Category: Teaching

Spiritual Parenting

Spiritual parenting and natural parenting as well is as challenging as every other occupation but far more emotionally intense.

Spiritual parenting and natural parenting as well is as challenging as every other occupation but far more emotionally intense.

Eli, Samuel, and David seem to have given their troubled children many privileges but little paternal involvement.

Yet we also know that even the most dedicated parents may face the heartbreak of wayward children. It breaks God’s heart to see the condition of his wayward children and he understands our heart break.

Parenting God’s children is an occupation that requires much prayer, skill, support, and love as any other, if not more.

To be a parent whether our children bring delight, disappointment, or both is to depend on God’s grace and mercy and the hope for redemption beyond what we see during our lifetimes.

Age itself does not make you wise. But do you have access to people who are spiritually mature?

Those who listen with the mind of Christ, who are not afraid to tell you something you’d rather not hear? Especially if the message is, “thus saith The LORD!” (Isaiah 15:23)

What has God said to you?

To rebel against God is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as idolatry. These things open us up to witchcraft, manipulation, and control among other devious motives.

If God speaks to us and we agree to his terms, HE takes it seriously! Are we taking our calling seriously?

Or are we not willing to give up that one thing that keeps us bound to disobedience that opens the door to other spirits making us ineffective?

When Elijah was told to anoint Elisha as prophet in his room, that calling didn’t take away Elisha’s choice to say no.

Elisha surrendered to God and served the prophet Elijah and learned (discipled) from the point when the mantle was given to when Elijah was taken up. Elisha heard from God himself because he served Elijah as unto The LORD.

When God calls us to service in discipleship and beyond, we are to obey God through our spiritual mothers and fathers, i.e. leadership.

Discipleship is an intense time of learning and correcting. It isn’t always fun and easy. In fact, it can be very difficult if we do not continually bring our flesh under subjection to God and refuse to learn our lessons.

Spiritual prayer covering is a benefit given by God. It is a powerful blessing, but a benefit that can be removed by God due to disobedience and rebellion.

To be a good disciple one must learn and respect God given authority over us.

Did God really say what you confessed?

That word “disciple” is key, as it is mainly learned through many disciplines and self-control. We submit to spiritual authority not based on age or qualifications we think we have or they have.

Today, God asks you; “What did I say to you?”

If you made a hasty decision and a mistake, you need to bow out kindly. H owever, if God really said it, and you don’t submit to it, you rebel against Him not the person.

Those you yield to in training have an awesome accountability they owe to God for their office! We don’t serve people blindly. However, we follow them as they follow Christ.

“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” Hebrews 13:17 KJV.

“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1 KJV.

In leadership, regardless of spiritual maturity, most people feel uncomfortable in situations of conflict, so we tend to avoid facing conflict.

If you have confessed that God said… THEN discipleship will have plenty of conflict against the flesh and the demonic familiar things of our lives.

However, the seasoned spiritual parent must treat those under their care a lot like illnesses. Minor issues can clear up if we pray and overlook some immaturity, however like major illness, things can become festered and will work much deeper and will cause a catastrophe to our spiritual and natural lives!

In closing, spiritual mothers and fathers must treat all with respect.

However, respectful confrontations will and must happen to bring about the discipline that brings true maturity in The LORD.

The benefits are immense when we are truly discipled through mature seasoned spiritual mothers and fathers.

 

In HIS Grace and Mercy,
~ Sherry Edwards Mackey

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The Final Awakening — God’s Divine Timeline

We have entered into a season that is propelling The Church forward into the deep.

We have entered into a season that is propelling The Church forward into the deep.

The religious demonic strange fire that once occupied many religious Churches and kept The Church in cycles of defeat will literally become the stepping stones of overcoming deliverance with prevailing prayer, and we shall see it happen with our own eyes.

The LORD is coming back soon for a Church without spot, wrinkle, or any blemish and there is A Corporate Move of God worldwide that is quickening many.

Many prayers continue to echo in heaven that have not been forgotten!

You Have Not Been Forgotten!

There are many outside the gate, who have thought they have walked away from God because they left religious intuitions.

These children had an authentic conversion experience — but thought because they left the denomination or organization through hurt, disillusionment or were rejected — thought that God must have rejected them.

The LORD is actively pursuing the backslider and wooing them again with the same loving kindness they experienced in the beginning!

This is truly a season of new beginnings with many.

