We nailed
Jesus to the cross with our judgements, our misunderstandings, our
misinterpretations and yet today we continue to do the same thing to those
around us. We nail people to a
cross, we crucify people with our judgements towards them, our thoughts or
attitudes, our misunderstandings or interpretation of things. We hold people in a place that they
cannot get out of - but for Jesus!
I was
sitting in church the other day and while the pastor was preaching this thought
came to me and I looked at my own life and the judgements that people have made
toward me which have held me in that place. It's a bit like a smoker feeling the judgements of how
people feel about them smoking and because of that judgement it moves them to
rebel even more and continue doing that as they fight for the right to be who
they are. I really felt this was
deep revelation that the Lord was showing me. Why am I the way I am, what are the judgements that have
been made toward me that I have picked up along the way that I have felt in the
spirit and in which I have rebelled to that judgement and continued on in
something because I want people to love me for who I am, not what they want me
to become.
I had a
dream a while ago and in this dream the pastor of a church had a big speaker
come in and he received an offering but the speaker told him to give that
offering to us and to offer us a preaching slot but the pastor looked at me
dressed in the clothes I was in and decided in his heart that we didn't need
the money and gave it to someone else rather that what the speaker told him to
do. He also didn't offer us the
preaching slot. This came about
because of his judgement toward us and what he saw on the outside not on what
he was told by the speaker to do.
After
having this dream I processed this and wondered if I had to change anything in
me because at the time we needed the money and we were praying for doors to
open to preach and so the dream was relevant but because of the clothes and his
judgements toward us, he didn't give it to us. I asked the Lord whether I needed to change my clothes or my
hair and he said no, he had called me to dress like this because earlier in the
year the Lord talked to me about dressing in bold clothes, but I had no bold
clothes and we live by faith and didn't have the money, so after someone else
spoke to me the same thing that he believed the Lord was saying to me to dress up
and wear bold clothes, I said to the Lord, "well Lord I believe you are
telling me to wear bold clothes, so you are either going to have to provide the
clothes or the money for the clothes", and by that afternoon God had
provided the clothes, all beautiful expensive labelled clothes and bold and so it was confirmation that the Lord wanted me to dress
up and to look smart.
James
2:1. "My brothers, as believers in
our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favouritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting
wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also
comes in. If you show special
attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say "Here's a good seat for
you," but say to the poor man, "you stand there" or "Sit on
the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated and become judges with
evil thoughts? “
After
having my dream I realize this too works both ways, we can judge on the outside
and assume people are doing well and so not respond to what the Lord can be
saying because of what we are judging by what we see by sight, but not by the
spirit. Something the Lord has
taught me over time and something I am still learning to do is to move by faith
and not question all the time in my own understanding and step out on what the
Lord says to me.
So in
those judgements we have made, we stop what the Lord may be wanting to do
through me for others. But the
measure we judge it will be measured to you. Because I am prophetic I pick up judgements towards me in
the spirit really easily but the Lord has been teaching me how to surrender to
him the criticisms, the judgements, the things that don't line up with his
words and what he would say, to him, and so not come into a place of rebellion
and striving to be who I am, despite what people may think, because of wanting
to be accepted by people. That
desire in our lives to be accepted by man, wanted by man, will always leave us
in a place of disappointment because the only one we can trust is Jesus. Jesus took all those judgements towards
us to the cross, he took all those misunderstanding and misinterpretations to
the cross, he took all the hurtful things for us and buried it in the grave,
only to rise victorious and overcome and now is seated in heavenly realms far
above all of that. And because we
believe in Jesus that too is our position, no longer nailed to the cross with
judgements etc. and so we need to leave them behind and not pick up what would
come your way either physically or spiritually. I can feel the judgements come to me in the spirit but I
choose to give them to Jesus, they are his because I am hidden in him, they are
not mine and we can trust that Jesus knows everything and sees everything and
that he is our vindicator and he knows all of our wounds, all of our needs and
he is our healer, he is our restorer of everything that the enemy would like to
steal from us and so we wait for him to do that knowing and believing by faith
he will as we put our trust in him.
James
4:11. “Brothers, do not slander one
another. Anyone who speaks against
his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not
keeping it, but sitting in judgement on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to
save and destroy. But you - who
are you to judge your neighbour?"