One of the hardest spiritual disciplines is to wait eagerly for Jesus to return.
Some believers complain that every day that passes makes the wait harder.
Other believers will happily claim that with every passing day brings us one day closer to Jesus’ return.
We know with an absolute certainty that our Savior Jesus will one day return!
We hope and pray our Savior does not tarry too long considering these times and these seasons we find ourselves living in – in truth – trying to survive in.
We latch all that we are, all of our hearts, all of our souls with all of our mind and with all of our strength, with every last fiber of our life – Jesus will Return!
The Word of God gives us all that we need to “hang on” to life in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in these most uncertain and perilous times and seasons.
Romans 15:4-6 Amplified 4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope and overflow with confidence in His promises. 5 Now may the God who gives endurance and who supplies encouragement grant that you be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify and praise and honor the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Yet, still, there is that “waiting” and there is that “living” in God’s anointing.
Until that fair day when the Shepherd comes for our souls and calls us Home, there is still all of that living and loving, and being and burden bearing to learn from. There’s still the anointing of our God upon our lives we’re accountable to.
There ought to be no doubt that it will take the double discipline of patience and trust to live and wait every blessed day in eager anticipation of Jesus’ coming.
Philippians 1:22-26Amplified Bible
22 If, however, it is to be life here and I am to go on living, this will mean useful and productive service for me; so, I do not know which to choose [if I am given that choice]. 23 But I am hard-pressed between the two. I have the desire to leave [this world] and be with Christ, for that is far, far better; 24 yet to remain in my body is more necessary and essential for your sake. 25 Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that your rejoicing for me may overflow in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
How long have you desired to let God take you to a higher place, to let God meet you just outside of your little box of preconceived religiosity and experience?
When you made the conscious decision to accept Jesus as Savior, and became a Christian how many of you had a dramatic improvement in your quality of life?
How many of you want to go to the next level?”
Do you feel that in these perilous times and uncertain seasons, that nothing satisfies, that the church does not fill that yearning in your heart anymore?
How many of us are seeking that “fresh anointing” of Father, Son, Holy Spirit?
For how long now have the “many of us” wanted to “light the fires and kick the tires” explore, discover, experience fresh Holy Spirit fire – set holy heat under:
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
Every religion acknowledges spiritual realities. They tell us that the world we inhabit includes infinitely more than what we can touch or see or hear.
Even those who question the existence of God cannot escape feeling that his or her life is about something significantly more than our mere daily grind. That’s because, as those made in the image of God, we are essentially spiritual beings.
But “spiritual” can mean different things to different people.
Some of us love “spirituality” but not “religion.”
Others view spiritual matters as supernatural rather than practical.
Christianity, by contrast, teaches human beings are made in the image of God.
Christians believe in one God who eternally exists in three persons: Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit.
This teaching is known as the doctrine of the Trinity, a “mystery” because it has been revealed to us supernaturally by God but can’t be fully understood.
Many analogies have been used trying to explain the Trinity, but none are really adequate, so we won’t explore those here.
But the doctrine of the Trinity tells us one very important truth about the nature of reality: God is an eternal communion of loving persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). So, as those made in His image, we yearn for a similar communion with God, our fellow image-bearers which far transcends our sinful humanity.
Throughout the world, there has been a sudden and dramatic increase of our interest in the supernatural, in the paranormal, and in the extraterrestrial.
I am convinced that somehow, we must communicate, declare, and proclaim and provide access to the supernatural in the Gospel message we share of Jesus.
For how long now and exactly how many of us can now envision an entire generation of people coming along who don’t see much hope or fulfillment within the world as we are now taught it, nor in the not-to-distant future.
They will seek access to the supernatural elsewhere (Drugs and Alcohol and Crime) if we do not teach and show them that through the risen Christ, who transcends this world and the world unseen, they can find the true access into the realm of the Holy Spirit. We can lose how any millions of them if we don’t?
We find ourselves asking more and more of each other, “does it really matter in the end what model of ministry and mission we use, what “radical” “worship” approach or style we should be taking in conducting “church” to reach the lost.
What should be of utmost importance is having the desire to help both these new travelers and “Cradle to Grave” Christians participate in and experience the fiery power of the resurrection in their daily lives. Sharing the risen Christ proactively and relationally will have a far greater impact than changing the format of your church to the latest “fad” espoused by futuristic church ‘guru’s.’
