12-23-2017         Unto Us a Child is Born                

    

                  Glory to God in the HIghest                                             Breath of God

Isaiah 7:14      The Lord, Himself shall give a sign ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and you shall call His name Emmanuel.

Isaiah 9:6-7     A child is born to us, a child is given and the government shall be upon His shoulder.  His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.  There shall be no end to the growth of government and peace because He will sit upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgement and justice, now and forever more.  The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this

Matt. 1:19-21 Joseph, a just man, was not willing to make her (Mary) a public example so he kept her in secret.  But, while he was thinking on these things, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said

“Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife for that which she bears is conceived of the Holy Ghost.  And she shall bring forth a Son and you shall call His name Jesus for He shall save His people from their sins.”           

Now all this was done so that what the Lord said through the prophet would be fulfilled “Behold, a virgin shall be with child and she shall bring forth a son and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which is interpreted ‘God is with us’.”

Luke 2:7-14     And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger for there was no room at the inn.

                        And in the same area, shepherds were watching over their flock at night.

                        And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shined all around them and they were afraid.

                        But the angel said to them “Don’t be afraid for I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.

                        For unto you this day, in the city of David, a Savior is born, who is Christ the Lord.

                        And this shall be a sign to you, you will find the baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

                        Suddenly, a multitude of the heavenly host joined the angel, praising God saying

                        “Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth and good will toward men.”

Luke 2:15-16   And, as it happened, when the angel had ascended back into heaven, the shepherds said among themselves” Let us now go to Bethlehem to this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord has shown us.

                       

                        And they hurried and found Mary, Joseph and the babe lying in a manger.

Can you imagine how awestruck the shepherds must have been at the sight of the angels in the skies?  

This announcement was not made to kings, but to common folk, like you and me.  The prophecy 

of the Christ, the fulfillment of his coming into this world and such a proclamation at His birth into 

this world.

This is the time we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus into this world.  Jesus came to serve

(John 13:13-16) so He was not born in a castle so He could ‘lord’ over people, but in a manger so He 

could meet us at our Level and lead us in terms we could understand.  And yet His journey had just 

barely begun.

In Jesus, we have a new hope and a new life promised us through Him (John 10:10).  The hope of 

eternal fellowship with the Father (1 John 1:3) where, through the Holy Ghost, Jesus is with us, in us 

and guides us (as we listen, Luke 11:28) for He will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5).

In Sept./Oct., the Jews celebrated the feasts of Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles.  This

is a time of proclamation, reconciliation and projection.  We proclaim our Lord, reconcile our differences then proclaim our intents for the future.

Oct./Nov. represents New Beginnings.  Even though we consider Jesus to have been born in

December, this is the time we can look forward to our life starting afresh in Jesus.

 The Festival of Lights comes with Chanukah in Nov./Dec.  Even though, in our tradition, Jesus

isn’t born yet, we dedicate our lives to our Messiah who is the Light of the world.

Of course, near the end of December, we do celebrate the birth of Jesus into this world,

receiving the power and the wisdom to stand against any evil that may come against us so we

may successfully enter the next phase of our life.

These four months, for us, is a time for cleansing, ordering our steps for the new year and to

plan in order to accomplish what is necessary for the coming year.  It is a time to start off with a 

fresh step.  It is a time to decide to stand fast in our Lord Jesus Christ and to determine to follow 

the leading of the Holy Ghost.

As we celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus, during this time, He represents a new life and a

new hope for us as we look forward to a new year, living in His love.

 This new phase of our current time?  Father is preparing the outpouring of the latter rain

 (Jer. 5:24) through which everyone will benefit (Zech. 10:1). 

The former, or early, rain prepares the ground for planting then nurtures the seeds and the

young plants so they can sprout and grow strong.

The latter rain helps the fruit to mature and be ripe for harvest.

