September Newsletter:
MESSAGE:
Yesterday was a day of teaching for me. A beautiful lady from Province , France lectured me about money as we ended a business dedication. “Forget money, trust God,” She smiled at me in all seriousness. I knew it was meant to be encouraging and I nodded, but went home unchanged and unchastised. But when I got home, my ministry partner said the same thing word for word in an email sent most likely at the same time. God seems to do that to me when He wants me to understand and learn something.
So I went on my walk yesterday and started to repent of my fear of debt –or more precisely, fear of being in debt. I repented of the fact that everything I try in order to get myself out of financial difficulties really only gets me further into debt. I surrendered this issue and my efforts to the Lord.
And then the lecture began.
The Lord asked me (in picture form), “How much does rebellion hurt?”
Then He took me on a little trip through the Bible and showed me the amount of rebellion and the resulting outcome down the line.
Lucifer coveted: resulting in the fall of 1/3 of the heavenly host and the human race.
Eve ate one piece of fruit and Adam did not cover her: resulting in the fall of mankind, death of billions of people, including their own children.
Cain killed his brother in jealousy: resulting in the death of every person on earth in the flood except Noah and his family.
Ham slept with his father's wife (saw the nakedness of his father - nakedness in other parts of the bible means wife) ; resulting in the creation of the Babylonian religion. This brought the death of millions, men, women and children; the dispersal and founding of false religions throughout the world through the descendants of Ham (Egypt, North Africa, Berbers, Tunisia, Sudan), Japhet (Germany, Europe, Picts, Celts, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Goths, Vandals, Scandinavians, Teutons, Franks, Dutch, Russians, Kurds, Indians, Iranians, Greeks, Romans, Spaniards, Cossacks), and through Shem (Perisa, Assyria, Iraq, Arabia, Palestinians, Asia Minor, Northern Africa, Syrians, Asia, Middle East).
Abraham did not wait for God to fulfill his promise, but helped Him out by sleeping with Hagar: resulting in the creation of Islam and Jihad through Ishmael. We now know where this led…the conquer and incursion of most of the world; 1968 kill 50,000 in the Philippines; 1990-2005 South American Jihad bases send drug money to finance world-wide Jihads; 1996-2005 Suicide bomber factories established; 1999 Jihad declared against Moscow; 2000-2001 Jihad against South Africa; 2001 Jihad against Indonesia; 2001 report of 27 million slaves revealed in Islamic countries; 2003 first suicide bombers–2 females in Moscow kill 14; 2004 Nuclear Jihad network discovered in 30 countries; and of course 9-11-2001 USA….
Miriam judged Moses and complained about his foreign wife: result? She was struck with leprosy. 10 men came back out of Canaan in fear instead of trusting the Lord: result? The death of over 2 million Israelites back in the desert. Moses was annoyed with people and struck the rock: the terrible result? He was banned from the Promised Land. Achan kept a confiscated garment from the Babylonian spoils: result? destruction of all he had, family and belongings. Saul was tired of waiting for God, by way of Samuel's arrival, and did the sacrifice himself: resulting in the death of Saul, his sons, and the entire Israeli army. Lot 's daughters commit the first recorded “drug rape” or “date rape”. Instead of trusting God, they did it their way producing 2 sons: these sons were Moab who fought with Babylon to defeat Israel , and sent Balaam to curse Israel and ben-Ammi (defied Israel ).
Bottom line. It really doesn't matter what the rebellion is, or the size of it. How many people will die unrestored or still living a lie because I doubt God's word – the spies caused the death of over 2 million people because of their doubt and fear?
What if I take something that God said not to…something as small as a dress, shirt, ring, whatever…will I lose my entire family and everything I own because for one moment I coveted something I was not to have?
Will I be banned from the Promised Land and die because I get annoyed with something as small as speaking to a rock?
Will I be the cause of a whole people dying at the hands of an enemy because I decide to do something myself instead of waiting for God?
Will my jealousy cause the death of everyone I should have spoken to because I was banned from God's people?
Will my illicit sexual encounters cause one of my children to rise up and kill many others just because of who they are and their issues of rejection and abandonment?
Am I making too much of a little sin? One seemingly innocent act (though I know it is wrong…there is that nagging Holy Spirit confirming that it is) can bring down nations, thousands, hundreds, tens…one.
When will my rebellion end? When will my disobedience end? When am I going to figure out that everything I do has global and eternal consequences? We think so small, so immediate, so right now. So me. Every minute I continue to disobey, means that much longer till the world can experience total freedom. That many more people die in sin.
Sound egotistical? Not at all. Just as Jesus died for everyone who will ever accept Him. If only I accepted His salvation, He still would have come and died just for me. It was just Eve (or Adam if you like) who brought sin into the world. I could be that one person keeping sin in the world.
