Are You a Part of the Kingdom Problem
Or Part of the Kingdom Solution?
As you begin this month of March, may the Lord bless you coming in and going out. As you progress through the Lenten season know that this is a consecrated period if you choose to open your heart to its depth. Commit and re-commit if you must to walk through this time seeking first the Kingdom. Seek whatever change must be made in your heart to bring you out transformed and resurrected to the fullness of God’s plan for you.
The Plagues that Bind
In reading of the plight of the Israelites in Egypt I could not help but think of the church today and each of us who comprise it. The Lord sent ten plaques to Egypt to force Pharaoh to release His people. With each plaque the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart. With each plaque the Lord says through Moses and Aaron, “Let My people go that they may serve Me.” It is not until the tenth plaque which kills the firstborn Egyptians that Pharaoh releases the Israelites.
The ten plaques are:
–The waters become blood such that the Egyptians cannot drink the water of the river. When we wound another through direct words or mean-spirited action we cannot drink fully of the Spirit. We cannot wash in the water of the Word.
–Frogs covered the land and filled the houses in every corner. Bitterness and resentment will fill every corner of your heart. In time, they will affect every corner of your life. They are slimy. They are impossible to eradicate without the power of God.
–Lice became as the dust of the land. Think of lice. They multiply quickly. They infect others. They are difficult to eradicate. So it is with seeds of division planted by devious hearts. Spoken opposition against church leaders and other church members multiplies quickly and can easily shake any foundation if not stopped.
–Flies swarmed throughout the homes in Egypt. Imagine swarms of buzzing flies. They annoy. They distract. They stop the peace of daily life. So it is in the church when gossip prevails. The bothersome drone of flies is similar to the murmur of gossipers.
–Livestock diseased with a severe pestilence. All of the Egyptian livestock died. Livestock was critical for life. Livestock also represented wealth. The life of the church can be diseased through sexual sin such as pornography and adultery. If left unchecked the spiritual life of the church will die.
–Boils broke out on all the Egyptians. Boils are painful, deep skin infections. What is allowed to fester goes deeper. The deeper an issue goes the more painful it becomes. If those of us called Christian do not take responsibility to let the Holy Spirit circumcise the infections from our hearts, they will burrow deeper. Our pain will infect others.
-Very heavy Hail rained down and killed all in the fields who did not “…regard the word of the Lord.” (Exodus 9:21) The hail was even mingled with fire. They heard the warning from the Lord but did not heed it. To hear the Word of the Lord is one thing, to honor the Word of the Lord is quite another. Are you just listening to or are you living out God’s Word?
-Destructive Locusts swarmed throughout the land so much so that, “…the land was darkened…they ate…all the fruit of the trees…there remained nothing green.” (Exodus 10:15) I happened to live in an area during a Cicada (locust) season. It was horrible. The sound alone was deafening. They were everywhere to include on clothing and in hair. There remains nothing green…no fruit. When the world infects the church the fruit of the Spirit diminishes.
-Thick Darkness fell over all Egypt for three days. When worldly appetites take precedence over the Light of the World the church becomes dark. We trade our authority and power over the enemy of darkness for cushy seats on Sunday and messages that tickle our ears.
–Death of the Firstborn of every Egyptian forced the release of the Israelites from Pharaoh’s bondage. The first love in every Christian’s heart is Jesus Christ. If we allow ourselves to be enslaved by the vices of the world and held in bondage, our first love is forsaken, departed from, left, abandoned. If you walk away from your first love and into the world, you run the risk of spiritual death and losing your Kingdom inheritance.
Where Do You Stand?
Egypt represents the world and bondage. The world has been allowed to invade God’s church. Bondage is the result. It is time, in this season, to, “Let My people go that they may serve Me.” It is time in this season to take back the ground the enemy has taken in your heart. It is time in this season to take back the ground the enemy has taken corporately. It is time in this season to arise ‘for such a time as this,’ to take up our spiritual weapons, to put on the whole armor of God, and to come together corporately to fight for God’s church on earth and His people.
We see daily horrors as ISIS tortures and kills Christian men, women and children, Jews and even Muslims that do not conform to their apocalyptic jihad. We Christians must stop fighting each other. The enemy is radical Islamic terrorism not the person in the seat next to you.
As the Israelites were released from the bondage of Egypt so the church must come out of worldly bondage and arise to serve Him fully in this time.
This release begins in each heart for it is always a heart issue. Now is the time. We are the people who are called ‘for such a time as this!’ Are you in the world or with His church?
Quotes to Ponder This Week
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” ~Jesus, Matthew 6:21
“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place-unless you repent.” ~Jesus, Revelation 2:4
“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like…those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” ~Galatians 5:19-21
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” ~Galatians 5:22-25
“…that He might sanctify [set apart] and cleanse it [the church] with the washing of water by the word…” ~Ephesians 6:26
A Prayer Request
Thank you for your continued faithfulness to pray. Please keep all who serve our country, our servicemen and women and their families in prayer for salvation and safety. They are our front-line on the battlefield, let us be their front-line in the spirit. Also, let us cover all who have come home wounded that they and their families will receive the kindness, help and support they need to go forward in their lives. God bless all our diplomatic and military personnel and their families. May the Lord keep them safe.
Pray for all throughout the world for hedges of protection against radical Islamic extremists and all forms of terrorism. Pray for Christians who face violence and death for their faith. We have long prayed for spiritual victory over radical Islam in Esther’s Warriors Ministry. We now see the reality of this threat come to the forefront in this time in world history.
Please pray for all in authority over us, for the full truth to come forth concerning Benghazi. May God richly bless the United States of America, bring to light every single crooked place and keep her safe. The lives lost in Benghazi, the continuing targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service, Operation Fast and Furious, the Department of Justice targeting journalists phone records, the National Security Agency overstepping its legal authority are hardly “phony scandals.” We continue to pray for truth to prevail in each of these situations. Pray for the families who have lost loved ones, for those relentlessly targeted and for all of us who are proud to call ourselves American.
May we may arise united once again as One Nation Under God in this auspicious season in our country’s history. These are treacherous times and now more than ever we must maintain our walk with the Lord, saturate this country in prayer and stand for all that is right in America. Fail not in this hour.
Pray for peace in Israel. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Please Join Me In Prayer
Father we thank You for Your faithfulness and Your Son, Jesus Christ. During this Lenten season draw us closer to You. Equip us to walk in Your ways. Transform our hearts to be more like You. Remove any terroristic tendency from each heart and transform each heart from stone to flesh. Grace us to pray without ceasing for our brothers and sisters who suffer at the hands of Islamic terrorists. Open the eyes of our leaders to arise in this season to defend the very belief in You upon which our Nation is founded. Thank You for keeping Your hand on America. We humbly pray this in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen and Amen.
SEEK: Stay Equipped, Empowered, Kingdom focused!