evil within the community of God's people is properly addressed will be the level destabilizing and diluting the impact of the evil lurking outside the camp. "Do not be afraid of the sudden fear nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being taken." Prov 3:25-26 The inroads of evil into the household of faith find their seedbed in mind-sets, the most devilish being religious mind-sets. Instead of being the influencers and overcomers, the Body has systematically become culturally compliant and spiritually anemic. The perception is viewed as the reality. Most purveyors of news are no longer presenting facts, but rather the spin of events within the view of a creeping system of godless values and evil-intended priorities. In God's eyes, the reality is based on the standard. God's standard is the driver for our mind-sets, the factor that determines what is right and the priorities we ascribe in stewarding our destinies. That standard is then wielded to the degree that our thinking and actions are in oneness with Him. "Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads and look. Then ask for the ancient paths where the good way lies. Then walk in it and you will find rest for your souls." Jer 6:16 When God's people are in alignment with Him, His glory will manifest. God's glory manifested when King David brought God's people together. That was King David's greatest accomplishment and will be the standard for the model in the millennium. To grasp the dynamics needed to realize the release of God's glory in the face of evil requires a closer look at what pride really is, how true humility upholds the standard and the role of suffering. With that is the need to understand how the Word of God defines wickedness within the ranks of the household of faith. The Seduction of Pride. There is a fine line between pride and honor. True honor comes from God. Pride, however, is self-created and rails against the knowledge of God. Self-righteousness is based on pride. It seduces and distorts. The Bible says that pride is like death and cannot be satisfied (Hab 2:5). Jesus addressed this dynamic manifesting with the Pharisees. They reached for the standard and missed. Their elitism and self-serving ambition for status and power pushed them away from God. It manifested in the mind-sets and the priorities they gave to the way they lived their lives. Jesus called them hypocrites because of their spiritual myopia. The history of God's people is filled with stories of "strays" who have misused their authority and operated under short-sighted, prideful illusions of their own significance in their stewardship of God's power. The Bible describes them as wicked. Proverbs 12:5-7 draws a sharp comparison between the righteous and the wicked. It applies within the boundaries of God's people. The divergence is between being just and operating with treachery and deceit. It speaks of the wicked seeking to entrap, of being ensnared by their own words, while the righteous maintain their integrity through backlash to emerge not only whole, but with new dimensions of purpose and enlightenment. Remember Job's response to his "friends" and the later end for Job. "When Job prayed for his friends the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as before." Job 42:10 It is the way of the Kingdom to respond to evil with good. In short, the root of the righteous, defined by this standard, cannot be moved or uprooted (Prov 12:3). It emphasizes our complete dependency on God and the importance of humility and a listening heart in maintaining the standard to stay the pathway. Humility and a Listening Heart. At the core of a righteous heart is the humility that comes from a genuine listening heart. We continually need to be hearing from God and the truth of His Word. We likewise need the wisdom from those who have gone before us as well as the God-fearing whose orientations are not constrained by our own search for what is truth. "[The Bereans] were more fair-minded.... in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so."Acts 17:11 That's not to suggest a potpourri of opinions, but rather the discernment of the essentials needed to grasp the biblical standard guiding the steps of the community of faith. The need calls for more than a doctrinal statement on a web-site. The world we live in, along with today's factionalized Body demands strategic-level wisdom in establishing the scriptural common ground of how we come together and how we operate as the community of faith -- in a way that draws the world. "You are the light of the world, a city [community] set on a hill that cannot be hidden." Matt 5:14 The homosexual community mapped out just such a strategy roughly three decades ago. They have exceeded their goals. But then Jesus observed that the sons of this world can be more shrewd in operating with their own kind, than the sons of Light. To have a story to tell begins WITHIN the household of faith, with the degree to which we are listening to one another. The common ground involves how we OPERATE together. That will require humility. Humility toward God and others is a Kingdom key. It is an igniter for unity. Humility is the shield against pride and the fear of man. Paul