THE RESPONSIBILITY of LITTLE STRENGTH Tsc.Nyc
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“A GREAT MULTITUDE OF ALL NATIONS AND KINDREDS AND PEOPLES AND LANGUAGES” (REV. 7:9). tsc.nyc VOL XIII / ISSUE 4 / APRIL 2017 Dear Friend, THE RESPONSIBILITY Imagine yourself today getting this OF LITTLE STRENGTH greeting, as Gideon once did: “And the Angel (Messenger) of the Lord by Carter Conlon appeared to him, and said to him “And to the angel of the church Furthermore, we can be encouraged (or her, as the case may be), ‘The in Philadelphia write, ‘These because Jesus says in this passage, Lord is with you, you mighty man things says He who is holy, He “I have set before you an open of valor (someone who has been who is true, He who has the key door that no one can close” (see given more ability than they realize)!’” of David, He who opens and no Revelation 3:8). In other words, (Judges 6:12, parentheses mine). one shuts, and shuts and no one “I am inviting you into a place opens: I know your works. See, where the impossible becomes Today you might be tempted, as I have set before you an open possible. It is a place where you Gideon obviously was then, to say, door, and no one can shut it; will win a battle that you could “Wow, did this greeting ever find for you have a little strength’” never win in your own strength.” the wrong address!” Aware of your (Revelation 3:7–8). own frailty, your initial thought is, It is critical that we hear this “Maybe somebody else, but never today, for we are in the midst me.” My question today is, Why We must be of an intense battle—a battle not you? aware that there for the souls of the people of this nation and a battle for Throughout history God has are demonic the future of a society. Just to never been able to use anyone who powers specifically clarify, this battle is not between possessed even a secret inward boast Republican and Democrat or of his/her own strength. Remember, set against this Libertarian. Yes, they have in 1 Corinthians 1:27 we read that the ability, in measure, to “God has chosen the weak things of nation to destroy give or take away hope for the world to put to shame the things and divide it. the future. However, there which are mighty.” And so I ask is a much deeper battle going again: Why not you? Has God I believe that just like this on, a battle that, according to changed? Has He regretted His church in Philadelphia, the the Scriptures, is not against former manner of doing things? Church in America today has flesh and blood but against only “a little strength.” We are powers, principalities, and Take this first and simple step not nearly as strong or powerful spiritual wickedness in high today: Ask God what He wants as many of us would like to places (see Ephesians 6:12). you to do. When He answers, believe. Our voices have been We must be aware that there simply take the first step in faith largely marginalized and we are demonic powers specifically and watch what begins to unfold. have been cast out as “salt to be set against this nation to destroy Jesus is still a miraculous Savior. trodden underfoot,” as godlessness and divide it. As believers in Enjoy the newsletter. It has your seemingly has the upper hand Jesus Christ, this ought to be name written all over it! :) (see Matthew 5:13). However, our concern now, for we have I believe that the beginning of been given a great responsibility Blessings, a spiritual awakening comes from in this hour. After all, what is Pastor Carter Conlon having the humility to finally admit the point of having everything our true condition rather than go our way while most of our boasting of what we are not. nation ends up in hell? THE RESPONSIBILITY OF LITTLE STRENGTH tsc.nyc Jesus went on to say to the by a foreign power, He called What could be so serious? church in Philadelphia: a man named Moses to bring After all, Moses obeyed God “Hold fast what you have, deliverance to them. However, in his weakness. He chose to that no one may take your upon witnessing the burden of go through the open door that crown” (Revelation 3:11). his people, Moses initially set the Lord set before him, so I believe the Lord is saying out to make a difference with what was it that caused God to us today, “Do not despair his own strategies, only to end to consider taking him out because of this moment. Do up defeated. Rather than bringing along this journey? not despair because of the three million people into freedom, darkness that has invaded he managed to bury one Egyptian We see what the issue was our schools and seems to be (see Exodus 2:11–12). That was in the next verse as his wife in every facet of our society. all he could accomplish in his “took a sharp stone and cut Do not despair because evil is own strength. off the foreskin of her son and on parade, calling itself good. cast it at Moses’ feet, and said, Hold fast to the truth that I have Moses was then driven into the ‘Surely you are a husband of planted within your heart.” wilderness for forty years, where blood to me!’ So He let him he became keenly aware of his go. Then she said, ‘You are a inadequacy. Once a powerful husband of blood!’—because Whenever God orator in Pharaoh’s court, he of the circumcision” (Exodus intends to move lost his ability to speak well 4:25–26). Moses’ son had (see Acts 7:22, Exodus 4:10). not been circumcised! Most powerfully, He By the time God called Moses commentaries agree that intentionally to return to Egypt, he was fearful, bringing an uncircumcised stuttering, and no longer had son on this journey to set a waits until we anything but a staff in his hand. nation free represented the In other words, God called him fact that Moses had not yet have only a little at his lowest moment—when become fully identified with strength left. he had only a little strength the people of God, nor was left. That is when the Lord he fully engaged in the calling “He who overcomes, I will make gave him a great responsibility, of God on his life. Although him a pillar in the temple of essentially saying to him, “Now it was within his power to do My God, and he shall go out no you are ready. I have heard the so, his own son had not been more” (Revelation 3:12). Perhaps cry of My people, and I am set apart. Moses was bringing you are thinking: What if I can sending you to bring them out something of himself and his barely survive as a Christian of bondage, that My glory might lineage into this battle. now? I cannot even lift my be reestablished in the earth” voice in the workplace because (see Exodus 3:9–10). Are you part of I am so afraid of being vilified or mocked. I am a coward, and n FULLY SET APART something bigger I know it. Yet now God is asking Despite his initial reservations, something else of me? What is it Moses obeyed the Lord. Taking than yourself? that I have to overcome? his family with him, he headed back to Egypt in the little strength We see this issue arise again n HOW GOD PREPARED MOSES he had left. However, along the when Moses’ successor, Joshua, First of all, you have to overcome way, “it came to pass on the way, was leading the people of God your own sense of inadequacy! at the encampment, that the into the Promised Land to claim You must understand that whenever Lord met him and sought to their full inheritance and become God intends to move powerfully, kill him” (Exodus 4:24). There the testimony that God was calling He intentionally waits until we was something in Moses’ life them to be in the earth (see Joshua have only a little strength left. that had the potential to cause 5). A whole generation that was Let me give you an example failure on this mission—to the raised up in the wilderness had from the Old Testament. degree that, if undealt with, it not been circumcised! In other would have been better that words, they had not fully identified When the Israelites, God’s own he die rather than progress themselves as the people of people, had been taken captive on this journey! God. Before they could enter the tsc.nyc THE RESPONSIBILITY OF LITTLE STRENGTH Promised Land—before Jericho purpose for your life? Before you could fall, before the Amalekites are tempted to give an immediate “If you follow and all the other enemies could be “yes,” remember that in order defeated, before the full inheritance to fully embrace God’s purpose Me, I will do that God had for His people could for your life, there cannot be any something so be claimed—there had to be a uncircumcised thing that you are reckoning with God. All those trying to bring with you into the powerful in and born in the wilderness had to be work of God. In other words, is there through your life circumcised, wholly set apart for anything in your life that the Lord the Lord and His purposes.