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Propetic word : A year of Transition

What will 2007 bring to our nation, the Body of Christ in America? What is the present word of the Lord for us? Many ministers are proclaiming the year of harvest, blessing, jubilee and many other things the upcoming year will bring. Can the Lord do more than one thing at a time? Most definitely, but I hesitate to put the Lord in a "box" in what He is about to do or can do.

I do know that there will be two distinct works done in God's people. The first will be for the majority of the Body of Christ who have been going on in their walk with the Lord as business as usual. The second will be for those who have been hearing the sound of the trumpet calling us to repentance, intercession, and to make themselves ready to be a Bride for the Lord. I am not trying to declare two classes of Christians, however; I am speaking of the separation that is happening right now in the Body of Christ between the wise and foolish virgins, those who are building their house on the rock verses those building on the sand. The separation Jesus spoke about in Mathew 24 where He declares,"Who is the wise and faithful servant who the Master finds working and the lazy and unprofitable servant.

This separation is not by God's hand, a ministry, or a church, but by the choices we are making every day. We have a choice to "come out and be seperate from the world, or continue to have a love affair with it as it is pointed out in James 4:4, " O you who are false to God, that the friends of this world are not the friends of God. Every man who chooses to be a friend of "this" world" makes himself a hater of God. (BBE translation) The King James version calls these people Adulterers and adulteress being more in love with what this world can give them than being in love with God and what He came to give. He calls all who have this kind of friendship with the world an enemy of God. (Don't get mad at me, I didn't write it!) Jesus gave us the great commission to make disciples of the nations, not member of our church, in which there is a big difference. Discipleship is a choice that every believers must make. Jesus said, "If any man be my disciple, let him deny himself, pick up his cross and follow me." To be a disciple requires a choice, "IF ANY MAN... DENY HIMSELF... LET HIM!"

I believe most of the religious right believe that our nation is going to change by the election of "Godly men or woman" to be in the leadership of the government. We have been trying to do this from the mid 80's and longer, yet our country falls more and more each day into moral decay. Politics is not the place that changes a nation, the human heart is.

When we begin to identify where the root issue of our problem really dwells, then the fabric of this nation can change. For the majority of the Body of Christ and its leadership, we have built our churches and ministries towards the needs of men (user friendly), rather than the needs of God. We are more concerned on getting people home for dinner on Sunday than to be with the Lord in a real tangible manner. We are more concerned on watching the superbowl in church, than spending time with God. This is a fundamental reversal of what the Gospel message is. Why are we taking marketing surveys to find out what people want for a church? What about what God's wants His church to be? Why are we so interested in entertaining the people with jokes and cleavor sayings in our messages than bringing true Holy Spirit conviction to the heart. Could it be because we want to hear "what a great sermon Pastor?"

Why are we trying to keep believer's busy, instead of teaching them to "Wait upon the Lord" to listen for His voice and direction? Why don't we help the believers come to know Jesus as a Person who is deserving of our fellowship? Is there a reason we don't teach the believers that they must spend quality time meditating in His word like David. This man after God's heart had a desire "to hide God's word in his heart so He would not sin against Him, do we teach that? We want every Christian to be happy, blessed and full of money, and stay a member of our church! But what about becoming a "true and genuine disciple?" One that will truly look like our Master, Jesus Christ and not a "church goer?" I am not against church going or speaking against that, but I am speaking of what are we really doing in our church meetings. I am speaking about what "our" agenda is verses what God's plan is for each one in our church. We often try to fit everyone into our "churches" vision, instead of the church becoming the vision of what God has created each one to be. Our emphesis is on "molding" them into our image of our church, instead of the image of Christ. We have an understanding that God has sent these people to us to "fulfill" OUr Church vision instead of seeing that "Our Church" exists to help them fulfill thier vision from God. This is fundamental to real spiritual growth of God's people. The lack of this spiritual growth in the heart of the believers in America has caused us to "go to church" instead of become one. This lack of growth also produces an "I am ok" mentality and never has to deal with the sin that still remains in the heart.

When John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness, His message began with "REPENT, the Kingdom of heaven is at hand." Mathew 3:2. His message began to speak to the whole nation of Israel. Their hearts were not right with God and the only way they could restore their nation was to REPENT! Every man and woman was called to repent and be baptized. The nation needed to repent because of their fellowship with the "world system." The nation of Israel became corrupted by the influence of the "heathen, ungodly nations, and worshiped idols in the very house of God. Idols, of money, power, positions, rank and much more. These same idols are in the house for God here in America as well.

When John saw the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to see what He was doing he declared, " you generation of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come, bring forth the fruit that is required from repentance", (a changed life and heart) Mathew 3:8. This message could be said to us leaders in the Body of Christ in America today. What have we done to God's people? We have made good church goers, good tithers, good workers, but in many cases we have only a "form of godliness, denying the power there of. How can I say this? Let us look at some facts, the divorce rates for Christians in America is over 50" Over 50% of Christian teenagers have some type of sexual encounter before they are married. The same number of Christian teens believe that sex is only intercourse and anything else isn't sex and is ok.

