You Are Lovingly Forged

This morning was one of those glorious breathtakingly beautiful sunshiny mornings.  I walked into my great room and smiled, as I looked out the windows at the vast blue sky above, and the mountains, Tennessee River and the skyline of Chattanooga below.   Sometimes it is as though I am seeing it clearly for the first time.  And each morning is new and different.  It made me think of the promises in God’s Word and thank Him for His mercies that are new each and every day.

As I sat down in my big overstuffed comfy leather lounge chair, leaned back my head, and began thanking God for His Love and all the beauty of this world He has created, I heard Him say, “Hurry no more! Wait on Me.  I AM here for you.  You are forged.”

I smiled saying, “Oh Lord!  Thank You!  I must look up the word “forged.”  I think I know what it means but it is not a word I use, nor hear often.”  I thanked God also for this journey these past five years, and the most precious process of learning to “Hear God.”  I have learned to be still before Him, in the beauty of His Holiness, waiting, and listening to His Voice.

LEARNING TO HEAR THE VOICE OF GOD

Also I have learned the different characteristics, natures and different ministries, works and the Persons of My Father God, His Holy Spirit and Jesus. And it is so amazing, because I know each of their Voices now as I feel their Presence fall upon me. When my Heavenly Father God speaks to me most of the time it is like a giant rolling wave of sound so powerful it always take my breath away.  And in complete awe it takes me humbly to my knees before His Throne of Grace. 

When Jesus speaks to me it is always so loving and gentle.  I actually sense and feel the warmth of His Presence fill the room and fill my soul with such joy.  Always all my spiritual senses are heightened.

When God’s Holy Spirit speaks to me, it is like a gentle white dove, sometimes to comfort and console me.  Other times it is to give me guidance and direction.  And at other times I feel a deep fire stirring within my spirit as from “out of my inner most being flows healing wells of Living Water”, words of knowledge to reach out and touch others, or powerful prophetic prayers, to encourage and heal them spiritually, emotionally and physically.

THE GIFTS OF THE GODHEAD -THE TRINITY

 

In studying the Gifts of the Godhead, the Trinity, we learn the distinct role each member plays in giving gifts to mankind.  Foundationally, of course, our existence - human life - is given by our Father God, who also gave His only begotten Son as the Redeemer for mankind.  Redemptively, Jesus is the giver of eternal life. And our Father God and Son have jointly sent the Holy Spirit to advance the work of redemption through the church’s ministry of worship, growth and evangelistic deliverance and healing.

Gifts of the Father are basic life purposes, principles and motivation. Gifts of Jesus Christ His Son, our Lord and Savior are to facilitate and equip the Body of Christ.

The Gifts of God’s Holy Spirit and the impact, power and authority of the Spirit’s full operation of gifts in and through the life and witness of the church are important to understand.  The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, proceeds from God our Father who is the  fountainhead of the Trinity.  We are to worship and glorify together God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.   From the relationship of the love of God exists the Spirit of God.   God’s Spirit inspired His Holy Word, and today supernaturally empowers God’s people, convicts the world of sin and of righteousness and judgment. 

The Spirit-filled experience is much more than just “speaking in tongues.” All gifts of holy grace from the Godhead prepare us for supernatural work in our individual lives as God prepares and equips us for Kingdom service and growth in His Grace for service and the redemptive dimension of ministry.  Our quest and life journey should be openness to God’s Holy Spirit’s full resources and power to strengthen, edify, encourage and exhort one another in the precious Name of Jesus.

First and foremost, we should show Jesus’ Love and be filled with the Fruits of the Spirit. 

(See ASPIRE’s “Holy Spirit Gifts and Power” for more study and understanding.)

“HURRY NO MORE!”
SPEND INTIMATE TIME WITH JESUS!
RECEIVE HIS GIFTS!
JUST BE WHO GOD CREATED YOU TO BE!

 

This morning when I heard “Hurry no more!” this also made me smile because after a terrible fall last week, I have been suffering with a sprained ankle, torn ligaments, tendons and pulled muscles.  So I have literally had to slow down!  I have spent these past days “soaking” and basking in God’s Presence, studying and meditating on His Word and listening for His Voice. Isn’t it time all of us simply slowed down our very busy lives to spend more time in intimacy with Jesus?  In this secret place, abiding in Him, God reveals more of who He is to us. 

You may be saying right now, “But Sandra! You do not know how busy MY life is!  I have so much to do that I just cannot possibly ever find the time to slow down and read and meditate on God’s Word!  You know you may just need to slow down and sit quietly, RESTING IN GOD, so HE MAY REST UPON YOU!  He loves you so much. 

