What
is God Saying to the Body of Christ for 2014?
Overall Theme: It’s All New
I
am making all things new, says God. I am
making new paths, new directions, and I am opening new doors. I am positioning my people for their next
move in destiny. It is imperative that
they follow my lead, and trust the way that I take them, for they have not been
this way before. Corinthians 5:17; Is 43:18-19.
·
God is giving many of us a “do-over,” so to speak. It is a season of favor. Opportunities that have you may
have missed in the past may re-present themselves, and failed tests may be
given again. The old ways of approaching
things will not work! In order to get
what we never had, we must do what we have never done. Old responses,
behaviors, and mindsets will not work in this place. God wants our minds to be renewed as in
Romans 12:1-2: 1Therefore
I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living
and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of
worship. 2And do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove
what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
·
It’s harvest time; and a time of the double
portion. Close your eyes and get a good picture of
your harvest in mind. See the fat,
healthy fruit, the greener pastures, and abundance that awaits you. Now ask yourself this question: Who is going to pick all of this fruit? Any farmer will tell you the hardest part of
the season is harvesting the fruit of the land.
The hours are long, the work is back-breaking, and there is only a
certain amount of time to get the fruit harvested and prepared for market in
order to get premium pricing. God is
placing a demand upon us to work SMARTER and HARDER. We must get into place spiritually, work our OWN fields, and stay
focused on the tasks at hand. Write the
book, start the business, start the ministry, or go back to school. It is
particularly a season for entrepreneurship.
God’s favor is with you to do more, be more and have more. It is not a season of perfection; but it is
a season of excellence. We must
remain fit for the Kingdom as Jesus admonishes us in Luke 9:52: Jesus replied, "No one who puts a hand
to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
·
We will see a changing of the guard in the
Body of Christ as many of the generals of faith (and world leaders for that
matter) go home to be with God or step down from their positions and new
leaders in the Body emerge. As
we see this change in leadership, we will see new pattern emerge as the Church
Age dies and the Kingdom Age becomes more prevalent. We will begin to see the restoration of the
Apostle and the Prophet as foundations of the church and Jesus as the chief
cornerstone as stated in Ephesians 2:19-20:
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners
and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his
household, 20 built
on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as
the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the
whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the
Lord. 22 And in him you too are being
built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. When you see this, true revival will have
begun.
·
It’s a time of acceleration. God is accelerating the time in which
it would normally take to do things. It
is important that we are aware of time, and to make the most of it. There is no time for procrastination, lollygagging,
or ignoring the unction of God. We must
work while it is day (John 9:4)
·
Evangelism and outreach will
become the focus and the forefront.
God’s hands are on ministries that supply the needs of the less fortunate,
and many are being placed in business and jobs to be ambassadors in the
business arena. God is raising up bold
evangelists in the tradition of John the Baptist to call the lost into right
relationship with God, through ministry, technology, and social media, as
exemplified in Matthew 3:1-3 Now
in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
saying, 2"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 3For this is the one referred to
by Isaiah the prophet when he said, "THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE
WILDERNESS, 'MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!” In
this same vein, we will begin to see more celebrities begin to express their
commitment to Christ, whereas in the past they may have been less vocal about their
faith.
·
God is placing a demand on us to have
healthy relationships. We must
walk away from strife, old arguments, unforgiveness, and bitterness. Our relationships-from business to
friendship, to marriage must mirror the Kingdom, and we should be working on
one accord with one another. We must be
willing to let go of relationship where there is no agreement as stated in Amos
3:3: How can two walk together unless
they agree? At the same time, we
must be willing to permit new people into our spheres of influence as God
begins to make destiny relationships in this season. God is also calling us into a deeper place
with Him; He must be first in our lives.
Worship is the key to this deeper place. This is a season where he
desires to show us “great and mighty things that we did not know” (Jeremiah 33:3).
He desires to mature us as saints. The supernatural is upon us and many of us
will experience Heavenly visitation at a level we have not known before.
·
It is a season of God’s grace.
God is with us and fighting for us as we move into this season. Now weapon formed against us will prosper,
and there are more with us than against us.
In (1 Chr 14:13-15) when David
was asking for a sign to know when to engage the Philistines in battle, God
replied: "When thou shalt hear a
sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees..." In order for David to
hear this spiritual sound, He had to be in tune with the voice of the
Lord. As you pursue God for a deeper, more intimate relationship with
Him, you will be sensitive to His voice and therefore know when and how to
engage the enemy…and this time you will WIN!
The Lord will go before you in battle and defeat the enemy on
behalf.
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