Nice & Wavy
Well-Known Member
There is a great shaking happening in the corporate body of Christ. There is also a shaking happening on every level within the lives and hearts of individual believers. As the Lord prunes areas of our hearts, it is so we can be more fruitful. God desires to multiply His kingdom through you. But in order for that to happen it is vitally important that we re-strengthen the foundations. You can only advance as high and as wide as your foundation will allow. If you have a faulty or weak foundation you will be limited in how much you can experience God’s multiplication.
Now is the time to examine the foundation your walk with God and ministry is built upon. Self correction under the light and truth of the Spirit is the most painless form of correction. When we allow the Holy Spirit to search our hearts He can align our spirit and put things in proper order. Sometimes our actions may be good, but our motives need to be adjusted. It can be difficult to discern someone’s motives, even your own. It is easy to fall into self-deception and ignore underlying motives we know to be wrong. We may rationalize or excuse them if our outward actions look good.
But the Holy Spirit is constantly checking our hearts. If we ignore Him, areas of our hearts can become hardened and a stricter correction may be needed. God’s judgments are always redemptive and loving because they lead to greater blessing.
The Lord spoke to me regarding the church to “re-strengthen the foundations." At first I took that to mean, re-strengthen the character and holiness of Christ in our lives. Although I’m sure that is a vital part of our foundation, the Holy Spirit showed me something a little deeper. The foundation God is calling us to re-strengthen is love!
Did you know that God will allow you to walk through things so that he can teach you His ways? God allows adverse moments to teach us to walk and live like Christ - in love.
There is an emphasis given by God this year on reforming and reshaping us into His image. Many “love tests” will give us the opportunity to strengthen the foundation of love and Christ likeness in our lives. As we choose the lower path of humility, God will exalt us in greater power and dominion authority.God is sifting through every action, word and thought. He is sifting everything back down to its foundation. If the foundation is wrong, it won’t stand. Many things will crumble this year that don’t have the right foundation. Anything motivated by selfishness and greed will be shaken down. The Lord showed me that a false prosperity message will be shaken down so we can understand what true prosperity is all about.
Two people can speak the same word, but with different motivations. One can be motivated by greed, the other by love. Same word, different motivations. One will stand, the other won’t. Any word or action not rooted in true selfless love will not stand the refining fire. A prosperity message based in selfish motives, control and manipulation will not stand God’s refining fire. But the prosperity rooted in love will shine. God is shaking the church back down to its foundations – love.
I believe in God’s blessings and provision. I believe in the principle of "sowing and reaping". I believe in supernatural biblical blessing and prosperity. But scriptural prosperity is with a purpose. It is not just so we can be blessed. It is so we can be a greater blessing to others and to advance the gospel of the Kingdom in the earth. True prosperity is rooted in selfless love and giving. Jesus turned to Peter in Matthew 16:18 and declared, “…you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church. And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."In the Greek, it reads, “You are Petros (a fragment of rock), and on this Petra (a foundation rock) I will build My church and the power of death will not be victorious over it.”
The church is built upon the foundation rock of Christ. But I believe Jesus was trying to communicate something more. I believe the rock is not only referring to Christ Himself but also to the message and gospel He preached. In Mt 4:17 Jesus declares "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." I know Jesus' message was one of repentance and turning with all of your heart to God. Repentance naturally happens when a person experiences God's love and conviction. Mt 4:23 says Jesus came preaching the gospel of the Kingdom. What is the gospel of the Kingdom?
Matthew 22:37-40, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first commandment. And the second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” This rock can also be seen in Dan 2:35 where Daniel has a vision of a stone coming out of heaven and filling the whole earth. This stone is the Kingdom of God. The foundation stone is Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.
The gospel of the Kingdom is simple. Love God and love people.
In John 21:15-17, Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” with the command “feed and tend My sheep.”
The true foundation that God is building the church upon is love. Love for God and love for people. This is the foundation God is shaking everything down to. If our actions, thoughts, attitudes, ministries, preaching and teaching are not motivated by love, it will be sifted in the refining fire. If they are built on love – God will multiply and increase them greatly with rewards in this life and in the life to come.
Allow the Holy Spirit to search your heart as we enter into 2008. As you yield to Him He will shed His love abroad in your heart and motivate you to will and to work for His good pleasure. Every good work built on the foundation of love will see a wonderful expansion and multiplication this year. Everything not built on love will be sifted down. Ask God to fill you with His pure, unconditional love today.
Heavenly Father, we ask you to baptize us with a fresh baptism of Your love. Holy Spirit we ask you to shed the love of God abroad in our hearts and to help us to always respond in love, speak with love, and act in love. We ask you Lord to shine Your light in our hearts and to expose any hidden motives or ambitions that would be contrary to love. Refine our hearts to reflect the pure image of Christ and may Your love saturate every part of us today. We ask You to give us a solid, strong foundation. We repent for any offense, resentment or anger that we have allowed to pollute our spirit. Wash us clean under the precious blood of Jesus and continually fill us with the Holy Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen.
