Tag: Romans 15:4-6

Could Jeremiah 29:11 Have A Far, Far Deeper Meaning, Truth for Us Today? Jeremiah 29:8-14

Jeremiah 29:8-14 The Message

8-9 Yes. Believe it or not, this is the Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, Israel’s God: “Don’t let all those so-called preachers and know-it-alls who are all over the place there take you in with their lies. Don’t pay any attention to the fantasies they keep coming up with to please you. They’re a bunch of liars preaching lies—and claiming I sent them! I never sent them, believe me.” God’s Decree!

10-11 This is God’s Word on the subject: “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

12 “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.

13-14 “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.

“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree.

“I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you”—God’s Decree—“bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

How rare is the Word of God today?

How rare is the genuine understanding of the Word of God today?

How rare is the genuine truth of the Word of God sought after today?

How rare is the person who seeks after the genuine truth of God’s Word?

How rare is the person who actually, diligently, genuinely, seeks to apply the wisdom and the genuine truth of the Word of God to their lives?

How rare is the person who actually, diligently, genuinely applies the genuine truth of the Word of God to their lives?

How rare is the person who then actually, diligently, genuinely, seeks with all of their heart, souls, minds and strength, to diligently, genuinely teach all others? (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Do we genuinely want to know, love, experience God through His Word alone?

Do we really and genuinely want to surprise ourselves by seeking His Kingdom?

The True Deeper Meaning of Jeremiah 29:11 Might Surprise You

Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most well-known and quoted verses in the Bible.

It’s promise is held dearly by Christians all over the world.

But despite it’s popularity the meaning of Jeremiah 29:11 is often misused and misapplied.

It’s one of the most misquoted verses in the entire Bible. 

While many Christians have this verse memorized and hanging on their walls, the context in which it’s written is often ignored.

The Bible passage of Jeremiah 29:11 is a popular verse that we, as Christians, cling to in times of trials and hardships.

Whenever problems occur in our earthly lives, we always find safe refuge in the Word of God and one of those verses is Jeremiah 29:11.

Because of this,

it is essential to understand the historical as well as the literary context of the verse to give us a deeper understanding as to why Jeremiah wrote it.

When we ignore the context in which the Bible is written we can quite literally make it say anything we want. 

What We Commonly Get Wrong About Jeremiah 29:11 Meaning

Jeremiah 29:11 is everywhere.

From coffee mugs to graduation speeches this verse is plastered everywhere.

Yet despite the popularity the meaning of Jeremiah 29:11 is often misapplied. 

Most commonly the meaning of Jeremiah 29:11 is applied as a personal promise.

That God has a wonderful and perfect plan for ME.

Many take this verse and apply it specifically to them, that God has their life perfectly mapped out, and that they only have to walk in obedience to God. 

Others take this verse a step further claiming this verse is a continuous promise of health and wealth.

Since we are children of the King we would, could, should only hope to expect the best from God.

With this view, anything less than that view, pain and suffering are interpreted as a sign of disobedience, being disciplined by our God for our true lack of faith. 

The main problem with these interpretations of Jeremiah 29:11 is that they are very ME centered.

It’s all about what God can and is going to do for ME.

And that’s not the meaning of Jeremiah 29:11.

Or the Bible for that matter. 

Where do we begin to more deeply, genuinely acknowledge, the grace of God?

When do we acknowledge the genuine authority, sovereignty, power, of God’s exclusive to God truth behind Psalm 46:10-11?

Psalm 46:10-11 The Message

8-10 Attention, all! See the marvels of God!
    He plants flowers and trees all over the earth,
Bans war from pole to pole,
    breaks all the weapons across his knee.
“Step out of the traffic! Take a long,
    loving look at me, your High God,
    above politics, above everything.”

11     Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
    God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

See all of the marvels of God and God alone!

The alleged marvels of humanity are not even mentioned by the Psalmist!

