The Price of Possession

Many of us are familiar with the term "The Promised Land". Not only does it have spiritual and religious application, but many secular venues also use it as a metaphor for success and achievement. When sports teams want to win a particular championship, they'll say things like "we're going to the Promised Land". The phrase really became famous as a quote when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr gave his last speech the night before he was assassinated. He made the statement, "I may not get there with you...but we as a people will get to the Promised Land". Scripturally, the Promised Land refers to the land of Canaan that Jehovah had promised to the children of Israel through covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17). However, there is a Spiritual Promised Land (not just Heaven) that awaits the Christian and believer in Christ as well (Hebrews 4). But what a lot of Christians don't understand is that there is a Price of Possession when it comes to entering God's ordained destiny for our lives.

Many people want to "enter" the Promised Land, but we need to establish that entering the Promised Land is not the goal; that's simply where the Journey begins. Many of us have been pressing and struggling to get into that spiritual zone that can be described as God's Promised Land for our lives. And let me say very quickly that we should continue to press and strive to get to where God has ordained us to be in Him and in the context of His Calling and Purpose for our lives. But I want to emphasize again that "getting to" the Promised Land is not the ultimate goal; possessing the Promised Land is.

With this understanding, we must therefore realize and acknowledge that there is a Price of Possession when it comes to entering the Promised Land. I can assure you that if you're not willing to pay The Price of Possession, you may "get" to the Promised Land, but you won't stay. There must be an internalized understanding of what is required to "stay" in the Promised Land once you get there; and that is The Price of Possession.

Once you enter the Promised Land, The Price of Possession is the willingness and availability to Fight. This is what a lot of Christians don't seem to understand nor accept in regards to entering the spiritual Promised Land that God has ordained for His people. Yes it is a land of Rest, but it is also a Land of War. It is a land of Peace, but it is also a Land of Battle; and if you're not ready for the warfare and if you're not ready for the battle, then subsequently you're not ready for The Promised Land. This is what the children of Israel found out when Moses had the 12 spies do the 40 day survey of the land of Canaan (the Promised Land) before the children of Israel were assigned to enter in (Numbers 13). When they came back, all they could talk about were the giants that they would have to face if they chose to go there. Are you ready for the giants of your Promised Land? Are you ready for the constant battles, the seemingly endless attacks; attacks against your character, attacks against your ministry, attacks against your family. Are you ready to be challenged to confront obstacles and enemies that are bigger and stronger and smarter than you are? If you're not, then you're not ready for your Promised Land. But be Encouraged, the Lord said to Joshua, "Be strong and of a good courage" (Joshua 1). Remember what the Word says, the Battle is not yours, it is the Lord's (2Chronicles 20). When you get to the Promised Land, the Good News is that God is the one who does the fighting. Praise the Lord! But you still have to go through the battle and you still have to stand for God in the War. It is The Price of Possession.

The Perseverance of Passion

Have you ever been "in love"? I know that is somewhat of a generic term, particularly in regards to the spirituality of Christian believers. Yet, however generic it may be, there are more than a few Christians that have had that experience. So I ask the question again, have you ever been "in love"? If you have, then you know that when you are going through this emotional experience, you'll put up with a lot of "stuff". People can dog you out, mistreat you, do you wrong, hurt your feelings; but when you're "in love" you just seem to find a way to "take it". Ever been there? It's not always the best place to be, but it speaks to what I want to address today as The Perseverance of Passion.

When you have Passion for someone (we'll use this word to substitute for "in love"), your endurance and aptitude for the things that you don't generally like seems to expand and increase. You have a desire to go that "extra mile" for that person, even when your effort is not requested (and in some cases not even desired). But this is what Passion will make you do. When you have Passion directed towards a person, particularly in a relational-romantic context, your ability to Persevere almost seems unimaginable. Why is this important? Because there's nothing wrong with having Relational Passion, but we need to make sure that the Passion we develop first goes to Christ, then is meted out to those whom He has called us to serve.

