Great Weakness = Great Power (Anointing)

I have seen so many people that have great weakness in their lives. Whether someone's weakness be lying, lust, stealing, addiction, adultery, gambling, pride, covetousness or envy (as well as many more)...every person is weak every day. I have personally been weak (and continue to be) in so many areas of my life that they cannot be counted. I am a former alcohol and drug addict who has habitually lied, usually out of deep desire to gain other's approval. I now see my children lying at times because they desperately want my approval, which I believe I give them liberally. I have been weak in the areas of keeping my word and being a faithful and trustworthy friend. I have been exploding with pride at times and almost crippled with fear at other times. The world might say that I am a "hot mess."

But aren't we all a hot mess if we are being honest with ourselves? Your weaknesses may be different than mine, but the truth is, we are all very weak in our own ways. The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. ALL. That includes you (and me). ALL includes world leaders, your children's teachers...ALL means ALL.

With this information, there are a couple of things we could do. We can sit down and just say "it will never be better, I'll always be a mess" or we can go to God and ask Him for wisdom on how our lives might become better, and we might overcome weakness and become stronger.

James 1:5 (KJV)

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally, and reproaches not; and it shall be given him."

As we study the scriptures of the Bible, what does God say about our weaknesses?

2 Corinthians 13:4 (KJV)

"For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you."

So we see that in great weakness, Jesus went to the cross to be crucified as the perfect sacrifice to make atonement for all the sins of the world - our weaknesses. He lives now by the power of God that raised Him from the dead, and so, although we are great in weaknesses, we live by the power of God's Spirit living in us and working toward our lives.

1 John 4:9 (KJV)

"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him."

God knew our weakness, the curse of sin in our lives...He knew we couldn't fix our own problems, or become strong through our own will. We needed power from God to overcome our weakness. This power came through God sending His only begotten Son Jesus to die for our sins, that we might live through Him.

Romans 6:4

"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that just as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

A few years ago, I was feeling especially frustrated with my own personal weaknesses and the weaknesses of those around me. I was feeling overwhelmed by the work of Satan in my life, and the consequences of sin in my life. I was feeling very heavy and sad, as if I would never overcome these problems. The LORD spoke into my spirit and said:

I want to tell you a secret of the kingdom of God. I want to tell you something that Satan does not want you to know. THE AREA OF YOUR GREATEST WEAKNESS IS ALSO THE AREA OF YOUR GREATEST POWER AND ANOINTING.

I thought about what the Lord was speaking to me. This truth settled into my spirit as I began to remember what the Bible says about this:

2 Samuel 3:38-39 (KJV)

"And the king said unto his servants, Know you not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel? And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me: the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness."

Here we see an anointed king of Israel declaring his weakness before God. He then states that the Lord will reward the evildoer - showing God's power to accomplish what the king of Israel could not do! If the king of Israel is weak and relies on God's power to accomplish great things, so should we!

2 Corinthians 12:6 (NLT)

"If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won't do it, because I don't want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

The Apostle Paul knew this secret of God's kingdom - weakness in our lives allows for God's great power to be shown in us. We are weak, but God is strong enough to overcome all our weakness. In our weakness, the power of Christ shines more brightly through our lives. People come to know that all have sinned, but God's glory is in the lives of His children through Jesus, not by our own works.

I know that you have weakness in your life. I know that you struggle. I do too. We can be sure that God does not look down on us in anger for our weakness, but instead it gives Him an opportunity to show off the great power and glory of His grace working through our lives.

May God bless you upon the hearing of His Word give you knowledge, understanding and wisdom in Jesus name!

Your sister in Christ,

Sarah

Christians and the Second Coming of Christ

I have heard Christians debate the issue of attempting to discern the signs of the times (eschatology). Are we supposed to be trying to know when Jesus will return, or are we just supposed to leave the issue alone and wait patiently? Some Christians really do not believe the second coming of Christ will be during their own lifetime, while others believe that Jesus could come back any second! What should we believe?

Let's look deeper into scripture to find the answers.

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. (Matthew 24:36 NKJV)

Father God knows when Jesus is coming back, nobody else does.

So is it wrong to discern the signs of the times trying to figure out when He will come?

"Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Matthew 24:42-44 NKJV)

Answer #1: WATCH for His coming!

Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” (Mark 13:33-37 NKJV)

Answer #2: While you watch, PRAY!

What happens to those who are not watching and doing God's will?

But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:48-51 NKJV)

Some will not be watching and some will...

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. (Matthew 25:1-13 NKJV)

With knowledge comes responsibility. We know that God wants Christians to watch, pray and be ready for His sudden return!

