Lisa Great

Church we must move from John the Baptist to Jesus. John was clothed in camel’s hair, this was sackcloth, he wore the clothing of mourners. He was mourning over the state of the nation; he was lamenting over the sins of Israel. He was a forerunner for Jesus who would come dressed in garments of praise, rejoicing and feasting.

This theme is found throughout the gospels. Jesus said in Matthew 11, “We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”

John was known for fasting as a sign of mourning, Jesus was known for feasting as a sign of rejoicing. Zechariah even prophesied the change that was coming in chapter 8 of his prophecy. “Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, The fast of the fifth, The fast of the seventh, And the fast of the tenth, Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts For the house of Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.’”

Church we must move from mourning, fasting, gloom and doom to feasting, rejoicing, celebrating for we have been forgiven, we have been redeemed, we have been transformed, we have a Savior. Joy should be our disposition; celebration should be our sound; life and life abundantly is our inheritance; and we are more than conquerors.

When the church moves from John to Jesus we will see a revolution of the likes we have longed for but have yet to see. A cheerful heart is good medicine, healing will break out as joy is our disposition. New wine will be served and tables will be set for feasting. I hear the sound of a celebration getting louder and louder. John got you to Jesus, but now you must leave John and follow Jesus. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Many of us have heard the statement of Jesus that says, “The thief only comes to steal, kill and destroy…” but how many of us understand what thieves are prowling around. In the context Jesus is speaking of in John 10, the thief is a false teacher, stealing your understanding of God.

Proverbs 24:30-33 says, “I went by the field of the lazy man, And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down. When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction: A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest; So shall your poverty come like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.”

The thief in Proverbs 24 is a lazy man. So we have a false teacher and a lazy man. As I put these two together I was reminded of a line in the book I am reading called Melchizedek: The New Millennium Priesthood by Nita Johnson. She says speaking of the humility of Joseph, “When you are clothed in humility, the enemy cannot steal your wealth.”

False teachers are those who think they know the truth and are not listening to anyone else and what God is showing them for they have already decided they know the truth. No matter how wrong they are, they will continue to teach what they believe, even if the Messiah is standing right in front of them.

Lazy people are those who do not want to do the work to listen or learn anything new. They are comfortable with what they know and would rather stay asleep than hear truth about something they don’t know. Ignorance is bliss for them, but it has put them to sleep and neglect has set in because of it.

The answer to both of these thieves is humility and as Nita says, “When you are clothed in humility, the enemy cannot steal your wealth.” Wealth is more than money, it includes time, relationships, opportunities, understanding, knowledge. Deuteronomy 8 says, the Lord is the one who gives us the power to get wealth. Proverbs says in all your getting get understanding. Humility, which is being teachable, is what keeps the thief from robbing you. Humble yourself and watch the thief leave. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

If you have heard the gospel and have given your life to Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior, you know that when Jesus died on the cross the curse of sin and death was broken. The reality of a curse being broken is known by most of us, but what we have not experienced is the reversal of the curse that was broken.

A curse can be broken but until it is reversed we can still experience the fruits of the original curse. For example, in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve sinned, a curse was spoken over them. For Eve it would be pain in child bearing. Many women have experienced the reality of this curse still in operation, even though it has been broken in Christ.

The curse spoken over Adam in the same chapter is that he would work the ground by the sweat of his brow. How many men are exhausted from working to support a family? Yes, men have experienced this curse that is broken but is still in operation.

Even though a curse is broken that does not mean it has been reversed. But we serve a curse reversing, not just a curse breaking God. In one chapter God can curse ground, just like He did in Genesis 3 because of the sins of a people. Isaiah 33:9 says, “The earth mourns and languishes, Lebanon is shamed and shriveled; Sharon is like a wilderness, And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.”

The fruits of a curse are barrenness, wilderness, earth that does not produce. But the curse is reversed in Isaiah 65:17-18 says, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create.”

We are living in a time in history where curses are being reversed. Many cannot see it, for they have experienced the pain of a cursed land, but God is giving us a new land, a new earth, for the curse is being reversed. Just the other day, spoken over our land were the words of 2 Chronicles 7:14, God is healing our land. Healing is the reversing of a curse. Rejoice, God is reversing not just breaking curses. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Reading our Bible yields a way of thinking that most of us do not hear as we go through our everyday lives. The prophets speak in a way that modern day prophets do not tend to speak. Psalmist pray in a way that most of us do not pray. Patriarchs do exploits that most marvel at but would not attempt.

If the Bible is the plumb line, the standard of what is possible, why we have we settled for humanism when we can have wisdom? Why have we settled for fear when we can have fun? Why have we settled for quitting when we could persevere?

