For those who are willing to enter into the sufferings of Christ in order to partake in knowing Him in the power of His resurrection, it certainly isn't an easy way, but it is worth it because we are closer to Jesus, fully engaging in His mission on earth, He is the only one who can satisfy, and He is worthy to receive the reward of His suffering. It is a privilege to be entrusted with His heart's compassion and burdens. We must reckon our position in Christ: We have been crucified with Christ, we no longer live but Christ lives in us, and we are in Him. We go where He goes. He was raised unto newness of life, and we were made a new creation in Christ Jesus. He is seated at the right hand of the Father in heavenly places. We are seated with Him in heavenly places, with all things under our feet. We have the freedom to enter into His very near presence with freedom and confidence.
When we get a glimpse of who He is, and of who we are in Christ,
when we understand that the One who is greater than the cosmos lives in our skin,
when we finally realize that we are the son or daughter of Yahweh Almighty,
when we awaken to the authority we have over the principalities of darkness because of who our Father is who dwells within us,
we have the ability to see mountains taken up and thrown into the sea, to see darkness be cast out because of the light which we carry, and to see the kingdom advanced because the arm of the Lord has awakened.
We are not called to live on the offensive not the defensive. We are called to plunder the pits of hell and take back what the enemy has stolen. God send us out with authority. We head off to battle to win. Being an intercessor, standing in the gap for the weak, is risky. When an intercessor stands between the vulnerable and the offender, they are putting their self in a position to be hit. Yet Jesus, The Mighty Intercessor, stood in the gap for us and took the hit that was rightfully ours, and He calls us to do the same for others, because there is no greater love than to lay down your life for another. He does not abandon us, but stands with us, giving us everything we need to accomplish His mission. Even if we are killed, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church, and the kingdom advances. We have nothing to lose, because with each spoken word of devotion to Christ, with each prayer, with each martyr's life given, every time we pick up our cross to follow Jesus, the kingdom is advanced, chains are broken, and darkness flees. Even if we cannot see it in the natural, it is happening. Jesus loves to take the things the enemy intends for harm and use it for good. He is Redeemer and Restorer of all things. He sets the captives free. He is good, and everything about Him is beautiful.
As Darlene Cunningham exhorts us, "Be God-loyal." Sometimes when everything is falling down around you, the temptation is to say, "God where are you? How could you let this happen?" That is not being God-loyal. There's nothing wrong with God. There never has been, and there never will be. Period. Amen!
Let's grow in the revelation of who our God is, and let's fight the things that stand in the way between our intimacy with Him and the things that hinder others from knowing Him. Let's see injustice for what it is - Satan trying to advance the kingdom of darkness. Let's wage war against the principalities of darkness, with our Victorious Warrior on our side. God is burdening me even more with the 27 million slaves. Every single day girls continue to be sold into sex slavery. Even through there are rescues, more girls continue to be sold, more lives are devastated with trauma, injustice prevails, and innocence is robbed. It makes me mad. Really mad. Anger toward injustice should always be directed toward what is causing it: the kingdom of darkness. Our hearts should always be directed to the One, the only One, who can deliver: Jesus Christ. As soldiers of light, and as children of the Father of Lights, we have the responsibility of entering into the darkness to bring the light of Christ to those who are enslaved.
We are to steward our compassion with devotion in the place of intercession. We must pick up the stones that the enemy throws at us and at those we intercede for and build them into a prayer alter. We must keep running back to Jesus that our cups may be filled, and we must be crushed like a grape into our King's cup, rejoicing and leaping in the midst of every trial and burden. Prayer is going to be the fuel that will keep your compassion ablaze and the means in which you will be able to release the burdens back to the Lord, for His burden is easy and His yoke is light, and He does not want you to burn out. Righteousness will go before us, and the glory of the Lord will be our rear guard. When we call for help, He will say, "Here am I." He promises this in Isaiah 58. He also assures us that our light will rise in the darkness, our needs will be satisfied in a sun-scorched land, and He will strengthen our frame. We will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. We will rebuild the ancient ruins, raise up the age-old foundations, and be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. We will find our joy in the Lord, for He is our strength, an ever present help in times of need!
We are to break down strongholds of the enemy by the blood of the Lamb. We are to go into the darkest places, raiding the enemy's territory, to claim it back for our King. I want to see our generation burdened with the desire to see nations transformed; to claim nations for Christ and to prophesy, preach, and pray the kingdom of God into existence there. We must travail unrelentingly in intercession until the breakthrough comes. "He said to me, 'You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession" (Psalm 2:7-8). Let's go charge the very gates of hell and build the church. The gates of hell will not prevail against the church.
"With the wind at our back and in the strength of the Lord we will rise on the wings of the dawn. We're gonna take back all the enemy has stolen. It's in the blood of the One who's worthy. I know God has not forgotten all that's lost and broken. So, come and see the turning of the times. Come and see His sons and daughters rise. For how could He who did not spare His own son not freely give us victory against the darkest of nights. We're gonna plunder the pits of hell." - Take Back by Will Reagan
I won't accuse You of being too difficult.
I won't accuse You of asking too much of me.
I'll say yes.
You are able to bring us forth in love.
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