Note: This word came very quickly on this morning. I sensed an urgency coming from the LORD because of an apathy protruding from His people. I was writing as fast as I could as the Spirit poured into my spirit. I wish I could expound further on the word itself, but I cannot. I would just urge and plead with each of us to please hear what God is saying to us. I also want to say that while grace has become very sloppy in the Church, that is all changing—now. The Church has made grace sloppy, but God has not. I saw the words “religion versus relationship” and I had an odd sense that many in the Church today have proudly thrown out “religion” and confidently and brashly taken up “relationship.” While relationship is right and best—all of a sudden, I sensed something very wrong in it. What I sensed was, many have thrown out religion but in its place have taken up a “false [bogus, phony, untrue, incorrect] relationship” with Christ under the guise of “grace.” A sinful looseness has therefore permeated the Church. (Ordaining homosexuals, supporting abortion, acceptance of all kinds of sin and rebellion, acting crazy and out of control and calling it Spirit-led, and at the same time, blaspheming the Holy Spirit and the qualified moving of Him are just some forms of looseness in the Church right now.) I see the words, “great danger and deception.” If “relationship” does not draw us tightly (as in a bond) to Christ’s holiness and righteousness according to His Word—then something is wrong—and there is no relationship at all—it just another phony religion. We know that we can’t have a religion without relationship or it is dead—nothing at all. Just a question: Can we have a relationship without religion?
Religion: a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
Relationship: a connection, association, or involvement. A connection between persons by blood or marriage.
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Isaiah 60:1-3—“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and His glory appears over you. 3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”
In this passage we see that the LORD desires for His great and powerful light—presence—glory to rise upon His people in the midst of terrible thick and deep darkness over the peoples. This great Light reveals a clear and distinct separation caused by a correct and disciplined life in the LORD.
The LORD would ask His Church: “Do you believe the Church is ready for My glory to rise upon It and appear over It? Do you believe that the Church in America is conducive to My glory in the condition it is in right now? No, it is not,” says the LORD, “But I am preparing my Church to be the glory-holders I have always intended It to be. Before everything is said and done, My Spirit will have His way and freedom in and upon My Church in America and My glory will rise upon It and appear over it and nations will come to Its light and kings to the brightness of Its dawn!”
I believe the LORD said to me this morning that He is releasing a new and greater level of correction and discipline on His Church—NOW. I sense that we need to prepare our hearts and minds for this. The LORD said, “This new level of correction and discipline is for your own protection, safety and blessing. Many of My people, like sheep, have gone astray and are totally unaware that they are lost because they will not respond to My Spirit. My people will soon fully acknowledge Me once again; and praise for Me will be in their hearts and on their lips.”
[Correction is defined as the act or process of correcting; something offered or substituted for a mistake, what is wrong or inaccurate, or fault; punishment intended to rehabilitate or improve. Discipline is defined as training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement; controlled behavior resulting from disciplinary training; self-control; control obtained by enforcing compliance or order; punishment intended to correct or train.]
“Judgment has begun in My house—that My Church will draw near to me and I will draw near to It,” says the LORD. The Shaking has already begun: “I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty,” (Haggai 2:7).
“Listen to Me, My people; hear Me, My nation: The law will go out from Me; My justice will become a light to the nations. My righteousness draws near speedily, My salvation is on the way, and My arm will bring justice to the nations,” (Isaiah 51:4-5).
“. . .Draw near to Me now with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water,” (Hebrews 10:22).
“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded,” (James 4:7-8 NASB).
The end of all things is near. Therefore, we must be clear minded and self-controlled—sound judgment and sober spirit—sound minded and self-restrained. This will only come through Godly correction and discipline.
The LORD commands, “Sinners, stop sinning! False prophets and teachers, stop your madness! Murderers, stop shedding innocent blood! Gossips, stop gossiping! Haters stop hating! Unforgivers, forgive or I will judge you harshly! Liars, lie no more! You sexually immoral, come out from your sexual immorality. Turn a deaf ear to me no longer! Robbers, rob from Me no longer or you will never see prosperity. Turn from your wicked ways.”
“Instead, surrender to Me, be holy as I am holy! Walk in My righteousness (My right way)! Love! Love! Love! Love Me with your whole being and love your neighbor as yourself. Care enough to stop the train wrecks in people’s lives. Pray! Pray! Pray! Be bold in My Holy Spirit. Be strong and very courageous. Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.”
The LORD says, “Parents, I will hold you accountable for your undisciplined children. The children in America have been and are undisciplined and rebellious because parents have refused to parent. Parents have refused to set boundaries for their children—boundaries that would have protected them. I set boundaries. I Am a boundary setting God. I have drawn the protective and disciplinary boundary lines for My people. Parents, you are to imitate Me and follow My lead. Come into My boundary lines for yourselves first, and then set boundaries for the children I have entrusted to you or I will judge you and your children for your rebellious ways.
“The desires of your heart need to be appropriated through Me—not yourselves.”
“I oppose the proud, but I give grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under My mighty hand, that I may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Me because I care for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith. (1 Peter 5:6-8)
“The devil—your enemy—your adversary—your opponent is looking to swallow you up, drink you down in order to refresh, strengthen and nourish himself with your (eternal) life. You need to know that this is his intention—to rob you completely of your eternal—Zoe—life to the full, all the while gaining nourishment and power for himself on it. However, he cannot touch you if you are in My holiness and righteousness. He cannot come into the Light of holiness and righteousness because he is deep and thick darkness. If you walk out of the Light even a little bit, know that he is waiting in the shadows. You must stay in My Light.
