“Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” Romans 10:17
THIS PRESENT STATE:
We are certainly in a very pressing time in history. It has been foretold that in the last of the last days, there would be things that come that have not been seen since the days of Noah. Lawlessness and wickedness will be rampant. (Matthew 24)
People will become lovers of themselves (2 Timothy 3:2-9) preferring their lusts and rejecting the Lord.
As Holy Spirit-filled believers, we must fight the good fight of faith to withstand the temptations of this world. (1 Timothy 6:12)
We are no longer of this world even though we are in it. We have been placed into God’s Covenant family at our salvation. (Romans 8)
In a recent church service*, my pastor, Chris Mathis, spoke a word at the end of his message about “disappointment being a trap right now” for many followers of Jesus Christ. ( I have paraphrased my takeaways from the message below.)
Pastor Chris taught that disappointment can cause us not to function (in the way we are designed to function) and that we can “lose mobility and direction.”
He said that “disappointment steals vision” and the enemy of our souls will use that “to plague us and try and stop God’s dreams in our lives, to paralyze us.”
If disappointment remains it can even “lead us into self abandonment.”
The assurance is that “the battle is the Lord’s.” We don’t have to go it alone.
The truth is that “disappointment has no permanent hold on your life and there is a great partnering now with God-dreams again.”
“Any disappointment is a small hiccup in your life, it is not the final chapter.
Your last chapter is JOY UNSPEAKABLE and FULL OF GLORY.”
Thank you Pastor Chris for the powerful encouragement of Truth.
AMEN!! So be it!
BEING INVITED:
Pastor Chris then invited anyone, who has been battling disappointment, to come forward to the front of the church.
My feet led me to the altar when the invitation went out.
A thought in my head surfaced, 'I haven’t been battling disappointment, I have been battling other things of late, so maybe I should sit down'… but my feet remained firmly planted.
I felt that invasive thought lose its power and then I heard within: "the enemy HAS spewed disappointment over you to discourage you, to …DIS- appoint you." Then I heard “But you are here now for a RE- appointment.”
AHH that makes sense, the personal battle had been fierce of late and I was beginning to feel hopeless about overcoming that which was overwhelming me. Now I had a fresh infusion of HOPE!
THE “DIS” VS THE “RE”:
It is time to check in with the Spirit of Truth and discern where and why this started.
What have I been appointed to that the enemy sees is so valuable to try and steal?
What have YOU been appointed to that the enemy desires you not to fulfill?
According to the dictionary, the prefix “DIS” means: to apart, to asunder, to away utterly, or having a privative negative or reversing force.
Some examples might be:
If you are appointed to be a blessing, your enemy would try to “DIS”, to asunder that appointment so you are not a blessing.
If you are appointed to pastor or teach people the Truth of who Jesus is and who they are with Him, the enemy will try and stir you up, to become DIS-appointed in your appointment.
One can also apply this to our own identity in Christ Jesus, we have been appointed to be as He is. We have been appointed to dwell in the Light of His Kingdom. It is the Kingdom of Perfect Love. This is The TRUTH of our God.
Any other viewpoint is based on a lie and is a DIS-appointment. BUT GOD!
THE EXCHANGE of the LIE for the TRUTH:
So how do we overcome this Dis-appointment?
How do we move into the Re-appointment?
Whatsoever the Lord has spoken, is the word that will remain. His word does not return void to Him. (Isaiah 55:11)
“Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens” (Psalm 119:89).
“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever” (Isaiah 40:8).
“I the Lord do not change” (Malachi 3:6).
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35). “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17).
The Lord has given us mighty weapons to battle in the Spirit but ultimately the battle is the Lord’s.
2 Corinthians 10:4-6
… “for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.”
2 Chronicles 20:15b .."This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s."
King Jesus says in John 10:10
“The thief does only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
When we meditate upon God’s Word and continually believe it, we will see a shift happen.
The “DIS” hooks that the enemy tries to lure us with lose their barb. He may still try and throw the hook, but it won’t have a place to pierce into our lives if we keep our shield of faith in God in place. (Ephesians 6:10-18)
The Lord, the King of Glory, (Psalm 24) will RE- STORE all that the enemy has tried to steal and destroy.
The promise is that the Lord will RESTORE ALL and MORE. (Proverbs 6:31)
How wonderful and good is our God!
A PRAYER:
“Lord I come before Your throne of grace and receive mercy for any way that I have entertained disappointment.
Please forgive me, Lord, for any way I have knowingly or unknowingly believed that I have a right to be dis-appointed.
Forgive me for falling into the trap of unbelief and hopelessness.
Forgive me for any mistakes or sins I have committed concerning this situation.
Expose and UN-hook me from the the lies of the enemy.
Wash over me with Your Word of Truth now I pray.
Heal my wounds as I surrender any shame and pain to You.
I believe that You are always for me and that You will restore and RE-appoint me.
I continue to look to You and trust You to lead me.
I come under Your authority once again for Your glory and purposes.
It is a fresh start and I am ready to partner with YOU Lord.
Let’s go!!
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