I remember as a young Born-Again Christian just starting my spiritual journey that I would walk in and through the presence of God effortlessly. I lived and breathed the supernatural. The anointing was powerful! I don’t want that to be a long-distance and fading memory, I want it to remain a living, fiery reality!
How can we reveal the true reality of the spiritual universe to the generations to follow?
What can we do?
How can we make their walk with Jesus an authentic incarnational experience flowing and breathing in and of the holy fires of the Holy Spirit? How can we show them how to transcend the cares of this world through the supernatural?
Incarnational Ministry finds its origin in the love and care of God for His creation. God demonstrated, in a concrete way, His care for humanity by becoming human. It must be this love of God that takes hold of us and inspires us, in turn, to care for others.
Outreach to the unchurched must consider the issues of incarnation by going where people go and living in their world. The methods we use to reach them must be based upon developing relationships that are authentic. We must model a lifestyle of Christ-likeness in the context of friendship. The church must meet the needs of the unchurched within the world in which they live, whether they be Builders, Boomers, Busters, Gen X, Post-Moderns, or…
Because God is Love, because our Lord and Savior Jesus is love incarnate, He chose to leave the comfort and glory of heaven and humbly dwell among men.
Think about this…
God, the eternal Son Jesus, chose to become flesh – human flesh…. just like you… to dwell side by side with each of us and to get caught up with the garbage and the sweat and the blood and the tears and the pain of our world.
Why? Because God is love!
God so loves you that He was willing to give Himself so that you could have life everlasting… starting today!
This is the God we can entrust our hearts too!
Now we must prove through our lives that man can still dwell eternally side by side with God.
When God the Father gave the honor of giving birth to the Savior of the world to an unmarried teenaged girl, the created bore the Creator.
Her maker, her Creator, was to grow within her and be raised by her, nurtured by her, taught by her…loved by her…
Incarnational Ministry is not about remembering an event in the past but about the future events.
We must come to realize that the best days are ahead of us, not behind.
The Kingdom of God is just around the corner.
We must stop yearning for the good old days and begin to look forward with joyous anticipation and excitement that the best is yet to come.
God is yearning to be incarnate in your life…today and in all our tomorrows.
The Kingdom of God is always and forever just ahead of you. It is time for us to look farther down the road. The fullness of His Glory is still yet to be revealed!
Without giving up His divine qualities, Jesus became fully immersed within the culture of the people to whom He brought the Great News.
He was part of the culture yet transcended it.
He lived happily within the culture yet was an agent of its transformation.
The incarnation is a challenge to understand and live within the world of the unchurched culture.
We must make the Great News culturally relevant to them and take it into their world.
Although the incarnation first took place 2000 years ago in the life of a young girl, it continues to happen every time you share His love with others
…. when you speak words of life in His name
…. when you offer a shoulder to cry on
.… when you offer a helping hand
…. a touch to heal
…. a handshake of welcome and acceptance
.… when you give a cup of water in His name
.… It happens whenever and wherever the name of Jesus is lifted up
.… every time you and I choose to forgive
…. And it will continue to happen each time someone offers a prayer of simple faith…
…. “Lord Jesus, come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. I need you to forgive my failures and faults. I freely give you my whole entire life as you have freely given all of yours. I surrender to you all of the hidden things of my heart.”
How can we expect the God of the universe to entrust us with the souls of spiritual seekers if we are not living an incarnational reality?
Incarnational Ministry is a challenge to understand and live within the world of today and of the future.
We must make the Great News culturally relevant to all people. Just as God chose to become like us to prove His love, we must now choose to become like Him and learn to walk in the Spirit, breath by breath, overflowing in the power of the Resurrection so that Jesus will become incarnate in every heart we touch.
Our Vertical Call …..
Revelation 7:9-12Amplified Bible
A Multitude from the Tribulation
9 After these things I looked, and this is what I saw: a vast multitude which no one could count, [gathered] from every nation and from all the tribes and peoples and languages [of the earth], standing before the throne and before the Lamb (Christ), dressed in white robes, with [a]palm branches in their hands; 10 and in a loud voice they cried out, saying,
“Salvation [belongs] to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb [our salvation is the Trinity’s to give, and to God the Trinity we owe our deliverance].” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the [twenty-four] elders and the four living creatures; and they fell to their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,
“Amen! Blessing and glory and majesty and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might belong to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
How will you and I reach that higher place of walking naturally in the super-natural anointing of God?
