(Part 3 – continued from the same day)

The Abomination that Causes Desolation

Speaking of Ezekiel 33 (which refers to the blood being on our hands if we do not give warning), during this recent season of intense seeking, He gave BOTH of us (separately) this passage again ON THE SAME MORNING.

Though He gave the whole chapter, He especially emphasized 21-33 to Jesse.

And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, that one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has been captured!” Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.

 

The Cause of Judah’s Ruin

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “Son of man, they who inhabit those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. But we are many; the land has been given to us as a possession.’  “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “You eat meat with blood, you lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land? You rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and you defile one another’s wives. Should you then possess the land?”’ “Say thus to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “As I live, surely those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and the one who is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and caves shall die of the pestilence. For I will make the land most desolate, her arrogant strength shall cease, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through. Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.”’ 

 

 Hearing and Not Doing

“As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them (they do not put them into practice); for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them (they do not put them into practice). And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.” 

(On the same day, He gave New Testament passages also speaking to the phenomenon of believers being deceived by equating hearing/knowing the truth with doing it – James 1). Deeply sobering.

This reminded me that in 2011, I believed the Lord may have been showing me a profound revelation through this passage. Though people have various opinions about the prophetic “abomination that causes desolation” in the temple, let’s bring this down to a personal level. We must remember that in the New Covenant, we individually, and collectively as His church, are His temple. Though there may still be a literal temple to come in Jerusalem where the abomination of an idol will be set up within, I believe He was showing me that any time His people set up “idols”, sin, in our own hearts and lives (or as the church collective), this is an abomination that will cause desolation in our personal lives if we do not repent. As Ezekiel 33 shows, the same can hold true for a nation when God’s people (and the nation as a whole) turn from Him and set up the abomination of sin/idols in their lives. If not corrected, this is an abomination that will cause desolation for a nation.

Another passage He gave said that if we do not continue to speak the truth to the people that x, y, and z are going to happen ~ listing horrific, unimaginable things that one might only expect if our nation was overthrown by our adversaries in war.

Though He is definitely saying that it is vital that His people not back down from speaking and standing for the truth, the message of “circumcision” means we must remove any “flesh” surrounding our approach to doing so. We saw many complaints about this very thing this past week in the firestorm surrounding the popular Christian TV personality whose views resulted in his suspension from his highly rated show. We haven’t seen the show or read the alleged interview, but according to the comments we’ve seen from some, it’s possible this was a very recent and relevant public demonstration of this. Many are thankfully supporting him for His boldness to speak the truth of God’s Word, but many have also mentioned that they wish he would have phrased certain things differently. Again, God is calling for His people to “circumcise,” removing the “flesh” from the approach, but not to “castrate,” cutting off the truth that is essential for us to fulfill our purpose.

As the II Chronicles 29 passage emphasizes – He is urging His people not to be negligent now. We must consecrate ourselves as His priests who are set apart for Him, carry the filth out of the innermost parts of the temple (our lives and the collective church), and fully resume His service.

He is repeating the messages that He has given us the power to do this through His total victory over the enemy and that His grace/power is MORE THAN ENOUGH to enable us to overcome and walk free from the tyranny, bondage, and shackles of any sin.

Lastly, in order for us to rise up and fulfill His purposes and plans, He is also continuing to stress the necessity that the church believe and live in the fullness of the truth that He is here with us, IN US, through His Holy Spirit to empower us to do the SAME THINGS that He did when He was here in the flesh, and even GREATER THINGS. We must come into the fullness of the gifts (His power) AND the fruit (His character) of the Spirit in these last days. We continue to pray all will have the greatest possible knowledge of the Lord and all He has done for us as heart revelation which produces life transformation and covenant manifestation in every area of our lives! May God’s priests consecrate ourselves, clean out the temple, resume His service, and see the church and nation turned fully back to Him!

