Walking in your true identity

I heard and released these words from the Lord (as we enter the Hebrew New Year 5778):
"Come to Me! Draw near to Me! And you will know who you are in Me, not what people think or say you are! Even before you were born, I already knew you! I know your true identity! I know My plans and purposes in your life, from beginning till the end! This is the time to walk in that true identity! It doesn't matter what people think or say you are, but what I think or say you are!"

People may have a certain 'stereotype' or opinion regarding you. They may say this or that about who you are. But what does God say you are? Because that's what matters the most! Indeed, the time has come for you to walk in that true identity God has intended for you! Not what the world thinks or says you are!

Let's look at the Scripture now.

Luke 8:43 says, 'Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any'. There is a symbolic meaning here. This 'woman' speaks of 'you and I', i.e. the 'church', who is the 'bride of Christ' (see Ephesians 5:25). But for twelve years, she had a physical condition that wasn't supposed to be, and had never been intended for her to be! The Bible says she had tried every physical means (or methods) on earth to be healed, but to no avail!

But the time came when Jesus was passing by, and she knew her opportune time for healing had come. In the midst of the multitudes, she came from behind and touched the border of Jesus' garment (Luke 8:44). Immediately her flow of blood stopped, and she was healed!

What does Jesus' garment symbolize here?
The kingdom and the righteousness of God!
Isaiah 61:10 says, 'I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels'.
Matthew 6:33 says, 'But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you'.

Jesus perceived power going out from Him, and asked who touched Him? (Luke 8:45-46) When the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, falling down before Him, and declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately (Luke 8:47). And Jesus said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace." (Luke 8:48)

You know what? After twelve years, this woman could finally be who she's supposed to be! By the way, the number 'twelve' in Hebrew is the number for 'divine government, divine power, divine authority'. She had finally regained whatever she had lacked as a woman all these while, and she could now be fruitful in her life! If this woman is a 'picture' of 'you and I', or the 'church', then the time has also come for 'you and I', or the 'church' to walk in 'divine government, divine power, divine authority' again!

Interestingly, the Greek translation for 'Go in peace' here is 'por eis eirene', not 'por en eirene'. And the word 'eis' means 'into', not 'in'. Therefore, Jesus was in effect saying to this woman, "Go into peace", or "Enter into the peace of the Lord". This peace ('eirene' in Greek) is none other than the shalom peace of the Lord - the unshakeable, 'nothing broken, nothing missing' peace of the Lord that He has given you! (see John 14:27)

People of God, as an individual and as the 'church', this is the time to look away from the means (or methods) of this world, but instead, look to Him, your Righteousness! (Matthew 6:33) He is your Source, your Answer, and your Solution that the world cannot give! Like the woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years, the time has also come for you to walk into who God has intended for you to be - Blessed! Healthy! Rejoicing! Victorious! Powerful! You can, because of all that Jesus has done for you on the cross some 2,000 years ago!

When you begin walking in that true identity (i.e. who God has intended for you to be), you also enter into the peace of the Lord, and in turn, peace with yourself! You will begin to rejoice in who you are in Him, and you will begin to walk in the fullness of God's plan in your life. Amen!

Fear not the 'adversity'! Your 'promotion' time is coming!

I heard and released these words from the Lord recently:

"Fear not! Even when you are faced with opposition, persecution, or 'storms' in life! Though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you will fear no evil! Because I am with you, and My grace is sufficient for you! When you are weak, that's when I am strong! I have been there for you, and I will still be with you! Those 'storms' will pass away, and your promotion time is coming!"

In Psalm 23:4, David wrote, 'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me'. The expression 'the valley of the shadow of death' here speaks of 'the darkness (or challenges) one walks through in life at times', and the word 'evil' here is 'rah' in Hebrew, literally meaning 'adversity, trouble'.

People of God, if you are faced with any 'adversity' or 'trouble' in the world right now, fear not, because the Lord your God is with you; and His rod and His staff, they comfort you. He uses His rod to chase away your 'predators', and His staff to lead (and guide) you to the right direction. Like sheep to the shepherd, keep looking to Him and trusting in Him, your Good Shepherd (Psalm 23:1-3), no matter what happens around you. He has been there for you, and He will still be with you! Be rest assured. David knew this very well, and no wonder he wrote at the beginning of this psalm, 'The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want' (Psalm 23:1).

By the time David wrote Psalm 23, he must have already seen much in life. He was no more a youngster. How do I know? In Psalm 23:5, he wrote, 'You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies...' This means he's old enough to have enemies. I mean, real enemies in this world! In the same verse, he also wrote, 'You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over'. This means he's old enough to have experienced abundance in providence. In Psalm 23:6, he wrote, 'Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever'. This means he's old enough to have tasted much of the Lord's goodness and mercy for him to write this way!

He must have also reminisced how the Lord had been there for him in his earlier days, even as far back as the time when he faced Goliath! He was still in his youth when Goliath came out from the camp of the Philistines and challenged Israel to choose a man to fight him (1 Samuel 17:8). However, all the men of Israel fled from him (Goliath) and were dreadfully afraid (1 Samuel 17:24), for he was a giant, and his height was 'six cubits and a span', equivalent to 'nine feet and six inches' in modern-day measurement!

