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What’s Standing In Your Way?  

This week , as we continue our Culture of Honor series, we are going to discuss what is getting in the way of leading with honor. And this is not just for Church Leaders. We have all been called to lead others to Christ and in order to do that effectively, we need to lead with honor. 

Here are three things that may be getting in the way of you being able to lead with honor: 

1. Not knowing your core identity in Christ. 

When you don’t know your identity in Christ, you will in turn live inauthentically before and those within your inner-circle. All leadership flows from the heart. All issues flow out of the heart. Because of this, we have to keep our hearts clear. That’s why it says in 2 Corinthians: 

We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One. Since we are armed with such dynamic weaponry, we stand ready to punish any trace of rebellion, as soon as you choose complete obedience.

What are you feeding your heart through your thought process? We limit ourselves by negative self-talk, when we give voice to our insecurities. Don’t downgrade your dream to match your reality, but upgrade your faith to match His vision for you, especially when you are building something you don’t understand. (That’s why we need faith). 

Noah never knew anything about rain when God told him to build the ark. He honored the word of the Lord through the storm in true obedience and sailed through. And when Noah built an altar after the waters had dissipated and they went out on dry land, it was an honor offering. God smelled honor and it was sweet to His nostrils.

The goal isn’t perfect leadership, but it is agreeing that we all want to authentically lead with honor, character, courage, and commitment. Leadership must begin with self-awareness, before the King of kings. We must know and pursue who we are in Him and be willing to be vulnerable and authentic, defeating mindsets that keep us within the boundaries of limitation. A limited mindset challenges our true commitments. They will weaken our courage, defeat us in our purpose, and lie about our true God-given character as a leader. We need to recognize cycles or patterns that are not honoring to ourselves and the intimacy relationship we share with the Father. Entertaining doubt is a luxury we cannot afford!

If you find yourself struggling in these cycles of insecurity, self-doubt, or living inauthentically, then it comes down to who you think you are. Ask Father God to show you who He created you to be. And then silence and discard anything that does not align with that!

2. What you are capable of accomplishing is not necessarily what you are called to do!

Philippians 2:16 – holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.

Who is the man or woman of honor you want to be? Who are you really? There should be no conformity to the ways of the world. When ambition and capability meet, it can cause you to take on things you shouldn’t. Just because we’re capable of accomplishing something, doesn’t mean we should. Many doors will open to us. But not every door that is open is meant for us to walk through. That is why we have to rely on Holy Spirit to lead us. Time is one of the first things God created. There is importance in using your time wisely and effectively. Be sure that what you are walking into is actually what God has for you. 

When you are getting to walk through an open door, you have to know your core convictions. What are the things that move you?

Conviction definition – a firmly held belief or opinion.

Your level of confidence is tied to conviction when you are not threatened by another leader who operates in great power and anointing. 

Courage leads to confidence. Capitalize on your strengths, but don’t overuse them. This sounds like an oxymoron, but here is what we mean by this. You need to minimize your struggles by developing new behavioral skills and delegating to others. Being busy is not a bragging right. Understand the way you are wired, understand your teammates and how their strengths and weaknesses work with your strengths and weaknesses. Trying to do everything in your own strength and ability will stunt the growth of your ministry. Bringing in others who can work alongside you will ensure that your vision and passion goes beyond just you. God loves to see his people working together in unity towards a common goal to see the Kingdom advanced. 

If you don’t know what you need to work on as a leader, ask the people around you. And if you don’t know where to start, ask God for wisdom and courage to step out. 

James 1:5-7 – “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.”

Believe and don’t doubt. Faith is heaven’s calling card of honor in your life. God’s favor is attracted to honor. Acknowledge Him and don’t lean on your own understanding. Lead from the portion that God has assigned to you and know your season! 

3. Unwillingness to have honest, healthy communication will stifle a culture of honor. 

When we value our relationships with those we are running with, we make it a priority to keep open lines of honest communication. When we lead with honor, we create a safe place for people to bloom. Those we lead should feel that they are safe to take risks and have hard conversations. 

