Forsythia!

View Original

Break Up the Fallow Ground

Hi Everyone,

Today I am writing along similar lines as the previous post “Bondage No More.”  The Lord has given me four additional visions that each speak of an aspect of deliverance and inner healing.  We are in a season of preparation.  God wants to use us to share the gospel of the kingdom of God. So, we need to be set free, and baptized in the Holy Spirit. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to free others to be all they can be for the Lord. For we are to make disciples and then send them out, to do as we are doing.

The Visions

The Yellow Tractor

In the first vision, I saw a man driving a large yellow tractor, coming towards me.  There was a grove of trees on his right and a field on his left.  He came from around the trees and into view.

When I thought of the tractor and the field, the following scripture came to mind:

“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.”  Hosea 10:12

This passage is to encourage us to seek the Lord, and do what is right, so that we will be fruitful, bearing the fruit of love in our lives.  This next passage, also calls us to break up the fallow ground.  It shows that when we sow seeds of righteousness, the nations will receive the Lord’s blessing, and the Lord will be their glory.  But if we sow among thorns, rather than in righteousness, we will reap trouble, as the wrath of God.    

and if you can swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then the nations will be blessed by Him, and in Him they will glory.”  For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.  Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and remove the foreskins of your hearts, O men of Judah and people of Jerusalem. Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it, because of your evil deeds.”  Jeremiah 4:2-4

The Lord is constantly holding out to us the choice: to live in blessing by following his ways, or suffer the consequences of rebellion by going our own way and doing our own thing.  

In the vision, the tractor was yellow.  Yellow in the Bible is used to describe some things of beauty, and other things that represent sickness and judgment.  (Biblestudy.com)

  • The seventh foundational stone in the New Jerusalem is made of chrysolite which is a yellow or gold colored gem.  (Revelation 21:19)

  • And frankincense, a yellow resin which the wise men brought to the infant Jesus, symbolizes prayer, and worship.  Their gift was to honor him as the Messiah, as Emanuel, “God with us.” (Matthew 2:11)

  • Regarding sickness, finding a yellow hair in a skin lesion, would indicate that the skin disease was leprosy. (Leviticus 13:29-30)

  • Regarding judgment, God rained down brimstone from heaven to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. (Genesis 19:24) Brimstone refers to sulfur which is yellow.  

  • Regarding judgment in Revelation: “And so I saw the horses in the vision, and those sitting on them, who had fiery breastplates, even like jacinth and brimstone. And the heads of the horses were like heads of lions, and fire and smoke and brimstone shot out of their mouths.” (Revelation 9:17) 

So the yellow tractor not only represents the act of tilling the soil of our hearts, making them tender towards God, but it represents the outcome, based on the purpose we choose.  If we choose to yield to the Lord’s will, and allow him to plant seeds of righteousness we will produce the fruit of the Spirit, (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control).  However, if we choose to be rebellious and refuse to submit our wills to his, the soil of our hearts will be hard, and left to grow weeds and thorns that produce sickness and judgment.  It is our choice.

The Spice Jar

I saw a glass spice jar with a metal lid.  The label on it read: “Hypnosis.”

I am very familiar with hypnosis, and will never do it again!  Hypnosis | Psychology Today

Hypnosis is a mental state of highly focused concentration, diminished peripheral awareness, and heightened suggestibility. It can be used to help people relax, treat pain, combat phobias, and more.

This is my definition of hypnosis:

Hypnosis is a self-induced state of being which opens a door to the devil and his demons. 

Years ago, I went to consult with a Gestalt therapist, who showed me how to deal with stress through self-hypnosis.  Without understanding its spiritual ramifications, I practiced doing this everyday for over a year.  One day, as I laid on top of the bed, I went into this super-relaxed state of body and mind, and my spiritual body separated from my natural body.  My spiritual body sat up with my legs against the side of the bed.  My physical body remained on the bed. I could not move, except for my eyes.  I squinted hard, and commanded my rogue spirit, with my mind, to come back into my body, for my mouth could not speak.  It returned, and I never did that again.

