Preparing to Ride the Wave of Grace that’s Bringing the Unlovable to the House of God #3: The Separation of the Wheat and the Chaff

Isaiah 41:16

“You will separate value from waste, and a great wind and a strong storm will take away what is useless and unimportant. You will take joy in the Eternal. You will glow with pride in the Holy One of Israel.” VOICE

Before you continue reading I must warn you that this is a strong post, yet a Word I received from the Lord. We’re still observing the feasts of God and the new Hebrew calendar 5782. While I won’t go into detail explaining the three feasts and all they entail, what I will mention is that during the feast of Yom Kippur which took place from the evening of September 15th, 2021 until the evening of September 16th, 2021, we observed the Day of Atonement. **

This is a day also known in some Jewish communities as the holiest day of the year in which they remember the atonement sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ for the sins of humanity. It’s a day spent with much prayer, fasting, and repentance for the sins committed during the year. The importance of the observance of this day in this manner is that it is a day known for heaven to open the book of life and determine the names that will remain in it and the ones that will be removed. 

We all should observe this day with repentance every year because according to our actions and motives, and whether we present our sacrificial offerings in a manner acceptable to God, then He determines if we enter a new season of blessings or go back around the mountain of testing and trial for our lack of obedience and lack of just actions. And even worse than that, as already mentioned, some will be removed from the earth.

Some will indeed go because it was their time to graduate on to heaven. But others are reaping the consequences of their unjust doings. As the Scripture above describes, God’s separating the value from the waste in our lives, and the wind of the Holy Spirit is the One doing the work of separating and removing with the Holy Angels of God that have been dispatched for this task. Therefore, this is a time for us to look inwardly and ask the Lord to show us our wrong doings and things we have done against others so we can repent (turn from the wrong direction into the right direction and course of action).

Daniel 5:27

“‘ tekel’—you have been weighed on the scales [of righteousness] and found deficient;” AMP

One other way of looking at this is that we have all been weighed in the balance against His standard of righteousness and every area that is found unjust (how we’ve treated others), every area where we have been dishonest, shown lack of character, lack of integrity, lawlessness, rebellion against Him, His will, His Word, and His commands will be shaken according to what we have done so that what is left is our desire to look more like Him and to seek Him and His righteous ways for our lives. 

Also, as mentioned, the wind that is blowing away the unwanted waste in our lives is the Holy Spirit, and everything we have done following the influence of the spirit of this world will be shaken away so that the unshakable (the Kingdom of God, His truth, His will, and His ways) may remain and we can rebuild our lives on its foundation of righteousness and justice. An important reason for this is that God has declared war and judgment against the spirit of this world and its ruler Satan in every generation (See Exodus 17:16) .

Hebrews 12:27

“Now this, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.” NKJV

This shaking also includes God becoming a swift witness against all corruption and unjust scales in every sphere of society, against the building and rebuilding of structures of what is false, against all idolatry, all workings of iniquities, all abusive behaviors through sorcery, the things held back and hoarded against others, the exploiting of laborers, widows, and orphans, exploitation of the youth through trafficking, and mistreatment of foreigners because as Malachi 3:5 states, these are the actions that come from the twisted thinking of those who don’t fear of the Lord.

Judges 6:11

“Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, and his son Gideon was beating wheat in the wine press [instead of the threshing floor] to [hide it and] save it from the Midianites.” AMP

In this Scripture we see that Gideon was trying to beat the wheat in the wrong place and in a way that obstructed the separation of the wheat and the chaff. Instead of doing that in an open space where the wind (the Holy Spirit) could blow away the weightless waste in his life, he hid in the winepress to do his work for fear of the Midianites, but this method was not fruitful. 

This is similar to every area of compromise that God is confronting in our lives, and where many did things in obscurity thinking it would never be brought out in the open. But God, the Righteous Judge is exposing things in this hour and releasing consequences of those wrongdoings because He’s separating the sheep (obedient to His voice) from the goats (rebellious and defiant against Him and His will), so that He can send blessings to His obedient people, and release His wrath against the rebellious. 

