Shout to Recover!

I’m presenting this excerpt from my book to help you understand the importance of shouting, what it causes in the camp of the enemy, and the benefits you will receive when obeying the promptings to shout under the influence of the Spirit of Might of the Lord.

There is one important aspect of our apostolic call to be the vessels that bring the government of God in our situations and see justice done on our behalf and judgment on our enemy. Isaiah 9:2-7 states,

²The people who walked in

darkness

            Have seen a great light;

Those who walked in the land of the

shadow of death,

Upon them a light has shined.

            ³ You have multiplied the nation

            And increased its joy;

            They rejoice before you

            According to the joy of harvest,

            As men rejoice when they divide

the spoil.

            ⁴For You have broken the yoke of

his burden

            And the staff of his shoulder,

            The rod of his oppressor,

            As in the day of Midian.

            ⁵For every warrior’s sandal from

the noisy battle,

            And garments rolled in blood,

            Will be used for burning and fuel of

fire.

            ⁶For unto us a child is born,

            Unto us a Son is given;

            And the government will be upon

His shoulder.

            And His name will be called

            Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

            Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

            ⁷Of the increase of His

government and peace

            There will beno end,

            Upon the throne of David and over

His kingdom,

            To order it and establish it with

judgment and justice

            From that time forward, even

forever.

            The Zeal of the Lord of Hosts will

perform this.

The judgment seen in the day of Midian that verse 4 refers to, is what happened when Gideon and his army of 300 men charged with shouts in mighty uproar as the Spirit of Might (Isaiah 11:2) came upon them. This caused the Midianite army, the Amalekites, and the children of the east that had repeatedly stolen from them to be confused until they turned against each other and fled (Judges 7:22),and 120,000 of them were slain by each other’s swords (Judges 8:10). The kings of the three armies were also caught and decapitated (which sealed their defeat and turned the tables on behalf of the Israelite’s small but conquering army). These shouts were also accompanied with the blowing of trumpets (our mouths are those trumpets as we cry out our praises and adoration and declare our victories in Jesus).

Also, 2 Chronicles 20:19-24 relate the account of the Israelites of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem who, led by King Jehoshaphat, began singing praises to God after Jahaziel, the Levite, under the power of the Holy Spirit, assured them of God’s protection and deliverance from the three enemy armies that had come against them. Verse 19 shows that the Levites from two clans stood to praise the Lord with a loud shout, and the next morning they sang praises to the Lord. The praises and the shouts must have caused an uproar that resulted in the Lord setting ambushes against the children of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir. These three enemy armies, just like the previous example turned against each other and were completely slaughtered. What was left for the Israelites to do was to collect the spoil. There was so much spoil left behind that it took them three days to gather it all.

In addition, Isaiah 42:12-14 explains that when we give glory unto the Lord and declare His praise, He goes forth like a mighty man to stir up jealousy like a man of war. And the Lord Himself cries with uproar like a travailing woman to destroy and devour the enemies.  He does this through us as we worship and praise His name with shouts under His Spirit of Might.

In Hagai 2:22 the Lord said,

I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms;

I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms.

I will overthrow the chariots

And those who ride in them;

The horses and their riders shall come down,

Everyone by the sword of his brother.

So in essence, the Lord uses our shouts of praise to confuse the enemy and cause derision among them as He fights for us (Psalm 2:1-5; Isaiah 19:1-4).That way, when you are directed to shout, know that the purpose of it among other things is for the Lord of Hosts to show Himself strong against the enemy and give you access to the spoils of battle. To Him alone be all the glory■.

The Acceptable Sacrifice

Romans 12:1

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. NLT

Many people like to do things for God. It’s like they think they can help Him configure His plan and purpose for them and the lives of others around them, but rarely do they stop to ask God what it is He finds acceptable in them and for them. As the passage above explains, the true way to worship God is by giving ourselves completely to Him. We do this by yielding our spirit, our soul, and our body wholeheartedly and give Him total control of every area of our lives.

