A Time to Be Humble and Poor in Spirit
In a recent time of prayer I
heard the Lord say, "This is a time of intense purification in the Body. My children need to posture their hearts
properly before Me. They must have the
posture of humility. For I am purifying
My Bride, and in order for them to endure the process of My purification they
must be humble and poor in spirit."
"Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:3
A Time to Permit the Purifying Work of the
Holy Spirit
They must permit the
purification, just as Esther permitted the purification. They must do so as well.
"Before a
girl's turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of
beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and
six with perfumes and cosmetics." Esther 2:12
I believe that we are entering
into a time of purification. It may be
six months, twelve months, or longer, but more importantly than the length of
that purification is the fact that there is a time period attached to our
purification just as there was to Esther's.
A Time of Pruning
They must allow the pruning that
I will do in this hour, for I will sever those things that are of the flesh and
not of the Spirit. In this hour the Lord
is cutting off and cutting away those things in our lives that are of the
flesh, so that we truly can grow more in the Spirit. There is a cutting away that is occurring,
but we must allow it, for it will result in greater growth for us in the Spirit
and a greater harvest for Him."
"I am the
true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch
that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."
John 15: 1-2
A Time of Personal Process
They must realize that My
purification is a process and will be so for them. It will be personal for each of them, for I
am a personal God. I know each of My
children in an intimate way. This process
of purification will bring about the fruition of My promises in their lives. The Lord's process of purification will not
be the same for each of us. Instead, it
will be tailored uniquely to who we are and who He has made us to be in Him. It will bring out His promises in our
lives.
My process of purification will
be done under My authority and My rule.
It must be unopposed by their spirit.
Their spirit must permit it and not oppose My process of purification in
any way. In this process, those areas of
the heart that are untidy or unclean, will be cleansed and purified. There will be no usurping of My Holy Spirit's
authority in their lives. They will not
usurp it in any way. There will be no
divisions in their hearts. They will have
undivided hearts toward Me. We must not
oppose the Lord's process of purification in our lives in any way. We must submit to the Holy Spirit's authority
and rule in the process and allow Him to fully cleanse and purify our hearts.
"Cleanse
me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow."
Psalm 51:7
"Create
in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm
51:10
Our hearts then will be totally
undivided toward Him, following Him in every way and truly fearing His name:
"I will
give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from
them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be
careful to keep my laws. They will be my
people, and I will be their God." Ezekiel
11: 19-20
"Teach me
your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name." Psalm
86:11
A Rite of My Bride
The purification will be regular
for them, and the regularity of it will be determined by My Spirit. This process of purification is a rite of My
Bride. Just as Esther was purified, so
shall My Bride be purified by the oil of My Spirit and of My Presence. For My Bride will soak in My oil, until she
is clean and whole.
Esther was being prepared, and
her beauty treatments were her preparation.
In the same way, we too, as the Bride of Christ are being prepared in
this hour. We are called to soak and to
bathe in His Presence, allowing the oil of His Spirit to be poured all over us,
and to flow over us. He will do this
even in the midst of our enemies:
"You
prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." Psalm 23:5
I believe some of you reading
this may be saying, how can the Lord purify me now? I am in the midst of a war in my life. I tell you, He will prepare a table for you
in the midst of your enemies. No matter
what is going on in your life, He will wash you; He will cleanse you; He will
purify you; He will let you bathe in His presence and pour His oil over your
head. And He will honor you and dignify
you, no matter what surroundings or circumstances you find yourself in.
At all times My Bride will be under
My rule and My authority. And her spirit
will be ruled by My Holy Spirit. I will
require absolute rule. This process of
purification is not an option, but it is required for those who will go further
in Me. My Spirit will require the
purification, and their spirit will submit willingly to My Holy Spirit in this
process. I believe the Lord is saying
that to go further in Him, to become the Bride that we are called to be, we
must submit to this process and time of purification. And in doing so, we must yield to the Holy
Spirit's rule and authority in our lives.
Intimacy is needed in this process, but by so yielding to the time of
purification, greater intimacy with Him will result.
Full of Grace and Full of the Spirit - My
Stephens are Returning
"Like
Stephen, My Bride will be full of grace and full of the Spirit. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and
of the Holy Spirit." Acts 6:5
"Now
Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous
signs among the people." Acts 6:8
"But
Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God,
and Jesus standing at the right hand of God." Acts 7:55
Years ago, the Lord gave me a
dream in which I heard, "My Stephens are returning." At that time I did not understand, but now I
do. After this time of purification, men
and women like Stephen will be raised up, those who are full of faith, full of
grace, and full of the Spirit. And they
too, will do great wonders and miraculous signs among the people, like Stephen.
