INTENT CHANGES WITH KNOWLEDGE


SEE ISAIAH 39

There was an account with Hezekiah after he recovered from his sickness. He was visited by messengers from Babylon with letters and gifts from the King. Hezekiah was so excited about having been recovered that he showed the men all that the Lord had done and how she had blessed him so. He held nothing back. This circumstance prompted the Lord to send the prophet Isaiah with a message  concerning what he had done. He prophesied that they would soon return to take it all!
The Babylonians have always been enemies of the cross whether at war or for peace because of their idolatry. They did not acknowledge the Most High. Therefore, having recently been delivered from Assyria, he should have been more cautious concerning those he allowed in the palace. As it is written concerning details of the visitors, they seemed to have come with good intentions. However, after being privileged to see what they did see in the house of the true and living God and all he provided, as well as his many treasures, their intent changed. How Godly can someone be if they don’t serve the true and living God? How can they show the fruits of the Spirit, if they don’t have the Holy Spirit? Faithfulness, peace, ethics, integrity, and discretion come with knowing God.
Sometimes we ourselves open doors for friendly fire by allowing people to see too much or speaking too much to someone that has no intentions on being a part of the Kingdom of righteousness. There are appointed times to share a testimony as led by the Holy Spirit. There are other times where you may look back and see that your revealing of certain things was not for the purposes of edification but of foolishness. We have done those things that didn’t edify or build but brought forth self-infliction because of choosing to share with the wrong person. Though you may have had good intentions because of your humility and wanting to boast somewhat in what the Lord has done, not all are Israel that came forht from Israel. Everyone is not on the same level of spiritual maturity to handle certain revelations with discretion, even if they say they can. For this same reason did Jesus Christ bring forth His Word with mystery and revealed himself by His Holy Spirit at His appointed time. He will not put more on us than we can bear.
Some people that you fellowship with may be wonderful, God-fearing and loving individuals. However, you may invite them for dinner and they get a glimpse of what the Lord has done for you and sometimes the intent changes. They may see your home and its size or how many vehicles you may have and then opinions start to circulate in their mind. How did they get that? How did they afford that? Did they get that with church funds? Then they try to come up with reasons within themselves why you shouldn’t live the way that you live or that you shouldn’t have what you have. Sometimes because of what a persons has seen, they try to pattern their life around yours. However, they don’t know the testimony of the work that the Lord wrought on the potter’s wheel to get you to that place. They may not want to go through what you’ve gone through but they want the end result of what they have seen in your life. Nonetheless, that wasn’t the original intent. That’s what makes it friendly fire. Most encounters often start humble and innocent. So you must guard your heart. Be an effective gatekeeper. Protect what the Lord has given you by His Spirit. I am not suggesting that you isolate yourself and keep secrets. I am, however, saying be wise as a serpent yet gentle as a dove. Yield to the Holy Spirit completely to discern the righteousness of His will.

​- A GOD CHASER

THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

Sometimes friendly fire occurs because some of us are not in the right place at the right time. When Jesus Christ gives an instruction, be obedient. Blessings sometimes take place simply because you’re in the right place abiding in the will and purpose of Christ. Likewise, devastation could happen when you’re not in your respective place in Christ. It’s not by chance that you’re doing the Lord’s will and while you’re going along you meet someone who has a phone number you need or a resource to get you to your next destination in Christ. All things work together for the good of them who are called according to the will and purpose of Christ. We walk by faith and not by sight. Sometimes you don’t know why you’re doing things, you just know that you’re walking by the Spirit and you were given instructions. There is a time to trust the Lord and know that you’re in His hands and He’s working things on your behalf.


​- A God Chaser

​KNOW THEM THAT LABOR AMONG YOU


I  THESS 5:12

AND WE BESEECH YOU, BRETHREN TO KNOW THEM THAT LABOR AMONG YOU, AND ARE OVER YOU IN THE LORD, AND ADMONISH YOU.

The Lord is pleading with us in this scripture to know the others that are laboring among us in the faith. Know the members of the body so that the body of Christ is balanced. We stir up the gifts and perfect that which is lacking with each other seeking first the Kingdom of God as He has commanded. The more we know them that are laboring with us, the more easier it becomes to see the difference when there is someone not belonging to the body and therefore being able to avoid friendly fire when possible. When you’re in sync with the Lord’s Spirit, you walk like Him, talk like Him, and act like Him. As the Word says, “We shall know them by their fruits.”