A few years ago I received an Apostolic Declaration from a young apostle; and they shared with me (and I paraphrase) that Jesus was upset by the lack of fire and devotion that His people have towards Him. If we be honest, many (if not most) of the Christians that we know and meet are dry when it comes to having Passion for Christ. We "say" we love the Lord, but where are the signs? I ask you, would you want a Passion where the person won't talk to you? Would you want a Passion where the person won't openly and verbally express their appreciation and adoration for you? Would you want a Passion where the person is not faithful to you? The answer is a resounding, No! But that's how many of us do Jesus. We won't pray, we won't read the Word, we won't worship and we're not obedient and faithful to the things He's called us to do. So I ask the question, where is the love, where is the Passion? We need to revive and restore The Perseverance of Passion. We need to get on fire for loving the Lord. And whatever we have to go through, whether it's the loss of relationships, the loss of jobs, the loss of finances, we'll do it. This my brothers and sisters is The Perseverance of Passion, and it needs to be restored to our relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

Gone

Some of us are familiar with the colloquial phrase "they're gone". This is not a reference to someone leaving a particular geographical location, but rather a description of one's mental or psychological state. When a person is referred to as "Gone", it generally means that the person has made a transition mentally and psychologically that has them operating behaviorially in a way that's either outside of the norm or maybe even looked at as extreme or unconventional. The connotation of "they're gone" doesn't have to be negative; it can be positive such as is in sports if someone is excelling beyond their athletic peers, someone could say "they're gone" as like operating in another performance zone. But generally, when this phrase is used, the person could be gone relationally, physically, attitudinally, emotionally. Basically, they've moved beyond the realm of conventional expectation.

I say all of this because, generally speaking, people don't like to be referred to as "Gone". People want to be looked at as relatively normal and operating within given expectations. But as for the believer in Christ and us as children of God, it's high time people start looking at our Christian witness and say, "they're gone". Too many Christians are playing it "too close to the vest" as it relates to the demonstration of our Christian witness. A lot of believers are so scared of being viewed as a "Christian fanatic" that they won't sell out for Christ. This fear and apprehension is not of God. Too many of us are still being regulated by tradition, denominationalism, ritualism and congregational expectations. Bottom line, these are all man-made phenomena. None of these things are germain to bringing Glory to God. The only way we're going to bring Glory to God is that our witness for the Lord is described as "Gone".

There's a line that's being drawn in the church, and at some point every believer in Christ is going to have to make a conscious decision of where they personally fall in regards to that line. The line that's being drawn in the church is the line between the Natural and the Supernatural. Too many churches want to worship God within the confines and restrictions of the Natural Order. Let me say for the record, this is not the Will of God. I would suspect that many Christians grew up in churches where the Manifestation of the Supernatural (miracles, signs and wonders) was not the norm. However, that doesn't mean it was right, let alone the Divine Will of God. The scripture says in Acts 17 that there was a time when God "winked" at some things. In other words, He tolerated the lack of faith of His people and let some things go. But He's not winking anymore; and one of the demands that the Lord is pressing upon His church and His people is a return to the Supernatural. We serve a Supernatural God. Therefore we ought to expect Supernatural Demonstration and Supernatural Manifestation.

However, if the church is going to witness Supernatural Manifestation, we must develop a "supernautral" type faith. And in order to do that, we're going to have to "go out there". We're going to have to get out of the boat (referring to Peter, Matthew 14) of our complacency, self-interest, self-centeredness and comfort zone and really reach for Christ in submission and obedience like we never have before. But the only way you can do this is, you have to be Gone.

The Connection Between Lust and Envy

Everyone, whether they're willing to admit it or not, has a struggle with the spirit of lust. This particular wrestle isn't restricted to those who are unsaved, but it's also an issue for the believer in Christ (Galatians 5). People have different lusts for different things, but at the end of the day it's still Lust. The most popular object of lust in our society is sex. But people, once again, lust for different things. Some people lust for attention, some people lust for power, some people lust for control, some people lust for money, some people lust for fame, some people lust for companionship, some people lust for food...and the list goes on. But if you are a child of God and a believer in Christ, then we are commanded to crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts (Galatians 5). Settling for our lusts and growing complacent with them is a dangerous game spiritually. Reason being is that the spirit of lust can then translate into a Spirit of Envy.