A few years ago I was rushing around, actually so busy DOING God’s ministry and the call He had on my life.   As I was fervently and passionately praying out loud, as intercessors do, but so bound and weary, drained with ‘burden bearing’ - From out  of my mouth the words began to flow, “Sandra, JUST BE! JUST BE! JUST BE!”  I was startled at first, but as I considered these words that God was speaking to me, and actually through me out loud, I smiled with the realization of how much God loves me!  He was actually saying then, “Sandra you don’t have to DO. DO. DO. DO.  You will burn out!  Just BE WHO I CREATED YOU TO BE! JUST BE!  I love you not for what you DO.  But because of who you are!  Who I created you to be.   Do the work in ministry, yes!  Pray and bear burdens for others when I place them upon your heart.  But then listen to Me.  Listen to My Voice. And I will tell you when it is time to lay those burdens down at the Cross.  And I WILL DO THE REST!” 

For those precious women in full or part time Christian ministry I understand the burdens.  But remember that burden bearing is a gift from God. And I have discovered all the joy.  For all those mothers at home, who have one of the greatest callings and challenges of all and minister to your families so lovingly at home; and for single women, and for all those that God has placed in the market place, these encouraging words are for you too.  Jesus is our burden bearer.  And God’s Holy Spirit will direct, guide and instruct us in the ways God wants us to go.  His ways are not always our ways.  He knows each of us and what we need, what is best for us.  Allow God’s supernatural power of His Holy Spirit to uplift and encourage you.  BE STILL and KNOW that our God is the great I AM, WHO WAS AND IS AND IS TO COME.  God wants us to KNOW HIM AND THE FULLNESS OF HIS LOVE AND GRACE.  HE WANTS US TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND JESUS’ REDEMPTIVE POWER. Precious one, slow down, take time to enter into HIS REST!   LISTEN TO HIS VOICE, so you can live and move and walk and JUST BE IN HIM, and come to understand the supernatural resurrection power and authority IN HIM, which He has given to you.  HIS GIFT TO YOU!

“HURRY NO MORE! WAIT ON ME!”

“But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength! They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”  Isaiah 40:31

Remember that in the secret place when we wait upon the Lord, in the quiet and stillness, is where we will find Him.

“Wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.”  I Corinthians 4:5

“I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ.”  Colossians 2:5b

“I AM HERE FOR YOU!”  I love you with an everlasting love. I promise never to leave or forsake you. I am with you wherever you go. Draw near to me and I will draw near to you.   I want to touch your lives, your hearts, your minds and open your eyes so you may see me for WHO I TRULY AM and who I want to be IN YOU.  I have given you all that you need, to be all that I created you to be.  Just BE!

“YOU ARE FORGED!”

When I opened up the Dictionary and read the meaning of “forged”, well, I just smiled and smiled.  And I haven’t stopped smiling! In fact, I have been laughing and rejoicing because of what God was speaking to me.

Forged - “The Special Fireplace.”

(I know that many of you are smiling broadly now, because you see where this is leading.)

 

 To form by heating and hammering.

Beat into shape!

Forge

·       To move ahead or progress slowly with difficulty

or by mere momentum.

·       To move ahead with increased speed or effectiveness.

·       To forge ahead with one’s work.

Precious ladies, I know that ALL OF US GO THROUGH FIRES THROUGHOUT OUR LIVES.

We constantly face great challenges, obstacles, difficulties, problems, and circumstances where we actually feel all beaten up!  We sometimes lose hope.  Sometimes we want to give in and give up!  Many times we want to quit, or run and flee from our grave problems instead of facing them.

Jesus is our Savior.  He wants us to run to Him.  He also wants to be Lord of our lives.  He wants to continue the redemptive work within us transforming and renewing our minds, hearts, souls and take us from glory to glory.

And He wants us to be FREE IN HIM, freed from our broken hearts and lives. Healing and redemptive deliverance is a life long process as we continue to go through the fires and struggles of life.  Jesus wants to free us from the power of the broken things that the enemy wants to hurt us with.  We are not to be ruled by the enemy, or those circumstances.  Greater is He that is in us as Christians than he that is in the world.  We are more than Conquerors through Christ who strengthens us.  God wants us to trust His Righteousness and His Redemptive Grace to SHINE THROUGH THE VERY THING THAT SATAN WANTS TO USE TO DESTROY US!

No matter what you are going through, a loss of a loved one, betrayal by family or friends, a job loss, an illness, know that you can plead the sacred Blood of Jesus and be joint heirs with Him.  We do not always understand why we may be going through a FIRE, but we do know and have faith that the FIRE OF GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT can change and transform our circumstances!

And we can know also that what Satan meant for harm, God can take us through that fiery furnace, and turn our mourning into joy and dancing! 
“The joy of the Lord is our strength!” Nehemiah 8:10

God can transform our weaknesses into strengths and our dry barren deserts into beautiful gardens of blessings. God not only wants us to study and meditate on His Word and receive the knowledge of His principles and laws, He lovingly wants to write them deep within our hearts.

