Matt 25:8-13 “The foolish said to the prudent, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' "But the prudent answered, 'No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.' "And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. "Later the other virgins also came, saying, ' Lord, lord, open up for us.' "But he answered, 'Truly I say to you, I do not know you.' "Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”
Knowing God Personally
This is a season that we must have our own relationship with God. We must hear Him for ourselves, we can not live on someone else’s relationship or knowledge of God. There have been prophetic warnings from recognized prophets within the Body of Christ about trials, tribulations, and difficulties coming to America and the world in terms of natural disasters, economic distress, political turmoil, and religious persecution.
Many of the recognized prophetic voices of the church body as well as people in our church are sensing a great urgency to develop this personal relationship and intimacy with God so that we will be prepared for the times ahead.
The following dreams were given to some in the congregation and I believe they are important.
Dream #1: there were a large number of people waiting in line outside the church to get their furnaces checked.
Dream #2: A man specializing in disaster relief was speaking at our church. He told us that winter was coming and that it would be very cold and that we needed to make sure that our furnaces were working and that we had enough fuel to last the season.
Dream #3: I am in a furnace room in the basement. On the floor is a sleeping bag with a body in it. It was a woman who had died 2 months earlier. Her name was Debbie. It was just a skeleton as the rest of the body had decayed. As we looked upon the skeleton all the flesh came back on and life came back into her. She opened her eyes and got up very excited.
I believe the furnace represents passion for the Lord. I believe this is a warning that we are not quite ready for the season that is now beginning. The lack of readiness has primarily to do with our lack of passion for intimacy with the Lord. The dream assures us that if we attend to this now we will experience both the resurrection power of Jesus and the awakening of the church in Ezek 47. I find it interesting that 5 families in the church have recently replaced their furnaces. Five is the number of grace. I believe the Lord is prophetically saying NOW is the time of grace to fix our spiritual furnaces and kindle passion and zeal for the Lord by knowing Him personally. But there is also a warning that the time is VERY SHORT and passivity will have serious consequences.
The Coming of the Lord
I believe that even more important than the warnings about trials and tribulations are the many prophetic promises about the coming of the Lord. This is far more important and should be our primary focus. We want to be ready so we do not miss the day of our visitation.
The Lord tells us to be sober and alert for the following purposes:
· To be ready for His visitation (Matt 24:42 – 25:13, Mark 13:33-37)
· To Pray (Col 4:2, 1 Peter 4:17)
· To overcome evil with good (Rom 13, 1 Cor 15:34, Eph 5:14, Eph 6:18, 1 Peter 5:8)
· To be prepared for difficulties (Luke 21:36, 1 Thess 5:6, Rev 16:15)
· To take action (1 Cor 16:13, 1 Peter 1:13)
Shift Happens
We are in the midst of possibly the most significant shift in the history of the Church. It is the shift in our thinking and attitude. The church is about to mature.
· From just knowing about God to knowing God personally
· From asking God to fix our problems to asking Him to fix us through the problems
· From praying for the answers to praying with the answers (decree)
· From asking God to do our will to surrendering our will to Him
· From looking to “professional” ministers to do the work to all the saints as ministers
· From waiting for the glory of God to come down upon us to allowing the glory of Christ to arise out of us
· From asking God to do for us to properly exercising the authority He has given us
· From an ownership attitude to a stewardship attitude
· From works of the flesh to works of the Spirit
· From preaching the gospel of salvation to the gospel of the kingdom of God
Recommended Reading for more details:
http://www.morningstarministries.org/ Rick Joyner’s Word of the Week
http://www.brilliantbookhouse.com/ Graham Cooke
http://www.streamsministries.com/ John Paul Jackson prophetic bulletin http://www.elijahlist.com/ Prophetic words by Dutch Sheets, Chuck Pierce & others
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