Every commandment
which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and
multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your
fathers. And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way
these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what
was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He
humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not
know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not
live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth
of the LORD…For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of
brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills;
a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of
olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in
which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose
hills you can dig copper…who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your
fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to
do you good in the end…. (Deut. 8:1-3, 7-9, 16)
To those in the body of Christ
who are willing and prepared, we’re about to enter into a time of fullness,
restoration and harvest unprecedented in the history of the world.
The world,
itself, is in cataclysmic chaos, rampant unrighteousness, lawlessness and
confusion, at least quantitatively, in such ways as have never been. The evil
Babylonian/antichrist systems of politics and religiosity have formed, and are
continuing to evolve into an alliance whose purpose is to “make war with the saints
and overcome them” (Rev. 13:7), with its ultimate aim to make war with the Lamb
in futility, and foolishly try to prevent Him from reclaiming the earth at His
second coming. In the midst of all this, the Lord is raising up a body on this
earth, touched to their core with the power of the cross unto death of self,
and filled with His grace and glory. This new season of restoration is to
prepare the earth for His coming, reap a harvest of righteousness and souls for
His glory, and execute His judgments to prove beyond a shadow of doubt His
infinite mercy to a world that has truly given itself to evil and hatred of all
that is just, true and holy. We can either cave in to fear, as the first
generation of Israelites did that came out of Egypt,
or confidently move forward through the waters of death (the Jordan) and enter into this new
season of warfare and victory for His glory.
The past season of approximately
20 years has truly been a season of the wilderness. It is impossible to
experience His “promised land” without experiencing the wilderness, because
it’s the wilderness dealings and experiences that train the heart and soul of
the believer to be confined to His will alone. The new season means a new land,
a new way of following and new and greater demonic powers to face. What worked
in the past season WILL NOT work in the new. To enter this new season and see
victories, a major work of repentance has to be accomplished, which all of the
wilderness dealings are meant to affect. To move into this new season requires
moving through a very narrow gate. This means being confined to His will and
ways alone, and all the ways, designs and postulates of man must be removed.
The church, during the first part of this season, is going to undergo massive
reformation. It is an erstwhile venture to study the Lord’s rebukes,
admonitions and promises to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 to
understand what is about to be done in our midst. Purity, simplicity and a
passion to fulfill His desire alone will be the marks of those who allow Him to
search and try them….
The entire book of Deuteronomy is
basically Moses recounting the Lord’s goodness, redemption, faithfulness,
provision and discipline in their lives in the past wilderness season. He calls
them to look back, not specifically on their sins and failures, but upon the
Lord’s limitless mercy in their individual and corporate lives to prepare them
to enter the new season. This is the first thing we need to do as we prepare to
enter this new season. We need to stop, and take time to thank and
praise Him for His grace and mercy of bringing us through the past season of
wilderness dealings. This past season saw many “failures”, but that’s
what it was designed to do – to show us what was REALLY in our hearts in order
to bring them out and on to the cross. The victory in the past season is a
victory of perseverance…to keep on moving and pressing into the Lord and His
purposes in spite of all that’s being revealed and dealt with in our hearts,
lives and relationships. This is cause for a great, swelling chorus of
thanksgiving and praise – He did not forsake or disqualify us from anything
He’s doing now. The Lord told me several months ago that the only thing that
could disqualify us from moving into the new season is an unwillingness to let
Him change our minds about what “ministry” and “church” truly is, and to focus
on the past. I don’t mean to sound flippant or sacrilegious, but He told me
that all the sins, failures, wrong responses and disappointments we’ve had to
face and deal with, if it’s been truly confessed and forsaken…He said, “I’ve
got this!” Meaning, to me, that the power of the blood and cross has thoroughly
dealt with all of these things….
After Moses recounts the absolute
goodness and faithfulness of the Lord to His people in the last season, he then
declares His heart and purpose for them in the new season as an admonition and
encouragement.
Hear, O Israel: You
are to cross over the Jordan today, and go in to dispossess nations greater and
mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to heaven, a people great
and tall, the descendants of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you heard
it said, “Who can stand before the descendants of Anak (the descendants of the
Nephilim [giants])?” Therefore understand today that the LORD your God is He
who goes over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and bring
them down before you; so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as
the LORD has said to you. Do not think in your heart, after the LORD your God
has cast them out before you, saying, 'Because of my righteousness the LORD has
brought me in to possess this land'; but it is because of the wickedness of
these nations that the LORD is driving them out from before you. It is not
because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in
to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the
LORD your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the word
which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Therefore
understand that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess
because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. (Deut. 9:1-6)
The first thing we need to do is
look back in thanksgiving and praise for His care, discipline and patience with
us in the wilderness journeys. Then the next thing that needs to take place
is to agree with His definition of who we are and not what we, or anyone else,
perceive us to be.
You and I are NOT defined by the
past season’s sins, failures and weaknesses, OR the opinion of others!
He declares to them who He is, who they are, and that nothing depends upon
their goodness or lack thereof. It all depends upon Him making them what He
destined them to be and their humble cooperation. He makes this clear in His
admonition and encouragement to Joshua:
After the death of
Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua
the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, saying: “Moses My servant is dead. Now
therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land
which I am giving to them-- the children of Israel. Every place that the sole
of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the
wilderness and this Lebanon
as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites,
and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun,
shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days
of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you
nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide
as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be
strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law
which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or
to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall
not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that
you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will
make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not
commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be
dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua
1:1-9)
It is by sheer grace and humble
yielding to Him and His word that the world will be changed, harvested and
prepared for His return in this next season we are entering. There ARE
tremendous battles ahead of us on the scale we’ve never experienced before. It
will take a totally dependent body of believers, joined to the Head and to one
another in vibrant covenant relationship, to be victorious and overcome. The
shape and scope of ministry and organized church is about to radically change
in order to see the prayer of the Son in John 17 answered and His glory put on
display throughout the nations.
One last point about entering the
new season…. Praise must lead this movement forth. And not just any type of
“praise”. It must be the sound of victory – “high” praise –
that which exalts Him for who He is and His glorious victories. Judah led forth
the encampment, so praise and thanksgiving must lead with a triumphant sound
(Psalm 149:5-9). As we move forward in praise and thanksgiving of our gracious
Savior, then we can begin to war with His word and prophecies He has released
to us over the past seasons. Now that which was spoken in the past season as
promised to keep us persevering, will now be ignited as a sword of the Spirit
to deal with whatever satanic obstacles we meet. Because of making our lives
living sacrifices of worship and prayer, the hidden wisdom and strategies of
God will be released at just the right time to implement to bring great
victory. This will also release great favor as we become a united body under
one Head.
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