ZIMBABWE IN DESPAIR (April 2008)
I have seen some amazing promises in the Word of God lately that pertain to us in this situation we are facing now! They have encouraged me and built my faith up (most of us are so despondent and have lost hope!) I hope they will encourage you too!
1. Isaiah 54:13-14 (Living Bible) “And all your citizens shall be taught by me, and their prosperity shall be great. You will live under a government that is just and fair. Your enemies will stay far away; you will live in peace..” Amplified [you shall be far from even the thought of oppression or destruction…].
2. Isaiah 49:25-26 (Amplified Bible) “For thus says the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the prey of the terrible will be delivered; for I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will give safety to your children and ease them. And I will make those who oppress you consume themselves [in mutually destructive wars], (I believe this means fighting amongst themselves, see 1 Sam 14:20) thus eating their own flesh; and they will be drunk with their own blood, as with sweet wine; and all flesh will know [with a knowledge grounded in personal experience] that I, the Lord am your Saviour and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
3. Deut 33:27,29 (Amplified Bible) “The eternal God is your refuge and dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He drove the enemy before you and trust them out, saying, Destroy! 29 ….Your enemies shall come fawning and cringing, and submit feigned obedience to you, and you shall march on their high places.” Living Bible “Your enemies shall bow low before you, and you shall trample on their backs!”
4. Ezek 34:27,29 Amp “And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit and the earth shall yield its increase; and [My people] shall be secure in their land, and they shall be confident and know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them out of the hand of those who made slaves of them.” Living Bible “When I have broken off their chains of slavery and delivered them from those who profiteered at their expense, they shall know I am the Lord” (end of bondage and break the slave yoke off their necks, see Isah 10:27) 29 “….and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land nor bear the reproach of the nations any longer.” 36:6 “…you have suffered the shame and reproach of the nations”
5. Prov 3:26 Living Bible “you need not be afraid of disaster or the plots of wicked men, for the Lord is with you; he protects you.”
6. Rom 16:20 “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.”
I truly believe if the Church would call this nation to a fast and if people would humble themselves, seek Gods face and pray and turn from their wicked ways (2 Chron 7:14 and Joel 2:12) then God will hear us and heal our land and deliver us. Do you honestly believe a one minute prayer at 1pm is going to impress God??????? Would it you???? No if we really are serious and desperate enough to want change we need to fast – if not for ourselves but for our children’s sake and their future. Many times God saved the people of Israel from destruction when they as a nation fasted and prayed (Esther 4:16). “Could we be missing our greatest breakthroughs because we fail to fast? The Son of God fasted because He knew there were supernatural things that could only be released that way. How much more should fasting be common practice in our lives?” Pastor Jentezen Franklin.
Secondly we need to praise God in our situation, even when it looks hopeless! Praise is a powerful weapon against the enemy! If we stay in an attitude of complaining (which by the way is a sin!!) we will end up like the children of Israel stranded in the wilderness for 40 years because of their murmuring and complaining, in fact that whole generation did not go into the promised land. Isn’t it time to break free from this wilderness we are living in??? Isn’t it time to start thanking and praising God for He is an awesome God, all powerful, a mighty warrior and is coming back for His people soon, will He find us complaining and looking and concentration on the situation or praising and looking up to Him for our salvation?
Thirdly we need to start sowing in our famine or wilderness (Gen 26). Sow in times of famine, into the area of need and you will reap 100 fold (1 Kings 17:13). Giving is also a powerful tool in God’s hands. If we close our hand to God will He open His toward us??? Giving into anointed areas (soil) will break the yoke of bondage over us and we will begin to reap a harvest far beyond our dreams. God gave His very best, His only Son that He might reap a harvest of a family. Will we give our best, as a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God? If our giving doesn’t move us it certainly won’t move God! SJC
“IF YOU BE WILLING AND OBEDIENT, YOU SHALL EAT THE GOOD OF THE LAND”
ISAH 1:19
I have seen some amazing promises in the Word of God lately that pertain to us in this situation we are facing now! They have encouraged me and built my faith up (most of us are so despondent and have lost hope!) I hope they will encourage you too!