Jesus is the vine (John 15:1-6) and we are the branches and it is ‘we’ who bear fruit (new converts),

bringing them into the body of Christ through our testimony and assuring that their growth is solid

in Jesus Christ.  But, for us to be effective, we need to be where Father wants us to be – in our

relationship with Him.  Should our relationship be weak, how can we help others to have a strong

relationship with our Lord?  So we  need to be doing our part to assure we are where Father wants

us to be.  Just, as the fourth time, the Lord came to Samuel calling his name.  Now, having been

prepared by Eli, Samuel responded “Speak, for Your servant hears.”  (1 Sam. 3:10)  Do we hear

what God is saying to us?  Are we truly listening?

You may have been hearing about the “Spiritual explosion” that’s coming.  It is!  And Father is

preparing His children for it, even now. 

We are in the midst of a seven year ‘preparation’ period where Father is bringing His church into a

deeper understanding of its (our) relationship with Him.  He’s been bringing His children into a

fuller, deeper relationship with Himself so we can be truly effective servants for Him.  He’s been

teaching us how to truly live for Him and to hear Him and understand what He asks and then be

obedient to His will.  As He sends us out, we will be ministering in the full concept of the Holy Ghost. 

Just as the apostles did.  After all, we are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9), aren’t we?  To serve God

with all our energies (Col. 3:23-24)?

We have witness to the first outpouring, the early rain, in the book of Acts (Acts 2:1-21), then we

can read about the Impact of that outpouring throughout the book of Acts and the New Testament

epistles.  We see evidence of the power of the Holy Ghost operating in the lives of believers.  Not

‘just’ the apostles, but through various believers.  We see where Peter and John healed the lame

man in the name of Jesus (Acts 3:1-10).  We see at Peter’s preaching, five thousand believed (Acts

4:1-4).  Cornelius and his family are given as example that salvation is for all, as well as the receiving

of the Holy Ghost (Acts 10:34-46).  Paul (He was not one of the original twelve) cast out devils in

Philippi with the woman possessed with the spirit of divination (Acts 16:12-19).  Not only were

people saved, healed and delivered, but more believers received the baptism of the Holy Ghost as

exampled by the twelve on the road to Ephesus (Acts 19:1-7).  Oh, and by the way, as we serve God,

Father protects us as related in the shipwreck as Paul travelled to Rome.  Paul was bitten by an

unseen snake (Acts 28:1-6).  The natives knew that this snake was very poisonous and waited for

Paul’s quick death which didn’t come. After all, Jesus said He would protect us, didn’t He (Luke

10:19)?

Jesus told His disciples that they would do all the works that He did and more (John 14:12).  That

didn’t go away with the apostles and disciples of two thousand years ago.  It includes us, today.

Nothing passes away until the perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away with (1

Corinth. 13:10).  Today, we see through a glass darkly, but when we are with the Lord, all things will

be very clear (1 Corinth.13:12).

Be patient for the coming of the Lord.  The husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth,

patiently he waits until the early and the latter rain.  We also should be patient, establishing our

hearts (in Jesus Christ) for the coming of the Lord draws near (James 5:7-8).

I’ve heard it said that Jesus can’t come back until Christians have made the world ready for Him.  I

differ with that slightly.  Something has to be ready But dare I say it’s the church and not the world. 

Father is preparing His church for Jesus’ return (Matt. 24:42-44).  Look at how the church is

reflecting world values and Paul tells the Thessalonians that there would first be a falling away (2

Thess. 2:1-3).  Father is drawing believers closer to Him so we can be like the five wise virgins who

were continually ready for whenever the bridegroom (Jesus) returns  (Matt. 25:1-13).

The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this

place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’” (Haggai 2:9).  In other words, when the latter

rains come, this fresh outpouring of the Holy Ghost, will surpass what the ‘early rains’ did.  I suggest

to you that the early rain was the initial outpouring of the Holy Ghost to the early disciples and now,

as the fruit is ready to ripen, we approach the harvest of the latter rain.  The latter rain is coming to

make the second outpouring of the Holy Ghost greater than the first.  Greater strength, greater

power, greater manifestation so the hearts of people may be solidified and that we may continue

steadfast and fellowshipping, in the doctrine of Jesus Christ which the apostles preached (Acts

2:42).  And a greater dose of God’s peace, which surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:7) which will

probably rattle the world as they try to figure how we can keep our ‘cool’.

