Declaring Positivity

Declaring Positivity

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Job 22:26-28 (NKJV)
²⁶  For then you will have your delight in the Almighty, And lift up your face to God.
²⁷  You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, And you will pay your vows.
²⁸  You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways.

We must remember that, even in these troubled times, the Lord desires to bless us and bring destiny into our lives.  We must declare into the positivity of God.  As we recently contemplated this truth in our church, we also came to realize that when we gripe and complain, we are declaring into the negativity of the enemy of our souls.  What we say is powerful.

Knowing that historically Goshen County, Wyoming, was both a gateway into the settling of the west and a place of refuge for those traveling, our church began to understand more fully the spiritual destiny of our location.  Several trails, including the Oregon, Mormon and Texas, pass through our county.  Old Fort Laramie offered refuge and resupply to early travelers. We have a sense that our destiny is still refuge, resupply and direction.

We formulated then a declaration over our county based on the seven mountains of cultural influence.  The declaration follows.  The seven mountains are highlighted. 

Declaration over Goshen County

We declare that Wyoming is the head and not the tail.

The Kingdom of God will move in power up the Oregon Trail, across all of Wyoming, down the North Platte River and throughout the nation just as one river flows into another and unites in greater power.

We understand that family is the first institution created by God. 

Strong families are necessary for the structuring of society.

We hold biblical family structures and traditions to be sacred.

Our children are blessed and will be mighty in the land.
Our children are a reward and gift from the Lord, and I will enjoy them.
Our children will fulfill God’s will and purpose for their lives.

Our government will be led by those who, like David, have integrity of heart and skillfulness of hand.

Our people will be freed from the unfair and unwise policies of governmental agencies. 

Because governance without morality is impossible, we will live morally and seek to elect moral people into office.

Our media will be the result of truth and integrity in the lives of those who produce it.

We, too, are media, God’s voice crying in the desert, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.”  Therefore, we will guard our words and live and speak with integrity.

Our entertainment will be wholesome and God honoring.

Beginning here in the valley and spreading across our state and into the neighboring states and throughout our nation, business and industry will flourish in ways that we cannot think of or imagine.

Our educational system will continue to improve.  Others will come to recognize the strength of our colleges and university.

Goshen County, Wyoming is a gateway to blessing for our state and our nation.

It is my prayer that you will consider making a similar declaration over your location.  It is time for us to speak the destiny of the Lord.  Remember what He said through the prophet Jeremiah: 

Jeremiah 29:11-12 (NKJV)
^“11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
¹²  Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.”

Likewise, remember these words penned by the Apostle Paul as he was imprisoned in Rome:

Philippians 4:4-8 (NKJV)
^“4  Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
⁵  Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
⁶  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
⁷  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
⁸  Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things.”

We must continually accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.

Feast of Tabernacles: Celebrating the Harvest

Feast of Tabernacles:  Celebrating the Harvest

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

The Feast of Tabernacles, Sukkoth celebrates the completed harvest. The final crop, the fruit of the land, has been gathered.  The Feast also looks forward to that time when all believers are gathered together and God tabernacles with us.  

Sukkoth occurs on the first full moon after the Autumnal Equinox..  The first full moon of autumn is the Harvest Moon.  It is the largest full moon of the year.  The prophetic indication is that the Lord will return in the fullest of fullness of time, when time as we know it will be complete.  

A believer told me recently that if the Lord doesn’t return soon, it will be too late.  Our times are in His hands and not vice versa.  God’s timing is never late.  Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NKJV) declares: He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”

We cannot possibly fully understand the work of the Lord.  Therefore, we must accept by faith that He is good, that He wants the best for us and that His timing is impeccable. 

Too many of us are so caught up in fear and in predicting the rapture that we are neglecting to follow our Lord’s admonition to occupy until He comes (Luke 19:13).  If the rapture comes tomorrow, I will rejoice.  If the rapture does not come tomorrow, I will rejoice.  I understand things are bad and will become worse in the world.  I understand also that the problems of the world are not greater than my God.  I understand, as well, that in the Kingdom of God, His will being done on earth as it is in heaven, the light of God still shines brightly in the darkness. 

We must arise from our couches of doubt, fear and unbelief.  We must continue to be about our Father’s business.  I love that old hymn “Bringing in the Sheaves” by Knowles Shaw:

1. Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,
   Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;
   Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,
   We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
2.  
• Refrain:
  Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
  We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves;
  Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
  We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
•  
3. Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,
   Fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze;
   By and by the harvest, and the labor ended,
   We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
4. Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master,
   Though the loss sustained our spirit often grieves;
   When our weeping’s over, He will bid us welcome,
   We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Sukkoth celebrates the Lord’s provision for His people.  Sukkoth celebrates the fact that believers are the tabernacle of God.  Sukkoth also celebrates the harvest of the past, the current harvest and the harvest to come. 

I don’t know when the rapture will come.  I do know that we are closer to it than we were yesterday.  I also know that our Lord will provide for us, protect us and sustain us through each tomorrow whether we are on earth or around the Throne of Heaven.  

Hallelujah! His mercies are renewed every morning (Lamentations 3:23).  We are part of His harvest whenever and however that harvest will come. Yes, and when we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be.  So let’s celebrate Him!!!