Each one of us has a responsibility to the whole, and yet, we do not see it. That is what communion is all about; realizing and discerning the whole, the body, and taking responsibility for the whole. There is no condemnation here, just the exasperated groan of ( dare I say the Holy Spirit), “the time is now to get your act in gear.”
The cost? Yes, we have all heard the words that this walk will cost us everything. But the words didn't really mean a whole lot to me. To me cost has always been money. I am beginning to see otherwise. To God, cost means something completely different. It is an elusive element. So now I will sit here determined not to move until I find out what the cost of this walk is…Lord, I need to know.
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He doesn't want our money–what use is money to someone who can instantly create anything He wants? But He does want us to give some away so we can see that money is NOT that important. Not what the world has made it. So if we give 10% of it away to the church does that mean we are then 10% Godlike? And what about offerings and gifts…they are on top of the obligatory lesson of tithes. Only 90% left to go.
He doesn't want our lands or possessions–He owns everything already… He created it. If He had a particular need for a book or candle that I have, He could just create another one… no problem. But He does give an example in Acts. The Christians sold all their lands and houses and brought the proceeds to the apostles' feet for equal distribution. Except for Ananias and Sapphira who lied about the proceeds so they could keep some: they died. So, let's give another 10%. Only 80% left to go.
He wants my life – well, haven't I dedicated it to Him? Am I supposed to spend every minute with Him? If that was so, then why create all these other people I am also supposed to spend time with? So He does not want all my time, just some of it. But it must be quality time, relationship building time. I am to spend time between being with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, others and myself–all relationship. So let's give another 30% (3 x 10). That leaves 50% left to go.
Neither does He want me to kill off everything I am – Christians call it “die to self”. He created me to be who I am. Yes, sinful influences have changed me somewhat, but the essential ME is who God created me to be, what He invested in me, the exact mix He wanted me to have. If I “die to self”, I would be assassinating what God most prizes–Me. So keeping the above points in mind, He wants me to give and not be selfish. OK. I will just get rid of the selfish part of me. Let's give this 10%. That leaves 40% to go.
So exactly what does God want? What makes Him happy?
Enoch made God happy…so pleased in fact that God brought Enoch to His house. Why? Because Enoch had faith. He stopped living the way the rest of his family lived and began to walk with God–entirely, completely.
Faith comes from the Greek word pistis which means persuasion . The root of this word is peitho which is a primary word meaning to rely by inward certainty .
What exactly does faith mean? It means to be under authority, to have authority; saying something and knowing it is done. (Matt 8:9-13)
This is not brain surgery, it is heart surgery. It means to rely with total inward certainty that we are under the authority of the Lord and that we have authority because of who we are in the Lord. It means that when He speaks–it is done, and when we speak, it is done. It means that when the Lord tells us to do something we have total inward certainty, complete confidence that He is right and knows what He is doing. He alone sees the big picture…so we do what He says. When we say something, we know and understand that it will be done because of the authority of who we are in Jesus. There is no doubt or question. If I speak healing–it will be done because everything in creation must obey the Creator. If I speak deliverance–it will be done because, even though in a fallen state, ALL spirits and demons must obey their Creator and leave without a show or struggle. If I speak life, then it will be done because we have been given the keys over death. This is now not difficult to understand, but I wish I had realized it years ago. It is the very simple essence of faith.
Read Hebrews 11–the Faith chapter. If one moment of rebellion can bring down a nation and world, one moment of faith can raise up a nation and world.
Because Sarah believed that He who promised her a son was trustworthy, she became the mother of Israel . Rahab received the spies with peace, all mankind was saved through her descendant Jesus. Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah saved a nation and consequently the Savior of the world. Through one moment of faith men and women alike subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented--of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. There is some cost there.
Let's give faith 20%. That leaves 20% to go. BTW…we are no different than those of old.
What would have happened if I had waited for the man or woman God had planned for me to marry? What would have happened if I hadn't gone out to that party and gotten a little too drunk or stoned? What would have happened if….the list is endless.
How many kingdoms would I or my progeny have subdued? What righteousness would have been worked? What promises would have been obtained? How many fires could I have quenched or how many swords could I have avoided? How many times could I have been valiant in battle instead of victimized? How many of my dead could have been raised to life again?
What would have happened if Eve had said, “No, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord! No, as for me and my house, we will believe the word of the Lord KNOWING HE ALONE is trustworthy, does not lie–ever–and will do what He says He will do. He will accomplish what He says He will accomplish.”
Well, for once I am going to cut Eve a break. I can tell you that we might all be in the Garden of Eden and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil would still be staring each one of us in the face, because it does today. Every minute of the day, that tree is in my sights and every minute of the day I have to decide the very same thing Eve had to decide that day–Is God's word trustworthy or is Lucifer's word trustworthy?
