follow up to Note 3 – “Are You Full Of It?”:
After I wrote part 3 – “Are You Full of It,” I thought, “Really God? Did we just go from a message about demon possession, to the church’s need to walk in Your Power, back to the message of repentance?” Before I could post it, I wanted to make sure this was really what HE was asking me to say and not just my own thoughts leading me back here.
I began receiving confirmations of this theme immediately, tying it back to the theme of “binding and loosing” from the first note.
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excerpts from JHM devo – February 5, 2014
“…There is no such thing as absolute freedom. … To most young people, freedom means liberation from the restraints of their parents. … They want the freedom of an adult and the responsibilities of a child. This quest for freedom without responsibility is repeated millions of times every year by people of all ages. … They are free from all discipline, restraint and responsibility—or so they think. … There is no freedom until we are bound to something greater than ourselves. Only when we are willing to say, “Make me Your captive, Lord,” will we know true freedom. …” (Copyright, John Hagee Ministries)
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Though we typically associate the message of “binding and loosing” to refer to “binding” the enemy and “loosing” the power of God (and loosing people from the devil’s works), I was intrigued to see the Lord was continuing this theme by making the application of how His people must be “bound” to Him. When I read this, He brought back to mind things He spoke several years ago about how true freedom can only be found within the boundaries of His Word ~ and that every other illusion of “freedom” outside of His boundaries only leads us back into captivity (spiritually and physically). We must be bound to Him and live within the BOUNDaries of His Word in order to remain free ~ both spiritually and naturally.
The next day, I was further intrigued to see that He continued the theme with the KCM devo ~ this one brought additional confirmations through references of being “bound,” “loosed,” and also about “yielding” to God.
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excerpts from February 6, 2014 – Loose Me and Let Me Go! (by Gloria Copeland)
Do you remember the account in John 11 of Jesus’ raising Lazarus from the dead? … when Jesus stood before the tomb, He called out, “Lazarus, come forth!” Sure enough, Lazarus came forth. But the Bible says he was still bound up. The grave clothes were wrapped around him. So Jesus said, “Loose him, and let him go!” That’s a good illustration of our situation. When we were born again, our spirit man came forth. We were born of God. But the self-centered habits we had acquired while living under the Law of Sin and Death were still in place. They still had us bound.
Well, Jesus wants the same thing for us that He wanted for Lazarus. He not only wants us alive, He wants us free! …When we walk in love, we step out of the natural realm into the supernatural. Nothing can hold us back anymore. But the grave clothes, those deadly habits of unforgiveness, impatience, irritation, selfishness, etc. have to go. Do you want to be free from the habits…that have you bound? Then…get into agreement with (Jesus) and say to each one of those deadly habits, “Loose me and let me go! I will go on with God. I refuse to be held down. … I put ______ behind me. I will go forward in the power and the glory of God..!” …For a born-again follower of Jesus, all it takes is a decision to yield to the force of love. After all, God has already placed it within you. … “Put on the new man created after God,” the Bible says (Ephesians 4:24). …Strip off those grave clothes and live the life He has called you to live. Dare to step into the supernatural. … Scripture Reading: Galatians 5:13-15 (Copyright, Copeland Ministries)
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That same day (2-6), the devo from Ed Traut was about abiding in the Vine from John 15. It emphasized how it takes conscious effort to maintain our relationship with the Lord, continuing in prayer and obedience to Him, and included this prayer ~ “Lord, help me to remain in you today and every day of my life. Help me to constantly put you first in my heart, my life, and decision making; to really, genuinely love you first and foremost. Amen.“
So, I believed the Lord was giving clear confirmations of things I felt He’d led me to write in note 3, but I still desired more. I was asking to be CERTAIN that it was not just ME causing this message to come back full circle to calling the church to repentance from idolatry/sin, as He’s asked us to since 2011. In response to our crying out for understanding about our calling in these past years, asking for crystal clarity about the message (and to help us see what should be cut ~ circumcised), He has clearly and dramatically confirmed numerous times that the message of repentance from sin is vital to our calling (and must not be castrated). In fact, when we have tried to castrate it and only speak other messages (due to confusion from spiritual warfare), we have come under chastisement from the Lord. So though I know He still wants us to speak that message, I needed to be sure that I wasn’t being a broken record, bringing yet another discussion back to replay this same subject again ~ unless the Lord was truly the One initiating it.
The next day He gave me a word based on Galatians 5. It talked in detail about the works of the flesh and about how those who practice these sins as their lifestyle will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Though the entire message was confirmation of things He’s spoken in the past years, I felt the words about “idolatry” in it were being highlighted by Him as the confirmation I needed for note 3. Through this He re-emphasized that idolatry is not just bowing down to images of wood, stone, or metal, but that we practice this sin when we give anything other than Him our first and greatest time, energy, attention, devotion, and love.
After that confirmation, I planned to post this Friday or Saturday, but I’m so thankful I didn’t get to it. Yesterday (Sunday), Jesse and I once again sat in awe as the Lord brought the kind of astounding confirmations that He is always so faithful to give as we continue seeking Him. As part of his new sermon series on the coming blood moon tetrad (mentioned in parts 1 and 2 of Signs of the End), our pastor talked about the church’s sin of “idolatry” and the necessity and urgency of repentance! Among other confirmations, He also talked about our liberty being contingent on living by God’s (eternal) moral law! We were so grateful for God’s goodness to bring such precise, undeniable confirmations again, letting us know that HE is truly still the One initiating that we speak these things, regardless of whether we sound like a broken record.
Though I thought the series would end here, due to some profound confirmations through a film we saw Sunday, I think it’s still to be continued …
Blessings and Prayers! (see note 4 – part 1 – “Destroy the Dragon and Take Back Your Home Land…” here)
© Laura Jewell Tyree
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Note 1 – “As it was in the days of Noah”
Note 2 – “When “Marvel” Meets Real Life ~ Get Your “Super” On”
Note 3 – Are You “Full of It”?