The Chief Shepherd of our souls seeks and saves those who are lost! Out of these souls who were considered outcast, rejects, and non-conformist due to false prophets, religious error, doctrines of devils, and religious rejection were responsible for the deep wounds on their souls.

These precious ones were driven to self-medicate their wounds with the cares of this life, the things of this world and, the pleasure of sin for a season.

Also due to rejection, they assumed there was no hope and they gave in and settled into whatever form of self-medicating bondage they chose and just gave in.

The place inside the wounded soul irrationally, has been squeezed out of all of the pleasures of sin for a season and what’s left has been exhausted of all the content within.

They are no longer fulfilled by their choices. They live life in limbo with no direction and end up hitting dead ends wherever they go.

All that is left is total abandonment to the misery of choices made long ago. They go from one thing to another seeking fulfillment in that emptiness that only God can fill.

However, in this season of propelling us forward, first God is sending a Divine Wake Up Call! God is sending Revival!

Revival is not some three or five-day meetings! Revival is a divine sound or alarm from Heaven to wake up The Church!

Did you know that in the parable of the wise and foolish virgins that they ALL fell asleep? And at the midnight cry the announcement came that our bridegroom is coming. (Matthew 25:5)

Well Church, we are at that time and it is time to get ready and remain ready!

Revival is not good inspired meetings that begin with a boom and end up having empty results with no lasting change.

True Revival brings lasting change! Judgment must first begin with The House of God!

God is sounding His Trumpet to wake up The Church! We are The Temple of God and we must hear the sound to awaken and be ready for The Holy Spirit to convict us, judge ourselves, and repent of everything that has separated us from His Presence! We must return to our first love!

The Prophetic Anointing in particular, is crying out all over the world to wake up and repent and get right with God!

God sends conviction of sin that brings true Repentance, that causes a radical change in our direction and alignment with God’s Will — which is His Word!

We must wake up and repent so that truly times of refreshing come from the presence of The LORD.

“So repent [change your inner self — your old way of thinking, regret past sins] and return [to God — seek His purpose for your life], so that your sins may be wiped away [blotted out, completely erased], so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of The LORD [restoring you like a cool wind on a hot day.” Acts 3:19 AMP.

In the story of The Prodigal Son, he came to the end of his circumstances. He was as low as low could go. He used up all his inheritance and ended up dwelling with pigs.

Then suddenly he experienced an epiphany! He came to the end of himself and woke up (revived) and suddenly concluded that he remembered his father house! In his mind he thought he could return to be a servant in his father’s house. The son did not realize who he was!

This was a broken, humiliated, son; a man who did not know who he was! But he had a limited understanding of who he was in his father’s house and he decided to make the journey as he exhausted all his resources living a sin-filled life.

And from afar off, his father saw him and ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him, even though he smelled of swine.

The son, in his brokenness, repented and told the father that he wasn’t worthy to be called his son. And the most beautiful thing happened that even in his condition, the smell and sin, the father never accused him!

The father told the servants to quickly bring him the best robe with sandals for his feet. The father covered his outward condition, (he clothed him with righteousness) and then gave him a signet ring of authority over his whole house!

The beauty of the father reveals to us God’s Lovingkindness, Mercy, and Restoration by clothing him fully signifying that the son is enveloped by The Father and giving him all Authority in Heaven and on earth.

And it didn’t stop there. The father commanded a celebration of the return of his son as He celebrates and welcomes us back into the fold!

“I will greatly rejoice in The LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” Isaiah 61:10 KJV.

Revival is here and it is a divine set up strategy by God!

There will be many who shall return to the Author and Finisher of our faith! He is shaking us while we are in the fire of our own choices — and God is getting us to the root of the matter, so that what was our history, is forever changed.

There are many family spearheads who have been chosen to break through the generational curses, and commanding the devil, “The buck stops here! You will not go any further in our bloodlines in Jesus’ Name!’

This herald of the trumpet to wake up and revive is truly upon us, beloved of God, and it will cause many back-sliders to come home to The Father, Who has patiently waited for such a time as this!

There is nothing else to turn back to! Keep your hand on the plow and remain ready, for we look not on what was, we look forward to what is!

“But when he [finally] came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough food, while I am dying here of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; [just] treat me like one of your hired men.” So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe [for the guest of honor] and put it on him; and give him a ring for his hand, and sandals for his feet. And bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let us [invite everyone and] feast and celebrate; for this son of mine was [as good as] dead and is alive again; he was lost and has been found.’ So, they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:17-24 AMP.

