Elvira, chosen as an ambassador of Christ Jesus by the commandment of God our Saviour, and of Christ Jesus our Hope,
To the nations called to be His Bride: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Heavenly Father, we lay at your footstool to exalt and worship You. You are holy, Lord. We bless and praise Your name.
Lord, we thank You for Your lovingkindness, grace, and mercy that you stretch upon our lives every minute of every day. Even the air we breathe, Lord, is thanks to Your love and grace.
We cannot quantify the extent of Your holiness and might, but all we can say is - Thank You for being with us never letting us down.
Today, Abba Father, we call upon Your Spirit of the Fear of the Lord to saturate our atmosphere. May the Fear of the Lord surround us and fill up every corner of our beings.
We pray, God, that the Fear of the Lord take hold of us as we venture into this rich moment of fellowship with Your word and the unveiling of Your wisdom so that nothing inside or around us may succeed in interfering with the transformation You want to do in our hearts, bodies, souls, spirits and lives.
We declare that any agent of darkness commissioned by their masters to read this epistle today with any evil intent be blinded by Your light and brought to their knees before You. May the Fear of the Lord grip them and your abounding love wash over them so that they can count themselves as citizens in Your Kingdom. We proclaim their salvation now, in the name of Jesus Christ.
We declare that supernatural deliverance, conviction, and sanctification will happen today through the power of your Holy Spirit for our lives to be forever transformed.
Father, You are the Ancient of days, The Alpha and the Omega, The Beginning and The End. To You be the Glory now and forever.
It is in the name of Jesus Christ that we prayed, amen.
I had prepared today's address in advance but when I sat down to write, the Lord had other plans.
'The [reverent] Fear of the Lord [that is, worshipping Him and regarding Him as Mighty and truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of wisdom [its starting point and its essence], And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding and spiritual insight. ' Proverbs 9:10
The topic of the day, which will also be the one to close this Captives series is The Fear of the Lord.
Many of us are eager to desire His blessings, His favour, to be free from the afflictions of darkness, and to live under His light and all the goodness that comes with it but have rejected His wisdom because we do not fear, respect, and honour Him as we should.
This is the very meaning of rebellion and wickedness, my friends.
Like we often do concerning our heavenly Father, we keep acting out of ignorance of the truth. We are unaware of the lack of the Fear of the Lord in our lives and how we reject His wisdom, supported and encouraged by the systems of the world.
Many of us have created a machine in our hearts that generates excuses for each wicked act we knowingly or unknowingly commit so that we can live comfortably with our rebellion.
After today’s epistle, my hope is that the lies we have been told - and have told ourselves - will be exposed and we will not be able to continue to live in ways that keep us vulnerable and open to the seductions, temptations, and manipulations of the kingdom of darkness.
Where is the Fear of the Lord in you?
Some have just turned to Christ and are new believers. You think that because you have now divorced darkness and have been rescued from captivity by our mighty Lord Jesus, you must only try to be what the world considers a “good” person and your life will be okay moving forward, but if you live with this mindset, it will not.
What the world considers good is not what the Word of God considers good, actually, in today's culture, they often go in opposite directions. What you need is to develop an unshaken Fear of the Lord to guard and guide your walk with Jesus into longevity and fruitfulness.
'So then, my dear ones, just as you have always obeyed [my instructions with enthusiasm], not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ].
For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure. ' Philippians 2:12-13
Where is the Fear of the Lord in you?
Some will say that they have been believers in Christ for decades or since birth, but they are married to the world and think that going to church on Sunday, singing some worship songs and receiving daily notifications of bible verses on their phones means something in God's Sight. You have failed to understand that you cannot call yourself a child of God and act in the ways of the world. This is what the Lord calls wickedness.
'For the sinful nature has its desire which is opposed to the Spirit, and the [desire of the] Spirit opposes the sinful nature; for these [two, the sinful nature and the Spirit] are in direct opposition to each other [continually in conflict], so that you [as believers] do not [always] do whatever [good things] you want to do.
But if you are guided and led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the Law.
Now the practices of the sinful nature are clearly evident: they are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality (total irresponsibility, lack of self-control), idolatry, sorcery, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions [that promote heresies], envy, drunkenness, riotous behavior, and other things like these.
I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. ' Galatians 5:17-23
You cannot continue to think that a worldly lifestyle can work hand-in-hand with God’s holy Kingdom. You cannot continue to feel comfortable in a sinful nature and claim that you have any legal right to be a co-heir with Christ. This is what the Lord calls wickedness.
