Posted on by Sami M

Let Go >>> Let’s Go Pt. 17

Letting Go of your chains

You are delivered, redeemed, and set free from your sin, addictions, past seasons, previous relationships, negative habits, and anything else you can think of that does not line up with Jesus. If you’ve sought deliverance in your spirit from the Enemy and his demonic workers, you are FREE. The blood of Jesus Christ has delivered you from the bondage of the Enemy, and given you the keys to your spiritual freedom to walk in alignment with the will of God. I’ve had a stirring in my own spirit that the Holy Spirit is asking us to drop our chains. The blood of Christ has broken them and unlocked every piece that held us bound to the Enemy. You are free, but are you willing to drop the familiarity of your bondage. Are you willing to drop old habits, seasons, people, or thoughts that are holding you back from your God given story. We cling to the old things because they are familiar, we cling to the chains that once bound us, because we don’t know what that forward step in faith looks like. We have a disbelief that God’s freedom over an area of our life is somehow less fulfilling than the old comfortable way of the deceitful heart and bondage of the Enemy. There’s a disconnect in us from the comfort of living in a past place the Enemy bound us and from God’s word about our future. To walk in dominion over our old chains, God is calling us to drop them, never look back, and step forward in faith, believing that He’s doing a divine sanctifying work in us to bring us from glory to greater glory.

“Like a dog that returns to his vomit, is a fool who repeats his folly.”

Proverbs 26:11

When I had the vision of us staring at our chains unable to let go of them, despite them being unlocked, broken, and no longer binding us, I knew it was a picture of our regular return to old things that were sour, stale, and bore no future life for us. In this moment I was reminded of the scripture in Proverbs 26 where we are reminded of the dog returning to it’s vomit. Going back to our old chains or even just holding onto them in an unwillingness to let go keeps us in a sour, stale, and dead place. We have the choice to go forth and feed ourselves with the truth of God and His promises, or continue to feed ourselves with what Jesus delivered us from. Many times in deliverance people vomit or cough as a physical representation of a spiritual change. When this happens a demonic stronghold leaves through the mouth. Unlike the dog returning to vomit, we have reject and eject the spiritual strongholds from our lives permanently and not go back to them. Those chains are no longer yours, leave them in the lap of the Enemy, and walk out in victory over the things you’ve overcome in your life. Jesus is greater than the dead things you used to find comfort in. Maybe they were even once good, but not all good things stay that way. When God removes those things, He’s telling you they are no longer a source of life for you. They became chains and they became the vomit on the floor that needs to be cleaned up and thrown in the trash. Your freedom is found in your obedience to one hundred percent walk away from the old chains you cling to. Leave the old dead things on the front door of the Enemy’s porch and just walk away, don’t give him the satisfaction and victory in your life. The battle of your mind is your largest war front; fuel your forward movement and personal victory with the presence, power and purity of Jesus Christ. You did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into old chains, rather, you received a Spirit of adoption as a co-inheritor of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, with every access to the heavenly places to overcome every battle.

“So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Romans 8:12-15

As an adopted son or daughter Jesus is calling you to truly step out in your freedom, from the oppression of the Enemy you allow in your mind. You are in control of the level of freedom you walk in because of the amount of access you give the Enemy to tempt you back to old chains. With your permission you can allow the Enemy to re lock those locks and set yourself back in the grip of the Enemy. I know none of us want to place ourselves in bondage, but inevitably he wears us down sometimes, and we allow ourselves to go backwards and tread an old path worn by the Enemy. If that is you, declare your freedom, renounce the lies you believe, repent of your sin, and declare those chains be loosed in the name of Jesus. We must remember we have the same Spirit as Jesus Christ, who resisted every attempt of the Enemy to have access over His mind and His life. We are adopted as sons and daughters, given every access to the Father as Jesus had on earth. So we must cry out when we are tempted to walk backwards. We must meet the Father at the throne of His grace and mercy, asking Him to help us believing in faith that we are already victorious. YOU ARE ALREADY VICTORIOUS over every attempt of the Enemy to tempt you to go backward or to cling to the old things. You must wield the might of heaven before your flesh and fight for your perseverance forward. Will you believe it and call him out for the liar the Enemy and your flesh is? Will you declare that your Father in heaven has greater plans, promises, and growth for you than what the enemy could ever offer you? Will you hope for your victorious future rather than crumble from your past?