Matthew 25:31-46 shows us other ways for us to see whether we have obeyed the Lord or sinned against Him and those around us. It says,

Verses 31-36 “‘When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and  He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father,  inherit the kingdom  prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink;  I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was  naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me;  I was in prison and you came to Me.’

Verses 37-40 “‘Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you,  inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

Verses 41-43 “‘Then He will also say to those on the left hand,  ‘Depart from Me, you cursed,  into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

Verses 44-46 “‘Then they also will answer  Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did  not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you,  inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And  these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’”  NKJV

If reading this is making you shake in your boots, there’s hope, and you can still seek the Lord with repentance for all your wrong and unjust actions. Seek to mend the relationships you can and rectify your wrong actions, and most of all, ask the Lord, God of all the earth, and Righteous Judge to forgive you of your sins. 

Doing this may not prevent the consequences of your actions, but will ensure that your relationship with Him will be restored and He can lead you on the right path for your life and destiny as you continue to seek Him, obey His will for you, and follow His righteous and just ways.

To Him alone be all the glory. *

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** See: Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement @ www.hebcal.com/Holidays 

Preparing to Ride the Wave of Grace that’s Bringing the Unlovable to the House of God 2

A few years ago, the Lord gave me a vision of two buildings that were one in front of the other. What divided them was the street for people to walk on or drive. They looked like any other building with cars parked, according to the direction of the traffic. However, the building on the right side of my view was five stories tall, while the building on the left side was seven stories tall. 

The lower floors of the building on the left reflected the shadow from the building on the right. But the higher floors were exposed to the light of the sun until the top two floors fully reflected the sunlight. Not only that, but from those top two floors the view was more panoramic and I could see what was covered by the building in front. This reminded me of the Word in Isaiah 55:9 which says,

 

““For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts higher than your thoughts.” AMP

The Lord has brought this vision to my remembrance on several occasions to explain to me when we may be seeing things from a lower perspective that comes from the reflection of the shadows we’re beholding. Said another way, according to the level from where we stand in our spiritual walk, even though we truly love the Lord and want to serve Him, we can only reflect the level of light we’re exposed to. 

Our level of exposure to the light of the glory of God can be high or low due to different factors, including whether or not we seek His presence and obey Him no matter what He asks us to do. The Bible says that we all have sinned and fallen short (are in need) of the glory of God (See Romans 3:23). When we’re operating from the low levels or our fallen state, we’re reflecting the darkness that comes from the influence of the spirit of this world. The Lord even told me that the influence many are reflecting comes from the second heaven, a place where the demonic operates from. 

If we expose ourselves more to the things of the world than to the presence of God, we will reflect the shadows of the world and not the light of His glory. Some of you may think this doesn’t apply to you because you don’t go to clubs, are not involved in promiscuity, or worship idols. But you may watch more TV than you read the Bible, or are more preoccupied with the opinions and narratives of social Media than you are with what God has to say about your life and your calling, or you may be easily offended and given to slander and gossip. 

2 Corinthians 3:8 says that we behold as in a mirror the glory of God. In the same way, if we’re beholding the darkness of the world, that’s what we reflect. It says, “And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.” AMP

Prophetic people, especially, must be careful that what we see or hear is not from the narrative that comes from the second heaven. We want to see and hear what comes from the third heaven, where God’s throne is. For this reason, being proactive in our healing from wounds and deliverance from bondage is a must. The enemy seeks vessels to speak through or act out his influence since the spirit world requires human beings to host them and give them permission to fulfill their plans in the earth. 

This is true of both the Kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of darkness because God gave man the authority to rule the earth realm. Therefore, whatever we’re beholding or being constantly exposed to is what we’re authorizing to operate on the earth through us because both the Spirit of the Lord and the spirit of this world seek to influence us. We need to choose which kingdom we will give access to manifest on the earth.

