AUDIO MESSAGE

I had the privilege of bringing an encouragement from the Lord on Omegaman Radio with Shannon Davis. I have included the whole recorded show in this podcast. The first hour is the message the Lord gave for today to encourage the remnant and it deals with:

finding freedom from the fear and specifically fear of death.

The second half is unscripted fellowship between Shannon and myself.

Please click on the AUDIO MESSAGE link above.

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https://www.omegamanradio.com/ 

 

Transcript of First Half - Omegaman Radio show
(18th Aug 2021)


Freedom from the Fear of Death

Father, I just want to thank you for the privilege we have of being able to communicate all over the earth via sound waves. And I thank you, Spirit of the living God, that in You there is no distance, that You are the Spirit that uses sound to minister to your people's hearts. And so, this morning, we pray for your protection over the airwaves. We pray that you would be very present with every single person that's listening this morning. And most of all, Holy Spirit, I just want to surrender my tongue to you. Would you take my mouth and use it for Your glory? Would you use it to speak what's on the Father's heart this morning? And would you use it to it to set free, encourage and build up every single saint who's listening all over the earth, as I share what you've put on my heart. In the mighty name of Jesus name. Amen.

 

Saints, when I was sitting last night with the Lord and saying, God, you're giving me an opportunity to speak to a completely different audience to the one I usually have. What is it You want to say to them, Father? There are so many things we could speak about. There are so many things that are being sent around on social media that are being spoken about! There is so much noise in the spiritual atmosphere. Lord, what do you want to say? And He said to me, talk to them about fear.

 

And that that's quite something because our main enemy in these in times is fear - and specifically the fear of death. So, this morning, I want to really dig into that topic and give you what the Lord has laid on my heart. He actually led me to dig up a word that He gave me at the beginning of June 2021. When I went back over it, I couldn't believe that it was only in June that He spoke that to me, because it feels like at least a year, ago. So much has happened in such a short space of time. And I'm sure you're also feeling the same, the acceleration at which things are unfolding. It's like a row of dominoes crashing one after the other. And even for those who are seasoned in the Lord and strong in the Lord, it almost takes our breath away - the pace at which things are unfolding! It is easy to open the door just a little bit and let fear get a foothold. But this morning, the Lord wants to speak to you about being set free from the spirit of fear - and specifically the fear of death.

 

We know that Jesus died on the cross for us - He died to open the door for us to have a face-to-face relationship with the Father. He died so that we could approach the throne of God boldly. But in Hebrews 2:15, it says something absolutely wonderful about another thing that the cross accomplished. It says:

 

‘and also that He might deliver and completely set free all those who, through the fear of death, were held in bondage throughout the whole course of their lives’.

 

And I want to say to you this morning that God has made provision for you to be set free completely from the fear of death. And if you do have a problem with fear, there's no condemnation if you have been harassed by fear, especially if you spend a lot of time reading what social media is putting out and the main media news stations, which are the broadcasting stations for the pit of hell these days. Fear is rampaging. And God did tell us that we would be entering a time when men's hearts failed them for fear. So, it is on the heart of the Father to immunize His children from being vulnerable to the spirit of fear. And so, in Hebrews, 2:15, it says that He specifically came to set free all those who, through the fear of death, were held in bondage throughout the whole course of their lives. That tells you that the Blood of the Lamb has made provision for freedom from fear of death. And if you have not accessed this portion of what the Blood has bought for you, you are welcome to approach the throne of God boldly and pray and ask Him to set you free from the fear of death through the power of the Blood.

 

You know, Colossians 3:3 says that we have already died and our lives are hidden with Christ in God. Now, that is a wonderful statement, but very often we don't live as if we've died. But you did die - the day you were baptized. You are buried with Christ in baptism. And raised up with Him, and that's why you have to go completely under the water with baptism and come up again. You are demonstrating to principalities and powers that in His death you died. And in His resurrection, you were raised up to newness of life.  And we really coming into the reality of that scripture in the season where the Word must become flesh in us, that scripture that we have died and our lives are hidden with Christ in God. It must be so manifest within us that we are unshaken and unmoved by what we see going on around about us. Now, in Revelation 12:11, just after it speaks about war in heaven, and then Satan and his angels get tossed out. And then it says in verse 11, they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives and to the death. So, we see here that in order to have victory in the end times, for the end time saints and the remnant that has the wonderful privilege of living at this time in history, we have to have the power of the Blood of the Lamb working in our lives. And the word of our testimony must line up with what the Word of God says. And the third thing that we need is that we have no love of our lives, even if we have to die for what we believe. So, what the Father is wanting to work in us is a complete absence of the fear of death. And Jesus has made provision for that. He came to set us free from the fear of death.

