God's Unfinished Work

The Lord has given me a few dreams about the need for His work to be finished.  Today the Lord spoke this word about what the finished work is that we need to do.

“The prophets have failed to build a legacy for the coming generation.  Is not a house for a family?  But they have not understood, and have built houses for themselves.

Spiritually, a prophet’s words are what he or she builds with.  The words they speak and write are for the benefit of others.  But a prophet who builds for himself seeks his own gain above the Kingdom’s gain.  He loves the accolades of men and seeks his place among them.

A man cannot be faithful to God and please men. A prophet’s words are both strong, and sweet; hard and comforting.  They will build up the pure whose heart seeks Me, but those who want only comfort will be offended at My Words.

This then is the unfinished work of this generation of believers: pure prophecy that will finish the house of the Lord.  This is the legacy you all must seek to leave your children: God’s Words.”  Amen.

The Church as a Bank: dream from 2-20-2006

This morning I awoke with a dream about a pastor not having time nor agreement to let me use my talents to serve in his church.  I hesitated to write about it, asking the Lord for a verification as to the meaning of the dream and why it was sent.  His answer was to remind me of the following dream, which was given 9 1/2 years ago.  Here it is:

There was a bank.  A lady was hired, and it was the leader’s desire to get her obligated to his “side” by marrying her, so he wooed her.  She did not know he was evil.

The day came for a meeting between the leaders of the bank (the president, vice president, and upper rich leaders), and their employees.  The room was set up like a court room.  Near the front was a large square container, made of see-through glass.

The person preparing the room put a key in the arm of a chair, turning it as if to start something.  The ceiling let down coins with a thunderous sound, which filled up the container.

Then I saw in the bench-seats of the audience area many elderly people. Each had a sock used for saving money, but the socks were empty.  One lady walked from her seat down the aisle with her guitar case.  She went forward, where the glass container full of coins was.

A man said “can’t you take the guitar for her debt to me?  I would accept it.” But the leader said “no.”  Each person had paid a fellow-employee’s debt but in turn had their own debt paid the same way, and the leaders owned the collective debt.  I understood finally that this was how the evil leader held onto their employees all their lives, and that the debt would never be paid.  I was the new employee who was being wooed, and was aghast at the evil of the leaders. 

All the elderly employees let out a cry.  It was a great commotion, asking to be forgiven.  I marveled, and thought they were like the people one would see in heaven.  End of dream.

Interpretation:

The bank is the Church, and the coins that let down from the ceiling were talents.  The Church holds the ability to receive talents, and forgive the debts of sins.

The people in the bench-seats were the congregation.  They had left the holdings of their talents with the leaders of the Church and were impoverished.  They also did not know the forgiveness that comes through Christ.  In both these areas the congregation felt bound to the Church.  They were elderly, representing a passing generation that sits as spectators in the Church but does not use their talents.  The leaders of the Church do everything that manages and runs the business of the Church.

The man in the congregation recognized that the lady’s guitar was a talent that she was going to give to the leaders of the Church.  That is why she went forward.  She was not allowed to minister in music, and he was not allowed to minister to her. Also, though the people forgave each other, the Church would not pardon them from their sins. The Bible says to owe no debt except to love one another (Rm 13:8), but the leaders stood in the way of each member ministering to the others through their gifts.  Though the body of Christ should nourish and build each other up, each through the gifts they have received (Eph 4:16), the leaders held onto people’s talents and would not let them use them.

My ministry to you:

I want to encourage you to minister, using the gifts you have been given to build up the body of Christ.  Do not let anyone impoverish you by causing you to be their spectator, nor by making you feel indebted to their ministry.  Be faithful to the Lord, who has purchased you for a price and Who has provided you a rich inheritance in Him.  Church leaders and churches do not hold the key to who you are and what you have to give; Christ does. Amen.

Faith and Righteousness

“If a man doesn’t feel like he has to prove himself, that is good.  He has the shield of faith over his heart. He believes that the blood of Jesus covers his sins and that he can overcome his enemy by standing in the righteousness of Jesus.

But if a man doesn’t have faith, his shield is down and the fiery accusations of satan pierce his heart (Eph 6:14 – 16).  That man will meet accusation with effort.  He will try to prove his righteousness over and over; that he is good, capable, smart . . . until he has exhausted his life making himself the largest target on earth for an enemy he could have defeated by faith.”

This word of prophecy reminds me that we should not be found having a righteousness of our own (Phil 3:9) but “that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.” Let us not be motivated by accusations, but rather filled with peace from the One Who covers us in His nature, by grace.  Amen.

God likes to go before us

“This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that the gates will not be shut: I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.” (Is 45:1-2)

God likes to go before us.  In Isaiah 45, God’s word to Cyrus told him that God would subdue nations before him, open gates before him, and go before him.  The Lord told Cyrus that He was going to take his right hand.  All these things were so that kings would be stripped of their armor, gates would not be shut to Cyrus, and victory would be his.

If a man wants God to go before him, he will put God first in all he does.  There is a great temptation for men to go ahead, because they think that is what faith does.  Men act upon thoughts that seem good to them, not seeing that it may be their heart that is motivating them.  The heart is set on its own objects of love and can lead man into a life of looking for good, instead of waiting for God’s best.

To walk in God’s kingdom a man must not live for himself (2 Cor 5:15).  The conquests we desire, and victories over sin and the flesh and over love of the world are not in our hands to determine.  We must let the Lord lead us.  This truly is faith; to follow after the Lord.  Amen.