Now is the time to examine the foundation your walk with God and ministry is built upon. Self correction under the light and truth of the Spirit is the most painless form of correction. When we allow the Holy Spirit to search our hearts He can align our spirit and put things in proper order. Sometimes our actions may be good, but our motives need to be adjusted. It can be difficult to discern someone’s motives, even your own. It is easy to fall into self-deception and ignore underlying motives we know to be wrong. We may rationalize or excuse them if our outward actions look good.
But the Holy Spirit is constantly checking our hearts. If we ignore Him, areas of our hearts can become hardened and a stricter correction may be needed. God’s judgments are always redemptive and loving because they lead to greater blessing.
The Lord spoke to me regarding the church to “re-strengthen the foundations." At first I took that to mean, re-strengthen the character and holiness of Christ in our lives. Although I’m sure that is a vital part of our foundation, the Holy Spirit showed me something a little deeper. The foundation God is calling us to re-strengthen is love!
Did you know that God will allow you to walk through things so that he can teach you His ways? God allows adverse moments to teach us to walk and live like Christ - in love.
There is an emphasis given by God this year on reforming and reshaping us into His image. Many “love tests” will give us the opportunity to strengthen the foundation of love and Christ likeness in our lives. As we choose the lower path of humility, God will exalt us in greater power and dominion authority.God is sifting through every action, word and thought. He is sifting everything back down to its foundation. If the foundation is wrong, it won’t stand. Many things will crumble this year that don’t have the right foundation. Anything motivated by selfishness and greed will be shaken down. The Lord showed me that a false prosperity message will be shaken down so we can understand what true prosperity is all about.
Two people can speak the same word, but with different motivations. One can be motivated by greed, the other by love. Same word, different motivations. One will stand, the other won’t. Any word or action not rooted in true selfless love will not stand the refining fire. A prosperity message based in selfish motives, control and manipulation will not stand God’s refining fire. But the prosperity rooted in love will shine. God is shaking the church back down to its foundations – love.
I believe in God’s blessings and provision. I believe in the principle of "sowing and reaping". I believe in supernatural biblical blessing and prosperity. But scriptural prosperity is with a purpose. It is not just so we can be blessed. It is so we can be a greater blessing to others and to advance the gospel of the Kingdom in the earth. True prosperity is rooted in selfless love and giving. Jesus turned to Peter in Matthew 16:18 and declared, “…you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church. And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."In the Greek, it reads, “You are Petros (a fragment of rock), and on this Petra (a foundation rock) I will build My church and the power of death will not be victorious over it.”
The church is built upon the foundation rock of Christ. But I believe Jesus was trying to communicate something more. I believe the rock is not only referring to Christ Himself but also to the message and gospel He preached. In Mt 4:17 Jesus declares "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." I know Jesus' message was one of repentance and turning with all of your heart to God. Repentance naturally happens when a person experiences God's love and conviction. Mt 4:23 says Jesus came preaching the gospel of the Kingdom. What is the gospel of the Kingdom?
Matthew 22:37-40, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first commandment. And the second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” This rock can also be seen in Dan 2:35 where Daniel has a vision of a stone coming out of heaven and filling the whole earth. This stone is the Kingdom of God. The foundation stone is Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.
The gospel of the Kingdom is simple. Love God and love people.
In John 21:15-17, Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” with the command “feed and tend My sheep.”
The true foundation that God is building the church upon is love. Love for God and love for people. This is the foundation God is shaking everything down to. If our actions, thoughts, attitudes, ministries, preaching and teaching are not motivated by love, it will be sifted in the refining fire. If they are built on love – God will multiply and increase them greatly with rewards in this life and in the life to come.
Allow the Holy Spirit to search your heart as we enter into 2008. As you yield to Him He will shed His love abroad in your heart and motivate you to will and to work for His good pleasure. Every good work built on the foundation of love will see a wonderful expansion and multiplication this year. Everything not built on love will be sifted down. Ask God to fill you with His pure, unconditional love today.
Heavenly Father, we ask you to baptize us with a fresh baptism of Your love. Holy Spirit we ask you to shed the love of God abroad in our hearts and to help us to always respond in love, speak with love, and act in love. We ask you Lord to shine Your light in our hearts and to expose any hidden motives or ambitions that would be contrary to love. Refine our hearts to reflect the pure image of Christ and may Your love saturate every part of us today. We ask You to give us a solid, strong foundation. We repent for any offense, resentment or anger that we have allowed to pollute our spirit. Wash us clean under the precious blood of Jesus and continually fill us with the Holy Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen.
I wanted to defend my actions, but soon realized I didn't know how. Why? Because (self deception) I realized I didn't know my own heart as well as I thought I did.
erplexed The session ended with me repenting and asking God for his forgiveness. 
