For such a time as this
This is a message Lynne gave at Pacific Pearls prophetic women’s conference, Hastings, NZ, Saturday 27th Feb 2016. She encouraged the women to rise up in their God given identity. Following her message she painted a picture of the Lion of Judah roaring “Revival” over New Zealand.
Esther 4:14 paraphrased Don’t think that you can remain silent at this time. You have received royalty, the kingdom of God, for such a time as this.
God is raising up an elite end-time army of warriors. They are prayer warriors, fearless, full of faith and power. They are called to live a life of risk with a fire burning within that cannot be put out. They have on the full armour of God.
Psalm 144:1 Blessed be God my rock who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle. I believe you and I have been handpicked to be on planet earth at this strategic time in history, to be in God’s army to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth and usher in the return of Jesus. But we have an enemy – one of his names is Satan. Other names are tempter, liar, deceiver, destroyer and my favourite is Beelzebub which means dung god. As a liar and a deceiver Satan will try everything he can to stop you from knowing your true identity.
The day you asked Jesus into your life as your Lord and Saviour you signed up for battle. How can we defeat the enemy? By totally surrendering to Jesus the commander in chief. When we know and love our God then we are secure in Him and are able to trust and surrender to Him. Also we defeat Satan by knowing our true identity in God. It’s not all about what I think or feel about myself it’s about what God says about me. It’s time to shake off intimidation and the lies of the enemy. The Bible says we have the mind of Christ and we are to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
Evangelist Winkie Pratney once told a story about a pastor’s wife who was jogging one day when she saw a man dressed in white standing in a cornfield. The pastor’s wife had been going through a difficult trial, and when she saw this man, whom she recognized as Jesus, He said to her: “Don’t you know who I am? Don’t you know who you are? When you know this, it is not really as hard as you think.”
As a young single person I grew in my faith and became fearless after having been involved with YWAM (Youth With a Mission) for some time. I then went through a few years of sickness and other setbacks which affected my identity and confidence in God. One book which helped me during this time and highlighted the areas I needed to be healed in was “Powerful and Free” by Danny Silk. I made a list of events and circumstances whereby I had allowed myself to be shut down, and started praying through them. It’s time for all of us to come into that freedom that Jesus died for.
Many have had disappointments, heartaches, regrets, unfulfilled dreams…DON’T BE ROBBED! It’s time to rise up again and believe what God says about you!
You have all authority and the enemy is under your feet. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Luke 10:19
Your calling is unique. Your gifts and personality are uniquely you. Because of who you are and what God has said about you, you are world changers. Even when one person is drawn to God through your life you have made the world a better place. YOU AND GOD ARE A MAJORITY! Don’t underestimate what God can do through you! When I am weak He is strong.
We are to be the kind of women that when our feet hit the floor each morning, the devil says: “Oh, no, she’s up!”
The Word clearly instructs us to put on the whole armour of God to be equipped for battle: the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, our gospel boots, and prayer. I’ll just cover the shield of faith and the gospel boots today.
The shield of faith covers the length of our body and only protects us as we face the enemy. Heb 11:6 Without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith overcomes fear. 1 Jn 5:4 This is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith, Heb 11:33,34 who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouth of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight… Rom 10:17 So faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ – the sword of the spirit.
The good news is the battle is already won!! I’ve read the end of the book. We win!! We need to be believing believers. When we have faith, we will begin to release the spiritual authority necessary to perform signs, wonders and miracles.
The gospel boots are for BOOTING the enemy off our turf. The Living Bible says “Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the Good News of peace with God,” “..so that you will be fully prepared” – New Living.”Open your mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19).
Without gospel boots you are restricted where you can go, where you need to go, how far you can go – you can only go where the surface is smooth and safe otherwise you’ll get cut, bruised, blistered, and become immobile. Many believers today live restricted lives and are unable to fulfil their calling because they don’t have on their gospel boots. It is said that only about 2% of Christians in the western world share the gospel so how can we have a harvest!!
With your gospel boots on, you walk in the “same steps as Christ” (2 Corinthians 12:18, 1 Peter 2:21), touching people as Jesus did in everyday life.
Just as God spoke to Joshua so too He speaks to us. Joshua 1:3 “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given to you. V9 be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
So why do we struggle to put on our gospel boots? We think evangelism is for the evangelist and we may not know how to share our faith. If someone had three minutes to live could you share the gospel clearly in three minutes? Many have the fear of man and think people won’t be interested. Get equipped to share the gospel. The Bible clearly says “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.” John 4:35
Recently after praying I sensed I would be talking to an elderly lady in town. I saw an older lady in a wheelchair and started to chat to her. She was 90 years old, visiting from Australia, and was celebrating her 90th birthday in NZ. After sharing the gospel she asked Jesus into her life and as soon as she finished praying a sparrow came and landed on her foot. It was like the Father was saying “My eye is on the sparrow how much more will I look after you.” There are needy people all around us. Go into your day with God’s eyes expecting Him to lead you to those who need to know Him.
“If you love me you will keep my commandments.” The fear of the Lord compels us to obey. We are commanded in Mark 16:15 “to go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” So what is ‘the gospel’? In simple terms the heart of the gospel is believing and trusting God. Believing you have sinned, repenting from your sin, believing Jesus died for you on the cross and asking Him into your life to be your Saviour and Lord. The words of the gospel are ‘the seed’ that must be planted into people’s hearts to bring about salvation. Good works plough the field making it ready for the seed to be planted and water the seed after it’s planted.
We are all called to be witnesses – Acts 1:8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses….. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to empower us to witness.
“As He is, so are we in this world” – we are all soul winners.
Let’s take New Zealand for Jesus, ask for souls and keep those gospel boots on. General Booth said “my best men are women!
1 John 3:8 The Son of God appeared for this purpose that He might destroy the works of the devil. Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Matt. 9:37 the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
YOU ARE A MIGHTY ARMY AND YOU WERE CREATED – FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS.
Micah 4:13 paraphrase “On your feet, Daughter of Zion! I’m remaking you into a people invincible.”
Isaiah 60:1 “Arise, shine; for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you. And nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”
