From the Palace to the Widow's House

The spirit of Elijah is resting on our generation as we prepare the way for the return of the Lord. Malachi declares that Elijah is going to turn the hearts of the fathers to the sons and the sons to the fathers (Mal 4:6). We have countless teachers today in the Church, but not many fathers (1 Cor 4:15). This Elijah ministry is raising up true fathers in the Church again. As a result sons and daughters will walk in their identity and inheritance in Christ. The sun of righteousness is rising with healing in its wings. Healing is coming to the body of Christ! In the natural and in the spiritual fathers are coming home. The Church is not going to be fatherless any longer.

The Lord is sending His messenger to clear the way because the Lord whom we seek is coming suddenly to His temple (Mal 3:1). His temple is us! As He is, so are we in the world (1 John 4:17). God is looking for an exact representation of Himself in the earth, a body in equal proportion to the Head. When God was looking for Adam in the garden after the fall it wasn't that He didn't know where Adam was. He was looking for that which was of Himself in Adam. When we received Christ we were given the right to become sons of God (John 1:12). Our relationship with the Father has been restored and we've been given full access to Him.

This Elijah ministry is a forerunner ministry. Like a pioneer it blazes a trail so that others can follow behind. This trail may be unlike one we've ever seen before. Brush and other obstacles are going to be in the way. It's time we lay aside every weight that slows us down and the sin that so easily entangles us and run with perseverance the race marked out for us (Heb 12:1). There's a race marked out for you. Like Paul, the forerunner declares, "Follow me as I follow Christ (1 Cor 11:1)." Sons follow their Fathers to the finish line.

We get our first look at Elijah in 1 Kings 17. Here he comes on the scene to Ahab during a time of spiritual drought. He declares that the Lord God lives, that he stands before Him, and that no rain will come except according to his word. Elijah comes out of nowhere with a powerful word that will affect the nations during their time of drought. A nameless, faceless generation is getting a word in the secret place for kings and governments. Elijah learned to stand before God before he stood before Ahab. A man that can stand before God can stand before kings.

When we are in the palace we think we've arrived. Sometimes God will give us a taste of something before we are mature enough to operate in the gift or call that He has for us. He needs to get us out of the palace (the spotlight, tv, etc) so that He can prepare us to minister at the widow's house (the Church and the world).

When we read stories like Elijah's we have a tendency to check out. We think that great men like Elijah, Isaiah, the Apostles, and more had a special set apart relationship with God unlike something we could ever have. James 5:17 says that Elijah was a man JUST LIKE US! God is not looking for those who have it all together to do great things for Him. He's looking for those willing to respond; a people that will cry out like Isaiah, "Here am I, send me." James goes on to say that Elijah was a man who with prayer prayed (prayed earnestly). Prayer coupled with a willingness to go where the Spirit sends you is the key. Be available and God will send you places and do things through you that you would have never imagined.

The Christian life is one of growth. Though many try to do so this is a process that you cannot bypass. We grow from faith to faith, strength to strength, and glory to glory. God's ultimate desire is for Christ to be fully formed in us (Gal 4:19). After this powerful word to Ahab Elijah is told to hide by the brook Cherith before the Jordan. The word Cherith means a cutting away. Many times in the midst of what we think are our greatest exploits the Lord needs to hide us in a place where he can cut us deep. As AW Tozer said, "Before God uses a man, God will break a man." We need to be cut away from certain relationships, teachings, our pride and more so that we can know the Lord more intimately. God values our relationship with Him more than our ability to do things for Him. When we value doing things for God more than relationship with Him we are building our own kingdom and not His. Don't be discouraged when the Lord hides you. God is preparing a generation by a brook called Cherith for great exploits in the kingdom. The Lord will reveal you in His time. Stay by the brook until He says to move.

