Freedom House Church and Healing Centre

GOD IS ON THE MOVE!

These are exciting times!  Prayers that we have been praying for a long time are being answered.  There is fruit resulting from persevering in faith, obedience and pressing into Jesus!  These are times to expect the unexpected!

Read this Word from my blog January 2, 2022.  I have included the scripture references that are part of this Word.  I encourage you to read them.

A Word for the Church of Jesus Christ- “More Darkness-More Light”

Before you read this Word, pay attention to the words of Jesus in Mk 4:21-25 NLT.

At the beginning of December, while in prayer, I heard the Word, “MORE”.  In asking the Lord what He is saying to the church, this is what I heard-

“There will be more evil, more deception, more trials, challenges, testing and tribulations.  There will be more persecution.  There will be more intense battle”, says the Lord.

Church, this is what Jesus has said-Lk 12:32 NKJV; Mt 24:4-6 NKJV; Mt 11:12 NKJV

To the true church of Jesus Christ, “Ask for more!” says the Lord.  “The more you ask and seek, the more you will find.  The more you use what I have given you, the more you will be given.” says the Lord.

“So that, as there is more darkness, there will be more light”, says the Lord.

WE NEED MORE OF JESUS!

“Church, ask for and seek more wisdom and revelation, more discernment, more perseverance and more faith. Be more watchful, more steadfast and more obedient.  Put into practice more of the ‘one another’s especially the command to love and encourage one another. 

As you ask for, seek and receive more of these things, there will be more repentance, more refining, more maturity and more holiness.

Ask and seek and more will be given to you-more boldness, more opportunity, more power and more authority-more demonstration of My kingdom!”, says the Lord!

“So that, as there is more darkness, there will be more light”, says the Lord.

2 Thess 2:13-17 A FINAL EXHORTATION & PRAYER-Stand Fast!

 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Rev 2:7a NKJV)

This word is being fulfilled!!!  As we have been asking and seeking for more, we have been receiving more wisdom and revelation, more discernment, more perseverance and more faith.  We have been more watchful, more steadfast and more obedient.  As a result, there has been more repentance, more refining, more maturity and more holiness.  We have been given more boldness, more opportunity, more power and more authority and have witnessed more of His kingdom here on earth.  Recently there were 3 salvations in one week!  There has been healings and people getting free!

If you haven’t noticed, the enemy is not happy!!! 

However, we are not unaware of the enemy’s schemes! (2 Co 2:11)

A charge to the church of Jesus Christ!

“Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that are ruining the vineyards, while our vineyards are in blossom.” (Song of Solomon 2:15 NASB)

I’m not sure why the foxes are described as ‘little’ in the Word.  Perhaps it is because foxes are relatively small and cute and don’t appear to cause much damage.  After I read about foxes, how they operate and how damaging they are, I understand how crucial it is that they get identified, caught (captured, seized, apprehended) and removed from our individual lives and from the church as a whole.   The New Living Translation of the bible says catch all the foxes, those little foxes, BEFORE they ruin the vineyard.

This is what I learned about how foxes destroy a vineyard?

Foxes come out from their dens and tunnels mainly at night where their destruction cannot be seen.  Their dens and tunnels are burrowed under vineyards or gardens where there is a food source.  This network of underground tunnels damages the integrity of the ground.  The foxes also damage the garden’s root systems by their chewing and digging. The garden may not only fall in on itself but the fruit or vegetables will be destroyed because the root systems aren’t getting nourishment to the fruit.  Initially everything looks great in the garden however, after time, the damage done beneath the surface begins to visibly impact what others see on the vineyard’s surface.  If they go unchecked, foxes will attract other pests and rodents like mice, rats, bugs and insects which eat the dying fruit and the leaves of the vines.  Foxes are an invasive species for a vineyard or garden and must be caught and removed before they ruin the vineyard!

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­In the Word, the church is referred to as a vineyard (Jer 12:10; Mt 21:41). I think you can now see why it is so important to identify, catch and remove the little foxes individually and corporately as the church.  There are many little foxes.  I will share those that God has highlighted to me that I believe we need to pay particular attention to in this season.

1. Sinful thoughts and desires must be identified and immediately dealt with. Conformity with the world, pursuits which waste time or believing lies. Lies that are not quickly identified and taken captive to the truth can lead to deception. These, and many more, are little foxes which must be removed.  Whatever hinders us from living godly, holy lives we must put away. 

