Snapshot: Number 416

"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."                         John 3:8

Jesus has already described for us what it looks like to be led.  He has already showed us what we can expect after we have been born again.  We will be like the wind...we are like the wind already.

And I've had John 3:8 reverberating within my mind for a while now.  Thanks God!  But what does it all mean?  Well, it means that we are constantly pushed, constantly guided, constantly driven by the passion of God.  We are guided by His Spirit as if by a strong, powerful wind.  We are guided by His Spirit, so we can walk out the things He's already planned for us (Ephesians 2:10), and in doing so, keep in step with Him.

"Since we live by the Spirit, let us also stay in step with the Spirit"             Galatians 5:25

Within God's heart is all the passion in the world.  And He's given each of us a measure of this passion that we can play out in our lives.  There are avenues awaiting us where we have the opportunity to shine for Him.  And there are different people, different situations, and different gifts awaiting us so that we can bless and be blessed.  And God wants us to walk closely to Him, so we can know what our role is in each and every situation.  It takes friendship with the Holy Spirit.

Each moment is different, dynamic, and changing. That's why the Holy Spirit's prompting is likened to the wind--it is UNPREDICTABLE!  So we really need to keep in step, and be ready no matter the season (2 Timothy 4:2).  

We need to be led moment by moment, which is wonderful!  However, if we are being led moment by moment, then we might seem kind of out there. We might seem unstable or flighty.  People probably won't know where we are going with our lives. We might be accused of using bad planning or not planning out anything at all!   Good!  Isn't that how Jesus described "everyone born of the Spirit"?  

God has a plan for each of us that is amazing.  It is complex, intricate, and intimately planned out. And we can't grasp this--not with human logic, anyways. Now, people can do a lot of good works on their own effort.  And Christians can do a lot of good things for God.  But there is only one way to be excellent, and that is to yield to God's PERFECT plan for our lives.

THE NUMBER 416...

I've been having fun with an online Hebrew and Greek Lexicon recently--Eliyah.com.  It's an excellent training opportunity to hear God's voice, in that the Lord can easily speak to me through specific numbers or other languages.  Then I can translate the parable, the message, with the help of the Lexicon!

So a few mornings ago, the Lord led me to the number 416, and prompted me to translate it into Greek.  (Hebrew and Greek words actually correspond with numbers).  So, I followed His leadings, and saw that #416 meant, "to toss or drive with the wind".  Hey, that goes along with how He'd been speaking John 3:8 so much recently!  Wonderful!  Let's be tossed and driven by the winds of change--the sculpting and leading winds of the Holy Spirit.

Let's be driven by passion and then moved with compassion.  Let's have only a light -- the light of the Lord -- to guide our path.  Then we will be presented with divine alignments and opportunities.  Then we will take on Jesus' dynamic nature.  Then we will be prepared for every good work.  Then we will experience life to the fullest.

And all of this happens out of a place of intimacy.  God moves closer before He moves you.  He leads your heart before He leads your lifestyle.  But He desires to go all the way!  Let's be led and attuned, not matter what the cost.  Let's remember the Lord (continually), and in doing so, walk into all His benefits (Psalms 103:2).  We need to be in tune with the heart of the Father, and make our lives a reflection of that.

Be Bold and Courageous: Crossing The Jordan, Revisited

In March of 2014, the Lord gave me a dream where I was crossing a modern-day Jordan river and going into the promised land.  To paraphrase, I was on a boat with many people, who, although nice, seemed really unmotivated, and the boat was stuck.  I decided to leave the boat, join an evacuation team that had come to rescue us, and then send off into the wilderness at the other side of the river.

God showed me that my experience in this dream strongly paralleled Joshua chapters 1-3. We need to be bold, motivated, and decisive.  That's where the rewards are!  That's where we put all our trust into Him.  What it means to be bold for Jesus, and what can be lost, if we aren't bold!  All in all, the Lord was showing me through this dream that I had already chosen to step out, and that it was now time to walk in that .You can read more about this whole message here:  Entering The Promised Land.

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."                                          Ephesians 2:10

Since my initial experience, the Lord has revisited this "crossing the Jordan" theme several times. And this present season is one of them!  In the last few days, I've been blessed with many, many things that have confirmed the message.  Many of these confirmations are from scripture that the Lord has specifically led me to; others are through signs or the writings of others.  Below are just a few of the scriptural ones:

BOLDNESS: Joshua 1:9

"Have not I commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be

dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."                              

