Genesis 37:8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
Luke 19:14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
Another aspect of Mashiach ben Yosef is that the world would resist his authority.
When Joseph told his family of his dreams, they were outraged at the suggestion that their younger brother would reign over them. They simply had no idea that God would make Joseph exactly the kind of ruler they needed.
Likewise, the world is outraged by Yeshua’s claim to be ruler of this world. Never mind that His astounding humility completely qualifies Him to be loved, worshiped, and respected.
Joseph won the hearts of his brothers through the grace, forgiveness, and love that he showed them after they had rejected and sought to kill him. Yeshua wins our hearts the same way, and yet we still find resistance to His authority in some areas of our lives.
The longer I walk as a believer, the more I find myself between two realities. As my life becomes more consecrated and I realize how Holy He truly is, I become increasingly aware of my own true condition, “Woe is me, for I’m a man of unclean lips!” My life may seem to be holier to the world, while inside, my spirit is crying out, “Lord, Help me!” It’s because I can see and feel more clearly the areas in my soul that are still not submitted to Him. Yet His Spirit is constantly nudging me, “I want this part of your life too!”
If the Spirit of God is nudging you to surrender something, somehow, somewhere… it’s time to give it over to Him. Don’t wait another day. Take a moment and say once again, “Lord, I want you to reign over all my life!”
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]We all know that prayer needs to be an essential part of our lives. And if you're like me, we would love for the Lord to answer all our prayers instantaneously -- however, we know from experience this is not always the case!
Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian Jewish Believer and an amazing man of God, spent 14 years in communist prisons where he was tortured brutally for his faith and then lived to tell about it. In his book, The Oracles of God, he writes about acquiring inner peace and tells the following powerful story.
Once upon a time, Aesop wrote, the beasts and the fowls were engaged in war. A doublehearted bat was trying to belong to both parties. When the birds were victorious, he would fly around telling everyone he was a bird, and when the beasts won, he would walk around assuring everyone that he was actually a beast. His insincerity was soon discovered and the devious bat was rejected by both the beasts and the birds. From that time on and forevermore, the bat would be banned from the light and would be only allowed to appear openly at night.
In the sermon on the mount, Yeshua said, “You are the light of the world,” and commanded us to let our lights shine that we may give glory to our Heavenly Father. This world is becoming more ungodly and dark, and by deep contrast, the saints of the Lord will shine brighter! A candle in a bright room isn’t particularly significant or easy to notice. A candle in the darkness shines like a lighthouse and offers the only source of guidance for movement.
Is it me, or is the world going nuts? Have we’ve entered the “Twilight Zone”? However, the Bible gave us an understanding of what the last days would entail. We are witnessing the groanings of creation, the literal birth-pangs of the “Day of the Lord”, we also must be awakened and prepared for the coming HARVEST.
Charles Spurgeon was a minister often accused of being “controversial”. One day a friend of Spurgeon’s remarked, “So, I hear you are in hot water again.”
“No, I’m not the one in hot water,” …
As I’ve been speaking across the United States, I’ve been stressing the need for our spiritual foundation to be solidified, and how important it is right now for believers to be grounded on the rock that doesn’t move!