As a leader we must have compassion on those who fall short but we should love people enough to call them up to a higher standard and have accountability. Essentially we are saying, “You are way too awesome to be acting like this.” 

As a leader, we must allow those we are leading alongside to keep us accountable for our actions in this culture of honor. It is our responsibility to show up 100% in every situation. We are leading people into the unknown and success comes with intentionality and being present. Assess your heart and ask God to reveal the triggers that would cause you to pull back from hard conversations. 

Have systems in place when making decisions: remember communication is 80% non-verbal and 20% verbal. It is very easy to misunderstand what someone is actually saying. We all bring our own presumptions and lenses that we see the world through base don past experiences. 

    When communicating with other team members always listen to understand and not to formulate your next response. 

Here are a few statements that you can use to help the person you’re having a hard conversation with to feel heard and understood: 

    “What I’m hearing you say is…?”

    “Did I hear you say this…?”

    “What I’m understanding you say is…?”

These questions can help to clear up any miscommunications and give the speaker an opportunity to further explain, if needed. This can also help someone to de-escalate if they are feeling overwhelmed or upset. People need to know you care about what they are going through and that you are willing to get in the trenches with them to guard the intimacy of your relationship with them. 

You can only expect results to the degree that you communicate. The amount of value you place on something will determine the fullness you walk in. The point is, no one is born with great communication skills. It has to be learned. 

In summary, know who you are, know what God has called you to be and do, and learn how to do courageous communication. All three of these points are paramount when developing our character as leaders. 

HOW TO LEAD IT

I believe very strongly that there are remnant leaders for this time. But what do these leaders look like? 

The definition of remnant is “a small minority of people who will remain faithful to God and so be saved.”

Honor is at the core of what a true leader must look like. It’s completely counterintuitive to what the world teaches. But it’s what Jesus taught throughout his whole ministry, through what Holy Spirit continues to speak to us. True leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders. Jesus showed this example of creating more leaders in the most beautiful way. He didn’t micromanage the disciples. He let them watch, let them blunder, just like he does for us. And he did it with grace. So many amazing leaders were raised up through his ministry here on earth. And we are called to do the same. 

Another mark of a great leader is that they are positioned with clear direction. They are instructed in the ways of the kingdom and they instruct others in that way. Leaders make disciples. 

As leaders, we must be under the leadership of the Holy Spirit: 

We become what we behold. Our life is moving in the direction of our strongest thought. Know the Who, then get the what. 

And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit. – 2 Corinthians 3:18 (AMP)

We must have courage to step into perfect love, as Christ has loved us, and it will cast out all fear. 

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. – I John 4:18 (NIV)

As leaders, we do not always have the power to control the situations we find ourselves in, but we will always have the power to surrender. We can’t always control our relationships, our health, the future or the church. Surrender is a daily choice that we can make. 

Jesus teaches us the principle of respecting those who sat in Moses’ seat, even hypocritical Pharisees. 

Matthew 23:2-3 

“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So, you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.” 

As Paul suggests in 1 Timothy 5:17, “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.” When we see people, who are truly faithful and hard-working, who correctly teach God’s word, we should honor them twice as much. 

We must first humble ourselves, then we give honor and respect. That’s why it is counterintuitive. Because the way of the world is to put oneself before others. To claw our way to the top on the backs of our fellow man. But Jesus taught us a different way, a better way. 

John 12:26 

If anyone serves me, let him follow me: and where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves me, Him, my father will honor. 

Hebrews 3:3-5 

“Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,” bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future.” 

You see, it’s God’s job to build the Church. It’s our job to spread the good news of the Kingdom. Get it? He is the one building. We are the messengers. We are the ones who have been called to spread the good news of His kingdom, of His righteousness. It takes a lot of the striving out of our everyday lives, doesn’t it? He’s painting the masterpiece that is the Church. Yes, we get to be a part of that. But we are here to simply be his heartbeat on the earth. And we do that through honor. 

Hebrews 5:4 

“And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.” 

1 Peter 1:7 “These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 

1 Corinthians 12:26 

“If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” 

2 Timothy 2:20-21 ESV – 

“Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.” 

