The Crowd and the Crown – Karen Austin

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Many of us have had to deal with crowds in our lives. I remember being in a mall right before Thanksgiving and it was so crowded that I had to walk sideways to get through. Finally, I had to go outside and get some fresh air because it was just too crowded for me. Today, I want to talk about the crowds in our lives….things that come to crowd you out of your identity, your place of time in the Word, and intimacy with the Father. Everyone of us are pressing through some things, some sort of crowd is pressing against us to keep us from the place of overcoming and receiving the crown of victory.

To Crowd: to press closely together; force into a confined space; cram; to push; shove; to fill to excess; fill by pressing or thronging into; to place under pressure or stress by constant solicitation.

We must understand our enemy is relentless, but John 16:33 assures us “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me, you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” As He is, so are we in this world! [1 John 4:17] So we have been given overcoming power and authority! Tribulation can be oppression, stress, anxiety, crushing, affliction or squash by distress.

For some of us it is the crowd of our past, and/or bondages from our past. Things that you may be trying to overcome from your past are crowding you from your freedom in Christ today. When you hang out with a crowd, it is easy to be influenced to do what they are doing. It is easy to get caught up with the press of the crowd and do what they are doing.

For others, it is the crowd of sickness, either you or a loved one. Your heart is to do so much for the Kingdom of God, but because of recurrent physical sickness or limitations, this crowd of symptoms and fear keep pushing you back. Well-meaning doctors continue to place you in the category of the crowds…”You have a 90% chance of being in a wheel chair in five years.” I’d prefer to be counted among the crowd of faith to continue to press into the promise of “By His stripes I am healed!” It is so very easy to be influenced by the crowd of infirmity and to not give into the crowd of pain and weakness. But as you step forward in faith, He will give you the strength to overcome.

For others, it is the crowd of emotional pain – the crowd of rejection. Somewhere along the way in this journey called life, things happened. Someone, through their words or actions, told you that you were not valuable…you were not good enough and didn’t measure up. They may have implied you weren’t smart enough or popular enough…you weren’t attractive enough, rich enough or you weren’t as successful as your older brother. You can fill in the blank. Whatever it was, the intent of the enemy behind those words or actions was the same…to cause you to see yourself as “less than” you were created to be.

You were made in the image of God. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27. The enemies plan is to get your focus (what you see) off who God says you are, what God said you can do and instead cause you to focus on (to see only) your failing. Whenever we self-inspect, we will always come up short in every area of our lives without Him. We cannot become all that we are meant to be while we look at ourselves through the eyes of judgment and not through the eyes of grace and the love of our Father. No one knows our shortcomings more than we do – except our Heavenly Father and He is crazy about you and knows your true identity. Do you know that He rejoices over you with singing [Zephaniah 3:17]? Do you know that you are the apple of His eye [Zechariah 2:8]? He is extravagant in His love towards you!

“Can a woman forget her nursing child and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands.” Isaiah 49:15-16.

His love towards you is everlasting, His love for you is constant. When all everyone else fails us and our dreams seem to fade away, He is there. He is secure – always. His love and His mercy towards you are forever.

~~to be continued

Preparing for the Lost Lamb – Niki Wright

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I saw a vision a few nights ago in the middle of the night. It was Jesus carrying a lamb around His neck. I read Luke 15.4-6 TPT.

4–5 “There once was a shepherd with a hundred lambs, but one of his lambs wandered away and was lost. So the shepherd left the ninety-nine lambs out in the open field and searched in the wilderness for that one lost lamb. He didn’t stop until he finally found it. With exuberant joy he raised it up and placed it on his shoulders, carrying it back with cheerful delight! 6 Returning home, he called all his friends and neighbors together and said, ‘Let’s have a party! Come and celebrate with me the return of my lost lamb. It wandered away, but I found it and brought it home.’”

I felt like He was showing me that we need to prepare our hearts for those who are coming home to Him. For us to be ready to be like the Shepherd and be joy filled to carry them in our hearts. Bringing them back home and celebrating them. 

“With exuberant joy he raised it up and placed it on his shoulders, carrying it back with cheerful delight! 6 Returning home, he called all his friends and neighbors together and said, ‘Let’s have a party! Come and celebrate with me the return of my lost lamb. It wandered away, but I found it and brought it home.’”

With exuberant joy. With cheerful delight. 