“Time is of the essence! Submit to My correction and discipline that you may hear and obey My voice promptly, quickly, and swiftly. My sheep have disciplined themselves to hear and know My voice,” says the LORD Almighty.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8— “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”
Every true prophet is sensing spiritual pain, turmoil, agitation, shiftings, shakings and the like. Like it or not—prophets are the watchmen and they must report what they see and hear. To any true prophet—it is a no-brainer that we are in the very last moments of time as we know it and on the very verge of the Rapture of the Church and seeing the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Well, I’m writing this because for the last few weeks I have been experiencing an agitation in the spirit. I know what that means. It irritates the heck out of my family when I “get like that,” but the truth is, I believe God is the one who begins to agitate as in stir up; rouse; shake up; disturb His people in order to get their attention
Funny though, for many in the Church—they haven’t the foggiest nor do they care “what time it is.” As a matter of fact, some are getting angry or even enraged at the even the hint of judgment while others are obviously lollygagging along as if they didn’t have a care in the world except themselves. This is representative of the Laodicea church. Some are saying, “Well, I’m not going to worry, but just trust in the LORD.” Good! What should that trust look like? Should we trust His Word for example? Should we believe His Word for example? Should we obey His Word for example? If so, then “trusting the LORD” will involve some kind of activity—after all, Christians are the Body of Christ——the hands of Christ—the feet of Christ—the mouth of Christ—the eyes of Christ—the heart of Christ—the servants of Christ—ambassadors of Christ—leadership of Christ. Should there be an expression of concern in trust? These all give connotation of being useful and busy for His Kingdom; obeying; and being watchful, alert and attentive.
What time is it? “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17).
Judgment is not coming—it is here. I found an important and timely Blog from Paul McGuire that witnessed entirely to my spirit. I am exhorting everyone I know to listen to this blog: paulmcguire.blogspot.com.
What time is it? About 8 years ago I had a dream about a devastating earthquake—I do mean devastating. In the dream I was sitting on a hill with an intercessory prayer friend looking at a city completely demolished by an earthquake. I cannot explain the horrific picture I saw in the dream. My words to my friend were, “I understand that they are not even going to attempt to uncover any bodies because they cannot get to anyone—the destruction is so bad—so they are just going to put a large memorial stone at the entrance to the city.” I remember when I had the dream the feeling of overwhelming grief and mourning. Soon after that the LORD began to speak to me about a release of earthquakes upon the earth, but also of spiritual earthquakes. In 2005 He spoke to me about a spiritual earthquake coming to the Church and shaking it violently. I believe God has release those earthquakes.
What time is it? It’s time for the true prophets to arise and not hold back. Any prophet who is giving truth right now is going to be persecuted to outright abuse because so many do not want to hear truth. Or, perhaps it’s just the prophet’s expression that infuriates people. I noticed that much of the Church right now is responding to the more low-key, soft-spoken type leaders. That’s good in many respects—especially in evangelism. But, I do believe that the LORD is raising up a new breed of preachers of truth that will not be silenced. And be prepared, Church, because they may come across a little hard, with fire in their eyes and on the end of their tongue—but the LORD shows me that their hearts are pure and are breaking as they call out for justice; pleading for mercy, grace and truth.
I would caution you right now, if you hear any prophet right now say that “everything is going to be okay” get away immediately. For true Christians, in the long run, everything IS going to be okay—in fact, more than okay—but the road to that glory is not going to be so okay while we are in the physical earth realm.
What time is it? It is Wake-Up Time! It’s time to come out from them and be separate (sanctified) and holy!
What time is it? It’s time to give your life. The LORD is telling me to let the Church know that it is time for “all hands on deck!” What time is it? It’s time for serious intentional powerful convincing impact faith-filled love-based ministry for every Christian! Intercessors, it’s time to pray like we have never prayed before. Prophets, it’s time to watch and report like never before. Evangelists, it’s time to evangelize like you have never evangelized before—the fields are white for harvest! Teachers, it’s time to teach the truth no matter what! Pastors, it’s time to shepherd with a rod and a staff! Helps people, it’s time to help like you have never helped before! Giving people—you with finances—it’s time to give like you have never given before—you are to finance the ministry with everything you have—hold nothing back! Those of you who are just getting fat in filling yourselves up on conferences, books, church services and more, but never giving out—it’s time to stop! Those of you who are fearful about ministry—it’s time to repent of pride. Those of you who have been holding back—hold back no longer.
What time is it? It’s time to put our entire (all) faith and hope in the One and only Savior and LORD Christ Jesus. It’s time to submit to Holy Spirit completely and submit to His gifts, signs, wonders and miracles flowing through us. Serious.
What time is it? It’s time to make those personal changes that you have been talking about making for years, but have failed to do to. It’s time to pray. It’s time to read your Word [Bible] and quit putting it off—you must know what’s in the Book. It’s time to serve. It’s time to give. It’s time to move out in faith. It’s time to be led by the Spirit of God and not self or world. It’s time to fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. It’s time to let the joy and enthusiasm of the LORD flood through us. It’s time to look up because our redemption is drawing near.
What time is it? IT’S TIME!
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” –The United States Constitution Bill of Rights Second Amendment
Natural wind has to do with atmospheric pressure
Wind is air movement caused by differences in pressure systems—air flowing or moving from high pressure to low pressure. And, the closer the high and low pressure areas are together, the stronger the “pressure gradient”, and the stronger the winds.
Prophets in the Body of Christ have been talking about shiftings, shakings, in other words, changes happening for at least the last decade. But, I believe we are now at the brink of witnessing these shifts and shakings or changes. I believe we are going to see some major changes this year through great shifts and shakings.
I believe that there is a spiritual atmospheric pressure building and the LORD is releasing His winds of change. In fact, without His wind, there will be no change. The winds of change must be released in order to change—shift us.
Wind is reflective of the Breath of God and Holy Spirit. When we talk about the wind of God, we are essentially talking about His very breath blowing. Wind is also reflective of God’s angels. When we talk about the wind of God we are also talking about His holy angels in great forceful activity upon the earth. Hebrews 1:7—“In speaking of the angels He says, ‘He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire.’” (Also see Psalm 104:3-4) His angels are winds, yes, but wind with fire. Meditate on that thought for a while!
Not a Gentle Breeze–But Violent Winds
The winds of change that God is releasing will not be a gentle breeze—they are going to be violent winds just as were so in the Upper Room where the 120 went, stayed and prayed until the Holy Spirit came upon them: Acts 2:1-4—“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” The Amplified Bible says in verse 2: “When suddenly there came a sound from heaven like the rushing of a violent tempest blast, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting.”
