"Fore & Aft"
Oct 15th, 2007 0131 hrs
Scribe: Priscilla van Sutphin
adj: Naut. from the bow to the stern; lengthwise or set lengthwise, as sails
noun: 1 from the bow to the stern; lengthwise sails rigged fore and aft
2 at, in, or toward both the bow and the stern lifeboats located fore and aft
Then He led me to these scriptures:
Isa 33:21-24 NKJV But there the majestic LORD will be for us A place of broad rivers and streams,In which no galley with oars will sail, Nor majestic ships pass by
22
(For the LORD is our Judge,The LORD is our Lawgiver,The LORD is our King; He will save us); 23 Your tackle is loosed, They could not strengthen their mast, They could not spread the sail. Then the prey of great plunder is divided; The lame take the prey. 24 And the inhabitant will not say, "I am sick"; The people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.
(For the LORD is our Judge,The LORD is our Lawgiver,The LORD is our King; He will save us); 23 Your tackle is loosed, They could not strengthen their mast, They could not spread the sail. Then the prey of great plunder is divided; The lame take the prey. 24 And the inhabitant will not say, "I am sick"; The people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.Isa 2:16-18 NIV for every trading ship and every stately vessel. 17 The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day, 18 and the idols will totally disappear.
Then listening for what He might say, heard…
"The strength of the nations is nothing compared to My strength. I know that what is happening looks so formidable and dark. But I told you beloveds, that even when darkness is increasing, MY SPIRIT will ARISE OVER YOU, and will be SEEN upon you.
Know that I intend to make a display of MY POWER in this hour ! I WILL ARISE !
I will arise in My beloveds and you will be a standard against all the ramparts of the enemy. Hear the stampeding of horses ? Do you hear the thunder of their gait ?
I have a great army I'm assembling and they will trample down the wickedness at the gate ! They will run against the winds of adversity and stomp on the remains of jezebel spirits, for they have been hidden in obscurity, and trained in the wilderness, and they will now come forth leaning on their Beloved, dependent on His leading, just as a bridle in the mouth of the horse gives the rider ability to turn the horse this way or that way, so I Your Lord and Master will lead you in the way you should go.
My sheep hear My voice, and they follow ME, I've said. Many have gone through testings and retestings, failures and temptations, and struggles with sickness and discouragement, depression and loss, rejection and persecutions. But I HAVE A PLAN for the lame.
Mic 4:6-13 NIV
6 "In that day," declares the LORD,
"I will gather the lame; I will assemble the exiles and those I have brought to grief. 7 I will make the lame a remnant, those driven away a strong nation. The LORD will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever. 8 As for you, O watchtower of the flock, O stronghold of the Daughter of Zion, the former dominion will be restored to you; kingship will come to the Daughter of Jerusalem."
9 Why do you now cry aloud- have you no king? Has your counselor perished, that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor? 10 Writhe in agony, O Daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you must leave the city to camp in the open field. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued. There the LORD will redeem you out of the hand of your enemies.
11 But now many nations are gathered against you. They say, "Let her be defiled, let our eyes gloat over Zion!" 12 But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan, he who gathers them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 "Rise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion, for I will give you horns of iron; I will give you hoofs of bronze and you will break to pieces many nations." You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the LORD, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.
The LAME WILL TAKE THE PREY ! Those who have been labeled as unsalvageable, and failures, as nobodies, and felt like they were last, will I now bring to the forefront. I will cleanse them from all unrighteousness, I will break every chain, every lie the enemy has sown in their minds, and I will loose the bondage in their lives, and make such a display of MY POWER, that it will startle them and all who know them.
The enemy thought, "AHA, I have found their weakness, and have exploited it and they will be disqualified". But I DID NOT DISQUALIFY PETER WHEN HE DENIED ME. I DID NOT DISQUALIFY THOMAS WHEN HE WAS UNBELIEVING. I DID NOT DISQUALIFY PETER WHEN HE WALKED IN PREJUDICE. I DID NOT DISQUALIFY ANY I CHOSE BECAUSE OF THEIR WEAKNESSES AND FAILURES.
I will look fore and aft across the sea of peoples and will call them out from among them, to be My witnesses.
I DON'T GIVE UP ON PEOPLE.
YOU GIVE UP ON THEM, BECAUSE YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND MY GRACE AND LOVE. I AM GREATER THAN YOUR HEARTS BELOVEDS. YOU MOVE IN FEAR, AWAY FROM THOSE WHO HAVE HURT YOU, BUT YOU DO NOT GRANT THEM THE GRACE YOU WISH FOR YOURSELVES TO BE HEALED AND DELIVERED.
I KNOW WHAT'S IN THE HEART OF A MAN OR WOMAN. I ALONE KNOW.
YOUR WISDOM CANNOT BE COMPARED TO MINE, SO HOW ABOUT SEEKING MY FACE, AND BEING QUICK TO HEAR AND SLOW TO SPEAK ? For I tell you that if you continue to berate your brethren, how can the world respect you ? How can they feel safe in the church that kills and wounds it's own ? They see how you treat those who fail, and they say "NO WAY ! I DON'T WANT YOUR RELIGION !" They are afraid if they made a mistake or sinned that they would be treated the same. They know they cannot measure up to your perfectionism.