Days of Awe 2015—Bringing Light to our Nation

Days of Awe, Bringing Light to our Nation

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

 

The Feast of Trumpets begins the 10 days of Awe leading to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  This is a time of reflection, prayer and meditation on the atoning work of the Cross.  I sense that this is, also, our time to reflect, pray and meditate on the power of God to change our nation.  Remember that God has called believers to arise and shine for our light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon us (Isaiah 60:1).  The changing of our nation depends on God’s people walking in His light.

It is time for a spiritual revolution, a time to call the ranks of the army of God into integrity and righteousness.  No separation between the spiritual and the natural, between the church and the state should exist in the life of a Christian.  It is time for us to appeal to heaven.

Remember the words of John Locke:“…where the body of the people, or any single man, is deprived of their right, or is under the exercise of a power without right, and have no appeal on earth, then they have a liberty to appeal to heaven, whenever they judge the cause of sufficient moment.”

This is the sufficient moment to present our cause before the throne.  We do that when we decree, declare and pray rather the whine, gripe and complain.

We must declare:  “We have no sovereign but God, no king but Jesus.”

Following are some suggestions about how we can pray during these ten days.

Pray over every house and business within 3 blocks of your home.

Pray for all schools—including preschools and day care centers.

Pray for fires houses, police stations and sheriff’s departments.

Pray for city officials and county commissioners.

Pray for all cities and rural areas in your county.

Pray for state elected leadership.

Pray for each county in your state.

Pray for each state in the United States (include the territories).

Pray for the three branches of government:  executive; judicial and legislative.

Pray for the church to rise up and be the light of our nation.  

 

Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)
¹⁶  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Feast of Trumpets—Rosh Hashanah 2015

Feast of Trumpets—Rosh Hashanah 2015

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Leviticus 23:23-24 "Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, "In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation."

Psalm 81:1-3 (NKJV) “Sing aloud to God our strength; Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob. Raise a song and strike the timbrel, The pleasant harp with the lute. Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, At the full moon, on our solemn feast day.”

The Feast of Trumpets begins at sunset on September 13 because the biblical day goes from sunset to sunset.  The Jewish name for this holy convocation is Rosh Hashanah which is usually translated "the beginning or head of the year." Actually the Hebrew word “shana” means to change.  Rosh Hashanah implies that something in the spiritual world is changing. It is the beginning of a new season in our walk with the Lord.  God works in seasons. “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV)

Ten days after Rosh Hashanah is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  Five days later, Sukkoth, the Feast of Tabernacles begins. 

According to Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of Adam and Eve and the fall into sin.  It is a reminder of the covenant relationship between God and mankind.  It is a time of new beginnings.

             Rosh Hashanah is observed with the sounding of the trumpet.  The traditional trumpet is the shofar, the ram’s horn, which also represents the trumpet blast of the coronation of the king. The sounding of the shofar is a call to repentance because Rosh Hashanah is also a reminder of man’s first sin and repentance for that sin. 

            Likewise, the shofar also commemorates the sacrifice of Isaac which occurred on the day that God later established as Rosh Hashanah. The sounding of the shofar reminds us that a ram took Isaac’s place as an offering to God.  Abraham named the place, "Jehovah-Jirah", God is our provision.  Abraham understood that in ages to come God would provide the means of our salvation, His Son, Jesus Christ. 

                        Because Rosh Hashanah is the Feast of Trumpets, we should remember the importance of trumpets in our relationship with God.  In Exodus 19, people were to wait for the sounding of trumpet before going near Mt. Sinai where God spoke to Moses. (Exodus 19:3b) "When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain."  (Exodus 20:18) "Now all the people witnessed the thundering, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off."  God was beginning a new season as He molded a band of ex-slaves into a mighty army.

            It was with the shouting of the people and the sound of the trumpets that God brought down the walls of Jericho and gave the Israelites their first victory in the Promised Land.  The defeat of Jericho was a new beginning for the people of God.

            The Lord will again bring a new thing with the sound of the trumpet when Jesus returns. (Matthew 24:29-31) “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 

(1 Corinthians 15:52)  "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

            Remember the Feasts of Trumpets by sounding the trumpet, blowing a horn, ringing a bell.  With joy in our hearts, we remember the trumpet soundings of the past and look forward to the sounding of the trumpet when Jesus returns.

            Rosh Hashanah is a time for speaking blessings for the season to come.  A simple blessing is "Shana Tovah", which literally means "Happy Change” or “Happy New Season " in Hebrew.

Celebrating the Feast Days is not required, but a powerful blessing can come to us when we more fully understand what has been accomplished in our lives and in the Kingdom of Heaven because of the atoning, redemptive ministry of Jesus, our Messiah. Whether our celebration is elaborate or simple, our remembrance should include thanksgiving, worship and joy. God is giving a party and He has invited us.

Shana Tovah! Shana Tovah! Because of Jesus, our new season is blessed.  Because of Jesus, we are changed; we are renewed.  Let us walk into this new season changed, renewed and recharged for the Kingdom of God.

Baruch HaShem Hamacsiach Yeshua;

Baruch HaShem Adonai.

Blessing in the name of Messiah Jesus. 

Blessing in the name of the Lord.