: "We are Entering a Season of the Fullness of God's Blessings" by John Mark Pool Dec 16, 2008 Joseph - The Fullness of Blessing "Joseph is a fruitful tree, a fruitful tree beside a fountain. His branches reach over the wall. He has been attacked by archers, who shot at him and harassed him. But his bow remained strong, and his arms were strengthened by the Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel. "May the God of your ancestors help you; may the Almighty bless you with the blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the earth beneath, and blessings of the breasts and womb. May the blessings of your ancestors be greater than the blessings of the eternal mountains, reaching to the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills. These blessings will fall on the head of Joseph, who is a prince among his brothers." Genesis 49:22-26 The Fullness of Blessing for Joseph is indeed overflowing. What Jacob says of him, is history as well as prophecy. Jacob reminds him of the difficulties and fiery darts of temptations he had formerly struggled through. His faith did not fail, but through his trials he bore all his burdens with firmness, and did not do anything unbecoming. Jacob was well acquainted with this life message, for he had an authority through a conclusion of walking out this reality. All our strength for resisting temptations and bearing afflictions comes from God; His grace is sufficient. Joseph became the shepherd of Israel - to take care of his father and family; also the stone of Israel - their foundation and strong support. In this, as in many other things, Joseph was a remarkable type from the Good Shepherd and tried Cornerstone of the whole Church of God. Blessings are promised to Joseph's descendants, typical of the vast and everlasting blessings that come upon the spiritual seed of Christ. Jacob blessed all his sons, but especially Joseph, "who was separated from his brethren." Not only separated in Egypt, but, possessing eminent dignity, and was more devoted to God. In the days of Joseph, that was a huge blessing to be proliferated through the seed of their ancestors to increase the family of God. As women gave birth to more Israelites, this was viewed as a sign of fruitfulness. We are entering a season of the fullness of God's blessings as we abandon the pains from poor choices in the past. Let them go, offer them on the altar of grace before God, and feel the refreshing blessings begin to flow again in your life, your restored relationships, and your deepened intimacy with our Father. Joseph and Jacob - a Message of God's Grace When Joseph was reunited through famine with his brothers who had sold him into slavery, God was bringing a conclusion to the way human flesh deals with problems. This is one of the best messages of God's grace for His own people that could be cited in the entire Bible. Joseph could have had his brothers executed, yet he displayed overwhelming mercy and became the redeemer for not only his immediate family, but also national Israel. Jacob was very knowledgeable of God's ability to turn tragedy into triumph, demonstrating that if we will purpose to view God in the process, then this will allow the stones in our paths to become the very "Gates of God!" This year, allow your stones in your path to become your "Bethel of blessings!" "At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone for a pillow and lay down to sleep. As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from Earth to Heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down on it. "At the top of the stairway stood the LORD, and he said, 'I am the LORD, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I will give it to you and your descendants.' "Then Jacob woke up and said, 'Surely the LORD is in this place, and I wasn't even aware of it.' He was afraid and said, 'What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God - the gateway to Heaven!'" Genesis 28:11-13, 16-17 Jacob went on to pay a great price for the valuable lessons of a pathway from being a trickster to being triumphant! Joseph was just one such reminder, yet in the end, God turned all things around to bring us the message this year offers: 2009 is the Birth of Your Turnaround! Joseph was Jacob's favored son. Yosef is the Hebrew translation for Joseph and means "he increases or enlarges or becomes more full." As this time of revelation came to light, that his brothers lied to their father, it lets us know that in 2009, we must let go of any sinful patterns of our past. This will bring a necessary healing of old iniquitous ways to a required conclusion. Grace is sufficient for all our needs. "And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9). We cannot move forward without some very important conclusions to past mistakes. This will enable us to walk in the gratitude of grace from our Lord as opposed to wandering in the "wilderness of wants" forever. We must view what God desires as our lifestyle and not succumb to human efforts of "business." 