The Burden of the Lord

[Keith]

There’s a great discouragement within the body of Christ today.  I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that we’re seeing this now.  There has always been a spiritual war going on (Ephesians 6:12) but Satan knows his time is coming to a close and he’s increased his attacks on the church.  Spiritual leaders and those in authority are falling all around us.  Prayer warriors and those with a heart for God are the enemy’s targets now, to try to separate them from Jesus.  And the attacks are ramping up with fervency.  

For some time now, I’ve had a deep burden for the brethren; to lift them before the Lord and bathe them in prayer, myself included.  I mean a weeping burden.  I’m pleading in the power of the Holy Spirit.  

I am immovable in my belief that the Holy Spirit has been calling everyone in the body of Christ, from leaders and the faithful to the lukewarm, to repentance and a renewed determination to set aside everything… EVERYTHING… to seek His face.  Full and final surrender.  (1 Chronicles 16:11)

All worry - Matthew 11:28-30.
All of your plans - Jeremiah 29:11.  Proverbs 16:9.
All entertainment - 2 Timothy 2:4.
All sin - Colossians 3:5, 1 Peter 2:1, and James 4:

He is looking for those who are seeking Him (James 4:8) with all their heart to do a work in them to prepare them for the time just ahead.  (John 14:12.)  

He’s looking for our full faith and trust to be put in Him alone.  (Hebrews 11:1,6, John 14:12, Luke 18:8, Ephesians 6:16, Romans 10:17, Jude 1:20.)  

People are spending more time with their technology than they are with the Holy Spirit.  It’s robbing God of time in the prayer closet and seeking Him.  As a result, the despair is only going to get worse.  

He’s looking for those who will lay on their faces before God, seeking His face alone, saying, “Lord, I’ve got to know You more.  I have got to have something more than I have.”  

He’s looking for those who will examine their lives and lay it before the Lord.  Where is the burden of the Lord?  Where are those who will minister unto the Lord?  Where is the holy desperation?  

Yes, we’ve all done this in measure.  But it’s time to walk in the fullness of it.  Pray.  Fast.  Seek Him.  It’s time to start saying no to some things that are robbing our time with the Lord.  Everything that can be shaken will be shaken as He has promised.  It’s at the door.  We’re facing the final word from the Lord, “Prepare to meet your God.”





 

[Willa]

I don't see the discouragement you are seeing. What I do see is God shaping events to prepare for the return of the Lord. People are still being saved regularly in our church. God is not slow but is not willing that any should perish.

We are told that when we see these things occurring, we should look up because our redemption draws near. So I see hope and anticipation where you see discouragement.

But I will pray for you, that your eyes might be opened to see what God IS doing, and that you might see the chariots that Elisha could see of God's warriors. Nothing shall ever seperate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Eph 1:19-20 NKJV That you may know-- what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His might power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

blessings,

Willa

[Ezra]

Yes, we’ve all done this in measure.  But it’s time to walk in the fullness of it.  Pray.  Fast.  Seek Him.  It’s time to start saying no to some things that are robbing our time with the Lord.  Everything that can be shaken will be shaken as He has promised.  It’s at the door.  We’re facing the final word from the Lord, “Prepare to meet your God.”

 

Very good and perceptive observations, Keith.  You are absolutely correct in stating that what is needed at this time is a call to repentance within all the evangelical and fundamentalist churches. What the Lord said to Laodicea, He says to Christianity today: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent" (Rev 3:10 KJV).

Edited February 14, 2015 by Ezra

[Keith]

I don't see the discouragement you are seeing. What I do see is God shaping events to prepare for the return of the Lord. People are still being saved regularly in our church. God is not slow but is not willing that any should perish.

We are told that when we see these things occurring, we should look up because our redemption draws near. So I see hope and anticipation where you see discouragement.

But I will pray for you, that your eyes might be opened to see what God IS doing, and that you might see the chariots that Elisha could see of God's warriors. Nothing shall ever seperate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Eph 1:19-20 NKJV That you may know-- what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His might power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

blessings,

Willa

 

I don't think you understood my post, Willa.  I'm not sitting at home in the depths of despair or seeing the world through mud-colored glasses.  I'm not depressed.  I'm very grateful for your prayers, however!  (They're my favorite gift.)  In that area, I'm actually very happy and filled with peace.  What I wrote about is in the Spirit.  So there aren't any misunderstandings, I'll briefly (try to) explain.  Now that I think about it, I think it's important so folks understand what brought me to the place of starting this thread.

 

I found myself in a rut one day - waking-up, going to work, working hard, coming home, relaxing a little on the computer, then going to bed.  I would have a devotional time with God.  I read my Bible and prayed.  I would even pray periodically throughout the day.  But, I was constantly busy to the point that I had to rely on energy drinks to get me through.  I had lived this way for too many years.  I was bored with life.  I was stressed-out, over-worked, still struggling financially, hadn't left my city in 13 years, and miserable.  I didn't have a life.  I existed.  If I had the time, I would have become depressed!

 

During this time, I loved God.  I didn't ignore Him.  But, based on my actions, He wasn't the center of my life.  I was.  Even though everything I did was for other people and I never took time for myself, I was the center of my life because God wasn't.  I included God but my time with Him revolved around everything else - my job, how tired I was, doing things for other people, etc.,  (Insert your own reason here and make it relevant.)