If you feel like no matter how hard you try, you cannot resist sin and always end up backsliding into sin, please refer to the prayer to divorce darkness, and the prayer for deliverance from darkness. The source of your inability to resist and walk away from sin is in the root of iniquity still alive within you - and you are bearing its fruits. This is what the Lord calls wickedness.
Elvira
Elvira
You don’t want to offend the world. For example, you fear losing a partner if you refuse to fornicate, you move in with people before marriage to "test the waters" and you provide private and public support for demonic cultural movements that God's word very clearly forbids, giving yourselves excuses for why the way you see it is different and still in line with your Christian values. This is what the Lord calls wickedness.
You don’t want to be seen as not cool enough if you refuse to partake in drunkenness or choose to clothe yourself with modesty, you don’t want to be rejected by your colleagues if you refuse to partake in the falsified report or money embezzlement, you don’t want to be sidelined because of the false belief that you are not enjoying your youth if you are not following the latest pop cultural trends. This is what the Lord calls wickedness.
The truth is that all of these things are precisely what wastes and plunders you of your best and juiciest fruits. These fruits should be preserved for the Lord. Your life is made complete when you are in the presence of God and live to accomplish His purposes, living in holiness to enjoy all of your glorious inheritance in Christ that the world could only dream to possess.
You may not know this, but by continuing to live to be part of the world and fill their boxes whilst you claim to love Jesus, you are actively rejecting the God you claim to love and serve. This is what the Lord calls wickedness.
'For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness [to be dedicated, and set apart by behavior that pleases Him, whether in public or in private]. So whoever rejects and disregards this is not [merely] rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you [to dwell in you and empower you to overcome temptation]. ' 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8
There is a reason why you were created, you have a purpose and that purpose is very dear to God who gave it to you, you were no accident. Have you ever stopped to ask God what is His purpose for you? You may know the gifts and talents that you have, but do you know why they were given to you by your Creator? When you spend your entire life chasing other people's definitions of success, power and self-actualisation you become your own weapon of destruction. The failure to use what the Lord gave you in the way He has ordained - instead of your ways - is an abuse of His grace and blessings. This is what the Lord calls wickedness.
Where is the Fear of the Lord in you?
Some have gained much spiritual authority and have been enabled by the Lord to do great miracles, signs and wonders. You think that your calling is to use those gifts to tour around the nations and be a famous man or woman of God. You think, with no ill intent I hope, that this display of power is what you must do to bring nations to Him, but please hear me out, or rather, hear our Lord out:
'“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV)
In church culture, the verses above are thrown around quite a bit, aren't they? We often attribute them to people who use powers from witchcraft and sorcery to perform miracles and wonders without truly believing in the Lord but using His Name to draw crowds and poison people to mislead them and stray them away from the Lord. But we have failed to understand its true meaning.
The Lord is not speaking about false prophets who use witchcraft and sorcery here, but about the people inside the church who were chosen and granted great gifts and responsibilities with those gifts but failed to prove trustworthy.
False prophets know they are false and they are only fooling the church, not the Lord, so they are not the ones who could be claiming in His face that they prophesied and did great works in His name. They know where they get their powers from, which is from Satan. They know it. They also know the Lord knows it because they know how the spiritual world works and that it is only those who are spiritually blind and deaf who fail to discern.
Actually, a few lines before the passage of Matthew 7:21-23 the Lord warns His disciples against these false prophets:
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." Matthew 7 : 15-20 (NIV)
So, the Lord Jesusaddressed what pertains to false prophets. The passage where He speaks of those who will call on Him saying "Lord, Lord..." claiming that they worked in His name is addressing another issue which concerns those who think they are His prophets and ministers and did receive these gifts from Him but failed to prove faithful and ended up serving themselves, that is, the devil.
They use their God-given gifts and talents to selfish ends, and not to accomplish God’s will. You do not need to be a sorcerer to practice lawlessness, anyone who believes in God but operates outside of His will, purposes and instructions for their lives qualifies as such. This is what the Lord calls wickedness.
The Lord is also speaking to the shepherds who accepted Him as their Lord but have stopped being bearers of His Truth and have become complacent with the things of the world within the church. They have tamed and corrupted the truth for the sake of what they think is best for their church whilst diluting His Church’s standards to please the masses and be able to boast of the reach of their anointing and influence around the world. This is what the Lord calls wickedness.
