#human effort – Boldly For Him

Have you ever had God ask you a question then immediately follow with an answer that completely caught you off guard? I have! Several weeks ago, there was an undeniable pull to go into intercessory prayer with my husband Mark. As we began to pray, I sensed the Tangible Presence of The Holy Spirit, so I asked Mark to start praying and declaring prophetically what he was seeing. Suddenly, after praying for about ten to fifteen minutes, there was a shift in the atmosphere, and out of my mouth came the question of The Lord, “Bricks or Blood?….. You choose!….Bricks or Blood?

Stunned by the question that The Holy Spirit had just posed to both of us, we stood quietly and reverently yielding to The Lord. As we pressed into His Presence, The Lord began revealing to me by the Spirit, the desperation and conversations going on in the Body of Christ. I saw and heard many leaders concerned about “what they perceived” as, “momentum lost” during the pandemic shutdown.

The Lord continued to reveal to me that, “The current temptation for our lives was to pick up the Bricks of “human effort” and “self-accomplishment” devoid of the Power and Presence of The Living God.” A Power and Presence that had so graciously, sacrificially, and freely been given to each one of us through The Shed Blood of Jesus Christ at Calvary. I could see that leaders were being pushed and pushing to “hurry up” and “make up” for lost time and re-build what they thought the enemy had breached in their lives, businesses, and ministries. All of this “Brick Work” activity was being dangerously ramped up without stopping to consider the True Clear Leadership Voice, Guidance, and Timing of The Holy Spirit. He then led me to the following passage of scripture to illustrate what He was sharing with me;

Exodus 5:1-23 (AMPC);

“Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, Thus says The Lord, The God of Israel, Let My People go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.” “But Pharaoh said, Who is The Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not The Lord, neither will I let Israel go.” “And they said, The God of the Hebrews has met with us; let us go, we pray you, three days journey into the desert and sacrifice to The Lord our God, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” “The king of Egypt said to Moses and Aaron, Why do you take the people from their jobs? Get to your burdens!” “Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and you make them rest from their burdens!” “The very same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers, “You shall no more give the people straw to make brick; let them go and gather straw for themselves.” “But the number of the bricks which they made before you shall require of them; you shall not diminish it in the least. For they are idle; that is why they cry, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.” “Let heavier work be laid upon the men that they may labor at it and pay no attention to lying words.” “The taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers and they said to the people, Thus says Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.” “Go get straw where you can find it, but your work shall not be diminished in the least.” “So the people were scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather the short stubble instead of straw.” “And the taskmasters were urgent, saying, Finish your work, your daily quotas, as when there was straw.” “And the Hebrew foremen, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, Why have you not fulfilled all your quota of making bricks yesterday and today, as before?” “Then the Hebrew foremen came to Pharaoh and cried, Why do you deal like this with your servants?” “No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, Make bricks! And behold, your servants are beaten, but the fault is in your people.” “But [Pharaoh] said, You are idle, lazy, and idle! That is why you say, Let us go and sacrifice to The Lord.” “Get out now and get to work; for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the full quota of bricks.” “And the Hebrew foremen saw that they were in an evil situation when it was said, you shall not diminish in the least your full daily quota of bricks.” “And the foremen met Moses and Aaron, who was standing in the way as they came forth from Pharaoh.” “And the foremen said to them, The Lord look upon you and judge because you have made us a rotten stench to be detested by Pharaoh and his servants and have put a sword in their hand to slay us.” “Then Moses turned again to The Lord and said, O Lord, why have You dealt evil to this people? Why did you ever send me?” “For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your Name, he has done evil to this people, neither have You delivered Your people at all.”

Beware, fellow believers, the objective of the “Pharaoh spirit” is to push us into becoming a “taskmaster” an oppressor of ourselves AND others. If we allow this to happen we will become a “beast of burden”, reproducing other “beast’s of burdens” as we begin to demand of those in our spheres of influence that they:

“Hurry Up and Finish their work, after all, enough time has been lost during the pandemic and we have a lot MORE WORK to catch up on! This is no time to rest! “Go Get Your Bricks,” before all is lost!”

