"fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you"
October 12, 2009~~~Rejoicing Always prophet Graham Cooke
Rejoicing Always. October 12, 2009
Living in Christ makes us vulnerable to laughter. Laughter is more than a choice; it’s a requirement for us that we be happy. God’s highest plan for our lives includes a desire for us to find, live in, and love the joy that is in Christ. God is good news! His love and presence is an absolute tonic for us.
“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full,” Jesus said in John 15:11. Every time God speaks to us, or reveals more of His nature to us, joy is part of that equation. Beholding Him and becoming like Him is an invitation to party and celebrate with Him. Everything God says to us is designed to bring us into joy. Everything in the Kingdom of Heaven is about gladness, joy, happiness, and laughter. God wants to bring a smile to our faces.
God is joyful because He knows what’s coming next. He knows the final score. When you know the end from the beginning, you can’t help but laugh at all of evil’s schemes and tricks. They become irrelevant when you know that you win. There is a continuous joy in Christ that runs so deep that no one else can even touch it. But to access it, we need to learn how to rejoice in all things.
For me, joy is a safeguard. It’s a shield against the enemy. When the enemy comes, we can laugh in his face—because God laughs at him first.
I once had a dream where I was on a battlefield. We had just fought off the enemy, but we had lost a lot of good people. There weren’t many of us left; we were small and pitiful, to be honest. Every one of us was wounded. I myself had at least a dozen sword gashes on my arms. I was bleeding badly, and was absolutely exhausted.
Suddenly, a trumpet blew, and I saw another enemy army take the field in front of us. I looked around but saw no reinforcements for our battered side. The enemy was powering up. Their ranks were swelling with every passing moment. It was a hopeless fight, but our ragtag band of survivors gathered close together and got ready.
As I set my feet and gritted my teeth in preparation for the enemy’s charge, I noticed a man next to me was dressed as a restaurant waiter. Perfectly-pressed black trousers, a bowtie, a crisp, white shirt, and a white towel slung over his arm.
“What are you doing?” I asked incredulously.
“Would you like the melon or the soup?” he replied.
“What?” I asked.
“Melon or soup?” he said.
“How can you talk about food at a time like this?” I demanded.
The waiter ignored me and went from person to person, asking, “Melon or soup?”
“Are you mad?” I said. “Don’t you see what’s happening? Don’t you see the blood all over the ground? Don’t you see the enemy over there? How can you talk about lunch at a time like this?”
“Mmm-hmm,” he answered. “Melon or soup?”
I lost my temper completely. “Are you stupid or something?” I screamed. “You want to talk about food at a time like this?”
Suddenly, I woke up to find myself shouting, “Talk about food!” in my bedroom. In that instant, I received a powerful revelation, found in Psalm 23:5—“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”
When we’re on the battlefield just trying to survive the next wave of the enemy, God is thinking about menus. He looks around and says, “What a great place for a picnic! We can have sausage rolls, meat pies, cheese sandwiches. This will be perfect.” He is so secure in who He is and in His power to defeat any enemy that He can feed us in the middle of the worst battle of our lives. And that confidence should be a source of pure joy in our lives.
Living in Christ makes us vulnerable to laughter. Laughter is more than a choice; it’s a requirement for us that we be happy. God’s highest plan for our lives includes a desire for us to find, live in, and love the joy that is in Christ. God is good news! His love and presence is an absolute tonic for us.
“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full,” Jesus said in John 15:11. Every time God speaks to us, or reveals more of His nature to us, joy is part of that equation. Beholding Him and becoming like Him is an invitation to party and celebrate with Him. Everything God says to us is designed to bring us into joy. Everything in the Kingdom of Heaven is about gladness, joy, happiness, and laughter. God wants to bring a smile to our faces.
God is joyful because He knows what’s coming next. He knows the final score. When you know the end from the beginning, you can’t help but laugh at all of evil’s schemes and tricks. They become irrelevant when you know that you win. There is a continuous joy in Christ that runs so deep that no one else can even touch it. But to access it, we need to learn how to rejoice in all things.
For me, joy is a safeguard. It’s a shield against the enemy. When the enemy comes, we can laugh in his face—because God laughs at him first.
I once had a dream where I was on a battlefield. We had just fought off the enemy, but we had lost a lot of good people. There weren’t many of us left; we were small and pitiful, to be honest. Every one of us was wounded. I myself had at least a dozen sword gashes on my arms. I was bleeding badly, and was absolutely exhausted.
Suddenly, a trumpet blew, and I saw another enemy army take the field in front of us. I looked around but saw no reinforcements for our battered side. The enemy was powering up. Their ranks were swelling with every passing moment. It was a hopeless fight, but our ragtag band of survivors gathered close together and got ready.
As I set my feet and gritted my teeth in preparation for the enemy’s charge, I noticed a man next to me was dressed as a restaurant waiter. Perfectly-pressed black trousers, a bowtie, a crisp, white shirt, and a white towel slung over his arm.
