BREAK THROUGH TO VICTORY
Chapter Thirteen
God’s perfect will for our lives is that we walk in His glory one hundred percent of the time. His will is not for us to have just a fleeting experience here and there, but to walk in His glory where even our passing shadow radiates His love and anointing, convicting, changing, healing and delivering people around us. Yes, God wants to bring us to a level in Him where He is able to touch those around us through His anointing and to freely flow through us to reach others with His saving power. The Lord has a ministry to complete through us; to touch a lost world and reconcile them unto Himself. But He needs yielded vessels, those that have been prepared completely by the Father for this purpose.
So many of God’s people are hurt and wounded, and lack God’s love in their lives. Even though they know Jesus, they know Him only in a shallow way. God wants to call us to higher levels of intimacy with Him. He wants to reveal to us deep truths and revelation concerning His Word that will set the captives free and bring them to a level of discernment where they know the strategies of the enemy. Yes, Satan is like a roaring lion sent out to steal, kill, and destroy God’s people and to hinder and even stop God’s love from flowing through them (John 10:10).
Most are not aware of the strategies the enemy uses to try to hinder God’s ministry through His people. If we are diligent to break through into the realm of God where He is able to illuminate His truth to us through His Word, then we will become enlightened and empowered by His grace, transforming us and those around us. We are to be lights that reflect and radiate the glory of God, which is His love. We have a river of life within us, Jesus Himself, which is so ready to spring up and gush out and touch everything in its path. But Satan has tried to dam up this river even before we were born.
God has a people prepared before the foundation of the earth in which He has set out to nurture, to love, and to mature them so they could become a strong and healthy bride, fit for the Master’s use. The enemy has set out at the same time to devour this work. The enemy’s plan was to rob us of God’s love even before we were born, and all the way through our lives. Even after we are born-again, he’s sent out forces to repel God’s love from flowing through us. We are to rise up and allow the Lord to do the necessary work deep within us so that by God’s grace we are strengthened to repel these powers. Through His anointing power, we are to continuously radiate God’s glory to touch other lives and to repel the enemy.
We need to go through different levels of intimacy with the Father so that He can replenish us with the levels of love that He has in store for us. Since many were raised in a family where God’s love was not known, the enemy had free access to rob them of the special love God had for them even before birth.
Even in the womb God had a special love for us that He wanted us to experience. We needed that love so that we could grow and mature in the healthy way He intended both spiritually and emotionally. Because of this lack, we became emotionally, spiritually, and physically damaged. God wants to take us through these levels of intimacy, healing and restoring that which the enemy deprived us of and even destroyed. We need to be willing to humble ourselves before the mighty throne of God for He is faithful to lift us up (1 Pet 5:6).
So many in the body of Christ are at war with each other. Many are easily offended resulting in backbiting, gossip, and even hatred among the brethren. God is calling His Church unto Himself to go from glory to glory into high levels of worship where He can overflow His love unto a lost and dying world. How can this happen if the Church is sich within? There will be no breakthrough unless we are willing to die to our pride and let the Lord heal us no matter what the cost.
God is calling us to intimacy. Are we willing to be patient and faithfully come before Him with the attitude of just wanting to bask in His presence? Are we willing to make Him our number one priority? If we are not, all our motives in life are in vain. It all will be a lost cause. Be determined not to be caught up in busyness and works that will distract you from His presence. Die to your earthly pleasures that just rob you of His glory in your life.
God promises that if you seek first His kingdom, all these things will be added unto you (Matt 6:33). At the same time, if we are staying close to the Lord, He will direct our paths (Prov 3:5-6). Our missions in Him will be His perfect will, resulting in much fruit. If our hearts are right with Him, He promises to give us our heart’s desires (Psa 37:4). What do we have to lose? Just our flesh! That is our greatest hindrance. God promises prosperity in every area of our life, divine health, and abundance of spiritual blessings in this life (3 John 2).
All He wants from us is our hearts, our trust, and our devotion. He longs to spend time with us so He can share with us His burdens and His deep innermost thoughts. He wants to trust us with His intimacy, for He loves us. The Father longs to make His Church whole so He can accomplish His will through her. In order for the Church to function in the dimension God ordained, she needs to be whole. God is calling us close because He wants to heal, to deliver, and to uproot all that is not of Him. We need to be totally free so there can be unity among the brethren (Phil 2:2). Because of this weakness among the Church, a spirit of offense has been free to run rampant. Beware of this.
