“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose.” Philippians 1:21-22.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלוהים) says:
I have your path of life planned and prepared for you in advance, but you set its course. You have more authority to determine things in your life than you realize. Your words set things in motion and the more you speak the more momentum is picked up in that direction. Make sure you are speaking in the direction you want to go for your life, or you will end up in a place where you never thought you would go. And that is not in a good sense. If you just give free reign to your emotions expressed by your mouth most likely you will end up with the curse in your life, even though in Christ Jesus I redeemed you from the curse.
The Israelites I redeemed from slavery in Egypt listened to the negative report of the ones that scouted out the land I had clearly promised them and began declaring how they would be defeated and die if they went in and declared over and over as they cried that night how they would rather die in the wilderness than enter the promised land. It was not My plan, not even close, to what I had shown them, but I let them have what they said to set the course of their lives. And they walked and talked themselves right into premature death. But two spoke differently and declared they would enter and take the land. And they got that result. They spoke life and victory and that is what I was authorized to give them. I gave them length of days, the others spoke premature death and they got the course they set in motion and continued to fuel.
Samson prayed to conquer and die. Hezekiah prayed to live. Both got what they set in motion.
My servant Paul told you that you have a choice whether to die or to live, and this applies to everything in your lives. He said it was a hard choice whether to depart and go to Heaven immediately or to stay on to do productive work for My Kingdom in the earth.
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again. Philippians 1:21-26.
Paul determined when he would die. He labored in the vineyard until he had fully done his assignment and then he handed the baton to Timothy, Titus, and so many others who had learned how to run their race with joy from him. And that includes you who read the revelations I gave him that he wrote down for you.
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. 2 Timothy 4:6-8.
He had done what I had given him to do and now he could run into Heaven with joy and receive great reward.
Peter did the same. He had done his job on earth and now those he had trained could continue the work. And that includes you who believe in Me through his words.
Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind. 2 Peter 1:12-15.
And Jesus, who is the author and finisher of your faith, shows you the same. He laid down His life according to fulfilling the Scriptures, otherwise no one could have taken it from Him.
For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.” John 10:17-18.
And He shared this with Pilate as well.
So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above.” John 19:10-11.
And remember Simeon in the temple when Mary and Joseph came to the temple with the baby Jesus when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, and they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord? He gave Me authority to dismiss him from his duties in this world to his heavenly reward. All he had been waiting for was Jesus.
And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a Light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” Luke 2:25-32.
David sang, “I shall not die but live and declare the works of the LORD!” And I protected him safely in every battle he fought, from the lion and the bear to Goliath to the Philistines to all invading armies! He declared to live though it all. And he did.
Elijah gave up and even though I gave him three more assignments, he only did one and left the other two for Elisha to do and decided he wanted to depart from this life. And I answered and sent him a glorious chariot and horses of fire to depart for Paradise. But he set that in motion as he ran from Jezebel and kept asking Me to take him out of his trials. I tried to tell him otherwise but he did not retract from that path.
But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.” 1 Kings 19:4.
Both Jacob and his son Joseph announced the day they would die and gave instructions upon their departure.
First Jacob gathered his twelve sons and blessed them and gave them his burial instructions when he had determined to depart this world:
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one with the blessing appropriate to him. Then he charged them and said to them, “I am about to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site. There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah— the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.” When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people. Genesis 49:28-33.
And many years later, Joseph did similarly:
Now Joseph stayed in Egypt, he and his father’s household, and Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim’s sons; also the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were born on Joseph’s knees. Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.” Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here.” So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt. Genesis 50:22-26.
And this is not just the case with the ending of your time on earth, but all along the way. Death and life are in the power of your tongue. Be careful what you are speaking over your life and the lives of those whom I have entrusted to your care.
If you recall, Jacob, when Laban accused him of stealing his household idols when he left in haste with his family and flocks, declared that he had not taken them and if anyone in his company had done so they would die. Unknown to Jacob, it was Rachel who had stolen them. And his words were heard by her as well and set the path in motion. Jacob was the head of the household. She died not too long after before the journey was done.
Speak life that you and your seed may live. Speak life over your seed. Speak life over yourself and your family that you may live days of Heaven upon the earth. Bless never curse. Agree with Me and you will have the good of the land.
Be careful of saying things like the people in your family die young or that your family has a history of certain diseases or heart conditions. If that has been the case it is because you are speaking it down the generations and it is being spoken with faith. It is time for you to stand up and break that with the truth of My Word. I am the LORD your healer and Jesus fulfilled that by bearing your sickness and pain so that you no longer have to accept such things. Submit to My promises, speak My Words, and in that way resist the devil’s lies and he will have to flee from you. He cannot stay in the presence of truth. If you won’t back down you can cast him out with a word spoken in truth, that is, in agreement with My Words.
If you look back, you will see that all who spoke against My Words ended up having what they said rather than what I said.
Your words, like Mine, set things in motion. That is why I do nothing without first revealing it to My prophets. They speak it into the earth and then I can perform it. Like Isaiah when he prophesied the virgin with child who would be God with you and his prophecies of the Messiah who would die for your sins pierced and beaten with bloody scourges that healed you. Even to His being counted among the wicked but being with a rich man in his death (Joseph of Arimathea). I watch over My Word to perform it. But for Me to do that you must speak it. And that is what My prophets do for Me.
I love you. Become the prophet of your own life so I can perform My magnificent promises for you every day all day and every night all night.