The Year of The Over-comers and Emergers
Welcome to 2024; the year for over-comers and emergers. Do follow me as I explain more about this. The days ahead will bring their own challenges. Yet, in the midst of this, the Lord is raising up ones that are prepared and victorious, who shall emerge to stand in the days ahead to confront and to lead in conviction.
Process or Warfare
Over the past few years it appears that there’s been lack of understanding as to what true process is and what warfare means and represents.
In Isaiah 53, it is clear Jesus was bruised for the oil to be pour out. He was misunderstood and misrepresented. He did nothing to warrant the belligerency directed at Him, yet it was written for all these to befall on Him. There was purpose for it. This was true process.
With this, the Lord started to show me there are people who go through situations like our Lord and varying degrees of warfare, but mostly because of sin habits or doors they have opened in their lives. These doors may have been acts of disobedience of all kinds that have opened them up in the spiritual realm. Sadly, through self deception, they think these warfare are processes, and so fail to realise it’s through their wilful behaviour that all ‘hell’ has broken loose against them.
Due to this they’ve become entitled rather than being bruised unto repentance; to put things right. They’re constantly in a fighting mode, so not being able to seek for guidance and aid.
Everyone becomes an adversary rather than voices of reason, pointing out what they have been going through and how to remedy it. This blindness holds them back from being truly discipled. If the right questions are being posed in the midst of process and for some, warfare, then the Lord will answer in showing that these bruises should only lead to you emerging strong because you have overcome.
For those who have overcome, this shall be your finest hours, where God will give you justice. You will stand and lead many to victory because of the truth that you carry.
Eyes Yet No Sight
There are also those who through their own act of preference have laid hands on people and declared over them what others have laboured for. Some do this due to their prejudices, preferences, racism and all types of xenophobic tendencies. They ignore one’s process and journey, because they have an issue with another person.
This is a type of witchcraft which sadly has become prevalent in the body of Christ. These thrones are about to crumble, because they were not built on true processes but false strength. These ones have been let loose and have brought division, confusion and ultimately dishonour.
The neglect of not dealing with the root cause of people’s ‘bruising’ but hastily laying hands, has produced anaemic and cancerous individuals in the body with intense sin habits, infecting, polluting, compromising and defiling many. Like in the case of Adonijah, these thrones will come down.
David and Repentance
In one of the most instructive, humbling and wonderful display of God’s mercy, justice and grace working in one situation, we see David the ‘man after God’s own heart’ utterly stripped of all reputation and pomp.
Prophet Nathan according to 2 Samuel 12, approaches the now incumbent Kind David with a riddle after many months of covering and subterfuge by David, due to his selfish, fleshly and unrighteous actions. After being told the riddle was about him and what he had done, he duly repented without reservation. It was such a sincere and truth in the inner parts repentance that God in his infinite wisdom restored him to his throne.
What was instructive also was that after being caught and exposed, he didn’t go around tearing down the prophet nor the prophet’s reputation or physical livelihood. He didn’t attempt to discredit the man of God.
As the Body of Christ, it’s high time we wake up and ask ourselves, if we’re tolerating people because of the shame of exposure? Are we tolerating them because of the fear of losing numbers in our pews? Will we obey the Holy Spirit and see Him bring lasting conviction and transformation to a generation who have the strength to do exploits on the earth.
In light of this we should not encourage actions and speech that we haven’t not taken the time to investigate and thus it looking like we’re endorsing. We need to rather endeavour to get to the truth so that freedom and healing begin, not reoccurring cycles that have been leeching on the body of Christ in these times.
Discernment
I want to explore how in all I have highlighted above, there seems to be the lack of true discernment. What causes us to forget relationships as we prop up another and forget all before us? People who proclaim to know the Lord fail to discern and speak up. Many a times out of familiarity, they decide to overlook certain things. Through this, true relationships are not strengthened. In the Body of Christ, there’s been a lot of hurt because people feel betrayed by other’s weaknesses.
You’re embarrassed! You’re embarrassed by the sense of not doing the right thing. The embarrassment you feel is getting you to act out. This is therefore a character issue you need to deal with. Why would you be embarrassed about something you didn't take time to define? Why would you also respond or react to something that if you really are taking time to define, you would have seen and would have actually saved a friend.
So many alignments and relationship have not been saved, because one or the other was so ambitious to build some sort of structure or edifice. We forget that building also means maintenance; we need to take time to maintain relationship. The real fruit of relationship and transformation is overcoming.
In not doing it right, there’s now this embarrassment and avoidance. And if you're not careful, you jump to go to another boat, another place and then the cycle starts again. Instead of learning humility in between and just saying to God, ‘Lord, I missed it here. Because I miss it, give me great grace’. If this is not done, what we are doing is we are building a perfect isolation system. This will not bring the necessary growth that is required, because we want to play. But faith means taking godly and costly risks.
We sorely need to go back to the beautiful art of discernment. Discerning the future. Discerning the now, and then counting the cost. Are you willing to pay the price for that? Is that your assignment or not? Know your role so your inactivity will not caused broken pieces floating all around.
So, if you feel embarrassed, just call it what it is. Put it under the blood and move on. In your attempt to justify yourself, don’t go on social media. It simply amplifies your inability.
Mental Health
Now let’s talk about mental health. A lot of people, leaders included, will be in good relationships with people and then suddenly you cut them off without explanation. What such behaviour has brought, is a doubting of people’s self. If these victims are not strong, they will begin to create false scenarios of what they apparently did or didn’t do.
The torment this can cause to people's minds, will take God alone to deliver. If they're not strong enough to stay for the oil to fall on their head. To really remove the confusion, It can lead to mental instability.
The other element is of people needing deliverance. They’re in need of it because of unconfessed sins. These can also lead to mental instability.
Regardless, this year can we try and protect people’s mental health. Let's not leave people to wallow in the many consequences that they may have brought on themselves. Let’s try to bear with each other. Let’s try to care and carry each other, as we, with grace, confront gnawing issues when possible and there’s receptivity. Let’s not just leave people to it and dare to stand on the pulpit making big and grandiose declarations.
Anointing and Appointing
In the story of Kind David, we see him approach the throne of grace with great contrition after being exposed of his immorality and first degree murder. Because there was acknowledgment of his heinous sin and primarily because of God’s immeasurable mercy his throne was restored.
Unlike many people, when exposed, they rather double down and go around attempting to destroy the work and reputation of those who appointed them. As these go on rampage of discrediting, ‘leaders’ that should know better, find them and empower them in their falsehood, simply because they believe they have found their ‘King David’ with his proverbial ‘back uncovered’.
When the process is not about true repentance and brokenness but defending half truths, you’ve empowered something that becomes worse the next time as they were not broken enough for the fragrance of God to be released. They were not stripped back enough. The pride element in their lives is causing them to be stiff necked and stand for what is not true although they have been exposed and caught.
As you, the one that should know better, defers to their gifting, even in the midst of exposure, it’ll end up being something that bites and takes you down.
Our ultimate ambition has now gotta be us going back to true Christ-likeness. Allowing the fragrance of Christ to come and be the aroma of truth so the knowledge of the glory of the Lord may saturate all, seeing the emergence of strong ones that will take the land.
Let’s halt in laying hands and appointing people that are filled with rebellion and unrepentant. Let’s disciple them so they can emerge stronger.
Lastly, where injustice has been inflicted. You labouring but some coming to take from you. I want to comfort you and declare, this is the season of JUSTICE. God will give you your JUSTICE.
Some might say this is Rev. Betty King venting but this is the Word of the Lord. Let he who has ears listen
Rev Dr. Betty King