That is the real cost–the last part of the tally. Is God's word trustworthy? Sarah thought His word was trustworthy, deciding that He would and could do what He said He would do. The word translated faithful in Hebrews 11:11 actually means trustworthy and comes from the Greek word chacah, to flee for protection; to confide in .
If we consider the word of the Lord trustworthy it means that we flee to Him from our particular issue and problem for protection, that we confide in Him honestly, whatever the problem. We confide in Him. We don't try to make something up. Sarah confided in Him. She was old, her womb was dead and she laughed at such a ridiculous idea that she could ever produce a child so late in life. Her laughter was the act of confiding. It took me a long time to realize that. But she heeded the words and clung to her hope of producing a child and decided against hope that God's word was trustworthy and not Lucifer's who reminded her how old she was.
Let's give trustworthy 20%. There is nothing left. What is the tally? The cost as a child of the Most High God?
- Do I give? 10%
- Do I give of everything I have–lands and property? 10%
- Do I love…the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, others, myself? 30%
- Have I crucified the selfish me? 10%
- Do I know God's authority, my authority and know that what is said shall be done? 20%
- Do I consider God's word trustworthy? 20%
I won't give you my score because that is between me and God just as yours is between you and God. I can rest in the knowledge that at least I now know what areas need to be worked on…and the fact that Moses didn't begin to be who he was called to be until he was 80. Enoch was 365. Sarah was 90. There seems to be a reason that all our heroes of the Bible, our heroes of Hebrews 11 were all “older” before they figured it out…because I am approaching older and I am figuring it out. Whew! There is still hope. Compared to their numbers, I am still young.
Father God, oh Lord! I am on my face like I have never been on my face before. You have shown me this week that I am so far from Your standard, I can only trust that You will finish the work in me that You began, because I am so far away from the mark. Father, bless me. Father, raise me up. Father, give to me the rod of standard so that I will never again forget Your standard in my life. I have forgotten far too often in far too many circumstances. When I get under an attack, I am the first to forget because it is all just too overwhelming for me. Lord, put in me a rod of steel so I will stop bending the knee to the oppression of the enemy but will stand strong and declare, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. As for me and my house, we will believe the Lord.” Father, put in my hand a rod of steel so that I can use it on the enemy and chase him away. OH LORD, MY GOD, give to me a revelation of strength and an infusion of strength like I have never had before, because it is my heart to be 100% the child of God You have created me to be. Lord, 2%, 20%, 50% even 99% is not enough. Release me Lord. Set me free. Break open the prison gates and set my feet not upon the wrong path, but the Ancient Path You have called me to walk upon. Lord, I want to walk the path of the Righteous, the path of the Faithful who have, without question, against all oppression…in the face of all that was screaming FALSE…believe You to be trustworthy. They declared by their one moment of faith that they would believe…and they changed the world. Lord God Almighty, I want to believe…I want to change the world. But I do not want to change the world by my one moment of unfaithfulness, leading my progeny off your path into their peril. I do not want one of my descendants to be a destruction to Your people, an enemy of Your people. Lord, I want to be a liberation to them. Lord, in whatever way You require of me, whatever You require of me, I declare now, before Heaven and Earth, that You are trustworthy and it is Your word that I believe and will follow. Lord, I face the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil every minute of every day…and I declare now, before Heaven and Earth that I will believe the Lord in all that He says and I say now, that He will accomplish what He says He will accomplish. And I declare now, before Heaven and Earth, that it does not matter what He asks. Whether it is what street I should drive down, what pair of shoes I should wear, what person I should speak to, what job I am to do, what church I am called to…it all matters to You and You will direct me in ALL that I do. I declare now, before Heaven and Earth – take heed demons and spirits – that I declare now in my heart, soul and body that the Lord God, Almighty, the Creator of all mankind and angels alike, knows what He is doing because He alone sees the big picture and He alone is God. I bend my knee to His authority and I trust in His authority with all conviction for I know His authority to be true. And I stand now, before Heaven and Earth and declare that as a son/ daughter of the Most High God I have the authority of the Creator and you will obey me. When I command you to leave you will leave. When I command you to the bottomless pit, you will go to the pit. When I claim the land for the Most High God Who created it, it will be His and you will not argue, for you are a fallen foe who is obliged to obey.
Lord, God, Almighty, whom I love with all my heart, body and soul, with the very spirit You have entrusted me with, raise me up and let me stand as I was meant to stand –as a child of the Most High God. I hear, I obey, I order, I understand that it too will be obeyed. I understand the meaning of real faith, and I take it into my spirit and call it my own. Rain down upon me revelation of Who You are and who I am in You and let it fill me to overflowing. Raise the bar and help me reach it. In Jesus' name, amen.
God bless everyone
Jessica and Susan
Ask For The Ancient Paths Ministries
Let all who come and ask be set upon the Ancient Paths where the good way is and find rest for their souls.
