I believe with all of my heart that the church, along with the rest of the world, is getting ready to experience the greatest shaking she’s ever experienced.
All that we are experiencing right now in the world… all of the unrest… all of the upheaval… all of the questioning and confusion… all that is being exposed… all of the frustration and agitation… is merely the beginning of what’s to come.
Similarly, all that is happening in the world is forcing the church to take a long, hard look at herself and to ask herself some very poignant questions regarding where we go from here.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If there is going to be a new normal in the world, then there needs to be a new normal in the church.
We desperately need the presence of God.
If we are more interested in returning to business as usual than crying out for a greater outpouring of God’s Spirit, we haven’t discerned the times accurately.
These tremors… these reverberations are merely the beginnings of a greater shaking that is on the horizon.
And the source of this quaking is the voice of God (see Hebrews 12:26).
It’s God’s voice that shakes both the heavens and the earth and we cannot afford to refuse Him who is speaking (see Hebrews 12:25).
He is using all that is happening in the world to call us unto Himself.
He’s longing for us to come together in unity around our need for a greater baptism in the Holy Spirit.
And He’s wanting us to get ready.
Preparation always precedes visitation.
The Lord is raising up prophetic voices… a company of people who will carry the true word of the Lord and whose voices will shake the church awake and will help to make a people made ready for this great outpouring of God’s Spirit.
I believe with all of my heart that we are about to bear witness to the true, genuine office of the prophet.
These people will be so filled with the fear of the Lord that they will only concern themselves with fully obeying what the Lord is telling them to say — good or bad… encouraging or with warning.
Their desire will be to see the heart of God’s people completely turned back to Himself
Indeed, I believe we will see a remnant of God’s people fully consecrate themselves to the Lord.
They will set themselves apart in dedication and surrender.
Prior to God descending upon Mt. Sinai to meet with the Israelites, the Lord told Moses to have the people consecrate themselves and wash their garments for two days, because God was coming on the third day (see Exodus 19:10-11).
God was about to explain to the people the conditions of their covenant relationship through their receiving the Law.
But before His visitation… before their receiving what was to be their inheritance… there was first a preparation.
Firstly, the people set themselves apart.
They prepared their hearts and minds for what was about to happen.
They were willing to meet with and devote themselves to the Lord.
Second, they washed their garments.
This is symbolic of cleansing oneself of defilement… repenting of and washing away sin.
In other words, they were a people made ready.
It’s interesting to note that on the third day of the wedding celebration in Cana of Galilee, Jesus had the attendants fill the six stone water pots that were set apart for the Jewish custom of purification.
Those pots were created to contain what was used to make someone who touched something unclean ritually pure.
And when those pots were filled to the brim with water, Jesus turned the water into wine.
Don’t miss this!!!
The water pots that were set apart and contained water for the purpose of purification were able to contain the best wine the guests at the wedding had ever tasted!
The attendants prepared the water to be turned to wine when they obeyed the Lord and filled the pots.
Without their obedience and preparation, Jesus wouldn’t have performed the miracle.
It’s time to get ready, dear reader.
It’s time, as Paul instructed the Corinthians, to cleanse ourselves of all defilement of flesh and spirit and to perfect holiness in the fear of God (see 2 Corinthians 7:1).
It’s time to give all of ourselves to Him so that we might receive all of Him.
We need to be filled with the new wine of the Spirit.
But before we inherit the promise, we must be a people made ready.
We must continually humble ourselves and pray… and we must be willing to deal with in our lives whatever the conviction of the Holy Spirit sheds a light upon.
- Brian Connolly, Faith Like Birds
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