As that group of 120 came together in unity, waiting upon the LORD, seeking Him earnestly—the spiritual atmosphere began to change—a spiritual pressure started building—high pressure to low pressure. Pressure can be defined as the exertion of force upon a surface by an object, fluid, etc. The spiritual exertion of force began to build in that upper room. Pressure also has the definition of a constraining or compelling force or influence. A spiritual constraining and compelling force began to build in that upper room. Notice that both definitions of pressure use the word force. This type of pressure/force caused the violent winds—a violent tempest blast of change came into that upper room— shaking and shifting everything that could be shifted and shaken from them. The dunamis power of the Holy Spirit came upon them—a power they were not used to being infused with. The spiritual pressure built in that room that caused the violent wind of the Spirit to manifest not only changed the 120 personally, but a paradigm shift took place in history. The breath of God Himself permeated them and not like a gentle wind—His violent wind was aggressive, fierce, powerful, intense, and passionate. This breath-wind of God shook the room, shook their old lives, shook their self-focus, shook their self-destiny, shook their priorities, shook their Old Covenant beliefs, shook their unbelief, shook their confusion and shook history. Nothing was the same for them after the experience with the violent wind of the Spirit. They turned into bold witnesses (martyrs) and forceful people for Christ, filled with His dunamis (explosive and rippling) power and the kingdom of heaven which then forcefully advanced!
Pressure Changes Things
This same spiritual pressure is building in the Church at this very moment so that the same winds of change that were experienced in that upper room will be released. Sounds great, doesn’t it? But the truth is—none of us likes pressure or force to be put upon us. And, I believe that the Church of today is going to be put under some extreme pressure/force because the spiritual atmosphere of the Church must change completely and quickly. Many will tend to believe that this pressure is coming from the enemy, but it will be pressure from God.
This pressure reminds me of a terrific snow storm we had this past winter. We were all semi-prepared for the storm, but what came none planned on. At first, the snow fell gently and beautifully—transforming the mountains into a spectator winter wonder land. But as the snow fell, it became heavier and heavier—sticking securely to every tree limb and power line. After a while I went out on the front porch to look. It was beautiful and still—an eerie stillness. As I watched the snow mount on the evergreens, their limbs began to bend and break beneath the weight or pressure. I could hear branches popping and snapping all over. However, it was the dead and weak branches and trees that were broken. Broken limbs and whole trees soon covered power lines, roads, streets, and houses. The damage was tremendous from the pressure of that snow. After a few days without power and the snow still persistently hanging on the trees, we talked about the need of a good wind to remove the pressure and weight from the tree branches. We did then have a few days of warmer weather with wind. I hate to use this analogy, but “only the strong remained and the strong became stronger.” This spring, while we had so much dead debris to clean up, we noticed healthier looking trees and shrubs. Even some bad looking or mostly dead trees that we were meaning to take down, saved us the trouble and came down under the pressure.
Some pressure upon us is due to our own sin, disobedience and unbelief—in other words, we are just reaping what we have sown (Gal. 6:7). But then there is a time when God Himself will put pressure on us in order to remove that which is dead and weak in us and strengthen us in Him. He will apply pressure in order to grow us up. He will apply pressure in order to get us into His righteousness—His rightness for our lives—our spirit, soul and body. He will put pressure on us to get us out of a stale and complacent condition. He will put pressure on us to obey—obey quickly and even in the small and hard things. He will put pressure on us in order to learn true perseverance. He will put pressure on us to produce the kind of faith that He wants us to have. He will put pressure on us to get our priorities back in the right prospective. As the pressure builds in our lives and godless (the dead and weak) things snap or break off us, God will send the winds—the violent winds of His Spirit to remove, shake those from our path completely. Then, He will realign us—in other words, He will take what remains and turn it into a bold powerful reflection of Christ Jesus.
I believe that Christ is very intentional about His Church right now and it seems to me that He has been very patient. But, now He is going to allow some pressure and as He allows that pressure to build—His Church is going to pray under that pressure like they have never prayed before—His Church is going to ask “why” like they have never before—His Church is going to desire to hear His voice like never before—His Church is going to yearn for Him like never before. And, the Church under this pressure condition will in turn create a pressure in the spiritual atmosphere around them that will cause the winds of change to blow. Indeed the breath of God will begin to flow through the high pressure and the low pressure, bringing them together and the wind of God—a violent and expeditious wind will blow and create an undeviating change in His Church—just like it did in the first church in Acts.
Pressure Is Painful—But His Grace Is Sufficient
We need to understand that the pressure may become very painful. I know that is not something any of us wants to hear, but pain produces change. Pain always lets us know that there is something wrong or of a problem that must change. In this painful pressure we must understand that God’s grace is sufficient. His grace—His favor and power to meet and overcome every evil tendency in our lives with the power to accomplish—will be sufficient (enough, plenty, ample). Just as the LORD spoke to Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9)—He is speaking to us. His grace will keep us flowing with the winds of change and not against them.
Winds of Speed
Finally, pressure not only causes the movement or the winds of God to blow, but to also gust swiftly—with speeds of varying degrees. In other words, violent winds can be with force as well as speed. Again, looking at the manifestation of the Spirit in the upper room we can see that things not only changed forcefully, but with great speed. One minute they were hiding, fearing for their lives and the next they are out in the streets proclaiming Christ with great boldness and demonstrations of the Spirit’s power. Not only that, the Church grew by 3,000 in one day and continued to grow. I believe that the winds of change that the Spirit is releasing will be not only forceful, but include speed. We must be able to move with that speed as well. The pressure and force of the wind causing the dead and weak things to fall off us, will also enable us to move with a greater quickness in Christ. Quick to discern, quick to recognize His voice, quick to understand, quick revelation, quick obedience, quick repentance, etc. will be involved with this speed. The True Church of Christ will follow the Mark 16 mandate: “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well,” (verses 15-18). Revelation of this passage will come quickly and will be worked with great speed—bringing in the harvest of this age. As a matter of fact, I believe that when we hear of any church not working this mandate, we will know they are not of the true Church.
Pentecost Sunday is May 23 this year. Pray for the violent winds of change of the Holy Spirit!
