THE MINISTRY LETTER 2007 ISSUE 3
To all
handmaidens and bondservants of the Lord Jesus Christ:
DEFINING "LACK" AND NEED"IN LIGHT OF THE
KINGDOM
In
this hour it is extremely important for EVERY Christian to have the terms
"lack" and "needs" defined to them by the Holy Spirit - in
light of our call to "seek first" the Kingdom. As one seeks to have
their entire life and ministry ordered by the Holy Spirit from the position of
a heart "wholly given" [to the carrying out of God's will] what one
truly "needs" will be defined by what it will take for them to fulfil
the fullness of their destiny in Christ [spirit, soul, body, financially,
relationship-wise and location/environment-wise] - and on that alone. As the
scripture says, "Seek first the kingdom and His righteousness [to be
righteously motivated towards the will of God and towards all those who cross
our path at all times] THEN all these "things" [all of the things
Jesus mentioned in the previous verses in Matthew 6] will be added unto
[overtake] us. The problem many have is that their lives are still rooted in
self-desire [under their own control and "understanding"] to some
degree and, thus, they get involved with things that have nothing to do with
the fullness of the Father's purpose for their lives. Where one makes any room
for "self" in their life then there is no room for the superabundant
blessing that the Father desires to bless them with - and, thus, He must wait
until that one forsakes their own provision [self-sufficiency] to make room for
His provision - and a revelation of what He truly desires them to do.
THE THING THAT THE FATHER COUNTS MOST PRECIOUS IS OUR LOVE
FOR HIM
We
have all got caught up in that at some point, but as the renewing of the mind
continues in the lives of those who are truly giving God's Word [Will]
pre-eminence they will, eventually, reach the point wherein they are no longer
living for themselves - in ANY way. It is in this place that one's
"needs" become very clear, and it is also in this place of an abiding
faith and obedience that whatever they need [in whatever form that may take] is
continually "overtaking" them. Sometimes it "seems" that what
we need is late in coming [and to those who are observing us from the
standpoint of the natural mind it may look like we have lack] but, in reality,
sometimes things are "delayed" in order for the Father to show us
where we stand in our trust of Him, and to prepare us for the "greater
works" that He has planned. What may look "irresponsible" to the
world [or the carnal Christian] is actually part of the Father's refining
process - with a view to leading us into the absolute faith and trust in Him
that He so desires. When one remains faithful to the highest purposes of God
then it is certain that He will vindicate them perfectly in the "fullness
of time". The thing that the Father counts most precious is our love for
Him - and no greater love can we show towards Him than to lay down our own
lives [psuche: soul-life] to trust in Him absolutely.
THE ONLY THING THAT SHOULD MATTER TO THE CHILD OF
GOD IS THE WILL OF THE FATHER
In
summing up, there is no "set rule" for every Christian concerning
what might be deemed "need" or "lack". It is up to every
child of God to spend sufficient time in the "inner chamber" each day
- in order that their heart is continually saturated with the light of God's
Word. It is only as the light of God's Word continually shines on one's heart
that any ground of disobedience [if there is any] is both exposed and removed
by holy fire. This leads one into a continually deeper trust in the Father as
their Provider, and also into the perfect liberty that is theirs, in Christ. It
is only in the "inner chamber" [the secret place of His presence]
that one will gain the necessary revelation to know what they truly need - for
only the Father knows the magnitude of all that He has called us to. The only
thing that should matter to the child of God is the will of the Father [that
which he has "prescribed" for His children - both individually and
corporately]. It is in day to day obedience on the present path - abiding in
that place where one is continually acknowledging the Father in all of their
ways - that He shall surely direct one's path in the paths of righteousness.
Diligence in this area will always lead one into the fullness of their destiny
in Christ [whatever that may be in each individual case], and every
"need" shall be perfectly fulfilled in any given moment - to the
greatest glory of God.
Let us hear the words of the Father:
...."You
are anointed to greatness [perfection], My beloved ones!"....
