It is natural for people to respond to situations with "What can I do to deal with this or help to deal with it?" and if we are Christian, to ask God "What do I need to do?" We were told to "Occupy till He comes," so we aren't always just kids waiting to be told what to do, yet we should listen for His Voice! Some have "vivid imaginations" and come up with things that He or others have said. It seems to be a human tendency. Most of us are the result of a reward system in our past where we are rewarded (or not rewarded) for certain behaviors.
The competition among prophets is something really crazy to see. They can all be so sure they have the last and final word on it. Many wouldn't dare consult one another and few agree to differ or see it from a different angle. Some of that is just the make up of being given a certain word to deliver. But sometimes some of the headiness of it swells heads. I've seen young ones who act like prophesying started with them! They mention the past like they lived in it. They didn't. But here is the truth, if they are really called, they are called to live THEIR lives and minister to whom they are called to minister. It's their space in time. If it is enduring, it will live on.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 To be the "substance," it means that something was projected and then the manifestation followed, because it is "evidence." There is good faith and bad faith - faith for evil and faith for good! Faith "alone" is not always just good. There are projections that go each way and witchcraft specializes in the dark side. Whether we like it or not, things are happening on both sides! So our skill has to be on overcoming evil with good and knowing Jesus.
The Kingdom of God has to be processed. It is line upon line and precept upon precept. Here a little and then there a little. It can sound like a good cook at work, yes? It's a learning thing! You can't really go to a restaurant and get all you can eat for a week in one setting. No, logically you need one to three meals a day and that food has to process to all your organs. The organs use that food to process the cells and then those process the activities of life. Of course if you don't eat, or if you eat too much, you put a strain on your system. The same goes with exercise. Too much or too little and you are hurting!
Stretch your faith to some degree all the time! Sometimes, God helps you to do it when you weren't even planning to do it. It's really all working for your good!!! (See Romans 8:28) And for the good of the Body of Christ at large. If you keep looking for Him in it, He will show up! It's not always easy! But it works, because this is the blessing of the righteous! Keep telling God how good He is! Not because you are using flattery but you are telling Him in praise and reminding yourself! It will help you accept the greater works. Through this we also learn what and how to bind and to loose. We learn to declare, we learn how to receive (so that we can hold on to it), and we learn how to be the head and not the tail.
I have a real burden for the Church, and dealing with pride seems to be one of the areas where I believe we miss it the most. So much of the world has crept back into the Church that it feels natural now, but then we don't hear from God and wonder why, and the schemes of the world are used to make us think more is going on than what really is. Pride is acted out as shaming, and negative comparing, and resentment is stuffed and then acted out, and the description of God we hear about is not really being seen.
There is a lot of false doctrine out there and people often try to please the preacher. I remember thinking one time that I needed to be sick in order to get well at the meetings if I was going to see Jesus there! People know doctrines sometimes more than Him, Jesus the Person! He is NEW every morning! He is the Center and Creator of Everything!!! HE has the power, not the pastor, teacher, evangelist, prophet and apostle! Those gifts are His servants!
Many years ago when I was somewhat young in the Lord I had an encounter. (You know, young and hungry believers will hear a lot of different sermons, especially about the love of God. They are hungry and they are seeking!) In my experience / vision, I was walking with the Lord and I was feeling and having a real love fest with Him. We came to a fork in the road and He started going one way and I was going another. I was wanting and expecting Him to go with me! We had been having such a glorious love time! He looked and said to me, "I love you to no end, but I have to go this way." I had to make a decision real quick and decided I wanted Him and chose to go His way. It was pure Love!
Work, work, work! Hurry, hurry, hurry! Hustle, hustle, hustle! Give, give, give! Go, go, go! Do, do, do! Produce, produce, produce! Look, look, look! See, see, see! Act, act, act! Activity can be a virtue, or a hyped up mode of operating, but what happened with just taking time with the Lord so that you can HEAR the still small Voice? People don't do that today like they used to. Too much of even Christianity is a hustle.
To believe that the source of overcoming is in us without Him is a deceit and a lie. Many say, "confess it," and we can, but what we confess is our FAITH. Our power is IN HIM, not "in us." No "perfect doctrine" overcomes; it is the Spirit of God in Jesus that does. We are in a fallen world and we get a foretaste of the future glory in Jesus. We are "doing time" here, but one day the sentence is up and if we are aligned right, we get free, forever. I hurt with those who hurt because I have lost my own family and friends to deaths. The older you get, the more you get to deal with it.
Follow Up
