Good morning, all!

Father, You have declared the increase of Your government has NO end, that You are the Provider of all that is good in our life. As we enter this new season we thank You, we are truly grateful for all that You have blessed us with including life itself. We pray that as we mature that we trust the rule and authority of Your government, to know that YOU are just and right always, Amen.

Isaiah 9

4 For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.
For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders and break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did in the DAY of Midian.

5 For every battle of the warrior [is] with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but [this] shall be with burning [and] fuel of fire.
For every battle begins with confusion and your clothes bloodstained by war will all be burned, nothing more than fuel for the fire.

6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
His government and its peace will never end, from the throne of his son David and His kingdom, it is ORDERED and ESTABLISHED with His judgment. The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

Bottom line

Has God’s government…His POWER & INFLUENCE…INCREASED in your life? Of course this is a very familiar passage of scripture, especially in this season of thanksgiving and there is much to thank God for in here. I can’t possibly touch on all that is expressed in these verses, but I would like to emphasize how God’s grace will INCTEASE in our life. How do we go from a war to the wonderful birth of a child? Doesn’t that seem extreme? To go from fear and pain to life and joy? And when does this happen? In the day of Midian. If you’re not familiar with that day, this is when Gideon and his 300 men killed 120,000 Midianites…pretty amazing. What’s even more amazing is how they killed them, in the middle of the night Gideon and his men blew a trumpet in one hand and held a flaming torch in the other. When the trumpet sounded the Midianites awoke to confusion, turned on one another, and killed each other, Gideon and his men NEVER threw a punch. Why do any of us fight? CONFUSION!!! We need a trumpet…TRUTH…and a flame…MERCY, this is how we defeat confusion. Where does confusion come from?

[Isa 30:3 KJV] Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt [your] confusion. Our confusion always begins with Pharaoh’s strength and what made him strong? PRIDE it will NEVER be influenced by MERCY and TRUTH, it’s influenced by the world…retaliation, rejection, and revenge. Notice you TRUST in the shadow of Egypt…the WORLD, NOT God, His word or faith. Makes sense when we TRUST God it’s with humility and faith NOT pride and fear. This is how we go from war to birth; it’s the war inside of us and once we hear a trumpet and see the light of love we are born again. When we live with pride we’re going to be confused and we’re going to fight, you know why? Because pride won’t FORGIVE, it doesn’t know how to let go. But once you and I truly hear the trumpet…voice of God and see that flame…only love can burn that bright, we will take off our battle clothes and wash the blood off…oh NO, He said we will BURN them. You know why you burn them? Because you FORGIVE and when you do you have NO more need for battle clothes because you CHOOSE love and forgiveness instead of spilling blood, this is NO longer an option for you. You want the son to be GIVEN to you? You want God to fill every need in your life? You want to live in His kingdom which is peace? Then BURN your bloodstained battle clothes, quit fighting, and start forgiving. You think you can hold a grudge against people in your life and live in God’s kingdom of peace? If so, you are thoroughly CONFUSED, there is NO such thing as living in peace and holding a grudge…you live in EGYPT. What did Moses tell Pharaoh? Let my people go…unforgiveness holds a grudge and will not let go, God shouts let my people go and Pharaoh says over my dead body. You want peace this morning?

[Psa 37:37 KJV] Mark the perfect [man] and behold the upright: for the end of [that] man [is] peace. You want to be perfect in the eyes of God? Then your END result should always be at Peace with the people in your life. Do you honestly think God is going to mark you perfect when you don’t forgive? We can enter His government anytime we want, but it all begins with us burning our battle clothes. You know how to get rid of them? You put on a garment of PRAISE, it’s called praise for a reason…give it a try, I promise it will eliminate all your confusion.

Point to Ponder

You still holding a grudge? [Jas 5:9 KJV] Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. Well, there’s Judge standing at the door of your heart waiting for you to let him out, all you gotta do is forgive.

Let’s all live in His increase, In Him Phil

Faith – Family – Friends