Word: A Winning Battle

Yesterday morning, I was coming under some heavy warfare.  The enemy was trying to get his lies in, there was doubt, and God felt far away.  When I cried out to the Lord, He answered me and said:

"You need to realize that the battle for your salvation has already been won."

Awesome!  When God said that, He gave me peace.  It reminded me that He has power to save, and power to keep.  Salvation is not a losing battle.  Sanctification is not a losing battle.  Our walk onward with the Lord is not a losing battle!

We are in a battle, yes, but we need to remember that we are on the side of the Victor.  And He--Jesus--has already won the victory!  All we need to do during times of trouble is cling to Him.  All we need to do is cry out.  That's how we battle, and that's how He breaks through any warfare. If we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us in response.  So let's draw near to Him, flee from the devil, and experience peace even through out warfare!

Confirmed:  There was a Christian song on the radio that I hadn't heard before....it was describing how we should be soldiers who know their orders--how we should be obedient soldiers in the body of Christ!

Confirmed:  A few license plates about soldiers, GI's and standing firm.  Yes, God is always speaking through license plates...

Confirmed:  A friend posted the below quote on Facebook, courtesy of Francis Frangipane Ministries.  I thought it was so fitting!

"The more peace you have during spiritual attack, the more truly you are walking in Christ’s victory. Remember, it is the God of peace who shall crush Satan beneath your feet shortly (Romans 16:20)"

He who is in us is able to overcome anything that is in the world.  We need to position ourselves to overcome!  We need to arrive in the knowing that Jesus has already done the fighting for us and came out of it victorious.  

Snapshot: When We Only Get Crumbs

The amplified version of John 1:16 says this:

For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift.

It's almost too easy.  God lavishes us with gifts!  And He wants to be this generous with us.  The problem begins when we start to take Him for granted.  When we start to despise the "day of small things".  When we stop intently seeking Him because He's blessed us so much.  There is so much lost in spiritual plateau.

"When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me."  Hosea 13:6

Let's not get to this point.  Let's stay hungry for God.  Let's keep searching, keep seeking.  Today the Lord is saying, "Seek my Face".  Will you respond in obedience?

There comes a time when some will fall prey to distractions.  I've done it.  There comes a time when the enemy gets a stronghold and we lose our focus on Jesus.  What does God do then?  He alerts us!  He makes known to us our mistake, and withholds Himself just long enough for us to realize our own desperation for Him.  So we start to miss Him, so to speak, and then we begin seeking Him again.

We may start seeking Him, though, and only find crumbs (see Matthew 15:23 and on).  We may only receive spiritual milk.  We may not feel His presence like we did in the past.  And we may not have our hope fully restored--not right away at least.  There is a time for begging and wrestling with God.  The correct response is to be desperate for God

"Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me."  Psalm 142:6

Let's beg for His mercy, if we need to.  Let's plead for more than crumbs.  We have already entered into the fullness of God in Christ, but let's beg Him to allow us to live in this knowledge.  Even though we already have every spiritual blessing, let's eagerly desire the spiritual gifts that He holds out for our taking (1 Corinthians 12:31).  It is by faith in Jesus that we take hold of all of our heavenly inheritance. It is by faith in His unveiled character that we realize we can wrestle with God.

Confirmed:  Yesterday I was listening to Christian radio and I overheard the story of the Canaanite women who insisted that the Lord at least give her the crumbs.  Didn't she have great faith?  It was this faith that pleased God.  When we have faith, we can ask for more.  We don't have to settle for just crumbs!  If we are reckless in our trust towards Him, it will be done as we wish.  Wigglesworth said, "Asking is receiving."  Glory to God!

Confirmed:  I was talking with Vanessa today about wrestling with God, and when it is appropriate to really plead with Him.  She, too, had heard the story of the Canaanite women yesterday, except she read it in the Word.

Let's come to God with a boldness and empowerment by His Spirit.  Let's come with pure hearts and trust that He has allowed us to stand before Him.  He has made us clean!  He wants our future to be prosperous, and He wants us to be fed with the finest of spiritual foods.  Let's believe what Jude 1:24 says.  Let's believe it and act on it!

"Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault."