 …So the service of the temple of the LORD was reestablished. Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly.II Chronicles 29:35-36  

Copyright © 2013, Laura Jewell Tyree

(Part 2 – continued from same day)

Overcoming a “Mute” Spirit

Part of the course correction He brought us through the Jonah-storm seeking was again the message that if we (and the church) do not continue to speak the truth to people about their sin and the necessity of repentance that we will be held guilty as well.

Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the LORD, the God of their fathers. He appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah. He told them, “Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for man but for the LORD, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. Now let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Judge carefully, for with the LORD our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.” In Jerusalem also, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites, priests and heads of Israelite families to administer the law of the LORD and to settle disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem. He gave them these orders: “You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the LORD.  In every case that comes before you from your fellow countrymen who live in the cities–whether bloodshed or other concerns of the law, commands, decrees or ordinances–you are to warn them not to sin against the LORD; otherwise his wrath will come on you and your brothers. Do this, and you will not sin (or “be guilty”). “Amariah the chief priest will be over you in any matter concerning the LORD, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the leader of the tribe of Judah, will be over you in any matter concerning the king, and the Levites will serve as officials before you. Act with courage, and may the LORD be with those who do well.“ II Chronicles 19:4-11 

This is yet another confirmation of the consistent message He has given for several years in speaking to us about a “mute spirit” ~ warning us that the blood of the people is on our hands if we do not continue to boldly speak the truth in love, regardless of the response or consequence. I know some may have objected to these kinds of statements in the past, believing that the concept of blood being on the silent watchman’s hands is only an Old Covenant truth (Ezekiel 33). Please understand this is not the case. When we asked the Lord about this, He showed us that this is still true under the New Covenant.

Therefore I testify and protest to you on this [our parting] day that I am clean and innocent and not responsible for the blood of any of you. For I never shrank or kept back or fell short from declaring to you the whole purpose and plan and counsel of God. Take care and be on guard for yourselves and the whole flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you bishops and guardians, to shepherd (tend and feed and guide) the church of the Lord or of God which He obtained for Himself [buying it and saving it for Himself] with His own blood. I know that after I am gone, ferocious wolves will get in among you, not sparing the flock; Even from among your own selves men will come to the front who, by saying perverse (distorted and corrupt) things, will endeavor to draw away the disciples after them [to their own party]. Therefore be always alert and on your guard, being mindful that for three years I never stopped night or day seriously to admonish and advise and exhort you one by one with tears. Acts 20:26-31

He has continued to repeatedly emphasize that His kind of love is willing to sacrifice itself, laying down its own life for the sake of others, and that He’s asking His people to demonstrate this self-sacrificial love, in part, by continuing to speak the truth in love, no matter how hostile people become to it, so that as many as will hear and believe can be spared. Right now for many, this hostility may only mean verbal persecution, misunderstanding, false accusation, gossip and slander, loss of reputation, relationships, or possibly even business. But for many before us, and in other parts of the world, it has meant physical persecution, imprisonment, and even death. He has continued to stress that this kind of pressure reveals the true level of each one’s faith in Him and commitment to Him. Are we willing to pay any price and endure any persecution or hardship to follow Him, stay true to His Word, and do His will? Will we remain faithful to Him no matter how unpopular that becomes or will we shrink back and run in hard times when our faith comes with a high personal cost? He has repeatedly told us we must not shrink back (Heb 10:32-39). (No matter what the enemy brings against us to stop us, God is able to use all in our own refining and crucifixion process – exposing the things that still need to die and be purged from our own lives.)

He also brought the 2012 posts about Pilate back to our attention to re-emphasize this theme, reminding us that Pilate was only willing to stand by Jesus when it was convenient for him. But when it was going to cost him something, he gave the people the lawless one they were demanding and handed Jesus over to be killed. Though we were still willing to speak, He revealed we were once again yielding to the “mute spirit” He’d identified to us in the past. This was due to paralyzing confusion from the spiritual warfare surrounding the circumcision process as we continued to try to discern His true correction from the false accusation of the enemy. I know the enemy has tried to put a muzzle over the mouths of many others as well.

to be continued…

In the last note (Signs of the End parts 1 and 2), I mentioned some things that we ultimately decided not to include in that post. We cut them out not only to shorten the note, but also because of our concern that some of the analogies God had given us could seem too graphic to some and we weren’t certain He wanted us to share those details publicly yet.