The Lord is speaking to those actors, singers, artists, businessmen and women, investors, pastors, prophets, and politicians, who are scared to say certain things during their interviews, public events, teachings, and crusades, that they know are not sweet to the ear and will turn people away from their church buildings, concert tours, political rallies, cinema theatres, TV screens, lavish conferences, shopping stores, and digital platforms. They have compromised themselves for popularity and money, and to chase worldly standards of success. This is what the Lord calls wickedness.
I appeal to you, friends, to take a second and question where you stand in your walk with Christ and if you truly fear Him.
You know, Satan is fond of using flattery and deceitful praise to trap and disarm the servants of God who are becoming a threat to darkness. Remember that you don't need to be a pastor or have a church or a ministry to be a threat to darkness. Any person who possesses Christ's light and walks in that light is a threat to the kingdom of darkness. So the strategies the devil uses to push us to defile ourselves are relevant to anyone reading this who fits the description.
Darkness uses crowds, a big following, money, and adulation and may even make you think that the impact of your gift is growing so that when you start getting wrapped up in fleshly glory and pride you will remove your eyes from the Lord’s presence and will. At that moment, even if it is just for a second, he can easily infiltrate and poison your atmosphere. This is what the Lord calls wickedness.
Before you know it, your career, business, or ministry has gone stale and your name is forgotten. Those masses who once praised you are running after the next trendy person to do the same - rinse and repeat. Now you begin to panic because your world is crumbling apart and you seek evil covenants and powers, or sign dubious contracts without giving it enough thought, to try and stay "on top". This is what the Lord calls wickedness.
Something else he will do to try and destabilise you is to use defamation and image sabotage in the public forum, the news, and social media. He will purposefully appoint people and establish sophisticated strategies using lies and manipulation to try and besmirch you and defile you with slander.
He will often use your own people, who are supposed to be your support system, employees, colleagues, family, and friends to publically dishonour you - with or (more often than not) without cause. Don't defend yourself, don't react, and realise that your name is not yours anymore.
The Lord Jesus has set the example for us to follow:
'For [as a believer] you have been called for this purpose, since Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you may follow in His footsteps. He committed no sin, nor was deceit ever found in His mouth. [Is 53:9] While being reviled and insulted, He did not revile or insult in return; while suffering, He made no threats [of vengeance], but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges fairly. ' 1 Peter 2:21-23
To anyone reading this who is a son or daughter of God: stop being emotionally agitated and preoccupied with being liked. Your life is now in the Hands of the One True Living God, and no one else. From today moving forward, it is not the world's systems, the public, your customer base or whatever else you have been taught who decides if you will be elected, or if your film will make good numbers at the box office, or if you will sell enough records, or if your business will prosper, or any other thing the world considers "success".
Besides, there are extremely high chances you are not even operating in the area and career the Lord had predestined for you and once you align yourself with His will, you will have to die to that life so you can gain your true life, which is His life for you, so why care? You will never bear fruit if you care about optics and want to uphold a certain reputation. What you stand for now goes against what the world stands for, so you will never be able to please them.
We must learn that the place where the Lord's glory is truly felt and recognised according to Him, and where He looks to shower us with His blessings is in secret, in private, in our hearts. We don't have a "name" to defend but only the Kingdom of God to serve.
We gave up any right to have a name when we answered Christ's call and chose to consecrate ourselves and be sanctified for His Glory and to do His work. Now He has written His name on us. Therefore, no matter if it is our names, our faces, our tongues or even the words that came out of our mouths that they continue to manipulate to cause us grief, it is irrelevant.
We bear Jesus Christ's name now and it is His name that we stand and live for. Don't allow the evil one to rile you up - he is not worthy of getting a reaction out of you. If we take the bait and react out of anger or bitterness for how we are being treated, we have defiled ourselves and they have won.
Moreover, the Lord purposefully allows for these things to happen to us and He uses them to purify our hearts. The more we learn how not to react to these attacks, the more He extinguishes bitterness and anger from our hearts, and as they are extinguished, the eternal life and light we have gained in Christ Jesus is revealed in us for His glory.
'We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ' 2 Corinthians 4:8-10
As we become more meek and gentle in our spirits, we are becoming more and more like Him and are drawn closer to Him. You must allow Him to use the difficult circumstances of your life as a tool to purify your heart.
One who has the Fear of the Lord paired with a pure heart is the most lethal weapon to the kingdom of darkness.
Read the previous paragraph again.
