The purpose of the power

Last night a saint asked about healing for his affliction, wondering why he had been sick for so long without God answering his prayers. There was much talk in the purposes of God, and some agreed that the Lord would not want a person to be afflicted. But the Lord brought a word of prophecy last night that told this man that the questions stirring inside of him were from the Lord, and that the answers were for the whole Church.

This morning the Lord began bringing a word in answer of this man's afflictions. It came in spurts and I apologize if it is not easy to understand, but I have written down what I know to be from the Lord, addressing the afflicted man's questions. It also addresses the false teachings that God does not want us to suffer, though He does love us intensely. God is willing to entrust us with His kingdom if we will just listen, and obey. Here is the prophecy from this morning;

"God has sent satan down to us (Rev 12:9). It doesn’t say that when satan was kicked out of heaven and could no longer accuse us we were lucky, and had it easy. It says “Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short” (Rev 12:12). Now, you might ask why would God be so mean as to send an angry satan down to us? Perhaps we do not realize that it is because He has equipped us to defeat him, and that it is the Church who is appointed to defeat him. What are we missing here when we spawn lessons about God’s love which depict Him as a god who allows no evil into our lives? What would be unkind is if God didn’t prepare us for war.

But God does prepare us for war. He allows trials, hardships, afflictions (yes, this includes sickness) into our lives, and betrayals, defeats, and more . . . all to teach our hands to war. How futile to walk this life as a Christian and think that God will defeat our enemy without us even lifting a finger. If we will pray, if we will stand in the gap, will we not also seek the victory over our enemy’s plans? This the very reason God has given us armor; to withstand the evil schemes of our enemy.

How simple and kind it seems to let the intentions of God roll off our lips, when we do not understand that the preparation of the Bride is a boot camp. All scriptures warn of a time where God’s people are warned that they may be caught naked. We must get ourselves dressed. If God had never given us the power to overcome then perhaps we should be upset about the battle. But the supreme sacrifice of the Son of God on the Cross gave us the power. The invitation is “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne” (Rev 3:21). What are we doing with the power?
What do we overcome our enemy with? “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Rev 12:11). These are those who have the spirit of Prophecy, which is the testimony of Jesus (Rev. 12:17). The equipping that prepares the Bride for victory is listening to and acting upon the Voice of God. We resist satan with our faith in what God has said every time he challenges God’s word. Satan will question “Has God said”, and we will say a loud and resounding “Yes, God has said.” Standing on what God said will cause all saints everywhere to inherit the promises of God. The warning is three times in the book of Hebrews “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.” (Heb 3:7,8 . . . ). It is God’s voice that will prepare us for victory, if we do not harden your heart against it.

There is something wrong with the way Man wants to use this power. It’s as if we want to do all the favors we believe God would do if He is really how we think He is . . . without knowing Him as He really is. God has not changed, and yet we want to portray Him by our teachings as One whose benevolence blinds Him to our great need for survival-training. Should we not press into Him and find out what to do with all this power He gave us? Do we deny there is an overcoming to obtain, or do we, like Paul prayed, “Open the eyes of (our) hearts” so that we can look upon the inheritance Jesus died to give us? This inheritance of the promises of God comes to those who listen and obey. They do not need eye salve to wash their eyes. They see.

God has set gifts in the Body of Christ. They are powerful gifts which cause healing and ministry to occur. The Body of Christ is complete if she will use what God has given her. But there is no gift of “Signs and Wonders”. This is God’s domain. It is the mark of His sovereignty. It is the signature He signs for the purposes that are His alone. We cannot neglect ministering to the body and think we can pull the kingdom down to the earth. Is it because Man thinks God’s will cannot be done on earth until he sees God’s kingdom reigning over evil? Rather, God’s will performed through men and women manifests that the kingdom reigns in their hearts. The kingdom reigning in the hearts of men and women establishes the outward manifestation of God’s kingdom on the earth. This is why Jesus emphasized caring for one another in His parables. He began with “The kingdom of God is like . . .“ Let us be found ministering to the needs of the saints and giving each one his or her portion in due season (Mt 24:45,46). God will always make Himself known." Amen