Are we ready to join with Jesus in carrying those who are so different than us in our hearts and help them back home? To carry them with exuberant joy and cheerful delight? I feel like the Father is saying it’s time to prepare for this.  As we start to emerge out of quarantine sometime in the hopeful, near future, I pray our hearts are able to see each heart as a child of His.  That we can look past our differences and let our light of His love shine through our hearts to them.  That the walls that may have been there before the pandemic would be broken.  That we will make time to pray for people and carry them in our hearts with such joy!  Sometimes we are to be that person that remains in one’s life to speak life and truth and be of support.  There will be a day where many will be coming back home.  Let’s be ones who are ready to find them and help them stay the course and carry them in prayer and encouragement.  Then, have such celebration when they are back home with Him!

In doing this we also need to protect our hearts from jealousy.  As like in the scripture of the prodigal son we can get jealous of those who come home and get so much from the Lord.  Let’s allow the Father to remind us of who we are in Him and not allow our minds to entertain jealousy even now so that we will be prepared for those who will be returning to Him and be so overjoyed when they receive His love and blessings!

Father, prepare our hearts even now to see each person as your child.  Each one a treasure no matter what they believe or how different they are to us.  Open our eyes to see and know which ones we are to join with you in carrying.  Let us intentionally turn our hearts to them and pour out His love in abundance.  Let us be ones who have exuberant joy and cheerful delight to carry them with you.  As they truly repent and turn their hearts to you let us be with them in our hearts and speak encouraging words and support them.  Let us truly celebrate them coming home to you without jealousy.  Dig deep into our hearts now and deal with any jealousy so our hearts can be ready.  Thank you Father for your faithfulness!

Because He First Loved Us – Karen Austin

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Lately, I have been spending time in the book of John. I want to know about this man who was not only granted the privilege to walk with Jesus, but also given insight to see the times in which we are living as he was instructed to write the Book of Revelation. He gives us so much truth and a different view of Jesus’ life while upon the earth, as John describes himself as the one whom Jesus loves. It was not that Jesus loved John more than the other disciples, but it was that John saw himself as one that Jesus loves. Here again, I am stressing the importance of seeing as I spoke of yesterday.

When we know we are loved, we begin to open up our hearts. It is only when we know that we are loved that we feel that we can be ourselves. It is when we know we are truly loved we begin to let down the walls that we so often put around ourselves so that we will not be hurt again. It is in the place of knowing love that we find our true identity. As we begin to understand Jesus’ love for us, we will stop defining ourselves by our failures and shortcomings.

Just imagine a child who has been abandoned and taken from foster home to foster home…never really knowing he is loved or where he belongs. But once that one, that one who sees his worth, says I want to make you mine and adopts the child into his family, the child begins to hope again. This child is not loved for anything he can do for the family. He is loved just because he is. It is in this place of unconditional love that he begins to let go of his terrors of the past, his sense of abandonment, his fear for what lies ahead. He is secure in this newly found pure love for him. And so it is with us. There is no purer love thanthe Father has for us. “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” Ephesians 1:5

It is in knowing the love of Jesus that we are open to receive mysteries of the Kingdom. Our hearts become unlocked to see more of His beauty and glory. It is in the place of knowing His love that we can, by faith, begin to step out into our destiny, knowing that He is at the end of our race cheering us on and saying, “Come on, you can do it!”

“For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11.

Today, He is inviting you into a place deeper into His heart whether you have walked with Him for years or if you have never taken that step towards Him. His love is wooing you into the reality of knowing who you really are, who you were truly created to be and to partake of His unconditional love. He is waiting for you to lay aside all condemnation and come running to Him…with your hang-ups and all. You are loved. See yourself as the one Jesus loves.

“We love him, because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

STRATEGIC AND ESSENTIAL FOR INTERCESSORS: DEALING WITH ANGER – Barbara Potts

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A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that 70 percent of Americans are angry because they think our  political system is not working for them.  I must confess that I find it difficult to hear or read some media reports without anger rising within me. We are in turbulent times. Anger and anger-induced violence are rampant across our nation. There were 32 mass killings by firearms in the United States in 2019. Indeed a spirit of anger has been released over America, creating a volatile atmosphere.  Biblically, God’s anger is against sin, but motivated by love. For His desire is to protect His seed. However, unredeemed human anger opens up a portal of agreement with the enemy. We must not allow anger to rise up in us, because, in anger we are giving place to the devil. (see Ephesians 4:26-27) As Believers in Christ, we have all authority over the enemy (Luke 10:19), but we can’t cast out what we are in agreement with. And so we find that the enemy uses our unredeemed anger against us by using our authority to advance his agenda. Consider this PICTURE:  70 percent of Americans are angry – that means that the devil has legal access to do his work through those open portals… and so violence has become a national crisis.