“What are you doing?” I asked incredulously.
“Would you like the melon or the soup?” he replied.
“What?” I asked.
“Melon or soup?” he said.
“How can you talk about food at a time like this?” I demanded.
The waiter ignored me and went from person to person, asking, “Melon or soup?”
“Are you mad?” I said. “Don’t you see what’s happening? Don’t you see the blood all over the ground? Don’t you see the enemy over there? How can you talk about lunch at a time like this?”
“Mmm-hmm,” he answered. “Melon or soup?”
I lost my temper completely. “Are you stupid or something?” I screamed. “You want to talk about food at a time like this?”
Suddenly, I woke up to find myself shouting, “Talk about food!” in my bedroom. In that instant, I received a powerful revelation, found in Psalm 23:5—“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”
When we’re on the battlefield just trying to survive the next wave of the enemy, God is thinking about menus. He looks around and says, “What a great place for a picnic! We can have sausage rolls, meat pies, cheese sandwiches. This will be perfect.” He is so secure in who He is and in His power to defeat any enemy that He can feed us in the middle of the worst battle of our lives. And that confidence should be a source of pure joy in our lives.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sharon Shown on -
This was very good....a hidden meaning in the dream....how excellent was that? Just wanted to thank you again for the 'word' that the Lord gave you for me a week or so ago...it has blessed me SO much. Made me not want to give up...I try not to look into the next day as this day has enough troubles of its own.
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Permalink Reply by Dr. Mary Anne Conte, Apostle on -
Sharon I just received this "confirming" word to the word God gave me in June this year to deliver to the body of Christ.....that he is "repositioning" people in the natural so he can "reposition" them in the kingdom......it came from Apostle Barclay.....to me on another site.....thought you would be encouraged and exhorted if I shared it with you.....blessings, Apostle Mary Anne
A NEW SEASON, YOUR SEASON, THE PERFECT SEASON
Even as seasons change in the natural, even so in the spirit and with our spiritual walk seasons change. And until you leave hear and the second coming of Christ, seasons will be forever changing. Seasons will forever come and go. And as with each season, we must adopt to the changes that comes with the next or each new season.
Just before the winter comes, people make sure that their vehicle is ready for the winter, and they have their car winterized. Homeowners make sure that their homes are properly insulated and weatherized for the cold winds and snow. Even so must we Beloved, be prepared to deal with the new seasons in oour lives when they come. And if we remain at the Father’s feet and stay prayerful, He will let us know about the seasons and times that are just ahead of us, so we could be prepared to receive them, adopt them and make adjustments for them.
The Lord spoke to me this morning that for many, your new season will be transitional in a great way. This includes moving geographically or regionally. Yes that’s right, packing up your backs like Abraham and going to a place that you know not of and are not familiar with. But as you obey and obediently and wholly follow the Lord, without leaning to your own understanding, you will find that when you get to that new place, that the Lord has a people already there to receive you, like the widow woman at Zarapheth, that was ready to receive the Prophet Elisha and feed him her last.
Your new place wil come with a new people a new assignment, new instructions and new directives. The Lord will call you to expand that which you have already done and for some He will take you out the the realm or sphere that you have been working in and put you into something new, for His purposes and pland for the body of Christ and His kingdom purposes. So be not prejudiced or biased. Be not preferential to what you want to do or where you want to go. Because God is looking for and need people that will do as He says and go where He says go. And when we get to the place where we can respond to the Lord, His Spirit and His guidance Beloved, then surely we mean with our hearts, “Not my will but Thy will be done oh Lord.”
“ THE PERFECT SEASON”
The Lord also spoke to me and said “This is the perfect season.”
Perfect means complete, so this is the season where things will become complete in our life, and the parts that we have been holding on to will now come together to make a whole. Many things will now come together in this perfect season and will be complet,e finalized and resolved. So look up Beloved, your redemption is at the door and that which the Lord will do, He will do quickly. For this is the time, season and day, this is the hour that all things must be fulfilled says the Lord. "Fret not any more, worry not any more, nor be dismayed, but look Me in My face and see My hand move for you."
Oh what a mighty God we serve. What a Mighty God He is that loves us so greatly! What manner of love is this?
Lovingly for Him,
His Servant and Friend,
Sharon Shown said:This was very good....a hidden meaning in the dream....how excellent was that? Just wanted to thank you again for the 'word' that the Lord gave you for me a week or so ago...it has blessed me SO much. Made me not want to give up...I try not to look into the next day as this day has enough troubles of its own.
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Permalink Reply by Sharon Shown on
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I am trying...I am trying....not to look at tomorrow but doing everything that is expected for me to do....I try not to look at tomorrow and I am certainly encouraged by this, "Fret not any more, worry not any more, nor be dismayed, but look Me in My face and see My hand move for you." Well, I do look you in the face, Lord and say....please allow me to see YOUR HAND move for me as I have trusted and waited and tried to be as patient as I know to be....
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