This Spiritual explosion is coming and just as we celebrate a time when Jesus brings new life and new hope into our presence, we need to grasp the outpouring of the Holy Ghost afresh, anew and abide in Christ Jesus so we can glorify the Father by keeping His commandments.  His commandments are to love (Luke 10:25-28).  There is no greater commandment and there is no greater expression of that love than to give our lives for a brother (John 15:7-13).  Jesus died on the cross to cleanse us from our sin.  We die to Him daily by yielding our bodies, souls and strength, our very lives to Him (1 Corinth. 9:27, Rom. 8:14) by living for Him daily.  So, we share that love with those around us as Father opens the doors for His love to flow.  We show our love for our brothers and neighbors by considering them no less than ourselves (Mark 12:31) and doing that which will edify them (1 Corinth. 14:26).

‘is the season to let the love of Jesus flow.

Amen 

2017  A Closer Walk 

 

                    

In September 2014, Father started working on my relationship with Him.  And today, He is still deepening my understanding of not just scripture but the scope of our relationship and what He is doing in my life. 

I was in a quandary about what to write about this time (that happens often) and I felt like I was hitting a brick wall.  At one point, I thought I knew what I was going to talk about, then I wasn’t so sure.  I looked at things which Father has given me, when “A Closer Walk” grabbed my attention.  Father had given me this back in September 2016 and it was still on my pending list.   

At the tail end of 2014 I was getting discouraged because I felt Father wasn’t confirming the calling I felt he gave through the ‘prophecy’ which He given me, the Watchman (Sept. 2014) which was a word on what He was preparing to do with His children and my interaction with those plans – to a degree. 

At first my understanding of my interaction with the Watchman was very rudimentary, basic.  I had a very sketchy understanding of what He was going to do and what He wanted me to do.  Since then He has been filling in the details.  Giving more information about the seven years we are currently in which began Jan. 2015. 

I challenged Him as to whether was He really calling me to do something Because, even though I had the desire, I knew, in my heart, I wasn’t ready.  He spent the next three months (‘til Dec. 2014) confirming that He wanted me to do something but I was looking the other way missing all the confirmation He was showing me.  I was looking one way for confirmation and He was delivering from another.  Finally in January 2015, because I was bemoaning the fact that He hadn’t answered my prayer for confirmation, He sat me down and pointed out all the many ways in which He had been confirming His word to me over the previous three months.  The lesson learned was that I was looking for ‘man’ to confirm what God was doing and God was confirming it Himself through what He was exposing me to.   Things and events around me.  No, that hasn’t changed.  He still uses multiple ways to confirm what He has been telling me but then I’m not looking to ‘man’ anymore for sole or initial confirmation.  Romans 8:16 tells us that the Holy Ghost (HG) testifies that we are the children of God and if the HG testifies that I have salvation, He will also confirm what God has told me.  And He did, He has and He does.  Father confirmed His word through books He prompted me to read, sermons I heard, even things that I saw on TV.  Now don’t get me wrong, God does confirm through man.  But for me, He was teaching me to “hear” what He was saying around me as opposed to relying on a man physically coming up to me and saying “Hey, Buck, God said …”.

Over the past few years, Father has been teaching me how to truly walk in the Spirit.  I find that learning it is one thing, putting it into practice isn’t so easy – sometimes.  Father has taught me that my obedience is utmost (2 John vs 6).  If I love Him, I will keep His commandments (to love) and walk in them.  He has also been teaching that when I walk in His Spirit I won’t fulfill the desires of the flesh (Gal. 5:16).  Easy in concept, but with the world like It is today, it ain’t that easy. 