It begins through extravagant worship!
We are going to spend eternity worshipping God just as the Angels.
Worship truly is a way of life.
Not just worshipping but being a worshiper – living a life that is pleasing to Him, no matter where you are in your Christianity, or what you, I, are doing.
We need to become lost in the ecstasy of intimate embrace.
You and I need to press into Jesus and let Him hold us so close that as He hugs us, He takes your breath away.
Why, because you take His breath away, every moment of every day.
The Cross proves He loves you so much it hurts.
God isn’t mad anymore…He is madly in love with you and with me.
We must come to that place in worship that we are completely overwhelmed with His presence – His beauty – His majestic splendor – His infinite love.
He desires to love us so intimately that the waves of passion from His presence will make a casual observer blush.
For how long now have you longed for His passionate touch?
Since the very beginning, He longs for you and for me to feel His heartbeat against your chest, two hearts beating as one.
Since the very beginning, He longs for His majestic love to roll over you and me like waves rolling in and also crashing mightily and loudly upon the seashore
– sometimes like the waves caused by a quiet, gentle breeze and sometimes with the intensity of storm-tossed waves pounding you, heaving and sighing, pulling you under, causing you to gasp for breath.
For how long now have you longed to do His bidding?
His love can totally overwhelm and engulf you with the deep satisfaction that His love transcends all that this world has to offer.
For how long have you and I desired to become a hopeless romantic for the intimate caresses of His unconditional love that are far better than life?
God is a relentless pursuer and lover who desires to ravish each of us with His love.
We too must become relentless in our pursuit of His passion and presence.
He is looking for radical worshippers. We can only worship in the degree of our revelation. Worship takes us much deeper into the revelation of who God is. The deeper you move into worship, the greater degree of the revelation of His glory.
C. Resurrecting Dry Bones
For how long now has this generation been yearning for a greater unveiling of God’s glory and a much deeper longing and desire for intimacy with Jesus?
God is imparting unique gifting upon the new generation that is similar to the Jesus Movement of the ’70s but with signs and wonders that will come out of having a deep experience of intimacy with Jesus.
God is posturing us to meet with Him.
There is no question, undoubtedly supernatural Revival is absolutely coming.
It will sweep across the nation and cost something
– not just our time, talents, or money.
It will cost us everything.
As written in Ezekiel 37, God is going to resurrect this generation and put life into dry bones in order to create an army full of grace and the gifts of God’s glory. The message is clear; God is saying to this rejected, abandoned, and fatherless generation, “LIVE!” and He will place a double anointing on them.
This young generation believes they have seen it all, experienced it all.
They are being bombarded with visual images so amazing and often so vile that they echelons beyond defying the imagination.
There are designer drugs that even Professor Timothy Leary could never have conjured up.
But now they are to behold Jesus in all His splendor, in the wonder of His glory.
It will transcend anything they have ever experienced.
No drug, no human-made image can compare to the wonder and glory of God.
This generation is being beckoned into His chambers.
The spirit of prophecy has come.
Psalm 40:7-10 Amplified Bible
7
Then I said, “Behold, I come [to the throne];
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8
“I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your law is within my heart.”
9
I have proclaimed good news of righteousness [and the joy that comes from obedience to You] in the great assembly;
Behold, I will not restrain my lips [from proclaiming Your righteousness],
As You know, O Lord.
10
I have not concealed Your righteousness within my heart;
I have proclaimed Your faithfulness and Your salvation.
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great assembly.
Behold, these dry bones will be revived!
Behold, these dry bones will live!
D. “Trading Spaces”
One night while in prayer, the television show “Trading Spaces” popped into my mind.
This is that show which takes two couples from the same neighborhood.
They redecorate a room of each other’s home over a weekend based upon the design plan of a professional interior decorator.
At the end of the show, the finished rooms are unveiled before each of the couples with mostly excitement and happiness over the changes.
Sometimes, the results are so hideous to the couple that tears of anger and sadness overwhelm them.
I asked the Lord what this was all about, and I heard Him say,
“This generation is going to redecorate and renew the Church. Some are going to love it, and some are going to hate it, but it will be by my design”.
Just as the Jesus Movement crossed denominational boundaries, so will this new move of God.
E. The “Free Love” Generation
The Jesus movement discovered the transforming power of Jesus and experienced the passion, but there was no one to lead us into the Secret Place.
