I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called…Eph 4:1
April 23, 2023
“Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no” (Exo 16:4). From the very beginning God was proving His people to see if they were real and if they would serve Him during the hard times. Before sending Gideon and the troops into battle, a test was presented to the warriors at the river. Of the ten thousand men that remained God did a test of who of the men would drink water by lapping like a dog and who would bend at the knee to drink. Who did God select? Jdg. 7:7 “And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.” Surely God’s ways are peculiar, but He knows who is His. God is still trying His servants to prove which are His and which are not. The famous test we saw in the bible was the proving of Abraham with the command to kill Isaac the promised one. Abraham passed a very hard test and became the father of nations.
In the New Testament, we still see God proving His servants. Even Jesus was only sent forth after His proving test in the wilderness, where the devil tried Him for surrender of His authority. In the final of three tests by Satan, Jesus gave His final answer:
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Mt. 4:10
God gave His approval of Jesus, the Son of God, as His representative in the earth by voicing His approval at the baptism, in the middle of His work, and finally at His death.
And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Mk. 1:11
While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. Mt. 17:5
Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Act 1:11
The disciples of Jesus bore witness that He was the Messiah because they walked with Him and heard the Voice coming from heaven validating the truth. Jesus was indeed the Messiah that He said He was and He was proven of God, even though He was God in the flesh.
Jesus also proved His disciples through their journey together. Their test was not one of perfection, because they all failed at one point or another while they walked with Him. Only Judas was filled with the power of the devil, rejected Him, and sold Him to the enemy for 30 pieces of silver. Jesus named each of His chosen twelve disciples, already knowing Judas would not be proven (Joh 6:70).
We, too, have as the body of Christ gone through a wilderness journey and not everyone has been proven to be a servant of Jesus Christ. During the test, some prevailed and some gave in. Like the first disciples of Jesus Christ, He knows those that are His, and will be with them and prove those He has chosen. Also the people of God who have been in the body of Christ have had a chance to see the proof of those who stood with Christ and those that forsook Him.
It is time for the real disciples of Christ to stand up and say so. We have seen the liars stand up and support their savior, but now it is time for God’s true servants to stand up and declare unashamedly that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
An anti-Christ spirit has been in the land declaring himself to be God, but who do the disciples of Christ say is their God? Jesus Christ went back to heaven to sit on the right hand of the throne of God until His enemies be made His footstool.
The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? Mt. 22:44
Jesus left the church in the hands of His trusted disciples whom He named and proved as we saw in Mt. 10:
And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Mt. 10:1
While people or churches doubt whether there are apostles of Christ today, we read in Ephesians 11 that they are commissioned until the church is matured in Christ.
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: Eph 4:11-13
There is a work to be done in the earth by the leaders in God’s true church to bring believers into the fullness of Jesus Christ. The work they will do is to mature the church bringing it into perfection as the body of Christ. Bear in mind while we talk about the church, that the church is the people, not the building they meet in. Jesus did not come to save buildings, but souls. The children have to resist the devil to mature and the leaders of the true church are charged to protect the body until Jesus comes back for His church. We have seen that the devil has already activated his servants to devour the body, but there are some that are Christ’s real servants that will stand up and rebuke the devil and bring the children of God into maturity. The positions of evangelist, pastor and teachers as well as all believers are empowered by the Spirit of God and called to do the will of God in the earth. God can move through any of them. The true apostles and prophets are the foundation on which the church is built and they are also the first line of defense for the body of Christ.
Like at the river, warriors are determined by the Lord if they are ready for battle. If they are not, then they need to go home until they are ready. The devil is not playing and He is taking out the weak ones unprepared for battle. Many people have been lost during the past seasons, but God has got some tried and true leaders who will speak the truth and lead us in this final battle for the souls of God’s people. God has given many tools to His leaders to be used in the protection of the body and the real leaders need to stand up now and fight the enemy at hand.
God is demanding that the truth stands up against the lie that is being told. You cannot speak the truth if you do not know the truth; and if you do not know the truth, then you cannot be a true leader for God. The true disciples know the word of God because they have walked it out. If you have not lived the life of Christ, then you cannot teach and lead others into the life of Christ. Apostle Paul, Peter, John and other disciples called apostles knew the Christ they preached about, and they knew how to lead others to Him because of that familiarity.