Elijah was told that he would be sustained by water from the brook and by food sent from ravens. The raven was considered an unclean animal and yet this was the method God chose to feed Elijah night and day. Sometimes the food the Lord needs to feed us with comes from unexpected sources. The messenger might not be the person we thought the Lord would send. The word in his mouth may not make sense to us at the time. The word of the Lord can be uncomfortable and come across as an offense. It is imperative that we are a people who don't take offense. True fathers don't always tells you what you want to hear. Rebuking, correction, and training are not popular words in the body of Christ but they are very much needed today. (When administered correctly they never lead to condemnation, but rather to freedom.) Jesus was known for his hard sayings. His parables weren't always easy to understand. Apostolic doctrine is offensive. The message of the finished work is offensive. It offends the natural mind. We preach Christ crucified, an offense to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles (1 Cor 1:23). If you can get it with your natural mind, it's not God. This thing must be received by the Spirit. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Elijah was told that God would feed him there (1 Kings 17:4,9). There is a place called there. God knows where to put us, when and why. When God puts you in the right place at the right time with the right attitude you are having a kairos moment. "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit (John 3:8)." After some time the brook dried up. When the brook dries up in our lives we need to be flexible and willing to move. The old way of doing things isn't going to work any longer. Some brooks in your life are in the process of drying up as there is an assignment for you in Zarepeth. Kingdom people are always on the move because we are those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes (Rev 14:4).

After the brook dries up the word of the Lord comes to Elijah telling him to arise and go to Zarepeth of Sidon. There he has commanded a widow woman to sustain him. Oh the places the Lord will lead us to when we follow Him. Sidon was Jezebel's territory. She was the daughter of the king of Sidon and wife of king Ahab. The Jezebel spirit wants to silence the prophetic voice. It comes about through political manipulation and control. Here God sends His man. Zarepeth means the smelting place, the place of refinement. "These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world (1 Peter 4:7 NLT)." This is true prosperity Gospel teaching. All the riches in the world cannot compare to that which is eternal and indestructible. In the midst of Jezebel's territory God is raising up a people that are willing to go through the fire. "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold (Job 23:10)."

The widow woman represents the Church that the forerunner ministry is coming to. The fact that she is a widow begs the question, where are the Fathers? The world sees the Church without her husband Jesus as weak and dying. The form without the power is killing the Church. To this Church Elijah is on his way. In Luke 4:25,26 Jesus speaks of Elijah bypassing the widow women in Israel to minister to this widow Gentile woman. This speaks of the Gospel going to all nations.

Elijah meets this woman at the gates of the city gathering sticks. He asks her for a little water and while she's on her way he asks for a morsel of bread. The woman responds by saying that she doesn't have any bread but rather a little flour. Don't despise the little that God has put in your hands. Elijah comes to tell you that what you have is more than enough. When the woman is done explaining her lack and that she and her son plan on eating and dying Elijah responds by saying, "FEAR NOT." Here he operates in the word he ate at the brook Cherith. Elijah tells her to do as she said but first to make him a little cake. "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matt 6:33)." By His divine power we've already been given everything we need pertaining to life and godliness through our knowledge of Him (2 Peter 1:3). New covenant prophetic ministers operating in the spirit of Elijah reveal what you already have in Christ. What is in your hand? The little you have is more than enough. Seek first His kingdom and watch what is in your hand multiply.

For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’” And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah. 1 Kings 17:14-16

The jar of flour and the jug of oil will sustain you UNTIL the Lord sends His rain on the earth. The Kingdom has come and the times of refreshing are here. The return of Christ is not any minute, but rather until. Lack of supply, lack of fathers, death, destruction and more are not in the Church's future. Until the Lord sends rain on the earth, until His return this Gospel of the kingdom will go forth and prevail in all the earth!

At a fairly early age I knew that God had put His hand on my life and that He had marked me for the ministry. In my mind I had an idea of what I thought that would look like whether it meant pastoring a Church or serving on the mission field. During Bible College and the few years afterwards I had been in the palace and had seen and been a part of great exploits for the kingdom. In my early twenties I was ready to take the world for Christ and was hoping to plunge headfirst into full-time ministry. Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! Things didn't turn out the way I had (or others) thought they would. The Lord had instead set me apart to Himself to learn from Him. Looking back I'm so thankful. If I had entered into ministry when I did I believe I would have been stuck in the old way of doing things. There were things that the Lord had to teach me and many things that I had to unlearn. While many of us are meant for the palace, the Lord wants to make sure we can effectively minister to the widow. For each one of us the process comes about in different ways but the principles seen in this passage are the same. Our calling is first to the Lord Himself. Without Him we can do nothing! Kingdom Blessings!

