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2007
and 2008--EXPECT EACH YEAR TO INCREASE IN INTENSITY AND SIGNIFICANCE
Rick Joyner
MorningStar Ministries
www.morningstarministries.org
info@morningstarministries.org
"Nations are making
decisions now that will determine if they will turn and become part of the
coming of the Kingdom of God...."
Ask for
Wisdom
The year 2007 will be a significant
year, and 2008 will be even more so. We can expect each year to increase
in intensity and significance. This means that the consequences of our
choices will continue to increase in importance. This is why asking God
for wisdom should be one of our highest priorities.
Therefore, we have a great promise
and warning in James 1:5-8:
"But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of
God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be
given to him.
But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is
like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
The promise is that God will delight in giving us wisdom and will give
it to us generously. However, we are warned not to be "double-minded,"
as this will make us unstable in all of our ways. What does it mean to be
double-minded? The Greek word translated "double-minded" here is dipsuchos,
which could have been literally translated "two-spirited," or having two
spirits. A modern term for this would be "two-faced." This implies a
person who changes with situations and cannot be trusted.
If we are one person at home, another on the job, another at church, and
another when out with friends, this kind of inconsistent personality would
be a form of this. In the case that James is discussing, it would be like
someone who projects himself as being one person before God, especially
when he may want something from Him. He will not be fooled by this, and
such a person should not expect to get anything from the Lord.
A People Who Represent Him
"The Lord does at times
wait before disciplining His people to give us time to repent..."
Because the world is falling
further into instability and inconsistency, it is more imperative than
ever that Christians become stable, consistent, and true in our basic
nature. Of course, this is supposed to be basic Christianity, which is
the result of a life that serves one King, doing all things to please Him,
regardless of what others may think about it.
The exposure of highly visible
ministries that are living double lives is an indication of just how
serious the Lord is about having a people who represent Him on the earth
who are true. As we are told in I Peter 4:17-19:
"For it is time for judgment to begin with the
household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome
for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become
of the godless man and the sinner?
Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust
their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right."
When the Lord judges His church, it is not for the purpose of
condemnation, but for correction so we might share His nature. The
Lord does at times wait before disciplining His people to give us time to
repent and discipline ourselves. It is better and easier to fall on the
Rock and be broken than to have it fall on us and grind us into powder
(see Luke 20:18).
Even so, as we are told in
Ecclesiastes 8:11,
"Because the sentence against an evil deed is not
executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are
given fully to do evil."
Many Christians have been under the
delusion that because they seem to be getting away with transgression in
their lives, that God does not really care about it. The scariest thing in
the world should be if we are living with a major stronghold of sin in our
lives and getting away with it. We are told in
Hebrews 12:5-8:
"My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of
the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him;
For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son
whom He receives.
It is for discipline that you endure; God deals
with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not
discipline?
But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers,
then you are illegitimate children and not sons."
The Days of Fulfillment
"Christians are about to
begin streaming across their Jordan River to begin possessing their
inheritance."
This is the time when our choices
will begin to bring much swifter and more drastic consequences. This
intensity will grow continually until the end. It will never be easier
to repent and make the necessary changes that we need to make--than right
now.
Nations are making decisions now that will determine if they will turn and
become part of the coming of the Kingdom of God or be shaken loose from
their moorings (dock side) to drift into oblivion. Individuals, churches,
and denominations are likewise making this same choice. As we get closer
to the end of this age and the revealing and establishment of the Kingdom
of God on the earth, the consequences of our choices will come swifter.
The consequences of righteous choices will also increase, and the rewards
will come faster. Christians are about to begin streaming across their
Jordan River to begin possessing their inheritance. We are entering the
days of fulfillment.
There are practical things we must
know and do to be ready for this, which are not burdensome, but will
result in a greater freedom in us, so that we can proclaim liberty
throughout the land from a heart that is free.
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