A shift has prerequisites (required beforehand). Shifts don’t just occur, they come to those who have been preparing.
You must be:
1) Filled for a shift
2) Forgiven for a shift
3) Fortified for a shift
1) Filled for a shift
2) Forgiven for a shift
3) Fortified for a shift
John 15:2 NLT:
He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.
You must first be filled. With what? With the wisdom and Spirit of God! You cannot do spiritual things without the Spirit! The first thing the Lord will do in order to fill you is empty you. This explains some of the trials and tribulations that some of us have been going through. It may seem like all hell has broken out in your life but God knows just what it takes to help you empty out and release all those things that cannot go into your future. Some things we won’t let go and so they have to be pruned from us and pruning is painful!
You also must be willing to give up the control of your life and trust Him! That too is easier said than done but when we make a CHOICE to let God have his way we will find that it is not as hard. When God fills you with His wisdom and His power you will be able to do in Him what you were unable to do by yourself. (Philippians 4:13) We must grow in the Spirit like Jesus did so that we can be led of the Spirit. (Luke 2:40) So the first prerequisite to being ready for a shift is that you must be filled. There are all kinds of things to be filled with, but we need to be filled with the Spirit! That means we cannot be filled with bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, negativity, mess, foolishness, disobedience, and think we are going to be in God’s next shift.
Once you have been filled with his spirit you will move according to the spirit.
Romans 8:5 NIV:
...those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
There is an amount of control that you will have to give up to really walk in the Spirit. Faith will cause you to have to sometimes walk where you don’t see road or pavement. You will have to learn to trust the Lord even when you don’t understand what is happening. A key to walking by faith is walking in forgiveness.
Remember, Christ allowed you the opportunity to be filled with his spirit because he chose to die on the cross for our transgressions, our sins! Therefore, who are we to ever walk in a place of authority where we feel we do not have to forgive. Walking by faith means allowing your mind to move by faith as well. We give the enemy too much credit. There are doors that are opened for you that you yourself are closing! Moving by faith requires the forgiving of yourself and others.
Romans 8:1 NLT:
So now there is no condemnation (disapproval, guilt) for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
Msg 8:3-4: The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.
God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn't deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all.
We forgive by faith, out of obedience. There are levels of forgiveness that have to take place for this next move; this shift by God. You must forgive others and you must forgive yourself for past mistakes.
Being filled with forgiveness brings on an unspeakable freedom in God. There's no better feeling than obeying God and being rewarded with freedom to move, and rest in God.
Msg 8:2: Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation.
I love that! A NEW POWER is in operation! A power that says I forgive, I am forgiven, and I am ready for the shift!
We can talk about fortified tomorrow...
Have a good day!
B-
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