[Rhema] 7/20/11
HEARD: Sifted. Being Sifted.
Sift means:
- to separate and retain the coarse parts of (flour, ashes,etc.) with a sieve
- to scatter or sprinkle through or by means of a sieve: to sift sugar onto cake
- to separate by or as if by a sieve.
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HEARD: A time of shaking. The ground is moving. Shaking beneath your feet...Take effort to stand.
I have seen Sandy use this word many times... I have even used this word some...to describe some very rough times in my life where I knew God was at work...but some hard lessons were being learned! However, I guess it's full meaning doesn't really hit home until I hear it come from the Lord...
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7/22/11
HEARD: Breaking ground. Congratulations.
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These last couple of weeks have been a hard ones...It feels as though I take two steps forward and three steps back... It's so hard not to get discourgaed during times of sifting... For the point of sifting...of shaking is to separate parts of you...to examine...This process is so painful at times... but so necessary... as this process helps bring sin to light...expose any areas that have not yet been yielded to the Lord...Here is the beauty in the "shaking" times of the sieve... God promises that even though he sifts us, as we fall through the sieve, He catches us on the other side~He will never let us fall!
[living parable]
Amos 9:8-10
(NIV)
8 “Surely the eyes of the Sovereign LORD
are on the sinful kingdom. I will destroy it from the face of the earth. Yet I will not totally destroy the descendants of Jacob,” declares the LORD. 9 “For I will give the command, and I will shake the people of Israel among all the nations as grain is shaken in a sieve,
and not a pebble will reach the ground."
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[living parable]
I remember growing up one of my favorite things to do was to help my gracious grandmother cook...Wow, that lady could cook...people would come from all over to sit at her table... But I remember helping her bake biscuits...While compiling all the ingredients before she would put her tiny fist to work kneading the dough she would "sift" the flour...to get all the "trash" out she would say (smile) I remember being so little and looking over in her bowl and not seeing any "trash" but then when I looked into the "sifter" I would see this flat metal wheel like object that would turn round and round in a circular motion...After she was done "sifting" the flour there would be large hard clumps that remained in the "sifter" that didn't make it into the bowl... Thankfully, or my favorite biscuits would have hard lumps in them~~Not very appetizing even for a youngster.
[end parable]
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It seems as though each time I experience an advancement or when God wants to advance me in the kingdom of God I experience a sifting of some sort to various degree...To keep me humble...to keep me grounded... to ensure that the land God is sowing in remains soft and pliable...Breaking up new ground (new territory) or old hard "clumpy" ground!
Hosea 10:12
Sow righteousness for yourselves,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the LORD,
until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.
Amos 9:13
“The days are coming,” declares the LORD,
“The days are coming,” declares the LORD,
“when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes.
New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills,
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[start quote]
The following is taken from the book, Words to Ponder by Sandy Warner
SIFTED
This thing the enemy has desired has not been without purpose. Your life is under Divine restraints and nothing can touch you without My permission.
Back and forth, back and forth. The sieve vacillated back and forth. Up and down, round and round, you went in circles, ever closer to the wire. When the time came you left the hard and stubborn places behind. You came through.
This was not without pain. I interceded for you and suffered with you. Even your most difficult hours were not without My mercy and grace. I covered you. Part of My mercy was to give you Novocain and I also put you to sleep. If I had given you your desired senses to understand, your pain would have been too great. Even in the midst of chaotic enemy invasion, I operate with complete control. My grace let you fall through the sieve, My grace caught you on the other side.
I alone hold you up. You cannot stand in independence and ever hope to succeed. Even the most simple task will fail if you stand in your own power. You have great strength before the enemy, but it is not your strength. I have given you many gifts, but you cannot use them without My help.
There are valuable treasures that come from sifting. For you, it is humility. If you carry its lesson in an important place of remembrance and cut your own pride before it sprouts roots, you will never be sifted again. That is My promise.
Yet an even dearer treasure has been given to Me. Your garden has been weeded and your heart is soft and fluffy. This is your yieldedness. I have longed for this quality to come to fruition in your life. I am teaching you what it accomplishes in the spirituals. You have yet to see the fruition of what this can accomplish on earth. I will give you eyes to see what your yieldedness produces. It will be My gift to you.
"Break up your fallow ground for it is time to seek the Lord till he come and rain righteousness upon you." (Hosea 10:12)
[end quote]
**You can read more on "Sifting" by Sandy Warner by clicking the following link: Seasons of Siftings
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The Lord even though is sifting you or allowing you to be sifted will always provide encouragement:
Encouragement confirmation: 7/21/11
[start quote]
Received by my friend Sandra Martin on 7/21/11
My dearest one, let Me tell you how I see you---
You are so thrilling to Me.
To gaze at you is like gazing at one of Pharaoh's finest horses.
The strong regal steeds which pull his royal chariot.
Your tender cheeks are so radiant--
Your earrings and gem-laden necklaces set them ablaze.
We will make you even more beautiful with Our golden reins
and stunning jewels with silver studs. --Song of Sol. 1:9-11
Your earrings and gem-laden necklaces set them ablaze.
We will make you even more beautiful with Our golden reins
and stunning jewels with silver studs. --Song of Sol. 1:9-11
[end quote]
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Received this email from Marsha Burns
[start quote]
SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns -- 7/21/11:
Beloved, refuse to give in to the frustration that has come as a result of dealing with hindrances. Instead, set yourself to seek Me for wisdom and clarity, for I will give you the grace to accomplish what I have set before you, says the Lord. This is certainly not a time when you should get discouraged and give up. You are on the brink of breakthrough. Keep pushing. Keep trusting. Keep the faith!
Isaiah 58:8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
[end quote]
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Confirmation:
The Quickened Word Facebook: posted 7/21/11
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[end quote]
Father, my may life bring you honor and glory in Jesus name~