 

When I was meditating and listening to what the Spirit was saying, He reminded me of a word that He gave me probably two years ago. What He's actually done this morning, if I can just explain, is He took different words that He spoke to me and He sewed them together like a little patchwork mantle. And then He threw some new and freshly breathed words into that. So, He wants to wrap you in that sound this morning – the sound of the blending of all the different patchwork words of truth that He's given to me in past seasons - and as recently as last night! And He added a bit of extra embroidery on that patchwork this morning. So, if it sounds to you like I'm jumping from topic to topic, it's really because I'm looking at the different pieces of this beautiful patchwork that He has sewn together by His Spirit. And I'm emphasizing certain details in each individual piece of part of patchwork.

 

So, the first thing He wants to speak to you about is being perfectly aligned to His will. I live in the Western Cape of South Africa, and there are a lot of wine farms in this area, and I went to a specific wine farm called Webersburg and was having coffee there. And outside the coffee shop, they had a huge sculpture of a diving figure. I recognized the shape of the diving position; it was a swallow dove. It was a larger-than-life-size figure, and it was held aloft in perfect balance by an iron rod upon which the heart of the figure rested. There was such grace and alignment in the arrangement of the statue's limbs. And it struck me that in this position, there were no hands out to brace for impact and protect the head from injury. Instead, there was perfect focus depicted - a profound way of showing surrender and trust in the power of the rod to hold it up. And how fitting that is that the rod connects to the heart of the figure and not its head. because we have to bring our minds and our thoughts into submission to the mind of Christ. And He leads us by our heart, not by our mind. The Holy Spirit ministered to me so powerfully that day that this is the time to be in full alignment with heaven's purpose for us and to get ready to launch forth from the diving board with our whole heart trusting in the ruling rod of His word. And as I went closer to the statue to read the plaque at the base, (you know, most statues have names), I was really surprised to discover that the name of the statue was not ‘swallow’, but ‘Swan Song’. How interesting. Swallow dives are swan songs. In other words, the bond slaves of the Lamb have put all their strength into their final dive.

 

A swan song is defined as ‘a final performance, one which brings a life to completion before death’. So, these ones who are doing their swallow dives in perfect alignment and held up by the rod of the unchanging and unswerving and unshakable Word of the living God are doing their swan song - their final performance or Magnum Opus, which will bring their life to completion. They've come to the place of being fully conformed to the death of Christ. And they know that the final stretch of the relay race is before them, and they are pressing on with abandon to win the prize for which Christ is calling them upward. And from within their hearts, they find that there is a store of resurrection power reserved for this day and this hour. And they are running this leg of the race with all their hearts and souls and minds and strength, because the finish line is in sight.

 

If there were judges judging that dive, it would be a perfect ‘10’. This remnant company that dives off the diving board in perfect formation are dead to this world, dead to personal ambition, dead to the praises of man. And they take this final plunge, for heaven's pleasure, seeking only to gain the approval of the audience of One for whom they leave the safety of the diving board. This is what they've been trained for in the furnace of affliction. In the long wilderness season of preparation and all the trials and tribulations they've been through, the refiners fire, all these things... This is what they were born for. They have come to the kingdom for such a time as this, and they have nothing left to lose. They are not their own. They are bought with a price. And for them to live is Christ. And to die is gain.