Not doing this will put us in a place where we would be considered to be offering sacrifices to demons and not to Him. 1 Corinthians 10:20 says, “No, I am suggesting that what the pagans sacrifice they offer [in effect] to demons (to evil spiritual powers) and not to God [at all]. I do not want you to fellowship and be partners with diabolical spirits [by eating at their feasts]. AMP

To explain further, we need to seek God to present to us not only His promises for us but also the pathway He has chosen for us to walk out our process until the fulfillment of these promises. Just because He gave us a promise does not mean we are going to manipulate our way to its fulfillment in a way that God did not intend and before the timing He has allotted for its manifestation.

Thinking and acting this way makes us idolaters and people who sacrifice to demons and not to God. In addition, only God knows what foundations we are being supported by at the time He gave us the promise and the bigger the promise the more the work He has to do in us to ensure that when we reach our destination, we have not given ourselves to demonic influences that will keep us from staying in that place. We can get there, but another thing is to be able to remain in that place.

There is a way and a time to prepare until the fulfillment of God’s promises to us. The world and its system want instantaneous things. They manipulate their way into the manifestation of the things they want. But we are not of this world and there will always be a process for us on the way to our destiny, designed to shake the wrong foundations in our thinking that have led us to the wrong actions and has kept us from entering the kingdom of God and all His righteousness.

Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. AM

This means that we are called to learn the ways of God and the right way to think, talk, and act and continue to practice these things at every level of the process until we have mastered them and they have become second nature to us because it will be the very thing that will sustain us in the place God has assigned for us through His promises.

Only He knows how long and what it will take for us to get there. Galatians 6:7 warns, “Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside.) [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap.” AMP

We want to sow to the Spirit of God and not to demonic influences. We want to sow the fruits of the Spirit and not the fruit of the flesh that is guided by demons as described in Galatians 5:19-26,

¹⁹ "Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency, ²⁰ Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies), ²¹ Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

²² But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, ²³ Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law that can bring a charge.

²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires. ²⁵ If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.] ²⁶ Let us not become vainglorious and self-conceited, competitive and challenging and provoking and irritating to one another, envying and being jealous of one another." AMP

This passage is self-explanatory. God wants us to sow to His Spirit the things that will help us be conformed to His image and likeness and that will set us apart from the world and its system.

To Him alone be all the glory. ■

End of the World As We Know It

I came across a group of college students that were working on a project about the end times. They were expressing their frustration because the information they were finding was not satisfying to them. I was sitting next to them and overheard them. I then saw the opportunity to explain what I know about the subject and used the door that had opened up for me also to talk to them about Christ and His grace to save us by trusting in Him and His Son. They asked me to give them what I said in writing for them to use in their project. This is what I gave them with the hope that it will lead them to salvation. I hope this post helps you turn your heart towards Jesus too, not just because of fear of judgment, but because you want to experience the new life Jesus died on the Cross to give you.

I believe in the end of the world because as I have studied the Bible, I have seen that there will come a time when the world as we know it will end and this is the reason why: Revelation 21:3-8 says, 

“³Then I heard a mighty voice from the throne and I perceived its distinct words, saying, See! The abode of God is with men, and He will live (encamp, tent) among them; and they shall be His people, and God shall personally be with them and be their God.

⁴ God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away.

⁵ And He Who is seated on the throne said, See! I make all things new. Also He said, Record this, for these sayings are faithful (accurate, incorruptible, and trustworthy) and true (genuine).

⁶ And He [further] said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I [Myself] will give water without price from the fountain (springs) of the water of Life.

⁷ He who is victorious shall inherit all these things, and I will be God to him and he shall be My son.