And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Romans 8:23-25

We all struggle with moving forward in different areas of our lives, especially when it comes to the things of God. Saying yes to Him when we can’t see the new, is difficult. We are promised a hope and a future greater than we can perceive and struggle to grasp it because of the world we live in. The world is on loan to the Enemy, and everything in the world is easily seen and perceived. The Enemy is great at distracting and derailing us from our divine future and assignments because he’s in our face everywhere. God is calling you to step from what you see and what you know into a deeper place of faith. He’s asking you to trust and believe in every promise He has made to His people, which in the bible alone, is over six thousand promises. The Enemy and our flesh gets too much credit for being the easy way out, the reason for our lack of fulfillment and joy. We have to drop our excuses for why we can’t let go, change, or go forward. We have a hope for an eternal future with the heavenly Father, but while we are here we have a daily hope and promise of God meeting us right in the middle of the world we live in. There is no hope in what is seen, because it we already have it, God’s calling you to hope for far greater than what you can see. Press into His presence, His wisdom, His guidance, and turn your back on the struggles and stale comforts you can readily see. Set your eyes on the One who can help you move forward. He’s released you, but now you have to walk forward with hope, a divine promise of a greater future here on earth and on the other side of eternity.

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 43:18-19

Once the chains are broken, and we chose to let go of them, then we can begin to perceive the new thing. God promises He will make a way when we turn our backs on the former things. He wants to see us grab hold of the new change He is bringing. He promises to cut down the path before you, to give you access to your future, and to fill you so that you are well watered. God has a promise to make way for your feet and to grow you so that you have the maturity to press forward in what He is calling you into. You are precious and honored in His eyes, so loved by Him, that He has given everything for you. The price is paid for your future, now you have to redeem the promise of a bold, victorious, and joy filled life. Just as the men holding the ark of the covenant had to step into the Jordan river in Joshua 3:13 for the river to stop its flow in order to go forward to the promised land, you must step into the river and trust that God will part the waters for you. Joshua was told by God that the men must step into the overflowing river in order to have a path set before them. They had to take a step of faith, trusting that God was going to show up and make a way for the Israelites. We don’t want to be the generation of Moses who clung to the comfort of the desert because we knew it well, and end up spending our time stuck there because we were too afraid of what we might face on the other side. Be a Joshua, steadfast in going forward despite an unknown, patiently standing upon the promises of God that He is for you and will make a way. You are meant to let go, so you can say, yes to His, let’s go. Our faith, perseverance, obedience, and hope is necessary for our divinely appointed future. Whatever the old chains are, I dare you to drop them into the abyss, and never look back, you have a hope and future as an adopted child of God with every resource of heaven at your fingertips.

Posted on by Sami M

Let Go >>> Let’s Go Pt.13

Letting go of your wild

I am the true vine , and my Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does not bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless youe abide in Me.

John 15:1-4

Little did I know when I started this series of letting go, so I could say yes to God’ s call of let’s go, that it would be this process of epic pruning all the way to the stump at times, like a rose bush that has grown wild and untamed for years. It’s roots are good, but not everything that is growing is healthy. The bush has too many inconsistancies, growing in many directions, taking on a life of its own. If anyone has seen an unkempt rose bush, you know there’s potential for more fruitful growth, more flowers, and better direction. The bush has to be pruned back to its start, to grow it in a better direction, consistently kept up by its keeper. What I have learned in the last year, is we are like wild rose bushes when we grow our own way, despite being grown in the goodness of God.

