Warriors Arise: April 18th, 2020
Why was is so important for Peter hear his name when the women came to deliver the message? Mark 16:7 "But go, tell His disciples, and Peter". My thoughts, we can allow the enemy to "grow" our sin bigger than Jesus' ability to forgive it. When we believe the lies of the enemy, we disqualify ourselves.
Can you relate? I can. I have disqualified myself and missed God opportunities, because I didn't feel worthy. I used my sin as an excuse to remove myself from ministry. Oddly, I did this even when I had asked God to forgive me and in times when my sin was against a person and sought their forgiveness, I still disqualified myself. I did what God wanted me to do but I didn't fully embrace being forgiven so I took matters into my own hands and disciplined myself. I felt that I needed to be punished; therefore, I stepped out of ministry, out of serving God and His people.
Sins have consequences but God desires for us to be restored to Him. When we are restored, because we have sought forgiveness, He doesn't take away our calling and give it to someone else. He desires to use us to reach more. "In my weakness He is strong." God knew we would sin. He didn't like it and doesn't condone it; but He knew we would sin. Without God, we cannot defeat the enemy. When we act on our own, without God, we are prone to sin. With God, we stomp on the sin the enemy is offering and walk on by. God knows when the enemy is going to tempt us.
Jesus, talking to Peter, at what we know as the Lord's Supper in Luke 22:31-32, "And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."
Jesus is in the same room with Peter and yet He calls Peter by his surname and with an exclamation point. Jesus was warning Peter, Satan is coming to attack. But what does Jesus say? "I have prayed for you,". We know how this turns out, Peter sins by denying Christ that very night. So, if Jesus prayed for Peter, why did Peter still sin?
Jesus prayed knowing Peter would sin; therefore, Jesus prayed Peter wouldn't lose his faith when he sinned. God was going to make a way for something good to come from something bad. Because Peter sinned, he would be able to offer something to others he didn't have. Peter would have to overcome the enemy AFTER he sinned. Peter would have to find out for himself if the faith he had was real. This is a coming-to-Jesus moment in Peter's life.
God doesn't want us to sin but when we do Jesus made a way for us to return to Him. Not only are we to return to Jesus, but we now have something we didn't have before. We have the power of compassion to move the enemy out of the way, so the will of God can be done in the lives of those around us (Matthew 14:14 healing, Mark 6:34 teaching, Matthew 9:36-38 commissioning, and miracles, feeding the 5,000). Jesus tells Peter, "When you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."
In Mark 16:7, the angel tells the women to give the message to Jesus' disciples-and Peter. This might imply that even though Peter was with the disciples, He no longer considered himself one of the disciples. The disciples and Peter were to meet Jesus in Galilee. Peter needed to go to Galilee to meet Jesus to fulfill what Jesus told him, "when you have returned to Me."
Only after Peter returned could he do as Jesus had instructed, "strengthen your brethren". Maybe you have found yourself in a place where you sinned and you have heard Jesus call you to Himself, yet you remain in your ways. Jesus is not calling you to scold you, but to restore you. He can heal your broken places with His love. When you allow Him to do this, He wants you to encourage others to return to Him. When we meet with Jesus, His love will restore us in a way He can work through us to reach others by the compassion we experience. When we return to Jesus, He removes the sin in our life and replaces it with the power to strengthen others to overcome sin and doubt. The enemy would like us to believe a lie, that our sin is permanent. But God, vetos the power of sin, through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. When we return to Jesus, sin looses its power to hold us back or exclude us. The sacrifice of Jesus restores us to our calling and place in the body of Christ, and gives us the power of compassion to strengthen our brethren.
Warriors we pray today for those who need to understand God's amazing power to be redeemed and restored. We pray for each on to be moved with compassion toward God's people. We pray they will not disqualify themselves but believe for all God has for them is available when they return to Jesus.
God, I come to You today asking for Your people to each hear their name called. I ask for each one to turn heart and mind to seeking Jesus. I ask for each one to have a Jesus experience in such a way they become moved with compassion. Each one of us need to be moved with compassion, unafraid to tell what Jesus has done in our lives. In the mighty name of Jesus I declare for us to not be afraid of being condemned by our sin but to tell how Jesus redeemed and restored us from our sin. I ask for Your lovingkindness to overwhelm us. Father, You are good in all of Your ways. Sometimes I have denied myself seeking Your healing because I have disqualified myself. I have taken my sickness on as a punishment from You. Father, I ask in the name of Jesus for You to heal me from all sickness and disease. I ask for the coronavirus and its germs to die in Jesus' name. You are the only God with compassion to remove sickness from my life. I ask in the name of Jesus for all sickness to be gone. I desire to understand Your amazing love, that casts out all fear. Make Yourself known to me. I do not want to live in fear. I want to life by faith in all Jesus Christ died to give me. I ask for You to guide and direct my path. I will not walk in fear but in the love of my Father who redeems me from sin, restores me to my calling, releases me to be moved with compassion and testify of the greatness of my God.
God, I ask for wisdom for our government officials. I pray they would hear from You. I ask for each one to turn to You for their direction. I petition You to speak to the hard-hearted and that they would be humbled by Your love for them. You desire to give each one wisdom in how to handle to their position and that includes giving instruction to get through the coronavirus and its devastating attack. I pray for the people in our country to come to You for wisdom and instruction. As a country we have sinned, I pray for America to operate in Your blessings. As people are receiving their checks from the government to help pay the bills, I ask for each one to be wise with the money they have been given. I ask that we, as a country, would not give into our fleshly desires and walk in our own way; but that we would be grateful for what we have received and use it as it is intended. I pray each one would embrace the Holy Spirit and operate in self-control in Jesus' name amen.
A Warrior in the Lord’s Army,
Veridee Joy
My hope is for Believers in Jesus Christ to join together each day to pray, to push back the enemy as we release God’s power here on earth against the coronavirus. The prayers will be listed each day as Warriors Arise. I will put a date with it so we can keep them straight. If you have any questions please feel free to make a comment or private message me. If you would like this to come to your email directly please go to verideehand.com and subscribe.