FRIENDLY FIRE

One of the toughest things I had to learn to do in my walk with Jesus was to yield to discernment and go with what revelation was given based on that discernment. I love the Word of God and I love to teach others. Because of the passionate pursuit after God’s sown heart sometimes I pushed a little past boundaries (ok a lot past boundaries) because of that love. Its one thing to have discernment. Its another to be obedient to His instructions.
Many of my issues regarding friendly fire was my failure to see what was right in front of me. My actions reflected tha tI wanted my enemies to be my friend. It can be kind of confusing when you think about it. Love can be blinding sometimes, especially when its pure. Love covers a multitude of sins. There were times where the writing was on the wall. The Lord showed me a person’s intentions  were not so good toward me. They didn’t have my best interest at heart. However, as a Pastor I looked at it as a project. I would tell myself, “they just need some mercy. They need someone to till the ground of their heart.” I would  see the need for Jesus and run straight toward the fire. In the meantime, discernment said, “maintain a distance. Plant some seeds and leave it there. You’re going to get yourself hurt. Guard your heart.” That’s what discernment said often. After being broken and beaten so many times and crying out to the Lord to put pieces of my heart back together, I learned the fear of the Lord and the ability to be more humble than I was. I couldn’t do my own will. I was not their savior, Jesus was. In the process of humility I learned to decrease, pray, and ask the right questions. I asked, “Do they belong to you Lord? What would you have me to do in this situation? Is this situation for your glory or for the operations of your Spirit?” I had to receive the reve;ation that there are tare amongst the wheat. We cannot look on the outward appearance. Jesus searches the reigns of the heart. There are good trees and good fruits just as well as there are bad trees not yielding any fruit. You cannot change the tree without a miracle.
It really takes true surrender and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit to hear what the Spirit is saying and allowing wisdom to apply righteous judgment to a situation. You take yourself down a notch in the purest of love in faith to say that you’re simply here as a servant of the Most High and lo, it is written in the volume of the book to do thy will O’ Lord. When you condescend to the lowly estate such as that, you eliminate a lot of what seems to be friendly fire because with effective communication with the Lord , He tells you who belongs to Him and who are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Just ask and it shall be given. It saves you from several unnecessary wounds on the battlefield.

Psalm 55:12-13

IT WAS NOT MY ENEMY THAT REPROACHED ME; THEN I COULD HAVE BORNE IT: NEITHER WAS IT HE THAT HATED ME THAT DID MAGNIFY HIMSELF AGAINST ME; THEN I WOULD HAVE HID MYSELF FROM HIM:
BUT IT WAS THOU, A MAN OF MINE EQUAL, MY GUIDE, AND MINE AQUAINTANCE.

​- A GOD CHASER

PRAISE BRINGS HEALING

JESUS IS A SPECIALIST. HEALING IS HIS SPECIALTY.

ISAIAH 61:1-2
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.

God showed us that surgery was possible when He put Adam to sleep and took his rib and formed woman so that he would not be alone. His work was perfect. There are times when trauma presents situations that require a divine surgical procedure. In Adam’s case the issue was loneliness. The Lord knows what we stand in need of even before we ask. He’s a mender of broken hearts.

When you praise the Lord with your whole heart, the Lord starts His procedure of healing every broken place starting with your heart, your mind, and your spirit. Then when it once seemed like you were a broken cistern that couldn’t hold water; as a potter, He molds you. The brokenness is mended. You can hold water again. What He pours into you by His Holy  Spirit, it remains. Then you can stir up what’s in you and He can use you to pour upon others with your testimony of His righteousness upon your life.

When the Lord approached me and advised me that He had called me and had chosen me for a work, I was a mess. Most of my issues that the Lord had to address dealt with the way I perceived myself. I always loved the Lord, but I didn’t like myself. A great bit of spiritual warfare was in the battlefield of the mind. The enemy often remind me of my short comings and have me to look at all of the wrong in my life. I was shy. I was an outcast. “No one cares. No one is listening to me,:” I would say to the Lord. “I don’t have enough of your Spirit.” I said. The Lord gently shared with me that I needed to praise Him more, lift Him up the more. The more you praise the Lord, the more you see things clearly. He said praise Him for His manifested presence. When I made praise a part of my daily seek, my perspective changed from looking at the wretchedness of the flesh to accepting the righteousness of Christ. I had to love His Spirit within me. Every wrong was made right by His Spirit. No flesh can glory in His presence. The flesh cannot please the Lord. The flesh is wretched and we are all filthy as rags. Jesus by faith is our righteousness. We must praise the Lord to hear His voice clear on such matters. Through the praise I can myself in Christ so that He would be seen and not me. It is then that I would be more in sync with His Spirit to do His swill and not my own.

Psalm 100

MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE UNTO THE LORD, ALL YE LANDS. SERVE THE LORD WITH GLADNESS: COME BEFORE HIS PRESENCE WITH SINGING…..

Praise is an action of faith toward God. Faith moves God and because of your faith and praise, He shows up on your behalf and changes situations. So activate your Most Holy faith and praise ye the Lord! #PICKUPYOURWEAPONSANDFIGHT!

​-A GODCHASER

PUTTING ON THE GARMENT OF PRAISE

ISAIAH 61:3

TO APPOINT UNTO THEM THAT MOURN IN ZION, TO GIVEE UNTO THEM BEAUTY FOR ASHES, THE OIL OF JOY FOR MOURNING, THE GARMNET OF PRAISE FOR THE SPIRIT OF HEAVINESS; THAT THEY MIGHT BE CALLED TREES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, THE PLANTING OF THE LORD, THAT HE MIGHT BE GLORIFIED.