We can be planted by God, watered by Him, but not allow Him to do regular pruning and upkeep of our soul. I think many times we think that by our good deeds, baptism of the Spirit, our regular commitments to church, and Jesus community that these are enough and by extension that we will walk on the path of sanctification consistently becoming more like Christ. Consistency in our walk with Christ is defined by our willingness to submit to our Vinedresser. I’ve found that without us seeking God with daily intention and looking for Him in moments of each day, we miss His touch on our encounters with the world around us. We miss His provision in the midst of loss, His blessing in moments of joy, His favor in hard fought victories, His pruning in moments of pain, His glory in places of beauty, His guidance in difficult decisions, His peace in times of trial, His patience in our struggle, and His kindness when we falter. We miss so many moments with God, that we lose the direction of God, running wild without Him. The Spirit of God desires to run wild with us and in us, leading us.

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

John 15:5

Saying yes to God daily means that the Holy Spirit does a regular pruning of our sinful souls when we abide in Christ, gently growing us in the right direction. We have to seek Him earnestly in our daily lives with an intentional heart. We can get caught up in chasing the look of a Christ like life without the intimacy of it. Intimacy is where God can intentionally grow us, and prune us in a more regular fashion. I think we tend to run off on our own instead and go, “I’ve got this! Thanks for everything!”, but that’s not what abiding in the Vine really looks like. God is really good at letting us grow in every direction, but at some point we meet His boundaries for us and that is where He reminds us of who we are and where we are meant to be going. God wants our total and complete dependency on Him for the direction of our growth, so He can grow us better in every area. Growth requires pruning back even the good stuff. With roses keeping them pruned regularly keeps the branches healthier so they can produce more flowers. God desires to take every single area of your life and make it better in a completely supernatural way that is so indescribable that the His glory shines through. Even Jesus needed continual communion with God in order to fulfill His mission on earth.

But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Matthew 14:15-16

If we look at Jesus before His ministry began in Matthew 4, He is led by the Holy Spirit to the wilderness place for forty days to fast and stand before God to prepare Him for His ministry. God called Jesus to Himself before sending Him out to bear fruit. Jesus didn’t just sit for forty days doing nothing, He spend those days in fasting, prayer, and communion with God. Was it comfortable, probably not, was He very physically weak and tired by the end, yes. At the end of this period we see then, after being built up in the Lord, He is tested by Satan, yet despite being weak, He is made strong, and resists Him. Then after this He steps into His ministry and bears fruit outwardly to the communities around Him. Christ’s time and testing didn’t end there; His complete reliance on the Father’s guidance and character was required right up until the end. There are many examples of Jesus’ reliance on the pruning, watering, and growth from God. In Luke 6:12 we see Christ rely on the Father to provide the wisdom for Him to pick the people of His inner circle. He seeks the comfort of God in the midst of loss when He receives news of John the Baptist’s death in Matthew 14:13. Jesus heals tons of people throughout scripture, Luke 5:16, in this case it is a man with leprousy; immediately after He leaves to commune with God to be renewed and restored in humility. Jesus could have easily run on healing many others, as we probably would, in His own pride, but He didn’t. As we know, for Him to live as He lived, continued humility was key. He sought this through the highs and lows of His ministry by retreating to God’s presence no matter what amazing thing He had done or sadness He experienced. There are many other instances of Jesus need for the direction of God, showing us how to abide in God, but these are just a few. Jesus’ life was no cake walk, He experienced the supernatural miracles we dream of, but also experienced loss to the greatest degree, and lived with His disciples everywhere inbetween. Somehow He managed as fully man to show us what a wild life with God looked like, never once did He run on His own esteem. He had a total and utter dependence on the Vinedresser. Jesus’ life is what we as believers could only dream of living, a wild ride with the Holy Spirit, ministering to thousands while staying in perfect harmony with God’s will. A completely fulfilling and exciting life, even with the difficult choices that He had to make along the way.