Many relationships between families, marriages, churches, and even in the workplace cannot take place in peace and harmony unless we are willing to draw close to Him and let Him heal us. God’s love needs to flow free within us individually in order to flow from one to another. There are so many walls and divisions between God and man and each other. There must be a breakthrough from within the walls in order for us to go on in Him.
For an example, how are we to experience God’s love between a husband and wife if God never had an opportunity to share His love to us before birth, as a baby, and all the way through our lives? We aren’t ready for this level of God’s love yet. The normal growth and maturing through His love needs to take place or there is going to be many problems in the marriage. One will try to satisfy a deep need for love through his or her mate that only God can provide. At the same time, that person doesn’t know how to receive His love. There are so many fears, insecurities, and jealousies resulting in contention, strife and hatred. There is so much frustration trying to deal with this lack of maturity.
The answer is to draw close to the Father and trust Him to mature you through His love. He wants to love you through all the different levels of maturity, but you need to be willing to come to Him in honesty as a small child and ask Him to replenish you with His love. Be patient during this growth process for it will be well worth your effort. We need to start somewhere and that is at the Father’s feet, at His side, on His lap, with your head at His breast, or whatever position you feel necessary to draw close to Him.
If we are willing to appear foolish at times in God’s presence in the gathering of the saints, God will meet us and supply our every need. Cry out and travail for the breakthrough of the body of Christ. Pray for God’s healing power to flow free among the brethren.
The revelation of this word came to me as a result of a time of intimacy I had with the Father. I was in a fellowship gathering for women and a need for ministry occurred. Some were praying for a mother and some for her newborn baby. The anointing was so strong on the one praying for the baby that it overflowed to me. I had a need only the Father knew of and by His Spirit He met it. He ministered to me in such a deep way.
I had never been able to truly open up to the Father’s love. There seemed to be a fortress between the Lord and my inner spirit. Through the special level of love that He had for that small child, He met my need for love. He ministered to me deeply giving me such peace and confidence in knowing that I was truly His, and it didn’t matter what others thought of me. I was going to receive God’s ministry no matter what it may have appeared to others.
We are all very unique, truly a one-of-a-kind, and are very important in the kingdom of God. God loves us for who we are and where we are in Him. We don’t need to hide that from anyone any longer. So I encourage you to love and accept yourself where you are in the Lord. Be assured this day that God will complete the perfect work He began in you.
Be bold, be strong, for the Lord thy God is with you. Be not afraid and be not dismayed. Walk in faith and victory for the Lord thy God is with you (1 Chron 28:20).
ASPIRATION FOR A SUFFERING SERVANT
Chapter Fourteen
The title of this chapter came to me in the middle of the night. Even though I didn’t know the meaning of the word “aspiration.” I sought the Lord to see if this was of Him. As I pressed in for revelation of this word’s deep meaning, I shared my desire for understanding with a dear sister in the Lord. All this works together, and I want you to catch the vision that lies within this whole incident.
The Father has impressed me to seek out intimate relationships with those in the body of Christ. This has been a difficult mission, although you wouldn’t think it would be. Since we are all brothers and sisters in the Lord, you would think this same longing for intimacy is easily accessible, but it is not. I encourage you that the benefits of seeking spiritual intimacy with others are great. You will be deeply rewarded by the Father for this attempt.
My close sister in the Lord and I have been faithful to make various efforts to get quiet before the Lord together. We allow Him to work between us and in our hearts to prepare us for our ministries. We did not feel any major breakthroughs, but we did not judge our efforts by feelings. We stood by faith in knowing that because we were pleasing God in doing this, He would bless our efforts. This has only been the beginning of our intimate relationship and already the Spirit of God is flowing between us.
When we were apart for two days, the Lord deeply ministered to us using the same two verses without each of us knowing it, one for each day. The Lord really touched our hearts. When we came back together, we were able to share the revelation that God gave to each of us. The Lord revealed the Word to us adding more and more deep truths to a scripture we did not see much in before. Even though the passage had been dear to our hearts for a long time, we did not have a deep understanding of it. As a result, I was able to write this chapter, and I feel a major change in my heart already.
I am sure many are going through a time in their lives where it feels like they have lost wind in their sails. Through all the storms and turmoil, some may have lost sight of the vision that the Lord gave them years ago. Some may have experienced battle fatigue because the enemy was allowed to rob them of precious intimacy with the Father. Some may have gotten off track and allowed themselves to believe in a works type of mentality, only to find their efforts were in vain, resulting in mental and physical fatigue.