We get to decide what kind of vessels we want to be by the way we live our lives. Are you going to choose to live your life for yourself? Or for God, surrendered to all that he has for you? 

1 Thessalonians 5:13 

“Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.” 

1 Corinthians 4:10 

“We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!” 

1 Corinthians 12:23-26 

“and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 

Luke 14:7-10 

“When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” 

As we have been reading in the many scriptures about honor today, you probably noticed that honor and humility go hand in hand. When we seek honor for ourselves, we get humbled. But when we humble ourselves, when we serve – God honors us.

We’ve all heard the phrase, “it’s an honor,” “we need to honor,” and so on. But what does it really mean to honor someone? What does it look like in our everyday lives to honor those around us? In a culture where honor is very much lacking at times, how do we establish a culture of honor in our own lives? 

Jesus was obviously the prime example of what it looks like to show honor. Honor is a mark of respect. But we can see from scripture that Jesus didn’t just honor the people who “deserved” it. He honored everyone he came in contact with. 

It helps me to define a word as I’m studying out. Here’s what the word honor means in both English and Hebrew. 

Definition of Honor – To regard or treat with honor, esteem, to respect, to revere; to treat with deference and submission; when used with a supreme being – to reverence, adore, to worship. 

Webster’s Dictionary defines honor – esteem, high estimation, respect, consideration, reverence.

The Hebrew word for honor is Kabad: it means to have honor and glory, to be heavy, weighty, or burdensome. The usage of this word means achieving honor, becoming fierce, becoming heavy, boasting. 

Sometimes it also helps to see the opposite meaning of the word I’m studying out. 

Definition of Dishonor – to disgrace, shame, or reproach. 

So what does it mean to dishonor? Dishonor is withholding honor where honor is due and shows a lack of respect. In many ways, it means to bring history forward. To remind people of who they were, how they deserve to be treated apart from the blood of Christ. But even Jesus does not treat us as our past deserves. 

2 Corinthians 5:19 – For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

Psalm 103:10 – He does not punish us for all our sins: he does not deal harshly with us, as our sins deserve.  

Jesus does not look at us as we used to be at our old man. He has made us into new creations! In the same way, we cannot look at people and keep them in the past of their mistakes. This brings dishonor to those we are called to honor. Instead, we need to ask Holy Spirit to give us revelation in how to bring honor to those we may have a difficult time loving. Our first commandment is to love God and love others. We cannot love one another without first honoring one another. 

Everyone has a culture that they live by, whether it is by design or accident. If we ignore the building of our own culture, the culture we live in will be made for us. And we may not like it! If we are not cultivating a culture of honor, then what culture are we living in? 

One who is worthy of honor is esteemed and regarded. Another definition of honor is to assign value. What we honor we place value on. We must value others highly. If you are having a hard time honoring, it may be time to ask what lens you are viewing people through. Are you seeing them through your own lens – a lens filled with our own hurts and opinions? Or are we viewing people through the lens of Holy Spirit? Through the lens of love? 

Recently, I started going out rock hunting so I could find semi-precious stones to use in my jewelry. I was so excited to find crystals and agates and all sorts of pretty stones. But there was A LOT of dirt. There were a lot of rocks that were just regular old rocks. It took time and energy to find the semi-precious stones I was looking for. It took some digging. It took getting down into the river bed and searching for the stones I wanted to find. 

It’s the same with people. You will see what you are looking for. It’s easy to find dirt! You have to dig to find the gold in people. But that is what Jesus did for us. He brings the gold to the surface. We need to bring the golf forward when we are viewing others. We need to dig down deep and bring the treasure out of people. Because in the end, that’s what it’s all about. Jesus is all about PEOPLE! And so should we be as His followers. 

In His Love, 

The Sanctioned Love Team

In prayer I have really been feeling like God has called the Church to a Sabbath rest during this time. We are to be in this season looking to the Father with full anticipation, with great expectancy. The Lord is refining the Church to come out in the knowledge of the blood, in great humility. The Bible doesn’t say that He will humble us, he tells us to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and He will exalt you. 