 

I wish I could show you a picture of that statue. You can just google it if you don’t know what a swan dive looks like in perfect formation. And I had to think of jumping off a diving board. It really is surrender - a beautiful depiction of complete surrender. But the thing about being able to surrender fully is that it has to do with TRUST. I thought of how little boys love to jump off high places, whether it's the roof of the house or some other high place, into their father's arms, and they do it with gay abandon. A little child does not have fear built into the system. Fear is a learned thing, but a child who has a loving Father will fling themselves off a roof. It never occurs to them that their father will not catch them. So, you cannot surrender anything to someone you do not trust. But I want to say this to you this morning, you can trust the Man who died for you.

 

When you go up the steps to that diving board, to the place of letting go, you cannot take your uncles and your aunts and your brothers and your sisters with you. You cannot take any baggage with you. That all stays, significantly enough, in the CHANGING room. So, to the man who died for you, you have to surrender all your concerns, the welfare of your loved ones. There must be nothing left in your hands, because if there is, you will be unable to be in perfect alignment for that swallow dive.

 

Paul said the most wonderful things in his letters to the early church, and I want to just read a few of those scriptures to you in Romans 14:8, he said:

 

‘If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then whether we live or we die, we belong to the Lord.’

 

In Philippians 1: 20, he said the following:

 

‘According to my earnest expectation and hope that I shall be ashamed in nothing. But as always, now Christ shall be magnified in my body with all boldness. Whether it is by life or by death, for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.’

 

And this is the thing we have to get into our heads, beloved, because we are barrelling into the end times with an incredible speed - for us to live is Christ and to die is gain. We have such a wrong perspective of death. Death is graduation. Death is freedom from the tent that houses our spirit. And so, the Blood of Jesus has power to deliver you from fearing the laying down of your earthly tent. In Revelation 6:9, when the fifth seal is opened, John describes what he sees, and under the altar, he sees the souls of those who have been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.

 

‘And they cried in a loud voice, saying, Until when, Master, holy and true. When will You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth. And white robes were given to each of them, and it was said to them that they should rest for a little longer until both their fellow servants and their brothers who are about to be killed, as they were, should be made complete’.

 

So, we see that in the mystery of God, there is a complete number of martyrs that is required. The blood of a holy vessel; the blood of a saint when shed upon the earth has a profound effect in the spiritual realm. We all probably know what's been going on in Afghanistan in the last three days, with incredible and shocking speed. I think it was in about nine hours, they completely overtook the whole capital, Kabul, and. It's a horrifying thing because they are radical Muslims and they are known for their hatred for the Saints. And I don't know if you know that in Afghanistan is the second largest underground church in the world. They have no buildings, but there is an incredibly large number of lovers of Jesus in Afghanistan. And through some of the messages I've received on social media in the last few days, it has been reported that the Taliban are going door to door and searching out the leaders of the underground church and executing them. And the church in Afghanistan is in a time of great mourning.

 

When I looked at the news that was just coming out of Afghanistan two nights ago, of Kabul having been taken and at the airport having been closed and the planes being totally overloaded and people falling out of the wheels as they try to escape the country, I felt this incredible grief wash over my spirit. And I knew it was the grief of the Lord as He saw and knew what was going to be happening to His people. And this is why the Spirit of the living God is speaking to us this morning about being delivered from the fear of death.

 

As I closed my eyes after watching that news, I had a vision. But first of all, I want to share with you that the next day, somebody sent me a video that was filmed in the streets of Kabul, and there were dead bodies lying all over the place and people on scooters and in cars with just driving in between and around them and rushing off to their destinations. And I was so shocked - where I live, if there was a dead body on the side of the street, people would stop their cars and get out and go and look, and phone the ambulance and all that kind of thing. But in Kabul, the people are just in such a state of fear, that they just are ignoring the dead bodies and trying to get where they're going. And the Holy Spirit just whispered to me, “Those are just earthly tents. Those are just earthly tents”. And that took me to the scripture, 2 Corinthians 5:1, and it says this:

 

‘We know that if the tent which is our earthly home is destroyed, we have from God a building, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. And here, indeed, in this body, we sigh and groan because we yearn to be clothed over and to be fitted out with our heavenly dwelling, with our heavenly body.’