described the ultimate spiritual enemy we are dealing with as death. True humility inoculates us against the fear of man and the age-old seductions of death and destruction. The Response and Role of Suffering. People who have faced death in combat and survived, understand the reality involved in face-offs that "cheat" death. Winston Churchill was a man who over the course of his life had many encounters with death. He was intimately acquainted with how evil operated. His demeaner was fearless. His consistently big-picture response was to uphold the standard against evil. When he was made Prime Minister, what he was dealing with was a faceoff with death. Hitler's machine had conquered most of the European continent. Churchill was surrounded by those seeking to appease evil. As irreverent and as unorthodox as Churchill could be, he was much like a modern-day Cyrus. God knew and called Cyrus long before Cyrus knew there to be such a One as the God of Israel. In the world of 1940, Hitler may have been the human mechanism, but it was death that was on the march. In its grip were the chosen of God, with the anemic stewardship of the Lord's standard in the crucible. Churchill's response to death, to this amassing evil was to draw a line in the sand. Not unlike King David, with wisdom beyond his own brilliance, he rallied the free world and brought them into unity. The response involved a time of extreme sacrifice and suffering. Historically, times of great revival have been directly correlated with times of sacrifice and suffering. So it is that we find ourselves today with evil amassing before us. The Big-Picture Response These are times described in Isaiah 60 as when darkness is covering the earth and deep darkness the people. Evil has aggressively come out of the closet. The clarion call for the household of faith is to give heed to the big-picture and gird up the loins of our mind-sets. Humility and listening hearts, along with facing the realities is no longer an option. "While following the way of your judgments, we have eagerly waited for You. At night my soul longs for You. Indeed my spirit seeks you diligently. For when the earth experiences Your judgments, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness." Isa 26:8-10 The need is to redirect the focus of the energies given to the fund-raising soap boxes, and sweep aside the idols occupying our minds (Ezek 14:5). In responding to the big picture of what is happening around us, is the need to draw a line in the sand, calling the evil within for what it is and to begin giving focus to the strategies needed to fully draw on our Great Equalizer in facing the realities. Peter notes (1 Peter 4:17) that judgment first comes to the household of faith. Jesus said that each would be seasoned with fire and every sacrifice seasoned with salt (Mark9:49). That's the mix, it is the cost required to be carriers of His presence. In facing the disarray and division, it is time for the household of faith to uphold the big-picture standard, serve as God's calling card, as He draws all men to Himself. "We have a strong city [community]. Lord, You have established and strengthened our walls and ramparts. So, open the gates, that all who are righteous may enter, the ones who have remained faithful. The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You. For in You we have an everlasting Rock." Isa 26:1-7 ___________________________________________________ Morris Ruddick has been a forerunner and spokesman for the call of God in the marketplace since the mid-90s. As founder of Global Initiatives Foundation and designer of the God's Economy Entrepreneurial Equippers Program, Mr. Ruddick imparts hope and equips economic community builders where God's light is dim in both the Western and non-Western world. He is author of "The Joseph-Daniel Calling;" "Gods Economy, Israel and the Nations;" "The Heart of a King;" "Something More;" "Righteous Power in a Corrupt World;" and "Leadership by Anointing," which address the mobilization of business and governmental leaders called to impact their communities with God's blessings. They are available in print and e-versions from www.Amazon.com, www.BarnesandNoble.comand other popular outlets. Global Initiatives Foundation (www.strategic-initiatives.org) is a tax-exempt 501 (c) 3 non-profit whose efforts are enabled by the generosity of a remnant of faithful friends and contributors whose vision aligns with God's heart to mobilize the persecuted church to be the head and not the tail. Checks on US banks should be made out to Global Initiatives and mailed to PO Box 370291, Denver CO 80237 or by credit card atsign@strategicintercession.org  Likewise, email us to schedule a seminar for your congregation on the wisdom the persecuted church has for the times emerging in the West.  2014 Copyright Morris Ruddick - sign@strategicintercession.org Reproduction is prohibited unless permission is given by a SIGN advisor. Since 1996, the Strategic Intercession Global Network (SIGN) has mobilized prophetic intercessors and leaders committed to targeting strategic-level issues impacting the Body on a global basis. For previous posts or more information on SIGN, check: http://www.strategicintercession.org

