What are you building your foundation on right now? Is it your ability to know His Word? Is it your ability to hear His Voice? Are you seeking to learn from others, or do you feel that you are grounded enough to teach others? Can you define the goals in that? Are you working on finding peace in yourself, or are you working to get the favor of man? It's good to be honest with your emotions and see if your energy is really pointing you towards where you want to be. It's good to ask yourself WHY you want what you do. I do that often and it helps me realize just how well that I am hearing His Voice of direction.
Last night I had a burden over a friend of mine, a friend I have shared Jesus with in the past. Life can take us on different journeys, and I think we all have seasons of struggle, or we probably haven't lived very long! Struggles help us learn and find breakthroughs. They help us understand HOW God wants us to overcome. Because I have been around a few years, I have heard a lot of good testimonies and I am blessed for that. What a difference someone's testimony can make to us and help us! They will show you His Word in life and in action! Light can come in for us, to explain things, and widen our horizons.
I have been around a lot of prophets, in small towns and big cities, in large ministries and in small. I got my calling in 1976, but the first few years after that were a lot of study. After that, it is "continuing education" in its many forms! There are two strong focuses for a true prophet and that is your personal ministry with and to God and your ministering ministry to people who need His insights. We have not been "chosen" for "celebrity" status, although many treat it that way. (They will learn!) It is a servant ministry to the Spirit and to people. Sometimes your hard knocks are how you will learn!
You can be impressed by a lot of things, but not be a zombie to it. A true seeker will find many things! And they will oftentimes suffer and do labor for it. Matthew 13:47-52 says: 47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth." 51 Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." 52 Then He said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."
Good morning or evening or wherever you are! I know that we are all pressing through, and I really want to press through to the other side! And with God's help (and not without it), we will! I heard an expression on a YouTube video when I was surfing the web where something a man said is challenging my thinking in a fun way. He said that "God sees time as a picture." Now I think we all wonder where this is all going, and many of us, like Peter stated, searched and do still search for our best understanding.
What's "the word" for 2023? Well, I've read different ones and most all are good! Mostly that it will be a year of retribution. But I did ask the Lord "what the word was" (through me) and He gave me the word, "SHOUT!" For some that is a voice of triumph, for some it is a battle cry, or both, or a pressing through. Shout to the Lord with a Voice of Triumph! It's good for us to hear and speak His Voice. Seems like I hear the Lion's Roar in there too! I've had some dire warnings from the Lord that I don't even want to acknowledge. I'll be honest, some have scared me, even though I know He protects His Own. So, I am GLAD that He just said to "Shout!" Get it out! Get your heart out there that is IN HIM!
Even more now, after the elections, the Lord is emphasizing to me now the importance of going after the media mountain. We have to stand back (at least I do) and see it objectively. We have to see how it works, how it's needed and how it has been corrupted. For many, they have not seen it work better than it is working today, which is a big mess! With the onset of the internet, or public access to news of all kinds, things changed dramatically, not all wrongly, but wrong people have abused it. We NEED communication and even entertainment serves a purpose for unwinding and relaxing after work - we all should have a worthy purpose! But today the celebrity spirit has entered and taken the focus OFF of what is right and good. God is not opposed to pleasure and blessings if the motive and purpose is right!
There is a generation that failed to come together in the way I wanted, says the Lord, and the pain of the failure has hurt many, but I did not forsake all. While some got disheartened and left, some stayed and lamented and sought Me. My own Heart grieved as I saw some turn away, but I build in an Order and if that is not seen, it is not done, and many have sought to build the Kingdom on their terms and not Mine. Yet as I promised, I did not leave nor forsake those who wanted Me yet felt "left out" of what I was doing. I have collected their tears and will use them for the next Outpouring. All things do work together for the good if you Want Me, says your God.
A pastor is not in charge of your ministry gift any more than an auto mechanic is! Now we seriously need both of them in our lives, or we may not get too far down the road we want to travel, but the gift is given by God, to be discovered, discerned, and then trained and employed! Many pastors are pastor-teachers, or are pastor-evangelists, etc., meaning they have a primary and then a secondary gifting. But the Anointed One and His anointing is the Giver and Employer of all the ministry gifts.
Learning to hear from God, especially prophetically, is not easy. In fact, there is much abuse that is even not understood. But it's worth the price, to get closer to Him, but it's also hard. I have a friend who was seeking God about a business deal that he needed. He had a company going and it was blessed, but to do more, he needed quite a bit more money. He really had the strong desire to do more. He found a friend who was willing to go in on it, but the friend did not really have the zeal he did. For my friend, this was all for the Lord, but for the friend, it was a convenient investment, and more for secular reasons.
Follow Up