Genesis 1:26

“Then God said, “Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps and crawls on the earth.”AMP

As shown in the vision the Lord gave me, the building that was seven stories tall was able to reflect the light of the sun, first because it was facing the sun, and second, because it was taller than the other building and the higher floors could reflect its light. The lower floors reflected the shadow from the other building which also blocked the view of the many wonderful things that were behind it, which the people in the lower levels could not see.

Seen from a spiritual perspective, this made the level of faith of the people in the lower levels reflect the only thing they could see: the building in front of them, while the people on the top floors could see more of the light of the sun, the ocean, a beautiful park, a church, a theater, and other buildings. Living a scenario like this in the natural would make it difficult for the people that live on the lower floors to talk about what they see with those who live on the top floors since the scenery is different. The ones on the lower floors cannot argue that what they see is an absolute since the ones on the top floors can easily prove that it isn’t.

An example of this is the prophet Elijah who was at the top of Mt. Carmel not only as a location but also as his seventh floor spiritual height. From this vantage point of the higher ways of God, he could hear that a torrential rain was coming. His servant, on the other hand, had to go through the process of climbing to this height before he could see that a small cloud, the size of a man’s hand was forming. From the lower levels the servant could not see what the Prophet could see and hear with clarity from his higher perspective (See 1 Kings 18:41-44). 

Hence, for us to reflect more of the light of the glory of the Son, we’re required to grow to higher levels of spiritual maturity that come from beholding the Son in His radiance through our relationship with Him. Another important factor in rising up to higher levels is when we allow Him to take us through the processes that help us walk in higher levels of His glorious light. We all have at some point in our lives reflected the fallen state of Adam, who forfeited reflecting the glory of God through his disobedience to God’s command to not eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  But Jesus came to restore to us what Adam had lost. 

Romans 5:17

“For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.” NLT

As mentioned, we’re called to grow to higher levels of faith and of glory, but how do we do that? Many people call for the glory of God to come down and God does come down and shows us His goodness (See Exodus 33:18-23). But for us to be constant reflectors and glory carriers, we must rise to new levels of faith and of the light of the glory of God in our lives which helps us see more of the higher thoughts and ways of God. 

Isaiah 60:1 

“‘Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you.” NLT

As we can see, the Word calls us to rise up and let our light, which comes from the glory of God, shine for all to see. This means that as mature sons and daughters of God, we see His higher thoughts and ways in our circumstances, and can take a stand with authority against the enemy. In fact, the word “arise,” which is a plural verb that works as a call to the body of Christ, in its Hebrew meaning denotes that we stand up against our enemy. 

There is no passivity or complacency in taking a stand against the enemy. The Word says that we’re to resist him, but not without submitting to God first and His authority over our lives. Then we can watch him flee when we obey our God (James 4:7). Ephesians 4:13 also gives us the example of Jesus’ spiritual height that is an absolute necessity for us to reach as His body. It says, 

“until we all reach oneness in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, [growing spiritually] to become a mature believer, reaching to the measure of the fullness of Christ [manifesting His spiritual completeness and exercising our spiritual gifts in unity].” AMP

For Jesus, even though He was fully God, in His human form, as a demonstration to us, was required to grow in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man. Thus, besides His times of fellowship with the Father, growing in these four aspects, helped in His spiritual maturity and reflection of the light of the glory of God. Luke 2:52 says, “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and men.” AMP

Explained further, Jesus demonstrated these four aspects of our spiritual growth:

1. In wisdom—mental maturity, by the renewing of our mind. 

Romans 12:1-2,

“Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship. And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].” AMP

1. In stature—physical maturity, by the nourishment and strengthening of our bodies and by living holy lives because we’re temples of the Holy Spirit. 

2 Corinthians 6:19-20,

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have [received as a gift] from God, and that you are not your own [property]? You were bought with a price [you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Jesus and made His own]. So then, honor and glorify God with your body.” AMP

1. In favor with God—spiritual maturity, as we keep a strong relationship and fellowship with Him by reading the Bible, praying, fasting, declaring and obeying His Word, and by concerning ourselves with every aspect of our calling and destiny in Him, and by following the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit.  