Not only is it time for true apostles to stand up and declare the word of God, but it is time for the true believers to pray and read the word of God so that they are not deceived by false leaders who are the wolves seeking to devour. God has led me and I have been writing about my experiences with the Lord since I first got saved. I have been writing books about my experiences with the Lord since my first book in 2008, entitled: Black Church Identity Crisis: Pimping the Church. It is a provocative title because of the outrage at the false church trying to imitate God’s true church. In that book written in 2008 toward the end, I prophesied that it was time for the true apostles to stand up. People have had enough of the lies of the devil and want to know if there is a real God and real church.
There were people who tried to take lead who were not Christ’s real church and they made a mess. Not only did they make a mess, but they empowered a devil who was willing to use their false authority to pretend to be the real church and he both provoked followers and made disciples to himself while leading a nation astray. BUT NOW, it is time for the real to stand up and take back what the devil stole. In every providence where God has given you authority, you must stand up and declare the Name of the Lord and rebuke the devil who is trying to rule in the land.
Let me state very clearly, apostles are not pastors and pastors are not apostles. That is an error that was not previously corrected in our churches. The church is pastored by pastors, while apostles go out and take territory for Jesus. If you do not understand that then you are probably not called to that position. If you are an apostle and have not understood these things, I am willing to help with some information but my first book and everyone since it gives clarity about what we are dealing with. Each book was written at the instruction of the Lord to help the people of God understand what was going on while I fought my way to liberty. It is time for every person in every position of the church to operate according to how God has trained you. I have heard the voice of God and been directed by God since I first got saved; and if you are a child of God, so have you.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: Joh 10:27
I have been releasing more and more of my own testimony to encourage the body of Christ through my successes and failures. I say failures to encourage those that have made mistakes along the way. You will find as you study scripture that neither Abraham, David nor Paul claimed to be perfect; but what they were was obedient in their heart to follow the voice of God with all their ability. We also learn from our mistakes. Our perfection is in Christ, but our obedience is having a heart to follow. Remember God examines the heart and discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart. An obedient heart will lead us through trials to the perfection God seeks.
It is time for every apostle to rise up in their level and place of authority to speak and declare the word of God to break the curse that has come upon the land because of disobedience. People are wondering how can they be saved in the midst of so much confusion. They wonder why there is so much trouble in the land. The curse has come because wicked men sought to usher in their authority, but God’s power breaks the curse, and the apostles have the power to release God’s power and claim victory for the people of God. The authority of God is in the hands and the authority of the church under apostles and prophets that move by the power of God for His people. As Paul spoke in 1Co 11:34 … And the rest will I set in order when I come.
I speak primarily to the black church in America that has been under oppression because of the illegal laws and dominion of racial prejudice to subdue it, but God’s power arising in the earth breaks that oppressive power and sets the people free. God’s law which operates by love has power over hate which comes from Satan. There is more at stake than your individual church. Destiny and eternity depend on the church arising from an oppressed position to leading the church into victory for the Lord. The bible has already declared that which shall be and God will have order, but we must come into our rightful place to realize what God has for us. The Father, Himself, is the power behind the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and in His authority, we stand in victory. We submit to Him, while resisting the evil one and the devil is made to flee. This word was also declared in my last book: Greed, Bondage, Corruption and Abuse: A Story of White Fear, American Turmoil and How to Overcome it!” When the church gets in the right order then the rest of society can find its proper alignment.
This letter prompted by the Spirit of the Lord, and this move of the Spirit are about setting God’s people free. And God wants to save every nation and every person who will trust in Jesus. It is not about some church, pastor, or dignitary exalting him or herself in the flesh. The Lord God rebuke that spirit in the name of Jesus. Let the church body, down to the least believer, denounce the work of the enemy and walk in agreement only with those things that be of Jehovah God. Recognize the power and God and stand in agreement with it because God is sitting on His throne and the Lord Jesus Christ is the Chief Apostle over His own house. Let all those that love the Lord Jesus Christ say: PRAISE JESUS!!
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: Joh 17:17 -18, 22
Truth and Life Ministries of Christ with Apostle Joyce Reba Payne 