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 1 Peter 5:6

This is a moed appointed time, it’s not necessarily a chronological time. It’s okay to focus on the chronological timeline, but we are living in an appointed time in the timeline of God. Moed is a Biblical word used to describe the festivals and holy days, set apart from non-sacred days. Moed means “appointed time”. God is wanting to teach us an “appointed time language”, a heavenly sound during this time. 

This is a “due season”, an appointed time. Like the day of Pentecost, “the day had fully come” where the Holy Spirit was going to be poured out and they were going to have salvation brought to them. And then a few chapters later in Acts, even the gentiles were going to have salvation brought to them. 

Psalm 19 is so powerful and really shows what I have been feeling these last few weeks. It’s not long but it’s a powerful revelation of the Lord. 

The heavens declare the glory of God;

The skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

Night after night they reveal knowledge.

They have no speech, they use no words;

Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, 

Their words to the ends of the world. 

In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.

It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, 

like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 

It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other;

Nothing is deprived of its warmth. 

The law of the Lord is perfect, 

refreshing the soul. 

The statues of the Lord are trustworthy, 

Making wise the simple. 

The precepts of the Lord are right, 

Giving joy to the heart. 

The commands of the Lord are radiant, 

Giving light to the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is pure, 

enduring forever. 

The decrees of the Lord are firm, 

And all of them are righteous. 

They are more precious than gold, 

Than much pure gold; 

They are sweeter than honey, 

Than the honey from the honeycomb. 

By them your servant is warned;

In keeping them there is great reward. 

But who can discern their own errors? 

Forgive my hidden faults. 

Keep your servant also from willful sins;

May they not rule over me. 

Then I will be blameless, 

Innocent of great transgression. 

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my hearts

Be pleasing in your sight, 

Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. 

Verse 4 is a perfect representation of Jesus. This is a sound, our sound is going out around the world. Their words to the end of the world. The understanding of verse 4, “he has gone out” was used by the apostle Paul to show that the Jews had known the word of truth, but they refused to obey it. Because of this, a door was opened to the gentiles. 

“But I say, did they not hear? Indeed they have; “THEIR VOICE [that of creation bearing God’s message] HAS GONE OUT TO ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS TO THE [farthest] ENDS OF THE WORLD.” But I say, did Israel fail to understand [that the gospel was to go also to the Gentiles]? First Moses says, “I WILL MAKE YOU JEALOUS OF THOSE WHO ARE NOT A NATION (Gentiles); WITH A NATION THAT LACKS UNDERSTANDING I WILL MAKE YOU ANGRY.” Then Isaiah is very bold and says, “I HAVE BEEN FOUND BY THOSE WHO DID NOT SEEK M E; I HAVE SHOWN MYSELF TO THOSE WHO DID NOT [consciously] ASK FOR ME.” But of Israel he says, “ALL DAY LONG I HAVE STRETCHED OUT M Y HANDS [in compassion] TO A DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE PEOPLE.””

‭‭Romans‬ ‭10:18-21‬ ‭AMP‬‬

I don’t think that we just need knowledge in this time, we need to have wisdom and knowledge. We have to learn how to speak the language of heaven in this time. We need to have this Kronos knowledge. But we also need to have a Moed, which is an appointed time language. This sound has awakened him to come out of his chamber. The law of the Lord is perfect and is converting every soul. 

We are in a time of revelation like never before. I believe that Jeremiah 33:3 is so poignant: 

‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and tell you [and even show you] great and mighty things, [things which have been confined and hidden], which you do not know and understand and cannot distinguish.’ 

May our ear be to the ground, may we hear the sound of heaven, may we be learning with this sacred  sabbath rest the language of heaven like never before. May the articulation be heard like never before for such a time as this. We need to have this full expectation of the sound that God is releasing in this time, that He is revealing things that have never been heard before. But we have to be in tune with it. We have to be listening for His heartbeat and then step into unity with it.

Today we had a very powerful time of worship and prayer. God released many visions and proclamations and we’d like to share some of them with you today! 