We are entering a season of Promotion. God is ready to Promote His saints who have been faithful to Him and to that which He has called and appointed them to do. However, there are a group of saints and non-believers that, when this Divine Promotion transpires, are not going to be happy. As a matter of fact, they're going to be upset. Why? Because they will not be able to share in the fruits of promotion that those whom God is ready to reward and honor will receive. You can't fake Faithfulness; either you've been obedient to God or you haven't (Luke 6). For this reason, we are going to see a greater manifestation of the Spirit of Envy directed towards the saints (the faithful ones in particular). The key is not to fall victim to this Spirit of Envy. One of the ways we can avoid this is to understand The Connection Between Lust and Envy.


Lust is about having a desire for that which is going to please you and satisfy you, that ultimately takes you out of the Divine Will of God. God doesn't mind us having desires, but there's a problem when those desires represent self-indulgence and the violation of His Divine Will for our lives. However, a lot of times we don't always get our lusts fulfilled, and we never get personally fulfilled through the indulgence of our lusts. So at the end of the day, we're not satisfied. The scripture says in the 4th chapter of the Book of James that, "the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy". A lot of times we think, when we're in pursuit of the indulgence and satisfaction of our lust, that we're not "hurting anybody". This is incorrect. It's all a satanic set-up. If you don't check your lusts at the door and allow the Holy Spirit to teach you how to crucify them, you will become a victim and proponent of the Spirit of Envy.


The reason why this is so significant is because the spirit that led the Pharisees and Sadducees to crucify Christ was the Spirit of Envy (Matthew 27). In other words, it's an Anti-Christ spirit. When the New Season that God is birthing in the earth is manifested, if you haven't learned to deal appropriately with your lusts, you'll find yourself perpetrating a spirit of envy and nurturing in your being an Anti-Christ Spirit. We don't have to go this route if we can be aggressive now in resolving The Connection Between Lust and Envy.

A Proper Way to Handle Tragedy

One of the things that our world has been challenged to deal with over the last several months is Tragedy. With the terrorist attacks in Paris, Brussels and San Bernardino, California, our world has grieved for the countless families and communities that have lost loved ones and friends to senseless, murderous attacks. A lot of times, when Tragedy like this hits a nation or community, people generally don't know how to respond. I still remember September 11, 2001, the terrorist attacks that hit New York and Washington D.C. Even at that time, people just didn't know what to do or even how to process such a national travesty. But believe it or not, there is A Proper Way to Handle Tragedy.

All of us either have been or will be challenged to go through and endure Tragedy and Adversity. Whether it's the loss of a loved one, the break-up of your family, the loss of a job, some type of accident or injury that a loved one or even yourself has had to endure: all of us go through periods of life that stress us and stretch us beyond the norm and our regular emotional capacity. Many of us go through Depression. Some of us get bitter and mad at life. Some of us even try to "turn it over to God". However, even though these are popular coping mechanisms, they may not necessarily represent A Proper Way to Handle Tragedy.

The scripture says in the first chapter of the book of Job, that Job was satanically attacked with Divine Permission. Satan attacked his wealth, his family and eventually his health. But the scripture says that when Tragedy hit Job's home he "fell down upon the ground, and worshipped" (Job 1). This represents A Proper Way to Handle Tragedy. When Tragedy hits your door, what we need to do is Worship God. This is a challenge because what most of us are apt to do when we are forced to endure turbulent times, is to respond emotionally and cognitively. However, this is where the problem is saints. We've got to stop responding to every major issue within the confines and construct of our feelings and emotions. We must learn to respond to Tragedy by our faith.  Job was able to respond to the Tragedy in his life by worshiping God because he was a man of faith. He wasn't regulated by his feelings or his intellect; he was regulated by his faith and trust in God. Therefore, when hard times hit him personally, he knew that A Proper Response to Tragedy was to Worship the God that gave him his very breath and life.

Saints, in the words of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, we've got some difficult days ahead. We're going to see some hard times in this nation that we haven't witnessed in nearly a century; maybe even never before in the history of our nation. When these hard times hit America, many people are going to want to respond in despair, rebellion, violence, retreat, resignation, hopelessness and the list goes on. But as the people of God, we won't need to respond this way. We will know the Proper Way to Handle Tragedy. We will simply get down on our knees and Worship God; knowing that our Father has already made the way for His children.

Wake Up!

