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THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS COMING
~L.D. Oxford
Ldo2003@msn.com
http://www.joshua-ap.net
Isaiah 55:8-11, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
vs 9, As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
vs 10, As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
vs. 11, So is my Word that goes out from my mouth; It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what i desire and achieve the purpose for which i sent it.
Jeremiah 32:39-40, I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me forever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:
40, I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.
Hebrews 12:28-29, Wherefore we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverance and godly fear:
29, For our God is a consuming fire.
*****
The fear of the Lord is coming to many in the Body of Christ who have not taken to heart His Word and warnings that He has sent to His people over the last several years is what i have been hearing recently.
This fear, of course is not the same as the fear that torments and causes people to walk in suspicion and mistrust toward others, but is a Holy fear , respect and reverence towards the awesomeness of our God who is the God of righteousness.
Along with this fear comes great conviction upon the hearts of those who have been operating out of a wrong spirit who call themselves Christians.
No longer will the Lord allow those who are called by His name to misrepresent Him or to step upon others, in attempts to move up the ladder in Ministry or even in the workplace.
He is shining His light upon the hearts and motives of many in the Body of Christ who would operate out of a spirit of pride, self-promotion and the spirit of Absalom, instead of taking the place of a true servant in His Kingdom.
Being a servant in the Kingdom of God involves serving others and not seeking after recognition and laying claim to a title or to make a name for oneself.
This is one of the very things that causes schisms and continues to keep the Body of Christ from coming together as the Lord desires to see accomplished.
There are way too many of those who would prefer to take the role of a leader without ever learning what it means to be servant-like. In blessing and serving others, the Lord will do the promoting only when a individual has been thoroughly trained and tested on being a servant.
Matt: 20:26-28 ...but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever desires to be first among you must be your slave- Just as the Son of man came not to be waited on but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
Some (not all) have left ministries and fellowships because they have failed the tests of servanthood, and in doing so decide that they themselves will become a leader and find others who will recognize and follow after their own ministry.
That is characteristic of the spirit of Absalom. It is often the case of usurping authority that God has not entrusted to an individual .This sort of behavior will not work however, as it is not the way that the Lord operates in His Kingdom.
Promotion does not come through selfish ambition or rebellion, but through servanthood to God and to others. (See the story of Absalom and his demise in 2 Samuel Chapters 15-18).
The world and even the internet is populated with many of those types of people who are ever learning, but not able to come into the knowledge and understanding of Kingdom truth because they have not learned to serve others without later betraying or maligning a ministry or two in the process.
I am speaking here in reference to the many tales and stories that i have heard from others over the past few years regarding why they left a ministry or Church, or why they are no longer in relationship with the ones that the Lord had put them together with.
Many times, the Lord does move people on when the time is right and they leave with the blessing of leadership, yet a number of people still often leave ministries with unresolved issues and unforgiveness.
Many of these people have gone on to try to build their own ministry because they were not willing to be submissive or servant-like towards authority where the Lord had previously placed them.
I am telling you this today, that it wont work that way and will only produce an Absalom (or Ishmael) type ministry that will ultimately fail because the Lord was never in it although the individuals may have some spiritual gifting.
Yet, a gifting is not a sign of obedience unto God, as the gifts and callings of God are without repentance. I have seen this happen with people quite a few times and the results are not pleasing to the Lord.
Some of them later come to understand this and turn around, where they are later embraced by former leadership and finally learn to serve.
Others may reject the the same opportunity due to a lack of love and humility.But the Lord has been showing me recently that His fear is coming to the Body of Christ and already has in some cases, but will be coming on a greater scale in the days to come as the move of God accelerates and literally explodes on the scene.
This Holy fear and respect will accompany the move of God that is already taking place in a number of areas. When we respect and reverence God and His ways with a Holy fear, then we come to desire unity with others in the Body and wont continue to focus on ourselves "as first" before God and others.
We will then learn to keep our focus on Him and on how we may please Him with our lives. Then we will truly please Him with our lives when we become servant-like and are willing to come together with others and to lay aside all pride, arrogance and the "me first" mentality.
