Prophetic Message of The Swine Flu: "What is Unclean Will Make You Sick" 5-1-09

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Open the eyes of my heart to see You as You are, to see myself as I am, and to see how much I need You and Your mercy every moment of every day. … "They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood. They became unclean by their acts, and prostituted themselves in their doings" (Psalm 106:37-39). The eyes of all the earth are on the immergence of what is said to be an immanent, global pandemic of swine flu -- some kind of infectious, contagious mixture of swine flu, bird flu, and human flu. Swine was unclean under the commandments of the Old Covenant (Deuteronomy 14:8). And as You brought the prophetic image of a sick pig to mind this morning, I sensed Your Holy Spirit say to my heart, "What is unclean will make you sick." Under the New Covenant in Christ, what we eat or drink does not make us unclean (Colossian 2:20-23; Romans 14:14). Through the sacrifice of the blood of Christ, we are no longer to call an animal or anything else profane that You have called clean (Acts 10:9-16). "For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). "(Jesus) said to them, 'Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?' (Thus He declared all foods clean.) And He said, 'It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person' "(Mark 7:18-23). Sometimes sin makes us sick. Just because we are sick, does not necessarily mean we have sinned; but we must also acknowledge that it is a biblical, spiritual principle that sin can make us sick. "Some were sick through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities endured affliction; they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to gates of death" (Psalm 107:17-18). But even in our sickness and sin, Your heart is always that we would cry out to You in repentance and faith for forgiveness and healing. "Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress; He sent out His word and He healed them, and delivered them from destruction" (Psalm 107:19-20). Our heart is not be hardened against You that there are consequences for our actions and that sometimes our sin opens the door for sickness. Instead our heart is to be full of thanksgiving and praise for Your mercy and power to forgive us and cleanse us and heal us in Your steadfast love for us (Psalm 107:21-22). One way I believe You desire to redeem this plague of disease attempting to now cover the earth in sickness, is to move us to search our hearts as You open our eyes to see any ways we have opened the door to sickness through sin, personally or as a people of our nations. "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24). There is no sin You will not forgive, if we will admit it and repent of it, allowing You to cleanse it in the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. But we have to be willing to humble ourselves from our pride, our wisdom, our will, our ways, and submit ourselves to Yours. Then You forgive us and cleanse us of all our unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Under the principles of Your kingdom, healing and restoration often flow from the forgiveness of sin (Luke 5:20-26). "Jesus answered, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance' " (Luke 5:31-32). But "if we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us" (1 John 1:10). Sin is not always the reason for sickness, but we need to be willing to humble ourselves and ask when it is -- whether as a people or as a nation or as the nations of the earth. You moved on the heart of Daniel to intercede and pray on behalf of his nation and his ancestral generations in confession and repentance of the sins that opened the door to devastation and destruction, blocking Your forgiveness and redemption of his people and their land (Daniel 9:1-19). And in response to his intercession for himself and on behalf of his nation and their generations, You sent Your word with Your angel to bring encouragement, forgiveness, healing, and restoration (Daniel 9:20-23). You did the same in the days of Nehemiah and Ezra (Nehemiah 1:1-11 and 9:2). You do the same today to forgive us of our sins and the sins of our generations and nations that open the door to destruction when we plead and apply the blood of the Lamb (1 Peter 1:18-19). Lord, if what is unclean will make us sick, what is unclean in my heart and the hearts of my people? As I pray for my sins and the sins of my nation and the nations of the earth in the face of this plague seeking to consume our land, it seems You are leading me to this passage of Your Word from Psalm 106 about sacrificing to idols the innocent blood of our sons and daughters (Psalm 106:37-39). Though I know many in the leadership of our government and among the people of our nation and the nations of the earth disagree, I believe abortion is wrong. It is the shedding of the innocent blood of our sons and daughters. It is bowing down to idols of culture or convenience or even what may seem to be good and wise by the standards of human reasoning rather than submission to the wisdom and authority of the Word of God. And the sons and daughters we don't destroy through the sin of abortion, we dishonor through the sin of disobedience, setting before them a devastating example of the sin of "licentiousness" -- living our lives as if we have a license to do whatever we want to do for whatever reason we think is best for us, with no recognition of our God or His Word. And I believe "the anger of the Lord is kindled" against our sin (Psalm 106:40). I believe the heart of the Lord is broken over this loss of life and the destructive sense of shame and regret it brings deep down inside for those involved, whether they acknowledge it as sin or not. Yet there is no sin You do not desire to forgive, no sickness or disease You do not desire to heal, no bondage You do not desire to break, and no crushing burden You do not desire to lift (Psalm 103:1-5). "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always accuse, nor will He keep His anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far He removes our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion for His children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear Him. For He knows how we were made; He remembers that we are dust" (Psalm 103:8-14). So while Your heart burns and breaks over our sin and sickness, Your Father heart of God also yearns for our forgiveness and healing that comes through repentance. Despite the blood on their hands and the idols in their hearts, You were moved to compassion by the suffering of Your people and the consequences of their sin. "They were rebellious in their purposes, and were brought low through their iniquity. Nevertheless, (You) regarded their distress when (You) heard their cry. For their sake, (You) remembered (Your) covenant, and showed compassion according to the abundance of (Your) steadfast love" (Psalm 106:43-45). By the blood of our New Covenant in Your blood, cleanse the blood of our hearts, the blood of our children, and the blood that defiles our land and all the earth (Matthew 26:28). Move our nation and the nations of the earth to repentance that draws Your compassion and mercy. "Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name and glory in Your praise" (Psalm 106:47). In Your mercy and steadfast love that never ceases, remove all that is unclean from our hearts and from our land. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I join with you in prayer for protection from sickness an end to this plague in our nations and in the earth. I will be helping lead our ecumenical gathering on the National Day of Prayer at my home church, Centenary United Methodist at 6:30 pm Thursday Night May 7th in our sanctuary, jointly hosted with Immanuel Baptist and Tates Creek Christian Churches, 2800 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington, KY (http://www.centenarylex.com/). I'm excited to be preaching all three services at my home church in Lexington this Sunday, May 3rd, Centenary United Methodist Church at 2800 Tates Creek Rd, where we have our Messiah Ministries office as well ( http://www.centenarylex.com/ ). I pray it will be a time of healing and reconciliation for some deep hurts in our church family, as we choose by God's grace to let go of the pits of the past and move forward into our destiny, personally and a church. Please keep us in your prayers. Order our Ministry Resources or Contribute to our vision and calling: http://www.shop.messiah-ministries.org/ Subscribe by email to me at Messiah Ministries --mailto:--MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" http://www.messiah-ministries.org/ 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502