"Lord, Please Heal Our 'Temporary Spiritual Amnesia'"

"The Seer"
by Jim W. Goll
$13.99 Book

"Lord, Please Heal Our 'Temporary Spiritual Amnesia'" by Catherine Brown www.gatekeepers.org.uk  catherine@gatekeepers.org.uk

Aug 19, 2004

THE BREAD OF HEAVEN – A VISION OF JESUS

Whilst in prayer recently I had a beautiful vision of Jesus with manna in His hands. In the vision, one by one, people approached Christ and took a piece of manna from His outstretched palm. Some ate the manna straightaway and their countenance was instantly transformed; they were just so happy and full of peace and joy! Others put the manna in their pocket, which seemed a strange thing to do. Those who did not eat the manna straightaway seemed to forget they had received a gift of provision from Christ. Others would not even approach Jesus for the manna. They looked so tired and angry. Jesus continually held out his hands, desiring to give his children manna. The ones who refused the manna became full of bitterness and a dark cloud covered them. Jesus was brokenhearted over this.

"THE MANNA IS MY MERCY"

I asked the Lord what the manna meant. He replied, "Child, the manna is my mercy. Mercy is my provision in this hour for my children. There has never been such a need for absolute mercy, because there has never been such a lack of mercy in the world and even in my church. To lack mercy is to walk in the spirit of the world. I have given my grace to the church, that in faith my bride may be robed in mercy.

"At the ends of the Age I will come to judge the quick and the dead, but this hour has not yet come. Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy. Mercy and forgiveness flow down in unity from the throne of Grace. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Above the cherubim, the children of Israel learned that I am enthroned on the mercy seat. The ark of my presence, the altar of faith in your hearts, is still the place of my abiding mercy.

"Mercy is your strong tower in times of trouble. Mercy washes away all roots of hatred and bitterness. My mercy redeems the mindset of man. Mercy is a river, and mercy washes each of my children clean. Mercy is purity and mercy is peace. Mercy is full of love and grace. Mercy is wisdom. Mercy heals cruelty and heals all wounds. Mercy is the meeting point between heaven and earth, because in my mercy I commune with my children. Mercy is the power of the Age to come, poured out in this age. In your frailty, my mercy is your protection and strength. Mercy is given freely to my children in Grace. Mercy is the fruit of loving me and mercy is my Father's gift to His children. Mercy disarms the powers of darkness. Mercy covers all. Mercy triumphs over judgment. My mercy is blood-bought, and my unconditional love and mercy are full of Life.

"Beloved child, my mercy is new every morning. Mercy is part of your Kingdom identity and my mercy releases your destiny, because mercy prepares your heart in compassion for the mindset of the Kingdom and the agenda of your King of Kings. Mercy brings you into the inner courts of my Father and mercy compels you to a lifestyle of kindness and compassion."

WHAT IS MERCY?

1. Compassion or forgiveness shown towards an enemy or offender in one's power.

2. Something to be grateful for.

"The Lord your God is a merciful God" (Dt 4:31). Mercy originates in the Father's heart and flows into ours through the Holy Spirit. God our Father forgives our sins through the atoning sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. This is a beautiful work of Grace. Jesus said, "Father forgive." There was a cost to mercy, but Jesus paid the price, as mercy and forgiveness flowed like a mighty river from the Cross of Calvary. We are delivered from judgment in God's mercy.

When Jesus taught His disciples about mercy, he taught them that mercy leads to purity of heart and purity of heart releases us to see Jesus face-to-face. God's word inspires us to choose the way of mercy, so that we might become so full of God's mercy that it would overflow from our hearts into the lives of all that we encounter.

"Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy" Mt. 5:7 "Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God" Mt. 5:8

Forgiveness is an act of mercy. If we withhold mercy it means we are withholding forgiveness in our hearts towards another. God wants us to understand that as we forgive and do not judge each other, then we are able to look at one another in and through the perfection of Christ.

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Mt. 7:1

We are commanded to love one another. Without mercy we become mean, and this in turn permits bitterness to take root in our hearts.

MERCY – THE BREAD OF HEAVEN

"'I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.'

"Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?'" John 6:48-52

Mercy is Jesus' manna (bread), life to us in this world. We cannot survive as believers in this world without the mercy of God. Daily we need to receive a fresh revelation of the mercy of our Father, given to us in Christ. In God's mercy we gain access to the fullness of our heavenly Father's heart. Without mercy operating in our lives, we will lack intimacy with Jesus.

Without a staple diet of bread or rice, we would die. Without God's mercy operating in our lives, we would be dead in our sin. God calls us afresh to the Cross to look again at the incredible, sacrificial cost of mercy. He calls us again to be washed in the blood of Christ and receive His mercy. It requires humility to receive mercy, but what will we choose?

Will we be like the Pharisees, who in their religious bondage, could not and would not receive the mercy of Jesus Christ? Will we be so blind that we will allow this pearl of great price to fall from our hands? Will we be like the many disciples who said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" Will we turn our back on our precious Savior and no longer follow Jesus because we are too arrogant or ignorant of spiritual truth to receive his mercy? Will we, like those lost souls, walk in offense and deny the Lordship of Christ in our lives?

OFFENSE – THE GREATEST OPPONENT TO THE MERCY OF CHRIST

"On hearing it, many of His disciples said, 'This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?'

"Aware that the disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, 'Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.' Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, 'This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.'

"From this time many of the disciples turned back and no longer followed him." John 6:60-66

COMMANDED LOVE – LIVING IN GOD'S MERCY

Perhaps some of you have suffered in this life and may be wondering if there are times when we might justify withholding mercy...broken promises, betrayal, rejection, abandonment, brutality, pain. The answer is an unequivocal 'no'! Christ calls us to total forgiveness, and total forgiveness includes loving the offender in the mercy of God. It is never too hard to forgive, because mercy is a work of grace in our lives. God commands us to love one another. Loving means forgiving, and forgiving means living in the mercy of God.

In my life I have known many instances where forgiveness has not been an easy choice to make. Through many kinds of abuse, violence, and heartbreak Jesus taught me to love -- one offender at a time. Jesus is the bread of heaven and His living word is mercy in our souls, to our souls, and through our souls. Withholding mercy speaks of desiring to inflict punishment on another. To withhold mercy is to place your agenda above the compassion of Christ. Grumbling against another quickly leads to hardness of heart, and hardness of heart soon leads to the sin of offense.

TEMPORARY "SPIRITUAL AMNESIA"

Offense is when we "think" we have a "right" to be angry because someone has hurt us. We hold resentment and unresolved anger in our hearts towards that person, all the while justifying our wrong attitude. We become self-righteous because we place our perception of what we think is "right" above the perfect righteousness of Jesus. We think our opinion, feeling, and insights in a matter are more important than any others. In offense, we suffer from "temporary spiritual amnesia" with respect to the wonderful mercy Jesus has poured into us, that we might also pour into others. Offense distracts us from God's Kingdom agenda and "untreated" offense will consume our hearts with unforgiveness.

LORD, RESTORE OUR "MERCY MEMORY"!

I believe Jesus wants to heal His bride and restore her 'mercy memory'! God calls us to be imitators of Christ and to live a life of love (Ephesians 5:1).

"Father, in humility we come to you ask you to forgive us for being hardhearted and for withholding mercy to others in our lives. Forgive us for any time we have walked in offense. We choose now to walk in mercy. Please heal our temporary spiritual amnesia and restore our mercy memory. May your mercy fall on us today like sweet spring rain and bring healing and restoration to all our relationships, beginning first with you. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen."

by Catherine Brown
www.gatekeepers.org.uk 

****

Catherine Brown's Speaking Schedule

September 26-27
YWAM, Seamill
Teaching on prophecy at YWAM Centre, Seamill
Contact: Marelize Terblanche marelizet@hotmail.com 

September 7
UCB (United Christian Broadcasting),
Stoke on Trent Planning meeting with UCB for million hours of praise.

September 13 (to run for 12 weeks)
Youth Alpha
Youth Alpha commences Monday 13 September and runs for 12 weeks.

 

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