Since that time we’ve been astounded by confirmations He has given. In the past weeks these have also included reference to some of the quite graphic terms He’d been speaking to us through, once again providing unmistakable, undeniable confirmations that we could not dismiss or ignore.

I mentioned in the last note how God has continued to strongly emphasize the necessity of repentance for the church. Several months ago He gave us II Chronicles 29 (below), the book of Amos (quickening, among others, 5:4 and 6:1 which I posted last week – Woe to Those Who Are Complacent – Seek the Lord and Live), and the account of Hezekiah turning his face to the wall to cry out for mercy and more time (II Kings 20, Isaiah 38). As we began to cry out to the Lord about this, He led me to check a prophetic friend’s page (Wander) that I had not checked in a LONG time. When I went to her page, we were OVERWHELMED to see that she had just posted a short paragraph which referred to ALL THREE of these exact same accounts from Scripture! This undeniable confirmation launched us into a more intense season of seeking.

 In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the LORD and repaired them. He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side  and said: “Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the LORD, the God of your fathers. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. [sanctify (purify and make free from sin) yourselves and the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth from the Holy Place. (AMP)] Our fathers were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the LORD our God and forsook him. They turned their faces away from the LORD’s dwelling place and turned their backs on him. They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel. Therefore, the anger of the LORD has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes. This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity.

 

Now I intend to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us. My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister before him and to burn incense.”  Then these Levites set to work: ….  When they had assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves, they went in to purify the temple of the LORD, as the king had ordered, following the word of the LORD.  The priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the Lord’s house. And the Levites carried it out to the brook Kidron. (AMP)   They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and by the eighth day of the month they reached the portico of the LORD. For eight more days they consecrated the temple of the LORD itself, finishing on the sixteenth day of the first month. Then they went in to King Hezekiah and reported: “We have purified the entire temple of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table for setting out the consecrated bread, with all its articles. We have prepared and consecrated all the articles that King Ahaz removed in his unfaithfulness while he was king. They are now in front of the LORD’s altar.“ … II Chronicles 29:3-19 

Here is part of what the Lord spoke to us during that time (and earlier in the year):

In order for His “temple” (ourselves, individually and collectively as His church) to be returned to what He intended it to be, the priests (which we all are in Christ) must carry the filth out of even the innermost rooms of the “temple” (our individual lives and then the church collectively) and consecrate it (ourselves) again for Him and His service.

This level of cleaning out “the house” that He’s calling for is not merely the surface cleaning that most are accustomed to, but deep cleaning of hard to reach and out of sight places. Thankfully, many still repent from sins they are still able to feel the Holy Spirit’s conviction for, which we are certainly called to do. But God is calling for a much deeper examination and accounting in His house ~ repentance from sins that we are no longer even aware of or sensitive to receiving His conviction about which are resident in our lives. Toward the beginning of this year, He began speaking to us about these kinds of sins in terms of “spiritual leprosy.” Just as physical leprosy, spiritual leprosy keeps us in exile from His will and purposes for our lives. Also like physical leprosy, spiritual leprosy is characterized by desensitization ~ a loss of feeling to things we used to be sensitive to. This is the nature of tolerated sin. The Bible also refers to this desensitization as a searing of the conscience in certain areas, so that our conscience is no longer a reliable indicator or guide.