What is the answer?

As we carry the Spirit of Christ, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth (Exodus 34:6), our presence subdues anger. We must not react from our emotions, but respond from compassion and love. Indeed, “a soft answer turns away wrath.” (Proverbs 15:1) As we walk in forgiveness and love, and we speak/release SHALOM wherever we go, LOVE will displace and dis-empower anger and all of its children, including fear, guilt, and rejection.  You remember when Jesus was in the boat with the disciples on the Sea of Galilee during the storm? He did not come in to agreement with their fear – so he could speak with authority to the storm.

Beloved, the enemy is using our anger against us – even our anger against evil…. we MUST get this…. and come in the opposite spirit.  Let’s agree that we will NOT give any place to the devil or come into agreement with him through our thoughts and emotional responses.  Let us instead have these PRAYERFUL responses:

  • Repent for any and all anger you have held against any situation or any person/people. Ask the Lord to help you to respond in LOVE and compassion that will dis-empower anger when you feel anger rise up in you.  DO NOT LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON YOUR ANGER. (Ephesians 4:26)
  • Ask the Lord to release His SHALOM over the nation, over hearts fraught with fear, anger, and retribution; and minds captivated by hatred, suspicion and wounds of the past.
  • Ask the Lord to release His SHALOM that subdues chaos, and brings a spirit of UNITY over houses of government where legislation is being mapped out amidst political dissension.  
  • Ask the Spirit of Christ (love and compassion) to rise up within you, and do not come into agreement with anger, fear or condemnation. Instead, rise up in faith and trust in God to fight the battles against evil. (Isaiah 59:17-18) He loves to execute righteousness and justice in the earth! (Psalm 103:6)

In the Process of the Mundane, the Spectacular Happens – Frank Work

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In the process of the mundane, the spectacular will happen. So don’t give up and don’t lose hope. Every day is a new day in Him. Every day is a new and bright opportunity to know a little more of the character of Jesus. In Him all things are made new, and that includes your new day. So don’t be surprise in the middle of your day, when you’re feeling as though you’re walking with lead shoes, and the world is spinning slower, in that very moment, I believe something wonderful can and will happen. Something that will enrich your spirit, and bring joy to your heart. Remember what King David did when he thought all was lost? When the city of Ziklag was burned to the ground and his family carried away? He responded by strengthening himself in the Lord, then he petitioned the Lord to seek His council and guidance. We can do the same, and even more. 1 Sam 30: 6-8 speaks of what David did;

6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?”

And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.”

For we have the power of the most High residing within us. His Holy Spirit is alive and active and continues to move and intercede on our behalf. Strengthen yourself in the Lord, find solace in the shadow of His wings. Take joy in knowing that the Lamb of God, whose blood cover each of us, is rejoicing with our heavenly Father, that one day we will enter into paradise with Him. For those that know Him as Lord and Savior, will have their names written in the Lambs book. Rejoice I say and look to your Savior and Redeemer. Repeat His mighty name! Let the words flow and resound through the onslaught of the enemies attacks. Answer the enemy’s plans with worship and praise! Praise Jesus! Praise the Lamb that was slain! Praise the Lover of our souls! Praise the Holy One of God!

Enoch Generation – Karen Austin

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“Who is this coming out of the wilderness leaning upon her Beloved?” Song of Solomon 8:5

Now that we are close to coming out of this time of hiddenness, I have been asking of the Lord. “How do You desire that we, Your Bride, come out of this time? What truths are we to have learned? What do You desire to see in Your Bride that wasn’t there before?” I have heard several others saying they do not want to waste this time we have been given to come away with Him….to allow Him to works in us what He desires.

While I believe there are individual lessons that we have learned in this time, as well as revelations of things that were in our hearts that were not pleasing to Him, I believe that corporately, we have been brought to another way of seeing. Seeing what is really important in our lives. Seeing how we have put “doing” things for Him above just “being” with Him in the secret place. Seeing where we have put doing the church routine above desiring Him over anything else in our gatherings. Seeing our need for family and one another. Seeing how valuable and precious life really is. Seeing that the things we ran to before that really do not satisfy the longing in our hearts for peace and hope. There is another “seeing” that I am beginning to understand further, but that is for another time.

