This week has just been TOTALLY off the scale in terms of the many awesome ways we’ve seen the hand of God at work in our midst, so I just want to give Him all praise, honor and glory for the many, many great things we’ve seen Him doing! It’s always exciting when the Lord works to bring us up to a higher level of understanding and knowledge concerning Him and how He wants to work in our lives! We’ve certainly had another such opportunity in the FAM Fellowship this week, and once again it comes through sharing the experience and revelation God gave one of our members! So this ministry is truly blessed to have so many wonderful men and women who love the Lord so much and who are so devoted to Him and walking in His service. The message I want to share today is best accomplished simply by sharing messages posted on the private website by other FAM Fellowship members, along with Glenn Jackson’s awesome message today that totally confirms what the Lord had already put in so many of our hearts in the past day or so! And, YES, I’m just TOTALLY blown away once again with how God confirms everything the way He does! So as you read the following posts from the private fellowship sites and today’s message from Glenn Jackson, it is my sincerest hope and prayer that you will be touched, and blessed and encouraged!

Receiving the likeness of Christ

This is the season of spring and restoration and God’s power is moving. God’s lesson for me today has been about His power and I want to share it with you.

In some of my earlier posts, I have shared my struggles with fear. And I confess that during this time of preparing for God’s hand to make my restoration complete, I began to lose peace. I knew that a combination of fatigue, excitement and longing were the possible culprits, but when I again detected fear and insecurity last night and this morning…well I did what any of us would do–I called Linda! (Linda, I know you don’t get the smiley face so I’ll just tell you it’s there.) I called Linda because I was not finding comfort or peace in God’s word. It didn’t seem alive to me somehow and that scared me even more. Linda prayed with me and gave me God’s truth, which I already knew-in my head at least. We hung up and I saw Marsha Burns word for today which says:
“March 29, 2007: Speak now to your storms and say, “Peace! Be still!” The winds of adversity have blown, and this tornado effect has tried to keep you in a tail spin. But now, beloved, arise and speak to the wind. Speak to the storms that seem to prevail. Then, quiet the storms of your own heart and be at peace. Stop striving and begin to live by the strength of My grace, says the Lord.
Isaiah 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”

Well, that spoke directly to my situation, but I was frustrated, because I wanted to be able to be still, so I cried out to God about it. I got my Bible and I started praying. I told God that I did not want this fear anymore; I wanted to surrender it to Him. I knew what needed to be done, but I didn’t know HOW to do it. And God was faithful and loving in answering me right away. He first took me to 2 Timothy 1:7, which says “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of self-discipline.” He showed me that in submitting myself to Him, in my willingness to be transformed into the likeness of Christ, I was thinking only of love. That’s how we identify Christ, right? For his love? We think that to be “like Christ” means we are loving people and yes, we are called to assume the character of Jesus. But we are also called to assume the NATURE of Christ and with Christ’s love came great power from the Father. God made me realize that when I have been “calling things that are not as though they are”, and when I pray in the name or authority of Jesus, that I have been viewing that authority as somehow outside of myself. He showed me that the authority is within me. Glenn Jackson’s words of a week ago really tie into this. He said:
“It is never a matter of My children having to “earn” My blessing. It is a matter of them being in “position” to allow My blessing to overtake them and rest upon them; and it is perfect obedience to My Word and the voice of my Spirit alone which will cause My children to be in that position which shall bring them forth into the fullness of the rich inheritance I have given them in Christ.

TO THE DEGREE THAT MY CHILDREN RELY ON MY WORD, it is to that degree that they are “in Christ” – in any given moment. Therefore, the continual exercising of faith and obedience, moment by moment, day by day, will ensure their appropriation of the “fullness” of their salvation.”