In prayer today, I saw a vision of a map of the United States of America. From the East coast, there came a huge lion walking across to the West coast. He was turning his head back and forth, roaring over the land. The land was covered in darkness, like a thin film of soot was covering everything. As the lion began to roar, the blackness lifted off of the land and floated away. Color began to show through again and things were given a new life. I believe this is a sign that God is sending the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Jesus Christ, to awaken our nation. 

    Another thing I was reminded of during our prayer time was the story of Gideon. When God met with Gideon, he was hiding out in a winepress, threshing the wheat harvest. First of all, he was using the winepress for something it was never intended, hiding from Israel’s enemies – the Midianites. 

 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. 4 They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. 5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.

7 When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian, 8 he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 9 I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”

11 The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

The Midianites would attack the cities of Israel and destroy their harvests and kill their livestock. God tells Gideon to tear down his father’s altar to Baal and the Asherah pole. He did what God asked (during the night because he was afraid of what his family would say and do). 

I feel this is a representation of what the Church has been doing, not just in the USA, but all over the world. It’s time to dispel the ‘Midianites’ and the idols from your Promised Land, so we can see it returned to its original intent! The United States of America was founded on godly principles and morals. We need to humble ourselves and pray, and turn from our wicked ways, and God will heal our land! (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Sandie, another of our team members, saw the Prodigal Son and that the Church was the prodigal. We have been using our inheritance, spending it unwisely. But God is calling us to rise up, that Father God is still waiting for us and it is time to return to our first love in passion and holiness. We are to begin using our inheritance for what it was originally intended. 

    God is calling His Church to get out of the winepress. After Gideon got out of the winepress, things really started to shift. He chopped up and burned the Asherah pole that his family had been worshipping. God is calling us away from the idols in our lives – anything that is not of HIM! Burn those things, get them completely out of your lives, never to return. 

    Sandie also saw that we have been like Aaron, Moses’ brother. When Moses went up the mountain to meet with God for forty days, the Israelites got impatient. They didn’t wait for God. In their haste, they convinced Aaron to make a golden calf for them to worship. We need to be okay with waiting for the Lord, no matter how long it takes. If we don’t, it is all too easy to fall into creating doctrine, theology, or solutions of our own. Make sure you lean on and wait for the Lord in this time!

    Another of our team, Melissa,  saw the Scripture John 14:21

    “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

    This is what it is all about! This is the pure Gospel: those who love God will keep his commands and he will disclose Himself to them! It’s about a love relationship with the God of the universe, the One who knows us better that anyone. 

    Yet another of our team, Marcy, saw the music of worship shifting. She saw the music changing from a minor key to a major key. Minor keys are what we associate with sad or contemplative songs. Major keys are what we associate with happy or praise songs, upbeat songs that evoke joy. We are coming into a season of rejoicing. Natalie, our worship leader, started playing “Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble”. One of the lines goes “Open up the doors and let the music play, let the streets resound with singing. Songs that bring your hope and songs that bring your joy, dancers who dance upon injustice.” 

Marcy also saw a great gathering of believers under Jehovah Nissi, “The Lord my Banner”. Marcy also saw the word “Conjuring” over Salem. There was a blackness that was swirling around the capitol. As we prayed, the letters that make up the word “conjuring” were all mixed up. They were trying to come back together, but they were dispelled by the Word and proclamation of God. She heard these words from Zechariah 4:6, “…’Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.” It is not by our own power or might or solutions that the darkness will be dispelled, but by His Spirit and power. God is breaking down the Jezebel spirit and witchcraft over our state and nation. 

    Lynda, our President here at Sanctioned Love, saw the Lord with a two edged sword. He was stirring up the gifts of the spirit with the sword, with the Word. There is a mixture of the gifts of the spirit and the Word. “It’s a perfect mixture,” she felt the Lord say. 

