Just Suffering for Jesus? ~ Blog
Facing it all again...
As the midterm elections approach, I believe it is hard for some to think anything is going to change, let alone that it will. Several of us have been listening to the prophetic voices who've been saying NOW for years. They've said there's no more delay; this will be the greatest Christmas ever, or Halloween will be a thing of the past, because with what God is doing, He won't allow for the worship of evil any longer, which is why Halloween was actually established. The days and months go by, and we find ourselves in another year facing it all again.
Have we listened in vain? No, because out of the mouth of these same prophets, all the way back to Kim Clement, far too many of the things the Lord has spoken have come to pass, but I like to remind people that God is outside of time. He created time for us, not for Himself, and He also knows the end from the beginning, so He speaks to His children through human vessels who are not necessarily wrong or prophesying falsely, but who aren't always privy to what God's "Soon, this very hour, etc." mean in our time.
God can be speaking to us in our here and now from the future, and if we go through the prophecies since 2020 to the present day, we can see that it isn't God who misses it. No, beloved, it is us. They are doing their job, but as I have previously mentioned in another blog, we are also like filters, and I believe we must give room for the different teachings some have gone through in their lives.
One example of this would be those who grew up hearing about the Rapture rather than believing that we hadn't even experienced the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord yet. My point is I still find that some of the prophetic voices that are speaking truth are also filtering it through their own knowledge of the Bible, and so we must discern this. Personally, I do what I call vetting people. Because of my newsletter, I don't just run someone because they have one good prophecy. I wait, pray, watch, and listen, and when My spirit feels it would be okay to share, then I do so. However, I cannot go back in time to all of their previous blogs or videos and know all they have said. I can only share what I believe the Spirit is breathing on now.
The Enemy Did His Job Well...
Why are we still going through so much? Why are we experiencing delay? I believe it is because the enemy did his job well. No, I don't want to give him credit, but even Luke 16:8 says the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. The enemy is using everything in his arsenal, and God's children need to wake up and pray away delay.
I asked myself about the suffering we were to endure and found something interesting. Have you ever heard the saying, 'Just suffering for Jesus?' Wait, What? Yes, I believe that this is where Believers in Christ got off. Using that saying, the enemy has tricked us into believing God means sickness and disease. So instead of renewing our minds to the truth that by Jesus' stripes we were healed (1 Peter 2:24), people took those illnesses, welcomed them, and believed they were somehow suffering for Jesus.
And what about the demonically inspired mindset that it's more like God to have His children as poor as church mice? As if somehow being in poverty is suffering for Jesus. Yet we are supposed to ignore the fact that God is our Father, who is the King of the Universe, not just the earth. He is not the father of the evil ones who do the atrocities that we are hearing about with drugs, trafficking, murder, and the like. Scripture clearly states that the silver and the gold are His, and even the cattle on a thousand hills, but people honestly believe He has chosen to make us suffer and somehow wants the evil and wicked people whose lives are dedicated to lying, stealing, killing, and destroying to have it all. Never considering what John 10:10 tells us...
John 10:10
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Smoke and Mirrors...
It's all been a bait-and-switch. A sleight of hand and smoke and mirrors, and it worked until NOW. Jesus never said suffering meant sickness or disease, beloved. No, in fact, He healed everyone He prayed for and all who came to Him. Jesus never said suffering meant poverty. No, in fact, God gave abundantly to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and then in the New Testament Joseph and Mary started out with gifts from kings, and once He came into His ministry, several wealthy women provided for all of the ministry travels for 3 1/2 years. Even the burial site of Jesus was provided for by a wealthy man.
There were countless people who followed Jesus. It was not only Jesus and the 12. Are we to believe that they all suffered the entire time? Who follows a God who cannot provide? Even when they did not seem to have enough, Jesus would simply pray to His Father and multiply what they did have so that the people by the thousands would be provided for. This does not say God couldn't provide or didn't provide. No, it actually means that He was teaching them to fully rely on Him because, like opening the Red Sea right in front of the people, He wanted them all to know who He really was to them, and that was and still is EVERYTHING!
What suffering shall befall us then?