2009 will be a year to "end the strife" of past broken relationships and once again, move forward with your obedience to God in "birthing your destiny." The spirit of travail is dropping on everyone who positions themselves for desperation to birth their prophetic destiny now! This is a real picture of the year of 2009 - including the tet symbol that represents a new wineskin or even a "fertile womb." Tet is the Hebrew symbol, or letter for the number nine, which symbolizes end, conclusion, fullness of blessings, and evangelist. Another meaning for the number nine is conclusion. God will now "Joseph" (Yosef) or enlarge our blessings into their fullness. We are in a season of both chronos and kairos times. Our chronos will be a season of fullness if we will begin to allow the spirit of travail to cause the kairos moment of God's orders for new birth to soon occur. 2009 is the time you and your family will be encouraged by God to forget the past, embrace your fullness of blessings and take that message to a very hurting world. 2009 is a Year of Evangelistic Harvest! The year 2009 will indeed become the beginning of one of the most unprecedented times of harvest this nation and the world has ever experienced. We must be ready for such reaping. Reaping is best for those who have prepared their nets. We must now have our visions of a move of God raised higher. The world around us is experiencing this in a way most Americans have not yet experienced. Take time to follow the Lord drawing you into a deep hunger for intimacy with Him and the sheep of His pasture. He cares for everyone in His creation. He made us to glorify Him in all the earth. 2009 will be a year that is initiated in many exciting ways. Begin to thank the Lord for all His love and grace and care that He gave us - it's more than we would ever deserve. 2009 will be a Year for Praise and Thanksgiving! "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name." Psalm 100:4 King David appointed Levites to lead in prayer, thanksgiving, and praise in 1 Chronicles 16. At the heart of this chapter is thanksgiving. Beginning in verse seven, David recited his own "psalm of thanks to the LORD.'' The verses following reveal a beautiful song of gratitude to God. True worship of God issues forth from grateful hearts. A feeling such as bitterness, envy, hostility, and pride disqualifies anyone from genuine worship. Thanksgiving opens up the door of the heart toward God in such a way that the individual is freed for true worship of God. Everywhere in Scripture this spirit of thanksgiving is revealed as vital to our worship experience. Let's exchange a spirit of bitterness for a spirit of thanksgiving! King David had a lifestyle of one trial after another which could've been his ending at any moment if he ever gave into defeat. However, like the same sinew of faithfulness that Joseph and Jacob possessed, they allowed themselves no room for destruction. Praise and worship before Almighty God became not only a healing salve to their tattered souls, but also a weapon of praise against the wiles of the devil. Yes, incorporate praise as a lethal weapon in our spiritual arsenal. "You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give You thanks forever!" Psalm 30:11-12 Be like David and then have a spirit of thanksgiving for saving him from his enemies. "You are my rock and my fortress. For the honor of Your name, lead me out of this peril. Pull me from the trap my enemies set for me, for I find protection in You alone. I entrust my spirit into Your hand. Rescue me, LORD, for You are a faithful God" (Psalm 31:3-5 emphases added). Many battles will indeed come our way in the next few years, as God is about to shake our nation as never before, but we will learn in this season of testing to "entrust our spirit into the Lord's hand." We have had a real year of trials of our faith, yet that is what makes Christians stronger! King David said it this way, in Psalm 34:19, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all." Now is the time to begin drawing into the heart of our Lord and to thank Him for all He has done for us. This is a season in time to decree and press in for you and your family to experience in 2009 and beyond - the Fullness of Blessings! Always a voice for our Lord, John Mark Pool Word to the World Ministries Email: MarkandSandyPool@... John Mark Pool's Itinerary: January 15-17, 2009 The Louisiana Outpouring 2009 Zion Hill Family Church 312 Hunter St.; Pineville, LA Contact: 318-443-7507 Permission is granted (and you are also encouraged) to reprint these articles in hard copy form, as well as sending them to your own email lists and posting them on your own websites. We ask only that you keep ElijahList website, email contact info, and author contact information intact. ElijahList Publications 310 2nd Ave SE, Albany, OR 97321 www.elijahlist.com email: info@... Stewart Cambourn Australia http://abdaministries.bravehost.com/ scarcee2@... scarcee2@... stewart.cambourn@... 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