But David 'stepped up to the plate', even though Goliath was about twice his size, and as 'intimidating' as can be! David knew the battle wasn't his, but the Lord's (1 Samuel 17:47), and he prevailed (1 Samuel 17:50-51). When king Saul heard about it, he sent Abner, the commander of the army of Israel, to inquire about him (1 Samuel 17:56-58).

You see, what the enemy meant as an 'opposition' against Israel, the Lord turned it around as a 'promotion' time for His beloved, David!

The name 'Goliath' comes from the Hebrew word 'galah', meaning 'to shame, to strip (in a disgraceful sense), to remove'. So, if your 'Goliath' comes against you in order to shame you, strip you (in a disgraceful sense), and remove you (from God's plan and purposes in your life), fear not, because just as He was with David those days, the Lord is now here with you, fighting the battles for you. In fact, the Lord has a good news for you: "Your 'promotion' time is coming!"

New wine into new wineskins

I heard and released these words from the Lord recently:
"New wine has been released! But My people need to have a new wineskin, lest the old wineskin bursts! The new wineskin is the new mindset! Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may allow what is that good, acceptable and perfect will of God!"

In Matthew 9:17, Jesus says, "Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."

People use wineskins to contain wine, and to drink from them. Wineskins are made of leather (animal skin), e.g. goatskin, sheepskin, or cowskin. As the wineskins get older, they would eventually get 'stretched to the limit' and become brittle (i.e. hard, easily breakable). Using old wineskins therefore risk bursting them! New wineskins, on the other hand, won't burst, because they are soft and tender!

If 'new wineskin' speaks of 'new mindset', then 'new wine' speaks of 'the new thing that God has for you'! This may be 'a new idea' or 'a new way of doing things' in a new time and season. In cross-reference, Isaiah 43:18-19 says, 'Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing. Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert'.

In order to walk into the new thing that God has for you, there needs a renewal of the mind. It is like a new vision being given to a nation moving forward, but if the nation does not seek to revamp an outdated education system to facilitate the new vision, it just won't work! The 'old wineskin' bursts! And the new wine spills! And it will only lead to frustration all round!

Romans 12:2 says, 'And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed (changed) by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God'. The word 'prove' here is 'dokimazo' in Greek, and it also means 'allow'. In other words, it is only when your mind is renewed (to see what God wants you to see) that you will allow what is that 'good and acceptable and perfect will of God' to happen in your life!

As a matter of fact, people generally resist change. The reason is simple. Because change is never comfortable. People tend to fall back on the things (even systems or structures) they are familiar with, even though God has moved on to the new. After the people in Moses' generation were set free from Egypt (which is a 'picture' of 'bondage' and 'slavery'), they still had 'slave' mentality in them. They were still bound in their old mindsets (i.e. 'old wineskins'). The Lord had already started to do a new thing (i.e. 'new wine'), but they didn't have the new mindsets (i.e. 'new wineskins') to 'contain' it!

When Moses sent men to spy out the land promised to them, instead of a good report, they brought back a bad report! They didn't believe they could take the land, even though they did see the land was indeed flowing with milk and honey! Here's what they said, "The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw giants; and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." (Numbers 13:32-33) The words 'in our own sight' here means 'in our own way of seeing things' or 'in our own mindsets'. But that's not how the Lord had wanted them to see it!

The people then complained against Moses, and they said, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in the wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" (Numbers 14:2-3)

No! They were wrong! The Lord did not take them out from Egypt to destroy them! Why would He do that? These people were destroyed due to their own old mindsets! When the Lord was doing a new thing, they just couldn't see it! They'd rather fall back on the 'slave' mindset (mentality) that they knew. They failed to see that they were now 'sons', not 'slaves'! They failed to see that as 'sons', they were now 'heirs', and the land had been given to them as their inheritance! They failed to see that the Lord would be with them, even if they were to face the giants! In the end, they had what they said and wished: "...if only we had died in the wilderness!" How tragic!

But God! In the midst of it all, there was a man named Caleb, and he had a different spirit. He was one of those spies sent by Moses to survey the land. In Numbers 14:24, the Lord said, "But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it." The word 'different spirit' here comes from the Hebrew word 'aw-khar', and it speaks of 'having a different way of seeing things from others'.

Indeed, Caleb saw something that others could not see. Instead of agreeing with the bad report, he brought back a good report. Now, here's what he said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it." (Numbers 13:30) Caleb saw what the Lord had wanted the people to see! In other words, he had a 'new wineskin' to contain the 'new wine'! In the end, he successfully walked into all that the Lord had promised him!

People of God, in a time of change and transition into the new, be careful what you allow in your mind (see Philippians 4:8). Take authority over the spirit of discouragement and the spirit of self-destruction (i.e. speaking damning words to yourself). Instead of allowing the bad report to infiltrate your mind, fill your mind with thoughts of good report! Think what God thinks, and say what God says! Leave no vacancy for negative thoughts to have any place in your mind! And just as Caleb was, you too will be well on your way to the good things that await you in this new time and season. Amen!