"THIS LONG SEASON OF TRANSITION FROM SOWING TO HARVESTING"

by Mary Lindow

Are you in a place where you risk laying down what might cost you your
past history and which will create a new and fresh beginning in the walk of
the saint on earth?

ARE YOU YEARNING FOR REFRESHING FROM THE HEART OF GOD THE
FATHER?

Sadly, many choose to return to the safe place of familiarity and control
to gain perspective, and lose the joy set before them.

THE FATHER IS WATCHING THOSE WHO ARE NOT CREATING AGENDAS
AND PROGRAMS TO ATTEMPT TO HAVE AN "EDGE" DURING THIS LONG
SEASON OF TRANSITION FROM SOWING TO HARVESTING.

He is allowing the breaking and "coming to the end of ones' self" to
continue. Few have stepped over the line into the abandonment He desires
from those who claim that their lives are for His use.

IN THIS CRUCIAL HOUR
Yes… Right now even as you read and contemplate, the Lord is not
requiring acts of greatness and profound gatherings to bring glory to His
plans. The Lord Jesus says these words to those who will choose hear:

"THE SACRIFICE I WANT IS A BROKEN SPIRIT.
A BROKEN AND REPENTANT HEART,
THIS MY BRIDE, I WILL NOT DESPISE.
(PSALM 51:17)

WHAT IS IT THAT JESUS REALLY WANTS FROM US? REALLY?
The obedience to do the simple, and often at times, mundane acts of
“silencing our fleshly need for action and comfort."

JESUS REQUIRES THOSE WHO WOULD BE HIS FOLLOWERS TO A RADICAL
DEVOTION AND AN EVEN MORE RADICAL DEPENDENCE ON GOD.

His followers must be meek,(this does not mean weak)
Must not retaliate,
Must go beyond the Word of God’s “rules and regulations”
And instead, understand its spirit.
They must do what is right when only God is looking,
Must depend on God for their needs,
And pursue His interests rather than their own.

HIS DEVOTED FOLLOWERS MUST LEAVE SPIRITUAL MEASUREMENTS
OF OTHERS' HEARTS AND ACTIONS, “SEEMINGLY GOOD OR BAD”
- TO GOD.

In short, true people of The Kingdom live for God, not for themselves.

"ARE YOU IN AN “UNCOMFORTABLE” SEASON BECAUSE
YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO WALK THE NARROW PATH?

"But small is the gate
and narrow the path that leads to life,
And only a few find it."
Matthew 7:14

THIS IS THE AGONY THAT TURNS INTO A GODLY CONTENTMENT!
When we fully realize that only God the Father can be the full and well
trusted Redeemer and Rescuer in all of our life situations right now, at this
moment, in this time of pruning and trimming away of the things we cling
to that bring a temporary band-aid to a deeper issue! Learning to trust and
know that God is truly, truly FOR us.

So Fear not!
He is dealing with the hearts of those who still cling to hidden control over
their brothers and sisters.

HE IS PROBING EACH HEART WHO CALLS HIM LORD!
He is allowing a spiritual discontentment and a holy frustration to stir up
all unsatisfied and unfulfilled hearts until they begin to wail out loud,
”How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?”
Psalm 13:1

THE LORD IS TRAINING US!
And if you wonder why there is such a limited level of joy and rest in your
heart, it is because until you have a heart that is broken and repentant for
assuming you are allowed to call the shots in your decision making in this
life, He will not expose you to His full measure of Glory!

Psalm 19:13 (CEV)
”Don't let me do wrong on purpose, Lord,
Or let sin have control over my life.
Then I will be innocent, and not guilty of some terrible fault.”

IT IS TRUE THAT THE KINGDOM IS AVAILABLE TO US ONLY
BY GRACE THROUGH TRUST.

But! Genuine faith (trust) means genuinely embracing and yielding to God's
supremacy, not simply acknowledging it and then passing it by as if it did
not exist.

The Kingdom is a supreme treasure, not just a nice “prize”, and those who
really believe this, will sacrifice everything else in their lives for its agenda.

Professed Christians who crave worldly wealth and position but are not
nearly as excited and consumed with the advancing of God's kingdom,
really need to take a brutal and laser piercing look at the true state of their
souls.

If you hear more talk of someone’s ministry title, mission statement
or the things that God has let them acquire, rather than the
stories of God’s redemption, salvation, and mercy, you will have
witnessed the “kingdom of selfish ambition” in the name of the Lord,
but most certainly not the Kingdom of God.
After all the kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink
[one likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a
person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Romans 14:17 (Amplified Bible)

When we preach that people who simply “pray a prayer” will automatically
be saved from hell regardless of whether they truly commit their lives to
Christ and commit to trust that He is saving them from sin (from
selfishness, from going their way instead of his), we preach a message
other than the one our Lord has taught us.

2 Timothy 2:19
Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this
inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who
confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."

Romans 10:9 (CEV
So you will be saved, if you honestly say,
"Jesus is Lord," and if you believe with all your heart
that God raised him from death.

ONCE WE OBEY…HE WILL RETURN WITH HIS FRESH AND SWEET JOY!

Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me—
Now let me rejoice.
Psalm 51:8

IT IS AN INTENSE STRUGGLE TO CHOOSE TO BE EXPOSED BEFORE GOD!
But the delight of allowing nothing of the soul to influence your decisions
when the Lord speaks and gives command far outweighs this present
suffering between spirit and flesh!

If you put yourself above others, you will be put down.
But if you humble yourself, you will be honored.
Matthew 23:12 (CEV)

MANY WHO ARE NOW HIDDEN AND YES, BEAT DOWN, TESTED, RIDICULED
AND SEEMINGLY FORGOTTEN, WILL SHORTLY PASS THROUGH THE OPEN
DOORS OF FRESH OPPORTUNITIES…

…AND PATHWAYS OF TRUTH WILL LEAD THEM.
<br>He makes me strong again.
He leads me in the way of living right with Himself
Which brings honor to His name.
Psalm 23:3 (NLV)

THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE SLOWLY ARISING FROM A HIDDEN PLACE
WHERE YOU HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING TO GROW IN WISDOM,
UNDERSTANDING, AND DYING TO SELF-LOVE…
…STAY THE COURSE!

”We are pressed on every side by troubles,
But we are not crushed and broken.
We are perplexed,
But we don't give up and quit.”
(2 Corinthians) 4:8

HE HIMSELF WILL BIND UP EVERYTHING BROKEN IN YOUR HEART,
YOUR DREAMS AND YOUR REPUTATION, WITH HIS OWN HAND,
AND HE WILL RESTORE YOUR JOY!

He heals the brokenhearted,
Binding up their wounds.
Psalm 147:3

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