    Another team member, Joy, saw a vision. She was sitting at Jesus’ feet. She was in such awe and reverence. She didn’t even want to look up into Jesus’ face, it was such a holy moment. But then he told her to stand up, so she did. And then he told her to stand on His feet. She stood on His feet and he began to walk. She couldn’t see where they were going, but He could. Jesus wants to lead us, like a little child would stand on his father’s feet, in complete trust. We don’t need to see the full picture, we only need to walk in obedience. The scripture that talks about how God will lead his people with his eyes came to mind as she was sharing this vision with the team: 

    “I will instruct you and teach you concerning the path you should walk; I will direct you with my eye.” – Psalm 32:8

    We need only trust that God knows where he wants us to go. He will lead us with His loving eyes!

During the Gifts from His Heart Conference in February, Melissa gave Jerry a word from God. She said that Jerry was like Abraham and that he was climbing up the mountain to test him with his Isaac. She said that when they got to the altar, it was Jerry lying there in Isaac’s place. She saw him lying on the altar and that God was either going to supply a ram, or he was going to resurrect him on the altar. It was at this point Jen felt God  told her to “Pay attention to Sarah”

Both Jen and Jerry were undone. They didn’t know exactly what that meant at the time. For the weeks that followed, they fought a hard battle. When quarantine hit, it became even more difficult. It is very devastating if a person with kidney disease gets sick. Jerry started throwing up almost every night. 

At the beginning of April, Jerry had not been throwing up at night for about two weeks. Then, all of a sudden he had a night where he was throwing up every few hours. Jen’s heart sank as she went to the Lord in prayer. 

The next morning, on April 15th, as she was looking through Facebook she saw a post from Linda Crawford. She felt that this was a divine appointment in a sense, that God had orchestrated a word of encouragement for her and Jerry. 

This is what Linda posted: 

“DO YOU HAVE A WORD FROM GOD?”

I have a Word from God. Since 2001, I have dealt with ovarian cancer and overcome because of that “Word from God”! LUKE 8:50 has been my main scripture, Many scriptures have been added over the years.

His Word has been my stronghold. I have stood and not casually believed but actively go after what He has spoken to me. I will not allow myself to dwell on what people may say or what my body may try to say, because if it is contrary to what my Father God has told me, IT IS A LIE from the enemy! I meditate on His Word, I listen for His voice. His Word is my compass, it is my homing device. All my strength comes from His Word.

I have index cards with scriptures He has given me to bring me back to “center” when I am overwhelmed… Always faithful is He to draw me close and confirm His promises to me. Never to condemn me. I stand on His Word and nothing else matters.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m far from perfect but I depend on the One (Jesus) Who is perfect. It isn’t my strength, it is His strength, it isn’t my faith, it is His faith that He freely gives me. I daily renew my mind in Him. I remember He can never lie, He does not change His mind. What He has said that will He do. PSALMS 89:34, Jeremiah 30:17. 

Hebrews 11:11 says Sarah’s faith embraced God’s miracle power … for the AUTHORITY of her faith RESTED in the One who made the promise and she tapped into His faithfulness.

Just like Peter, he had a “Word from God” and walked on water. As long as his eyes were focused on the One who gave the Word, Jesus, Peter was able to see and do the impossible. 

So can we!!!!! Listen and hear the Word of God. It is available to all who will have ears to hear!!! 

This message is for someone today!!

FEAR NOT, ONLY BELIEVE.”

This spoke to Jen so profoundly. The fear that had been knocking at her door was just a distraction. She needed to lift her eyes to the Father and believe that He will do what He says He will do. Hebrews 11:11 stood out to her so much. 

Sarah’s faith embraced the miracle power to conceive even though she was barren and was past the age of childbearing, for the authority of her faith rested in the One who made the promise, and she tapped into his faithfulness. -Hebrews 11:11 (TPT)

You may be walking through a similar situation, waiting for your miracle. We all have our faith journeys and they rarely work out in the time frame we expect or want. But God is walking right there with us. We only need to believe. Jen and Jerry are still believing for their miracle, trusting God in the midst of the journey. Be encouraged today: that even if you’re walking through a time of testing – He is with you!

In His Love,

The Sanctioned Love Team

Today we have a testimony from Jen and Jerry Meyers. Jen is our administrative assistant here at Sanctioned Love and she is absolutely amazing. Today she and her husband wanted to share a faith journey that they have been walking for the last 5 years.