We cannot earn our restoration or the fullness that is promised us by God; there is no formula to follow. We must understand WHO WE ARE in relation to Christ. Until it penetrates our spirits that we can be “in Christ” in any given moment, exercising authority for God’s will in our lives, we will always be subject to things which keep us bound and steal our peace and joy and bring us to doubt. Jesus himself said in John 14:12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to us to be the law and the testimony in our lives just like Linda mentioned yesterday when she quoted Isaiah 8:20. Then, in the same chapter of John, verse 17 confirms the power within us, because Jesus says, “But you will know Him (the Holy Spirit) for he lives with you and will be in you.” After the light bulb went off over my head; once the knowledge moved from my head to my spirit; once I understood that the power of the Word was alive inside of me, I spoke out loud to my storms and to my heart to be still. And I testify that IMMEDIATELY, I was stilled; peace returned and when I spoke to those storms, they were calmed. Linda can witness to this because I called her right back and told her what happened. I went from being the “bride” who was running around trying to anticipate everything that could go wrong and fix it; a bride that felt that she couldn’t take another moment of the anticipation, because grace wasn’t enough to sustain her, to being a woman who could sit back and enjoy the experience of getting ready. Suddenly, with that change of attitude and mindset, with that realization that God’s power was available to me and that he commands me to USE IT, I am now savoring this sense of anticipation. I am not fearful of the hows or whens, but now my eyes are fixed on the absolutes that are God and His purposes and promises. I am assured of my victory, because I can now acknowledge the power, as well as the love of Christ operating through me and for me. And I know that, because what I desire is what God desires, because my will is lined up with His will, I am assured of my promise. He will receive the glory. I don’t have to fear the power, because it’s not my own. It’s like everything else I have from God-it’s His on loan to me.

God has confirmed for me over and over again today that He is faithful to His promises and His word as revealed by the Holy Spirit. I’ll give you one example of God’s faithfulness. I called my mother-in-law today but before I could tell her what had happened since I saw her last, my husband called so I told her I would call her back. When I did, she immediately said she had a word from the Lord for me and it was Psalm 34:4-5 which is “I sought the Lord and He answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” Well, I just started crying because she didn’t know any of what I shared above so I told her and we just sat there in awe and amazement, praising God.

“Growing up spiritually” in front of you guys can feel a bit intimidating, but I have the blessing of seeing that I serve a God of love by knowing that His desire to use my struggles means he loves each of you so much and wants you to have His best for you. And I have the added blessing of His allowing me to see how he uses those struggles to touch the lives of His Beloved so that they too may be “positioned” to come into the fullness of Christ and see their blessings overtake them. I love Him and I love each of you, so feeling naked before you doesn’t seem too much of a sacrifice to offer. I know God’s good plans will come from it all.

Hugs,
(Name Omitted)

Response by Diane on March 29th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
That is awesome, (Name Omitted). Our God is so faithful and you are always full of something we all need to remember. I was just reading something about making praying to God simple. We sometimes try to complicate everything and all God really wants is for us to talk to Him. He already knows what we need – He just wants us to ask. We do need to relax in God and just let our hearts be filled with the Holy Spirit. God will lead us all a certain way; the way that is best for us. We are all sensing something. And I believe I was also trying too hard and not just relaxing and letting God be God. Thanks for reminding us to remain in Gods peace, the peace that surpasses understanding, and rest. I believe it is like childbirth; you can sense the end is near and you just want to push. But we need to relax and give it to Gods perfect timing. I know I keep telling myself this and just have a sense in the spirit. It is a great time and we just need to bask in Gods love and strength, and wait for Gods glory. I can hardly wait for your testimony. Have a blessed day and keep smiling. We love you. Diane

Response by Linda Wattu on March 29th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
Yes, (Name Omitted), I can attest to everything you shared here, and have to admit that it was quite a surprise to hear that you were crying when you called this morning. But how awesome and faithful our loving Father is! And as I often say to you, no words can adequately express our appreciation for your willingness to risk feeling “naked” before us as you reveal the work the Lord is doing in your heart and life. But that is ALSO why God is moving so powerfully on your behalf and in your circumstances. The more fully yielded we are to His Spirit, the more of His power is released to act supernaturally in our lives and situations.

One thing you mentioned that I want to clarify just a bit is the reference to understanding that the power at work in us is the Holy Spirit and that we do not have to be afraid to follow the leading of the Spirit wholeheartedly and without reservation. This is a conversation (Name Omitted) and I have been having for a few days now and it’s amazed both of us to see how the Lord has confirmed between us the same message. And that message is that we have to stop second guessing what we are receiving through the power of the Holy Spirit in our own spirits and start being bolder about proclaiming it. Thus her post about her plans for a wedding and my post asking for restoration for Amy yesterday and for another member’s wife to be positively impacted by yesterday’s medical procedure on his son. We have confessed to each other a natural hesitation to create false hope, or to say or specifically pray for something that MIGHT not come true. Of course, we say we don’t want to make God look bad or put Him in a box, but the truth is that we don’t want to look bad either. (I may not be able to “see” or “hear” them, but I know how to make them!) Surely our “gift” would have to be called into question if we say something and that we received it from the Lord, and then it doesn’t happen. What a clever trap the devil sets! IF we DON’T step out in faith on what we truly feel we have received from the Lord through our spirit, aren’t we actually denying Him an opportunity to be glorified? There’s no glory for the Lord if we allow our fear (lack of faith) to keep us from testifying about what is revealed to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, we’re humans and we are fallible, but God works through imperfect vessels all the time. The only vessel He can’t use is one that is not willing or yielded. So (Name Omitted) and I have agreed not to allow the devil to hinder the flow of the Spirit in our lives and to be bolder about professing what we believe we have received in our spirits through the power of the Holy Spirit. And Isaiah 8:20 was confirmation of that to both of us, because it says To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. And I just happened to find that verse when looking for other references to “dawn”, which I was looking for to encourage someone that they would see an end to their difficulties soon. And here are the Bible references that help make the above verse so significant to me personally:

