Words from the Daughter of Zion
“Occupy Until He Comes”
God bless you all this day. This week I am discussing “Occupy Until He Comes”
Luke 19:12-13 says to us “He said, a very important man went to a country far away to be a king and then to return home. So he called ten of his servants and gave a coin to each servant. He said, Do business with this money until I get back .”
The word ‘occupy’ is a military term. It evokes synonyms of capture, conquer, invade, obtain, seize, to take hold of, to possess, to keep. It also brings about the idea of being busy, to employ, engage, engross, monopolize, to use. It does not mean to tarry, to lodge, or to sojourn, loiter, delay, rest, stall, or to wait.
Jesus told this parable and used the word ‘occupy’ to exhort His disciples to spread the Gospel throughout the world. He wants us to be aggressive and a bit violent in our efforts to overcome the powers of spiritual darkness. It is possible to fulfill the Great Commission found in Mark 16:15. Matthew 24:14 says: “The Good News about God’s kingdom will be preached in all the world, to every nation. Then the end will come.”
To establish the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, this Commission must be fulfilled. Just like a farmer can not harvest his fields from his or her easy chair, so us as Christians can not stay in the pews, or sit around and watch television or whatever else is taking up our time, we must get out there and minister His love, and His word to a world that needs to know Him. Yes, we need training ground. We need training in discipleship, and in evangelism to a point, but we need to get on out there and touch souls, to see lives changed by the love and the power of the Lord Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. We need to obey the call – we all are called. If you are born again, then you are called to the ministry of reconciliation. To see souls saved, to see people healed, set free, delivered and living a victorious life as a believer in Christ Jesus. We are truly the mouth piece that needs to minister this message, this life, this love to a world of people that need to know Him as Savior, Lord and Master of their lives. We need to “occupy” – to obey this call as a child of the Living God.
We need to see that His word is clear, and does not leave any room for slothfulness in the work left to be done in doing this Great Commission. We need to see that we have the courage to step on out and to do this, as individuals before the Lord, and together as the Body of Christ to unite in His love and power to see this done in Him. To do this in boldness, to “occupy” while there is still time, before ‘night’ comes. Praise the Lord, you all- let us do this! We have what it takes this day, this week, this month, this year! Let us make a declaration to reach these dear souls! Let us see lives touched and changed by His dear love, and share the Gospel of salvation, healing, and deliverance. Let’s see ourselves equipped to do this, and let us get the word of the Lord to a people that are so desperately looking for a direction, a life of fullness, and love .
Matthew 11:12 says “Since the time John the Baptist came until now , the kingdom of heaven has been going forward in strength, and people have been trying to take it by force.” (NCV)
Father God is calling His people into battle. He needs some “violent” soldiers now! Christians- believers need to rise up so that their witness – their lives shine in the dark places here on this earth, in our world that we do “occupy”. I am saying that a sleeping church is not what we are to be, we are to be awake to our call of the Great Commission. We have a job to do, and we are do all that we need to do to see this happen. Of course the devil does not want this to happen. So we need to stand up and to ‘violently’ stand when opposition comes, to go forth in His name to do what He has called us to do while there is still day time. J
In Ezekiel chapter 37 Father God led the prophet to the valley of dry bones, and told him to prophesy life. Yes- Life. When the prophet obeyed, things began to happen. Life gives way to life. The army began to take shape by a prophetic word from the Lord God.
So do not be ‘dried up’, without hope, and cut off like the bones spoken of in Ezekiel 37:11. Instead, let us follow Him in obedience. Let us become soft and pliable, with hope and determination, plugged into the Source of Life. For the Lord says in verse 14, “And I will put my Spirit inside you, and you will ‘come to life’. Then I will put you in your own land. And you will know that I the Lord, have spoken and done it, says the Lord.” Take Matthew 11:12 that I just shared with you and lay hold of it, for the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men and women of the Lord God have (and will) lay hold of it. Let us become a vibrant, militant, and forceful army of the Lord Jesus, an army that our Father God is raising up today in Jesus’ name. He needs His Body to rise up in His name. He needs the Great Commission still to be going on. Souls are still living here on this planet, and they are still in need of a Savior, a Lord, a Master. They still need a reason for life, and that is in Christ Jesus. People in the church do not need to be timid and fearful in doing the Great Commission. The Spirit of the Living God is on the inside of us, and we need to be all counted a member of the militant army of the Living God speaking Life into ‘dry bones’ all around us!
Let us continue to seek, and to reach the lost souls that need the Lord Jesus. 2 Samuel 14:14 says, “We will all die someday. We’re like water spilled on the ground; no one can gather it back. But God doesn’t take away life. Instead, he plans ways that those who have been sent away will not have to stay away from him”(NCV). When Jesus passed through Jericho one day, He looked up in a tree, and he spotted a short man who had climbed there to get a better look at Jesus. This Jesus is the man of Galilee who performed all kinds of miracles. Imagine the man’s surprise when Jesus ordered him to come down, saying “I must stay at your house today”. Read in Luke chapter 19:1-9 about Zaccheus.
