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We
must be
full to
overflowing
with
the
Holy Spirit
for it
will be
the
anointing
drawing
to itself
that
abundance,
the
fullness
of
Himself!
~
Hope
Thou
In
God!
~
Hold fast
to your
confident
expectation
&
trust
in the
goodness
of God
&
in
His
power! |
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As I was enjoying the presence of the Lord, I heard the word "abundance."
God wants to show us, and to show the nations what He can do. We are
invited by our Marvelous King to pursue abundance in relation to every
area of life. This includes abundance in the area of our relationship with
Him, in the area of our anointings, in the area of seeing prayers
answered, of seeing souls born-again into the kingdom of God, of miracles
and healings, of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in manifestation and
operation, in joy unspeakable and full of glory, in strength, endurance,
peace, and in the apprehending of every good thing for every good work He
has ordained for us to accomplish. Fullness of abundance to over- flowing!
The song that went over and over in my mind as an
undercurrent to this Word of the Lord concerning abundance was, "Welcome,
Holy Spirit." If we are going to walk in the abundant life in which
God has called us, we must be full to overflowing with the Holy Spirit,
for it will be the anointing drawing to itself that abundance, the
fullness of Himself. There is an abundant harvest of souls out there ~
white, ripe, and ready to be gathered. They are waiting for you and they
are waiting for me.
God mentions the word abundance in relation to prayer
in the account of Hannah in the Book of First Samuel. Hannah had a great
desire to have a son, but the Lord had shut her womb. In that day it was
humiliating for women to be barren, for it was looked upon as a judgment
of God against sin.
She was also being sorely provoked by Peninnah, the other wife of her
husband, Elkanah. Peninnah is identified as Hannah's adversary, and 1
Samuel 1:6,10 tells us that, "...her adversary also provoked her sore, for
to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb...And she was in
bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore."
Being provoked has to do with being disturbed, grieved,
and agitated ~ it causes you to become distracted, to look away from your
focus because your heart is being stirred to heed something else.
To fret means literally to be bound. We have all put up
with things at one time or another. Sometimes it takes provocation to
cause us to be stirred to action. As Hannah had an adversary, so we too
have an adversary, the devil, who seeks to use people, places, and things
to provoke us.
One day we wake up, and determine that we have "had it"
and we are not going to put up with it this way anymore! Our provocateurs
have become an instrument to cause us to rise up and take hold of God's
blessings!
In this we know that it has not been God holding the
blessing back, but the enemy is holding it back and "something" has to
give way before the blessings of God can come through. That "something" is
really someone ~ you and I ~ taking hold of the horns of the altar, as it
were. God is asking His people, "Do you really mean business about this
thing?"
Hannah became provoked to action. That action took the form of her praying
as verse 16 records, she poured out her soul, turning to God with all her
might "...out of the abundance of my complaint and grief...." Nothing
happened until Hannah prayed. She did not turn on Peninnah, but she turned
to God and He responded by releasing abundance to her by granting her
desire and bringing forth Samuel, who became a mighty leader for Israel!
God is in the business of moving upon us with
compassion and giving us the desire for which we seek Him! As it is
written in Psalms 37:4 the Lord says, "If you delight yourself in Me, I
will give you the desires of your heart." That means He puts the desires
of His own heart within us, causes us to yearn after them, and grants them
to us!
Hannah had a great desire, and as she pressed in to God
in prayer, He gave her the desire of her heart. If we are going to walk in
God's abundance, truly we are going to have to spend time in prayer like
Hannah.
Hannah persevered in prayer in such intensity,
characterized by this over- powering and compelling earnest prayer, that
the priest mistook her for a drunk. God's kingdom, and abundant life does
not come with observation, as Jesus said. The righteous "take by force"
that which the enemy has held back.
To live an abundant life, we must be able to live above
the storms of our circumstances, and attain to the peace that passes
understanding which God has provided for you and for me. Jeremiah 33:6
speaks of the Lord revealing to His people abundance, peace, and truth (so
we must also be a people who lack pretense and operate in the realm of
abundance of truth). Jeremiah 33:9 describes how all will hear of God's
goodness to us. When this happens, fear and trembling will come upon
people far and near as they witness the abundance of God's blessings
outpoured upon His people.
Everything that caused captivity must go! That is
abundance, too. This happens as we call upon the Lord, and He answers us
as Jeremiah 33:3,27 records, "Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and
show thee great and mighty things that ye know not of.... I am the Lord,
the God of all flesh, is there anything too hard for Me?" There is nothing
too hard for the Lord. Nothing.