I Still See Stadiums Filled

We are not gathering to a movement, a denomination, a revival meeting, or to our favorite teacher. Our gathering is first and foremost unto Christ (Gen 49:10). I see a people gathering together simply because The Presence is there. Imagine the Church getting as excited for a meeting of 2 or 3 as they do when a guest speaker shows up. Christ promises to be in our midst when we gather together and anything can take place in His presence! As much as I appreciate the gifts God has put in the body they are not why we gather together. We gather for Him. In these days God is calling us collectively up the mountain of the Lord to gather together as his house. I believe great things are in store for the Church. The dreams and prophecies of stadiums being filled and revival breaking out in our cities is going to come to pass. Christ will be exalted among the nations. San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Paris, Moscow, Hollywood, and more will be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.

But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. Micah 4:1

Many of us look at passages such as this one and push them so far into the future that we don't allow for them to be our present hope. Here in Micah 4 we see that the house of the Lord is established at the top of the mountains. Many nations will come and say let us go up the mountain of the Lord where He will teach us His ways. Disputes among the nations will be settled and weapons will be turned into tools for agriculture. Simply put war will cease to exist and fear will be no more. The lame and the exiled will be gathered together and the Lord will rule from Zion forever.

What if the Church lived as though this was a present hope? What if we truly believed that Christ (and us with him) was ruling and reigning right now? What if we said no to war, injustice, and social inequalities? Are we living in the last days or is this a future last days Micah is talking about?

When the Church gathered together in the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost and the Holy Spirit fell Peter proclaimed that what happened was a fulfillment of Joel's prophecy of the "last days" (Acts 2:16,17). The author of Hebrews declares that in these "last days" God has spoken to us in His Son (Heb 1:2). I John 2:8 says that this is the "last time." Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:11 says that what happened to Israel was written to us on whom the "end of the ages" has come. I would suggest to you that what we have called the "last days" is not really what the Scripture is talking about. The last days of the Mosaic economy or the Jewish age were at hand and we are now living in the new day of Christ.

All that is in The Messiah is therefore The New Creation; the old order has passed away to such. 2 Corinthians 5:17

We are the light of the world. A city that has been set on a hill cannot be hidden (Matt 5:14). As a Church we have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God (Heb 12:22). We are that city coming down from Heaven as a bride adorned for her husband (Rev 21:2). The mountain of the house of the Lord has been established. The Church as the third temple made up of Jew and Gentile is here.

The nations are going to come up the mountain to the house of the Lord. Let's continue to send, pray, and give to reaching the ends of the earth. A great harvest is coming to the Church as all nations are His. Nations like Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and more have yet to be discipled.

Let's believe for the Church to be known for peace and not war. Micah speaks of swords being turned into plowshares and the nations not knowing war anymore. War is not nor will ever be a Kingdom value. It's unfortunate that we as a Church have been suspicious of those working for peace. Our theology subtly teaches, "suspicious are the peacemakers, for they probably work for the antichrist." Christ pronounced blessing on the peacemakers for they will be called the Children of God (Matt 5:9). As a Church Christ is still saying, "you have heard it said, but I say unto you." It's time we rethink our theology of war. The Kingdom of peace has come and we have been given a ministry where we declare to all men to "be reconciled to God."

When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Proverbs 16:7

Daniel's stone cut out of a mountain without hands is growing to be great mountain that will fill the whole earth. The future of the Church is glorious. We are not on a pattern of retreat but rather that of dominion as Christ promised us His Church will be built and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matt 16:18). Let's live as though Micah's prophecy is a present hope. I still see stadiums filled... Kingdom blessings!

