LISTEN... Part 1

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. "-(Jeremiah 29:11)

I know that God has a purpose for our lives. He has designated a purpose in us all, individually and corporately. I wake every day to recall immediately with ardent passion, my purpose. I reflect and meditate upon the complexity and depth of that focal purpose, seeking to hear His direction. You see, just as I recognize that God has a purpose for us all, individually and corporately, I also know that God has a PLAN. KNOWING His plan will be the key ingredient in the manifestation and fulfillment of all of our purposes.

How do we hear His plan? We must bathe in His presence daily, growing in our relationship seeking His Will and receiving His maps and directions. In Isaiah, he prophetically speaks of the Holy Spirit saying "Whether your turn to the right or left, there will be a voice in your ears behind you saying 'This is the way, go in it'."-(Isaiah 32:21) We must listen for the HOLY SPIRIT. It is against my better judgement to go into the details involved in the cacophony of our over-stimulated environmental conditions, and how challenging it is to get to the quiet necessary to hear clearly. The answer to battling against the culture and pace of the world, is to get alone, however you must, with God and BE STILL. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."-John 10:27 Hearing the Master's Will is not something we will usually have success with when we are overwhelmed in the midst of distractions.

When we are operating in God's plans, we are in His Will. When we embrace His directions and dedicate our lives to serving Him and staying under His covering, God grants us an incredible gift. Under His Covering, walking in the direction and steps of His Plans, we receive the benefits of PROVISION, PROTECTION, PROMOTION, PROMISE and POWER. In following the anointed steps which the Comforter specifies, we are cared for, protected, promoted into new levels of responsibility and given greater promises for our future, all the while being provided for and given the power to overcome whatever obstacles stand in the way of God's Design.

Life is a collection of seasons. "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven."-(Ecclesiastes 3:1) When we falter and sometimes miss the direction briefing for the current season, we are missing the specific stratagem needed to remain under that covering of protection and blessing. I have found myself at times holding onto a previous season. When the glory of the Lord moved in those seasons, we must not attempt to make them last past their due time. In holding onto the last season and not actively seeking God's orchestration for the new season, we prolong the time between seasons. God cannot move with us, for us or through us without our obedient response to His specifications. When we are disobedient and fall from under His covering, we miss the providing, protecting, promoting, promising, powerful God who WANTS to see us reach our absolute potential and bear fruit for His Kingdom.

His Plan: A New Thing

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."-(Isaiah 43:18-19)

New seasons are a glorious indication of God's plans coming to pass. If we were perpetually trapped in one moment, no matter how wonderful it is, it would be a stumbling block for His plans. We would stagnate and become dwarfed versions of our authentic selves. Seasons are necessary in nature to bring about the cyclical changes in the earth and in the design of creation that the Lord intended for our natural flesh to encounter. I believe that there is within all seasons an incredible metaphor of the Father's blueprint for our spiritual growth and maturation. "Life is a collection of Seasons" is a quote that one of my mentors, Bob Harrison frequently teaches on. And so it is... And for each season there is a purpose and a divine timing. "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace."-(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

There is a singular beauty and necessity found in each moment, each season of our lives. These moments and seasons are the very milestones, markers and substance of the JOURNEY itself. We each have a destiny that is specific to God's intended architectural purpose for our lives. If we are to fulfill ALL He has written for us to attain and complete, we must not stand still. At the appointed times, we, just as the seasons themselves, must move on. There is a currency to the Power and Plans of God that flows as a River- pressing on and churning the waters and surroundings, bringing NEW LIFE. It is up to us to be obedient when He directs us to hold our ground, or to go. As my bride and I reflect on the last 3 and a half years of our lives and the surreal frequency of the move of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we EMBRACE CHANGE.

Obedience is the key. Although our flesh or our mind will usually be challenged by active change, our spirits remain focused upon the promise of faith. We know the He is Faithful to those who are faithful to Him. “Without faith it is impossible to please God”-(Hebrews 11:6) I recognize the greatest act of faith to be immediate obedience. Delayed obedience is disobedience, nevertheless. But direct obedience of the direction of the Holy Spirit, the very direction of God the Father Himself, leads only to supernatural guidance and favor. In other words, when our faith level is such that we believe the promises of God in the powerful scriptures of the Gospel He ACTIVATES HIS POWER through us: "And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, `Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him; Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any one; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."-(Mark 11:22-25) He gives us the desires of our hearts, and when our wills are wrapped up into His, He literally PLACES HIS DESIRE INTO OUR HEARTS.

When the Holy Ghost prompts you to "GO" or to "MOVE"- we urge you- DO SO. Do not delay. If we truly believe Him at His WORD, then we would move at His prompting without question. If He is truly GOD, then we must. When we have covenant relationship with the Holy Spirit through the saving power of Jesus Christ, we will live a life consecrated to Him, DEDICATED to Him. And when we DEDICATE anything unto the Lord, He takes ownership of it. When He becomes LORD over our lives He is responsible for us. He is a loving and faithful GOD. We truly DO TRUST in HIM. When He urges us, we know to obey. "Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, "This is the way you should go," whether to the right or to the left."-(Isaiah 30:21) He will not only guide you, but He will also strengthen you as well. With true faith in the Lord's promises we gain access to receive the blessings of obedience. "I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built."-(Luke 6:46)

So, as we step out in Faith at the direction of the Holy Spirit, and go boldly out onto the waters, we reach out to HIM. And this very day, which represents the first day of our launching out officially, GOD MOVED. There has been no gap between His provision. This morning we received a MASSIVE blessing that will indubitably strengthen His plans for our life together with incredible, uncommon FAVOR. The Favor of the Lord has fallen upon His obedient servants, who are entirely grateful. We LOVE the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul. We worship Him with all of our spirit. He is a truly faithful Father who is our provider indeed.

Today, in your reading of this humbled man's awe of God's faithfulness to His obedient ones, we pray you find encouragement. Stay strong in the Lord, and the Power of His might. We encourage you to stand upon His Word. "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."-(Philippians 1:6) Stepping out of the boat is a daunting act in our minds and bodies, but when our SPIRIT MAN is under the direct cover of God through immediate obedience, NOTHING CAN STOP HIS PLAN. It may take some "taxing" to get you to your Bethlehem, but when you get there God is going to give you your promise. He WILL see it through. He is not making this up as He goes... He has a perfect plan. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."-(Jeremiah 29:11) Trust in the Lord.