Posted: 01/23/2016 at 4:28pm
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Simplify and Fortify
by Bill and Marsha Burns
We are prophetically making our way to another new plateau, a higher level in
the realm of the Spirit.
The instructions from the Lord are to: Simply and Fortify.
Our progression will require our undivided attention to stay on course. If we
are too scattered, we will miss the importance of the season and make mistakes
that could be hard to fix. We must have enough clarity to hear and obey His
leading.
In a vision I saw a man making his way up a very steep mountain to reach the
place where he would build his house. As he climbed he got tangled in vines and
weeds that hindered his ascent. And, I heard the Lord say, "I'm taking you, My
people, to a new dwelling place in the Spirit. It is higher than you have ever
been. However, the enemy will try to prevent your progression. You must resist
the temptations that entangle you and keep you from your destination."
"I want to bring you to a new and higher spiritual level where you can begin
to see with clear perspective. From this place your life will be a process of
unfolding step by step as I go before you to prepare the way for My purposes to
be revealed and demonstrated in your life. Take an inventory of your mental and
spiritual condition. You are still in the "simplify-and-fortify process" as
change continues to position you for My highest and best. Make an honest
assessment of what is important to you, and adjust your priorities so that you
truly seek first My Kingdom," says the Lord.
Life is in knowing what you live for: It is up to each one of us to find the
common denominator of life and to measure ourselves against this standard.
Connection
It will be more important than ever in the times we live in to stay
connected to God and develop a vital relationship with Him instead of doing
external religious exercise. We must stay present with God so that we are able
to hear, see, and know by the Spirit. This will be a requirement for the Body of
Christ this year.
John 17:11, "Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and
I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me,
that they may be one as We are."
Galatians 5:25, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the
Spirit."
Truth and Freedom
It is time to break away from everything that keeps us from optimal spiritual
freedom.
John 4:24, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit
and truth."
We must let go of the past before we can move forward with freedom.
"I am calling you to know true freedom, which will be the result of no guile,
no control or manipulation, no unreasonable expectations, and no spiritual
clutter. I want you to be unencumbered and free enough to trust Me completely.
This is the beginning of a new era of righteousness and purity. Let freedom
ring. Recognize and abandon every form of managing or exploiting other people
for personal gain," says the Lord.
Psalm 32:2, "Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit."
Psalm 34:13, "Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking
deceit."
1 Peter 3:10, "For He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain
his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit."
Obedience
Complete obedience is more important than ever, and it will be a huge factor
this year. We will now incorporate changes that have occurred into a time of
stability on this higher level. We must be true to what the Lord has instructed
and led us to do without deviation. Perfect and divine purpose requires perfect
obedience.
Romans 6:16, "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to
obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death,
or of obedience leading to righteousness?"
Purity
We must keep our spiritual space clean and clear, striving to maintain pure
thoughts, motives and actions.
Pure and undefiled religion before God: James 1:25-27: "But he who looks
into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful
hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. If
anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but
deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled
religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their
trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."
Jesus is once again overturning the tables in the temple.
John 2:13-16, "Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to
Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves,
and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He
drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out
the changers' money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold
doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of
merchandise!"
Words from the Lord to the Body of Christ in 2016:
"You have been in the process of coming into divine order and of streamlining
all that I have called you to do and to be. What you have done will stand and be
a place of peace, but you must maintain that position because the enemy of your
soul will fight you for it.
"You will be tested in ways that will reveal how and where you compromise.
You will see how you justify yourself in wrong attitudes and patterns of
behavior. Then, you will have the opportunity to choose the most righteous
position and carry it out.
"Hear the cry of the Spirit calling you to come higher. It is time to put all
laziness behind you and put forth the effort to walk and live at the highest
level of your spiritual revelation and understanding. This will require
transcending religious tradition.
"Desire to live and practice precise discernment. You will be able to
experience and exhibit keen insight that will result in good judgment and
righteous decisions. Do not deviate from this position through selfish
ambition.
"This will be a season when you can overcome and forgive yourself for
mistakes of the past and move into a phase of creativity and productivity beyond
what you could have imagined. Rejection must become a thing of the past and not
something that defines your life.
"You have justified taking advantage of other people as a means to survival,
but I tell you truthfully that I am your avenue of not only surviving, but of
thriving. I will cause you to thrive in extraordinary ways if you consciously
and deliberately stop all exploitation.
"It is time to face the root of your pain and trust Me to bring healing to
your body as well as your soul and spirit. I am the supreme healer; access by
faith.
"You must cut the anchors-everything that prevented you from your potential,
and kept you from moving forward in My purposes for you. Your steps of
advancement and achievement must then become platforms of thanksgiving and
worship, which is necessary to your success.
"Unselfishness will become a pathway to reward as you give of yourself, your
time, and your resources. Your generosity is a sweet fragrance to Me.
"Embrace and revitalize the gifts that I have bestowed upon you spiritually
and in the realm of creative expression. Do not minimize or neglect what I have
counted as precious in My sight."
Bill and Marsha Burns Faith Tabernacle Email:
ft111@ft111.com Website:
ft111.com
Bill and Marsha Burns are pastors of Faith Tabernacle in
Kremmling, Colorado. Bill has a powerful prophetic gifting. His heart is to
equip the Body of Christ for the work of the ministry. Marsha is a teacher and
prophet with pastoral anointing. She has been commissioned by the Lord to
prophesy to the nations through "Small Straws In a Soft Wind" sent out via the
Internet.
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