 

I had a very quick rolling out vision over the Middle East and Afghanistan. I saw the landscape. But there was no definition in the landscape, I saw the ground. And then I saw a single man shooting upwards from the ground towards the heavens. He was dressed in Afghan clothing, you know - the long tunics and the pants, and he was very upright and very straight and his arms were by his side and he just shot up like a beam of light into the heavens. And after I saw him, all over the place, more and more people with the same clothing were shooting straight up towards the heavens. And then I saw a map of the Middle East, it wasn't very defined, but I did see Saudi Arabia and the land to the right and the left of it. And I saw a drop of blood dropped in a certain place, and then it spread out very quickly, almost like if you drop dye onto a filter paper and the filter paper sucks the dye outwards. It grows very quickly into a big round circle. This is what I saw over that Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan area, probably including Israel and that area. But I didn't look at the exact country definition. I just saw this bloodstain start and then spread very quickly. And then a voice said, “The final carnage has begun”. I thought about this for a moment and I said, “Lord, what do You mean? World War 3? Are you talking about the Ezekiel 38 war? What do You mean: ‘The final carnage has begun’?” And He didn't answer my question...

 

You know, Jesus was great at doing that when the Pharisees asked him hard questions. He didn't answer the questions. He told them what they needed to know. So, when I asked Him what He meant by ‘the final carnage has begun’, He didn't refer me to scripture verses. He didn't refer me to doctrines or dispensational theology. This is what He said, “It is My saints they seek. I am populating heaven”. And then I saw a balance scale, you know, one which has the two bowls hanging on either side, and they were completely level. Then suddenly, the right side plunged downwards until it hit the desk that the balance scale was standing on. But there was nothing in the bowls. I couldn't see what had made the left side go up and the right side go down. And then the Holy Spirit said, “The things that are seen are temporal, the things that are unseen are eternal”. And I, I just received the knowledge that what had tipped the scales was the weight of glory purchased by the blood of the martyrs. When the saints went to heaven as they laid down their lives for the sake of serving Jesus, the weight of glory sent earthwards would increase dramatically.

 

You know, glory is a costly gift. The weight of holy lives sent heavenward will equip the endtime church with the glory that God has promised in His Word; it would be poured out in the midst of the remnant church in the end times. The word of God says that, in Daniel, even while there is a man in power who seeks to trample and wear out the Saints for three and a half years, the wise are shining like stars and leading many to righteousness, and it also says those who know their God shall be strong and do exploits.

 

And we as the remnant church; those who want to live holy for Jesus, those who are the bond slaves of the Lamb, have been crying out for the Lord to equip us with a measure of glory that we need to be effective in the earth, in these end times. But what the Lord showed me in that vision is that it is the blood of the martyrs - that costly gift of laid down lives, that tips the scales with the outpouring of the corresponding weight of glory that is released in the Earth. That is why. Whatever was invisible in the left-hand bowl went upwards. That is like the spirit of that Afghan man I saw going upwards and the right-hand bowl went downwards with great speed and hit the earth. So, we need to remember what a great gift the persecuted church is giving to the remnant church in these end times - the laying down of their lives. In the measure of suffering, there is a corresponding measure of glory. And those who know their God will be strong and do exploits because of the price paid by other members of the Body of Christ who have loved not their lives, unto death and have overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. ‘O grave where is your victory, o death, where is your sting?’

 

I was reading a book recently which contained a record of people's last words upon their death beds and Anna Pavlova (those who are older among us will know her) was a prima ballerina who danced in Swan Lake. And when she was on her deathbed, she was heard to say, “Get my swan costume ready”, as she breathed her last breath. What a powerful statement - and one which we should all be getting ready to say, because in the dispensation of the fullness of times, heaven and earth are working together to bring all things together in Christ. So, beloved of the Lord, those who worship Him with all your heart and with all your life, are you ready for your swan costume? Can you hear the sound of the Bridegroom approaching in this day that burns like an oven? Are you saying with the Spirit, “Come, Lord, come!” and are you ready to throw your whole strength and heart into taking the plunge and aligning perfectly in complete trust and surrender? Aligning with that which the Father had purposed for you to do personally in the earth; to play your part in helping to bring all things to completion in Him. It's the final leg of the relay race for the cause of the Kingdom. The final harvest will now be reaped amidst much shaking and dense darkness among the peoples. But Isaiah 60 says His light will arise upon us. And His glory will be upon us. Our swan song will draw those around us to Him as you focus only on bringing delight and pleasure to the heart of the Bridegroom. Whether you live or die, you are the Lord’s. To live is Christ and to die is gain.

