The Word: Isaiah 40: 3(KJV)
3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Dig Deeper: Isaiah 40: 4 – 5(KJV)
4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Think about it
RE-ALIGNMENT BY THE SPOKEN WORD
As we come to the end of April it is good to remind ourselves of the word of the Lord for the year. Repetition can sometimes make us sound like a broken record. People can be: ‘we have heard that before’. But Repetition drums home into our subconscious an information. God himself is into the business of repetition. In one chapter: Joshua 1, he told Joshua to be courageous three times. The Israelite’s were meant to write the word everywhere around them: on the doorposts, on the wall, in the dining area, everywhere. The whole idea is that what you see, hear, says eventually enter into you. Can I then say without the fear of over repeating myself that in God’s mind: this is meant to be your year of NEXT LEVEL. I will keep repeating that over and over till the end of the year, till there is an holy anger to take your possession and what is rightly yours. Besides hearing it though, we too need to say it over and over until we are convinced, until it’s what we breathe, until there is a change in the physical. God will sometimes ask a man to make a confession or declaration in order to set things in motion in the spiritual world.
In Ezekiel 37: we read the story of the dry bones. God asked Ezekiel to prophesy unto the dry bones. All of a sudden out of hopelessness came hope, out of ruin came restoration, out of depression came belief and confidence, out waste came a new beginning, out of death came life. But all these was a function of the spoken word. As we enter into a period of morning and evening prayers again especially with the anniversary just around the corner, there is a need to repeatedly call forth the NEXT LEVEL until there is a physical manifestation.
Remember Zechariah 4: 7
6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. 7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
In other words shouting and crying is allowed in activating the word so that there is a fulfilment.
Our text today is a classic example of speaking over the situation to cause a re-alignment. God does nothing without the word and in many cases, he will borrow your mouth to proclaim his plans and agenda.
Isaiah 40: 2-3
3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
You and I are that voice crying in the wilderness. The wilderness represents our present state where God wants us to move from. And it is when we speak that a restructuring and realignment starts to happen.
What do we declare? Very simple: 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
That sets the tone for our prayers and our week. Welcome to a new season of prayers. A time of calling forth, a time of making declarations until there is a shift, until there is a manifestation.
Nuggets:
Every realignment follows the word, either spoken by God or us
Our memory verse for April 2018
Psalm 119: 130
130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
Let’s take a few moment to learn our memory verse for this month by heart. It can be memorised in 2 lines:
Line 1: The entrance of thy words giveth light;
Line 2: It giveth understanding unto the simple.
Once you say it a few times it will stick.
Prayer focus: Our next level prayers:
Lord I make a declaration for every valley to be exalted, every mountain made low, every crooked path made straight and rough places made plain in my life and church IJN
On the word: Recommended book
The Bible Study Methods – Rick Warren
The Word: Deuteronomy 2: 2 – 3(KJV)
2 And the Lord spake unto me, saying,
3 Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.
Dig Deeper: Daniel 43: 18-19(KJV)
18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
Think about it
REVISTING THE PROMISES FOR THIS YEAR
As we have come to a weekend of seeking God and in a month of focus on God’s word, it is important to appreciate that God’s prophecy or promises are equally as powerful or potent as the scriptures.
The bible is documented promises or words inspired by the Holy Spirit. A direct word to the house is a Rhema (word in real time) which is equally as powerful and relevant for our year.
Our father said this year is our year of NEXT LEVEL and we said NEXT LEVEL is changing position upwards, moving to the next stage spiritually, physically, maritally as a Church and in every spect of our lives. But for many of us and the church does it look like next level right now? Perhaps many will answer: NO
For some people it might even look like a lower level. But we must not forget that God said we should be expectant of four things.
– New things. He will do New things
– Restructuring. Our lives will need to be restructured and reorganised
– It’s OK to take a step back in order to leap forward
– He will take away all reproach.
Remember Haggai 2:9 The glory of the latter shall be greater than the former. It may not yet look like NEXT LEVEL but God’s word is settled forever. That is what he said. Let’s key in and align ourselves to this.
Nuggets:
God’s word is like the rain and the snow. It will accomplish what’s it’s been sent to do
Our memory verse for April 2018
Psalm 119: 130
130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
Let’s take a few moment to learn our memory verse for this month by heart. It can be memorised in 2 lines:
Line 1: The entrance of thy words giveth light;
Line 2: It giveth understanding unto the simple.
Once you say it a few times it will stick.
Prayer focus: Our next level prayers:
Lord help me to align myself to your word of prophecy
On the word: Recommended book
The Bible Study Methods – Rick Warren
