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Saturday, January 7, 2012

Make a Shift

Mahesh and Bonnie ChavdaThe word for today and for this hour is SHIFT! We are at a tipping point. Many of you are sensing this individually, and we are certainly seeing this in our nation, our economy, and our world.

A tipping point is the moment at which something crosses the point of no return. It is the boiling point, the point of crisis, where momentum that has been building up behind the scenes suddenly bursts into the forefront. When it happens, the power released brings irreversible change.

The world is in a crisis. There is a clash of kingdoms vying for the destiny of our nation. But we, the people of God, carry the authority of Heaven to turn crisis into a shift toward the plans and purposes of God in our generation. Jesus said, "All authority has been given unto Me, therefore go into the earth and preach this Good News" (Matthew 28:18, paraphrased). The Church is the agent of change not just to bring people into the Kingdom, but to bring the Kingdom into the earth. We have a mandate to write history.

Watch for a Sign
A while ago, the Lord brought a young woman's face before my, Bonnie's, eyes. It was as if He were looking through my eyes at her. Although I had not been following her story closely, I recognized the woman as Amanda Knox, who at the time was appealing her case before Italy's High Court. As I looked, I heard the Lord say, "I want you to pray for amnesty and then watch for a sign concerning the season the earth is in because of the work of the Cross." For the next several days, that's exactly what I did. I did not know the details of her case. I did not know whether she was innocent or not, but I prayed for amnesty from the judgment that was against her.

A few days later, Amanda Knox's indictment in the murder of her roommate was overturned, and within hours she was on a plane bound for home after 4-½ years in an Italian prison.

Interestingly, shortly after Amanda's release, during the Feast of Tabernacles, we got a second sign – in Israel. Gilad Shalit, a young soldier, who was abducted and held by terrorists for five years, suddenly came home to his family after Israel ransomed him at the cost of 1,027 prisoners in exchange for his life. It was as if we watched Isaiah 43 play out before our very eyes:

Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you. I've called your name. You're mine. When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you. When you're in rough waters, you will not go down. When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end – because I am God, your personal God, the Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That's how much you mean to me! That's how much I love you! I'd sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you (Isaiah 43:1-3 TM).

God is calling us to make a shift – a shift in our thinking; a shift in our intercession; a shift in our prophetic declarations; a shift in our expectation. We are in a season of amnesty. "Amnesty" means pardon for offenses against a government. It doesn't mean acquittal because of innocence. It means, across-the-board forgiveness, pardon, erasure of all judgment and penalty against the offending party. This is good news for us personally, and it is good news for the world.
 
Often, we hold ourselves, and then we hold others around us, in a prison of guilt for legitimate offenses against each other, and ultimately the government of God. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). But it is God's glory to wipe out our offense by the power of His shed Blood. And it is our glory to extend this amnesty to the world around us. We need to make a shift, and let the reality of the Cross and the work Christ did there shape our prayers.

Harmonize with Heaven
So how do we make this shift? It begins with aligning ourselves with the voice of Heaven. Too often, Christians begin to harmonize with a theology that displaces the power and work of the Cross. Jesus is the propitiation for our sins. The wrath and judgment of God was satisfied; He took the punishment for our sins, and by His stripes we are healed. This is the message of the Gospel that we carry – heal the sick, set free the oppressed, preach the Gospel, bring in the harvest with signs, wonders, and miracles.

If your theology has you, and your nation, in the crosshairs of judgment, today is the day for a shift in your thinking. The earth is in the crosshairs of the Cross of victory. "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16). A great exchange took place: your deserved judgment for His. When He came up out of that grave, He had triumphed over every principality and power, and put subject under His feet, everything concerning this world and the world to come.

Steve Jobs said, "We're here to put a dent in the universe." There was more than a dent made in the cosmos when Jesus clothed Himself in human flesh and came to earth on a mission. That mission is amnesty for the whole of creation. That's the Good News of the Gospel. It is the solution to every spiritual conflict between God and man, to every human conflict between man and man, and the answer to the groans of Creation.
It is time to step into the season of favor that came when Jesus took His seat triumphant on the Throne (2 Corinthians 6:2). It is time to go up into the city and take possession of our inheritance. It is time to aggressively take hold of God's promises and press into the tipping point for His glory to pour out on the earth today.

This is God's year to act (Luke 4:19). Jesus' life – death, burial, and resurrection – is the tipping point for the cosmos that is making a dent in history today. The earth is in the period of amnesty offered until Jesus comes, so let's get in harmony with Heaven and turn around, overturn, reverse and MAKE A SHIFT!

Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda
Chavda Ministries International

Email: info@chavdaministries.org