 

Now, I want to just focus on another little part of that patchwork quilt that the Holy Spirit so expertly embroidered last night. And He took me to a word that He gave me on the evening of the 2nd of June. I have a lot of conversations with the Lord. But when I say conversation, mostly it's me writing things down and Him speaking. I don't say too much except to ask the odd question for clarification. So, the first thing I heard that evening was the word ‘Harness’. I didn't know if it was a noun, as in a harness you put on a horse or a verb, as in ‘we have to harness energy’. So, I waited and the Lord was quiet for a while. And then He said,

 

 "My people must learn to harness their emotions and bring them into subjection to their spirits, if they are to be able to stand in the mayhem that will soon unfold. Things are going to break out that will make grown men fall apart at the seams. And My remnant must have their emotions under firm control in order to successfully navigate these waters."

So, I asked him, "Lord, how does one harness one's emotions?"

"In just the same way as you take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, so too must you declare your emotions to be submitted to the Spirit of Christ, pull down hysteria and every form of uncontrolled emotional outburst. Fear must be dealt with now – before the days of panic ensue. Bring every grain of fear you feel out into the light. I know it is not considered spiritual to be afraid, fear and shame are bedfellows among My saints... But even my servant David, a man after my own heart, was often afraid. But he knew what to do about it."

And as He said that, two verses scroll through my memory from Psalms:

'When I am afraid I will trust in you, in God whose word I praise', and the second one was 'when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock, the Rock that is higher than I'. Then the Lord continued speaking:

"In every place where fear has a foothold, it is only because you do not have a complete revelation of My love for you. Perfect or complete knowledge of My love drives out fear every time. So come to Me now and present your fears to Me and let us examine them at their root. My love is shed abroad in your heart as it is needed. So admit your fear, admit your need, and let Me defuse it now, in preparation for the darker days ahead. Fear undealt with only grows, and before you know it, it has stealthily wound its tendrils around many sections of your heart with its vice grip. David could face the giant without fear because he knew Me and had experience of My love and protection far from the battlefield. So come to Me, say it out loud and name it by name and then allow Me to dismantle it completely. Your life is in My hands, you know! Every breath you take is through My grace. Do you fret that the oxygen will run out? Of course not! Even though men say that the planet is dying, I keep it spinning. And I take care of the sparrow. When you really understand how much I love you, nothing will have the power to terrorize you again. If I loved you enough to send My own Son to save you, is your life not in good hands in My care? So let's open up those inner recesses and bring out every fear that lurks. At the root of it all, fear germinates because of unbelief in My word and My promises. So let's get rid of that, shall we? Let's leave the enemy no foothold to torment you with. Great piece shall be your portion once all fear is driven from your foundations. We must waste no time in doing this, Beloved. Dark plans are afoot, but under My wing is a place of shelter and safety. Do you believe this? Do you believe I am able to keep you?

Then why are you still afraid...?"

 

And that question just hung in the air. He didn't say one more word. That "do you believe I am able to keep you?" And my heart says, "yes, Lord"

 

"Then why are you still afraid...?"

 

So, I'd really just like to end off with a prayer. You may join me as you like, or you can do it in your own time, as you wish, dealing with these things. And let's deal with the unbelief that is at the root of fear.

 

So, Father, I just want to come to You today, and I want to thank You for Your counsel. I want to thank You for Your care for us; that You want to deal with every small portion of fear that we might be hiding, before the days when it might turn out to be our Achilles heel. So, Lord, I just want to come to You and I confess that sometimes I am afraid I won't be able to stand under the things that are coming. I am afraid that I might not bring You glory and that I might cave in and. I don't want to deny Your Name, Lord, I want to be found faithful at the end... but I am afraid that I am not strong enough to stand. So, Lord, I present that before you now and I don't know what form of unbelief is at the root of those fears, but, Father, I pray by Your Spirit that You will show me. I want to repent of all unbelief in Your Word and Your promises. Your Word says You will never leave us or forsake us. You will not, You will not, You will not leave us without support. You will be with us always – even until the end, and so, Father, I realize that nothing I'm going to face in the days ahead is going to be faced alone. I thank you that You are with me. I repent of unbelief. I repent of unbelief in Your constant presence; Your constant strengthening presence, Father. And I thank you that You are strong in me.