Yes, this is happening all around us in the body of Christ and many are becoming hurt, wounded, and just plain burned-out! The enemy is determined to rob us of being intimate with our Lord, resulting in all this bad fruit. But Church, don’t give up! The Lord promises that all things work for good for those who love Him. God allows the dry times in our lives, and if we are faithful to press in for His refreshing, all the more glory to the Father when we finally break through.
The Lord is faithful to restore hope and vision and to edify us through His Word. By His Spirit, He will give us a second wind, position our feet upon solid ground, and give us a new beginning. He wants to give us a fresh new start, but we have to be willing to take the first step. Respond to His calling, “Come close to Me,” no matter how tired or depressed you may feel. Cry out for more grace to enable you to overcome this draught from the enemy.
When you finally do take the first step to draw close to Him, be patient with Him when it appears you are getting no where. The Lord wants to see your faithfulness in trusting Him through this. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb 11:6). I want to refer you to Psalm 42:1. King David portrayed here the example of one who was in desperate need for the presence of the Lord. He cried out unto the Father “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God”. “You alone are my heart’s desire, and I long to worship Thee” needs to be the cry of our heart to the Lord. Yes, this heart’s desire is so pleasing to the Lord.
Sometimes we have allowed activities in our lives to take precedence in us and have become satisfied with receiving a little breakthrough into His presence here and there. If so, then I assure you because of the love of the Father; He will bring us to a place where we are desperately longing for His intimate touch. All of a sudden, we realize that without His sustenance, which is from His Word and intimate presence, that life is a complete empty nothingness. All is done in vain outside of the presence of the Lord.
Because He loves you, the Lord will allow you to go only so far before bringing chastisement upon you to show that outside of the Vine you will die (John 15:1-5). Without the flow of God’s love in your life, all the fruit of the Spirit will dry up, and you will fall into more and more sin (Gal 5:22-23). Because He loves you, He will not allow this to continue; He will pour out His love and mercy upon you and restore you unto Himself. He promises that the elect will not become deceived (Matt 24:22,24). In other words, He will not allow you to stay deceived in thinking you can make it on your own. We need to draw close to Him daily, continuously throughout each day, so that His presence becomes a way of life.
As we wait upon the Lord, He promises to renew our strength and to cause us to mount up with wings as eagles (Isa 40:31). We are to soar in Him high above all principality and power (Eph 1:20-21). He is there to restore vision and to build hope and expectancy of good things to come (Jer 29:11). He will get you so stirred up in your spirit; you will feel like you are going to bust if you aren’t able to share with others all that He is blessing you with. As we come before him, He will breathe upon you new strength and place in your heart the desire to go after the goal that He has set before you. He will definitely put new wind in your sails. Halleluia!
“Deep calleth unto deep at the sound of thy waterspouts” (Psa 42:7, KJV). This is a representation of the aspirations He wants to place in your heart, for He is faithful! “All Your waves and billows have gone over me” (Psa 42:7). This portrays the waterfall effect that comes after the waterspouts (breakthroughs during times of intimacy with the Lord) intensify in your spirit.
This is where I want to share with you an awesome revelation that I received from the Lord. As we are faithful to come before the Lord in intimacy, we are going to have breakthroughs into His presence. These are going to intensify as we continue to draw closer to Him. The overflow of the waterspout effect is going to be so great that it will become like a waterfall in us. The strength of this breakthrough is going to break loose any barrier or bondage in our spirits. This will cause the river of God’s love to bust loose. This is the overflow of His Spirit we are desperately crying out for. This will result in a mighty revival! It all begins with one who is faithful to break through, then two together, and so on, until the flow of His love will touch communities, cities, states, nations, and so on!
As I said before, it all starts with one who is so dry and thirsty for the Lord. The deep within him cries out to the Deep within God. The Lord longs for our presence more than you could ever imagine. His pull for us is so mighty that all we need to do is to respond to His drawing, and He will do the rest. The closer we draw, the greater anointing causes a breakthrough in our spirits. Each time it will intensify resulting in personal revival. Halleluia, the river of God, His love is free to flow!
Be faithful to press in for the overflow and rejoice that the river of God is here! It is within us, and the Word of God will accomplish all that it has set out to do (Isa 55:10-11). We are vessels of this river. We can honestly confess His Word and praise Him that there is a River of Life flowing out through us! It makes the lame to walk and the blind to see (Luke7:22). It opens prisons doors and sets the captives free. There is a River of Life flowing out through us! (John 7:38). Spring up, O well, within my soul!) (John 4:14).
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Section Seven of Book