As I was researching the scripture above, I looked up the Hebrew words in the Strongs Concordance and where available, the root of each. I was surprised to find a deeper meaning to this verse than I previously knew. Stay with me because I found this very interesting to where we are in the timing of God.

The words “is this” means “with me is God”, from the root “eth” meaning “with” as in Genesis 5:22 “and Enoch walked with God…” and “el” meaning “God”. Hebrew meaning for “coming” is “to go up” or “to ascend”. Hebrew for the word “wilderness” is “dabar” which means “to speak”.

So I read this as to say to me, “Who is this (walking with me is God) coming (ascending) from the wilderness (where God spoke with me) leaning (supporting myself only) upon my Beloved”. I believe if we have processed all that He had in His design for each one of us, the world will ask these questions. “Who is this one that is so different from the rest? Who is this one who walks with God and hears Him speaking?” For you see, these ones have ascended from places of complacency, lethargy and being lukewarm to ones totally passionate for Him. These ones totally rely and lean upon this One whom they love.

There is Revelation 4:1 “Come up here” that has taken place in those whose desire is for Him. He has called us to walk in an elevated place, higher that where we have walked before. I truly believe we are an Enoch generation that will walk with God as Enoch did! It will be in this ascended place that He will speak His mysteries and teach us His ways. It is here, as we behold Him, that we will become like Him. My brothers and sisters, it is time to arise and come out of this place of hiddenness and to truly reflect the character and heart of Jesus Christ to the world!

Have we, as His body, learned these things well? Only time, circumstances and trials will reveal. My prayer is that we have. The world is waiting upon us…

“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.” Romans 8:19

Keep Your Gaze Upon Jesus – Karen Austin

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“Now is the time for My mighty warriors to arise in these times of uncertainty. For I will make that which is uncertain, certain. My Word stands firm and is the plumb line upon which you are to align your life. My word is the sure foundation upon which you can stand. It is only upon the Rock of My Word and the words that I speak to your heart that you will walk out in the days ahead.

Even as Peter stepped out of the boat at My Word…even while the waves and the storm was raging, his eyes were upon Me. Even when he began to look at the turbulent waves and began to sink, even then, I reached out to save, so it is today. I reach out My hand to those of you who feel that nothing in your life is secure…when you feel that you are sinking. I say I am reaching out to you to lift you above the storms that are raging around you in this world.

Lift up your eyes and reach out to Me as Peter, for I am the only One who has all power to deliver and to save. I am the Prince of Peace. I am the Way Maker when there seems to be no way. Invite Me into your storm. I am the Mighty Warrior who fights for you!”

My Hidden Ones Revealed – Karen Austin

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“I will have My praise in the earth. I will have My worship in the earth. I will have My song released by the mouth of My people. They will declare My glory in the earth. On earth as it is in heaven, this is how it transpires, building Me a place to rest, a place to set My feet and release My authority as My manifest Presence inhabits the praises of My people.

“Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me?  Says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things?” (Acts 7:49,50)

“Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?” “Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord. “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.” (Isaiah 66:1-2)

There are new sounds, new songs being released in this move of My Spirit. I am fine tuning your ears to hear the sounds of Heaven. There are songs of love to woo My lost and discouraged ones. There are songs of war to release the shout of My victory! There are songs of desire to stir the hearts of My Beloved.

Know there is a mighty shifting taking place even now. The wind of My Spirit is rearranging, relocating and reformatting many things upon the earth.

“A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. Every valley shall be lifted up,and every mountain and hill made low;the uneven ground will become smooth,and the rugged land a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”… [Isaiah 40:3-5]

There are places and bodies of people whom you have never heard of; those who have cried out to Me behind closed doors…those I am bringing to the forefront in this hour for they have caught My heart. They have allowed themselves to be placed upon the Potter’s wheel. They have had times of being set aside upon the shelf. But even during those times I was molding their hearts and their character. These are ones who shall shine forth My image upon the earth. These are My end-time mighty ones who shall shake the nations and release My voice upon the waters [Psalm 29:3].“

Spiritual Seasons: Which One Are You In? (Part 2) – Frank Work

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We continue our teaching on spiritual seasons with Autumn and Winter. Also I would like to point out that these examples are more general in nature than exact. Your walk with the Lord is different than mine, and you will view the world you live in differently. My only hope is that these examples will you give a path to start on, in which you can continue your journey with the Holy Spirit and He can give you wisdom on what your spiritual seasons look like.