...."In
this season, the fullness of the anointing that abides within you shall be
released. It is an anointing of wisdom [revelation] and great power. Go
wherever I send you and speak whatever I give you to speak - for great is the
glory that rests upon and abides within you!"....
...."This
IS it!"....
...."From
this time forth, My beloved ones, you shall move with great precision and power
to devastate Satan and his forces at every turn. And, indeed, the Kingdom
finances that I bless you with shall be used to both devastate him - and to set
many captives free"....
...."The
key to obtaining "spiritual knowledge" [revelation] is a pure
heart"....
*****
MEDITATIONS ON THE TRUE CHRISTIAN LIFE:
+ Only
as the Word is received out of the life of God into our life, can there be any
"real" knowledge of it. Where it is received as a seed in the good
soil of our hungry heart, it will grow up and bring forth fruit, like all seed,
"after its kind".It will reproduce in our life the very life of God
out of which it came. In us will grow the same likeness and characteristics of
the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit.
+ Only the Holy
Spirit knows the things of God. So only when the Spirit of God lives in us can
He make us know the things of God by imparting them to our lives only as we
receive the life of Christ through the Word do we have the light of the
knowledge of God.
+ The
"fruit of the spirit" is the direct result of the life of Christ
ministered to the believer by the Holy Spirit. Spiritual fruit is the outcome
of the life of unbroken and full communion with Christ. "Abide in Me and I
in you, so shall ye bring forth much fruit" (John 15). Christ within us
can accomplish what we can never hope to do in our own strength; and that
continuous walking with Him will change the weakest of us into His image.
+ If one is too
"embarrassed" to speak the truth then they shall be too
"embarrassed" to walk in it!
+ The Gospel
must be freely given! It is not for sale!
+ In a moment of
close and intimate fellowship with the Father came a deep realization of the
tremendous blessings that He has continually poured into my life. I came to the
deepest realization that I had ever come to of the tremendous riches and wealth
of His Word [revelation knowledge] that He had blessed me with. I also saw
clearly the great importance of the tasks He had given me in the area of the
various writings and books He has commissioned me to "formulate"; and
my only "thought" was: "Father, how could You even dare to
entrust such riches to a fool such as me?" The Father answered quickly and
said, "you are not a fool in My eyes, but rather you are My beloved one,
My righteous one, My blameless one, My pure-hearted one, My obedient one, My
faithful one, My sinless one!" And I saw in that moment that the
Father sees those whose hearts are toward Him; those who constantly keep
themselves in a position "under the Blood", as being "in Christ".
And I understood more clearly than ever before the importance of guarding our
heart with all diligence in order that we might remain in that place of abiding
in Christ and thus allow Christ to abide in us.
+ I never look
at anyone any differently than God looks at them. For to look at anyone any
other way would render my ministry to them ineffective. It is the Holy Spirit
that gives us eyes to see the "deepest need" of the hearts of those
who cross our path. Our only task is to guard our heart with all diligence so
that we might clearly hear His voice at all times.
*****
GOLDEN MANNA FROM THE MOUNT
"ALL OF MY TRUE WORDS SHALL COME FORTH IN THIS SEASON"
Bill Burns
ft111@spiritofprophecy.com
http://ft111.com
This
shall be a time of divided tongues of fire in which I would have you to examine
your past prophetic words and those promises you are holding in your heart. I
shall reveal to you whether they are "yes" or "no", whether
they came from My Spirit or from man's spirit. You must not have a mixed
seedbed in this season, says the Lord. Bring them before Me for validation or
to be discarded. I promise you that even if you have to discard a word you are
holding because your desire is attached to it, you will benefit from discarding
it because all of My true words shall come forth in this season. The reason
that many of the promises have not come through is because there is a mixture
of seed. You have tares growing up with the wheat, and you do not know which is
which until I show you. Seek Me regarding these words as part of bringing your
life under divine order. Come boldly before My throne. My word is a sword that
rightly divides truth and error, and will divide your soul desires from your
spiritual desires.