CROSSING THE JORDAN ON DRY LAND:  Joshua 3:6-11

"Joshua said to the priests, Take up the ark of the covenant and pass over before the people. And they took it up and went on before the people.

The Lord said to Joshua, This day I will begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel, so they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 

You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan. Joshua said to the Israelites, Come near, hear the words of the Lord your God...

Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan!"

REMEMBRANCE: Joshua 4:21-24

"And he said to the Israelites, When your children ask their fathers in time to come, What do these stones mean?

You shall let your children know, Israel came over this Jordan on dry ground.

For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up for us until we passed over,

That all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty and that you may reverence and fear the Lord your God forever."

There is so much in these scriptures--the Holy Spirit has so much to say to us through them.  This is what my dream relates to, and this is what we can all relate to everyday.  We can take from the details of Joshua 1 through 4 many things:

God has commanded us to be bold and courageous.  He has commanded us to step out in faith.  He has commanded us to step out in faith, reaching the Promised Land by it.  He has commanded us to arrive at and attain to every promise found in His Word.  And the last step of attainment may just seem impossible.  It probably will be, without the Lord and His wonder-working power.  God alone can take us to the total fulfillment of our promises.  

So let's be bold and step out.  Let's be bold and lay hold of abundant life.  Let's act into His Kingdom come--let's not wait for another person to stir us up or motivate us to get moving.  Let's make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16).  Let's be strong in the Lord and the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10),  

When we step out, let's reach for the Promised Land.  If God has told you something, He is still telling you that something.  The promises have not changed.  Reach for them!  Not by might, not by power, but by the Holy Spirit, step out in faith. (Zechariah 4:6) Step out, and watch as the Lord makes the waters part. 

We can't be stagnant.  We can't be easily satisfied.  We can't be like the people in my dream--well meaning Christians, but more than content to watch as others play the forerunner.  We all need to attain to the blessings of Christ!  We all need to see Him as He really is, for ourselves (1 John 3:2). The veil has been torn for all of us.  And all of us can, with boldness, in faith receive a blessing from God.

"So let no one boast about human beings, since everything belongs to you"

1 Corinthians 3:21

"Do This, Do That" Versus Freedom

He who said to them, "Here is rest, give rest to the weary," And, "Here is repose," but they would not

listen. So the word of the LORD to them will be, "Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line 

on line, A little here, a little there," That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and 

taken captive.              --Isaiah 28:12-13--

The Lord led me here a few days ago....this is an interesting passage.  For me, it was a call to change. God doesn't desire to give us rule after rule; He doesn't want to make us stumble.  He doesn't want to take away all of our freedoms or surround us with impossible regulations (Lamentations 3:5).  As I said in a previous post, God doesn't desire to hand us over to a reprobate mind.  And He doesn't want to cause us to stumble.

But sometimes we need to change and return to God, and He causes us to stumble.  He does this so that we can hit rock bottom, and then turn and be healed!  He does this out of Love.  God Himself may become to us an oppressor if He knows that trials and testing will cause an eventual return.

"If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I have relented concerning the disaster I have inflicted on you."                 Jeremiah 42:10

God can and does change His mind.  God can and does change the way He interacts with people.  He does this based on our actions.  God wants to give freedom, but He will not give it if the receivers use it for their own glory.  For the worldly minded, God gives rules, regulations, and incessant demands.   This is what Isaiah 28:13 is talking about.  

I witness this in my own life.  When I have strayed from focusing on God, God strays from talking about Himself to me.  Instead, His direction takes a practical, even oppressive, turn.  The Lord may prompt me to do some chores or talk to someone.  He may instruct me in a way that takes away my freedom (Jeremiah 34:17).  What we are to Him, that He will become to us (Psalms 18:26).

If we are not thinking about Him, God will add to the yoke on our shoulders until it becomes to much for us to bear.  He wants us to ask for help!  He wants us to fix our minds on Him.  This is the better way.  If we are loving God, all else will be added to us.  If we are abiding by His Spirit, that's when there is freedom.  That's when there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17).  