From time to time, I pray a specific set of verses from Psalms 139, to make sure that I am continuously on the journey of the purification of the heart. When I feel like the Lord is taking me to a new level in the spirit, I take a deep breath and pray the following:
'Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart; Test me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.' Psalms 139:23-24
The last time I prayed this with a sincere heart of saying: "yes, Lord, I am ready for you to test me" was on Sunday (2 days ago), and in less than 24 hours the enemy had a few - very public - attacks launched in my direction, which the Lord allowed. Once my husband and I passed the test, we qualified for the next step on our journey and He drew us closer to Him. We are now eagerly awaiting the reward.
Hallelujah!
You may not be praying this intentionally, but still, the Lord will always allow attacks on you privately and publically so He can test you to see if you are learning and growing. Satan may think he is troubling you and it truly may look that way at the surface, but no. Instead, the Lord is sharpening you spiritually so that you can reach this point in your heart:
'But I say to you, love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may [show yourselves to] be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on those who are evil and on those who are good, and makes the rain fall on the righteous [those who are morally upright] and the unrighteous [the unrepentant, those who oppose Him].
For if you love [only] those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that? And if you greet only your brothers [wishing them God’s blessing and peace], what more [than others] are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles [who do not know the Lord] do that?
You, therefore, will be perfect [growing into spiritual maturity both in mind and character, actively integrating godly values into your daily life], as your heavenly Father is perfect.' Matthew 5:44-48
I used to be weary of difficulties and persecution in my walk with Christ, they used to crush me. But there was a moment when after a long time of never-ending battles both in the physical and the spiritual realm, a switch happened in my spirit when I understood that this is growth through the baptism of fire that is working for my good - and I began to welcome it. When that happened, the following scripture took a whole new meaning for me:
'Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. ' Romans 5:3-5
May the Lord be your strength and pour His love into your hearts, and when the attacks arrive, pray to Him and ask Him to use this battle to draw you closer to Him. If you do it with sincerity I promise you that He will.
Fear the Lord and hold tight onto Him, repent and allow Him to break down all of the things of the flesh and the world that are still at work inside you. His goal is for you to achieve purity of heart so that you may be enabled to destroy the works of darkness both in your lives and in those of others. Fear Him and be the bearer of His truth, a light in the world, and a seeker of His wisdom.
God is looking for people who will fear and honour Him. In fact, His eyes are on them. He sits on His throne and watches their actions, lives, and hearts. He is eagerly looking for people He can freely use to fulfil His Will on earth, and bless with no restraint because He knows He can trust them.
He has made a promise to us who Fear Him, friends, and He always keeps His promises, He is a God of His Word.
'But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. ' Psalms 33:18-19
Rejoice in the Lord, you His sons and daughters, bathe in God’s glory and clothe yourselves with the Fear of the Lord.
'Listen carefully, the Lord God will come with might, And His arm will rule for Him.
Most certainly His reward is with Him, And His restitution accompanies Him.
He will protect His flock like a shepherd, He will gather the lambs in His arm, He will carry them in His bosom; He will gently and carefully lead those nursing their young.
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens with a span [of the hand], And calculated the dust of the earth with a measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance, And the hills in a pair of scales?
Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, Or has taught Him as His counsellor? With whom did He consult and who enlightened Him? Who taught Him the path of justice and taught Him knowledge And informed Him of the way of understanding?
In fact, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; Now look, He lifts up the islands like fine dust. And [the forests of] Lebanon cannot supply sufficient fuel to start a fire, Nor are its wild beasts enough for a burnt offering [worthy of the Lord ].
All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.
To whom then will you liken God? Or with what likeness will you compare Him? As for the cast image (idol), a metalworker casts it, A goldsmith overlays it with gold And a silversmith casts its silver chains. He who is too impoverished for such an offering [to give to his god] Chooses a tree that will not rot; He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman To [carve and] set up an idol that will not totter.
Do you [who worship idols] not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth [the omnipotence of God and the stupidity of bowing to idols]?
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; [It is He] who stretches out the heavens like a veil And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. It is He who reduces dignitaries to nothing, Who makes the judges (rulers) of the earth meaningless (useless).
Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And a strong wind carries them away like stubble.
“To whom then will you compare Me That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these heavenly bodies, The One who brings out their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one is missing. ' Isaiah 40:10-26
Receive the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord
Here is a prayer to petition the Lord to give you His Spirit of the Fear of the Lord. Speak the prayer out loud as described and watch the walls of darkness be destroyed before your eyes:
Elvira
Praise and worship
Use me today I know You can
Lord I surrender to You plan
You made this heart
You made these hands
Take me and use me as I am
Well it's all I have to offer
And it's all I have to give...
Here is a song that you could play and use in worship before you begin your prayer:
Thank you, Lord, because you have heard our prayers and I know that it is done.
With love,
Elvira
