Jan 4, 2003

This year is no different than the years before, in that, we all want to know what God has planned for the Church in the New Year. Well, certainly there is, to a degree, a going out of the old and a coming in with the new for each and every member of the body of Christ.

CARRY OVER:

As I was in prayer yesterday concerning some other things for the New Year, the Holy Spirit began talking about 'new words.' I thought He was going to tell me some big revelation for 2003 and for the Church. I was surprised when I heard the Lord say what He did.

The Holy Spirit talked about many people in the Church who are always looking and going after a 'new word.' People running to and fro for a 'new' word, plus, there is a danger of worshiping the prophetic word (gotta have it) instead of worshiping the Giver of the Word. The Lord said, "There are 'new' words to be dug out of His written Word daily that will supply His people with necessary 'manna' for 365 days in the year" (II Tim.2:15).

He didn't say the prophetic flow had stopped, or would stop until Jesus comes to catch us away to meet Him in the air. The message is clear that we're to focus more on God's written Word because it is the foundation for the Rhema, spoken word of God. The Spirit works 'with' the Logos Word.

The Holy Spirit said, "there is to be a carry-over in 2003 of prophetic words He's already given the Church and to individuals since 2000." When He told me this, He also gave me a very simple illustration concerning parents and children to help me understand what He was saying. And let me say this, many times, the reason we don't see personal prophecies come to pass in our lives is simply because, first of all, we fail to meet the condition (s). Sometimes, there are no conditions but most of the time, there are. Plus, God's timing is all-important in it as well.

CARRY-OVER ILLUSTRATION:

When a parent gives their children certain directives (job, responsibility, chores) to carry out for the day, the child (ren) is either obedient to do them, or they will be disobedient and drag their heels, putting off the tasks.

The parents will do one of two things; they will either allow the children to go on for a time in their disobedience---extending grace and mercy for them to come to the tasks in obedience themselves. Or, the parents will tell the children immediately that there will be a "carry-over" to the next day of the tasks they left unfinished in disobedience.

If you're a parent, then you understand the Lord's illustration and what He's saying for His children in this New Year of 2003. There is a 'carry-over' of things that God spoke and told us to do as the Church and as individuals but we have left much of it unfinished through our disobedience from the year 2000. Like natural children, many of us have thought we got by because Papa, God, didn't bring it to our immediate attention. So, we thought we were done with all that other 'business.' It just seemed to be too much effort anyway because it required change.

Why did the Holy Spirit only go back as far as 2000? I personally believe its (though all need not agree) because 2000 was a pivotal year for the Church. I believe that when the calendar turned over from 1999 to 2000, something shifted, like changing gears in the spirit realm. I believe that shifting has set the Church on her course of destiny to become a holy, righteous and glorious Church at an accelerated speed that we haven't caught up with yet. Of course, coming into more glory creates tremendous warfare for the Church, so we can't lay down our spiritual weapons for a second.

UNITY:

One of the things the Church must take serious to do and that is to come together in love as a unified body of warring worshipers of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit has been speaking; He's been calling for the Church to come into "unity of the brethren," more intensely in the last few years. He's calling again for loving unity to become a 'way' of life for the Church so "the world will know us by our love." But have we been listening to the Lord's call? Or have we gone on, 'business as usual?'

When the Lord began speaking about unity again, He told me in a dream the night before to read John chapter 17. The very first thing that caught my attention was in the first verse when Jesus said, "Father, the hour has come..." The whole chapter is the Lord Jesus' heart cry of, "That they (the Church) might be one; as you and I are one." The hour is come and is now when the Holy Spirit is reminding the Church and all individuals' in personal families and relationships to walk in the unity of love and forgiveness.

NUMBERS, GIFTS & STARS:

The Holy Spirit also brought my attention to the numbers in 2003, which at first, made no sense to me. Then, He told me to add the numbers together. I did and it came to 5. Five in Biblical numbers means 'grace.' The number five also represents the 5-fold ministry. The Lord said, there was a new release of His grace, a fresh anointing for the 5-fold ministry so that they could get busy doing what they were called to do.

Ephesians 4:11-13, "And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; (WHY?) 12-For the perfecting (equipping) of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying (building up) of the body of Christ: 13-(THE OBJECTIVE), Til we ALL come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect (mature) man, unto (reaching) the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (the Anointed One, and His anointing).