The sovereignty of God and God alone is where everything remains the same.

Psalm 46:10-11 Amplified Bible

10 
“Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 
The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold [our refuge, our high tower]. Selah.

So, accounting for it being about God alone, what does Jeremiah 29:11 mean?

Let’s dive into the context and find out. 

The Meaning Of Jeremiah 29:11 In Context Historically

Context matters. In fact, I would say context is king.

When we are reading the Bible we cannot ignore the context in which what we are reading is written in. 

That means we should do three things when reading the Bible: 

  1. Look at the surrounding verses
  2. Consider the original audience 
  3. Look at the larger narrative of the Bible

What is the history behind his words and what is the reasoning?

What is its literal meaning and how can we apply it to our daily lives, not just during tribulations, but rather, as followers of Jesus Christ and children of God?

To help us understand the meaning of Jeremiah 29:11 we will focus primarily on the first two in the list above.

Let me just say this, the common ways this passage is interpreted does not fit the Biblical narrative – the Bible teaches selflessness not a ME centered faith. 

When you rewind a little bit from Jeremiah 29:11 what you see is God talking to the nation of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah.

What Does ‘For I Know the Plans I Have for You’ Mean in Jeremiah 29:11 

Based on the historical context of the verse and the major events that happened in the past, we can understand why Jeremiah said the words in Jeremiah 29:11.

His primary goal was to speak to God’s people amidst hardships and suffering.

The people on the long march into Babylonian captivity needed to know there was some kind of hope they could latch themselves onto to face down reality.

The people were ready to grasp onto any smidgen of reality that would reveal for them that somewhere in this national tragedy befalling them, there is hope.

The unfolding breadth, unrelenting scope of trauma in every which direction of recent events of Babylonian siege, and plunder and war, of this disaster abound.

No one was immune from the impossible to measure effects of its devastation.

National identity was being systematically, violently stripped away from them.

Even their beloved Temple, where God was always to be found – was destroyed.

The Temple where God resided, was desecrated beyond repair – God was gone.

No God in residence…the spiritual trauma behind that thought – unfathomable.

Can anyone of us identify with this feeling?

Their lifeline to God and His divine protection – violently, visibly, severed.

Can anyone of us identify with this feeling?

No lifeline to God was equated with having no Hope of seeing Hope ever again.

Can anyone of us identify ourselves with this feeling?

The people of God were asking for an immediate rescue from the suffering that they were experiencing, and the counter-cultural, against the grain, prophet Jeremiah had a huge responsibility to tell them the truth about God’s promise.

He was also tasked to rebuke a very huge and ultra convincing lie that the false prophet Hananiah had widely circulated, which was not a very easy task to do.

This verse was his message, inspired by God’s guidance, to tell the people that God’s response is not an immediate answer, rather, God has a plan to prosper His people amidst hardships, God has a promise for the future of His people.

The needed caveat to these words – being after seventy years of exile is done.

The duration of the exile would continue until God had designed it to be over.

There would be no avoiding it or getting away from its experience or its effects.

The exile was a done deal.

Praying would not end it before its anointed and appointed time.

The exile was going to have to be fully, inescapably, endured. (Psalm 137)

Considering the coming tragedy of that march to Babylon, and what the people already had to endure and bear witness to (Psalm 137:8-9), it was a bitter time!

If we reflect on the words of Jeremiah, we can see the wisdom that God gave him during those trying times.

He starts with a clear, direct message, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,”

These words can be interpreted as a direct message and an assurance that God knows their plans.

And then, the verse continues with a more profound explanation of God’s plan, “‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).

These words give more detail of His plan — to inspire His people to continue on, to persevere through the very harshest of seasons, times and circumstances.

The Historical Context of ‘For I Know the Plans I Have for You’ in Jeremiah 29:11

In its context, Jeremiah is speaking to his fellow people as they were forced to exile from their home in Jerusalem to Babylon and, now, under enemy rule.