“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”—John F. Kennedy
“Ask not what your church can do for you, but what you can do for your church.”—
I believe we are still seeing too many Christians at the moment that are thinking about “what the Church can do for them verses what they can do for the Church.
Okay, so some of you are saying, “She’s seeing the glass half empty and this is going to be negative!” “I’m not going to read this!”
But, don’t you think that sometimes we have to look at the negative (the unconstructive, harmful, damaging, destructive) or the wrong in order to make positive changes towards truth love and faith or in order to bring the Kingdom of God into its rightful place?
So, I’m thinking about a Church army today. I know—that was a 1980’s teaching! Yes, it was and few got in on that teaching! It is still an estranged subject to many today.
But, I’ve been thinking about the army of God and I have this realization that sort of scares me—the realization is that there is still too much of the Body of Christ who does not see themselves as a part of an army at all. Possibly there are many thinking and saying that they do not believe that God has an army and if He does, it only consists of angels and not humans. Or, some are saying that we don’t have to fight—we just have to believe. But the Word of God is clear in telling us that we have an enemy—satan and his kingdom—who is serious, has an army and is warring against humankind regardless of whether we take up arms. I also believe that according to God’s Word, His people are specifically here to take back dominion through the victory of Christ—therefore, I believe there is a battle and we are in the battle like it or not. And, if we are in a battle, then I believe we are a part of an army—one in which Jesus Christ is the Captain—the Captain of the Hosts and the Captain of His Most (us). He has given us weapons of warfare and armor with which to fight (2 Cor. 10:4; Eph. 6:10-18). The Armor of God (Eph. 6:14-18) is given specifically to and for the warriors of God. This Armor consists of Truth (Belt); Righteousness (Breastplate); Peace (Shoes); Faith (Shield); Salvation (Helmet); Word of God (Sword); and Powerful Spirit-led Prayer (Full Spirit Empowerment). And, He has given us military leadership—the 5-Fold Ministry to give us spiritual training, guidance, and leadership (Eph. 4:11-16). Great pieces of this Armor are missing in portions or groups of the Church today and understanding of the 5-Fold Ministry is missing in these same groups.
So, in all of this I am seeing this element of “army” really missing from the Church today. There are most likely several reasons for that—one might be that the enemy has been too great in the face of spiritual immaturity, lack of training and unbelief and the Church in the past has gotten its backside beaten. Another might be that the Church has spent too much time fighting the wrong enemy—other Believer’s—forgetting that we are one body with one LORD (Eph. 4:4-5). Another reason could be that the Church has fought the wrong enemy—we have fought the heathen personally instead of the devil behind them. Finally, many in the Church are so “self-focused” or “inward-focused” they are responding with, “I can’t fight any battle outside of my own!”
For several reasons I believe the army mentality is missing greatly from the Church. I am seeing several detached groups within or claiming to be a part of the Church, but not at all a part of the army. They are MIA (missing in action).
The Separation Group. This group is disjointed, disconnected or severed from the Church, while maintaining that they are not. Many Christians today are departing from, shall we say, traditional Church worship, gathering, fellowship and service. I really don’t like a lot of tradition myself, but then there is some tradition that must be upheld—any tradition that is based on the Word of God. If this kind of tradition is denied it will cause us tremendous problems. Hebrews 10:25 tells us that we are not to stop meeting together and even more as we see the Day approaching. That Day is the Second Return of Christ. Why do you suppose the LORD would stress the importance of meeting together in connection with His Second Return? Matthew 24, Luke 21 and many of the Epistles spend time telling us what is going to happen on Earth just before the return of Christ. Everything from terrible spiritual immaturity, great persecutions, great false teachings and deceptions to apostasy is trying to invade the Church. This is enemy attack and advancement at its best. Lone Rangers—those who are disjointed, disconnected or severed—working alone—are not going to make it because they are prone and subject to pride, rebellion, all kinds of false teaching/heresy, and deceptions of all kinds. This spells “apostasy.”
This group also separates themselves from the 5-Fold Ministry, which is given by Christ Himself and through Christ for the spiritual maturing and equipping of the Saints. Unfortunately, the separation group totally denies, rejects and even so far as rebels against the 5-Fold Ministry. Their motto is, “I’ve got the Holy Spirit and He is all I need.” That kind of thinking scares me and I really have a difficult time believing that they have the “Holy “Spirit at all. Holy Spirit supports the Word of God and the gifts of Christ, so if one claiming to be a Christian does not—there’s a problem. Really those who believe that they have no need of the 5-Fold Ministry are entertaining an antichrist spirit. They are rejecting a “part of Christ Himself” in rejecting the 5-Fold Ministry and the personal (as opposed to “from a distance” through Internet, books, mail, etc.) contact and impartation of the 5-Fold in their lives. How convenient when Christians receive non-personal impartation of the 5-Fold. No accountability.
Armor piece missing: Truth (The Belt)
The Transient Group. This group of Christians is just that, transient, in other words, they are always moving around, temporary, fleeting, lasting only a short time, or just passing through. We are finding many Christians are coming to church for “just a period of time” or until God moves them to the “right divine place” for them. In other words, every local church is sort of a “half-way” house for them. Unfortunately, while that can happen and be the case, there is some strong deception behind this. This group never truly ever gets connected anywhere nor do they ever receive the help, deliverance and spiritual maturity they need preciously because they never connect, become a part or trust. They never truly get into any kind of Christian service. They never truly find or fulfill their God-given destiny. After all, they are only there “for a while” until God shows them something different or someplace different or something better!
Armor piece missing: Faith (Shield)
The “Give Me” Group. This group is one of the oldest formed church groups. It is the group that only comes to church to “get something,” but never “give anything.” I would say this is one of the saddest groups because, again, great deception has set in. The Bible tells us that the way to get is to give! This is not just referring to finances. I believe we can give ourselves out of depression, rejection, hurt, turmoil and the like. I have found that trying to get this group out of self-focus is a very difficult thing.