In Christ, we exercise our authority as we are led by
God's Spirit. I was led to turn on the television one day at 12:10 pm. As
I heard someone sharing an opinion that expressed the heart of the enemy
for our nation, I stood in front of that television and put my hands on
the screen declaring, "You are a weapon against righteousness, truth, and
justice in this nation. That of which you speak will not prosper. I
condemn the words that are coming out of your mouth. Those words will not
stand and they will not prevail in Jesus' Name. That is my right and my
inheritance as the righteousness of Christ Jesus. In Jesus' Mighty Name,
power and authority." I turned the television off. It was 12:20 pm, and I
simply went back to what I was doing.
Job 22:28 tells us, "You shall decree a thing," not
your pastor, not your mama, not your aunt, not your wife, not your husband
~ but you shall decree a thing, "...and it shall be established for you,
and light shall shine upon your ways."
As abundance and prayer are found together in the
Bible, so too are abundance and giving. First Chronicles Chapter 29
records David's prayer, which is so beautiful to me, "How can we give You
anything? You have given it all to us in the first place." Is this not so?
Then we should in faith and thanksgiving to God, give to His kingdom with
gladness!
First Chronicles 29:21-25 describes the prosperity of the reign of
Solomon. We see in verse 21 that the burnt offerings and sacrifices
offered to the Lord in abundance for all Israel released God's abundant
blessings. Abundant sacrifices preceded the ascension of Solomon to the
throne, and exceedingly great prosperity characterized the reign of
Solomon! Verse 23 says that he "...sat on the throne.... And he
prospered." I saw again ~ as we function in our kingly anointing in
Christ, we cannot separate abundance from anointing.
During the history of the kings when there was no
giving according to the command of the Lord, every kind of evil thing was
happening among God's people. King Joash understood that if the priests
did not receive from the people, God could not give to the people because
God does not violate the law of sowing and reaping. So we rejoice when
people give abundantly, because we know they cannot out give God.
Joy always broke out where people were able to give.
People are sad when they don't give, they draw back from the Lord.
God has put a call and mantle on my life for the
nations and for this nation. They burn in my heart, and I see God's hand
upon not only Israel and America, but upon the nations. We are in the day
of God's "suddenlies." It may have been one way for a long time, but God's
"suddenlies" cause a change in one day that make all things as new ~ never
to be the same again.
In First Kings Chapter 18, Elijah became fed up because
God was fed up. We are in a time when God is fed up with evil, and He is
going to use the spirit of Elijah upon His people. They are going to pray
and destroy the works of the devil as Elijah destroyed the prophets of
Baal. One prophet of God was responsible for 850 prophets of Baal being
overthrown. Numbers is not the issue. God says He will save a whole nation
if He can find just one to stand in the gap.
In 1 Kings 18:41 Elijah said to Ahab, "You better get
up and eat and drink for I hear an abundance of rain." By faith he
heard an abundance of rain though there had been a drought for many years,
and he released that abundance through prayer. This abundance is symbolic
of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It matters only that God is coming
suddenly upon the Church of America, and the United States of America, and
we are going to be in position to do what is necessary!
Isaiah 56:7 speaks of God's intention to bring His
people to His holy mountain. When a mountain is not named in the Bible, it
is referring to God's people going up into the presence of God, on the
mount of God in intimate communion. His divine order for our lives begins
to come upon us and upon the things that concern us. God's direction for
every area of our living begins to flow in a blessed oneness with Himself,
and with a spirit of generosity we, with all confidence and joy, pursue
with holy passion the Christ and the things of Christ, earnestly desiring
to see Him magnified and lifted up in our families, our communities, our
nation, and the nations.
Isaiah declares that God's people are made joyful as
they experience the richness of His presence through prayer. This living
communion with God has everything to do with abundance! We are beginning
to come into the experience of the awesome things for which we have
prayed, and the awesome things we have dreamed about
...we were
like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our
tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done
great things for them. The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we
are glad.
Psalms 126:1b-3
So hold fast to your confident expectation with absolute trust in the
goodness of God, and in His power! For He is able to do "...exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that
worketh in us..." (Ephesians 3:20), as we "...by practice of patient
endurance and waiting are [now] inheriting the promises" (Hebrews 6:12
The Amplified Bible). |
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