I want to take every one of my emotions captive to the obedience of Christ, I pull down every form of hysteria, every form of uncontrolled emotions and, Father, in the mighty Name of Jesus. I decree and declare that You are lord of my emotions, I submit them under You in the mighty Name of Jesus. I decree and declare that You have not given me a spirit of fear, You have given me a spirit of power and a spirit of love and a spirit of a sound mind. So, I decree and declare over myself this day that when men's hearts are failing them for fear, when men grown men are falling apart at the seams, Father, I thank You that I will stand, because You are strong in me and You have given me a sound mind. Thank you for the inheritance of a sound mind. I thank you, God, that it is not about how strong I am. It is about the strength of Him who is with me, and so I bless You and I praise you, living God, that You stand strong within me. I thank you, God, that You declare that You hide us under the shadow of Your wing, that we can take refuge under the shadow of Your wing, that in Your presence there is fullness of joy. And with You is the fountain of life. In Your light we see light.

I praise You and I bless You for the power of the Blood of the Lamb, and I apply it further in the mighty Name of Jesus over all that concerns me and mine. I apply it over my body – protect me, Father, from the fallout of the spike protein shedding, protect my brain and the blood brain barrier. Protect my blood vessels, protect my organs. By the power of the Blood, let no vile bio-weapon into this body. I decree and declare that my body is a vessel that is holy unto You. This is your temple, Holy Spirit. And I pray that by the power of the Blood, You would protect this temple and keep it undefiled. Lord, I am determined not to defile this temple. And thank you, Lord, that Your Word says that it's the things that come out of our hearts that defile the temple. So, I thank you, Holy Spirit, that You are faithful day after day to search my heart and see if there's any way that is wicked in me. Bring it to my attention that I may repent of it and lead me in the way everlasting. Thank you, God, for your faithfulness. Thank you, Lord, that You're calling out a remnant in these days. Thank you that You're going to pour out Your glory in our midst and be a wall of fire around us as we separate ourselves from that which is of Babylon. I give You all the glory and the honor and the praise in the mighty Name of Jesus. And I thank you, Lord, for your Holy Spirit that shines Your love abroad in my heart. Thank you, Lord, that perfect love drives fear out of doors. So right now, Lord, come and drive out that fear of not being able to stand in that Day. Come and drive out the fear of lack or fear of insufficiency or fear of loneliness or fear of abandonment or fear of persecution – drive it from our hearts, I pray. Thank you, Lord, that those who are appointed to suffer for You are also appointed glory. We give You all the praise, we thank you that our lives are safe in Your hand, for we have already died and our lives are hidden with Christ in God. Thank you that you're working in and through us for these Kingdom purposes, in this in time, and thank you for the privilege of living in this time, Lord. It's no mistake that we are here. I want to just repent for saying I wish I'd lived in earlier centuries. I wish I'd been alive in happier times. I repent of questioning your wisdom and your purpose.

 

All the days of our lives are written in Your book before one of them came to be. And you've given us the incredible privilege of living in the time when you bring all things together in heaven and on earth in Christ. So, we pray that you'd open our spiritual eyes ever more clearly to see into the spiritual realm, open our spiritual ears, to hear more sharply, give us increased understanding of the time so we know what to do. Lord, thank you. That you instruct us in the night seasons. You speak to us in dreams and visions and give us understanding of them, and you will lead us in the way we should go. We thank you for your precious word, which is a light to our feet and a lamp to our far past. And we praise you because you have given us everything we need for life and godliness. Even in this hour and which we live, your wisdom and your counsel is available to us. Thank you for the seven spirits of God administer to and through your end time church. And we want to just find rest. As we kneel before your throne today, Lord, we don't want to be fearful, we don't want to be worked up into a frenzy. Would you help us to guard our eyes and ears? In what we watch, in what we listen to, Lord, we don't want to God our eyes and ears from truth.

