Biblical Life Mentor: Making 2013 Count for the Kingdom

Posted on January 30, 2013

By Michael K. Lake, Th.D. – Chancellor, Biblical Life College & Seminary

( http://www.biblical-life.com )

It seems that it is encoded into our Western DNA – the secular New Years is a day to make nearly impossible resolutions, only to be disappointed twelve months later when none of them were accomplished. Truth be known, God has a better way.

The Many Cycles in God’s Calendar

God’s calendar, the biblical one, does not start until Spring. It is right before Passover. Scripturally, it is tied to the ripened barley harvest. The New Year is directly connected to the Passover Lamb and the redemptive work of God. It is a sign to us that the only true, new beginnings come through the Blood of the Lamb – anything else is just another day with no power.

In God’s Cycles, there are:

· Yearly Cycles

· Monthly Cycles (tied to the New Moon)

· Daily Cycles (God’s mercy is new every morning)

If we really want changes, we need to move into God’s cycles. We also need to move from outrageous wishes to strategic review and planning! Neither faith or the power of God can move through wishful thinking, but they can move through strategic faith!

In the Know

The first thing that we must do is to be “in the know.” What is God speaking to the Body now? True words from God are always strategic, insightful, and implementable!

At Biblical Life, God has been having us teach prophetically regarding 2013. In this article, I do not want to reiterate what was given in those three messages. I do ask that you would go to our YouTube channel and watch those videos now. http://www.youtube.com/biblicallife

· Preparing for 2013 and Beyond – Part 1

· Preparing for 2013 and Beyond – Part 2

· 2013 – the Year of False Light

After viewing (or even reviewing) them, proceed with reading this article.

Prov 24:3-6 TLB

^3-4 Any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts. ⁵ A wise man is mightier than a strong man. Wisdom is mightier than strength. ⁶ Don’t go to war without wise guidance; there is safety in many counselors.

Time to Get the 800 Pound Monkey Off Your Back

Failure among believers is at an all-time high. Failure in ministry, failure in business, failure in family, failure in health – do I need to go on? It seems like there is an 800 pound monkey on our backs that we cannot define. Well, it is time to define and eradicate this monkey! God used Dr. John Benefiel at the Heartland Apostolic Prayer Network to provide the Kingdom Intelligence we needed to bring this monkey down – it is the Spirit of Baal.

Satan has done an outstanding job of paganizing Christianity over the millennia. But he does not stop there; he has equally paganized secular society, governments, and anything else he could sink his claws into. He wanted to make sure that Baal worship was embedded throughout all of Western culture. Baal is the Strongman over America, and this spirit is what has been pulling you down at every turn!

Binding the Strongman Over America DVD and Book Set

Dr. Benefiel has produced a three-part DVD and book set that will give you the information and prayers you need to divorce Baal and break his hold on your life. It will be the best $45.00 investment you have ever made. (This series was also highlighted on Sid Roth’s show “Its Supernatural.”)

You can either purpose the set from Sid Roth’s Ministry or directly from the Heartland Apostolic Prayer Network (www.hapn.us).

Watch the videos, read the book, and do some of your own research. God is calling us to cast off every element of Baal’s influence in our lives. Be thorough! You cannot have Baal’s stuff in your life and try to divorce him at the same time! Baal’s influence runs through all of Western society: from secret societies to so-called Christianized pagan holidays to pornography. They all have their origins in the mystery religions of Babylon.

Once you have researched, cleansed your home and life, and repented, then pray the two prayers include with the materials: (1) Divorcing Baal and (2) the Writ of Assistance.

These two prayers are powerful. You may need to pray them every week for a while. The Spirit of Baal will not give up easily, but the truth is that he is already defeated through Jesus. Be consistent in both watchfulness and in your prayers.

Now We Can Move on to Obtaining and Maintaining

Now it is time to use wise planning, to use wisdom, and to keep abreast of the facts in your life. In 2013, God wants to show you how to obtain His blessing and also HOW TO MAINTAIN IT! For some, the obtaining is easy – the hard part is maintaining. This is why God’s cycles of review are so powerful: daily, monthly, and yearly.

I believe 2013 can be the greatest year of Kingdom Advancement in your life!

I am not saying that it will fall like ripe cherries off a tree. You are going to have to pray, study, evaluate, adjust, and BE CONSISTENT in your Kingdom implementations. Unless you are ready to do that, you are still in wishful thinking and not Kingdom functioning!

This is the year to throw aside complacency, apathy, and spiritual laziness. To really move forward, you are going to have to roll up your sleeves and do the work: prayer, research, reflection, and consistent application. I cannot stress this enough! This is the time for you to cross your Jordan and learn how to fight and dispossess the enemy. It is time to stop wandering in your wilderness and to move into your possessions in the Kingdom.

Are you ready?

I want you to choose several primary areas in your life where you need God’s Kingdom and blessing to come. For the next twelve months, these areas will become your Kingdom assignments and spiritual/physical focus.

I want you to get out a notebook and divide it up into sections. At the start of each section write the title of one of the areas you want victory over. Every day you are going to pray over those areas and then start looking for God’s wisdom on how to overcome them. I want you to move from the “wandering in the wilderness” mentality to the “possessing the land” one. God wants to work with you, NOT for you.

As you daily pray and review, the Holy Spirit will show you things to repent of, things to change (from absolute abandoning to slightly tweaking), and will place within your hands new information that will provide insights for overcoming and new implementations to release your faith into. Write them down in the appropriate sections of your notebook. Daily review what God has shown you, as well as a daily review of how you put them into practice (implementation). Be truthful with yourself. Where did you excel and where did you stumble? Work to overcome your personal stumbling blocks and to make the areas you excelled in even stronger. Remember, it took you a while to walk into these situations, and it will take some time to walk out. In every situation you can learn truths: both of what to do and what not to do.

Some areas you will really need to examine daily. These are the hard areas to change. Stubborn bad habits can really be strongholds in your life. Identify them, and then overcome them through prayer, fasting, and obedience to Christ.

Daily, weekly, and monthly – God will counsel you, provide insights and wisdom, and give you the grace (divine empowerment) to overcome the workings of the enemy and to consistently do what He shows you. If you stumble, don’t get into either self-pity or self-blame: both of these are head-games the enemy loves to play with us to keep us under his control. Identify, repent, and seek God’s power to do better the next day. If you do this every day for a month, you will be surprised at how many strongholds you will pull down and gain victory over.

Now select a special color pen to write down victories (even minor ones) in each section. These are the ones that you will need to go to when you feel down or disappointed. It will serve to remind you of just how far you have really come! Why is this important? Because the enemy’s lies are that you haven’t moved at all. He will place lying feelings on you to accompany his temptations to give up. The only thing that will overcome these feelings are the facts – facts written in your own handwriting! Open your notebook to that section and read every victory out loud for both you and the enemy to hear. You would be amazed at how quickly your feelings will change!

Just in case you think this is something that I am just writing about and not doing, here is a photo of my 2013 Strategic Journal. (That’s a good name for it, don’t you think?)

If you will do this consistently in 2013, you will find it will become one of the most successful and blessed years you have ever experienced!

Remember:

Identify – Research – Pray – Plan – Implement – Review

When you don’t plan to succeed, you are planning to fail!

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