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Fulfillment Matt 24:34 “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” “Fulfillment is the full possession of desired ends.” What is the desire of your hearts? Fulfillment speaks of the end of a long journey that evokes thoughts of rest and joy. Fulfillment can be experienced in whatever manner you endeavor to achieve. For the Church, fulfillment will come when the Kingdom of God fills the earth with the glory of the Lord. Every Christian is called to walk in the way of fulfillment, but there is only one way to achieve the call – “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die…” We have learned much about the process of death in the past year. It is now time to expect fulfillment to begin to come to pass. Every time God gives a promise or a vision or revival we will experience the pattern of “a corn of wheat.” The pattern: · A quickening to our hearts · A time of contradiction · A performance of fulfillment A believer will get excited about the promise within, knowing that it is God. Then as the testing time comes, it will be doubted and even rejected (because of our human nature). But ultimately, it will come forth in fruitfulness, if we keep going. Every move of God is first greatly hindered and opposed by the enemy, but God always prevails in the end. IT LIVES, IT DIES, AND THEN IT LIVES AGAIN – only the second time it is stronger and more effective. That is why each move of God in the earth increases with time. All of us have had feelings of hope, then discouragement – but let us begin to experience great confidence as the fulfillment begins to break loose. There is a sense right now that God is getting ready to do something supernatural. If this thing has not gone through the death experience, then it is not of God. The reason the church (at large) is impotent is they have not discerned what is of God and what is not. We do not take in every whim of the flesh and call it God. If our vision is not of God, but of our flesh, God is not obligated to bring it to pass. Pride, covetousness, self-interest and immature religious zeal will always bring us to nothing. But when God is in it, the vision must go through the process of dying before the blessing comes through. And when it dies, no amount of prayer or commanding will bring it back until God resurrects it: (Acts. 5:39) “If this counsel or work be of men, it will come to nothing; but if it be of God you can’t stop it.” If we have a vision from God, look out; it is coming to pass. But if we walk in rebellion, look out; God’s plans can be thwarted. God has a right to cancel heavenly visions if we refuse to walk in His righteous ways. (Acts 26:19) “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” Well, who wants to be disobedient to God? Those who refuse to go through the process of John 12:24, “except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone…” (except = unless) The power of the Adamic nature hates this. We want fruitfulness, power, and glory, but “don’t make me go through a humiliating death experience.” THERE IS NO OTHER WAY! (Verily, Verily = I affirm it, so be it) That’s it – unless we die, we don’t live with fruitfulness or fullness. 1. “A corn of wheat” – speaks of potential, of the first stage of much fruit, of God’s plan or vision. 2. “fall into the ground and die” – it ceases from its original state – it is the transformation process, called germination. When this process is complete, new life comes forth producing much fruit. Not every seed comes forth; for if during the death process some form of rejection or rebellion occurs, the seed becomes dormant. (Habakkuk 3:17) Multitudes are in a state of dormancy right now – they have given up. But I believe part of this new move of God will bring them back into resurrection power and life, the Lord willing. Right now we must simply learn the truth of the spiritual life that the Lord has thus far given us and know these truths: God only blesses what He ordains Apart from God we can do nothing Submission accomplishes the will of God Faith, not reason, brings forth results God’s time is all that matters God’s Word, not imagination, counts Abiding in the vine creates the fruit Success only counts when God is in it Failure always occurs if God is not a part Obedience glorifies God (10 = number of completion & fulfillment of testing) Only when we become content to pray in faith and stop trying to make something happen are we truly dead. Sometime after we reach this point, God meets us and raises us to new life, power and fulfillment. During the times of death, we experience great times of humility: (Pro. 15:33 & 18:12) “Before honor comes humility.” (vs. – haughtiness comes before disaster) Deuteronomy 8:2 “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.” “To humble thee, to humble thee” Adversity is the only known way to humble a person. The humble are not moved in their flesh. They know how to walk in the Spirit. This is why we are not allowed to judge anything before its time. 3. “Except…it abides alone” - Except a corn of wheat fall in the ground and die, it produces no fruit – it never becomes what it was intended to become. The refusal of humiliation never produced the life of Christ. “DISQUALIFIED – REJECTED.” 4. “It brings forth much fruit” (but only if it dies) – It is reproduced over and over again and again. This is the ultimate purpose in every born-again believers life. “to bring forth much fruit.” It is resurrection power in its fullness. It is the blessing of God manifested through us in glory and splendor. It is the spiritual destiny of the original seed. All of this that Jesus is talking about is the CROSS – the breaking of our wills so that we could glorify the name of the Lord. In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus literally said, “Father, if there is some way I can be delivered from this death experience, nevertheless not my will, but yours be done.” LWCF has been experiencing some temporary defeat. God’s will has been done – the seed has died – for a season – God has permitted it so that ultimately hour of resurrection will come. I didn’t know it then, but I know it now. And my prayer is “Father, glorify Your name.” (vs.-28) The hour of despair and defensiveness is just about over. “Father, glorify your name. Fulfill your Word to us.” Psalm 126:5 through Psalm 126:6 “ They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” If we continue to say “Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord,” the vision will be fulfilled. Habakkuk 2:3 “3For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” With it is coming new authority, anointings, provision, wisdom and a divine visitation of the Lord.
-Pr. Steve |
Biblical Counseling for Leaders
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