This is because you have not learned the measure of My love. My love is unconditional. It is not partial. Do you berate your child when they make a mistake ?
Do you give up on them ? If you do, you have not My nature ! For I said, MY LOVE NEVER FAILS ! Glory to glory you go. Measure by measure you go as your heart and soul are healed and delivered. But MY LOVE IS IMMEASURABLE.
MY LOVE IS UNCONDITIONAL UNLIKE YOURS. I KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO HUMBLE MY BELOVEDS. I KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO HELP THEM SEE MY GRACE. SO WHEN YOU GET TOO PROUD, WATCH OUT, FOR A FALL IS CLOSE AT HAND.
MAKE SURE YOU DON'T JUDGE THOSE WHO HAVE STUMBLED WITHOUT MERCY FOR TO THE ONE WHO SHOWS NO MERCY, NO MERCY WILL BE SHOWN.
A bruised reed, I will not crush or break, smoking flax, I will not quench.
Isa 42:3 NKJV
3 A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
I WANT A CHURCH THAT IS POWERFUL AND HOLY, BUT I ALSO WANT A CHURCH THAT RECOGNIZES THAT APART FROM MY GRACE, YOU CANNOT BE THAT ! NONE OF YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO WALK IN HOLINESS APART FROM MY GRACE. REMEMBER THAT WHEN THE YOUTH COME IN WITH THEIR FOUL PRACTICES, AND WITCHCRAFT. Remember that when the addict comes to you begging for peace and freedom from torment. Remember that when the single mother can't make her rent. Remember that when the homeless asks you for bread.
You are not better than your sister or brother. Were it not for My grace, you could be an addict too ! Were it not for My grace, you could be selfish and greedy too.
Luke 1:52-53 NKJV
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly .
53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.
Matt 11:29-30 NKJV Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Phil 4:5 NIV Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Phil 4:5 AMP Let all men know and perceive and recognize your unselfishness (your considerateness, your forbearing spirit). The Lord is near [He is coming soon].
I am rooting out the deep roots of FEAR and ANGER, of BITTERNESS AND PAIN in My beloveds, that would keep them from following ME perfectly. Come away with ME beloveds, into the secret place, and let me pour in My love and wash away all the dirt left in your thinking, and in your heart. You will then never slip away into temptation again. For I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT AGAIN IN POWER as PROMISED.
Isaiah 60 AMPLIFIED
1 ARISE [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you--rise to a new life]! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! [Zech 8:23.]
2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and dense darkness [all] peoples, but the Lord shall arise upon you [O Jerusalem], and His glory shall be seen on you. [Isa 60:19-22; Mal 4:2; Rev 21:2,3.] 3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. [Isa 2:2,3; Jer 3:17.] 4 Lift up your eyes round about you and see! They all gather themselves together, they come to you. Your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried and nursed in the arms.
5 Then you shall see and be radiant, and your heart shall thrill and tremble with joy [at the glorious deliverance] and be enlarged; because the abundant wealth of the [Dead] Sea shall be turned to you, unto you shall the nations come with their treasures. [Ps 119:32.]
6 A multitude of camels [from the eastern trading tribes] shall cover you [Jerusalem], the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all the men from Sheba [who once came to trade] shall come, bringing gold and frankincense and proclaiming the praises of the Lord. [Matt 2:11.] 7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you [as the eastern pastoral tribes join the trading tribes], the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; they shall come up with acceptance on My altar, and My glorious house I will glorify.
8 Who are these who fly like a cloud, and like doves to their windows?
9 Surely the isles and distant coastlands shall wait for and expect Me; and the ships of Tarshish [shall come] first, to bring your sons from afar, their silver and gold with them, for the name of the Lord your God, for the Holy one of Israel, because He has beautified and glorified you. 10 Foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you; for in My wrath I smote you, but in My favor, pleasure, and goodwill I have had mercy, love, and pity for you.
11 And your gates shall be open continually, they shall not be shut day or night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations--and their kings led in procession [your voluntary captives]. [Rev 21:24-27.] 12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you in that day [Jerusalem] shall perish; yes, those nations shall be utterly laid waste. 13 The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress, the plane, and the pine [trees] together, to beautify the place of My sanctuary; and I will make the place of My feet glorious.
14 The sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending low to you, and all those who despised you shall bow down at your feet, and they shall call you the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy one of Israel. [Rev 3:9.] 15 Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no man passed through you, I will make you [Jerusalem] an eternal glory, a joy from age to age. 16 You shall suck the milk of the [Gentile] nations and shall suck the breast of kings; and you shall recognize and know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty one of Jacob.
17 Instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron I will bring silver; and instead of wood, bronze, and instead of stones, iron. [Instead of the tyranny of the present] I will appoint peace as your officers and righteousness as your taskmasters.
18 Violence shall no more be heard in your land, nor devastation or destruction within your borders, but you shall call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. 19 The sun shall no more be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you, but the Lord shall be to you an everlasting light, and your God your glory and your beauty. [Jer 9:23,24; Rev 21:23.]
20 Your sun shall no more go down, nor shall your moon withdraw itself, for the Lord shall be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended.
21 Your people also shall all be [uncompromisingly and consistently] righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified. 22 The least one shall become a thousand [a clan], and the small one a strong nation. I, the Lord, will hasten it in its [appointed] time.