Remember Paul and the thorn in his flesh (2 Corinth. 12:2-9).  James 1:13-15 explains how sin is conceived and we become guilty.  Basically it says that God does not tempt us but we are drawn away by lust which has not yet been purged from our hearts.  When lust is conceived, that is we consider doing it, that brings sin into our lives and if we let sin go unconfessed and unrepented, that will eventually bring separation from God which of course could eventually bring forth death (total and absolute separation from God).  Remember, once we’ve considered doing something, we’ve already done it in our heart and we are guilty.  It’s not the thought, it’s deciding that we’re going to do it which gets us into trouble.  The fine line here is determining what is just a thought tempting us versus when do I actually cross over and consider doing it?  Once we consider the thought a good idea, it as good as done even though we haven’t or don’t actually take any action.  We’ve desired it in our heart (Matt. 5:28).  For a little clarity, if we see someone and say to ourselves “That person is really attractive or good looking” we’re OK.  But if we say to ourselves “Boy, I’d sure like to jump into the sack with that!”  It’s time to confess and repent, we have already sinned.  It’s one thing to admire what God has done with a person, but it’s another to desire to consume that person in our own lusts.  

‘Nuff said here.  Satan tempts us and often it’s with the thought in our minds.  We need to steer clear of actually considering the action that thought suggests.  We are still human and we still wrestle.  Just don’t give in!  Two quick things here:  Isaiah recognized his unworthiness so an angel touched his unclean lips with a coal from the altar (Isa. 6:5-7).  We. Too, need to ask Father to cleanse us, purify us and we do that by continually renewing our mind through the word of God (Rom. 12:2).

Now, I’ve mentioned confirmation.  When Father gave me the Watchman, I didn’t realize what was happening to me, physically, until I went to get up out of my chair.  That is, I didn’t notice any effect ‘just writing it down”. 

My computer is in the basement and when Father has me ‘write’ things down, that’s where I go.  I have a most difficult time reading my own handwriting.  I actually get tired of writing after only a few words so what starts out very legible quickly turns into an unrecognizable scrawl.  I also have difficulty with typing.  I CAN type.  I just try to type as fast as I think so I either toss umpteen pages in the trash just to get one good copy or I  keep a gallon of whiteout handy.  God created the computer for me.  I don’t get tired of writing and I can easily correct my errors. 

In setting the Watchman down on ‘paper’, I had a similar experience each of the three days (to different degrees) over which Father had given it to me.   as I said, I hadn’t realized what was going on until I went to get up out of my chair – I couldn’t!  I had a weird, but good, sensation all over my body and my legs were like cooked spaghetti and wouldn’t support me.  So I flopped back into my chair (thud).  After sitting in the basement for a while, I was able to, almost literally, slide, out of my chair, inch over to the basement steps but then I did literally crawl up the steps, on my hands and knees, into the kitchen.   Oops! I realized I had to go to the bathroom!  I grabbed the refrigerator door handle, lifted myself to my feet and inched the ten or twelve feet to the bathroom.  Yes, I made it safely.  Then, still upright, I made it into the living room and into my green chair where I flopped for about an hour, or so, before I was able, after several attempts, to actually stand up again and move.  Over the next few days, the Watchman came in three installments, it didn’t take as long to “get my legs” back but I went through the same experience. 

Well, I felt good while I was in this condition.  I mean nothing bothered me.  Nothing!  I didn’t hurt, no aches, no nothing.  I had been experiencing a couple continuing aches for a while and they weren’t even bothering me.  I found myself laughing at the situation.  I thought how ridiculous this must look.  Trying to get up and couldn’t.  And when I could, getting around like a very aged, decrepit old man (where’s my cane?).  It took me several times over a period of time before I could even stand up, much less walk.  Except for the spaghetti legs, I could’ve stayed in that condition forever.  I would have been useless to anyone else because I couldn’t do much of anything except talk, but I felt good. 

I called this condition my ‘zone’, having nothing better to describe it at the time.

Since then, Father has shown me that this condition is an anointing (from Him).  He has shown me that He anoints the gifting He gives us.  He anoints us for certain tasks (of which this was) or when we just do something for Him like sing or dance (before Him), whatever.  I’m persuaded that He will anoint anything we do, as long as we are doing it before and for Him and we aren’t doing it to “show off”. .