1. Isaiah 54:13-14 (Living Bible) “And all your citizens shall be taught by me, and their prosperity shall be great. You will live under a government that is just and fair. Your enemies will stay far away; you will live in peace..” Amplified [you shall be far from even the thought of oppression or destruction…].
2. Isaiah 49:25-26 (Amplified Bible) “For thus says the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the prey of the terrible will be delivered; for I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will give safety to your children and ease them. And I will make those who oppress you consume themselves [in mutually destructive wars], (I believe this means fighting amongst themselves, see 1 Sam 14:20) thus eating their own flesh; and they will be drunk with their own blood, as with sweet wine; and all flesh will know [with a knowledge grounded in personal experience] that I, the Lord am your Saviour and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
3. Deut 33:27,29 (Amplified Bible) “The eternal God is your refuge and dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He drove the enemy before you and trust them out, saying, Destroy! 29 ….Your enemies shall come fawning and cringing, and submit feigned obedience to you, and you shall march on their high places.” Living Bible “Your enemies shall bow low before you, and you shall trample on their backs!”
4. Ezek 34:27,29 Amp “And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit and the earth shall yield its increase; and [My people] shall be secure in their land, and they shall be confident and know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them out of the hand of those who made slaves of them.” Living Bible “When I have broken off their chains of slavery and delivered them from those who profiteered at their expense, they shall know I am the Lord” (end of bondage and break the slave yoke off their necks, see Isah 10:27) 29 “….and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land nor bear the reproach of the nations any longer.” 36:6 “…you have suffered the shame and reproach of the nations”
5. Prov 3:26 Living Bible “you need not be afraid of disaster or the plots of wicked men, for the Lord is with you; he protects you.”
6. Rom 16:20 “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.”
I truly believe if the Church would call this nation to a fast and if people would humble themselves, seek Gods face and pray and turn from their wicked ways (2 Chron 7:14 and Joel 2:12) then God will hear us and heal our land and deliver us. Do you honestly believe a one minute prayer at 1pm is going to impress God??????? Would it you???? No if we really are serious and desperate enough to want change we need to fast – if not for ourselves but for our children’s sake and their future. Many times God saved the people of Israel from destruction when they as a nation fasted and prayed (Esther 4:16). “Could we be missing our greatest breakthroughs because we fail to fast? The Son of God fasted because He knew there were supernatural things that could only be released that way. How much more should fasting be common practice in our lives?” Pastor Jentezen Franklin.
Secondly we need to praise God in our situation, even when it looks hopeless! Praise is a powerful weapon against the enemy! If we stay in an attitude of complaining (which by the way is a sin!!) we will end up like the children of Israel stranded in the wilderness for 40 years because of their murmuring and complaining, in fact that whole generation did not go into the promised land. Isn’t it time to break free from this wilderness we are living in??? Isn’t it time to start thanking and praising God for He is an awesome God, all powerful, a mighty warrior and is coming back for His people soon, will He find us complaining and looking and concentration on the situation or praising and looking up to Him for our salvation?
Thirdly we need to start sowing in our famine or wilderness (Gen 26). Sow in times of famine, into the area of need and you will reap 100 fold (1 Kings 17:13). Giving is also a powerful tool in God’s hands. If we close our hand to God will He open His toward us??? Giving into anointed areas (soil) will break the yoke of bondage over us and we will begin to reap a harvest far beyond our dreams. God gave His very best, His only Son that He might reap a harvest of a family. Will we give our best, as a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God? If our giving doesn’t move us it certainly won’t move God! SJC
“IF YOU BE WILLING AND OBEDIENT, YOU SHALL EAT THE GOOD OF THE LAND”
ISAH 1:19