During spiritual autumn, our spiritual growth will be shrinking back but the demands from us increase.

It is interesting that the greatest harvest of fruit comes when the tree is heading for a season of rest.

-It is incorrect to say that a person in spiritual autumn does not have God’s anointing; God anoints all the spiritual seasons.

-On a personal level, during spiritual autumn you may be feeling a need to return to the basics of the faith, or a new commitment to the spiritual disciplines of fasting, praying, solitude, individual worship and devotion; things which in themselves, seem to produce little fruit but are essential for our Christian walk.

– In ministry, you might have to cut back your commitment. There might be external factors like time commitments due to family, work, etc.

-Winter. Spiritual winter is the most uncomfortable time for many Christians, especially in the western church.

– In our western society, we tend to value people based on how much they produce. If you don’t believe me, look at who gets recognized in the western church. Usually it is the people that seem to live at church and are committed to many different activities. This work=value culture is not Godly and it is wrong to applaud people who are over committed as much as it is wrong to applaud people who are under committed. God values people, not works and we should to… but that is another discussion.

-Spiritual winter is like the Sabbath. Let’s talk about Sabbath rest. It is not doing nothing. It’s not taking a break from God. During the Sabbath, God instructed people to keep the rest holy to God and reflect on the things that God had done for them. God says in Lev 23:27 we must “deny” (NIV, NASB) or “afflict” (KJ, NKJ) ourselves when observing the Sabbath. What would be denied?

-Whatever keeps our minds from reflecting on God’s good deeds and keeping holy attitude before God are the exact things that we must deny.

-They might include watching TV or reading that novel. They could include sports or shopping. They might even include catching another bible study or getting involved with another ministry. We need to discipline ourselves to stay connected with God during our rest because our natural inclination is to wander spiritually when we are in a season of rest.

-During spiritual winter, it is normal to feel like God is not hearing our prayers or speaking to us. We may feel like we are having a “wilderness” experience.

-We may feel like our ministry is unfruitful and assume it is dying. But during winter, there is no fruit bearing and it is a time or spiritual rest.

-In winter, reflect on God and God’s faithfulness to you and maintain an attitude of reverence before God. It is God’s perfect order that all creation rests periodically.

-God thinks so highly of rest that on the seventh day of creation, He rested too.

-When we don’t rest, we’ve made our service an idol above God. When we squirm away from spiritual winter, we squirm away from Godliness.

Spiritual seasons are not spiritual conditions of the saint nor a way of measuring Godliness.

God ordains spiritual seasons to provide the greatest spiritual fruit bearing and the greatest spiritual growth.

-God’s seasonal plan includes periods of growth and periods of rest. Recognizing the season you’re in and responding appropriately to that season, is the best way to insure continued spiritual growth and a life that bears Godly fruit.

Also spiritual seasons apply to a congregation as well as the individual. Knowing what season our congregation is can really help in understanding how we should direct our worship and praise in song and prayer.

The Depths of His Love – Karen Austin

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“I am bringing you into a place of knowing the depth of My love – which is a place of freedom. A place where you will know who I am and you will know who you are.

I say the mountain that is before you shall melt like wax at My Presence. There is no devil, no sickness, no disease that can stand in My Presence. Only you, My beloved, have I allowed, have I invited to come stand in My Presence. For when you stand in My Presence, I shall release fresh vision unto you. I shall speak to your heart the things that you must know.

When you worship, know I am in the midst of your worship. As I said in My Word, I inhabit the praises of My people. I shall rise up as a mighty warrior and I will fight for you! Strengthen yourself in Me! Worship unto Me and shout to the mountain that is before you, for I shall release My voice though you!

I would have you to understand the power of My love. Think of the mighty power that is in a flood of water that invades your land. It washes everything in its path. It removes debris. It even removes that which has been rooted for a long time. So it is with My love. Many do not understand the power of My love. Some say love is weak, but oh, they have not experienced My all consuming love.

There is power in My Word! There is power in My name! There is power in My blood! There is power in My love! When you release My love within you there is power released – power to soften even the hardest of hearts. When you release love, you release Me, for I am love.”