Morris Ruddick Global Initiatives Foundation www.strategic-initiatives.org www.strategicintercession.org

When God Speaks - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

When God Speaks

- Now Think On This

by Steve Martin

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6:8 NAS

What if God said something to you today, yes even today, that might totally catch you off guard? Out of the blue comes that still, small voice speaking into your spirit. You had no expectancy. No clue. No advance warning. He just spoke.

Has it happened before? Well, let’s see. Saul on the way to Damascus? Moses and the burning bush in the desert? Maybe a little more dramatic for most of us, but it happened.

So let’s start with something more down to “our level.”

During the night, while sound asleep, a dream occurs. Normally you don’t remember your dreams, or if you do, you put it off as just another thought that just so happened to occur during the hours of 3 am - 5 am and you can only remember a few details about it.

But you do remember part of the dream where there was movement going on in your life, and with that night time thought it actually put an expectation of something good coming your way. Was it God? Was He speaking to you, catching you when you didn’t have the other 100 thoughts running through your stressed mind? Maybe so. It has happened. It will happen.

Many people are hesitate in listening to God - they are afraid He will say to them, “Go to Africa.” Or maybe this, “Share your testimony with Rachel,” whom you already know would never want to know of it anyway, or so you have already told yourself many times already when the thought came.

God is speaking today. He didn’t quit speaking and creating after the six days were done. He didn’t just sit down on a big heavenly lounge chair, letting the world go on by itself, from that point forward. He is actively involved in the matters of the nations, of the cities, of the lives of each individual, whether they want to recognize Him or not. His love over rules their lack of it.

The Lord is setting up His final plans and purposes for the redemption of the nations. After sending His Only Son Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach, the first time, He has been preparing for His return. God the Father has been active in the lives of all through the centuries, revealing Himself in countless ways – through dreams, visions, His mighty acts of creation. Even through the many countless wars and unrest occurring on all the continents, God Almighty is continually trying to reach you and I. He is speaking.

And what if God spoke a directive to you today? It will be His attempt to further reveal His perfect plan, that He wants you to participate in. He is preparing for that coming movement just up the road, that is certainly coming, that you need to be involved in. Would you know of it? Would you act on it?

Would you respond as Isaiah did, when we read this, “And then I heard the voice of the Master:  “Whom shall I send?     Who will go for us?” I spoke up, “I’ll go. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8, The Message)

Would you say as Mary did, “Yes, I see it all now: I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me   just as you say.” (Luke 1:38, The Message)

In order for the Lord’s will to be done, there must be a people willing to hear and obey, to go when He says go; to walk where He says walk; to speak when He says speak. To move when He says move.

Many are weary with the life they are living, or the challenges they daily face. But as my good friend Morris Ruddick says, “There is something more.” He even wrote a book with the same title. Because there is.

Many of you are looking for an adventure, out of the routine, and have been prepared, ready to act upon the acts of God. I know am.

I encourage you today to be listening, to be expecting, to be watching for that rhema word, that NOW action word from the Lord - for you. And then when God speaks…

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder

Love For His People. Inc.

  

Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations.

If these messages minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless families we know in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. Your tax deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

Go here for safe ONLINE GIFT GIVING THROUGH OUR WEBSITE using major credit cards: Love For His People If you don't have a PayPal account you can also use your credit card or bank account (where available). 

Contribution checks can be sent to: 

Love For His People, Inc.  P.O. Box414   Pineville, NC 28134

Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.)

Please share Now Think On This with your friends.

Email: loveforhispeople@gmail.com  

martinlighthouse@gmail.com

Facebook pages: Steve Martin and  Love For His People  

Twitter: martinlighthous, LovingHisPeople 

Blogs: Love For His People,   Now Think On This

Full website: Love For His People

YouTube: Love For His People Inc.

Now Think On This #147 “When God Speaks” by Steve Martin 

Date: In the year of our Lord 2014 (05.01.14) Thursday at 7:45am in Charlotte, NC.

All previous editions of Now Think On This can be found on this Blog, and on our newest website: Now Think On This