How many Christian adults tell white lies, smoke, drink in excess, have affairs? How about gossip, slander, fault finding, unforgiveness, just to name a few. These sins are still rooted in many Christians hearts, but hardly anyone in the church leadership is calling us to repent. Yes, like the world we are coming up with self-help books trying to overcome these things. Repentance is mentioned in many of these books, but it more being sorrowfully like being caught with your hand in the cookie jar, than truly Godly repentance. Where is the fruit worthy of repentance, John speaks about.

Our nation can't change, until we change, and become a true light in the midst of the darkness. I (the least and chief amongst the sinners) need God's refining fire to burn out everything in my heart that is not like Him, and that is what the Bride to be is crying out for. She is making herself ready as written in Rev 19:7. Those who are truly hungry for God Himself and to be the Lord's bride are not content with business as usual. The business as usual church crowd is content with what they do, rather than what they are becoming, so sin is tolerated or seen as not important enough to remove from the heart. Many are content with the fact they go to church, pay their tithes, and are pretty good people.

Listen to what John tells the Pharisee's of His day, "And think not to say to yourself, we have Abraham as our father, for I say to you that God is able of these stones to make children for himself." Mathew 3:9. John is saying don't base your rightness with God on your religious heritage. Do not base your rightness on the fact you go to church, pay your tithes and are pretty good. He then gives an explanation of the work Jesus came to do and is going to do again before His return. This is the place of separation that is to come in this time of transition. There will be those believers that will understand what the Lord desires and repent, change and make themselves ready for the Lord, (the wise virgins, the one taken in the field, those who build upon the rock) and those who will not make themselves ready. (the foolish virgins, the one left behind, and those who build upon the sand) I know many will not want to hear this, and say I am being critical or judgmental. God forbid, because I admit, I MUST CHANGE, repent and seek Him as my VITAL AND ONLY NEED!

John the Baptist, declares what is about to happen, "AND NOW THE AXE IS LAID TO THE ROOT of the TREES, EVERY TREE that DOES NOT PRODUCE GOOD FRUIT IS CUT DOWN, AND CAST INTO THE FIRE!" Mathew 3:10. This was a message to a nation and it's spiritual leaders and it is the message to the church in the USA and it's leaders. Politics is not going to change a nation, a nation changes when the church changes and returns to her first love, Jesus Christ. "I indeed baptize you with water to repentance, but he that comes after me, is mightier than I, who shoes I am not worthy to carry, He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and FIRE!"

What will that fire look like to us in the last days? First in Malachi chapter 3 we see what it will look like in the heart of a believer that is truly seeking the Lord, " And the Lord whom YOU SEEK, shall suddenly come to His temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom YOU DESIRE, behold he comes says the Lord of Hosts. And who shall ENDURE the day of His coming, and who can STAND when HE appears? For He is like a REFINERS fire and like cleaners soap." Do you see what He is desiring to do, refine us to remove the impurities in our heart and to wash us with soap which takes the dirt off. This is what the Lord wants to do in our church meetings, our time of prayer and worship, but do we allow Him to do so, or do we set the agenda for the Lord with a nice little sermon to make people feel good?

Why can't a nation change? Isaiah tells us in Chapter 1:3-4, "the ox know its master, and the ass knows his crib, Israel does not know, nor do they consider. A sinful nation, a people weighted down with iniquities, a generation of evil doers, false-hearted children, they have gone away from the Lord, they have no respect for the Holy One of Israel, their hearts have turned back from Him" Did you notice what the Lord says their problem is? THEIR HEARTS HAVE TURNED BACK FROM HIM!

They went to temple every Saturday, and did all they thought the Torah said, they were outwardly holy, but inwardly a brood of vipers. Could we be like that here in America? You tell me! Do you live like you have been "purchased with a price, and you are not your own." Do you live everyday for the will of God in reality and not theory." Are you like the believers in James, having a love affair with the world, (the best it has to offer, not the bad things), Is this world system of comfort, pleasure and the American Dream your goal, or is the Kingdom of God?

Why don't we preach that we must be His disciples and come out from amongst them, and touch not the unclean things as Paul wrote to the Corinthian church? Because, it is not popular, people will leave, and they won't pay their tithes so we can't do the ministry. One TV preacher said, "that we don't have to preach against sin or mention it, most people want to just better their lives." He is right, that is what we Americans want to "better our lives instead of SURRENDER or LOSE our lives as Jesus requires in being a disciple. This is the place God is drawing His dividing line. The line between the wheat and the tares, the sheep from the goats, the fat sheep from the lean sheep. This is the end of what John the Baptist declares in chapter 3. Could he be speaking to us today the very same word? " In whose hand is the winnowing fan, and he will thoroughly clean His threshing floor, and will gather his wheat into the store house, but the chaff we will burn with unquenchable fire."