We have been talking a lot about prayer and how we must be pure before the Lord. Nonetheless, a portion of the process to accomplish purity before the Lord is to praise Him with your whole heart. The Lord Jesus inhabits the praises of His people and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. His presence liberates from the cares of this life and from demonic forces which are attempting to bring you into bondage and weigh you down.
Elevate beyond the cares, troubles, and situations with your praise to the Lord. Jesus encourages us to enter into His gates with thanksgiving and enter into His courts with praise. The bible tells us that whatsoever is bound on earth shall be bound in Heaven and whatsoever is loosed on earth shall be loosed in Heaven. Praise lifts the spirit of heaviness and sets the captives free. With your praise you confuse the enemy and bold state that Jesus is your helper and your keeper, a very present help in the time of trouble. You are stating to the Lord Jesus that you trust Him no matter what position you’re in; whether you’re abased or whether you abound; He reigns.
When you’re going through trials and tests its almost the enemy is attempting to put blinders on you. Remember, he comes to kill, steal, and destroy. He wants to annihilate you. So, if he could cloud your judgment, he will. The enemy wants you to go astray. He wants you to give up and not be able to see the clear path toward the gates of righteousness. However, when you praise the Lord Jesus, His Holy Spirit brings forth remembrance of the testimony He has established within you. When you praise the Lord, you’re renewing your mind to the mind of Christ. You’re no longer focused on the problems, circumstances, or frustrations that come with the cares of this life, but you’re coming into unity with Jesus Christ by His Spirit who has the solution to all of your issues, whatever they may be. Then when you come from praising the Lord, suddenly things come into perspective and the things that you’re faced with seem so much smaller than they were before. 

- A GODCHASER

​NEED SOME ENCOURAGEMENT?


Even Jesus Christ needed encouragement. There is a time for all things. While it is needful that we pick up our weapons and contend for the faith. It is just as needful to encourage the saints and other members of the body of Christ to not be weary in well doing. Surely we shall reap if we faint not. This is a distance race. Those who endure to the end shall be saved. While Jesus walked the earth there was an appointed time where He, too, had to overcome temptation by the enemy. He was the Son of God. He knew who He was in those instances. He knew what authority He had. He knew what His mission was. There was a time when Jesus and His disciples had gone into the mount. Though his disciples accompanied Him, it was needful that Moses and Elijah ascend from Heaven to minister unto Him. He was the walking Word. The Word which was made flesh, yet He still needed counsel. Did that mean that Jesus was weak? Absolutely not! The Spirit is always willing but yet the flesh is weak. Sometimes you can know the word, and yet because of the spiritual warfare and weakness of the flesh you need divine intervention with the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word. During that time in the mount one of His discples responded by stating that they should build three temples, one for each of them. Sometimes people around you who may be close friends, loved ones, and those you hold to a higher standard in spite of their greatest intentions, they are not in position to minister to you. They haven’t been through what you have been through. They haven’t seen what you have seen. They have received revelation regarding your situation. This is your testimony. You must decrease so that His Spirit may increase. Another thing, we have go to put the “rule book” down sometimes  and allow grace, mercy, and love to abound. There are so many laws, rudiments of the world, and rules that man created. Is there anyone pulling out a book of faith for a situation or the book of mercy for a situation? Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. Does that mean that you are tolerating sin or condoning sin? No! Matthew 9:6 &8 But that ye may know that the son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins….But when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, which had given such power unto to men. So, we have the ability to forgive. Remember that Jesus broke the law to restore us to righteousness even descending into the lowest part to overcome death and the grave for our sake. So, encourage one another in the faith. Help them carry that cross. Jesus had help carrying His. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Maintain the pillars of love, sincerity, and truth. Trust in the lord with your whole heart and lean not to your own understanding. 

​There are so many causes. People are so zealous to fight for a cause. They put so much time into a thing of the flesh. The latest cause: “ Black lives matter”. So much passion and strength that folks put into the things of the flesh. Will anyone put forth that same amount of passion into the things concerning the Spirit of God? Our Savior Jesus Christ matters. His holy Spirit matters. His righteousness matters. His Word matters. His saints matter. His power matters. His authority matters. His wisdom, knowledge, and understanding matters. His prophesy matters. His reign matters. His everlasting love matters. His hope matters. His faith matters. His Kingdom matters.

Jeremiah 8:8

How do ye say, we are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.

The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them?

How have the children of the Most High heaped up their own teachers and reformers? How have they been wise in their own eyes while saturating themselves with iniquity and deceit, adding sin to sin and yet calling it righteousness. Who can stand in the midst of the Judgment of the Most High? Will their be any shame? Will they even blush in the day of their visitation? Will they look toward Heaven at such a time and recognize the living God with fear? Will they acknowledge that the Lord God has indeed confounded the wisdom of the wise?