The culture of Christianity today is passive, boring, weak and dull in so many ways, which is why we love hearing about baptisms happening on campuses, revivals breaking out in different churches. But what if this was to be the norm and not the only in certain places?

We serve a God who loves adventure, who created us for exploits, who designed us to function and who longs for us to go and do and be all He created us to be.

It has been a couple weeks since I heard the Lord say to me, “I have paid for more than my people have possessed.” I cannot shake this statement, for there is so much more for us, but do we desire something other than what we have?

It is easy to say well I pray and God doesn’t answer, or I asked and I did not receive. Friends, we are not to settle for less than what the Lord Jesus Christ paid for and He paid for more than we are possessing. Read your Bible, if He did it then He will do it again. Shake yourself out of the sleep of not yet and step into what is right now. He is alive right now. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

When you are in the midst of a narrative war it can be hard to discern which voices are speaking truth and which are leading you astray. From the voices of our own personal history, to voices screaming in the current reality, the psychological warfare is real.

One of the leading voices of our generation wrote a best selling book called Battlefield of the Mind. Her success with this book is due to the warfare happening in people’s minds, she tapped into something people needed help with. How do I know what thoughts to believe and what ones to discard.

Romans 12:1-2 are well known verses for believers, “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, then (then, then) you will be able to discern what God’s will is, His good, perfect and pleasing will.”

Transformation, renewing of the mind comes from reading, believing the Word of God. The Word of God is a person, for John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was God and the Word was with God in the beginning.” Jesus Christ is the Word of God. He is the transformer, which is why the invitation is to spend time with Him in His Word.

In addition, Wisdom is a person. She is personified greatly in the book of Proverbs, which is why Proverbs 31 is the woman called Wisdom not some individual female. Wisdom speaks, wisdom builds, wisdom leads, wisdom guides, wisdom is a voice that transforms us if we will listen.

I say all this because Proverbs 21 says, “When you forsake the ways of wisdom, you will wander into the realm of dark spirits.” In a psychological war, we must be diligent to remain on the ancient path called Wisdom. She will lead us into life, but if you refuse to listen to her voice, you will wander into a rabbit hole of dark spirits.

We are in a psychological war. We don’t know as much as we think we do. Stay with wisdom, her words will be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path. Wisdom is your safety zone. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

When the wait tarries, when the situation looms, when the healing seems distant, when the days seem long, it can cause weariness, not because of a lack of faith, a lack of desire, a lack of longing, but because the wait is tiring.

Isaiah 40:31 says, “He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon GOD get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.”

But the truth is we still get tired, we can become emotionally exhausted, we can struggle to stand and keep on standing. The cry of our heart that most don’t hear but we know is, when oh God, when. We know what God wants to do, we may even see in part how God wants to do it, but the when, the when is what causes the weariness.

Not everyone is tired, we all go through waves of weariness, it comes, then it goes, it hits then it lifts. Can anyone relate? It is in moments like this when there is a collective anticipation, but a collective weariness, a question in the heart of a nation in waiting, saying, are we there yet? It is here when the word of God speaks…

“O Israel, keep hoping, keep trusting, and keep waiting on the Lord, for he is tenderhearted, kind, and forgiving. He has a thousand ways to set you free!” Psalm 130 comes with a fresh wind, to remind us He has a thousand ways to set us free. We get tired because we are looking one way and He is coming in a thousand different ways. We don’t see what we are hoping for, sometimes because we are not looking for a way we hadn’t thought of.

Reading this today, refreshed my heart, opened my eyes and unlocked my expectation that God is not limited to one way of breaking in to our nation, our state, our city, our community, our church, our family, but He has a thousand ways. Friends, take heart, the Lord has a way of breakthrough that is going to blow our minds. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Language is the sound of communication and if you do not understand the language you can still enjoy the sound without knowing what is being said. Everything communicates. Trees clap their hands, birds sing their songs, dolphins speak and humanity has a variety of languages.

While out walking very early this morning, the sound of the birds singing was loud. No cars driving by, no people speaking, no speakers blaring, just the sound of birds singing. As I listened to them sing their songs, the Holy Spirit began to speak to me saying, “The birds don’t stop singing as the day goes on, you can’t hear them because of all the other noise that has arisen.”

I pondered these words for the rest of my walk. The songs of the birds are still being sung all day long, but we can’t hear them because of the hum of cars, the voices of people, and the sound of music coming out of speakers.

This means God is always speaking, but we can’t hear Him because of all the other sounds drowning out His voice. It reminded me of the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 19:11-12 “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.”

Elijah knew God in the fire, he saw it come down on the altar in the showdown with the prophets of Baal. He knew God in the wind, for the whirlwind would take him up and away from Elisha. But it wasn’t the power elements in which God wanted him to hear His voice, but rather in the whisper.

