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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: TIME TO ARISE FROM THE ASHES

There are several places in the word of God that speaks about sackcloth and ashes. I decided to look it up and see exactly what it was, it is a black cloth made of goat’s hair. They would put on this hot, itchy material and put wood ashes on them as an outward sign of the mourning inside. It was a sign of repentance and prayer for deliverance.

The people of Ninevah wore sackcloth and ashes as a sign of their repentance. This was normally done while praying and fasting. It was a sign of mourning both for their nation and personal.

Like Job when the lying witnesses told him that all he had was gone. Job sat in sackcloth and ashes. He believed the report of the enemy and it put him into a state of grief. Many things happened to Job, but he stood strong on his belief that God had a reason for everything he had allowed in his life. Even when those around him were miserable comfort.

David sat in sackcloth and ashes when he lost his first-born child. After a period of mourning, these people have to eventually arise and get on with their lives.

2 Sam 12:20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.

Mordecai in the book of Esther sat at the king’s gate in sackcloth and ashes, mourning for the Jewish people that were about to be killed because of a decree of an evil man that had tricked the king.

I started thinking about the story of Esther and how there could be some comparisons to the church of today. In her story is an evil man named Haman. He was determined to destroy a group of people because one man would not bow to him.

Mordecai refused to bow to him. I believe the reason that it bothered him so badly was because deep down he knew he didn’t deserve to be where he was as second in command.

Compare the church of today to Esther. The enemy has put out a plan to destroy us. We as the church have been sitting in the ashes of our mourning. Too long we have been grieving for what is behind. People say all the time, “Church is not like it used to be…” they get nostalgic for the things of the past. But God is getting ready to do a new thing. We have only a short time to gather the harvest. He is getting ready to pour out his Spirit in ways we cannot even imagine.

Esther 5:1  Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.

We cannot be stuck sitting in our ashes of mourning. It is time we arise like Esther and put on our royal apparel and go before the king and petition for the change we want to see. Evil Haman ended up hanging on his own gallows he had built for Mordecai.  It is time satan was put in his place. Although we cannot get him hung on his own gallows, we can pray and break his hold on the church. We have power through and by the blood of Jesus. He has given us power over the enemy. We just need to find some holy boldness.

Isaiah 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

It is time we gave our fears, worried, insecurities, past regrets, ideas about the way things need to be and embraced what God is going to do. It is time we traded all those old garments that we have been wearing for the one God is getting ready to give us. But we cannot praise him if we are in mourning. It is time to arise from our ashes and let God build a glorious church to gather the end time harvest.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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