Armor piece missing: Righteousness (Breastplate)
The “Give You” Group. That’s right, there is such a group. This group comes into every church with a pre-determined self agenda: To give the church what they have! They believe they are God’s gift to every local church. Again, there is some truth in that (the devil always deals with partial truth, doesn’t he?). They usually never submit to the local leadership nor have a team spirit or mentality. If allowed too much leeway, they can cause tremendous dissention and division. This group is led by a spirit of pride and rebellion. They have a “know-it-all” mentality and program. They are there to “help” the church exist. This group is one of the fastest running groups I know. They run in and once confronted, they run out.
Armor piece missing: Word of God (Sword)
The Injured Group. This group has been injured by past leadership or a church as a whole. They have been injured by those they loved, connected with and trusted. But, this group is in poor spiritual health because their wounds never seem to heal, so they stay in the spiritual sickbed. They have been hurt and offended, no doubt, but they put that offense on every other church and church leadership by withholding themselves from fellowship—which is a type of unforgiveness. This group was so severely injured in the first place because they put too much trust in man instead of God. In other words, they put people before God. The enemy loves this vulnerability in people because it always gives him an open door. The injured group is afraid to go back to the assembly of the Saints, so they just stay on the sickbed and milk it for all its worth.
Armor piece missing: Peace (Shoes)
The “My Vision—My Destiny” Group. This group believes that the local church exists for them—or to support their vision or destiny. There is truth in that, but again, that is not the whole of the truth and really this group lacks true revelation—in other words, they are very narrow minded. They forget that every destiny is connected to someone or something else—“connected” being the operative word. It is our connection to Christ first and foremost—in other words, “it’s not about us.” Only connection to Christ—the Head—brings fulfillment to destiny. Many fail to realize that their very vision or destiny will be fulfilled only as they are connected to Christ and those He connects us to—another vision or destiny—in other words, through Christ’s Body in a local church vision and destiny—and not outside of or detached from it. So, as they help fulfill the vision of their local church—their vision and destiny “naturally” gets implemented and fulfilled.
Armor piece missing: Salvation (Helmet)
I’m sure there are more groups, but that’s enough to think about right now. The point I want to make here is that none of these groups are truly “army of God” people. If a true national army thought and acted like any of these—it would be in very serious trouble! It would be at the brink of defeat and disaster before it even started to fight!
Just think about if our national army allowed a group of people who had a separate agenda—who believed they could join the army, but do their own thing! Forget the idea of watching each other’s back or taking the ground as a platoon. What about the transient group being a part of a true national military? They would be gone at the first sign of a fight. The “give me” group. Picture them in the military! Have you ever heard someone contemplating going into the military so they can get a college education? That’s all their thinking about—what the military can do for them. Do they ever think about the fact that they could be going to an actual war on an actual battle ground first? The “give you” group: How long do you think they would last in the military with their pride? Especially telling their sergeant how they should do things! Do I need to say more? Finally, the “my vision-my destiny” group. Can you imagine a soldier in any position telling a superior—sergeant or captain, for instance, “You need to help me move up the ranks. I’m only here to become a general.”
I believe that God is building an army NOW. It is to be a strong, powerful, right, discerning, tenacious, persevering and quick army. We are all in various levels of this army right now, from Basic Training to fighting on the actual battle ground at the Front—but the truth is—some are not with us.
Church, the enemy has gained far too much ground and this must change.
1 John 2:18-19 says—“Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.”
It’s time for the unconstructive, harmful, damaging, and destructive agenda of satan to be removed from the Church. It’s time for real and true faith to arise in the Church once again. A kind of faith that is fought for and protected. A kind of faith that walks in and by the Spirit of Truth. A kind of faith that produces power to move mountains. A kind of faith that takes dominion. A kind of faith that produces signs, wonders and miracles. A kind of faith that brings supernatural restoration. This is what the true army of God will lay hold of in this hour.
In more and more parts of the Church, the 5-fold ministry is not only widely recognized and accepted, but relied upon. The need and value of the 5-fold ministry is an absolute—necessary in order for the fullness of Christ to be imparted and operating fully in the Church today.
We know that the presence of Jesus Christ Himself upon the earth began the Last Days (Hebrews 1:1-2; 9:26). And, Jesus Christ Himself established a pattern for spiritual oversight for the Last Days. Ephesians 4:11-15 tells us: “It was He [Christ Jesus] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”
The 5-Fold ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are HIS plan. And, the Church—who is HIS Body needs to follow HIS plan and not their own. Yet, a large portion of the Church does not receive nor follow His plan and the reasons I have heard over the years are numerous and even absurd—even in the Pentecostal/charismatic circles.
We know that the Church in years past has heavily leaned on the pastor, sometimes involving the teacher and evangelist, but the apostle and prophet have only begun to arise or emerge over the last 30 years and only in some parts of the Church. And shockingly, while some “say” they believe in the completeness of the 5-Fold Ministry—including the apostle and prophet—in the same voice they want nothing or very little to do with them.
I was asked to give a short talk on the “5-fold ministry office of prophet in the local church” a year or so ago to a fellowship of ministers with apostolic oversight. There were two other prophets besides myself asked to share their perspectives on this topic. I was shocked at what I heard from the other two and what I heard in the discussion time following with the ministers—it was like I stirred up a hornets nest! I won’t go into the details, but terms like, “false prophets” and “prophets who have hurt people” were brought up consistently. I was thinking out loud when I responded that I knew there are many more “false teachers” than false prophets. And as far as prophets who have hurt people’s lives? Well, many more church goers have been hurt by pastors than prophets! How do I know this? Prophets have only been allowed over the last few decades—teachers have had far more time to deceive and pastors have had far more time to “hurt people!” As I listened to their complaints and misunderstandings in regards to the office of prophet, I realized they did not have much true revelation at all as to the value of prophet. One of the other “prophets” asked to speak, rattled on and on about the importance of “personal prophecy.” If you know anything about the office of prophet, personal prophecy is only a small portion of the ministry of prophet. This “prophet” however, was widely received. When I gave my talk on the role, operation, benefits, value and ministry of the prophet—even listing the various kinds or types of prophets—you could see the smoke arising. I found out that less than one percent of the ministers at the meeting had any interaction with a prophet nor did they want any! However, they all did want the prophets to prophesy good things over them at the end of the meeting when the apostle called all three of us to the front to prophesy over the hurting pastors!
