REFLECTIONS #126: FROM RESET TO MANIFESTATION!

From an earthly perspective, 2020 was a disaster: global pandemic, hundreds of thousands of deaths, economic shutdowns closings hundreds of thousands of businesses and putting millions upon millions of people out of work; social isolation, increased rates of suicide, drug addiction, and sexual and domestic abuse; heavy-handed government squashing of basic freedoms, churches and synagogues targeted for closure, heavy and prejudiced censoring of news and speech; and, in the U.S., riots and burning of cities and well-planned and brazen election fraud. From a natural point of view, we are all more than happy to put 2020 in our rear-view mirror!

As I was thinking about that these last few days, I wondered what 2020 looked like from Heaven’s perspective. Certainly, God was aware of the devastation, suffering, chaos, anger, fear, confusion, and corruption…but I realized God saw something else happening, too. All over the world, Christians began to rise up in increased boldness to confess their faith, even in Western countries. In spite of increased persecution ranging from severe and deadly to threats, fines and jail, many Christians refused to back down and recant. In the United States, while mobs were burning cities, pulling down statues, and violently attacking people with no consequence, Christians were fined and jailed for going to church and opening up businesses to feed their families and provide jobs for their workers who also needed to feed their families and pay their rent.

SOMETHING WONDERFUL

But in the United States and other countries, something wonderful began to happen. The sleeping Church and those who love freedom awakened to realize that their freedom to worship God and to pursue work, opportunity, and happiness in a lawful, peaceful, and moral society was being extinguished by the arbitrary and punitive regulation of government leaders. Christians rediscovered the preciousness and the power of God’s Word, praying, fasting, and the might of the Holy Spirit. Moral people, though not Christians, awakened to the rebellion against Judeo-Christian values which have been the foundation of our nation since its birth and provided the structure which allowed this nation to become the most peaceful and wealthy land of opportunity in the world. They’ve seen their children and grandchildren become confused about gender, reject all authority, hate their nation, and become addicted to drugs, pornography, and sex. These alarmed, moral people have risen up alongside Christians to defend this nation from immorality, corruption, lawlessness, and perversion.

God has seen His Church and other morally upright people gather by the thousands and tens of thousands all over this nation in many states and Washington, D.C., to support freedom and Judeo-Christian values and to protest abortion, same-sex marriage, corruption, anarchy, socialism, the brain-washing of our young people in schools, colleges, and universities, and the re-writing of our history by progressive Marxist socialists.

For the Church, this has been a blessed and desperately-needed year of awakening, revelation, and change. It has been the “Year of Reset” the prophets prophesied it would be. All of us were excited about 2020. It was going to be a year of Reset and Recalibration. It was going to introduce the Decade of Difference when righteousness returned and the glory of God was seen. It was going to birth the fourth Great Awakening in America. It was to be the Year of 2020 Vision and the power of decreeing with the mouth. Passover was going to be a true Passover and the power of the Holy Spirit was coming. December, 2019, and January, 2020, we had every reason to be optimistic. The economy was booming, the world was relatively peaceful, and the prophets were prophesying that God was going to reset and recalibrate us in 2020. We thought it was going to be easy. And then came the pandemic. Businesses and churches were shut down. Masks became essential. People were mandated to socially distance. No hugging, no hand-shaking, no touching. Isolation. Shortages in grocery stores created anxiety, fear, and panic. People were getting sick, and many died. Some people said the prophets “missed it.” But, did they?

LORD, WHAT IS GOING ON????

In March, 2020, I asked the Lord for His perspective. Actually, it was more like, “Lord, what in the world is going on here? We expected to waltz into the Promised Land, and now giants oppose us from every side and the Egyptian army is closing in!” The Lord's response was that if we, the Church, would repent and get in agreement with the prophets and make our own decrees of salvation, righteousness, and healing in our nation, that “when people look back at the Global Pandemic of 2020, they will say ‘how marvelously God delivered us!’ Instead of looking back and saying, ‘This is when everything started going wrong,’ they will say, ‘This is when the greatest awakening and revival in the history of the world began, glory to God!’”

