Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. -Romans 13:11-14
About three weeks ago, God gave me another dream:
In that dream I set my cell phone alarm to wake up at 6:45am. The alarm went off at that time and I woke up in my dream. I began to walk around and saw people that I was close to spiritually before I became fully committed to LoveHOP. All these people had different times and swore they each had the right time. So much confusion was going on and I became confused myself. I began to think that I had the wrong time but I didn’t know who to turn to because everyone had different times. I then yelled “It’s 6:45 people! Change your times!!” After I did that, everyone began changing their watches and clocks. Then the dream ended.
I feel the dream represents many who profess to be part of the Body of Christ and the state they are in. They simply do not know the times and seasons right now. Many are currently blind and deaf to what the Spirit is saying to the Church. Many are building up their own religious institutions and promoting their own man-made agendas in the Name of Jesus rather than promoting the Kingdom agenda. Along with that comes a toleration of loose living, immorality, and unrepentance of willfull sin. Prayerlessness abounds and the worship of God is not a priority. Many need to simply wake up and discern the age!
We need to be like the men of Issachar “who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (1 Chronicles 12:32). Because the men of Issachar understood the age they were in, they knew what to do when they went to war. Beloved, NOW is the time to submit ourselves to what the Sovereign Spirit of God wants to do in this age. This is a cry to the Church- LAY DOWN YOUR AGENDAS FOR THE SAKE OF THE KINGDOM. Don’t try to build up your own church name but surrender to what God wants to do.
But what kind of age are we in?
Luke 21:25-28 states:
“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
For the past few months we have experienced and increase of activity in the natural realm. Earthquakes, tsunamis, floods as well as fear around the world. All these signs point close to the coming return of Christ who will establish His kingdom here on earth. But as this world grows darker, the Light that we haveMUST shine brighter and brighter. There is hope!
“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.“ -Isaiah 60:1-3
Revival is here!!!
The beginning of the greatest awakening the world has ever seen is stirring up. Revival fires are being lit and it’s about to rumble. Are we aware of what’s going on right now or are we still caught up in the same ol’ same ol’? Are we ready? Are we able to recognize the move of God when it hits our churches/communities?
What must we do now?
The answer is found in Matthew 25:1-12:
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
In this parable regarding the age in we are living right now, which are the End Times, there were ten brides waiting for the bridegroom. Half were described as wise and the other hald were considered foolish. The bride represents the type of people who profess to be believers. The bridegroom which represents Christ somehow “delayed” his coming. Then there was a cry at an hour they were asleep. The ones who were wise WOKE UP and lighted their lamps with the oil they had. The ones who were foolish ran out of oil and were ill-prepared for the bridegroom’s coming. The ones who had the oil were ready to be with the Lord and the ones who didn’t have the oil were shut out…
What does the oil represent and how do we buy our own?
The oil represents intimacy with God. Oil was what was used to light the lamp. If we are to be the “light of the world” we must prioritize intimacy with God throughprayer and worship. Too often, we are going around being “busy” for God but achieving nothing. Now is the time to love Him and allow Him to love us. He wants to be with us. He wants our eyes fixed on Him during this time. He wants us to be awakened from our spiritual sleep and to focus our gaze upon Him. And as our hearts are fixed on Him, He will speak to us and direct us in what to do during this age.
“While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” -Acts 13:2. As we set our minds and hearts to worship God, the Holy Spirit will speak and direct us. We, the Church must go back to the roots of adoration of Jesus!
Jesus, awaken Your Bride to see what Your Spirit is doing in this age. May we arise and shine for Your light has come upon us. Let us be ready for what You are beginning to do in this age!