Okay, so I could go on and on here, but my point is—The Last Days Church will NEVER come into the fullness of Christ without the 5-fold ministry in combination and entire operation. It’s not going to happen!
The combination of the 5-fold ministry is powerful and effective. The apostle is given wisdom. The prophet is given revelation. One without the other is only half effective and can even be dangerous. Now add the other 5-fold ministers—with their abilities to reach, teach and keep and you have supernatural—Christ-given—Spirit-driven wisdom and revelation to reach, teach and keep in these Last Days!
Many local church ministries take Ephesians 4 as a suggestion, but I believe the passage relates a serious danger in not having the 5-fold ministry in operation! One of the most serious dangers is a spiritually immature Church when He comes—one not walking in or representing the fullness of Christ. The proof is in the pudding, as my grandmother would say! Just how do we view the Church today? Certainly not fully developed and spiritually mature! The Church in the past has been essentially powerless and unbelieving. I believe this is due to a great extent to only a few members of the 5-fold ministry being in operation and accepted. I believe that the immature Church of today is the result of the pastor working alone in the local church—with some occasional assistance from a teacher or an evangelist. I also believe that while some say the offices of apostles and mainly prophets cause too much disunity—the truth is that the whole reason for their existence is to bring a purifying unity into the Body. With these two gifts in operation—the Church will become a true, pure, and spotless Church! The problem is, the Church is afraid of the true apostle and prophet because too much of it does not want the confrontation of God’s holiness. (See Eph 4:14-16) Even the rest of the chapter is imperative!
Now, this Blog is not a teaching on the operations of the 5-fold ministry—in other words, their specific roles, functions, duties, operations, etc., so if you are unfamiliar with these, you need study and get enlightenment on them. There are plenty of good materials out there, especially on the apostolic and prophetic ministries of today.
Please keep reading! What we need to understand right now is that the 5-fold ministry offices are grace gifts of Christ’s to the Church. Grace is unmerited spiritual blessing and favor, yes, but it is also the power of God to meet and overcome every evil tendency in our lives—and it is the power to accomplish.
The power to accomplish! The 5-fold ministry is given so that the Church will ACCOMPLISH! Accomplish what? Dominion over the enemy and bringing and establishing the Kingdom of God on earth—as it is in Heaven.
Another aspect of the 5-fold ministry being recognized and accepted and used in its combination and entirety is the “fullness of Christ” being implemented and operating in His Church—His Body. The Fullness would involve a “demonstration of the Spirit’s power (1 Cor. 2:4) manifesting through the preaching of the Gospel in all kinds of signs, wonders and miracles! Healings and deliverances becoming the “norm” instead of the exception. The Kingdom of God being exhibited wherever we are. When the 5-fold ministry is in true operation this fullness of Christ will be demonstrated.
The 5-fold ministry offices are gifts of His Resurrection power! His Resurrection LIGHT! In the Light of His glory and presence there is revelation, wisdom, power, authority, truth, love—the likes of which the Church has not truly experienced since the time of the first apostles, but it is time! It is time!
One final aspect that comes to mind in regards to the 5-fold ministry and the Last Days Church is one of mysteries being revealed. Apostles and prophets are said to be stewards of the mysteries of God. In these days God is revealing secrets and mysteries to His Church. Daniel 2:22 says, “He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.” And 1 Corinthians 2:6-7 says, “We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.” I believe that God has some specific things to reveal to His End Times Church that have been hidden until now. These are things of God that we need revelation to truly understand. And Amos 3:7 says, “Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.” Furthermore, God’s apostles and prophets have been instruments of revealing the hidden things or mysteries of God since Christ gave them. The Apostle Paul report this in Ephesians 3:4-6—“In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”
God is going to reveal these secrets and mysteries through Holy Spirit of course, but Holy Spirit is going to reveal them through His prophets—just as He always has! Revealing is revelation. In addition, He will unveil powerful wisdoms to His apostles—just as He always has.
Please understand—I am not trying to get “down on the Church.” Indeed, we have come a long way—we have made much progress in the last 30 years in regards to the 5-fold ministry, things have changed radically, but there is still so much to do and little time to do it in. God is bringing into full operation His Christ’s gifts—the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers TOGETHER to raise up a mature Church of power and authority in order to accomplish dominion over the enemy—bringing and establishing the Kingdom of God on earth—as it is in Heaven; to bring the Church into the fullness of Christ; and to reveal the mysteries of God that have been hidden.
The Church or parts of the Church of today can be a Church of Philadelphia or a Church of Laodicea! Without the 5-fold ministry in place, a church will be a Laodicea church. Christ is returning for a mature Church—one that is holy and blameless, He has made that clear (Eph. 5:27). And, He is returning for a Church that is already like Him (1 John 3:2)—both in purity, representation, and power. The only way that is going to happen is through the impartation of the combination and entirety 5-fold ministry.
Filed under: General
Intense is defined as: Existing or occurring in a high or extreme degree; acute, strong, or vehement; of an extreme kind; very great.
I believe the LORD said to me this morning: “I am shedding forth intense light—the brightness of My dawn into the lives of My people. This light will expose every area of darkness within them—just as bright sunlight reveals every flaw and even specks of dust. I’m going to reveal even the specks of darkness in their lives. This intense light is for intense cleansing.
“Arise, shine for your light has come and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and His glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn, (Isaiah 60:1-3)!”
The LORD continued: “I am preparing My people to not only receive My manifestation glory, but walk regularly in it—becoming accustom to it. Therefore, all darkness must go!
“Stand up—destroy whatever in you is devoted to destruction (Joshua 7:12). My people must understand that to the degree they do not walk in the righteousness, holiness and obedience I have given them—to that degree they deny Me and My work. To the degree My people allow darkness—they cannot walk in the authority I have given them. “You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it,” (that which is devoted to destruction) (Joshua 7:13).