Though He has taken many of us as individuals, the church, and the nation through refining fires, He is still saying that in many cases these fires have failed to remove the impurities/toxicities/and dross (the spiritual disease and leprosy) within. This is NOT always the result of willful rebellion toward God from one who is purposefully choosing to stay in sin, but rather can be due to our desensitization to sin which causes us to be deceived in our hearts and no longer able to see our true condition. When we no longer feel the Spirit’s conviction in an area because of this desensitization, rather than repenting, the deep deposits of impurities fail to be successfully purged/refined/ and removed.

Therefore, He has been calling us as individuals, a church, and a nation to cry out for wisdom that our hope will not be cut off and for understanding that we may live, to draw as close to Him as possible, seeking Him with all our hearts, crying out to Him to cause us to see, hear, perceive, and understand ~ to recognize and face the truth about these areas in our lives so that we are not deceived. This seeking requires a posture of TOTAL surrender ~ willing to lay anything on the altar of sacrifice that He reveals.

God’s messages meant for the whole body hit those He asks to deliver it before they go elsewhere; we must eat them before serving them to others. As in Scripture, though His words can taste sweet in our mouths (symbolizing that it’s awesome to hear from the Lord), they can turn bitter in our stomachs (when we begin to digest what He’s saying). So we have gone through an intense season of seeking and crying out in response to this message. While we never want to err on the side of failing to apply His messages first to ourselves, He has had to show us the danger on the opposite extreme of becoming so introspective with what He has showed us that the message stops with us and never makes it through us.

This message He’s given can also be connected to the necessary “circumcision” process that He began talking to us about in January of this year. In route to our Promised Land, He showed us that once we have left the wilderness and “crossed the Jordan,” just like the Israelites, He requires that we stop at “Gilgal” to circumcise ourselves and heal before we proceed to take possession of the land. As I’m sure any man would acknowledge, circumcision is a delicate and intricate process demanding DISCERNMENT and PRECISION. While we certainly do not want to undercorrect, leaving “flesh” intact that needs to be removed, neither do we want to overcorrect and cut away the parts that are essential to remain. This was a profound revelation for us as we’ve been walking through this process with the Lord, trying to discern exactly what He wanted cut and what was to be kept. At the beginning of May, when we believed He was telling us we were in a “Jonah” storm for “leaving our post” and failing to faithfully continue with our assignments, as we sought Him about this He told us that He had said “CIRCUMCISION – NOT CASTRATION” (sorry if these are shocking analogies, too graphic for some). If, in an attempt to cut off and discard excess “flesh” surrounding the fulfillment of our assignments, we inadvertently also cut off what is essential, it leaves us impotent and unable to fulfill the purpose for which we were created. God is calling His people to cry out for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding so that He can help us begin to see with precision exactly what should be cut and exactly what must be kept in order for us to effectively fulfill our purpose. The church individually and collectively must receive this revelation from the Lord in order to accurately discern, distinguish, separate, and divide the pure from the profane, the holy from the vile, the worthy from the worthless, the Spirit from the flesh, the truth from error, and God from the enemy.

References to “leprosy” through Ivan Tait, our pastor, and Robin Gatto, to “circumcision” from Robin, and to “castration” from our pastor in the past weeks have been astounding, beyond the shadow of a doubt confirmation and evidence to us that the Lord IS releasing this message to the body at this time. Though it could include MANY things, Ivan included in his list of “leprosy” ~ not being able to speak the things that God is calling us to speak (b/c of fear of man). (Though “leprosy” can also include offense, bitterness, strife, pride, selfishness, wrong motives, and any other thing that causes us to be spiritual diseased). Our pastor spoke of “castration” in terms of pastors who are no longer speaking truth to their congregations (in an effort to be politically correct).

This process prior to entering the promised land can also be likened to Jacob wrestling with God (Gen 32). When He calls us into this time of wrestling, He asks us our “name,” representing our character, thus causing us to face truth about ourselves. When we prevail in the struggle, not letting Him go until He blesses us, He will change our “name,” (character), so that we are prepared to go forward to fulfill our destiny.

to be continued…