God whispers a lot and if your ear is tuned to the whisper, you can hear it in the midst of other noise. Matthew 4:4 says, “Man does not live on bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” His voice is your sustenance, listen for the whisper, it carries great power and is singing underneath all the noise. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Have you ever noticed how your attitude changes when you are hungry? Raising a son has been one of the easiest things I have done in my life because he has two basic needs, sleep and food. The only time he gets challenging is when he is tired and when he is hungry. His attitude changes and I ask him, are you tired? Are you hungry? He smiles when I ask because it is my way of saying something is off in you and I want to help you fix it.

The same is true for us, whether we recognize it or not. When we have not had enough sleep and when we are hungry, something is off in us. I have told people for years, sleep is spiritual warfare. If your tired take a nap, go to bed earlier, get some rest. Is it any wonder Israel was told by the 10 commandments to remember the sabbath and keep it holy. God was saying, take a day off, you need to rest.

I would propose to you there are people who are struggling because they are tired and spiritually hungry. The challenge with both sleep and hunger is if you ignore it long enough you learn to live without enough sleep and without needing to eat as much. Our survival mode kicks in and we just coast on autopilot and believe we are doing great, but in reality we are hungry and tired and others see it but we don’t.

Proverbs 18:15 says, “The spiritually hungry are always ready to learn more,
for their hearts are eager to discover new truths.”

When is the last time you were hungry to read your bible? Most people have lost their appetite for the word of God because they are in survival mode and are not interested in learning anything new. Did you know your attitude reflects your hunger for God, but it masquerades as anxiety, fear, depression, worry, control, anger, attitude and character issues.

I sense the Lord is inviting us to get some rest and ask for our appetite for the word of God to come back. The lack of rest and the lack of spiritual food is causing many to have bad attitudes and it is not because of who is president or how the stock market is doing, it is because as believers we do not rest or eat the word of God. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

My son and I went to see the theatre production of Sister Act last night at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in downtown Nashville. While watching this show we laughed, we smiled, we high fived each other and we felt like what started as a room of strangers became a family living room experience.

I have been to theatre performances before, but this one was different. There was an atmosphere of interaction in the room. People laughed out loud, they clapped joyously throughout the performance, we even looked at total strangers on our left and on our right as though we came with them to the show.

What happened in that room last night was a cast of people brought the audience into the show. Lines they shared caused us to remember moments in our history with God and with people. Songs they sang had us on our feet singing and dancing along. Stories they told resonated with the listeners.

As I watched, listened, laughed and even shed a tear at one time, I realized, this was more than a show, this was an interactive experience with people. The audience, the orchestra and the cast became one unit in that room for over three hours. Even the young lady at the concession stand during intermission spoke to us and said this was the best show she had seen here.

There is a powerful change happening on earth. People are no longer going to a show, they are interacting with people, with each other. You can sense it in the atmosphere.

I did not live when Jesus walked the earth, but what I experienced last night gave me a glimpse of what those people sensed in the atmosphere. Jesus performed miracles, but the people felt a part of it. He did not put on a show, He interacted with humanity. This is the kingdom of God. We all together create the experience. One we will never forget. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Have you witnessed a miracle? Have you heard a testimony of what God has done? Have you seen or heard of a miracle? Have you ever been in a place where the presence of God manifested in the salvation of souls? Friends, we have seen and heard more than we realize.

Miracles, testimonies, signs, wonders, revivals, healings are all reminders that God is for us and not against us. Supernatural signs and wonder point us to a God that is invisible to the naked eye, but if visible in the lives of people we know and don’t know.

When the Lord promised Israel He was going to take them into the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey, He had one command for them: Remember Me!!!!! The Lord knew they, like us, would forget all He had done. He truly does more than we remember, but there is power in remembering.

In Genesis 8 it says, God remembered Noah and his family. The power of remember caused a flood to subside and a family to fill the earth. God remembers us, not our sin, us, His children, His people. He is a God who remembers and He calls us to remember what He has done.

Numbers 14 says, “The Lord said to Moses, How long will this people provoke (spurn, despise) Me? And how long will it be before they believe Me [trusting in, relying on, clinging to Me], for all the signs which I have performed among them?”

The signs, the wonders, the miracles, the testimonies we have seen and heard are to establish our trust in God. Remember, faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. The word of God comes through the testimonies of others, miracles we hear of and signs we see.

Friends, the invitation is to remember. Remembering keeps our faith active and alive. Remembering keeps us alert and aware of what God is doing on earth right now, working everything out for our good. He has been so good, and He is just getting started. The call is to remember. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org