Lord God, I thank You that You have chosen me to be holy, set apart and special to You. In the name of Jesus, Father I know and I recognize and I understand that You are The Faithful God Who keeps Your covenant with a steadfast love and mercy for those who fear You and keep Your commandments. In the name of Jesus my brother, I thank You, amen.(Adapted from Deuteronomy 7:6 & 7:9)
My friends in Christ, I greet you in the name of our Brother Jesus Christ. I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and the love you have shown to the Saints (the people of God) and I pray that God will continue to teach you, to defend you, to use you as the tool that you have been created to be. I pray for you and give thanks for you in Jesus’ name to God. He has flooded the eyes of your heart with His light so that you will know and understand the hope and grace to which He has called you. You have been set apart because He has called you. To learn and know how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones).
To include you in knowing and understanding what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe. In His name and strength do I come to spread what the Lord has placed in my heart. Amen.(Adapted from Eph 1:14-19)
Preparations may look foolish to a person who depends on her/himself. (Proverbs 14)
In order to walk the steps that have been predestined for us to walk, there are times in which God will lead His children into and if they are willing and teachable, through a wilderness.
I am convinced and I am a witness to the truth that God will set His called and chosen people apart from the masses in order to teach them. If they will go and stay apart- He will totally re-shape their hearts and lives. There are times in our lives when God will remove from us our routine way of living.
I am not talking about those people that run from God and then say He put them somewhere. That is not the same thing as God setting you aside. Many run from God or from their problems and situations. I am talking about knowing that God has put you in a secluded place--not by your fears and flesh. And my friends, let me say this- that if you ARE in a self directed wilderness because of wrong choices, Please Call On The Name Of Jesus to Help Light your Way Out. amen.
I know that He Will separate us from people, places, and things in order to prepare us for our next step. God will separate us from all this everyday stuff in order to Spend Time with us, without the distractions of life to delay and are a hinderance to us. Because these places of separation are usually uncomfortable and may be dry places—some of us will resist them. Some people may even think that He is punishing them. That is Far from the truth.
We are set apart many times throughout our journey by God. This is necessary that we are put into these dry sequestered places in which no one else can help us – including ourselves so that we may discover that God almighty Is our Only source of life. He is our defender, our healer, and our protector. He has supplied all our need.
Many of us that have fully surrendered to His leading also find out that our jobs, our education, our families and our friends are not able to fuel us with spiritual enlightenment and spiritual revelation at these times. God will cut everything off except what He sends directly from His Spirit. He wants to be the Only source for all our resources. He wants us to grow deeper into who He Is. To know a deeper wisdom about ourselves also. He wants us to know what we need to know.
To sit and bask in His closeness and His teaching is thrilling to me at this place of my life. I do not resist entering the dry places-the places of seclusion anymore. In fact I welcome them as I am able to rest physically, mentally, and spiritually while I am sequestered with Him. To be set apart in order to be trained and taught new ways and to discover new abilities and confidences in myself is a humbling gift from Him. To sit with Him and sup with Him at His table is a honor I would not reject, resist or be moved from for any reason.
To sit in His hands and be re-molded and forged into the shape and vessel that He knows is best for my life is something I learned is important to be able to take the next steps in my journey. This is quality time that I speak of when God calls to us to sit with Him. I can tell you this, when God calls if you ignore Him, after a while He will create a situation in which you have to come to Him in order to sit and be refreshed and renewed. To be allowed to see and know below His surface into the depths if His love is an honor and a gift that He does not offer to many.
WHAT DOES NOT BLOOM—GOD WILL PRUNE!
God will separate you from being yoked with the wrong people, places and things. He will provide the correct people that you are to be yoked with. Joined with those that have the same points of agreement within their hearts as you do is the power He wants us to know. The Power Of Unconditional Love!
For every assignment He will send forth those that will and can help you before you begin. How many of you have turned away – rejected those that God has sent to help you based on what your heart loves? Have you walked away from help because of your fears, the way they looked – dressed, the way they spoke, because you were jealous of their gifts….or maybe because they spoke the truth and it scared you because you see you cannot ‘play’ with God with them around?
Ask yourself these questions and see what your heart reveals to you. The Spirit of God will show you what you need to confront within yourself. There is nothing to be afraid of. You won't fall apart by facing the truths that you need to. I encourage you to Stop running and face the truths that you need to accept.
What does your heart treasure? What you love will mold and shape you.
Who you are yoked together with factors heavily into whether you will be able to stay the course with the strength needed to complete the work given to you. Strength and wisdom, truth and confidence should increasingly grow as the assignment progresses. Sufficient strength mixed with the right talents are to be added as you go along the way—propelling you toward His glory.
As you continue to spend quality time with God and with Jesus, He will reveal to you the Spiritually Undisciplined people you will need to avoid and be separated from. Some of these people were put with you in order to learn and grow. But when they rebel and resist the leading of His spirit-they are a danger to you and the assignment God has given to you.
They may also begin to try and manipulate the anointing on you in order to have it serve them the way they want it—not the way they need it. What I mean by this is, God will if allowed by you-He will finely craft you by His refinning fire and His re-molding of your inner self - your thinking, your speaking, your all--and when He does this you are a tool in His hands to be used for the specific purposes that He designed you for.
He also decides Who you shall be helping. As every house that is in need of repairs, you will not be a worker to help that person. We are not to help everyone that crosses our path. Some in need have been sent to stop, slow, or flat out erase you from your work for God. Having a strong discerning spirit is what helps you know who everyone is. And how you should go about interacting with them.