Zaccheus was the chief tax collector, and very wealthy. So imagine his further surprise when Jesus later said, “Today salvation has come to this house…. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost”. Look at verses 9 and 10 of Luke 19. No one at that time expected this to happen, but God does the unexpected. He also has the practice of meeting people at the point of their greatest need. Zaccheus so desperately needed a friend, as well as the most important need, salvation, and the very Presence of Jesus made him want to do good. Without any urging whatsoever, Zaccheus began to give from a grateful heart, and to make restitution in his dealings with the people. Jesus changes people from the inside out, and in so doing, removing all the facades. Let Him reside in us today. We have a job to do! That job is to “occupy”. It is to do the Great Commission until He comes. Life is what we need to see happen in those around us, and that life only comes through a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus.
God bless you all. I have this on my heart, look at James 5:20, “remember this: Anyone who brings a sinner back from the wrong way will save that sinner’s soul from death and will cause many sins to be forgiven.”
What could be more worth striving for than winning an eternal soul, a friend for all eternity? Proverbs 11:30 says “A good person gives life to others; the wise person teaches others how to live.” J
Remember this verse : King James Version -
Proverbs 11:30 :
"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life;
and he that winneth souls is wise."
God bless you. Stay in touch. If you need prayer, encouragement, just let me know.
Until next time, love and prayers, Teresa
God bless you all . I am here if you need to talk or to pray.
Blessings to you all this week and stay in touch-
I am here if you all need to talk or to pray,
Send correspondence to this address:
208 N. Duncan Street Apt B, Marine,IL 62061
We are in need of prayer and financial support. Stand with us as we minister His word and His love to those online and in our pathway.
If you are ever in the area, there is a Bible study at the above address each Thursday at 7 pm.
We are here if you need prayer, and know that we are here standing in prayer for you and with you concerning your needs. God bless you, until next time know that you are in my prayers, and be strengthened in His word and in His love.
Teresa Kay Abert
http://www.facebook.com/people/Teresa-Kay-Abert/573089659
Words from the Daughter of Zion 2011
Interesting word Teresa, I had a brief dream, or more of a night vision, in which my daughter and her friend Harrison were hanging out with me. He looked at me and told me his name was garrison. And that name stood out to me as a personal message. Here is the definition and origin.
ReplyDeleteProvide (a place) with a body of troops: "troops are garrisoned in the various territories".
Noun: The troops stationed in a fortress or town to defend it.
Middle English garisoun protection, from Anglo-French garisun healing, protection, from garir to heal, protect, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German werien to defend
Thank you for tagging me on this, very needed.
I expect nature to reflect the deep spiritual meaning of this day. In my soul, I want to drink deeply of the scriptures, worshiping at the foot of the cross of my Saviour. I want:
ReplyDeleteto again be humble before Him, to endeavor to understand the depths of His sufferings and their meaning of freedom for me as a believer;
to take communion with a deeper perspective than the previous year;
to commune deeply with Jesus and feel His Holy Spirit within me;
to listen to what the Holy Spirit would speak to me on this holiest of Holy Days; and
to be still and know that He is God, my Saviour, and my Redeemer.
"Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God."Colossians 3:1
ReplyDeleteJohn 15:7-8 (NLT) "But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father."
Ephesians 3:8-9 (NCV) "I am the least important of all God's people, but God gave me this gift—to tell those who are not Jews the Good News about the riches of Christ, which are too great to understand fully.And God gave me the work of telling all people about the plan for his secret, which has been hidden in him since the beginning of time. He is the One who created everything."
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ReplyDelete"As Christ was raised from the
dead through the glory of the Father,
we too may live a new life."
-Romans 6:4
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The Meaning of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
ReplyDeleteEaster is a major Christian holiday that celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Good Friday remembers the crucifixion and death of Christ, while Easter Sunday celebrates His resurrection.
What is the meaning and significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Why is it something that has been so celebrated throughout history?
10 Reasons the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is Meaningful
1. The resurrection of Jesus Christ means that we are justified before God.
He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. (Romans 4:25)
Justification means to “to be put right with.” Because of our sins, humanity is separated from God and incapable of a relationship with him (Romans 6:28, Isaiah 59:2).
Scripture calls us “objects of wrath” because God has to exert his wrath those who break his law (Ephesians 2:3). Without someone stepping in to correct this situation, we cannot have the relationship with God that he intended. In the death of Jesus on the cross, God put our punishment on Christ so that we could be justified before him.