Snapshot: Unstuck

In church last week I saw the word, "Unstuck" written in a vision.  I felt an increase in His presence being poured into the church after that.  But we had to want it first!  This happened partway through worship.

Through this small experience I became more aware of the spiritual warfare that attempts to get between us and God.  In this case, there was a stoppage in place that we were allowed to break through.  Keep in mind there is a lot of spirituality between God and ourselves.  There is violence that interferes with us receiving the Kingdom of Heaven, and the violent take His Kingdom by force (Matthew 11:12).

Our confidence is important here.  When we press in to God we need to know and take courage in His ability to allow a breakthrough.  We need to be hopeful that He will give the Victory and send His Kingdom down to earth.   Those who hope in Him will not be disappointed. (Isaiah 49:23).  So we hope in Him, and He meets us where we are.  Without faith, we cannot please God, nor can we be sure of His presence.

But when we have faith, we come into alignment with God.  We come into alignment with the light, and we join in battle with Him and His angels.  We can use the sword of His Spirit to cut through any interferences that Satan would try to give us.  This is exactly what happened in Church.  Glory broke through, and the oil of His Spirit was poured out.

Confirmed:  A few days later I was listening to Christian radio.  They were talking about a new Christian book called, "Unstuck".  It's about forgetting past failures and trusting God for a brighter future.  It's about stepping out of spiritual darkness and walking into a new season of trust in God.  There are references to Elijah's cave experience.

So God is continually breaking through and giving of Himself.  And we often misuse this.  We don't always live in the Kingdom.  But let's step out of our past.  Let's forget what's behind so that our guilt does not keep us from pressing on towards the prize (Philippians 3:13).  Let's allow His presence and His VOICE to come down to us and change us.  Let's then walk into that new season and cling to Him so that we do not return to past mistakes.

Let's be clothed with His might.  He is counseling us to buy from Him clean garments (Revelation 3:18)  He wants to live within His Presence, where the wells of the Spirit are not delayed or blocked up.  He wants us to become more than conquerors and enter a place of abiding where we do not get stuck.  Let's seek Him to get "unstuck" right now.  And if God has done deliverance already, then let's cling to that and continue intimately walking with Him.

Snapshot: The Trinity

In Church last Sunday I received a vision of a person walking on a tightrope.  The tightrope had two supporting ropes, one on the left, and one on the right.  I knew the three ropes represented the Trinity. God was showing me that with Him, I have all I need to walk safely through life while staying protected.  Walking with God can be scary, but if we yield to Him, He can always be trusted to keep us secure.

I began thinking about the Trinity.  It's such an interesting thing.  God goes before us, with us, an within us.  He uphold us with His righteous right Hand.  He has a hedge of protection around us.  It's our life to walk in His will.  Only with the Godhead can we scale over any obstacle--only with Him can  we "walk the tightrope" safely.

Confirmed:  Later in the Church service, there was a time of rather spontaneous prayer.  The man speaking was led by the Spirit, and He mentioned the "mystery of the trinity".  God's ways really are unsearchable, except to the extent that he allows us to figure things out.

Confirmed:  Later that day, Sunday, I was in the garage and listening to Christian radio.  There was a story about a man in the early 19th century that became famous for His daring attempts to cross Niagara falls on tightrope.  Wow--specific!  I've heard via The Quickened Word website that Niagara falls represents the outpouring of God's Spirit in a powerful way.

We need God, we need the Godhead, to take us to this place of supernatural revival.  We need to trust that God will keep us, and follow His leading even through deceptively intimidating situations.  Leaning on Him, we will always cross over safely.

Confirmed, again:  On Monday we stopped at a gas station.  There was a sticker on the gas pump advertising a new gas program.  It said, "Trifecta of goodness".  Yep, that's the Trinity!  God is so willing to speak, and to reveal Himself.

Confirmed Thursday, 12/11:  I just got off of the Quickened Word forum this morning...there was a new post there about spiritual graduation.  The writer was saying that the Lord impressed to her that this graduation would come after passing over a canyon.  That's exactly what the tightrope in my vision was laid over.  So God is taking me through a "dry" time of testing where I will have to rely on faith in His protection.  Then He can fully be poured into my life.  Here is the link to that forum post.