A few months ago I was speaking with a prophet of God, and they were sharing with me a revelation and a word that the Lord had given to them. In their description, they basically shared with me that when the Lord releases the Kingdom Move that He's about to release in the earth and the ensuing Judgment comes, people are going to be asleep. This is my concern, for the world and for the Body of Christ. There are too many of us that are walking about in a daze and asleep and unconscious to the spiritual dynamics that are taking place all around us. For this reason I sound the alarm and say, Wake Up!

Saints, I can't stress this enough, the Lord is coming soon. Once again, when people hear this, they put it in a dispensational context and only think of the Return of the Lord in regards to the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ. Even though this interpretation is correct, Jesus's Return is not restricted to this eschatological event. Jesus still Visits His people today. And with that understanding, we need to be prepared for His Visitation to Set Things in Order in the earth and particularly in the church before His Ultimate Return (Revelation 20). For this reason it needs to be understood, we don't have much time. Now is not the time to be operating knowingly outside of the Divine Will of God for your life. Now is not the time to be compromising your witness just to be "accepted" and to "get along". No saints. Now is the time to, Wake Up!

The scriptures say in Romans chapter 13, "knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep". Do you know what time it is? Are you aware of what it is that God wants to do and is doing during this season in your life? This is where a lot of people, particularly Christians, miss it in terms of knowing what time it is. We get distracted by things that are primarily temporal, and lose our focus on the things that God has prepared and ordained for our lives. The challenge with this is that in order to properly align yourself with the Divine Will of God for your life, you have to deny your self. This is what most people don't want to do and for the most part, refuse to do. But this is where we fall to sleep. You can indulge your desires. You can reach for that which promotes and satisfies you. But in the end, you're still going to be held accountable to God, particularly if you are a Christian. And the Bible is true, "be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6). It would be better for us to buckle down and pay the price now, than to be negligent and spiritually irresponsible and have to pay the price later. And when I say later, I'm not talking about in the "bye and bye"; I'm talking about very shortly in the days to come. Let's be wise saints. Let us gird up the loins of our mind and be sober; for it is time to, Wake Up!

Get In the Ark

As I have stated on numerous occasions, the Judgment of God is ready to take place, in the church and in this nation. This is something that as the people of God we need to be prepared for. No matter how "rosy" things may appear right now (whatever that may look like for you), be not deceived, Judgment Day is coming. The bible says that Judgment must start at the house of God (1Peter 4), then it will take place throughout the nation. I cannot stress enough, the Judgment of God is set to hit America. We must and will give account for our legislation of same-sex marriage. However, before God deals with the nation, He will first deal with His people, the church. Therefore, it is time that we Get in the Ark.

If you read Genesis chapters 6 and 7, you'll see the various dynamics that led to God's World-Wide Judgment through the Flood. In Genesis 6 the scripture says that "the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose". There are various interpretations of this text, but isn't it interesting that, no matter how you slice it, the issue was still dealing with marriage?  The scripture says that "they took them wives". That's a reference to marriage; an in this instance an "unholy alliance". This is what we must be careful of saints, getting involved relationally, organizationally, ministerially and spiritually into "unholy alliances"-relationships and associations that are not ordained of God. This is what sponsored the Judgment of God through the Flood.

Noah was called out by God because he had found grace in the eyes of God and he was just and perfect (Genesis 6). If there's ever a time that you want to "get right with God" it is now. The Holy Spirit is Faithful. The Lord is letting His people know what areas they need to "get their act together" in if they want to be spared the consequences of His Judgment. But the key to safety and preservation for Noah and his family is found in Genesis 7. God says to Noah, "Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee I have seen righteous before Me in this generation". The key to Noah and his family's preservation during the Flood of Judgment was to Get in the Ark. Notice, even though the Lord had declared Noah righteous and perfect, his righteous status was not the key to his Protection and Preservation from the Flood; Getting in the Ark was. Saints, the Ark is symbolic of Jesus Christ, and what we need to do now is Repent and Get into the Ark; get into Christ, hide in Him. Let the Lord be our Refuge. Let us learn to hide under His Wings and under the Shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91). This is something many of us still have to learn because we're still naturally inclined to find security and refuge in people and things. Those days are over. In order to survive in the days to come, Christ, the Ark of God, will have to be our Primary Source of Refuge and Safety. The Time is now saints. It's time for His people to Get In the Ark.