John 17:3-4,

“Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true [supreme and sovereign] God, and [in the same manner know] Jesus [as the] Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You [down here] on the earth by completing the work that You gave Me to do.” AMP

1. In favor with people—relational maturity, by caring for and protecting our process of maturity in all areas of our lives as we receive from others who have reached higher levels of maturity than us. In turn, we can help others reach higher levels of maturity, for the Bible says this contributes to our oneness and unity as a body. 

Galatians 6:1-4

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any sin, you who are spiritual [that is, you who are responsive to the guidance of the Spirit] are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness [not with a sense of superiority or self-righteousness], keeping a watchful eye on yourself, so that you are not tempted as well. Carry one another’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the requirements of the law of Christ [that is, the law of Christian love]. For if anyone thinks he is something [special] when [in fact] he is nothing [special except in his own eyes], he deceives himself. But each one must carefully scrutinize his own work [examining his actions, attitudes, and behavior], and then he can have the personal satisfaction and inner joy of doing something commendable without comparing himself to another.” AMP

Therefore, let’s not live out of the reflection of the shadows of the spirit of the world which block the reflection of the light of the glory of the Son of God in our lives, so that what we see and hear comes from the light of His glory and not the things of darkness. Let’s also give to God in obedience every yes to His will and to His way He’s asking of us. For decreasing that He may increase in us is not a loss but a marvelous gain of more of Him and of the ways of His Kingdom in us and through our lives.

To God alone be all the glory. *

 

Preparing to Ride the Wave of God’s Grace That’s Bringing the Unlovable to the House of God 1

 

Revelation 1:7-8

“Look! He is coming with the clouds, in glory. He will capture every eye, Even of those who pierced Him through. All the nations of the earth will be pierced with grief when He appears. Yes, may all this be done according to His plan . Amen...I am the Alpha and the Omega, [the very beginning and the very end,] the One who is, the One who was, and the One who is coming: the All Powerful.” VOICE

The grace of God has come to us in greater ways to help us accomplish what we could not do in our human weakness. This great grace is necessary for the awakening that many are experiencing to move them out of the grip of darkness and into God’s marvelous and glorious light that’s exposing their sinful ways to them. This call to repentance is driving many to go after the light of Jesus and seek ways to forsake their former ways. 

However, God’s warning us to not look to them as if we are clean and want no part of their filth. These people have found themselves entangled with sin in many forms and need us who call ourselves God’s children to extend a helping hand that demonstrates His love, His compassion, and His forgiveness for their sins. The fact is, that, if we violated one word of the law, we are guilty of breaking all of them. So, rather than judging others for where they have been, God is calling us to obey the command to love Him and them as we love ourselves.

Deuteronomy 6:4-7

“Israel, listen! Our God is the Lord! Only the Lord ! Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your being, and all your strength. These words that I am commanding you today must always be on your minds. Recite them to your children. Talk about them when you are sitting around your house and when you are out and about, when you are lying down and when you are getting up.” CEB

Mark 13:30-31

“and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, You will love your neighbor as yourself.  No other commandment is greater than these.’” CEB

The Lord through His Word has given us, His children, this very clear and explicit command. And it’s so simple, there should be no confusion or doubt about it. As mentioned, the command is to love Him with all our heart, all our being, and all our strength. He even charges us to pass the knowledge of this command on to the next generations by speaking about it and demonstrating to them what loving our God looks like. 

The Word also says that this first commandment is not a suggestion but a must-do. But how do we live this out and demonstrate it to others? The answer to that is by not compromising our standards as people who have learned through experience to trust Him to be a God who loves us and believe that He’s righteous, just, powerful, faithful, and able to take care of us, answer our prayers, and save us from the wiles of the enemy. 

One thing that ensures our protection and keeps us in the shadow of His wings is our obedience to His Word, and to the promptings, He gives us by His Spirit as He stirs our heart in the direction He wants it to go in our daily lives like He directs the course of the waters (Proverbs 21:1). For this, 1 John 5:3 tells us what it means to love God and that loving Him is not hard to do. All it takes is a determination to live to do His will and please Him no matter what others may say.