"EMBRACE THE SEASON - FOR THIS YEAR WILL BE THE
GREATEST OPPORTUNITY YOU HAVE HAD UP UNTIL NOW TO ADVANCE IN THE KINGDOM"
I say
to you, embrace the season, for this year will be the greatest opportunity you
have had up until now to advance in the kingdom. I am pouring out of My Spirit
the greatness and the glory of that which I have saved for the end of the age.
Even now, you have the opportunity to receive more in these minutes than you
have in days gone by. Position yourself by faith and believe that I am doing
this work. If you will believe, you shall receive. I am for you and I am
preparing the way and I will walk with you to bring you into kingdom destiny.
This is the season of opportunity. Seize the moment. Rise up in faith and let
your heart's desire be to know Me as you never have before, says the Lord. Your
faith shall propel you into that which I am about to do and will carry you
through this season.
*****
"I AM BRINGING A CLARITY TO YOUR LIFE"
Marsha Burns
ft111@spiritofprophecy.com
http://ft111.com
Beloved,
I am bringing a clarity to your life that will be both refreshing and
startling. Those places that have seemed muddy and unclear will suddenly become
clear, accurate, and precise. It will be like coming out of a fog into the
bright light of day. Open your eyes wide to see by the power of My Spirit, for
certainly I will make those things visible that have been hidden in obscurity,
says the Lord.
...."I
speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings; and he sees
the form of the LORD"....
Numbers 12:8
*****
TIMES OF REFRESHING HAVE BEGUN
Mary Ellen Gilliland
www.zoebooks.com
Go in
peace, for the times of refreshing are beginning. I am refreshing My weary
people with a pleasant rain, a rain of blessing, to refresh and revive them.
Many trials have come, and many battles, but I am now bringing My people into a
Time of Fulfillment of all God's promises - Biblical promises and personal
promises. Look at your life and see: Have I not already fulfilled a promise or
answered a prayer in recent weeks? Know this then, that My heart is overjoyed
to bless My children and that a time of My blessing has begun. Don't think the
battle is over and that all trouble will melt away. But do know that a time of
blessing and fulfillment - promise-of-God fulfillment - has truly come and is.
...."Repent
then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of
refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has
been appointed for you - even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time
comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy
prophets"....
Acts 3:19-21
*****
"TOUCH NOT MINE ANOINTED"
[PART ONE]
...."But
the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height
of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for
man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart"....
1 Samuel 16:7
...."For
the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly
support those whose heart is completely
His"....
2 Chronicles 16:9
GOD DOES NOT JUDGE AS MAN JUDGES
These
are very, very important scriptures for us to meditate upon in these days! For
as we do, we shall gain a deeper revelation into the nature of our God and this
will "allow" us to see things in the way that He sees things and
"judge" [discern] all things according to His judgements. The whole
key to serving God and walking in the Spirit in this last hour centers on the
"realization" that God does not judge as man judges, but rather, He
judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart, for He does not operate in the
same "realm" that man operates in - apart from Him. We know that we
are commanded to love the Lord our God with our whole heart [Luke 10:27] and we
also know that in this last hour God is looking for a people whose heart is
"completely" His. Our heavenly Father has no greater desire than to
see His children "align" themselves with Him in their
"every" thought and action. As we meditate in the Word of God and we
begin to study these spiritual truths, we shall begin to understand the
importance of having the motivations of our heart come into "one
accord" with the thoughts and intentions of God's heart.
TWO HEART MOTIVATIONS
Every
motivation of one's heart will have its source in one of two things: the love
of God or selfishness. As one continues on into the deeper spiritual life, the
differences between these two can become very subtle and many things which
people are doing might "appear" good, but, in reality - when the
deepest motivation of heart is uncovered - the very root of that
"work" has its source in "self" and Satan rather than God
and His Word. As we seek to understand the importance of a heart "wholly
given" to God, and also the fact that God judges the thoughts and
intentions of the heart, we shall look at the life of David, whom God called
"a man after His own heart". This is an astounding word which has
been spoken by the Father referring to David! There are many who stumble over
the fact that David committed his share of sin and caused many things to happen
which were not in the perfect will of God, but nonetheless we must look at
David's "heart motivation" and his diligence and faithfulness towards
the overall plan of God. We must also remember that David was not a
"born-again" man at that time [Old Covenant] and that he was
functioning under an anointing "placed upon" him by God. If he
departed from that anointing and went out and did what he wanted to do, as in
the case of Bathsheba, then his actions of disobedience would cause him to come
under the "curse" in some form.