At first, my zone or anointing came only when Father gave me a prophecy or an entry for the blog.  I realize that each time I work on the blog, when I’m done, I’ve been in the ‘zone’, to some degree.  But as time has passed, the zone has come back in ways I haven’t expected.  Sometimes when I’m just getting started in my AM prayer and Father wants to show me something – He does and by the time He’s done, I realize that I am in the zone.  Sometimes He’ll have me pray something special or for someone and again, at the end of that prayer, He’ll show me that we’ve been in the zone.  In fact, there have been times, Father has taken me into the zone for days at a stretch.  I don’t mean 24/7 but I may be “zoned” for an hour, maybe only ten or fifteen minutes, but it’s still the zone and it will occur each of several days in a row.  So, no, it’s not necessarily an everyday occurrence but I’ve come to learn it is how He let’s me know that it’s Him sharing what is being shared, whether for me or about someone else.  It’s still pretty neat and while I’m in the zone I’m useless for a little while, but it’s still an awesome experience.

So why am I sharing all this?  I’m nobody special and if He shares this with me, He’ll share it with you, or some similar experience. 

I shared “Herod’s Temple (9-16-2016) on the blog where I shared what Father showed me about His relationship with His children.  In the temple, there was the Women’s Courtyard, the Priest’s Courtyard and the Holy Place.  The Holy Place was divided into the Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies.  The veil separating the Sanctuary from the Holy of Holies and that’s what tore when Jesus died on the cross (Matt. 27:50-51).  Indicating that access to the Creator of heaven and earth was no longer veiled nor did we have to go through a priest to access Him.

We are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9-10).  In the Old Testament, only the High Priest could enter into the Holy of Holies (Heb. 9:6-8) and even then, only after a purification process (Lev. 16:1-34).  So, because we are a royal priesthood, through the blood of Jesus, we (you and I, all believers) have access to the Holy of Holies, the very presence of God Almighty, once we have purified ourselves (confessed and repented any outstanding sins in our lives).  We can come boldly before the throne of God (Heb. 4:16) acknowledging that God is worthy of all glory, honor and power for He has created all things for His pleasure (Rev. 4:11) and make our petitions. 

And all of this is a part of Him drawing all of His children closer to Him which is what He wants – a closer walk with us.

Why?  He is preparing His children to bring His Word boldly to the world to draw souls into HIs kingdom and to prepare His church so we can know that we, too will enter His kingdom.  How?  Because we have learned to live for Him and we have learned how to allow the Holy Ghost to operate in our lives so we can truly touch those lives around us.

By the way, in spring 2015 I thought I would ‘get cute’ so I said to Father “You’ve been showing me all these neat things about the seven year season we are in (2015-2022), but what happens after that?”  So He told me!  There is a spiritual explosion coming in this next season and His children need to be ready, willing and able to handle the task.  So, this seven year season is preparation for the next seven years coming up.  An outpouring of the Holy Ghost such as the world has never seen before.  Greater than the outpouring with the apostles and early disciples.  It is the latter rain which matures the fruit.  We are the branches of the Jesus’ vine which bear the fruit (John 15:5).  Christians will mature to a greater level than they ever dreamed – but not all.  Remembering that Jesus could heal only a few sick folk when He returned to Nazareth because of their unbelief (Matt. 13:53-58). 

Jesus tells His disciples that they will do the works He did and greater (John 14:12) and Haggai tells us that the latter house will be greater than the former (Hag. 2:9).  God Gives the rain, former and latter in His season and reserves us for the appointed weeks of harvest (Jer. 5:24).  An evangelical explosion is coming.  Not just for the lost, but for His church, His children who have denied themselves the fullness of what He has to offer.  The obedient will start operating just as the early disciples did – and more so.

Why do we care about a closer walk with our heavenly Father?  Exciting times which lie ahead?

Amen?