SEASONS AND TIMES

By Pr. James Victor Lubwama

Ezekiel 22:14 (NKJV)

“Can your heart endure or can your hands remain strong in the days when I shall deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and will do it.”

Every time you pray to God, He hears and then answers, but before He answers, He first sends his word to clarify whether; you wait, go ahead, not yet or He remains silent. The answer can be received through;

• Sermon. What is being preached in a church service. You get to know this when the message sinks deeply into your heart and you get a revelation.
• Visions. He causes a vision and you get to see yourself in what you were praying for.
• Dream. By dreaming about what you were praying for; and when you come out a God inspired dream, you wake up because God expects you to write it down before the devil steals it. Habakkuk 2:2 “…….Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.” 
• Prophesy. The Holy Spirit inspires the preacher to speak forth the heart of God thus confirming what you were desiring or praying for.

This is a confirmation of God's word to rescue His sons and daughters. The bible says in Psalms 107:20 that: “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” 
After He has spoken, you delightfully become expectant, but that time frame between when the word was spoken and you receiving what you were praying for isn’t easy. The devil rises to kill or prevent you from entering into what the Lord has spoken. He creates scenarios that cause you to doubt what the Lord told you. This when you have to bear the fruit of patience and begin to confess these scriptures as you wait upon the Lord;

•    Psalms 89:34-35; “My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips. 35 Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie….:”
•    Numbers 23:19; “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”

Before God works for you, He first releases a word; and between him giving and you receiving there is a time frame. In that time frame God isn’t delaying you but preparing you for what is coming; and roaming around looking for someone to bring your package or request. God uses people; and He does so by convicting or burdening someone to give you what you prayed for or desire. Some people accept and procrastinate, others defy the instruction, but He keeps roaming around and struggling for you till He finds a humble person to execute the conviction.

As your miracle or request delays, the devil chips in to bring confusion and hopelessness, and eventually you start to grumble, but as all this happens you have to play your part for your miracle to arrive in the designated season. When God says he has given you, you immediately start to bind spirits, strongholds, principalities and all powers of darkness that can delay your miracle and as you wage a spiritual warfare and fight these spirits, the devil weakens.

Let’s explore the two parts of the scripture; Ezekiel 22:14 - “Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong…”

a) Can your heart endure?

All those delays and confusion are brought about by the devil. He targets you at times by using those around you to mock and challenge you thus piercing your heart; however, you must be courageous because God is faithful, trustworthy and He fails not. Take courage and guard the hope in your heart by going to church to hear God’s word. Proverbs 4:20-21 (NKJV) teaches; “My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. 12 Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart.”

When you are hopeless and discouraged, your heart is shattered and the wise thing to do is to go to church because that’s where you can get medicine to heal it. The word of God is medicine to an aching-disappointed heart, and in His house, you receive an encouraging living word.

The time between when God speaks and you receiving your miracle is the most difficult time in our salvation journey. The devil uses the scary surrounding circumstances and discouraging delays to make you lose hope and faith in God's word, all because he knows that the spirit of fear leads to failure. The bible warns in Proverbs 10:24 that; “The fear of the wicked will come upon him, and the desire of the righteous will be granted.” When you develop fear, what you dread comes upon you; but the bible says in 2 Timothy 1:7; “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” We have to be courageous even when the situation is bleak; knowing and confident in God and His word that we shall breakthrough, because He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world - 1 John 4:4.

All those hope draining situations are used by the devil to kill your faith but those who are faithful overcome even when their hearts are pricked. Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:7; “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” How do you keep your faith? By confessing and believing what that Lord told you. When you go into God’s house, what He told you is energized by what is preached.

b) Can your hands remain Strong?

Why hands? They represent service. If you haven’t yet received what you are praying for or what was prophesied upon your life, your passion for service or ministry may go down and slowly you withdraw from ministry responsibilities amidst a grumble-some mind; the one who used to serve and offer diligently retracts; but we should be like Zechariah who even without child, kept on working his routine because he knew that he was created for service. Luke 1:5-13 (ESV) says; 
"In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. 8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.”

He trusted and had hope in God and, he finally begot a child but he never stopped serving God. Actually the angel of the Lord appeared to him as he was burning incense – serving the Lord (Luke 1:8). His hands were still strong and serving God before he was established or realised his prophesy.

Do you have a Rhema word or prophesy? God's word is authentic, powerful and alive; even though the Lord hasn’t established you or perfected that which concerns you, be encouraged in your heart, for God will fulfill what he promised. Don’t allow your hands to become feeble. If they had relaxed, restructure and do what you used to do when you were still hopeful. A hopeful mind is strong and enthusiastic.

Don’t focus on the current surrounding situation. Even though it’s factual, it cannot prevent or determine your tomorrow because we don’t walk by sight but by faith, and that faith is in God and His word and that is where our hope is anchored. What God says is always the opposite of your current state of affairs, history or the surrounding situation. If the surrounding and the doctor's report says you going to die, the Lord says with long life He will satisfy you (Psalms 91:16), then the rest is invalid because what the Lord says matters - ignore the rest and; 1) Believe God and have faith in His word. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 – “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it”, 2) Believe his servants (Isaiah 44:26 – “Who confirms the word of His servant, and performs the counsel of His messengers ;…..…..”