The result of all this Brickwork?

An exhausted depleted family, business, or ministry on the verge of collapse!

Friends, when we get caught up in this demonically driven frenzy, we will no longer recognize God as The True, “Author and Finisher of our faith.” Ref. Hebrews 12:2. This makes it virtually impossible for us to lead, train, and mentor others through The Guidance of The Holy Spirit. Instead, “The Bricks” of our leadership decisions, produces “Mausoleums of death” rather than “Temples of Life”

How does this happen?

By sacrificing our own, “Times of refreshing” in The Lord and ignoring The Voice and Leadership of The Holy Spirit as He Rejuvenates and Speaks to our hearts.

Romans 8:14 (AMP) says;

“For all who are ALLOWING themselves to be led by The Spirit of God are sons of God.”

The Holy Spirit is a True Gentleman! He will not force the plan of God on our lives, or our ability to “see” that plan, we must CHOOSE to be LED and FOLLOW the Plan of God for our life. As we REST in The Presence of God while listening and yielding to The Voice of The Holy Spirit and choosing to follow the instructions that He Gives us, we mature and develop into effective, men and women of God, “sons of God,” as the above scripture states.

Why is it so important to follow The Holy Spirit’s Guidance and learn to live a “Life in The Spirit as a son of God?”

Romans 8:15-16 (TPT) holds the key that unlocks the door to this very important answer;

“And you did not receive the spirit of religious duty, leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the Spirit of Full Acceptance, enfolding you into The Family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as He Rises Up Within us, our spirits join Him in saying the words of tender affection, “Beloved Father!” “For The Holy Spirit makes God’s Fatherhood real to us as He Whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!”

My friend, it is only through the Power and Discernment of The Holy Spirit that we learn how to recognize and reject the “Brick Mentality” which is rooted in the “fear of never being good enough.”

As we continually confront and defeat the thoughts of rejection that challenge the truth of “God’s Fatherhood” in our lives, we overcome this stronghold of fear. This Vital Victory opens up our hearts to recognize and receive the “Spirit of Full Acceptance,” which, “enfolds us into The Family of God.” This is where True Freedom, Joy, and Peace begins in our, “Born Again” walk with God and the relationship we have with ourselves and others.

As we learn to trust God and lay down the bricks of oppression, we understand, “The Language of The Blood” which continually speaks, “forgiveness.” Ref. Hebrews 12:24. As we freely accept and choose to “speak forgiveness,” over our lives and others, the reality of The redemption of The Blood of Jesus takes root in our lives releasing the “The Joy of The Lord” to become “Our Strength and our Stronghold.” Ref. Nehemiah 8:10. Now with eager tender affection, we can shout, “Beloved Father,” as we receive the “sweet something” that, “The Holy Spirit Whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!”

So now Mighty Warriors of The Most High God The Choice is yours.

Bricks or Blood?……. You Choose!

The Bricks of human effort outside of God or The Redemptive Life in The Spirit through The Blood of Jesus Christ?

Choose The Blood of Jesus Christ which Speaks of Redemption and you will…..

“Be Strong and Live Free…..Boldly For Him!”

Galatians 5:16-18 (TPT);

“As you yield freely and fully to the dynamic Life and Power of The Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self-life.” “For your self-life craves the things that offend The Holy Spirit and hinder Him from Living Free within you! And The Holy Spirit’s intense cravings hinder your old self-life from dominating you! So then the two incompatible and conflicting forces within you are your self-life of the flesh and the new creation life of The Spirit.” “But when you are brought into The Full Freedom of The Spirit of Grace, you will no longer be living under the dominion of the law, but SOARING ABOVE IT!

Picture by: Majid Gheidarlou