Cutting the Cord - Go where you are celebrated, not where you are tolerated

I am convinced that as Christians we hang on to things too long. We depend on relationships that have no kingdom value. We find ourselves disdained by those who do not value us. We put up with this because we think as Christians we are supposed to suffer.

This is not so.

I look at Jesus. I look at his disciples. I see a pattern. They went to those who would hear them and give them the Honor they deserved. If a religious demon manifested then they shook the dust from their feet and walked away. Religious demons are on the loose. It's their last stand. Jezebel must be thrown down.

We need to do that. I hear Jesus sitting down with you and me and saying Matthew 10:

Stay away from the Gentiles and don't go to any Samaritan town. ⁶Go only to the people of Israel, because they are like a flock of lost sheep. ⁷As you go, announce that the kingdom of heaven will soon be here. ⁸Heal the sick, raise the dead to life, heal people who have leprosy, ^e]">[ and force out demons. You received without paying, now give without being paid. ⁹Don't take along any gold, silver, or copper coins. ¹⁰And don't carry a traveling bag or an extra shirt or sandals or a walking stick. Workers deserve their food. ¹¹So when you go to a town or a village, find someone worthy enough to have you as their guest and stay with them until you leave. ¹²When you go to a home, give it your blessing of peace. ¹³If the home is deserving, let your blessing remain with them. But if the home isn't deserving, take back your blessing of peace. ¹⁴If someone won't welcome you or listen to your message, leave their home or town. And shake the dust from your feet at them. ¹⁵I promise you that the day of judgment will be easier for the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Warning about Trouble

(Mark 13.9-13; Luke 21.12-17)

¹⁶I am sending you like lambs into a pack of wolves. So be as wise as snakes and as innocent as doves. ¹⁷Watch out for people who will take you to court and have you beaten in their meeting places. ¹⁸Because of me, you will be dragged before rulers and kings to tell them and the Gentiles about your faith. ¹⁹But when someone arrests you, don't worry about what you will say or how you will say it. At that time you will be given the words to say. ²⁰But you will not really be the one speaking. The Spirit from your Father will tell you what to say.

²¹Brothers and sisters will betray one another and have each other put to death. Parents will betray their own children, and children will turn against their parents and have them killed. ²²Everyone will hate you because of me. But if you remain faithful until the end, you will be saved. ²³When people mistreat you in one town, hurry to another one. I promise you that before you have gone to all the towns of Israel, the Son of Man will come.

²⁴Disciples are not better than their teacher, and slaves are not better than their master. ²⁵It is enough for disciples to be like their teacher and for slaves to be like their master. If people call the head of the family Satan, what will they say about the rest of the family?

The One To Fear

(Luke 12.2-7)

²⁶Don't be afraid of anyone! Everything that is hidden will be found out, and every secret will be known. ²⁷Whatever I say to you in the dark, you must tell in the light. And you must announce from the housetops whatever I have whispered to you. ²⁸Don't be afraid of people. They can kill you, but they cannot harm your soul. Instead, you should fear God who can destroy both your body and your soul in hell. ²⁹Aren't two sparrows sold for only a penny? But your Father knows when any one of them falls to the ground. ³⁰Even the hairs on your head are counted. ³¹So don't be afraid! You are worth much more than many sparrows.

Telling Others about Christ

(Luke 12.8,9)

³²If you tell others that you belong to me, I will tell my Father in heaven that you are my followers. ³³But if you reject me, I will tell my Father in heaven that you don't belong to me.

Not Peace, but Trouble

(Luke 12.51-53; 14.26,27)

³⁴Don't think that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came to bring trouble, not peace. ³⁵I came to turn sons against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law. ³⁶Your worst enemies will be in your own family.

³⁷If you love your father or mother or even your sons and daughters more than me, you are not fit to be my disciples. ³⁸And unless you are willing to take up your cross and come with me, you are not fit to be my disciples. ³⁹If you try to save your life, you will lose it. But if you give it up for me, you will surely find it.

Rewards

(Mark 9.41)

⁴⁰Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me. And anyone who welcomes me also welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹Anyone who welcomes a prophet, just because that person is a prophet, will be given the same reward as a prophet. Anyone who welcomes a good person, just because that person is good, will be given the same reward as a good person. ⁴²And anyone who gives one of my most humble followers a cup of cool water, just because that person is my follower, will surely be rewarded.

SO, if you have been treated in this way, do it now, get those dusty sandals out and shake them. It's time for a new walk with Jesus. The religious, the Pharisees, the big shots who consider themselves self important hate that you know him. They will be filled with a Jezebel spirit who's prime objective is to silence the prophetic. What's more insidious, they will pretend to prophesy, pretend to embrace it, but are wolves in sheep's clothing.

Have no part of them. What you carry is too important to allow Jezebel to silence you. As the year of the Prophet, as the Lion's roar opens up, be prepared for war. Attack will come from those who look most religious.

She's on the loose and she will take your head if she can.

Be aware and turn your back. Walk away.

AND ROAR