Jerry had been suffering severe headaches and high blood pressure for about 8 years.  Every 2 years he would receive a physical, however the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong and would give him a clean bill of health. He went through countless scopes, MRI’s, CAT scans and blood work, but still nothing was showing up that the doctors could see. Finally they decided to have the orders sent to a specialist in Medford, Oregon. When everything came back clear once again, the specialist said that he was going to order a biopsy of Jerry’s kidneys and it was at this point they found that Jerry had IGA nephropathy, a type of kidney disease. 

As Jen and Jerry sat in the doctor’s office after hearing the diagnosis in June of 2015, they could barely speak. They were so shocked and at a loss for words and wondered why it had taken so long to find. The specialist told them that Jerry’s kidneys were functioning at 21 percent and at 20 percent they put people on lists for kidney transplants.  It was all too much to process all at once, and the Dr. said I will schedule to see you again in 3 months.  

The next week after Jen and Jerry had come home from the specialist in Medford, Jen went to the YMCA to workout and she said she just knew she had to listen to a message on faith. During the podcast a scripture was read and she just knew it was God inviting her in and challenging her to believe He could do all things for them who believe.  This scripture has become her word from God to stand on ever since! 

 Mark 11:23 Passion Translation

Listen to the truth I speak to you: If someone says to this mountain with great faith and having no doubt, ‘Mountain, be lifted up and thrown into the midst of the sea,’ and believes that what he says will happen, it will be done.”

From then on, Jen said she had her ‘head in heaven’, she was believing what God had told her and praying that “as it was in heaven, that it would be so on earth.”  In her conversation with God, she said “God, I just want you to get all the glory! No matter what, YOU WILL! If you choose to heal Jerry by a transplant then You’ll still get the glory, but I’m gonna believe for a complete creative miracle and that you’ll make his kidney’s brand new!”  

God would get the glory no matter what happened. Almost every night Jen would pray over Jerry thanking God for new kidneys, pulling down heaven over Jerry while he slept.  Over the course of the months and months that followed, Jerry’s kidney function started to rise little bit by little bit. The doctors told them that the disease was irreversible, so for the count to rise was in itself a miracle!  They went from 21 percent to 28 percent then up to 37 percent. Jen and Jerry’s faith was rising! Around June of 2018 Jerry’s kidney function rose to 47 percent and their faith was just through the roof. Jen can remember saying “Your doing it God!! Your doing itt!”

 On February 6 of 2019 they were going to celebrate their 20th Anniversary!  Both of them wanted to lose a little weight before going on the trip. So Jerry decided to try the Keto diet. After two weeks on the diet he started to lose his appetite. He said that food just didn’t taste good anymore. Jen started looking up what it meant when people with kidney disease had a weird taste in their mouths. She found that a metallic taste in the mouth signaled kidney failure. When Jerry got home she asked him if the weird taste he was having in his mouth was metalic. He said, “That’s exactly what it is. How did you know?” Jen immediately told him that he was stopping the keto diet and they needed to go see the doctor. 

When they got the results back from the doctor, he gave them the news that Jerry’s kidney function had gone from 46 percent to 23 percent. It was devastating and very disappointing for them. 

Jen shares that this last year has been very hard for them. And the last 3-4 months even more so with all the sickness going around. Jerry has been throwing up multiple times a night. They have had to be very careful with the coronavirus going around. It’s very dangerous for someone with kidney disease to get sick. 

Jen says that fear was knocking on the door trying to get in and it’s a daily struggle to keep her mind on faith and what God says rather than what the enemy says. 

But even in all that God was showing her to have faith and believe Him, to trust Him. She shares that even in the darkest times, God is right there. These last few years have “exercised and stretched her faith muscles”. Sometimes we don’t always see the miracle in the way we want to. It’s a journey. But we can always have this assurance: that God will never leave you or forsake you!  She believes God is doing something behind the scenes and never wastes anything. 

We will continue with this series next week so be sure to join us for second installment of this series called, “Only Believe”. 

In His Name,

The Sanctioned Love Team