 

You want to guard our eyes and ears from propaganda, from the tools of the enemy for rendering people powerless because they are gripped with such fear. Lord, would you lead us to safe watering holes where we can drink of living water that comes from under Your throne and thank You, Lord, that Your spirit today encourages us in the mighty name of Jesus, amen.

 

You know, saints, as I signed on today to speak to you, and the Lord said to me, “Encourage my saints”. And I thought about that word en-courage. You know, I always like to look up the etymology or the history of how words came to be, what they are, and ‘to encourage’ means ‘to fill with courage, to impart courage to stand’. And so, I want to do that with you this morning, I want you to know that the Holy Spirit is going to be closer to you in these days than He's ever been in the rest of your walk with the Lord.

 

Corrie ten Boom – I am sure many of you know her, that wonderful saint who lived through the Holocaust, who was in the concentration camps and then went on to travel around the nations, sharing the wisdom she had gleaned in her days of trial. She told a story of how. She was having a conversation with her father and she was speaking about feeling insecure about being fully equipped to deal with the situation that was coming. Her father said to her, “Corrie, when I put you on a train and send you on a journey, when do I give you the money for your journey?” And she looked at him and she said, “Papa, just before I get on the train”. And he said, “That's exactly the same with the Lord. Just before we embark on a journey or on an experience, He gives us everything that we are going to need to make that journey successfully and arrive at our destination”. So, I want to encourage you, remnant, to have an eternal mindset. You know, we have to become less earthly minded and more heavenly minded. It says in the Word about Moses, when he led the people of God out of Egypt, that he endured because he gazed on Him Who is invisible? And that is how we going to complete our race. We going to lock and fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and the Finisher of our faith. And we are going to look at the things that are eternal more than we look at the things that are temporal.

 

One of my favorite psalms is Psalm 46: ‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, even though the earth should change and the mountains fall into the midst of the sea and its waters roar. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God. God is in the midst of her, and she shall not be moved, and He will help her right early’. I've always loved it, but I've always just read it in my Bible. But I don't know if you remember, I think it was about 10 years ago or so now, Haiti had a terrible earthquake and there was an incredible loss of life. And in the end, what they were doing was just bulldozing the collapsed buildings into giant mass graves with the bodies in them. And one of the foreign journalists interviewed a woman that was climbing onto a bus. She had lost both her children in that earthquake in her home and she never found the bodies. They were part of that mass grave. And she had lost every single thing she owned except her Bible and she was climbing on a bus where they were taking the refugees and survivors somewhere so that they could give them food and shelter. And the journalist, who was young and ambitious and a bit naïve, was also flabbergasted that she seemed so unbroken by what she had just been through because she looked completely calm - she looked like she had been walking in a park, admiring the flowers, singing worship songs. She looked serene. She looked at peace. And he asked the question, “Can you tell us how you've survived what you've just been through?” And she opened her mouth and out of it came psalm 46. She didn't speak about herself. She didn't speak about her feelings. She spoke the unshaken and and unchanging Word of God upon which her life was grounded and rooted: “God is our refuge and strength, an everpresent help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, even though the earth should change and the mountains fall to the midst of the sea and its waters roll and foam”. And I looked at that life and I felt like what I was seeing was what it says in Revelation 12: ‘And they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony and they loved not their lives, even unto death’.

