I heard these words from the Lord recently:
"A fresh wind is blowing, and a fresh wave is coming upon My people! It is a wind and wave of My holiness! Tap into it and receive it! Because holiness is your strength, and holiness is your power! And I will cause My people to move ahead with the strength and the power that they've never seen before!"
I then heard further:
"This is the time I am imparting My holiness upon My people, and they shall be holy, just as I am holy! And this holiness shall be a strength to them, and it shall be a power to them!"
In Ezekiel 36:23, the Lord says, "I will show the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations... Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes." In Ezekiel 36:25-27, the Lord says further, "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees..."
The Holy Spirit is a HOLY Spirit. As you can see in the Scripture above, the Holy Spirit imparts holiness upon God's people! See? Holiness isn't just your work. Holiness is by the ability of the Lord working in you! The Lord says, 'I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees...' Who moves who? The Lord is the One who moves you! Your part, people of God, is to let Him and do not resist Him.
Living in this world full of sinful (fleshly) pleasures and compromising lifestyles, it sounds 'un-cool' to walk in holiness of the Lord. But the truth is holiness is a strength!
As you receive His Spirit of holiness afresh and anew this new season, the Lord says you'll be moving ahead with the strength and the power that you've never seen before!
Look at Samson in the Scripture. As long as he kept himself 'holy' before the Lord, he had strength and power! That's where His true strength lies - 'keeping himself holy'!
What then is to be 'holy'? Contrary to what many people think, to be 'holy' doesn't just mean 'not sinning'. To be 'holy' is about 'being set apart, consecrated' for the Lord to work through you! Samson was a Nazirite (Judges 13:5). This word 'Nazirite' is from the word 'nazar' in Hebrew, simply meaning 'set apart'. As a Nazirite, he was not to touch a dead body, and was not to have a haircut! (see Numbers 6:1-8)
'Not touching dead body' is a 'picture' of 'not touching (or doing) unclean things', whereas 'no haircut' is a 'picture' of 'staying true to what God has started or given to us'. In other words, not letting ourselves be influenced (or adulterated) by the things (or the ways) of this world!
People of God, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are all in actual fact called to be 'set apart', i.e. to stay true to what God has started or given to us! We are not to let the world influence (or adulterate) us with its ways (or ideas)! It should be the other way round! Because we are made the 'head', and not the 'tail'! (Deuteronomy 28:13) By the way, to 'adulterate' means 'anything foreign added to the original, and causes the original to lose its quality'.
You see? As long as Samson stayed true to who God had wanted him to be, there's strength and power! In truth, his true strength lies in him staying true to his God-given calling! As long as he continued to do so, he would do great exploits for the Lord! But the moment he 'compromised', he lost it! (Judges 16:4-5, Judges 16:15-17)
People of God, as you look ahead to this next half of year 2018, the key to your great exploits for the Lord is also likewise - staying true to all that God has spoken to you! We can learn not just from the victories (and success) of those who have gone before us, but also from their mistakes. But the good news is it isn't too late yet. You can start now. Samson's hair re-grew (Judges 16:22). This speaks of a 'second chance' God had given him!
So, even if you think you 'blew it' in the first half of this year, will you believe the Lord can do a greater work in you for the second half of this year? This is your time to receive a new strength from the Lord, not look back, and begin walking in a greater manifestation of His Spirit and His power, going forward. In Jesus' name. Amen!