Answer #3: God gave us signs to discern that will encourage us to await Jesus' soon return!

Then He also said to the multitudes, “Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is. And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time? “Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? (Luke 12:54-57 NKJV)

WATCH, PRAY, DISCERN THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES - BE READY! BE FOUND WHEN HE RETURNS DOING HIS WILL.

How do we do His will? First put your complete faith in Jesus Christ as the only means of salvation that will pay the price and take the judgment for the sin in your life. Cry out in prayer to God and ask for His mercy on you through the sacrifice of Jesus.

But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above ) or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” (Romans 10:6-11 NKJV)

Second way to do His will - TELL OTHERS about salvation through Jesus Christ. All Christians are called to evangelize and make disciples.

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:19, 20 NKJV)

Be blessed and be ready in Jesus name!

Sarah

The Signs of the Times: What Happens Next?

Many people talk about seeing the "signs of the times." They see wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and nations have risen against other nations. Wars have been going on for centuries, as well as earthquakes and nations have been in conflict continually. The War to End All Wars really wasn't, and natural disasters have been common throughout time. What would make people believe that these are the last days on Earth spoken about in the Bible?

The chapter of Matthew 24 (in the Bible) is critical to understanding the signs of the times. The timeline that Jesus gave to His disciples of coming events in the world is as follows:

1.) The disciples of Jesus ask, "What will the signs of Your coming be? - They want to know the time of the "end of the age."
2.) Jesus begins to talk about spiritual deception happening with "false-christs" ("anti" in the Greek means 'instead of' rather than 'against')
3.) Jesus is warning his disciples about many people who come, calling themselves "christ", instead of the one true Savior. Their sole purpose on earth is to DECEIVE people.
4.) There are wars and rumors of wars, nations rising against nations, kingdoms against kingdoms, famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places.
5.) KEY POINT: directly after this statement, Jesus says "All these are the BEGINNING of sorrows."

So people scoff at these being the last days because all THESE things happen regularly on the earth. We have all these signs occurring in the world today - that is without question.

Moving on...

6.) Then THEY (assuming non-disciples of Christ) will deliver the children of God up to tribulation and kill them. We see this happening all over the world today. This is TRIBULATION, but not the GREAT TRIBULATION.
7.) Hatred begins for all believers in Christ - this too is happening all over the world.
8.) Many will be offended (because of the message of Jesus Christ being the only way to salvation)
9.) Men will betray each other.
10.) False prophets will rise up and deceive many. - This is happening more than ever in the world today!
11.) Lawlessness abounds and the love of many grows cold. - There is a lack of love, even within the church today with the spirit of division and offense inside the church.
12.) HE WHO ENDURES TO THE END WILL BE SAVED (Matthew 24:13)
13.) Finally, the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world, as a witness to all nations, and THEN THE END WILL COME (Matthew 24:14).

We are approaching this point in the timeline of signs. Christians are being persecuted all around the world, love within the church has grown cold, and betrayal abounds. False prophets have risen in every part of the world, deceiving many away from the message of Jesus Christ being the only way to salvation. The world is all about religious tolerance, seeking desperately to offend no one, but living with offense and persecution from the world toward the church of Jesus Christ, his faithful disciples. The gospel is being preached all over the world as a witness to all nations. We are sitting at this point right now.

What comes NEXT?

14.) THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION (this requires the arrival of the ANTI-CHRIST) on the world scene who will stand in the holy place and declare himself to be God.
15.) Those is JUDEA, the Jews, will flee to the mountains. This must done very quickly as Jesus says not to go back into the house for anything.
16.) This is the point that GREAT TRIBULATION begins and is worse than any tribulation to ever be on the earth before this time.
17.) The days will be shortened for "the elect's sake" (Matthew 24:22)
18.) False christs and false prophets will arise, doing false signs and wonders that have the power to possibly even deceive the elect.

FINALLY....

19.) At the end of this tribulation time, the sun will be darkened (solar eclipse - sign) and moon will not gives its light (lunar eclipse - sign)
20.) Stars fall from heaven and powers of the earth are shaken.
21.) The sign of the Son of Man appears in heaven, all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with great power and glory.
22.) He sends His angels with a sound of a great trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Notice this happens AFTER the Great Tribulation, and is the final coming of the Son of Man. This is the timeline of events that Jesus gave His disciples in chronological order, so we could definitely know all the things that must take place before His return.

I wanted to show this to you, as I have recently been shown this truth by the Spirit of the Lord. None of this is my own opinion, but rather just walking slowly through Matthew 24, showing that Jesus Himself laid out the timeline of events. These are the signs that we are to watch for, and as the watchman on the wall, I am blowing my trumpet to warn all, close and far off, that Jesus is coming back soon!