If we are in the Spirit, then we will be instructed in spiritual things and be pointed towards God.  That is God's desire.  If we are in the Spirit, then we will have freedom to think anything good about God. We will be free to do anything God for God.  We will not be subjected by God to "order upon order", because Jesus in us has already fulfilled all of the law.  Once we are operating in the Kingdom, then can we have other things, too (Matthew 6:33).

We can be free to sing, free to express joy, free to worship God in everything we do.  Why persist in subtle rebellion?  God wants to make us slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:18); He wants to give us a light yoke (Matthew 11:30).  Let's allow God to approve of us, so that He can give us freedom.  Let's show Him that the gifts He's given us are able to shine through and glorify Him alone.

Reprobate spirits

"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient"     Romans 1:28

We need to retain God in our knowledge.  What does this mean?  It means we need to make Him our focus and our life, or else we are at risk for deception.  We need to do everything to the glory of God. And we have to want to do this, which means we need to die to ourselves.  Our own desires and distractions can make us forget God.

"The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity."        Luke 8:14

When things of God have been pushed aside in our lives, we are in danger of losing our spiritual inheritance.  We are in danger of never seeing God's goodness become real to us.  We have lost our passion for the only thing that really counts--the reality of God's Love for total salvation.  The enemy can then come in and make us believe a lie.  And God allows this.

"So I let them go after the stubbornness of their heart, that they might walk in their own counsels."    Psalm 81:12

 If we have shown God that we want to run after the world, then He will probably let us, at least for a time. He honors free will, and He gives us over to whatever we want most.   Often our own desires have been influenced by other things.  And more often then not, those influences come from the devil.  Sinful desires comes from the world, where darkness has set up it's rule--the world is in nature contrary to God (John 15:19).  Our own desires often lead towards idolatry, and God allows us to run after darkness.

Micaiah said, "Therefore, hear the word of the LORD. I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. "The LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' And one said this while another said that. "Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD and said, 'I will entice him.' The LORD said to him, 'How?' And he said, 'I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' Then He said, 'You are to entice him and also prevail. Go and do so.'       1 Kings 22:19-22

How does this work?  If people want to follow a lie, then God gives them one.  God allows deception to sneak in.  God is sovereign, and He actually allows for other spirits to come in and make us fall for our own desires.  He gives us over to a reprobate spirit--something that deceives us so we can continue on in following ourselves.  These spirits try to entice us into falsehoods and darkness.

If we accept anything that is not grounded in the Word and the Spirit, then we may allow these spirits to give us a reprobate mind.  If we fall for their deception, they will begin to affect our minds.  They will cause us to do things which are not convenient.  They will take away any fruitfulness that we have, because true fruit comes only from the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  We will begin doing things that do not serve God or His purposes.  These things may not even serve ourselves.  They will, however, serve the enemy and cause some amount of inconvenience--some amount of confusion.

For a long time, I did not understand why God would ever allow this sort of thing to happen.  But it's His intent to make us stumble enough to know that we need to return.  When we hit rock bottom, that's when we can realize our mistake.  That's when we realize that we've become an enemy of God. That's when the Lord gives us eyes to see--eyes to comprehend that we've reaped what we've sown. Eyes to see that we deserve the deception handed to us.  That's when we can humble ourselves and repent.  That's when we can enjoy total forgiveness and be renewed to God! Once we realize our backsliding, we can experience godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10) and turn away from any deception we've fallen into.  We can have God heal us!

"I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them."    Hosea 14:4

It's so important to stay grounded in Him.  It's so important to accept only the truth.  We need to cling to that which is good (Romans 12:9) and resist any deception the devil tries to subject us to (James 4:7).  That's how we avoid a reprobate mind.  That's how we continue on in the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).

If we seek His Kingdom--living in it and bringing other into it--before anything else, we will stay safe.  We can enjoy a sound mind and a fruitful life.  We can stay in perfect peace(Isaiah 26:3).  We can live within the Kingdom, and then have grace given to us to receive more and more freedom.  We can experience the joy of a mind stayed on our Lord and a lifestyle that pleases Him.

Heart Matters or Mind Matters?

A few days ago, I was being going through a time of teaching and I felt like my mind was getting in the way of what God wanted to show me.  It was like my thoughts and emotions were not agreeing with the truths He was revealing in my heart.  Thankfully, after some moments of mental tug-of-war, the Lord delivered me out of this.