However, years later when I was Baptized into the Holy Spirit, I could pray for hours.  I spoke in tongues and prayed in English.  But I could easily go into this state of being, because my body and my mind “remembered.”  However, I did not want to repeat the out of body experience again.  So, I prayed and asked the Lord if I would be able to pray in the Spirit, but not go so deep as to have an out of body experience. When I receive visions, I am definitely “in the Spirit,” but not to the degree that my being, (body soul and spirit), separate. Thank you Jesus!  

As I have shared before, it was in going forward to receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit that I was filled and then immediately delivered from a demonic spirit.  I believe that this incident along with opening doors through sin led to my need for deliverance. We never want to leave our body empty. It should always be filled with the Holy Spirit. And because I received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, the demon had to leave!

 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’  And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order.  Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”  Luke 11:24-26

Fortunately, I received only one spirit, but it was terrible just the same! 

My brother, on the other hand, is in a sorry condition.  He was practicing divination using his body to test what was ailing someone else several states away.  He acted as a medium to communicate with demonic entities to find out how to diagnose someone’s illness or condition.  After we had him delivered, he went right back to his practice because it was “easy money.” 

Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.” 2 Peter 2:22

He is now in a much worse condition, no longer in his right mind.  He needs major deliverance, but he has to be able to keep his deliverance, for we do not want him to return to the practice again, and find himself even worse off than now.  He has to want the Lord and his freedom more than the slavery and bondage he now suffers.  We are waiting, and praying for that day to come when he is ready.

So the vision is a warning that I am to share with those “unsuspecting people,” that engage in meditation, visualization, hypnosis, yoga, and any form of the occult.  These practices open doors to the wicked one and his demons.  It is a sure way to become bound and under demonic influence.  Please stay away from astrology, New Age practices and beliefs, fortune telling, crystals, Ouija boards, and contacting the dead.  Do Not pray to the dead or talk to a deceased loved one!  Do not pray to saints, for they were ordinary people and to pray with them is called necromancy. You will be speaking not to your loved one, or a saint, but to a demon who is more than happy to deceive you with their voice, their perfume, their music…   Don’t open the door!  Those that are dead, cannot speak to you, they are where they are, and you are where you are!  Here is a story that the Lord tells.  Please take note.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.  At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.  In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.  So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.  And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”  Luke 16:19-31

 Please do not do any form of visual imagery for stress, for the medical profession, psychologists and wellness professionals will all promote this.  Pray instead!  Meditate on God’s Word.  Do not empty your mind.  Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit! 

The Red Onion

In this vision, I saw two layers of a red onion fly through the air.  Someone had scored an onion with a knife through the two layers, and tossed them away.   

Again, there is no mystery about this vision.  We speak of deliverance and inner healing like peeling off layers of an onion.  Whatever is easiest to cast out goes first.  Sometimes it is whatever is most detrimental to our wellbeing, or whatever is most obvious that gets the attention and is driven out through deliverance. 

Some people, like my sister, experience deliverance right in their prayer closet. It may simply take our firm decision to say “No,” to sinful behaviors, and “No,” to the devil.  We can be delivered simply by renouncing the devil and his works and asking God to close the door and seal it shut. 

However, confession of sin prepares the way for deliverance. Confessing our sins one to another, exposes the demons who conceal themselves behind unconfessed sin.  They use fear and shame to keep a person from exposing the sin to the light, where they can be cast out.  Confessing our sin, and having a strong desire to get rid of it, loosens the devil’s grip on us.  We are to speak out loud our renunciation of the sin and declare that the demon associated with that sin is bound, and must go in the name of Jesus.  However, the demon will stay if we do not stand our ground, and cave in to his deceptions. If we give him no room, he will leave, if we cave he will stay.  If we deceive ourselves, and deny our need of deliverance, or hide the sin for fear of exposure, and the resultant shame, then we will have given the devil place, and he will make himself comfortable. He will to take liberty in your mind to speak lies and give wicked thoughts.

Unconfessed sin, is a hindrance to our relationship with God, and unforgiveness towards someone who has offended us leads to bondage.  We must confess, repent, and forgive if we want to be free.  