THE ENDURING FAITHFULNESS AND LOYALTY OF THE HEART
WHOLLY GIVEN TO THE PURPOSES OF THE FATHER
We
know that Saul was anointed king of Israel and we know that Saul's heart was
not with the Lord, as evidenced in his failure to obey the Lord's commands
fully, and the Lord sought for a man after his own heart to anoint ruler (king)
of Israel (even though it was still God's will for His people to be ruled
directly by Himself) and of course that was David. We know that between the
time that God's anointing departed from Saul and the time David became king
that David was persecuted by Saul and because of this David was forced to flee
into the wilderness, knowing in his heart that he was anointed to be king of
Israel, but faced with physical "circumstances" which were against
that ever coming to pass.
...."Now it came
about when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told saying,
"Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi. Then Saul took three
thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went to seek David and his men in
front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats. And he came to the sheepfolds on the Way,
where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his
men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave. And the men of David said
to him, "Behold this is the day of which the Lord said to you, 'Behold, I
am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems
good to you.'" Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul's robe. So he
said to his men, "Far be it from me because of the Lord that I should do
this thing to my lord, the Lord's anointed, to stretch out my hand against him,
since he is the Lord's anointed." And David persuaded is men with these
words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, left the
cave, and went on his way. Now afterward David arose and went out of the cave
and called after Saul, saying, "My lord the king!" And when Saul
looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated
himself. And David said to Saul, "Why do you listen to the words of men,
saying, 'Behold David seeks to harm you?' "Behold, this day your eyes have
seen that the Lord had given you into my hand in the cave, and some said to
kill you, but my eye had pity on you, and I said, "I will not stretch out
my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord's anointed." "Now, my
father, see indeed, see the edge of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off
the edge of your robe and did not kill you, know and perceive that there is no
evil or rebellion in my hands, and I have not sinned against you, though you
are lying in wait for my life to take it. May the Lord judge between you and
me, and may the Lord avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against
you"....
1 Samuel 24:1-12
From all outward
appearances and circumstances it seemed as though David had the right to kill
Saul and even the word of the Lord had come through the prophet Samuel
expressing His displeasure with Saul (1 Samuel 15:10-11). It was also
prophesied that Saul would be delivered into the hands of his enemies, but
David was "sensitive" in his heart toward God and refused to raise
his hand against Saul, whom he considered to be the Lord's anointed. And now we
will look at a second opportunity which David had to kill Saul.
...."Then
David answered and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of
Zeruiah, Joab's brother, saying, "Who will go own with me to Saul in the
camp?" and Abishai said, "I will go down with you." So David and
Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping inside the
circle of the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner
and the people were lying around him. Then Abishai said to David, "Today
God has delivered your enemy into your hand: now therefore, please let me
strike him with the spear to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike
him the second time." But David said to Abishai, "Do not destroy him,
for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord's anointed and be without
guilt? David also said, "As the Lord lives, surely the Lord will
strike him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down into battle
and perish. The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the
Lord's anointed; but now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug
of water from beside Saul's head, and they went away, but no one saw or knew
it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a sound sleep from the
Lord had fallen on them"....
1 Samuel 26:6-12
Let each and
every one of us be found walking in perfect faithfulness, obedience and love
towards the "delegated authorities of God in this hour - at all cost to
ourselves - lest we be found displeasing the Father.
...."And
the Lord will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for
the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but I refused to stretch out my hand
against the Lord's anointed"....
1 Samuel 26:13-23
*****