 

In HIS Grace and Mercy,
~ Sherry Edwards Mackey

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The Wheel of Religion or The Will of Relationship

Jesus confronted a very dangerous spirit in His day and in scathing rebuke He addressed them when they manifested.

When Jesus walked the earth, He confronted a very dangerous spirit in His day and in scathing rebuke He addressed them when they manifested.

And He wants us to know how rampant the ‘spirit of religion’ is within churches today.

It’s not wrong to want to be involved socially with people in Church events and services. However, GOD clearly wants us to realize and recognize the true motive of our own heart as to why we are involved.

We must ask ourselves; while in church events and services, and the who’s-who socially are, are we really doing it for keeping up appearances?

Actually, are we getting to the nitty-gritty of our heart motives in wanting to have good standing in the community, rather than having God’s good standing in us?

There are many lures that come to feed these needs, that only bring us into bondage to man’s opinion of us!

Man’s approval and opinion of us has nothing to do with the true pursuit of The LORD Jesus and His Opinion of us!

Man’s opinion is flawed and carries no weight in the things of God. We can never do enough, be in Church meetings enough, congregate enough, and through our opinion of self and our accomplishments we think we earn points by seeking out our own personal padded pew that our ancestor bought years ago on the first row!

This is quite contrary to God’s Word! Through our ‘personal relationship’ with The LORD, we are to be led to let GOD make room for us and our gifts.

Religion verses Relationship is a very different stance.

Religion is a return to bondage and we can never ever do enough to please the demands. If we are seeking or wanting a religious reputation in our spiritual life, it doesn’t come from endless Sunday school lessons, services, activities, or the people we think we must know to climb the latter of success in man’s eye.

We must do it God’s Way, where His Opinion and approval of you will always be the reputation that matters.

You will never be able to keep up with the demands of obedience to please a religious spirit.

If the motive of our heart is to please men we will never be able to do enough and we will burn out from its endless demands on us.

In Christ it is not so. If we don’t have a true Relationship with Christ in daily worship, prayer, and His Word, all we are doing is living an exhaustive religious hamster’s wheel life. We keep spinning but it is getting us nowhere.

What Christ did for us on that Cross liberated us from the never-ending lists of cheap demands that the spirit of religion keeps us focused on.

Measuring ourselves against man’s appearance, abilities, and settling for the religious lists of do or don’ts is a cheap replica of a very real life with Christ himself, who wants to be our first love!

Christ wasn’t a cheap sacrifice, the price that He paid covered your total life. The spirit of religion was then and still is a cheap counterfeit.

Do you want to represent Christ and be credible with integrity?

We must never settle for man’s approval and acceptance when it is impossible to please man’s demands!

If we somehow have lost the intimacy we once had with Christ, and we traded it for a cheap list of do’s and don’ts to gain the approval of man, we must get off that hamsters’ wheel of religion, repent of our sin and return to our first love, who is Christ in us the hope of glory!

Beloved, it all begins and ends with a true love relationship with Christ in our prayer closet, in intimacy with worship and study of the Word of God!

Our life long fulfillment comes from that place. Everything in life and our destiny will come from that place. Rules without relationship equals rebellion.

Many have the rules of religion without knowing the relationship with the Son of God! The fear of The LORD is the beginning of Wisdom, and we can have this wisdom in Christ.

Jesus Christ’s harshest rebukes were to the Religious spirits of His day and beloved, the same is true today.

Ask yourself today; does my life on earth begin and end with my personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Or am I exhausted from the demands of a religious world that is devoid of the Spirit of Liberty and Peace?

The fear of man and man’s opinion brings a snare! Why? If we measure ourselves among ourselves it’s not wise because we can only find our fit when we behold the image of that man, THE MAN CHRIST JESUS as he decrees us to be.

As we behold HIM, we will reflect His image to this world! Amen?

“But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” Matthew 23:13 KJV.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous,” Matthew 23:29 KJV.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.” Matthew 23:15 KJV.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.” Matthew 23:25 KJV.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.” Matthew 23:27 KJV.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.” Luke 11:44 KJV.

“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in The LORD shall be safe.” Proverbs 29:25 KJV

“For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10 KJV/

“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” Revelation 2:4 KJV.