Instead, we were led down a path of maintaining the status quo because that is all our spiritual leaders knew.
We were led to believe that church could only be conducted a certain way.
And now, because of it, our sermons, our music, our worship programs are boring and culturally irrelevant.
We have settled for the sublime. We have pursued prosperity rather than His presence. We can’t have it both ways. We can’t love God and money. We have abandoned this generation in our quest for unfulfilled dreams that will break.
We longed for love, and we became the “free love” generation, which has reaped a whirlwind of multiple sexually transmitted diseases.
Aid’s is killing tens of thousands. Tens of millions of babies have been sacrificed on the alters of our hedonistic self-indulgence under the guise of “free choice.” The biblical institution of marriage is in near shambles and Divorce is rampant.
As we grew older, the empty longing persisted within us.
We thought it was because we didn’t have enough.
Our children became latchkey kids while we pursued our careers and increased our wealth.
We have filled our houses with “things” made by hand and not made by the heart of God.
They have become a nameless, faceless, and fatherless generation.
This generation is crying out in desperation for transformation – the transformation that brings true freedom to grow and experience all that God has for them.
Our children have become infatuated with the supernatural, yet we can only mesmerize them with “Harry Potter” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” rather than the King of kings and Lord of lords. The mind can’t comprehend, nor has eye ever seen nor the ear ever heard what God has in store for this generation.
F. The Simeon and Anna Call (Luke 2:21-38)
My generation didn’t have anyone to lead us into reckless abandon with Jesus.
We fell in love with Him, but there was no one to teach us His intimate ways, to lead us into the Secret Place deep in His Chambers.
I believe God is giving us that opportunity with this generation!
The success of this new move will be dependent on our peers – the Moses generation.
We hold the correcting rod of the Lord.
This army of young Saints carries the sword of Joshua.
They will take back what the enemy has stolen in the Arts, Music, Sports, Politics, Business, and Education.
And just like Joshua, their success will be dependent on the authority God has given us.
The key element for success is that we are so plugged into Jesus and His holiness that we can become true spiritual parents.
We must become the Simeon’s and Anna’s who will lead them, mentor them, and become spiritual fathers and mothers to them.
The job of a servant-leader is to lead and usher people into God’s presence.
We must lead and usher the sheep to the pastures of His presence so that they can reproduce.
It is a biological impossibility for Shepherds to begat sheep. Only sheep can beget sheep. Shepherds can only beget shepherds. Nor can they create the pastures. Only God can. We must hear His voice and bid His calling. The degree to which we know Him personally will determine the degree we serve Him.
As in the parable of the 10 Bridesmaids, we must have our lanterns full of the oil of God’s Spirit so that we will be a blazing light to this generation, and they will be drawn to His passionate flame.
We must find the Secret Place of intimacy with our God before we can lead this generation there.
We must let God fill us with His passion and presence.
Your destiny is revealed in your passion.
Your passion will be released in serving others.
A lover will always outwork a worker.
Jesus can’t be just a part of your life He must be ALL of your life.
We don’t have the capacity to receive all that God has for us because of our pride.
It is pride that keeps us from experiencing all that God has for us.
You can’t become without beholding.
You have to see to be.
We must learn to cling to the Lord wholly and completely. You can’t fully cling if your hands are full. It is time to cry out, “Awaken my heart God, let me feel the burning passion of your love. I yearn to love you the way you love me”.
G. Fascinate This Generation
God is calling a warrior Bride – but first, they must get to know their lover.
This is a generation that longs to be intimate with God but is afraid to approach Him because of shame and fear of rejection and fear of “cultural cancellation” for the sinful nature that is hidden deep inside of their hearts and their souls.
We must help fascinate this generation with the person of Jesus. We must teach them of His character and nature so that they can be infused with lovesickness that will cause them to long for nothing else – long for no one else – but Jesus.
The Lord is saying,
” My Bride is timid and shy. She is afraid that she isn’t desirable because of her failures and faults. She is afraid to let Me see her in all her nakedness. I say, come now into the Bridal Chamber, for I desire all of you just as you are. I see you as a new creation – spotless – without wrinkle or blemish – radiant and beautiful in My sight. For now, you see me through a glass darkly, but one day soon, you will see Me face to face. I long to be with you. Teach her my ways. Show her my glory. Let her see what it means to be married to the King of Glory, the Lord of the universe! Reveal My intimate love for her – that I Am to be trusted and adored.”