⁸ But as for the cowards and the ignoble and the contemptible and the cravenly lacking in courage and the cowardly submissive, and as for the unbelieving and faithless, and as for the depraved and defiled with abominations, and as for murderers and the lewd and adulterous and the practicers of magic arts and the idolaters (those who give supreme devotion to anyone or anything other than God) and all liars (those who knowingly convey untruth by word or deed)—[all of these shall have] their part in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone. This is the second death.” Amplified Version

To explain the meaning of this passage, verse 3 explains that God’s home is with people. He dwells inside those who live to worship Him alone and give their lives solely for Him to have complete use of them as vessels who have a relationship with Him and advance His Kingdom here on earth. Verse 4 talks about the sufferings of his saints. The word "saints" is used to refer to believers of the Most High God, the One and only True God. This promise in God’s word for them is that He will save them from the oppression of the enemy (the Anti-Christ) and all his followers who have been persecuting them in relentless ways to obstruct them and keep them from advancing God’s Kingdom on earth.

Verse 5 highlights the new of what God will do on earth after the old order of things is removed. He ends the world as it is currently to make room for a new one free from demonic oppression against His people. Verse 6 explains through the phrase “it is done” that this was accomplished through the death of Jesus at the cross. He did that so that we could have forgiveness of our sins and access to the Father to have a Father and child relationship with Him. He who started this work will also finish it in our lives by helping us remove through the renewing of our minds the old order of things with its religious beliefs, traditions, and mindsets that opened us to demonic oppression to be replaced with the truth of His word in the Bible which is “the fountain (springs) of the water of life”.

This is explained even further in John 3:15-19,

^“15 In order that everyone who believes in Him [who cleaves to Him, trusts Him, and relies on Him] may not perish, but have eternal life and [actually] live forever!

¹⁶ For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

¹⁷ For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.

¹⁸ He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation—he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ’s name.]

¹⁹ The [basis of the] judgment (indictment, the test by which men are judged, the ground for the sentence) lies in this: the Light has come into the world, and people have loved the darkness rather than and more than the Light, for their works (deeds) were evil.” Amplified Version

To continue explaining the meaning of the first passage in Revelation 21, verse 7 talks about those who are victorious. This refers to those of us who choose to believe in Jesus, the Son of God, follow Him, and choose to have and live the life He died on the cross to give us because Adam sinned at the beginning (Genesis Chapter 3) and condemned us to a cursed life. 

But Jesus came to remove the curse and give us an abundant life which means that He came to give us a quality of life, a rich life full of His goodness and loving-kindness, a life empowered to live for Him and serve Him as we walk in authority and power from on high to overcome the enemy and fulfill our destinies. 

But we have to make a choice to live for Him and accept Him in our lives as our Lord and Savior and live in obedience to Him and His word. This way, we can learn to be led by His Spirit of Truth which leads us to have an intimate relationship with the Father because the basis of our walk as believers in Jesus is to have a relationship with the Father through Him that will help us know who we are, what is the purpose for our lives, and how to walk victoriously as we appropriate the things Jesus died to give us. Everything about our lives on earth has been predestined by God from the foundations of the world. Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us,

 ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

That is why Jeremiah 29:11-13 tells us how God sees us and the future He has planned for us as well as what He requires of us to overcome the evils of this world. It says,

  ¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. ¹² Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

However, those who give themselves to the things outlined in verse 8 of Revelation 21 since their worldly beliefs cause them to refuse God and His ways, and many even give themselves to obstruct God’s people from advancing His Kingdom on earth, they will suffer the consequences outlined in verse 8 which refer to the hour of testing and process they will have to endure and hopefully they will choose to turn to God and follow Him and the truth of His word that will set them free as they renew their mind. 
 
The end of the old ways to live and believe will come so that God’s people can enjoy the newness of life in Him apart from persecution and destruction. This will cause many people to turn to seek and obey the truth of His word and have a relationship with Him because they see us as examples of how to live in the new order of life apart from idolatry and wrong beliefs. 

To Him alone be all the glory. ■