“I desire to pour out visible manifestations of My glory, but My glory contains My power—which is a dangerous to all darkness—even the darkness that lays hidden in My people. Ananias and Sapphira perished in My glory. This is important to know and remember when you are praying for a visible manifestation of My glory.
“Let My intense light shine into your life that it may impart to you MY LIFE of glory!”
Filed under: National
The LORD spoke something to my heart about the United States of America in this hour. The word actually took place on two different days.
There seems to be quite a division in thought and beliefs in the Body of Christ—particularly in leaders of the 5-fold ministry and the groups they may lead about how God will deal with the United States of America in these Last Days. For instance, one group says that the U.S.A. is going to be restored fully to its Christian heritage and value; and therefore to its economic and influential in grandeur in the world. While another group says that the U.S.A. will continue to decline in Christian values and therefore continue to fall into an even greater staggering and horrendous economic collapse—all the while rapidly losing influence in the world. They believe that the judgment of God is going to fall on America for her great sin quickly reducing her to a literal third world country before our very eyes. Then there are those who are somewhere in the middle. Besides these two main opinions, some claim that the United States is clearly seen in Scripture, while others say it is clearly not!
I must admit, my ideas or thoughts have run with both camps and needless to say, I have been confused at times as to how to pray or intercede for America. There are times I have felt we would overcome and other times when I strongly sensed that only judgment from God would awaken us. And, I do not see the United States clearly in Scripture, but I do believe it could possibly be seen prophetically.
As I have been concerned and at the same time wondering just what the LORD has to say in this, I believe He said this to me:
“The United States of America has a choice—above all the other nations of the world—besides Israel—I have given the United States a choice: The United States of America can go one way or the other.
“Because the nation was founded on Christian principles and values and her forefathers (and mothers) established her in My Word, according to My Will, following My Spirit and with their own blood and sacrifices, I have given her a choice. The United States of America has the “freedom” to choose whether she will follow Me to the end or not. I will always give her freedom to choose because freedom is what she represents. She can use that freedom for the right or for the wrong. She can use that freedom to save her or destroy her.
“But, I will not allow the people of United States of America today to trample on My foundational values, principles and the blood and sacrifice of my anointed ones—of those who gave their lives—by either totally altering and
renouncing what these anointed founders did or gave; or by thinking they are totally exempt from My judgments because of their foundation.
“I have honored the commitment I had with America’s forefathers—I have kept My end of the Covenant Promise. I have given her great protection when she never knew it—I have spared her numerous times from terrible events. A Covenant is between two parties—it goes two ways. If one fails to adhere to or remain in the Covenant—it is broken.
“Do you think the United States of America is anymore special to Me than Israel—My chosen? I also have a Covenant with her, but I never just stood by and watched her prostitute herself without pouring out My judgment—an attempt to turn her back in the right direction.
“It is the same with the United States of America: She can go one way or the other—she has a choice—the freedom to choose.
“I am bringing judgment in an attempt to turn her back to Me—not to destroy, but to restore. Your intercession should not be that I will change My mind towards America, but that she should change her mind towards Me.”
The LORD then gave me Isaiah 26:9b-13:
“When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. 10 Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and regard not the majesty of the LORD. 11 O LORD, your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame; let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them. 12 LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.
13 O LORD, our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone do we honor.”
As far as the Church in America? The LORD said that He would spare the Church of judgment—those walking in total dedication to Me. The true Church is to get under Psalm 91 and walk in the power and authority of Christ’s Blood.
The LORD also said: “Aim your intercession!”
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA—PLEASE MAKE A CHOICE!
I apologize if this word seems redundant. I am here on the battlegrounds of Asheville, North Carolina where the spiritual battle is fierce.
My husband and I with our family have been in ministry here for 5 years and because I serve as a prophet and intercessor, we went right to the battlefield against high powered rulers, authorities, and principalities who believe they own the area. I finally realized that those things were able to take possession because the Church didn’t.
The LORD has been speaking very clearly with me recently about the redirection of concentrated intercession in this hour. Redirect simply means to change the direction or focus of. Concentrated means applied with all one’s attention, energy. However, it also means clustered or gathered together closely. I believe the LORD is referring to both definitions.
I believe the LORD is saying that He wants concentrated intercession to be redirected back towards the Church. He says, “Too much intercession has spent and expended praying for nations when My Church lays in ruins and, in many cases, apostate. The Church needs to be restored to the fullness of Christ, first and foremost. The nations will not and cannot be restored until the Church is.” The LORD said to me, “The Intercessors in America have been trying to change the nation in vain. If the Church does not change, what good will it do for the nation to change? What good will come to the nation? My Church is supposed to set the standard. What standard do you see right now in the nation?”
Please, the LORD is not telling us to stop interceding for our nation—that would be unbiblical as He tells us to pray for those in authority over us. I have been involved in national intercession for 20 years plus with great spiritual leaders. I have helped to lead the National Day of Prayer in our area for 6 years (with not one other church willing to join us). But, I believe we are putting the cart before the horse. Until the Church arises in holiness and righteousness—understands and takes up its authority, where will the nations go? What will influence the nations?
God is supposed to influence the nations, but He will only do that through His Church—as a matter of fact, through His Church is the only way He will influence the nations. Only redirected concentrated intercession towards the Church will restore this influence.
Through time men and women of God have interceded to change the nations. They have preached in public forums and led great prayer movements. What caused the conditions in the nation for which intercessory prayer was necessitated? Where was the Church in all of this? No doubt we are in a spiritual war and will be until the Second Coming of Christ. However, the Church IS RESPONSIBLE in part for the conditions in the nation. Why? Because the Church has let the nation (under the ruler of the kingdom of the air—Ephesians 2:2) influence it instead of vice versa. The Church hasn’t looked so much like the world since the “dark ages.” The danger specific to our time is the imminent return of Christ!
Many of our founding forefathers in America had the Church in them—they knew that they were the Church—which is the very reason they were lead by God and able to write powerful governing documents based on the Word of God for the United States of America that would stand the test of time and of wicked peoples and agendas. However, things have changed greatly since then. Few Christians understand today that we “are” the Church, representing Christ as His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20).