Somewhere along the line, we see life in our own way, and think God is done prepping us or teaching us for a while. We go it alone in a sense, never completely, but definitely running on some pride thinking ok, I’m ready, I can go my own way. The reality is we are never ready to go our own way because we live in an imperfect world, in sinful bodies who commune poorly with our Creator, if we’re honest. If Jesus who inhabited a broken body relied on the Heavenly Father for His every move, then why do we think that we have it right taking our growth in our own hands. When reality strikes us, we realize that maybe we are going about our ministry, family, relationships, personal growth, job, etc wrong. Jesus couldn’t do it, so how could we? Pride, yep, simple pride. God desires to strip us of our pride, so that we can see that whether we are in a season of joyful smooth sailing, transition, or a season of loss, we need Him all the same. We get blinded somehow thinking that we should have it all our way or that life should be easy and we only need God when it isn’t working for us. Wrong move on our part, God is equally in our corner whether we are in a constant struggle to stay above water or living through the most joyous season yet. His presence, goodness, and wisdom never stop pouring out, but we are capable of stepping away from the oil He’s trying to anoint us with or we are showing up with a cup thats too small. We are allowed to choose, but we many times feel like we can place anointing and favor upon ourselves just because something is good and He was blessing, when God has moved somewhere else. We don’t follow well. Or we are showing up before God with a kiddie cup with this expectation that He can’t turn our messiest and most painful situation into beauty and glory. Just abide, and throw your pride and small expectations to the wind.

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion– to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. 

Isaiah 61:1-3

We are the planting of the Lord, called to be righteous and Holy, giving up our weedy and wild tendencies. Jesus showed us what an amazing and full life looked like without getting caught up in the weeds or growing off in some other direction far off from God’s anointing on His life. This sanctification process through the pruning of our wild is a refinement process, removing from you the baggage of your sin that will keep you from stepping from one place of growth to the next. The Father wants to rip out our pride by the roots; He didn’t plant a spirit of pride, He planted a righteous, holy follower of Christ. When you and I accepted the saving grace of Christ, allowing the everlasting life of the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, we accepted a new identity. As we walk by the Spirit, the fruit we bear outwardly to the world grows in number. The places you’ve always struggled, become less, and the direction of your heart begins to permanently shift in a different direction. Our sinful tendencies start to fade, and our walk with Christ blossoms. The darkest times we walk through become filled with the sustaining goodness of God, shaping us in a more beautiful way. We see the miracles that are possible, hoping in everlasting possibilities, rather than losing faith in God’s character. We begin to trust His character and His motives rather than judge Him by where we are and what we faintly see with human eyes. The seasons of transition no longer become a narrow hallway we want to escape but rather a laser focus on who God is, and where He is potentially pointing us. The joyous and abundant seasons become a place of thankfulness and generosity, not gathering for ourselves, but rather pouring out, just as God does for us. I know where I am, and its not a visibly joyous season, but I do know there is this invisible and supernatural joy I will abide in every day, even when I’m seen to the other side of what seems impossible. I will hope, be steadfast in faith, constant in prayer, doing my best never to show up with the kiddie cup for God. I will show up every day to the best of my reckoning to say YES to let’s go, no matter what is in front of me, and let go of whats hindering me.

Posted on by Sami M

Reflecting Christ’s Character

A prophetic word walking into the unknown.

Your character is refined and defined by Me. Do not be afraid to walk out into the unknown spaces, because I am your foothold. The path you take will be defined in a unique supernatural way. Do not waver in your identity and character as you make way. I am your mirror, and will always reflect the peace and confidence you need to march forth. If you trust in what you see in Me, you will make it through, blazing a new path, taking on new territory. Your confidence is defined by my steadfast character which will see you to the other side. Know that taking on new ground will require a refinement of your soul, be humble and patient in the process. You may be shaken but you will not fall, we will forge a new way together. Trust in my character and goodness for the testing that will come. Active faith, hope, and love will help define the forward moving path even in adversity. Your character will be tested, but will not fail, because I am with you and I define you. It is time to blaze a new path, trust that I will get you there. A supernatural work of My Spirit is at hand.