You must begin to ask yourself, what does a real man or woman of God look like? What do they do? God is shaking everything that can be shaken, and that includes anything and everything that we hold our security in, other than the cross of Christ. We simply must die to self, pick up our cross, each and every day, and follow Christ. In this hour, we must learn to walk in the Spirit, or else we will simply not survive what is coming. Dependency on jobs, money, bank accounts, IRA’s, governments, homes, family, or anything else other than the finished work of the cross will not do in this hour. In fact dependency on anything else but the cross is idolatry.

The reason that most of the Body of Christ is sick, is in fear, is lacking, and has no peace, is simply because we have trusted in things other than the cross. This is not to say that some of us are not battling through these issues boldly, by depending on the cross, but many do not know how to battle through properly. Many are still depending on the arm of the flesh, which will always fail. We have so many promises in His Word, and God is not a man that He should lie, and yet so many are falling so very short of what is available to us.

I myself have not arrived, and must continue to rise up beyond the daily challenges of being a Pastor, a Director and a Preacher, as well as a fellow Christian. I will be held accountable to God if I do not challenge you to rise up this coming year and lay hold of your destiny. Anything less just will not do in this hour. I hope you see my heart in this.

Our hearts are to equip the Body to do the works of the ministry. What are the works? We need not look any further than Jesus, who perfectly represented the Father in every way. We are to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers (incurable diseases) and cast out demons. That was how Jesus perfectly showed Daddy’s love. I do understand that all of us are in various stages of maturity in our walk with God and that some of us are just not there yet — totally acceptable — so no condemnation here.

It is all about hunger. Are you so hungry for God, that nothing less than personal, corporate, national and international revival will do? If you aren’t, check yourself and get before God and seek His face and ask for the grace you need to be all that He desires you to be.

Daddy wants us to eat meat and get off the milk. In doing so, we must never trust in anything but the finished work of the cross to overcome the sin nature that we try so very hard to deal with through ourselves, attempting to change ourselves through fruitless, external means that are doomed to failure. You cannot change yourself, and grace is not automatic. The Holy Spirit can only give out grace as we depend solely on the cross in faith. This releases Him to give us the grace we all need. It was by grace that we were saved so why do we think anything else will change us? Without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God. Humbling ourselves before Daddy in faith in the already finished work of the cross is what releases the Hand of God to change us from the inside out. Nothing else can nor will.

May we rise up together, as a true church of God, not just existing, not just going to church, but rather being the Church, His beautiful Bride, together in true fellowship in this coming year.