“You see, to love God means that we keep His commands, and His commands don’t weigh us down.” VOICE

2 John 1:5-6

“So now, dear lady, I am asking you to live by the command that we love one another. I’m not writing to you some new commandment; it’s one we received in the beginning from our Lord. Love is defined by our obedience to His commands. This is the same command you have known about from the very beginning; you must live by it.” VOICE

As we have seen, loving God means we obey Him, without this, we could not fulfill the second command to love others as we love ourselves. Indeed, this command is charging us to look outside of ourselves and demonstrate the love, mercy, and loving-kindness of our God to those who waver in their faith, and also to not ignore those who have soiled their garments of righteousness with the filth of the earth. We’re called to pull them up and out of the pit, but being careful to not fall in the same traps they fell.

God is showing us in His Word ways we’re to partner with Him to disarm, dismantle, and overthrow the enemy’s tactics against us and those around us who, in their weakness, fell short of His will for them and may feel they can’t get back up on their own. To do this, we cannot behave as we have never sinned. Instead, God’s calling us to roll up our sleeves and stoop down to reach them so they can see our light shining for them to bring them out of the pit of darkness and release His presence by becoming His hands, His feet, and His mouth, and when necessary, His pockets too.

Jude 1:22-23 

“Keep being kind to those who waver in this faith. Pursue those who are singed by the flames of God’s wrath, and bring them safely to Him. Show mercy to others with fear, despising every garment soiled by the weakness of human flesh.” VOICE

Galatians 6:1-3

“Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.” NLT

Luke 6:27-31,

“‘But I say to you who hear [Me and pay attention to My words]: Love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, [make it a practice to] do good to those who hate you, bless and show kindness to those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other one also [simply ignore insignificant insults or losses and do not bother to retaliate—maintain your dignity]. Whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you. Whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.” AMP

Walking in the love of God is important for His Church to rise to higher a dimension where we can have a better view, guided by His eye, of the situations we encounter and see others in the same way He sees them. The command of God to love Him and others as we love ourselves also demands that we dig deeper and examine ourselves with humbleness and judge ourselves so we do not walk blindly and legalistic, pointing at the speck in the eyes of others when we have a whole tree, branches, roots and all, covering ours (Matthew 7:3-5).

For as Ephesians 6:12 reminds us, our fight is not against people, but against the rulers, authorities, and powers of this dark world. It is against the powers of evil that work from the spirit realm in heavenly places and seek to rule in the earth by controlling the minds and the hearts of people who give in to their lies and fear. Therefore, we must be suited up with the armor of the truth of the Word of God and our obedience to Him to demonstrate we’re His and also that there’s a better way to live, and only Jesus is the answer out of despair.

The Book of 1 John chapter four also defines for us the meaning of true love which comes from God. It tells us that for us to be recognized as God’s children and that we know Him, we need to be able to show His love to others. He loved us first by sending us His Son to sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. This example should suffice for us to express His love for others no matter how far they may have gone in the way of darkness just like He did. 

1 John 4:7-12 

“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.” NLT

When the gang and mafia members, homosexuals, Freemasons, murderers, sorcerers, the young down and out, Satanists, prostitutes, pimps, or even women that didn’t sell their bodies but only own skimpy clothes, white collar crooks, drug lords, and even our unlovable family members cross our path, or when they make their way through the doors of the Church buildings, how are we going to respond? Are we going to receive them with acceptance and an embrace, or are they going to get our judgmental walls of rejection? 

The Lord is touching hard hearts that many thought would never come to know Christ and get saved. So let’s ask the Lord to prepare our hearts to ride this wave of the grace of God by loving the unlovable with an eagerness to put our arms around them and say, “welcome to the family” because when sin abounds, grace abounds even more through Christ Jesus and for the glory of God alone.

Romans 5:20-21

 “All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn’t, and doesn’t, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it’s sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that’s the end of it. Grace, because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life—a life that goes on and on and on, world without end.” MSG

To God alone be all the glory. *

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