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  1 John 1:9

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.”  Matthew 6:14-15

We can be delivered from any sin.  The Lord is more than willing - all we have to do is ask.

There can be strongholds that have been around for a long time, and it is beyond us to affect a change by ourselves.  In that case, we need to seek God-fearing men and women with the spiritual authority and the power of the Holy Spirit to drive it/them out.  Our job is to seek the Lord for help. We need his wisdom and his counsel. 

There are people who simply do not know what to do, and will do the wrong thing.

“Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 19:31

Mediums and spiritists are the very ones who partner with the devil—do not go to them expecting them to cast out their own.  The results could be devastating. Can you imagine that the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons with the help of Beelzebul!  

Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled.  But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.  But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.  And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.  But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.  When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.  Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”  Luke 11:14-23

A PIece of Fluff

In this vision, I saw a piece of fluff, moving across the carpeted floor.  I thought to myself, there must be a little ant carrying  his load.

I couldn’t see an ant, because the piece of fluff was so big compared to the size of a tiny ant.  To the ant, his load was probably heavy, although ants can carry many times their own weight.  It would be like Samson ripping off the doors and their posts to a walled city and carrying them on his back.

“But Samson stayed in bed only until midnight. Then he got up, took hold of the doors of the town gate, including the two posts, and lifted them up, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them all the way to the top of the hill across from Hebron.”  Judges 16:3

An ant is a hard worker, who gathers his food all summer long, so that he has food stored up for the winter.  I believe that the vision is about us carrying each other’s burdens in prayer.

Through prayer we bring the needs of others to the Lord, and ask for his help to heal, deliver, and provide, whatever is needed.  This is intercession.  The Lord hears our prayers, and lifts these heavy burdens from our shoulders. He is able to do all things, and everything he does is perfect. When he answers our prayers, his name is glorified. We put our trust in him, knowing that he will take care of us, for he is faithful. We are so blessed to call him friend, bother, and savior. He is our all in all!  He is God in the flesh, the Beginning and the End.  He is our  tall tower, our place of refuge.  He is the Prince of Peace.  Into his arms we run for shelter and for all that we need.

Let us pray on behalf of those that suffer in bondage.  Our loved ones, and those around the world who are addicted to drugs, pornography, and those that are slaves to sin. Let us pray for those who are victims of human trafficking.  Let us pray for those who may be seeking an abortion, and those who suffer bondage as shame and guilt because of their sin. Let us pray for those enslaved to human lusts: greed, power, money, material gain, pride, envy, jealousy, gossip, strife, selfishness, prestige, conceit, lying, cheating, stealing, adultery, sexual immorality…

These sins take people captive and cause a lot of damage.  These are bonds that need to be broken.  Through prayer, hearts are changed, so that people no longer want what the devil is selling.  Through prayer, people can be set free.  That is certainly one reason we should pray without ceasing.  

There is power when we know the Lord and abide in him. And there is power when we know the Word of God and commit ourselves to following the Lord’s teachings.   

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.  If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.  By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”  John 15:5

So apart from God we can do nothing, but if we are in him and his words and spirit are living in us, we can ask for whatever we need and “it shall be done.”  The Lord’s name is praised and glorified when we bear the fruit of the Spirit and we are shown to be his disciples! So let us abide in him and live to please him.

In Summary

Let us seek the Lord for he will till the soil of our hearts, changing our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh.  Let us prepare ourselves to receive the seeds of righteousness.  

“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.”  Hosea 10:12

Let us stand firm in our faith and not open doors to the enemy through hypnosis, meditation and occult practices.  Let us confess our sins and bring them into the light where they can be exposed. Let us seek the Lord to deliver us from evil, and close the doors to demonic influence.

The Lord wants to remove the chains that hold us back. Like an onion which has many layers, we may need healing and deliverance from more than one thing. And we know this to be true:

“Whom the Lord sets free is free indeed!” John 8:36

And let us be prayerful, interceding for others, for that is how we carry one another’s burdens.  We trust in the Lord for his provision.

All things are possible to him who believes! Mark 9:23

Let us renounce the devil and all his works and abide in the Lord and his Word.

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

God bless you all!  Please share this with others to encourage them in the Lord.