Deut. 8:5-10- Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.
vs.6, Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in His ways and revering (fearing) Him.
vs. 7, For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land-- a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills;
vs. 8, a land of wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey;
vs.9, a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
vs 10, When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you.
For many years, the Lord placed me to sit under great men of God and to render my service, to support and to help them to be able to fulfill the vision that the Lord had given for their ministries, even if i did not totally agree with their way of doing ministry.
I had to learn the discipline of servanthood and to be willing to put myself last and to put God's desires first. And one of those desires of God that i had to work on was to serve others, even when it was not comfortable or convenient to do so.
And during the process of learning this, i was tested over and over again and also had to make things right and to clear the air through discussion whenever i got off-track with any of them.
There were a number of times when i had to humble myself whether i was right or wrong in a situation. I would have to go and make peace and work on reconciling particular situations.
And this was pleasing to the Lord and as a result became very blessed and at peace when i worked those situations out. But from what i have seen and experienced in dealing with a number of people and their problems has been... that they usually walk away from their problem situations and dismiss them rather than to reconcile.
As a result they carry issues of unforgiveness and bitterness (sometimes for years) towards ministries or individuals that they do not see eye to eye with and just ignore them altogether. Is this God's way? Of course not.
What often happens is when conviction does finally hit them, the Lord requires them to go back and to reconcile whatever situation that they had left unresolved. God's way is to communicate and to bring closure to the situation so that healing and forgiveness will come.
In Matthew 18:21-22, (Jesus laid down the perfect measure of forgiveness, being seventy times seven.)
vs 21, Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall i forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"
vs 22, Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven.?But one of the problems with walking in forgiveness is when the person has a victim mentality and thinks that someone else is always the problem and feels victimized when things do not go their way.
But the Lord brings change to this also. And the day is fast approaching where this and other types of divisions in the Body will be dealt with by the Fear of the Lord and great conviction is coming upon the Body of Christ.
When the Fear of the Lord comes, people will come to see themselves the way that they really are in regards to their character. They will be able to see their true lack of development and will also come to know that they are absolutely nothing without God and are at His mercy.
This will bring a strong "reality check" to them. When individuals come to this place in their lives, they will desire change as it becomes a matter of "life and death" to them.
It's like hitting rock-bottom and recognizing where changes are needed and then calling out to God out of conviction. Then they are ready for true repentance and deliverance as needed.
This is the place that the Lord is bringing the Body to as He is coming back for a bride that is without spot or wrinkle and not for a bride that is unclean who does nothing to get the spots out.
The Fear of the Lord will change the way that we see ourselves and will bring the Body to a place of true repentance so that they can see their role in the Kingdom of God as a true servant rather than trying to make themselves something that God has not truly ordained for them to be.
The servant will become a true leader when God does the promoting and they are processed by God Himself through fiery trials, intense training, growing in knowledge,wisdom and maturity, and when they no longer feel consumed with the need for recognition.
When recognition is no longer needed or an issue, then God will raise those servants up to become leaders in His timing and in His own way.
Then they will be servant/ friends to God and continue to serve others for the remainder of their lives. For a true leader is a servant.
The Fear of the Lord is coming, so don't be surprised when this happens to you and even corporately as the move of God accelerates, for God's Power is about to explode on the scene in the lives of multitudes.
Allow God to train you to have a servants heart so that you will have ongoing peace with Him and with others also. This will release the flow of God's love and genuine unity in the Body of Christ.
GO THE DISTANCE AND PASS THE TESTS THAT THE LORD PLACES BEFORE YOU! In His Love, L.D. Oxford
*****
Psalms 25:4-7, Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths;
vs.5, guide me in your truth and teach me. for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
vs 6, Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from old,
vs.7, Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord.
Psalms 128:1,4- Blessed is everyone that feareth the Lord; that walk in His ways;... 4, Thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.
Prov. 1:7- The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Prov. 14:27- The Fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
Prov. 16:6- By the Fear of the Lord men depart from evil.
*****
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