God's Kingdom-fruit

In Isaiah 65 the prophet first speaks about the Lord’s people as having gone astray and worshipping idols. Though we do not follow pagan worship, such as bowing to lifeless statues, sometimes our hearts love our own ambitions for this life more than they love the Lord, and this is also idolatry.  Isaiah’s statement tells us about the bad fruit of idol worship;

“who say ‘Keep away; don’t come near me, for I am too sacred for you!’” (Is 65:5).

This condescending statement comes from people who hold themselves in higher esteem than others. Seeking after our own ministry or worldly “stuff” can cause a separation between us and those who follow God’s ways.  The former seeks after glory for self, and the latter for God’s glory. As Christians, we have God’s word to guide our hearts, and God’s love to guide our actions. 

“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” (Phil 2:3)

If we regard our brothers and sisters as better than ourselves, we wouldn’t want to keep them away; we would want to spend time with them.  The fruit of being a true Christian does not lead to setting up the idols of love of self and love of the world in our hearts. Good fruit is seen when we love people. The prophet goes on to tell us what a group of God’s people would be like;

“ . . . a pasture for flocks . . . a resting place for herds, for my people who seek Me.” (Is 65:10).

God’s people become a resting place for one another and a place of nurturing.  Jesus spoke about this principle in the parable of the mustard seed, saying that God’s kingdom is like that seed, which, when it grows it “becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.” (Mk 4:32).

God’s kingdom in us should be big, and inclusive.  When our worship goes amiss, we become small and exclusive.  While some ministers display the size of their congregations and the monies they have as proof that they are serving God’s kingdom, Jesus said that “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (Jn 13:35).  True proof is in the nurturing and rest we provide for those who seek Him.  This is God’s Kingdom-fruit.  Amen.

Set Free

“I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.” (Ps 119:32)

We are a broken people, many of us healing from life’s sorrows.  When we become born-again, our heart grasps the promises of freedom found in Christ. The more we abide in Him, the freer our heart becomes.  Indeed, this is Christ’s ministry.

“ . . . He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. (Is 61:1)

The healing Christ offers to us comes wrapped in a fresh remembrance of our pain, for our memories are stored with our emotions in our brain.  It is not always easy to enter into the healing God has for us when it means that we have our suffering to deal with anew.  Because the darkness seems like a shield protecting from past hurts, many lack healing in their hearts.

“If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commands and remain in His love.” (Jn 15:10)

It is not possible to abide in Christ, nor to keep His commandments if our hearts are not set free.  When in bondage, we will find ourselves less giving, less loving, more reserved, until the light in our hearts goes out, leaving us cold and dark inside.  The Psalmist found that he could abide in God’s love and keep His commands because his heart had been set free.  It is in being set free that our heart turns towards God’s ways. 

Is being set free in our hearts . . . free from the past hurts that bind us . . . an easy thing? No.  But it is a specialty entrusted to Christ, and a ministry He longs over with each one of us.  Not only is it good to experience lasting freedom in Christ, but all our successes in the Kingdom are tied to it.  We can expect our Lord to help us deal with painful memories, establish us in spiritual, mental, and emotional health, and to bring us from glory to glory as we follow His ways.  Today, let us trust in Jesus, Who loves us like no other and Who intends for us to live in His love.  Amen.

Seasons

Sometimes our God seems absent.  He was close, we were doing things for Him, life was exciting, and then it stops.  Our life goes through a change we don’t always want.  We feel, well, abandoned.  If we continue in this type of thinking, we begin to criticize ourselves for whatever grudge we believe God has against us.  Perhaps there is hidden sin, or we are not fervent enough in prayer . . . whatever we think God has against us, we work on.  We do this in order to restore our lives to the close walk we covet with God.  As right as this behavior seems to us, it is based on a lie, because God does not abandon His people (Dt 31:6). Nothing can separate us from God’s love (Rm 8:39); we just have seasons in our lives . . .  and seasons bring change.

In the 77^th Psalm we read,

“Will the Lord reject forever: Will He never show His favor again?  Has His unfailing love vanished forever:  Has His promise failed for all time?  Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has He in anger withheld His compassion?” (Ps 77:7-9).

Feeling abandoned is not a new thing. How did the psalmist relieve his grief?

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.  I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.” (vs 11-12).

Remembering our closer walk with the Lord is not evidence that God has withdrawn from you.  On the contrary; it is evidence that God has laid a foundation in your life that He intends to build on.  What the Lord begins, He will finish.  Though we may feel like His apparent silence is a reproach, His intentions are quite the opposite.  God lets His people go through seasons of time wherein He seems to “go away” in order to strengthen and establish us, to the end that we are rewarded.

In some of Jesus’ parables He mentions that the “Master went away” and then returned to assess how His servants had done.  In the parable of the good and wise servant, when the Master returned he rewarded the good servant for giving his fellow servants their food at the proper time (Mt 24:45-46).  From this parable we know that how we treat our brethren is important, and is a ministry we grow deeper in during God’s apparent “absence.”  Without hearing directly from the Lord what to do for others, our heart must enter into faith’s action by love rather than by obedience.  And Love is what God’s Kingdom works are about.  We also see that God rewards our works of love in the parable of the sheep and goats (Mt 25:31-36). Jesus broadens the concept of loving God by saying “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”(vs 40).

There are other examples in Jesus’ parables of God’s seeming absence and then return.  The Lord knows we might feel abandoned and so is encouraging us to see these times as seasons of growth.  We should remember God’s works, and have faith, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6).  Amen.