Romans 12 teaches us that we cannot simply bank on the faith we know. “We accepted Him and sometimes we have to press in” is mediocre faith and it will not bring us to a place of presenting our bodies as holy, acceptable, or as a living sacrifice. It is by the mercy of God that we present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God—this is our reasonable purpose. Romans 12:1 says, “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” 

Instruction after instruction follows on how we accomplish this goal. I encourage you to read through and write down every instruction Paul gives. Look up those words to find out the intricacies of what they really mean. There’s a wealth of understanding available when we dig deep and learn how it’s possible to present ourselves as a living sacrifice unto God. We have to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Paul says, “Do not think of ourselves more highly than we ought. Think soberly.” (Romans 12:3)

Remember, we are members of one Body of Christ, with Christ as the head. Gifts are distributed to each member, along with the grace necessary to carry that gift. Some will prophesy, some will be in ministry—that is the ministry of service and this refers to those who execute the commands of others. Some will be teachers, some will encourage and comfort, some will impart, some have been created to show mercy. Some have been given the gift of love, and on and on.
This is how we become a body capable of presenting ourselves to Him. There’s the individual and the collective Body of Christ. This is the “New Breed of Believers” God is calling to come forth in 2018. I encourage you to join me. Let’s go through these scriptures and examine our lives so we can understand the refining that’s taking place this year. 

 
The Lord said in 2017, to “Know No Bounds.” We pushed back hurricanes from our shores. We watched God bring a man into office that despite every attempt to stop him, including voter fraud, character assassination via the media---to be honest, they took and loaded every attack they had in their arsenal against this man—and yet, he stands in office today releasing the righteousness of God. Why did God stand for Trump? Because God knew he would stand for the family and fight for righteousness. He knew Trump would come against human trafficking, declaring it is a national crisis, an international crisis. 

We prayed against hurricanes that hit our shores and in spite of the amount of water that was dumped into Houston, very few lives were lost. God showed His mercy because we repented over the sins that took place in that city during our Seattle GOE. This was just before the hurricane came through; we spent two days repenting for the horrific human trafficking that took place and God showed mercy.

 
He said to Know No Bounds! In 2017, I am going to show you Who I Am and the power that you can wield when you submit to Me, when you follow My Spirit, and in 2018 I am going to refine your flesh and prepare your spirit to walk in the fullness of that power! I am going to work that stuff that is in you, that part of you that causes you to try to accomplish My will and promises through your flesh! I am going to refine your flesh in 2018, so that a New Breed of Believers will arise! 

That is what is coming this year! A new breed of believers who submitted to the flesh, those willing to lay down who they are, their faults, their sins and cry out to God saying, “I am done trying to achieve this in my own power and strength. I will submit to you God, all that I am. I will let You transform me, that I might be a child of the Spirit, flowing in the Spirit, submitting to Your will and Your ways in everything that I do.” As we move forward and darkness closes in, we are going to need to know how to walk by the Spirit. 

In 2018, He wants to show us His work in our lives. When the unity movement hit and swept across our nation, the Lord said, “Brace yourself, prepare yourself, because My judgment is coming to the Church. I cannot judge a nation when the Church is so full of sin.” The compromise that we see behind the pulpits of so many of our churches today is why judgment has come to the Church and it’s why they are lost in the deception. You see, sin gives way to sin. When we walk by the flesh, we will walk by the flesh more and more. If a pastor lusts after the woman on the front row one year, in 3, she will be in his bed chamber. I am telling you the truth. That is the type of sin we see in the Church today. It grieves my heart but I promise you, the heart of the Lord has been broken over this long before we were aware of it. 

Homosexuality is rampant in the Church. Lust is wreaking havoc; women get up on stage and perform “praise and worship songs,” with dresses so short they look like shirts! They dance as though they were at a night club. That is not holiness. That is what gave way to those types of activities on the stages of our Churches across the nation. And yes, I said “stages”, because they are not church platforms, they are not pulpits, it is a den of sin. It is a stage where they present a show, not lead people to the holiness of God. This is what gave way to the compromise of the Unity Movement. 

Copeland says “Reformation is dead,” but I say the Spirit of Reformation shall live and flow across the nation! It will reform the Churches, that they might arise and be what God has called them to be. God is going to raise up a “New Breed of Believers” over this nation, a new breed of believers that call out to Him and will live according to the Spirit. And they will not sin because the spark, the fire within them, that lives in each one of their cells remains and the desire to hold onto their flesh will be no more, because all they care about is pleasing God. They will walk and live by the Spirit. It will not be an easy year. For those that have only begun, it will be a very, very difficult year, but if we will press in, if we will bow the knee, day after day, moment after moment, second after second, we will arise as children who present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. That is our reasonable service. 

To be continued next week…

Blessings & Love, 

Ricci Wilson