So when people come along and try to use you--what they plan will not last long--He will cut them off. After a given time has passed--He will reveal their true motives to your spirit. You will know. Also, for people to try and manipulate one of God's tools - will not work for them and it is dangerous to mess with the work of God.
These
“sometimes convinced but never converted” people maintain a stay-at-home mentality and do not know when God has opened a window of opportunity because the timing is right. And if some of them are aware that God has provided the right opportunity—they will not move forward walking into it by faith because the undisciplined attitude is dull and reluctant.
These peoples focus is not on Jesus but turns inward. They take no risks because they cannot risk all they think they are as they have placed their value and their validation to be proved by things and other people. They seek people praise and do not see the strength and power of their praise to God. Approval by people is nothing like God's Approval. One hinders and stagnants and the other waters with miracle grow and loves.
Anybody or anything yoked to these spiritually undisciplined will become stuck in the mire with them-broke down. Take a moment and think about the people that you touch base with on a daily, weekly basis. The people that you go out with, call and talk to , do favors for, help out. Can you really trust them? Or can you only trust them at certain times with specific incentives for them to help you out? Think - are they living their lives for God by following Jesus? My point is not to treat anyone with negatives, or rudely, my point is this, we have to put people in their proper places as our friends or we are living with the wrong motives. All your friends do not have to be with God to be your friends. They all do not have to be saved.
But if they are going to help you with the work God has given you and you consider them very close friends, then there should be a unity - a strong agreement between you that says we love God we work for God and we live for God.
When we are around those that are not giving praise to God in the name of Jesus--things will not go right-as we all are to represent God as Jesus and the disciples did. (but that is another message).
God will teach you while you are sequestered with Him how to know and choose the disciples who know to Pray First—those who run ahead of the rest—applying their God given supernatural wisdom in the Spirit first. These are the people who treasure in their hearts a deep love and dedication to God. Nothing could keep them from obeying Him.
These people of God are the ones that you want to be yoked with; theirs is the truth, and confidence, trust, faith and the strength that you will need to complete the work given. They will always be guided by the Holy Spirit and will always be there for you as God has sent them to be.
Preparations may look foolish to a person who depends on her/himself. (Proverbs 14)
There are things that God wants to reveal to you- His wisdom, His knowledge and the uncovering of His mysteries —All this is part of His preparation and discovery process. He cannot and will not reveal all this to you if you refuse to be set apart from the others in and around your life.
He has to move all the things, people and places that you have put in His place in your heart.
The things that you have given power to and importance to in and over your life must go if they are in His way.
Why you ask—because you can't take a shower with one leg in and one leg out of the tub. Because the temptation to give away to the wrong people what you need to keep is there—the chances of these people stealing what has been given to you is abundantly possible. The distraction of them telling you not to do that or this is in front of you as you hold their opinions about your life up high in the place that is reserved for God and God only! We many times create idols out of things and ourselves and other people and we place them in the place reserved for God in our hearts.
The truth is, you don’t really know the hearts of many of the people that you have allowed into your life. You may be lying to yourself about what you really see and know about them. You may be seeing them in the way they want you to see them and not the truth about them. They also may be keeping you from growing as jealousy will manipulate you out of blessings and create strongholds in your life because of what your hearts loves.
What are your motives and what are their motives? If your motives are to be true and dedicated to God in the name of Jesus—then I assure you that many of the people in your life will have to go.They are ‘playing ‘ with God—they are not serious about their spiritual life nor about doing what is right even when they don’t want to. These people feed their flesh and live by their emotions. Some of them may be saved—but they are stuck at being saved. No growth has taken place emotionally, spiritually and mentally.
Look closely at your heart and your motives. Are you more like the people that you need to cut loose from--or are you more like the person God wants you to be? As Jesus said, The Truth Will set you free--and if you allow It to--The Truth Will Keep you free! amen.
Discovery and acceptance of this God knowledge and wisdom concerning ourselves is the only way to proceed by His will toward the next glory. From Glory to Glory-
exchanging your sack of ashes for His beauty is what He is telling us we have to do.
There are many places in the Bible where God sequestered His called and chosen people. He led them into dry places in order that they will get to know Him better and to have their undivided attention on what He is saying and teaching.
Many will not surrender and refuse to see the great wealth of treasure that He is giving them in these times and they never leave the wilderness.
He removes our bodies from slavery—but many do not bring their minds and hearts with them into the free land, So they are doomed to repeat the same lessons and hardships over and over again.
You cannot take what God gives you from the Promised Land back into the wilderness. It will fall apart. So many people are given gifts and blessings from the hand of God-from His love He bestows to His children all they need—but so many think they can manipulate these blessings and use them with the wrong mind, heart and motives. God will shut this down!
He wants to teach you about Himself in order to develop in you a discipline, a dedication, a strength that nothing and no one can bring down or separate you from. To be prepared by the Master Creator Himself is to be tested by His refining fire till His reflection is seen in you.
It is not totally about what you accomplish by reaching your destination—but the important focus is on What you Become by reaching your destination.
In Mark 8:28 Jesus lead the blind man apart from the others in order to heal him.
Deut 7:6; 8:2-3
Num 16:9
Matt 6:33
Acts 19:9
Rom 1:1
Eph 1:16
Psalm 34