The Word gives us direction on how to identify and remove these little foxes:

• Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is anywicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Ps 139:23-24 NKJV)
• Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us,and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. (Heb 12:1 NKJV) 
• Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Ti 2:22 NKJV)

Ask Holy Spirit to reveal the little foxes that will hinder His moving in power and demonstrating the kingdom of God through His church, lay aside anything that hinders our progress, particularly every form of sin and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace.

1. Lusts of the Flesh: We are exhorted in the Word to, Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace (Eph 4:3 NLT). I encourage you to read my blog called Keep Yourselves United in the Spirit! (March 13, 2022). I pray that as you read this Word you will be able to identify any little foxes that need to removed.  Little foxes that are intruding in your relationships and causing havoc and ruining the fruit of love, peace and joy!

The following is one paragraph from the blog to help you get started-

“Let’s look at the enemies of unity and harmony.  What is the greatest enemy of unity in the Spirit?  I think that most people would say satan, right?  No, not satan.  We need to not be so quick to blame the devil for everything.  The biggest enemy of unity in the Spirit is the flesh!  Paul exhorts us in Gal 1:16 to walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  The works of the flesh are listed in Gal 5:19-21 among which are hatred (hostility), contentions (quarreling), jealousies, and outbursts of wrath (anger), selfish ambitions, dissensions (discord, strife, conflict, contention) and heresies.  I think you will agree that these works of the flesh result in disunity and disharmony.  The enemy then comes in on the flesh causing division and deception!  Unforgiveness and offence are also huge hindrances to unity and harmony within the body of Christ.”

Let’s make every effort to deal with the little foxes that want to destroy the fruit of loving relationships before the enemy comes in like flood causing outright division!

1. Jealousy is another little fox that must be quickly identified, caught and removed quickly! We are to be jealous FOR one another not of one another. I wrote about this in my blog called I am Zealous For My House!  Are You? (January 30, 2022) and I encourage you to read it also.
2. Then there is the religious spirit. It is not a little fox! It is a demon!  It seeks to destroy the kingdom of God, substituting religious activity for the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  It is invasive and if it is not identified and removed can take down a church, stop progress, ruin the fruit, and rob us of the excitement, peace and joy and expectation of what God is doing.  There are warning signs that indicate this spirit is operating in an individual or a church.  I think that the warning signs are the little foxes.  I might be wrong about this.  What I do know is that the religious spirit is an enemy of the cross of Jesus Christ, what He has accomplished and who He is.  It is an enemy of the church of Jesus Christ seeking to destroy everything God wants to accomplish in and through her!  The religious spirit must be identified and removed from our individual lives and from the church.

I encourage you to read the book “Overcoming the Religious Spirit” by Rick Joyner.  Some of the warning signs of a religious spirit include:

• Inability to accept a rebuke, especially from those they judge to be less spiritual than themselves and have an “I will not listen to people, but only to God” attitude. This is spiritual pride.
• Inclined to see more of what is wrong with other people, other churches, etc., than what is right with them.
• A sense that they are closer to God than other people, or that their lives or ministries are more pleasing to Him and will be encouraged when their ministries look better than others.
• Taking pride in their spiritual maturity and discipline, especially as compared to others.
• A mechanical prayer life.
• Doing things in order to be noticed by people.
• Will glory more in what God did in the past than in what He is doing in the present.
• Tendency to be suspicious of, or to oppose, new movements, churches, etc.
• Unable to join anything that they do not deem perfect or nearly perfect.

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (2 Tim. 3:1-7 NKJV)

Church of Jesus Christ!  Let’s get serious about this charge to catch all the foxes, the little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard.  Ask Holy Spirit to help us to identify the little foxes so that they can be caught and removed so that we can continue to walk in the power of Holy Spirit displaying all of His fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control) and demonstrating the kingdom of God to a world that needs Jesus! Let’s continue to be excited about what God is doing!  Expecting the unexpected! Seeing this Word from the Lord continuing to be fulfilled-MORE DARKNESS-MORE LIGHT!

I will leave you with this scripture from 1 Peter as an exhortation, encouragement and prayer.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:8-11 NKJV)

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Rev 2:7 NKJV)