Happy Purim from The Living Word,
We are filled with faith for the upcoming Feast of Purim. God is moving in such an amazing way and we are excited to see what He will continue to do during this feast. We wanted to share a few paragraphs from the message by John Stevens titled, The Days of Myrrh and Spices, from THIS WEEK, VOLUME X.
We join our hearts together in thankfulness and worship!
With much love,
Steve Seboldt
“How does Esther’s preparation relate to us? Like Esther, we have been chosen of the Lord. He has called us out of all nations and all peoples and has begun a deep work in our hearts to prepare us for what is to come. Hold that truth in your mind. Let it grip you so that you will never forget it. God does not put you through the work of the cross or the months of myrrh just so that you will be able to endure the rigors of the ministry for a few years. God does not sever a spiritual nerve so that you will not feel anything anymore. It is true that He is bringing a death to the things of the flesh, but He is also bringing you into resurrection life so that you will be alive to God with a deep awareness of Him and oneness with Him.
The transition from the Church age to the Kingdom may be with many difficulties; but they are a means to an end. We are looking forward to the time when the Body of Christ rules and reigns with Christ. We are anticipating the tremendous position that He has for us in the great days of the Bride ruling with the Bridegroom. The preparation of heart that we are experiencing is not just for now. God is preparing our hearts for the Kingdom. He is preparing us for the faithful rule and reign in His Kingdom that is to come. Are we becoming more and more Kingdom-conscious? This present age is a passing scene that will disappear, but the preparation that God is working within our spirits now will never disappear. We are being prepared for the days when the King will come in His glory, and our submission to Him will be complete.
We are going through a beautification process. Revelation 19:7–8 urges us, “Let us be glad and rejoice, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.” He is clothing us and preparing us now for the days to come! He is changing every one of us and making us beautiful before Him! As the Lord prepares us for Himself, we also relate better to every member of His Body; but peace within the Body is not the main objective. The main objective is our oneness with the Lord, that He be able to look upon us all, and we upon Him in whom our soul delights, knowing that He has prepared us all for Himself.”