I recently heard the Spirit say, “It is time for the game changer.”
With these words came a sense of anticipation that God is on the move; change is in the air; and major shifts are taking place. I asked the Lord for more understanding, thinking that something was about to happen that would alter events.
I looked up the expression “game changer” and found that it is used when something or someone creates a significant shift in the current way of doing or thinking about something.
A game-changing moment usually happens at a challenging but opportune time. We see many such moments throughout Scripture; in particular this time of March and April are important. God wants us to incline our ear to hear Him at this time and align our hearts to His.
We have entered into a special time, an opportune time, as we are now in the Hebrew month of Nisan. This month is considered to be a time that is marked by miracles. It is a time where God shows up to change the game for His people.
Consider that it was during this time that the first Passover occurred. This was a game-changing moment for Israel; everything was about to be altered. They were saved from death and set free to go and dwell with God in their promised land.
That first Passover was the scene setter for what would then occur at the same time many years later. Jesus was “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29b). As Jesus said to his disciples, “this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:28).
When we come to this time of the year, we need to be paying particular attention to what God is doing because game-changing events happen!
As I was praying through this word, I received a call from my sister. After being admitted to the hospital for pneumonia a few days earlier, my 2-year-old niece’s health took a dramatic turn for the worse, and within a few short hours her life hung in the balance.
The attending doctor, with decades of respiratory experience, told them he could do nothing, and she would not survive the night. During the day as her condition worsened, we began to pray and intercede for her.
An off-duty doctor from the leading children’s hospital in their city lived near to the hospital where my niece was. Responding to the emergency, she arrived at the hospital, and against all odds she worked to stabilize my niece so that they could transfer her to the speciality unit at the other hospital.
When she arrived, she took charge, and the atmosphere shifted. She worked to save her life and transfer her safely. My niece is only alive today because of this miraculous intervention.
That doctor was the game changer in my niece’s life.
Jesus, the Game Changer
Jesus was not just a game changer but He was the game changer. Through His sacrifice, sin and death were defeated. Isaiah prophesied Christ’s miraculous intervention in humanity’s situation in Isaiah 25:7 when he declared “He will destroy in this mountain the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil that is spread over all nations.”
When Jesus first came to earth, He changed people’s lives everywhere He went. He healed the sick (Matt. 12:15), and He forgave their sins (Matt. 9:1-8). He also raised the dead (John 11:38-44). All of this pointed to His love for humanity and His identity as Messiah.
On Palm Sunday we recall the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem the week before His crucifixion. It is a significant moment, one of the few events that is recorded in all four of the Gospels.
Jesus’ arrival was the beginning of a game-changing week by the greatest game changer in history.
As He entered on the donkey He fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy of Zechariah 9:9b “See, your king is coming to you; he is righteous and able to deliver, he is humble and riding on a donkey, a colt, the offspring of a donkey.” Once again God was delivering the game changer who would defeat death and sin—but this time fully and finally.
Jesus was, is and always will be the game changer!
The Spirit is wanting us to grab hold of this truth as we enter this season of Passover and Easter. His desire is that we would embrace His miraculous power over our lives. He wants us to have that same anticipation of those who lined the streets of Jerusalem—looking for what Jesus is about to do.
By the end of that week He had changed the game forever.
The next picture we see in Scripture of Jesus preparing to ride is in Revelation 19:11-16. John’s vision of a returning Jesus is dramatically different to the one recorded in the Gospels. Called Faithful and True, He sits on a white horse, the sign of a conquering King. Written on His robe and on His thigh is “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
Peace is replaced by power, and surrender is replaced by authority.
We are reminded as we read this passage that He is the only one who can change the game because He made the game.
While there is a stark distinction between the two pictures of Jesus, they both represent the victory of Christ.
Game-Changing Victory!
As we arrive at Passover and Easter this year, the Holy Spirit wants us to grasp these two pictures and know the victory that we have in Him. Jesus is on the move, and He is coming to be our miraculous game changer once more.
Charissa Steffens is a writer, teacher and former editor-in-chief of Indulge Magazine. She hosts Abiding Matters with Charissa Steffens on the Charisma Podcast Network and writes for various online Christian publications. She holds a bachelor of business, post graduate diploma in education and a master’s of art (biblical studies). Charissa loves to write and share using prophetic wisdom and biblical understanding. To contact Charissa or learn more visit her website abidingmatters.com.
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