Greeting to all in the name of
the Father, and of His Son our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus; who freely gave
Himself for us that we through His blood would be brought near as Sons and
Daughters, having been adopted by His grace and brought near according to the
counsel and good pleasure of His will.
In these last hours before the
return of Jesus it is profitable as His chosen ones to look into the counsel of
His word that we might understand more perfectly the dealings of our Father. 1
Corinthians
10:11 says “Now all these
things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition,
upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”
One example we have been given
becomes clear when we look at the reign of certain kings in
Judah. We
see that of the righteous kings; only Hezekiah, and Josiah brought genuine
reform by destroying the high places in the land. Hezekiah even went so far as
to destroy the bronze serpent that Moses had made.
Oh that we would today be so bold
as to tear down every high place that exalts itself against the knowledge of
God. The destruction that is soon to be visited on much of the church of today
is for this reason — “Nevertheless the high places were
not taken away, for as yet the people had not directed their hearts to the God
of their fathers.” (2 Chronicles 20:33)
It has always been true that
wherever God’s people allow a residue of evil; it always becomes a stumbling
block to the redeemed of the Lord. With this in mind, it is time for His people
to take responsibility for the authority He gave us.
Upon the revelation
of Jesus as “the Christ, the
Son of the living God”; the Lord gave to us
“the keys
of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you(we)
bind on
earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you (we)
loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19)
The
“keys of
the kingdom” represent the spiritual authority that all believers in
Jesus (Jews and Gentiles) are to partake of. There truly is war in the heavenlies and much depends on our obedience.
It is now time to use the keys of
the kingdom we have been given. The complacency in the body of Christ has
allowed much to be loosed in the heavenly realms. The works of the flesh which
are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred,
contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions,
heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, have been condoned in one form
or another by believers all over the world in many assemblies that name the
name of Christ.
My brothers and sisters, these
things ought not to be. As we have allowed these vile works to be loosed in the
earth through our complacency they have become strongholds in heavenly
realms as well.
It is time to return, time for
His children to fully return to our God and confess that we might be truly
restored to our place of authority as the purchased possession of Christ. It is
time to pull down these strongholds over the body of Christ that we might walk
in the light as He is in the light.
Ask yourselves; did the idolatry
of Achan need purged from the camp? Was not the justice of God brought forth as
the Holy Spirit separated Ananias and Sapphira from the rest of the body? Does
not judgment begin at the house of the Lord? Is not the failure of the church
to prevail against the darkness directly related to un-confessed and un-repented
sin in and among the people of God?
When we do not confront sinful
practices among us, we loose these as strongholds over the cities in which we
live. And these principalities have prevailed against us in greater and greater
measure for one reason…we the people of God have given place to the devil. Do I
have statistical proof of this? No, but let me ask… do you see a connection
between immorality and sexual promiscuity in the church, and in the world?
Look at the sin of homosexuality
as it has been condoned or rather embraced in congregations that name the name
of Christ… behold how this principality that would exalt itself against the
Throne of Heaven is now being put forth even more forcefully in society. Why?
Because we winked at this vile perversion in the midst of the camp.
I believe the Holy Spirit is
saying that what we see invading our culture is a direct result of our not
speaking forth and abidingby His righteous standards in the midst
of our congregations.
As the corporate Body of Messiah,
we can no longer condone these things. Am I calling for political action?
Absolutely not! What I am calling for is warfare rooted in the light of His
word.
Jesus said if your right hand
offends you, cut it off… in other words the Lord outlined a process in Matthew
18:15-17 for dealing with those who are sinning. After outlining this process;
He again repeated in vs. 18 that “whatever you (we)
bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you (we)
loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Remember it is the LORD who
says “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and
cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or
maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the
everlasting fire.”
While Paul in describing the
different members of the body makes clear that “the eye”
cannot arbitrarily say to the hand “I have no need
of you”; this certainly does not mean that
we are to give place to the devil when sin is in the camp
Those who are continuing in
willful sin need to be put out of the camp, if they do not repent after being
confronted… regardless of their perceived authority. Look again at Matthew 18…
right in the midst of this correction is the story of the lost sheep. Look at
the context. Our Lord is telling us that if we will lovingly discipline the
body of Christ and if, as a last resort, we have to put someone out of our
midst, the Lord Himself as the Good Shepherd will pursue the lost sheep.
We need to Trust the Lord in
these things instead off giving place to a spirit of witchcraft through our
disobedience.
Obedience or disobedience… this
has always been the heart of the matter… it all started in the garden.
It is Time…
Let the
priests, who minister to the LORD,
Weep
between the porch and the altar;
Confess… Repent… Humble
yourselves in the sight of God
Let everyone who names the name
of Christ depart from iniquity.”
Remember…
For the weapons of our warfare
are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down
arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God,
bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being
ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
As our obedience is fulfilled,
strongholds will be pulled down… leaving an open heaven above our assemblies…
So in closing… In the name of
Jesus, I am calling for obedience… for confession and cleansing of all besetting
sin in the camp… I am declaring to you that God will punish all disobedience… he
will send forth the Host of Heaven to destroy principalities and open the
heavens above us… as our obedience is fulfilled
US