This is what the Lord says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV)
A few weeks ago I saw a prophetic word on social media from a lady called Lana Vawser. You can read the whole word here if you want to.
A few key phrases stood out to me as they repeated a some key prophetic words God has spoken over KingsGate:
“The move of God that’s coming and the fear of the Lord being restored to the Church is going to expose the religious spirit and the pride of man, and bring forth such a beautiful work of His Spirit bringing cleansing and purification for a greater positioning of Isaiah 60.”
There’s such a deep invitation into His heart right now, deeper than ever to hear His heartbeat, hear His voice and see and hear as He sees. God is dealing with this spirit of religion, He is dealing with elitism, and with pride. He is thundering to His people that humility is the key.
“He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
Except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion),
And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]?” (Micah 6:8 – AMP)
Isaiah 60 is a passage we’ve have felt God speak over us repeatedly for the last 10 years.
At Dwell 2018 Paul Tothill spoke about God transitioning us from the wilderness to the promised land, leaving Shittim, crossing the Jordan and moving into our inheritance. It’s a word about intimacy with God, receiving revelation and strategy in the place of intimacy and then stepping out in boldness and courage in response. There’s so much in that preach, do yourself a favour and listen to it again.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/82890/855207-dwell-courage-is-a-present-grace
Then about a month later at a KT Churches combined meeting in KingsGate the guest speaker was Tri Robinson from Idaho, USA. Before the meeting I was chatting to him about what God had said to us at Dwell. He got very excited and said “You’ve gotta be joking, my wife just told me in the car on the way here that I needed to preach that same message about getting out of Shittim.” He preached from Micah 6:5-8.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/82890/855039-kingston-churches-together-what-does-god-require-4th-nov
Now are you seeing why Lana Vawser’s word grabbed my attention?
Over the weeks since I read this word I have been wrestling with it and questioning. Often when we think of a religious spirit we thing of rules and legalism or that traditions and form have greater importance than freedom in the Holy Spirit. But could that be because it’s easier to see the speck in someone else eye, while missing the log in your own?
Could the religious spirit Holy Spirit is talking about be one that worships with freedom, prays with fervour, amens the preacher, attends faithfully but doesn’t seem to care about the plight of the poor or the injustices against the oppressed?
These two passages of scripture keep coming back to my mind:
Isaiah 58:2,4,6-9
2 For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
6“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27 (NIV)
As I’ve mulled this over I feel it’s too easy to point fingers at others or to look at other countries.
What are the injustices, oppressions and poverties in our community, in Kingston?
Sabbath, Solitude, Silence, Simplicity and Fasting are all tools believers have traditionally used to give two-fingers to the spirit of the age that demand we do more, collect more, be more, acquire more. Others are modifying what they spend their money on for the sake of the planet. It’s all part of the same rebellion against the spirit of the age that must have more, all the time. Jack Wakefield did a great preach last year on not conforming to the patterns of this world in this way. On acts of rebellion against our consumerist, disposable society.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/82890/927516-back-in-the-garden-again-kingston-am
The life you want after corona (AC) will not happen by accident, particularly if you want it to be different. It requires thought, prayer, a plan and intentional baby steps. You also can’t change the whole world and its systems in a day, but every step you take against the tide is a step in the right direction.
What is God lovingly leading you to change because he’s a good, good Father who wants the best for you and the world you live in?