"if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14, NKJV)

As I look back over 2020 and look ahead at 2021, I still believe what God told me in March. A significant remnant of the Church humbled themselves, repented, prayed, and fasted; and according to 2 Chronicles 7:14, when God hears that prayer, He forgives and promises to heal our land. I believe this new year, 2021, and possibly beyond, is going to be a time of continued and intense great battles with the forces of darkness, but I have never felt more hopeful or more encouraged about the future of our nation and the Church!

The Church was in a pitiful and weakened condition, as evidenced by the ascendancy of the antichrist spirit, ungodliness, perversion, and corruption in every area of our society. The light of the Church was flickering, at best. The Church was not impacting or preserving society, as we had been commanded to do; rather, society had invaded and impacted and corrupted the Church. The Church was not only NOT a threat to the kingdom of darkness, the Church too often enabled and supported the agenda of the devil himself! There is no doubt that millions and millions of people, including Christians, have been seduced and deceived by satan, the father of lies.

BUT GOD!

But in 2020, God awakened and Reset the Church! Jesus is not coming back for a slumbering, ungodly Church. He is coming back for a glorious Church without spot, wrinkle, or blemish! In Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus clearly describes the spots, wrinkles, and blemishes that must be removed from His Church. He is not coming back for a church that has lost its first love, accepts the doctrine of Balaam and compromise, and tolerates evil, sexual immorality, and worshipping idols. He is not coming back for a dead church or a lukewarm church. He is coming for a glorious church; a church that is awake, alive, pure, passionate, faithful, on fire, hates evil, and is uncompromising, steadfast, and bold!

2020 has been a year of shaking, sifting and separating the wheat from the tares and the sheep from the goats, and that shaking will continue in 2021 and beyond. Evil is going to be exposed and rooted out in every area of our society, and God will bring justice and accountability. And God is going to shine His light on churches and leaders who desire the approval of men more than God; who tolerate and excuse evil; who preach and teach a cheap grace that insults the Blood of Christ; and encourages and tolerates evil, calling it good. God is not impressed with the size of the church, how many programs it has, or the fame of its leaders and worship team. He will be judging them according to the criteria he laid down in Revelation 2 and 3, and those who do not meet His standard will have their lampstand removed. How great is God’s mercy to expose our shortcomings that we may have the opportunity to repent! Those churches who do meet His standard, who repent and overcome, receive many great and precious promises for this life and the next. Jesus is very clear and unequivocal about His expectations and the resulting consequences of meeting or not meeting those expectations.

“He who has an ear, let Him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (See Revelation 2, 3)

There will continue to be great battles for the Church to fight in this Decade of Difference, and I believe the Church will win these great battles because the Spirit of God will give us the victories by His might. That doesn’t mean the battles will be easy; it means we will overcome the difficulties and obstacles.

2020 was the Year of the Reset. I believe 2021 is the Year of Manifestation: the year we start to see, recognize, and experience the Manifestation of that Reset of holiness, righteousness, Holy Spirit fire, revival, and reformation.

THE OVERCOMING CHURCH WILL BE A FIGHTING CHURCH

Davids, Esthers, Joshuas, Deborahs, Eleazars, Marys, Peters, Pauls, and Johns are being called forth. This is a time when the Church rediscovers and owns its identity, its mission, its power, and its destiny. It is a time when reverence for the LORD is restored and we weep over sin and the lost.

We have no reason to fear what is ahead. We can actually be excited about it, because our God has already prepared the way for us! We need to learn to put our armor on daily, and understand the function of each piece. We need to get our orders daily from our Lord of Hosts, and we need to learn to skillfully use our sword and other weapons of our spiritual warfare. We need to be like Eleazar, who gripped his sword so tightly for so long it had to be pried from his fingers after the successful conclusion of the battle. We are not fighting FOR victory, we are fighting FROM victory, and so we KEEP fighting until the LORD brings the great victory! (See 2 Samuel 23:10)

God has set before us the pearl of great price, and it is ours for the taking, if we have the boldness and the faith to do whatever it takes to lay hold of it.

That is my theme for this new year: His will, His way, Whatever it takes!

Happy New Year! From glory to glory and victory to victory!

Love, Hugs, and Blessings

Syandra