Formidable to the Enemy
"My Bride will be formidable to
the enemy." The enemy will oppose this
process of purification in your life, because he knows that to allow it, would
be to his detriment. In this hour we must
not be distracted and/or tempted by the ways and wiles of the enemy. We must have a firm focus on the Lord Jesus
and turn our eyes steadfastly toward Him.
A Time of Intimacy with Him
At this time the Lord is calling
us to a deeper relationship with Him. If
we have been in the outer court, He is calling us into the inner court. If we have been in the inner court, He is
calling us into the Holy of Holies. Let
His Spirit guide and direct you.
Intimacy with Him is a process.
Just as we do not "make" a new best friend overnight, intimacy with the
Lord comes over time. But it is time
well spent in His Presence and for our good.
A Time of Growing Up in Him
It is also a time of growing up
in Him. "In this time of
purification, My children will grow up
in Me. Sonship and Daughtership will be
understood in greater measure."
"When I
was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a
child. When I became a man, I put
childish ways behind me." I Corinthians 13:11
I believe this will be a time
that we put our childish ways behind us, and grow up in the Lord and become the
man or woman of God that He has chosen and destined us to be. We cannot do this on our own. We need the work of the Holy Spirit in our
lives.
A Time of Divine Alignment - The
Intersection of Chronos and Kairos
"Chronos and Kairos will meet.
" Here, the Lord is speaking of divine
timing and perfect alignment in Him. For
the Bride shall be in perfect alignment with Him. We will be in God's perfect timing - our
"chronos" will also be His "kairos," and
they will be one together in Him.
Greater Authority
Greater authority shall I
grant. The more one is under My
authority, the more authority I will give to them.
"When
Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 'Lord,'
he said, 'my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.' Jesus said to him, 'I will go and heal him.' The centurion replied, 'Lord, I do not deserve
to have you come under my roof. But just
say the word, and my servant will be healed.
For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that
one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this, and he does it.'" Matthew 8:8-9
The centurion was a man under
authority, and also a man who had authority over other men. He understood Jesus' authority. The more we understand Jesus' authority and
embrace it in our own lives, the more I believe, we, like the centurion, will
see the miraculous in our lives and in the lives of others.
I am the God of the Turnaround
This time of purification is a
place of trust, a place of truth, and a place of tremendous blessing in the
lives of all who embrace it. It is a
place of transition in the Spirit. It is
also a place of turnaround. For
remember, I am the God of the turnaround.
If you think that you are stuck in the mire and the mud, it is not so,
for I can lift the very earth to pull you out before you can even blink your
eye. We serve a God who is a God of the
turnaround. No matter what you are
facing, He can turn it around. I feel
like some of those reading this word may have lost hope. I tell you, the Lord can revive your hope in
Him, and He can and will turn your circumstances from defeat to victory, and
you from disarmed to victorious.
The Power of His Intercession
For I am the Lord, your Advocate,
the High Priest of all High Priests, and I continually intercede on your
behalf. You will know the power of My
intercession for you.
My dear
children, I write this to you so that you will
not sin. But if anybody does sin, we
have one who speaks to the
Father in our defense - Jesus
Christ, the Righteous One." I John 2:1
"Therefore,
since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the
Son of God. Let us hold firmly to the faith that we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is
unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted
in every way, just as we are yet was without sin." Hebrews 4:14-15
A Time of Order
For I am bringing Order to their
lives. I am bringing Order to My Bride,
and My Order of My Bride. It is in this
time of purification that I will begin to establish the true Order of My Bride.
The Day of the Superstars is Over
Please tell My people that the
day of the "superstars" in My Church is
over. Everyone's worth in My Church
needs to be realized and given weight.
There are no "nobodies." I will
oppose the proud, and exalt the humble.
Thank you, Lord, for this time of
purification. May all who read this word
truly embrace this time and become the men ,women, and children of God, and the
Bride that you have called them to be.
We welcome your Holy Spirit in this hour and submit to all He wishes to
do with and within each of us. Help us
to be teachable and receptive to the Spirit in this hour.
Lisa Jo Greer
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