We can expect the same suffering Paul went through. It was persecution for His name's sake. It was never sickness or poverty. It was always that God knew His children would be persecuted for loving Him and following His Son. Those who accept Holy Spirit would be persecuted even more. The Apostle Paul asks that God would take away the thorn in his flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7), and far too many continue to try to interpret the thorn as sickness, or even ridiculous things like lust or sexual issues. I beg to differ. Women were not looked at in such a manner unless you were worshipping at an Asherah Pole, which there is no proof Paul ever did. In fact, He clearly tells us in Philippians 3 that he lived a blameless life even before He met Christ. To those who are teaching that Paul may have been in sexual sin, you need to pray and ask Holy Spirit because you may very well be leading people down astray, and you will be accountable.
Paul was also a tentmaker by trade. He didn't start out in full-time ministry. In fact, unlike many who preach more condemnation than conviction and allow their brothers or sisters to go into debt just to get support for their church or ministry, Paul never did such a thing. He thanks the church at Philippi for always providing for him faithfully but didn't condemn those who hadn't. There truly is a fine line. I am told by others over and over that I need to ask for money, or I need to expect people to sow, and I always thank people for what they sow, but I won't do what they say. God knows my needs, and this is His ministry. If He won't provide, then I would have to believe He was closing it up. One cannot always go by what others say. The prophet Agabus comes to Paul in Acts 21, literally telling him that if he goes to Rome, he will be greatly persecuted, and Paul doesn't do what a Christian today would do and cancel all plans. No, because he'd already been told he had to go to Rome. The decision was made for him as he followed Jesus. Jesus leads us, not even the prophets or prophetic voices should be your guide, beloved.
They Got This Right...
Comfort can be our worst enemy, and I believe the enemy uses this against God's people. We were happy, healthy, becoming wealthy, and feeling blessed. It appeared to be from God, and yes, God does desire all of those things for us, but not to the point where we no longer seek Him. We don't need anything, so we stop praying. We stop giving because the world teaches us that having money is against God because the Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil. Well, this is true, but it says the LOVE of money. Money is simply a tool. You can use it for good or for evil. I believe the wealth transfer the Lord is bringing to His children can be used as it was in the book of Acts, so that we don't have homelessness. We don't have people going hungry. We no longer have people who need help and are ignored by the likes of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, George Soros, and many more who have had billions but used it for evil and self rather than to change the world for good. We, as God's children, are WORLD CHANGERS, and God has higher expectations for us. If we are not grounded in this, we will use whatever amount God gives us selfishly, so get your mind and your heart right now.
It's A New Day...
In the not-too-distant future, you and I who truly love the Lord will have those tables turned over, and it will be us who finally have the wealth of the wicked.
Proverbs 28:8
Whoever increases wealth by taking interest or profit from the poor amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.
It's more about when than it is about how, beloved. Just as we don't know how He multiplied the loaves and fishes, we have no way of comprehending how there is nothing impossible for our God. The when is what we are waiting for even now, but how do we prepare? It can be done only one way, beloved. It isn't through stocking up on water, food, or toilet paper, although even Joseph used wisdom and put aside food for days of famine. No, the one and only way is to sit with Him daily. Make it a habit you won't easily break, so you won't be tempted to. Just sit and tell Him you love Him and He's the most important thing in your life. Don't even turn on worship. Simply sing praises and worship Him in your own voice. He doesn't care if you don't sound like Whitney Houston. That is vanity. He is your Creator and your Father, and He loves the voice He gave to you.
Pray whenever you have something on your heart. Bring your problems, troubles, and trials before Him, and include the wonderful family that He blessed you with; even if some are estranged, lift them up. He is the only One who can change that. Stand in the Gap because you might be the only person in the world praying for them. Lift up your city, state, or country because He is the only One who can give it back. Pray for your leaders and for Israel, as we are asked to do in the scriptures.
Persecution will come, but remember that not one of us could ever suffer what Jesus suffered for us. I can't help but close my eyes and see Jesus on that Cross looking down at His own creation. His own people laughed, mocked, and did horrible things to Him, but He loved them anyway, and we ALWAYS must remember that Jesus was with God from the beginning, so that means He knew full well how evil would take over the hearts of man. The truth is He endured all that for you and for me, beloved. He said, It Is Finished, so now is the time to believe Him.
Philippians 1:29 NKJV
For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
Sheryl York 🕊️
Comments
Post a Comment