 

Then I read the parable of the persistent widow who wanted justice from the unjust judge.  (Luke 18:1-8)  The last verse was my personal wake-up call from the Holy Spirit.  After the widow received her justice, Jesus ended that parable saying, "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” 

 

An actual slap in the face wouldn't have woken me up any better.  I had become complacent and routine.  Not only with God, but with life itself, including others.  I didn't really see them.  Reading that verse instantly changed everything in my life.  I was no longer satisfied.  My priorities immediately changed and I began pressing in and seeking His face like never before.  When Jesus comes, I want Him to find me living in not only faith, but the fullness of everything He is and gave to us.  I even began praying that I wanted to be able to leave this earth without being addicted to anything.  I don't have any substance abuse issues, I'm talking about things like sugar, salt, sugar, forms of entertainment, energy drinks, sugar, relying on others where I should be relying on God,... sugar...

 

Two years ago, the Holy Spirit began answering prayers that I had been praying for many years. 

 

• To remove all earthly addictions and anything I was relying on/running to instead of Him.
• To grow so intimate with Him that I can hear Him whisper, even in the middle of a storm with thousands of other voices screaming at me.
• To place my faith and trust in Him alone for everything.  Nothing or no one else.
• To see other people the way He sees them.  I wanted to know His heart.

 

What happened next is part of a nine month long, hellish nightmare.  Last winter (the most brutal for us in years) I lost my job.  The state wouldn't help me.  No food stamps, no unemployment, nothing...  When friends found out, they all deserted me... every last one.  I have no family.  I had no savings.  No money of any kind.  I was living paycheck to paycheck.  No money.  No car.  Could be homeless in the brutal MN winter at any time.  No one to turn to.  Couldn't get to a food shelf.  There was so much snow all last winter, with brutal cold, that I couldn't leave the apartment.  What's more, I didn't want to.  I was scared, hurting, alone and desperate.  So, I didn't leave my apartment the entire winter.  Literally. 

 

The Holy Spirit started answering my prayers and allowed me to be in a position where I had nothing and nobody to rely on.  There are so many miraculous details I could include, but it's not the point of this thread.  I might do it in the testimony forum sometime.  But, suffice it to say that God provided every single need in miraculous ways. 

 

In that time, I learned to rely on Him, and only Him, as my Source and my Provider.  I am immovable in His faithfulness and provision for not only all of my needs, but for anything He should call me to do.  I live in His peace.  Everything else in my life now revolves around my time with Him.  As a result, number four on my list above was also granted to me. 

 

That's how I know the despair that I talked about in my OP exists.  It not only exists, it's rampant.  Not only among believers, but unbelievers as well.  That's why I can say that I am pleading this in the Holy Spirit.  I've held back starting this thread since I came back to Worthy. 

[Keith]

 

Yes, we’ve all done this in measure.  But it’s time to walk in the fullness of it.  Pray.  Fast.  Seek Him.  It’s time to start saying no to some things that are robbing our time with the Lord.  Everything that can be shaken will be shaken as He has promised.  It’s at the door.  We’re facing the final word from the Lord, “Prepare to meet your God.”

 

Very good and perceptive observations, Keith.  You are absolutely correct in stating that what is needed at this time is a call to repentance within all the evangelical and fundamentalist churches. What the Lord said to Laodicea, He says to Christianity today: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent" (Rev 3:10 KJV).

 

 

Ezra, the truth is, this is how our walk with Jesus was designed to be all along.  Genesis 5:24, "Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him."  From the very first time I read that verse, I wanted that kind of relationship with God.  So, why haven't I?  Is that kind of walk reserved for special people?  Do we need to be Super Christians to do the things that Jesus and the apostles did?  (Raise the dead, heal the sick, perform miracles...)  Do we need to be perfect first? 

 

Nope.  The Bible tells us even the apostles were quick to explain their struggles and imperfections with us.  So, there goes that excuse.  Why isn't my walk like Enoch's?  Or Paul's?  Or Stephen's?  Or Joseph's?  The answer is painfully simple - because I hadn't made the choices to do what it takes to have it.  Ouch.

 

But, it's not too late to change and make those choices now and walk intimately with Him, for His glory.  We have to count the cost and be willing to pay it.  Satan, especially in these last moments when he's fully aware how short his time is, has renewed his attack on churches, church leaders, and the faithful in them.  Psalm 119:133 has become part of my daily prayers.

[Keith]

I wanted to add that I believe there's a reason for this.  It's not just a random feeling that came over me.  I'm sensing, "It's preparation."  2015 is not going to pass routinely.  I believe the Holy Spirit is wanting to do a specific, individual work in people's lives if they'll just let Him.  The discouragement I'm seeing is partially rooted in old wounds that believers have been carrying around.  It's also rooted in the fear and uncertainty of all that we see happening in the world today.  It's so prevalent, even the world knows that something is up and are feeling the discouragement.  Now is the time to ask Jesus for what we need for the time ahead.  If we wait until big changes, or battles, come along, we're not going to be prepared and it will be "too late" to be ready for them.  I believe things are going to be revealed to the body of Christ this year.  And now is the time of preparation for those things and those who allow the Holy Spirit to prepare them will be empowered by Him to serve in the days ahead as God reveals His plans to the body.