 

Saints, I don't know what God's end-time purpose is for you, because there is a full number of martyrs that needs to be brought in in order for the full weight of glory to bring Kingdom purposes to completion. That blood must be shed and that number must be completed. I don't know if God has appointed you to be one of His martyrs. You know, the early church considered it the highest honor to be chosen to be a martyr. They don't teach us that in modern church circles. They don't teach us how to stand under persecution in the Western churches. The Middle Eastern churches and the churches in China and the underground church in the Far East, they know from the beginning - from the first day that they accept the Lord and surrender their lives to Jesus - they know that they will be persecuted for their faith. But in the West, we have been born again into a very much compromised system that has not taught us the gospel of suffering for the sake of our faith. And so, we're learning these lessons very late. But with the wonderful grace of the Holy Spirit, we can learn them very quickly. And so, maybe the Lord has shown you that you're going to lay down your life for the sake of the Kingdom. Maybe He hasn't. Maybe you're one of those who are going to be alive to meet Him face to face when He comes. But whatever His written purpose is for you, because all the days of your life are written in His book before one of them came to be, whatever His written purposes for you is, know that He has already made provision and given you everything you need to finish your race for His glory. And so what God wants to impart to you is an unshakable peace. What I saw in that woman in Haiti was an unshakable peace. Do you know this incredible thing: in the ocean when a storm hits the ocean, there are huge waves, I don't know if you've ever watched those programs with the North Sea fishermen do the deep sea fishing and the waves are so huge that the boat is like a little dot. And I always look at them and think, ‘who on earth would want to do that for a living?’ Such huge waves that threaten to totally turn the boat over. But do you know that if you go deep down underneath in the depths of the sea, there is complete and utter calm… There is no movement. There is nothing going on except peaceful existence in the depths of the sea, it is only the surface that rages with the stormy winds, and God wants to impart to His people that kind of peace. You know, He said to the disciples, (this was actually the first verse I ever learned by heart when I was 18 years old) John 16:33.

 

‘My peace I give to you, not as the world gives. In this world, you will have trouble and trials and distress and frustration, but be of good courage, be confident, certain and undaunted. For I have overcome the world, deprived of the power to harm and have conquered it for you.’

 

God will keep in perfect peace those whose mind is stayed on Him – now, in the Hebrew, that scripture where it says ‘perfect peace’ in the translation actually says ‘shalom shalom’. So, it's like it's saying God will keep in a double portion of peace those whose minds are stayed on Him. And that word ‘stayed’ is like being anchored. You know, your life is like a ship. And you've got to anchor it. Throw your anchor there in the ground at the throne. So that whatever earthly storm is happening, you are experiencing a double portion of His shalom; of His peace.

Selah

Those who would like to read the original post about the statue can find it on the Storehouse page under the title 'Swan Song'

Heb 10:37 For still a little while (a very little while), and the Coming One will come and He will not delay. Heb 10:38 But the just shall live by faith; and if he draws back and shrinks in fear, My soul has no delight or pleasure in him. Heb 10:39 But our way is not that of those who draw back to eternal misery (perdition) and are utterly destroyed, but we are of those who believe [who cleave to and trust in and rely on God through Jesus Christ, the Messiah] and by faith preserve the soul.

Heb 13:5 ...for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] Heb 13:6 So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?

Eph 3:16 May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit

2Ti 4:18 [And indeed] the Lord will certainly deliver and draw me to Himself from every assault of evil. He will preserve and bring me safe unto His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen

Psa 46:1 GOD IS our Refuge and Strength [mighty and impenetrable to temptation], a very present and well-proved help in trouble. Psa 46:2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains be shaken into the midst of the seas, Psa 46:3 Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling and tumult.

Psa 56:3 What time I am afraid, I will have confidence in and put my trust and reliance in You. Psa 56:4 By [the help of] God I will praise His word; on God I lean, rely, and confidently put my trust; I will not fear. What can man, who is flesh, do to me?

Isa 41:10 Do not fear; for I am with you; be not dismayed; for I am your God. I will make you strong; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness.

Isa 41:13 For I the Lord your God hold your right hand; I am the Lord, Who says to you, Fear not; I will help you!

Isa 51:7 Listen to Me, you who know rightness and justice and right standing with God, the people in whose heart is My law and My instruction: fear not the reproach of men, neither be afraid nor dismayed at their revilings.

Hag 2:5 According to the promise that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit stands and abides in the midst of you; fear not.

Hag 2:5 According to the promise that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit stands and abides in the midst of you; fear not. ...

Luk 12:4 And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. ...Luk 12:7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore do not fear, you are of more value than many sparrows.

Rom 8:15 For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption by which we cry, Abba, Father!