I am convinced that the primary way to attract the unchurched is to become ATTRACTIVE, having the fragrance of Jesus, an aroma that the lost will seek out and yearn for nothing else ever again once they experience His presence.
We are to be reflections of His mercy in how we appear to the world.
“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. (2 Corinthians 2:14-16 RSV)
If we are going to reach the unchurched, we must be willing to be broken and poured out.
We must desire to be shattered upon the Rock and emptied of ourselves so that God might fill us up over and over again each time He chooses to pour us out.
We must yearn to share the bread of heaven with the hungry.
We must ride in the chariots of fire across the earth so that the Glory of God will cover the earth like the waters cover the seas.
H. Make Us Dry Wood
The Church must become a place of extravagant worship and teaching – A place of training and mentoring to empower and send out a bunch of revolutionaries to take our cities for the Kingdom.
We must teach them what it means to be loved by God, not just as His servant but as His bride.
We must ask God to make us dry wood so that His fire may burn brightly and consume us.
We must cry out for God to move with each breath, not just when He speaks.
We must break the chains that hold us back from knowing Him more so that we can be released into the passion of His presence.
It is no longer the time to weep tears of sorrow.
We have been forgiven!
His shed blood has paid the price for our redemption!
It is time to weep tears of joy! It is time for dancing in the streets!
It is time to jump and shout in celebration for the Bridegroom is coming!
Blow the trumpets in Zion! Sound the alarm!
Make way for the day of His appearing is near!
Are you ready to walk in the anointing?
He wants you to go deep into the Secret Place and consume you with His love.
Are you ready for more?
Do you desire to fall deeply in love with the Savior?
Today is the day!
I. Become consumed by God.
Acts 5:14-16Amplified Bible
14 More and more believers in the Lord, crowds of men and women, were constantly being added to their number, 15 to such an extent that they even carried their sick out into the streets and put them on cots and sleeping pads, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on one of them [with healing power]. 16 And the people from the towns in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing the sick and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.
The Glory of God was upon Peter to such a degree that when he walked, the anointing poured over onto those that needed healing.
We must come to the place of understanding that we were saved by God for His Glory and His purpose so that we can likewise become vessels of His Glory and begin to walk in His supernatural anointing so that the sick will be healed, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will walk, and “the dead” will “live.”
We must pour out our lives and allow ourselves to become totally possessed by Him, not just spiritually, but emotionally and physically as well.
The blessings of being possessed by Him are far greater than the satisfaction of being self-possessed.
2 Corinthians 4:3-6Amplified Bible
3 But even if our gospel is [in some sense] hidden [behind a veil], it is hidden [only] to those who are perishing; 4 among them the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving to prevent them from seeing the illuminating light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves [merely] as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give us the Light of the knowledge of the glory and majesty of God [clearly revealed] in the face of Christ.
Before you and I became a Born-Again Christian, it was tough for us seeing how exciting being born again was. But, when we stepped into the light of Christ and asked Jesus to become your Lord and Savior and repented of your sin, all of a sudden, you and I began to understand the reward that came with salvation.
What we’re going to experience is a new revelation of the Cross because we have known the Cross from the standpoint of Jesus dying for us.
So now He is going to pull the church through that atonement into a deeper revelation of what it is. Then we begin to see a second death and a second resurrection, which is the death of God’s people in this hour that need to die so we can be resurrected under His supernatural anointing and His presence.
Ephesians 3:20-21Amplified Bible
20 Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.
It says He is able; it doesn’t say He will. So we have to change. It says He is able to do this for those who will humble themselves before the mighty hand of God.
If we don’t walk in humility, then we can’t move “He is able” to “He is willing to do it.”
That’s why it’s conditional to walking in humility, laying down our pride, then the power begins to take place in us and through us.
You and I came to believe in the will of the Father through the Body of Christ.
Perhaps with “enough” fire in our souls – coming generations will feel Christ.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Lord Jesus Christ, thank you that you know my every need.
Your word says that the church is your bride. Your people have been washed clean and purified by your blood. Your people have been clothed in only your righteousness. You love the church, you died for the church, you pray for the church, you sustain the church. Hear my prayer and fill your people with the knowledge and experience of your love. You are the God of endurance and encouragement. Help us to live in harmony with one another, that together we may with one voice glorify you. In your powerful name, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 