Whenever God speaks, he fulfills but before he does so, there is resistance and challenges from the devil. Why? Everything that comes to this world is fought by the principality of this world not to descend but God overcomes because whatever is born of God overcomes the world (1 John 5:4). The devil fights because he feels he is the ruler of the world. Jesus said in John 14:30 that; - “I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me.” What comes from Jesus is above the devil. Satan cannot govern what is born and governed by God. He has no hold on our property, life, future and family. 

When Jesus was born, Herod wanted to kill Him but because of God, he didn’t succeed. Jesus grew up and became the King of kings. Even 100 Herods won’t be able to kill what God planned and purposed for your life, it will blossom and be established

Be encouraged, even though you are hindered, you will overcome. David says in Psalms 192:2 - “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth; yet they have not prevailed against me.”  The reason you haven’t been defeated is because God has prepared Salvation for you. There is no prophesy which is not challenged, there is nothing that God speaks which faces no resistance. Challenges, resistance and delays don’t mean that you are defeated.

If God spoke, keep confessing and reminding him. Be strong, be encouraged, be hopeful and you will overcome. We overcome with the word of God!

NEW WORLD / HARVEST TIME

Pr. James Victor Lubwama

Isaiah 60:17-18 (NKJV) 

“Instead of bronze I will bring gold, Instead of iron I will bring silver, Instead of wood, bronze, and instead of stones, iron. I will also make your officers peace, and your magistrates righteousness. 18 Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.”

1- New World

God is going to create a New World this year. A new world signifies your complete everyday life cycle from home to work or school, church, shopping spree and back to the starting point, your life concerns and the surrounding. 

When God creates a New World, He completely transforms the way you live from; shopping in kiosks to departmental stores, taking your children from struggling schools to better schools and others. He is going to change your friends, income, location, financial status, clients, and business connections and give you a whole New World. God is not going to create a new planet, you will remain where you are but all things will be new.

In Isaiah 60, God created a New World for this man because he had good but not honourable things as God desired, so he exchanged wood for Iron and silver for gold which are valuable. In creating the New World, God is going to exchange your situations. Why is God exchanging? In everything God does, he is seeking out a soul. If you still resemble your fellow struggling mates, they won’t admire you and if they can’t admire you, they can’t follow you. People follow people they admire, and that’s why God is going to elevate you – to bring the lost back to him.

God appears in us. When he heals you, you become the exhibit to testify that he heals. People won’t believe that God heals until someone is healed. The gospel is confirmed by Miracles. Jesus said in John 15:24; “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin.........”

The world will have no excuse if God transforms you.  You will be on top because a person on top is clearly identifiable than the one below. You will be a reference point – an exhibit and the gospel will spread. God is going to do everything to see that people are saved in these later days. During your transformation, people will draw close to you wanting to know how it happened and in the process; they will accept Jesus as their personal Saviour.

2- Harvest Time

This is a year of harvesting what we have sown the previous years. Harvesting is not only going to be in 2015 but this year marks the start of the harvesting era. Prepare for the harvest, ready your granary. During harvest time there is; ripe food for consumption, dry food for preservation and seed reserve for next season. Don’t play around during Harvest time because the abundance of money may usher you into poverty that will affect three generations to come.

In the villages, during a mango season, you come across partially eaten mangoes littered everywhere but that wasteful abundance lasts a small time. If God says we are going to Harvest, keep it in mind that out of the Harvest there is what to consume, store and sow. Don’t just accumulate money on your account, invest it; start businesses, invest in real estate – this equates to a granary. When you get money in this drought period, use the opportunity when the stream is open and flowing, and invest wisely before it dries up.

A wise person can never see hunger again during and after Harvest time. For example if one has a banana garden, He can maximise it by feeding on some, selling the surplus, feeding his animals the peels and using the prunes to mulch the plantation. You need wisdom so that you don’t make losses during your harvest. Some people will play around during harvest time and spend money recklessly. 

When you get money, it attracts a bunch of useless sham friends around you who will praise and honour you so as to siphon your account. People eulogise those who are well off. Don’t give out money anyhow because when you run bankrupt none of them will remember or come to your rescue. Show me a bankrupt person who was once wealthy and I will show you a sorrowful person full of hatred. Not everyone you do good will reciprocate.

Don’t get excited by the fruitfulness, do the needful. Some people make it a priority to spend every cent to the dot; they don’t have a culture of saving. The small amounts of money that we always undermine if collected can yield huge amounts. Jesus taught us to gather the crumbs in John 6:12-13 – “When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets…….”

The things you see in our church and the structures we have erected are not from millions of shillings starched somewhere but that little money you and I contribute as inspired by the spirit. Aunt hills are not built with a lot of soil, a fleck of soil is carried on the mandible of ants until a gigantic ant-hill is elevated. Your diligence in doing small things will yield big things   

Your job or opportunities can die during harvest. Those who sing praises about you will kill your harvest. David’s harvest almost hit a dead end when people started favouring him over Saul. 1 Samuel 18:7-9 “And the women sang to one another as they played, and said, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. 8 And Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, they have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? 9 And Saul eyed David from that day forward”

If you fail to recognise your visitation, you will depart this world without seeing any good thing. Know your visitation and be cautious in whatever you do. Watch out for vision snatchers; don’t divulge your secrets anyhow like King Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:12-18) lest what happened to him happens to you. When you get money minus a plan you become excited and spend recklessly. Don’t be lured by pride to invest in liabilities instead of assets or commodities that appreciate in value over time. 

May God give you wisdom to become insightful during this Harvest period. 

            *2015 Prophesy by Pr.J.V Lubwama to the MCFM family*