The Lord said, it was time for His people to be taught and brought into their gifts and callings within His Church (the saint's movement---body ministry). He said, the 5-fold ministers were to stop 'hoarding' the gifts of the Spirit for themselves and teach His people that they too are to do the greater works of the last days. The Holy Spirit said, there was to be no more "stars" in His Church, only members, all of one Body that reached its fullness in Him, Jesus, Who is the Head of His body (Romans 12:5).

DEMONSTRATION:

This brings me to the Lord saying that there is a carry-over into 2003 for the miraculous. He said, the Church has talked about it, even taught about it, prophesied about it, now its time to demonstrate it. One only has to think for a minute to realize that the Book of Acts is the Acts of the Holy Spirit. Demonstrations of the dunamis power of almighty God in signs and wonders (Mark 16, and these signs shall follow them that 'believe,' Jesus didn't say the miraculous, signs and wonders would only follow 5-fold ministries).

The Acts of the Holy Spirit haven't stopped. The Church has just not gotten into full agreement (understanding of blood covenant) with where He wants to take us. Yes, into a place where we're not only talking about it, teaching about it, prophesying about it but we're demonstrating by the Holy Spirit what we're talking about, teaching about and prophesying about. It's a miraculous demonstration of the 'fire-power' of the Holy Ghost! (Acts 1:8). Praise God! It's that baptism of fire!!

So, expect the Church to move more into the glory realm of the miraculous. And all of those miraculous demonstrations of the firepower of the Holy Spirit will not all take place inside the four walls of the Church. This is not a year for the Church to sit back and continue to be comfortable.

In many ways, 2003 is going to be an exciting year but in a lot of ways, its going to be an uncomfortable year as we're stretched in areas of faith like never before. But God assures us that; "He will keep us in perfect peace as long as our minds are stayed (focused) on Him." It would be very good for everyone to memorize and meditate on Psalm 91:1. Hide this word in your heart and live it daily for the days ahead.

PURGING, PRAYER AND PRAISE:

The Holy Spirit will continue as the Refiner come to purge the Church and refine it. The Church corporately and individually, many ministries have gone through the Lord's refining fire. Just because 2002 has ended, this purging of the Church did not end.

In fact, you can look for it to intensify because a glorious Church cannot be glorious except it go through much change, much transformation from the inside out. Not from the outside in the way it's been in days gone by. The Lord Advocate General of the Church, Jesus Himself has come to His temple to set some things in order.

By His Spirit, He's here to cleanse it (corporately and individually) and chase (deliver) the merchants of greed and lust out of it. Seducing spirits and religious spirits will also be rooted out because their infiltration into the Church where they've tried to mingle in undetected has been uncovered.

You can look for more emphasis on prayer, intercession, praise and worship and spiritual warfare in the coming months with a thrust for the Church to move more into deliverance ministry. Our prayer assignments are far from over. In fact, they will double but even now, God is raising up more worship and war intercessors because the prayer needs will be so great. Jesus said, "My house shall be called a house of prayer." And so it shall as we see more ministries formulate "houses of prayer" locally, nationally and globally until prayer is literally going around the world 24/7. Its very near being that now what with TV and the Internet.

CONCLUSION:

So, what is on God's planning board for the Church and all people? Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jesus said, "...I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

And what is on satan's planning board for the Church and all people? "The thief, satan, comes but for to steal, kill and to destroy..." (John 10:10).

Don't let satan's plans bother you too much because listen, I've got some good news to share with you: 1 John 3:8, "He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sinned from the beginning. For THIS purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might DESTROY the works of the devil."

And remember this, Jesus said in Matthew 28:18, "ALL power (authority) is given unto me both in heaven and in the earth." We know that Jesus birthed the Church and He has all this power the Father has given Him to exercise in heaven and in earth. Let's see what He did with it.

"Behold, I give unto you (the Church) power (authority) to tread on serpents and on scorpions, and over ALL the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you" (Luke 10:19). Jesus gave the disciples power (authority) in His name to cast out demons, heal the sick, raise the dead, etc. They're gone now but we're here so He's delegated His authority to use in His name to do the same things He did and even greater works than He did because He was going to the Father.

Satan does still have power but he no longer has authority unless he can deceive Christians into giving him their authority. Satan can't operate apart from our will being in agreement with him any more than God can unless our will is in agreement with Him. And within our free will to choose is the responsibility of authority.

This is all the more reason why we want to heed and adhere to Psalm 91:1, "He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of His wings." This means to be actively submitting our free will of choice to God and staying in the secret place with Him where "that wicked one touches you not"(1 John 5:18).

And how do we do that? Jude 21 gives the answer, "Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." This brings us right back to what the Holy Spirit is reminding the Church of again, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in UNITY" (Psalm 133:1).