I have tried as best I could to share here and summarize the message God has given me to share. And any who are tired of their failure, their sin, their lack of fruit, their lack of assurance, their one-way 'God is so silent' prayer life, the condemnation they feel when they know it is supposed to be a thing of the past, to you I can say with confidence....God has an amazing gift for you. He desires to live inside you, causing all the above things to come about in your life.
Let me start with an overview of God's plan the church, from the day of Pentecost until the day the feet of Jesus hit planet earth a second time.
The church was planted and sprung forth to life on the day of Pentecost. 120 souls received the Holy Spirit and the fire was lit. For the next 70 years, under the leadership of the apostles, the church burned like an out-of-control wildfire of love, and grew at an astounding rate. Yes, there were problems, but so few they are individually listed in the epistles.
Why did the church explode on the earth? Pretty simple. Joy. Power. Purity. Passion. This was the early rain. But Paul was shown a change was coming. He knew that after his death, grievous wolves would enter the flock, not sparing the sheep. The gospel message would be gutted to make Christianity just another religion, and there is one thing about religions..... they last.
And for the last 1900 years or so, the essence of the gospel, Jesus dying on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, was preserved. But the flip side, that He rose again and we rose with Him to newness of life? That was, for the most part, lost, leaving His children forgiven perhaps, but healed only slightly, saying 'peace, peace' when in truth, they possessed scant and only fleeting amounts of it. And joy, power and purity.... true obedience? They were scarcely to be found.
Thank God that there were a few showers of blessing, where revival here or there broke out, insuring that the gates of hell would not prevail over the church. But never did the church regain the deluge of Heavenly blessings that came to us in the early rain.
So here we are, almost 20 centuries later. We see the end is approaching. Those who deny it are simply blind to the days we live in. Sin still imprisons the hearts and minds of His children. Self in most is very much alive. Holiness and absolute surrender has become regarded as antiquated, impossible-to-hit 'goals' rather than the birthright of every child of God. And sadly, because of this, our gospel focuses totally on the work of the cross, offering forgiveness but with no mention except on Easter mornings concerning the resurrection, both His.... and ours!
In the early rain, there were two reactions found in unbelievers to the church..... fear and anger..... or awe and being drawn in for those who loved the light. Men would either exclaim "Those who have turned the entire world upside down have come here also!" because the holy light in the saints revealed their deeds as dark and evil... OR..... they would marvel, shouting in amazement "Behold how they love one another!"
Yet here is where it gets hard, for what do we see today? We see a third reaction, an overwhelming one.... dis-interest and mocking of Christianity due to our hypocrisy and shallowness. Ouch.
So did Jesus plant His church as glorious, powerful and spotless, with saints walking as overcomers, victorious over the world, the flesh and the devil, only to return two thousand years later, only to find His children barely hanging on, bickering about this doctrine or that teaching, eating heartily from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, while totally blinded as to the HOW of partaking of the fruits of the tree of life?
The answer is NO. (Thank God!)
Did He not pray that we walk as ONE, loving Him with ALL of our hearts, and loving one another with pure hearts fervently, instead of returning for a church of 500+ bickering denominations, with few if any knowing anything about walking in the armor He provided, with sin and self under their feet?
Indeed He did! Let us remember.... God has promised to return for a church without spot or wrinkle. He has told us that He will restore what the cankerworm has eaten. He has promised to make His bride ready for her wedding. He has assured us that His children WILL walk as overcomers, before His return. There WILL be a final gathering of the souls of those who love the light, who have turned up there noses at religious churchiantiy, but who are drawn to the light of Jesus because they can see it in US.
It is called the latter rain, and we are now witnessing the very first drops of God's final move among His people. How many of His own are currently 'weary because of the way', worn out by a world that satisfies not, and a church organization that promises much but provides scant little in the way of rest for our souls.
The message of the new man and our needing to put it on, is one of the keys to the restoration of all things. Will we ever match the power and purity we call the early church? No. We will surpass it! Glory!
But here is the deal. Walking in your new nature does not just happen. The seed can be planted correctly, and even spring forth to new life, but here is where sharing with believers gets difficult. Here is where the resistance to the message I have been asked to share increases. Here is where men get offended, for there is another part of the message. It will rub many the wrong way. And yet, to be faithful to my calling as a very unworthy and reluctant prophet, something I did not choose but rather chose me, I must say the whole message. So in the next post, I will tell you what you need to hear, but most likely will not want to hear. ... yet to all who will give an ear, the message may be bitter to your mouth but sweet as honey as you partake of it.
blessings,
Gideon