And I saw a vision that my heart had already been purified.  It had already been cleansed and washed pure by the blood.  I was in line with His Spirit, and my heart was crying out, "Father!"  (Romans 8:15)

My mind, on the other hand, was still conforming to the world.  It was getting in the way of Kingdom reality.  It was not willing to go deeper into the word.  I had become, to quote Bill Johnson again (his new book is great!), "intellectually offended".  My mind was thrown into doubt because I could not logically conceptualize what the Holy Spirit wanted to show me.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.  But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.  But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:12-16

So we know that God knows all things.  That's an awesome concept.  The more God teaches us, the more we need to yield to His Spirit.  The deepest revelations that God can give usually make the least sense along natural lines.  Just look at the Book of Revelation itself, for example!  We need to acquire a heavenly wisdom and heavenly truth.  And praise God we already have this, but in order to access it we need to yield to Him.  We need to yield our preconceived ideas and our own opinions.  We need to give up the worldly wisdom that we thought we had.

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, "He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS"; and again, "THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS." So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you.  

1 Corinthians 3:19-20

So let's give up the hindrances within our minds.  Friendship with the world is contrary to God, and so is adapting the mindsets of the world (James 4:4)  We also need to give up our fear.  God won't despise us for coming to Him with a broken spirit (Psalms 51:17).  We need to give up our worries and live in the moment.  Change can and often does cause fear and worry, but we need to respond to the Lord's teachings in faith.  As Jesus would say, "Why are you so afraid?" (Matthew 8:26).  The one who can accept a new message should accept it.  (Matthew 19:12)  Lord, let me be that one!

Sometimes revelation can be scary.  Sometimes a new thing can be perceived as impure, only because of it's novelty.  Sometimes we doubt that God is faithful, if we ask for a gift of revelation, to give us that rather than a snake (Luke 11:11).  Sometimes we need to receive faith to accompany our gifts.  

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."  Romans 10:17

The more faith we have, the more we can hear Him.  And the more He can teach us.  And the more He can share wisdom.  We need to receive new wineskins to accommodate these gifts (Matthew 9:17)

When He gives revelation, we make sure it testifies to Jesus, then we accept it in our hearts.  Don't let your mind overshadow the Divine Mind of God!!  Don't let your idea of spirituality limit His Spirit.  Don't let where you're at currently detract from where He wants to take you.  

It's time to get ourselves out of God's way.  It's time to discern with a softened heart and guidance from His Spirit.  It's time to stop judging based on the inhibitions of our human minds.  It's time to take God for His Word and be conformed to the world no longer (Romans 12:2).  Let's be taken together into a place where fresh revelation and the spirit of wisdom are plentiful (Ephesians 1:17)

Confirmed:  Later on in the day when God gave me this vision, I was reading a Joyce Meyer book called, "Battlefield of the Mind".  In it she emphasized being led by your HEART, not by your mind or doubts.  If we have received from the Father a softened heart, then our heart's feelings are what we need.  We don't need to go by our minds, which are so vulnerable to the lies of the our accuser.  

Confirmed:  Several messages recently have come to me that stress the importance of our hearts.  From Facebook memes--yes, God can work through Facebook--to the forums over at the Quickened Word, God has been faithful to keep confirming to me His original message.

Confirmed:  A good friend sent me an email that included a prayer for forgiveness, again, on the very same day that I received the vision.  I don't actually get emails like this very much.  Below are a few short excerpts, in italics.  I bolded the most confirming parts.

Meditate on the truth of who God is and who you are in Him:

Take into your heart and spirit scriptures about God's forgiveness, mercy, grace, and love. Psalm 103 is a good place to start.

Take an objective view of your past to learn from your failure. What did you learn about yourself and God through this experience?

Allow God to expose the wound for His healing touch, and refuse the attempts of the accuser and destroyer to harass you anymore, because the King of glory stands as your Defender and Advocate.

...Thank You that You control me, not my emotions or what others say or do. I receive all Your blessings for my life and give You all praise, honor, and glory.  