 

In HIS Grace and Mercy,
~ Sherry Edwards Mackey

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Comprehension of Peace

We live insecure lives; wandering and wondering in this life in Christ is a significant reality in our everyday lives.

You may have wanted to reach out to others, friends and loved ones but you have been discouraged due to the criticism of others and even your own negative thoughts of yourself.

Maybe some of you think you may have gone off the deep end, and in essence, maybe you have. Deep does call out to deeper still…. (Psalms 42:7).

I truly understand The LORD knows my heart but sometimes I think we all struggle because we don’t know OUR own heart.

We live insecure lives; wandering and wondering in this life in Christ is a significant reality in our everyday lives.

The revelation of this reality is Christ in us The Hope of Glory! Once comprehended, finally grasp its meaning, it opens us up to a peace like a river we have never understood or even fathomed before!

While it isn’t just the quoting of scripture or teaching about peace we seek or what we believe by faith; but this is the final grasp of comprehension within the reality of His peace (which is Christ in us!)

This peace that passes ALL HUMAN Understanding that shall truly guard our heart and mind in Christ Jesus!

“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of Glory.” Colossians 1:27 KJV.

The Holy Spirit descended like a dove and came upon Jesus when he was Baptized in the river that day by John the Baptist.

Jesus is the anointed one that came as the Prince of Peace and I am not just speaking of peace in an elementary sense.

There is a revelation in us that manifests the Comprehension of Peace that comes when we finally grasp the meaning of who He is, within our tangible lives.

“Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth: and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.” Genesis 8:11 KJV.

I am not talking of the peace we have at times in life when we feel and think we have earned his peace through our self-efforts like the amount of prayers we pray or when we fast, study, or gain other self-assurances etc.

Self has nothing to do with this marvelous grace and peace filled life! We cannot earn a thing when HE did everything!

Where does our Assurance come from?

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood

Perfect submission, all is at rest
I in my Savior am happy and blest
Watching and waiting, looking above
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love

This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long

Portions of Hymn “Blessed Assurance” lyrics © Fanny Crosby.

I have found Him in places I never fathomed he would go; His peace and assurance are incredible!

To try and describe would be futile because the peace I speak of is unwarranted, because man has no power to give it or take it away. When they try to take your peace, their criticism of you is unwarranted.

They don’t have the authority to criticize you! Their words have no power over you therefore let no man take your peace!

“When I rise no thought to plague me, no complaint I thought to see, but peace I find to be?

What can you do when everything you thought, is done and you stand naked before the Son?”

God wants us to be His Peace makers. As He was in this world so shall we be. To be peace makers, we must also be peace watchers.

As we search for every wound and rip or tear in people, our friends, and family alike we must understand such a ministry is needed as Jesus uncovers those rips and tears that affect the flesh and leave hurt on many a soul!

“And when ye come into an house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.” Matthew 10:12-13 KJV.

Encourage or pray with someone today!

Encourage yourself in The LORD!

Realize you are a majority!

There are more with you than with them!

There are places for you today prepared by God so rich and filled with his peace and presence!

Some may be so busy but as we take time daily to pray, realize that you carry within your peace, gifts, talents, and words to encourage, and when that heavenly wealth comes upon you, release it and your relationships will be rich.

Release your peace upon them!

When you come among anyone or any house, release your peace to open the door, for every place your feet take you, so shall you go! These spiritual doors have been given unto you to possess in the Spirit.

Be encouraged this is a new season and a very different season it be!

Many are still shell shocked from the year we lived, but I say realize your season is over and the struggling with depression and anxiety and other stressors give them over to The LORD!

You’re not a burden, you are God’s child and He has YOU! We are growing into His image and likeness!

Have a great day regardless, because you are in HIM and HE is in you! Your worth is such that he completely identified with you and he became you and you became him!

You are covered! All of the hard life issues are designed for growth and to share our message of Christ in you to others.

You have much to share! Don’t sell yourself short! You are very vital to God for His plan to seek and save the lost!

He knows your heart and who cares what others think or say. You have the King of the Total Universe in you! He has this! Be who you are in him and be settled within.

Realize he is with you everywhere and look for opportunities to share a word of encouragement to uplift them in your peace.

It is a blessing and honor to share and encourage people! Take time and make time for others,

In Jesus’ Name!
 

In HIS Grace and Mercy,
~ Sherry Edwards Mackey

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