2009-The year of the cross

Happy New Year everyone!



I am entitling 2009, the Year of the cross. I believe God has spoken clearly on this emphasis for this year.

The story…
You probably know by now that IHOP-KC has a real emphasis on understanding the End-Time plans of God culminating in the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. However, God gave us a prophetic surprise on December 26th 2008. That evening, Misty Edwards was leading worship and Mike Bickle was prayer leading. In the midst of the worship set, God gave Mike Bickle a prophetic word around Jeremiah 23:18-20 concerning an invitation to stand in the council of the LORD and know his heart:

But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word? See the storm of the LORD will burst out in wrath, a whirlwind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. The anger of the LORD will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart. In the days to come, you will understand it clearly.

In the midst of this powerful prophetic word, I began to wonder if God would confirm this word with a sign- even as Isaiah 44 talks about:

I am the LORD…who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers. (Isaiah 44:24-26)

Sure enough, I got awakened at around 4:30am the next morning. Suddenly the winds picked up to a howling pitch. It sounded like the windows were going to burst inward. The severe squall line ended up producing tornadoes in Missouri and Illinois, ripping a roof of an apartment building nearby, toppling trees, and cutting power to thousands, while producing freezing rain behind the cold front in December! NBC action news has a special article on the atmospheric mayhem of that morning. http://www.nbcactionnews.com/news/local/story/Power-Restored-After-Weekend-Storm/TmgdW9IQlk-mlo_7eAKXBQ.cspx

An invitation to take up our cross and follow Jesus at a whole new level:
The cross of Jesus is at the core of our relationship with God. In the midst of the shaking in 2008, I lost sight of the cross because I was blinded by the “heady wine” of 2007. All this wreaked havoc on my relationship with God. Without the cross of Jesus, we would be stuck in sin as enemies of God without hope. What Jesus did for us at the cross for me means everything!
Equally glorious for us about the cross is exploring why Jesus went to the cross for us. The glorious answer to “why” will be answered by God for all of eternity. Paul prayed that the believers in Ephesus would know the width, the depth, the height, and the breadth of the love of Christ in Ephesians 3. The on-going dedication of Jesus towards me means everything!
With elementary understanding of the cross comes a cry of justice out of gratitude for what Jesus has done. The Moravian missionaries had a rallying cry based out of Revelation 5:12; “Win for the Lamb the reward of His suffering!” He is worthy to be crowned by our love.
Jesus has given us an invitation on how we are to do this on an individual level: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. (Matthew 16:24-25). It is only through entering into the difficulty and pain of “taking up our cross” daily in allegiance to Jesus that we can begin to understand the extent of God’s love.

Judgment activities: An invitation to discern the heart of Jesus the Judge through the cross.
God’s zeal against sin and love for broken people meet at the cross. It is only through the cross that we can understand His jealous love for us and his wrath against sin. It is out of His great mercy and wisdom that his destructive judgments are released on earth before His Son’s return.
Consider the prophetic word confirmed by a freak storm as a divine invitation. We have been officially invited to draw near to God by the cross. The door is open for us to press in and stand in the counsel of the LORD through prayer, fasting, embracing meekness, and delighting in righteousness. We have the opportunity to enter into the deeper levels of the spirit of prophecy which is the testimony of Jesus. The invitation has been given to know the heart of Lamb of God who is also the righteous judge. Who will to take up their cross so that they can stand in the counsel of God?