The resurrection of Jesus confirms that God accepted Christ’s sacrifice for sin on the cross and gives us access to a right relationship with him.
2. The resurrection of Jesus Christ shows that Jesus defeated death. (Romans 6:9)
Death is the enemy of mankind and the just punishment for the each person’s individual sins (Romans 6:23). The mortality rate is and will always be 100%. No amount of effort, medical technology, power or riches can escape the clutches of death.
Christ rose from the dead because death could no longer hold him, and we no longer have to fear death because Christ has triumphed over it. Death is no longer an enemy because in Christ, we no longer have to fear the punishment that comes after death.
“O death where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’”The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)
3. The resurrection of Jesus Christ means that believers are united with Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:14)
When we believe in Christ, we are united to him in faith. Union with Christ means that when God looks at us, he does not see our unrighteousness, but the righteousness of Christ. It means that we have died with him and will also live with him (Romans 6:8).
This union is made possible by the resurrection of Christ. Similar to when a couple is united in marriage, when one spouse’s belongings become the possession of both spouses, Christians are able to receive the righteousness of Christ because of their union with him (1 Corinthians 1:30).
We are now able to walk in newness of life because we are bound to Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit (Romans 6:4). This idea is shown in baptism, which is the powerful physical demonstration of the spiritual reality of our dying with Christ and being raised with him.
4. The resurrection of Jesus Christ confirms the truth of Scripture.
Isaiah 53 and Psalm 16 are among the many examples of Scriptures that prophesied about the resurrected life of Jesus:
“Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
ReplyDeletehe has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.”
(Isaiah 53:10-12)
“For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:10-11)
5. The resurrection of Jesus Christ proves the gospel to be true. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
The fact that Jesus is alive today means that he is able to save today. This was a major argument of Paul’s in 1 Corinthians 15, where he defends the truth of the resurrection by explaining the whole Christian gospel depends on it:
And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain…and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15:14; 17-19)
Paul explains that the resurrection is not only a fundamental part of the gospel, but it is the glue that holds every part of the gospel together. Without it, Christians are believing in vain and are without hope. But since Christ has raised, we have hope of having our sins forgiven, being made right in God’s sight, and having eternal life through Christ.
6. The resurrection of Jesus Christ proves that Jesus is the Son of God.
ReplyDelete…[Christ] was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead… (Romans 1:4)
If Jesus would have died and remained dead, he would be like the millions who went before him and the millions who came after him. But that is not what happened. Christ’s resurrection proves that he is someone of a unique status: The Son of God.
7. The resurrection of Jesus Christ means that the Holy Spirit will be poured out into the hearts of those who believe.
After Christ had risen and ascended, he was able to send the promised Holy Spirit to continue his work on earth. This means that Christ’s earthly ministry continues today through his people, in whom he dwells by the Holy Spirit.
This also means that Christ will help his people by the Spirit, strengthening them, convicting them, guiding them into the life that God desires.
Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. (Acts 2:33)
8. The resurrection of Jesus Christ gives Christians a living hope.
Being forgiven of our sins and justified before God gives Christians tremendous hope. Christians are changed from being an enemy of God bound for hell, to becoming a forgiven son of God with an eternal inheritance in heaven that can never be taken away. What can be better news than that?
According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you… (1 Peter 1:3-4)
ReplyDelete9. The resurrection of Jesus Christ means that we will be raised like him.
Christ is described as the firstfruits of the resurrection from the dead, meaning that his resurrection is a precursor to the resurrection that all believers (1 Corinthians 15:20). 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 explains, “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”
Christians will enjoy the resurrected life just like Christ did, with glorified bodies raised in power (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). We may suffer in this life with many pains and illnesses, but in the life to come, we will not suffer, but enjoy the perfect bodies we have always longed for.
This implication of the resurrection ties in closely with the last one:
10. The resurrection of Jesus Christ means that Christ will judge the world in righteousness.
The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. (Acts 17:30-31)
All of the world will one day be judged for the things they have done and be held accountable before God. Unbelievers will be held accountable for breaking God’s law, facing the condemnation of God and going to hell. Believers will be held accountable for the things they have done, and will be rewarded by God in heaven based on their actions as believers. The sign God gave to confirm this fact was the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
If you do not believe in Jesus Christ, this judgment should be a cause for tremendous fear. You will face the wrath of God and suffer an eternity in hell because of the sins you have committed. But this judgment does not have to be a thing to dread.
The way to obtain forgiveness and eternal life is by believing in Jesus and turning from your sin. Believing in Jesus is what makes all of the benefits of the resurrection yours. Faith is what unites us to Christ and allows us to be saved from our sin.
Choosing to continue in unbelief is choosing to remain under God’s wrath. Don’t miss out on the amazing gift that God offers us through Christ–believe in him today!
I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:25-26)