Proverbs 4:18
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

Isaiah 58:8
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.

Amos 5:8
(he who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns blackness into dawn and darkens day
into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face
of the land— the LORD is his name-

So thank you, (Name Omitted), for reminding us that the power of the Holy Spirit within us is the same resurrection power of Christ that lives in us and that we miss out on so much when we fail to fully access and utilize that power, in addition to denying the Lord glory by fully using our gifts and blessings for His names sake and kingdom.

And another point I want to make is that it really is no great surprise that (Name Omitted) was under so much attack this morning after the awesome step of faith and obedience she took yesterday, by proclaiming the faith she has that she will be renewing her marriage vows and commitment to her husband SOON! Satan hates us so much when we step out in that kind of faith and obedience, because he knows he is totally defeated and made of no force and effect in our lives and the lives of so many others when we do – because the power IN us is so much greater than ANYTHING he’s got!

Response by Dan on March 30th, 2007 at 8:08 am
Isn’t it wonderful how little God asks of us? All we need to do is believe in what He has given us and then live a life in obedience to Him. Nothing else in life is so clear cut than God, the Bible, and what it means to human beings. And even being human cannot prevent Him from working in our lives because He took care of that for us with Jesus!! How can one not worship, praise and glorify the one God who has and does all that!! Nothing else compares – no other god can be shown to do that!!! I am pumped today because as I read through the posts – even the ones that show real struggle – I know God has it all under control. May the love and power of God fill each of you today and always. Love you!!!

Response by Jenn on March 30th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
(Name Omitted), I am going to keep this response short and too the point. Thank you! God spoke to me through this more than you will ever know. I really needed this. Thank you!! And I praise God for having you minister this to me and everyone else. Love you!
Jenn

EXHORTATIONS FROM THE FATHER
“Reflections” Of The Father’s Heart – March 30th 2007
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It is through the revealed knowledge of My Word that I am able to bring My children to the place wherein they are willing to do “all” of My will. Therefore, as My children open their hearts to receive My Word in His fullness then their hearts shall be conformed in every way to the accomplishing of My will. Therefore, from this, one can see clearly that they must remain close to My Word; for in doing so, My light shall replace the darkness, and My faith [love] shall replace the fear.
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I have given each one of My children the Spirit of power, not a spirit of fear; the Spirit of love not a spirit of selfishness; and the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, not a spirit of mental ascent.
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The closer one is to the truth, the less words they will have to use to “paint the picture” in the spirits of those they minister to. For it is total reliance upon the anointing that abides within them that will allow a work of great magnitude to be accomplished in the hearts and minds of those they minister to. It is not just the words themselves which contain My power, but rather My Words “united” with the faith of those who speak them, that causes My anointing to be released. Therefore, because of this, even though two people may speak the same words, one in faith and one in dependence upon their own understanding of those words, one would release My power, the other only darkness – for My power is found only in the “Cross”. Therefore, to the degree that one will depend upon [trust in] Me will determine the amount of My power that is manifested in their life. Did I not say that he who was willing to do My will would know of the teaching
[John 7:17]? Go forth My beloved ones, and speak My words unashamedly, for as you believe that the words you speak shall come to pass, they shall come to pass at a continually accelerated pace – and in great power.

Editor’s Note: Messages from Glenn Jackson can be accessed through the Spirit of Prophecy website in the Where Eagles Gather section, where you can also subscribe to receive them by email – just as you can subscribe to receive the Spirit of Prophecy Bulletin messages from Bill and Marsha Burns by email.

Posted Friday, March 30th, 2007 at 6:03 pm in Seeds Of Faith.