So, with this knowledge, what do we do? Jesus gave us instruction in Matthew 28:18-22 (NKJV):

Matthew 28:18-22

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore^[a] and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.^[b]

Even with all these things happening in the world, we have nothing to fear because Jesus is always with us, to love us and protect us. We are given these signs, so we can recognize what is going on in the world, and be expectant and ready for Jesus' return in great power and glory!



Matthew 24

New King James Version (NKJV)

Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple

24 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.² And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age

³ Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. ⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all^[a] these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences,^[b] and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows.
⁹ “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. ¹⁰ And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. ¹¹ Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. ¹² And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But he who endures to the end shall be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

The Great Tribulation

¹⁵ “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’^[c]spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place”(whoever reads, let him understand), ¹⁶ “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷ Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.¹⁸ And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. ¹⁹ But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.²² And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
²³ “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you beforehand.
²⁶ “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believeit. ²⁷ For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ²⁸ For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹ “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹ And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The Parable of the Fig Tree

³² “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So you also, when you see all these things, know that it^[d] is near—at the doors! ³⁴ Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

No One Knows the Day or Hour

³⁶ “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven,^[e] but My Father only. ³⁷ But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.³⁸ For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ⁴⁰ Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. ⁴² Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour^[f] your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

The Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant

⁴⁵ “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. ⁴⁷ Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. ⁴⁸ But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’^[g]49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, ⁵¹ and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

People Get Ready: Jesus is Coming!

A PROPHETIC DREAM FOR THE UNSAVED IN AMERICA and 
THE CHURCH AROUND THE WORLD:

A couple of days ago, I was in my house and I heard the LORD say in my spirit "I need to tell you something, it's important, you must go to sleep." I responded to the LORD, "if I have heard you correctly, and you want to give me a message, cause my son (a toddler) to fall asleep and I will go to sleep also." Within a few minutes, without my prompting, my son said "I want to go night night" and pulled me toward the bedroom. I went with him and just minutes after lying down, he fell fast asleep. I closed my eyes in the bed and fell asleep immediately. This is what I dreamed:

I was in my house with my family and we were doing ordinary, insignificant things such as walking around, taking care of the children. I remember thinking "LIFE IS GOOD." At once we received "news" (I am not sure how) that the Islamists had taken over America very suddenly. It was a surprise to much of the country and something that happened very unexpectedly and quickly. Without saying much, we seemed to know that we had about 10 minutes to exit our home and flee from coming wrath. We took out ONE bag and filled it with minimal sets of clothing for each family member, medicine and dried foods. We only filled ONE bag to completely full. As we were about to leave the house, I heard the audible voice of the LORD speak to me and He said, "Write down these scriptures on the walls (all over the house - covering all bare surfaces with giant writing, each letter being approx. 6" tall)." I responded to the LORD, "do we have time for that?" 

To which He responded, "You cannot leave until this work is finished." 

These scriptures were all that a person would need to understand God's plan of salvation through Jesus Christ and how to be saved through Him. As soon as we were finished, in that moment we ran toward the door. I knew we would escape the coming wrath and be safely taken away from harm. 

In the last seconds of the dream, I said to God, "Why did we write the scriptures on the wall?"

He said to me, "I left them there so they would find them." 

And then at once, as we were approaching the vehicle - I woke up. 

I am a watchman on the wall, hear what the Spirit of the LORD is saying, if you have ears to hear!

Warning for America!

A Word of Warning for America:

Because of your exceedingly great wickedness, the LORD has passed judgment on you.  If you do not repent of your works and turn to the Lord Jesus, who is the only righteous One, you will be overtaken by an enemy from beyond your own shores.  There has already been a breach in your security and the enemy has been allowed to infiltrate all areas of your government and society.  You are at great risk of ceasing to exist as a nation.  Turn back now to the LORD, and I, the LORD, will turn my hand of judgment away from you.

This is what the LORD says to the people of America, he who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit of the LORD is saying.

To the CHURCH of Jesus Christ (Yeshua) in America:

2 Chronicles 7:14-15 (KJV)

"If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.  Now my eyes shall be open, and my ears attentive unto the prayer that is made in this place."

1 Peter 4:17 (KJV)

"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God; and if it first begins with us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God."

Who is the watchman on the wall?

Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’ “So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. (Ezekiel 33:1-9 NKJV)

A watchman discerns (discovers or sees) the coming danger to the people of his land and must blow the trumpet to warn the people of the coming threat or be responsible for their demise in their own iniquity. The Lord is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. (Matthew 18:12-14 NKJV)

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)