God makes the best stories, He paints the best pictures, and He teaches the best teachings.  He is teaching us new things.  Will we receive them.  Let's pray ourselves into alignment with the Word:

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better."    Ephesians 1:17

Boating

Around the start of this year, I have several visions of boats.  Vanessa, too, has been getting images of boats, even cruise ships.  There wasn't given much insight into this until January 5th, when I read at random Acts 21.  Also, while in street ministry I felt instructed and guided to simply 'flow' in the Spirit and allow His Love to guide me here and there.

"We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board and set sail."  Acts 21:2

But praise God that His messages are never really random! (Proverbs 16:33)  God gives a vision in steps so that our seeking Him in faith reveals the next part (1 Corinthians 13:9).    In leading me to Acts, I felt God was speaking to me about Vanessa and my upcoming mission trip.   Further confirmations followed fast after this one.

Confirmed 1/6/15:  Patricia King featured on the Elijah List with a word called, "Remember My Promises in 2015".  Below is an excerpt, in italics:


"Your life is in My hands. I am the Captain of your ship and I will lead you through the channel of promises into a glorious place. Remember My promises in 2015."


God is the captain of our ship!  Aha!  He is the one who steers us towards His will.  He is the one who guides us continually and broadens our path (Isaiah 58:11).  More on this later.

Confirmed  1/6/15:  Jennifer Rivas also released a new word this day.  Here it is.  In it she exhorts the body to "Anchor yourself" to the Word.

Confirmed:  There was a post on the Quickened Word entitled, "The Angel of Change On The Good Ship."  Wow!  In it were so many confirmations and encouragements.  The site's author even posted a picture of a cruise ship!

Thanks to the revelation that each of the above ministers shared (Romans 12:3 and on) a clear picture came together.  The Lord combined the above themes and what He's been revealing to me, and led me into the truth!

God is taking the chosen onto a new boat.  This boat has been designed by the master architect Himself!  He has helped us in the past, and He is still helping us today.  He has given us inspiration in our personal lives.  This inspiration, these dreams from Him, are what the boat represents.

God is taking us to a new spiritual place, and that may have aftereffects in the natural world.  It did for the apostles in Acts 21.  He is taking us to a place where we work for Him.  He will captain our ship, and He will steer us where He pleases.  All we need to do is flow with Him and have faith.  We need to let Him navigate like only a captain can.

"At this rate they were afraid we would soon be driven against the rocks along the shore, so they threw out four anchors from the back of the ship and prayed for daylight."  Acts 27:29

There is another level to this, though.  As God takes us on this boat, from Glory to Glory, we need to stay grounded in the Word through all the journey.  We need to always be aligning and realigning with the truth.  There will be trouble, and there will be stops.  All of these trials will be included on our boat ride with God.  When waves come, we need to let the Word be our anchor.  Simply go back to His promises, and go back to the written and prophesied Word.   He who trusts in Him, and in the things He's spoken, will never be shaken (Psalms 125:1).

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."  Matthew 24:35

God is the captain, the Word is the anchor......and our tongue is the rudder on the Ship.  God knows where He's going.  And He knows where He wants to take us.  He wants to steer us, but we need to align our mouths with Him.  We need to use the power of our tongue to choose life.  We can align the rudder of our God-given ship with it's captain.  We need to align our rudder with His heart.

"With the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach will be satisfied; He will be satisfied with the product of his lips. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit."  Proverbs 18:20-21

Imagine how frustrating it would be if the captain of a ship was constantly trying to steer a ship whose rudder just would not cooperate.  What if it had a mind of it's own?  Wouldn't that be so annoying?  I bet that's how God feels when He tries to guide us, but we confound His efforts with our words.  Or He may be waiting for us to set sail, but we in our speaking and praying remain unaware of His desire to initiate or change our course.

What a long-suffering job God might have as our captain of our lives, if we didn't speak and pray His Kingdom come.  But we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16)!  We can be at one with our Captain.  We can by our words be a cooperative rudder that listens and knows the desires of the captain.  Let's get the boat moving.  Let's allow Him to relocate us.  Let's allow Him to take us across new seas, just like Apostles Luke and Paul.  Let's also position ourselves to receive from our Lord gifts from other ships! All we need to do is provide the agreement of our thoughts and tongues.

"Surely the coastlands will wait for Me; And the ships of Tarshish will come first, To bring your sons from afar, Their silver and their gold with them, For the name of the LORD your God, And for the Holy One of Israel because He has glorified you."  Isaiah 60:9