The Church has been out of unity with God and His holy Word. Much of the Church knows very letter or even one of God’s Word. I hate to use the same Scripture that most do in this kind of writing, but it is true: It is time for judgment to begin in the house of God (1 Peter 4:17).
Most see judgment as a terrible thing. And, it can be—that all depends on us. Why does God bring judgment? To just pour out His wrath because He’s had it with us? No. Judgment forces us to judge or examine ourselves. Judgment is meant to release God’s justice where there is no justice. It is meant to redirect people back towards Him—towards His righteous commands. Judgment awakens, bringing revival. Judgment brings us back into a place of safety. If the Church does not respond to redirected concentrated intercession, God’s judgment will bring the redirection.
Let’s be honest, the condition of the United States of America cannot just be laid at the enemy’s feet—God is laying it at the feet of His Church in America. “We the people” voted in our current government and by a land slide in some cases. The majority ruled. Now, if we take some of the statistics that say anywhere from 65 to 80% of Americans claim to be Christians—then we would have to say that the government in place right now was voted in by mostly Christians. So, looking at the condition of America right now and her government—what is it speaking about the condition of the Church? Apostate. Everything that the United States is faced with right now is a reflection of the Church in America. The Church is looking in the mirror.
The Church IS SET IN PLACE TO INFLUENCE THE NATION—NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. If we want to fight abortion, we must change the Church, first. Do you know how much of the Church is actually “pro-choice?” If we want to stop sexual immorality, we must change the Church, first. The Church has been ordaining homosexuals for years not to mention the adultery, fornication and pornography that Church leaders involve themselves in daily regularly. Do we know why the Health Care Bill is such a big issue today? Much of the Church sees the government as its source instead of God being its Source. Anc, the Church is sick. Do we know why the economy is collapsing with the nation debt now trillions of dollars? Because the Church is in debt. The nation is a mirror of the Church.
The Church has been given power and authority—unbeknown to many, disbelieved by countless and unused by most. Redirected concentrated intercession towards the Church is needed to break the ignorance, unbelief and apathy. Christ is coming back for a Church that is spotless and blameless—living holy and godly lives (2 Peter 3:11-14).
The LORD says, “It is only through My Church that I will demonstrate Myself. I do not demonstrate My power through the nations. My Church has been given–assigned My authority—I have already raised My Church up with Christ and seated it with Myself in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 6:2). But so very few have revelation of this.”
“His intent was that now, through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11according to His eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,” (Ephesians 3:10-11).
The Church is in the time where it MUST be restored and reformed to the fullness of Christ. We are to attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13; Colossians 2:10). Without the fullness we will never demonstrate God’s power to the nations. We must break the unholy alliance with the world-system, which is in total submission to the second heaven of hell and move out of apostasy. Redirected concentrated intercession is needed now.
It’s interesting that we talk about the Church arising in power, but what does that actually look like? Jesus is coming soon and I fully realize that that statement makes some cringe, but it should be a motivating factor! What kind of Church is Christ returning for? What is the Church supposed to look like when He comes? Unholy, complacent, limp, lifeless, powerless and ruled by antichrist influences?
God has been stirring His Church again sending His prophets to proclaim the Kingdom of God, the Glory of God—the manifest presence of God, awakening and revivals, signs, wonders and miracles and more.
The Lord tells me that we are not going to walk in the fullness of any of these while the Church is apostate. How will or can we reach out and heal anyone, either physically or emotionally, if we are unbelieving, sick, hurt, or broken? How can we give the truth, if we are deceived? How are we going to truly walk in a demonstration of the Spirit’s power to the world while weighed down with sin, sickness, deception and debt?
2 Chronicles 7:13-14 is a favorite for national intercession: “13When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
With this Scripture giving direction, we have stood in the gap and asked God to forgive America for her sins of sexual immorality, abortion and more. But, I personally don’t see this Scripture as strictly having to do with national prayer—it says, “If My people, who are called by My name,”—that’s the Church—not the nation. Next it says, “. . .will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from THEIR wicked ways.” We, the Church, is exhorted to humble itself, pray and seek God’s face—all the while turning from our wicked ways. Then it says, “. . . then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive THEIR SIN and will heal THEIR land.” What is our land? Where is our land? We have mostly understood “their land” to mean our nation. But, God is saying, “I’m going to heal ‘your land’—what belongs to you.” Our land first and foremost should be ourselves personally (and what belongs to us) and then the corporate Body to which we belong.
We are so close to the return of Christ and His Word MUST be made manifest in us that the LORD returns for His pure and spotless Church. He must find His Church walking in a holy conduct, a demonstration of the Spirit’s power and in its Christ-given authority. He is not returning for the nations—He is returning for His Church. Redirect concentrated intercession MUST be made now.
Billye Brim during a Kenneth Copeland broadcast quoted Gary Wood from his book, A Place Called Heaven, in which Gary describes the events around his death, trip to Heaven and then back to earth. Gary had a personal conversation with Jesus Christ while he was in Heaven. Jesus told him that He was coming soon, but that three things would happen before His return—being the “sign” of His return (which I have to say are contrary to most of our teachings on the signs of Jesus’ return):
- A spirit of restoration.
- A spirit of intercessory prayer.
- An outward display of signs, wonders and miracles.
These three things are going to come and be demonstrated through the Church—not the nations of the world. It is time to redirect our intercession! It is time to pray that the Church understands and walks in the fear of the LORD. It is time to repent for unbelief, fear, complacency and a slumbering spirit. It is time to repent for sins of omission and sins of commission and for coming into agreement with the world Babylon system. “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you,” (2 Cor. 6:17).
Isaiah 66:1-2—“This is what the LORD says: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will My resting place be? 2 Has not My hand made all these things, and so they came into being? declares the LORD. ‘This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at My word.’”
The Church MUST look like its Christ when He comes—we shall already be like Him (1 John 3:2)! He is not coming back for anything less because He paid the price with His life.
Intercessors, it is time to redirect concentrated intercession back to the Church. It is time to get things back into correct alignment according to the Word of God. When the Church changes—it will affect the nations!
“Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]— 21To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen (so be it),” (Ephesians 3:20-21 AMP).