And God not only wants us to petition and pray for ourselves and others, He wants us to be still in His Presence.  We know that when we do not know how or what to pray that God’s Holy Spirit intercedes for us.  There are also many times that all we need to do is to just come humbly before God’s Presence and cry out!  “Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.”  And Jesus will come to us and hold us in His loving arms. He will give us that peace that surpasses all understanding.  Right in the middle of our storms!   He will come and walk with us in the fiery furnace so that when we come out we will not even smell like smoke!  And not a hair on our heads will be harmed.  And also God promises He will send His angels to watch over and protect us! 

One of the greatest gifts we receive in our trials and heartaches, when we praise God throughout all of them, is not only do we once again have our faith renewed and grow spiritually but we come to know more fully the power of God and His abounding never ceasing love and amazing grace.  Teaching and healing is the expression of the love and mercy of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  And true inner healing, sanctification and transformation is the internal cleansing of our ‘vessel’ by the Holy Spirit. 

And from out of that fiery furnace,
God can bring BEAUTY FROM ASHES as He promises in
Isaiah 61. 

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Philippians 4:13

 

HAVE THINE OWN WAY LORD

 

Have Thine own way Lord
Have Thine own way
Thou art the Potter
I am the clay
Mold me and make me
After Thy will,
While I am waiting
Yielded and still.

Have Thine Own way Lord
Have Thine Own way
Hold o'er my being absolute sway
Fill with Thy Spirit
Til all shall see
Christ only always
Living in Me

(Written and composed by
Adelaide A. Pollard
George C. Stebbins)

Dear Lord,

We pray that You will have Your way in our lives
as we turn our hearts toward You.
You have told us to be still
and know that You are our God.
Humbly we bow before You
In adoration and praise
for what You are doing in each of our lives.
We thank You for the words this morning.
‘You are forged!’
Forgive us Lord for not being
all that You created us to be.
We know that You were beaten for our transgressions
and bruised for our iniquities.
Yet sometimes we are unyielding,
willful, obstinate and stubborn
And do not repent and ask for Your forgiveness
So  sometimes this puts us in a position
to be “beaten into shape,”
which is our own doing.
Not Yours!
When You do correct us to bring us back to You
You do it so lovingly and gently.
We bow before Your Throne now Lord,
and surrender, submit and commit to You anew
So we may ‘move ahead with increased speed’
to do the work You have called us to do.
We step into our future Divine Destiny,
and bring it into the present.
We thank You that You have given us
supernatural resurrection power and authority
Covered by the sacred blood of Jesus
To more effectively pray,
live and move and have our being IN YOU.
We pray for Your Divine Strategy
and Prophetic Blueprints
so we may take back our rich inheritance,
our dreams and divine destiny IN YOU
that the enemy has tried to steal.
We pray that we will always be filled
with the Fruit of the Spirit
Especially walking in the love of Jesus
so all may see Christ living in us
We thank You for Your Holy Spirit Fire
as You pour out in greater ways than ever before
For this NEW SEASON
with the powerful spiritual SOUNDS OF HEAVEN
as we pray as Jesus taught us,
‘ Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done,
On Earth as it is in Heaven.’
Together we pray, praise and “FORGE AHEAD”
to take back the MOUNTAINS
that need to be reclaimed for Jesus
In our homes, families, churches,
schools, universities, government,
media and entertainment
in our great Nation and in Nations all over the world.
We speak ‘Grace. Grace. Grace to these mountains!’
You are worthy Lord in all areas of our society
in every people in every Nation
and You want to bring us back
to Your RIGHTEOUS RULE.

 

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and blessings.”
 Revelation 5:12

 

This is the hour, THE TIME,
You have called us to MOVE INTO
THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE AND HARVEST FIELDS,
Claiming TRANSFORMATION.
REDEMPTION.
REVOLUTION.
REPENTANCE.
RESTORATION.
REFORMATION.

We face the natural and spiritual challenges
for fulfilling Your Divine Plan.
You have called Your Spiritual Sons and Daughters
To go forth as WORLD CHANGERS
Taking the Nations for Your Glorious Kingdom!
We go forward willingly, obediently into battle
Rejoicing and praising You!
Let this begin within each of us Father
As You give us fresh NEW ANOINTING,
DIVINE POWER AND FAVOR.
We will LISTEN FOR YOUR VOICE FATHER
And we will continue to PRAISE YOU
THROUGHOUT ALL THESE FIRES
AND CIRCUMSTANCES
WRAPPING OURSELVES
IN YOUR GLORIOUS GARMENT OF PRAISE
Which releases
the supernatural power of Your Holy Spirit
to work on our individual behalf
And on behalf of our great Nation
and Nations all over the world.
We are waiting and resting IN YOU Lord,
So You may rest UPON US.
Have Thine own way Lord
Have Thine own way with me.
I yield my heart, mind, soul and spirit to You.
I give You my life.
I want to be a ‘vessel of love’ for You.
We give You all honor, praise, power and glory.
Forever and ever.
You are Worthy of all our praise.
You are HOLY. HOLY. HOLY.
Amen