There was too much turmoil in terms of emotional and physical stress among the believers of God during this time.

To add to this, there was also a false prophet named Hananiah who gave false hope to the Jews regarding the prophecy of God.

According to Hananiah, God promises to relieve the Jews of their suffering after two years and would come back to their home.

This was a false prophecy that Jeremiah heard and rebuked. We can read this verse further in Jeremiah 28:15-17;

Jeremiah 28:15-17 Amplified Bible

15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am about to send you away from the face of the earth. This year you will die, because you have spoken  and have counseled rebellion against the Lord.’”

17 So Hananiah the [false] prophet died [two months later], the same year, in the seventh month.

Imagine Jeremiah having to tell the Jews that instead of two years, they would live in Babylon for 70 years and endure it as it is written in Jeremiah 29:4-10,

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord.

This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.”

Jeremiah was tasked to deliver a message that God’s people would have to live, build houses, marry, pray for peace, and prosper in a city that was not theirs.

It was an arduous, difficult task, and Jeremiah had to give the people an inspirational message and thus the words in Jeremiah 29:11 were written.

What Deeper Meaning Would, What Could, What Should, ‘For I Know the Plans I Have for You’ Genuinely Mean for Us Today?

Indeed, Jeremiah 29:11 is a great reminder amidst the longevity of suffering, God alone has a boundless God sized plan for us to prosper and hope for our future.

We should not give up. We may be experiencing different situations such as the severe health or a financial crisis or a family relationship on the brink of being torn apart, the verse tells us that these things are in passing and God has a plan.

Just as what happened in the past with the Jews in Babylon, we may experience “lets grasp for human straws” hopeful words of false prophets like Hananiah.

The much beloved verse also reminds us not to believe in human things that are too good to be true and instead, trust God alone, His Grace, His processes alone.

For it is only in trusting His process we can all be assured of hope for the future.

Lastly, this much cherished verse also reminds us that if we seek God in our hearts, we will never be weary even if we experience suffering in our lives.

Let God alone transform our mindsets of unrelenting suffering to unrelenting joy in the Lord and the Lord alone who is our strength. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

More Bible Verses about Hope

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.  ~ Isaiah 40:31

For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. ~ Romans 8:24-25

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead ~ 1 Peter 1:3

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ~ Romans 15:4

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. ~ Romans 15:13

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ~ Romans 12:12

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ~ Hebrews 11:1

2 Timothy 3:14-17 Amplified Bible

14 But as for you, continue in the things that you have learned and of which you are convinced [holding tightly to the truths], knowing from whom you learned  them,  15 and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings (Hebrew Scriptures) which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus [surrendering your entire self to Him and having absolute confidence in His wisdom, power and goodness]. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; 17 so that the [a]man of God may be complete  and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Seek out the deeper meanings, immeasurable truths of the Word of God.

The entirety of our lives is a Tapestry weaved by the Grace of God by God.

In Christ Jesus, our Savior, in Him alone our hope is found (Acts 4:8-12)

Give God 100% of the Glory – saving or hoarding none of it for yourselves.

Give God 100% of the Praise – saving or hoarding none of it for yourselves.

Give God 100% of the Honor – saving or hoarding none of it for yourselves.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Majesty, worship His majesty
Unto Jesus be all glory, honor and praise,
Majesty, kingdom authority
Flow from His throne, unto His own
His Anthem raise
Majesty, worship His majesty

Unto Jesus be all glory, honor and praise,
Majesty, kingdom authority
Flow from His throne, unto His own
His Anthem raise

So exalt, lift up on high, the name of Jesus
Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus the King
Majesty, worship His majesty

Jesus who died, now glorified
King of all kings

Copyright: 

1981 New Spring (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)

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Waiting for Jesus. Learning how to Walk Naturally in The Supernatural Anointing of God. Philippians 1:22-26

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.

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