Reformation: 3 Areas of Transition

God is going to change the forms and expressions of Church within one generation to the degree that it will not be recognizable any more. - Mike Bickle

Charisma magazine has been a regular part of my life since I first received the Pentecostal experience. I remember going to my friend's house in high school and while others were playing video games I'd be reading his parents Charisma magazine. You could say I was desperate. Hunger for the things of God was my motivation. I wanted to soak up as much as I could because I believed I would be a world changer like the people I was reading about in this magazine. It's amazing how much has changed in the decade since then. I'm still hungry, still in the Word and prayer, still in the books, but my enthusiasm for Charisma is no longer there. Christian celebrity scandals, end times doom and gloom, the latest spiritual warfare trends, and the day to day news of Israel on repetition every month have had me considering canceling my subscription. However this last month I saw some signs of hope. Randy Clark's article on revival and the current move of the Holy Spirit encouraged me. When asked where he believes the current revival is going he said that it is going to MEET HIM. This is an acronym for Missions, Ecumenism, Eschatology, Theology, Holiness, Intercession, and Mercy ministry. Randy's message spoke to my heart because many of these same things the Lord has been sharing with me specifically in the areas of ecumenism, eschatology and theology.

The prayer and missions movement that God is currently raising up in the earth is something amazing. David's tabernacle truly is being restored in the earth as God's house is becoming a place of prayer for all nations. As a Church we are entering "the times of reformation" to prepare the way for the return of the Lord (Hebrews 9:10, Acts 3:21). God is raising up reformers who are rooting out, tearing down, and destroying improper foundations so that the Lord's house can be built on an accurate foundation. If the forms and expressions of the Church are going to change in a generation then it's going to require a people who are willing to be misunderstood.

Ecumenism: Jesus prayed in John 17:21 that we would all be one so that the world would believe that you sent me. "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:35)." It's time we start living like the salvation of the world will come as a result of our unity. Christians today want to break fellowship over so many petty things; bible translations, disagreement on a non-essential, someone not being friendly in Church, etc. Something is wrong with this picture! We are told to be diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Eph 4:13).

"If any conviction/belief/opinion is enough to divide you from a brother/sister in Christ, then that thing has become lord and not Christ." - Glenn Packiam

In this season of tabernacles the Lord is calling the Church out of her distinctive camps to join together as one body. Denominationalism and division was never God's intention for His Church. Anything that causes us to attach our loyalty to a sect whether it be Calvinism, Lutheran, A/G, Jesus Only, etc rather than to that of the Kingdom needs to be destroyed. Being non-denominational, Apostolic, part of a local network, etc can be just as divisive if our identity is rooted in "what we are not" rather than in Christ and His Church.

The teaching of the "one new man" in Christ composed of Jew and Gentile (Eph 2:14) must be proclaimed in the Church again. Christ has broken down the wall that separated Gentiles from citizenship in and access to the covenant promises made to Israel (Eph 2:12). Dispensational teaching seeks to rebuild this wall that Christ has torn down by teaching that God's redemptive plan is different for Israel and the Church. The Church has always been in the mind of God and was never His "plan b". In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek as we are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:28).

We need one another. Slave, Free, Black, White, Yellow, Brown, Male, Female, Young, Old, Poor, Rich, Israeli, Greek, Palestinian, Nigerian, American.... There is no division in Christ. The priesthood has been given to all believers. This doesn't mean that we can make it on our own, just me and Jesus. The priesthood of all believers means that we are all priests, not for ourselves, but for one another. Love one another.

Theology: Theology is important because what we believe determines how we live. If we believe that God is good and that he loves us we are going to live differently than someone who thinks God is out to get them. The message of the finished work, fathers and sons, and going on to maturity are some of the things that I believe God is highlighting in our day.

For many in the Pentecostal movement education has been frowned upon. This has to change. Education is a good thing. Paul admonished Timothy to study to show himself approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15). Let God build a foundation in your life through systematically studying His word. Immerse yourself in the word and prayer like the early apostles (Acts 6:4) and I guarantee you Jesus will unveil himself in His word.

The people of God perish for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). Much of the Church today has gone backwards into captivity because of a lack of knowledge (Isaiah 5:13). Someone needs to stand up today and tell the Church that she is already complete through her union with Christ (Col 2:10). The Church needs to be told that her warfare has been accomplished and that her sins are pardoned (Isaiah 40:2). The war between God and man is finished in Christ! No more need to jump up and down, shouting, begging, pleading to take anything back from our enemy. Jesus already did that 2,000 years ago at Calvary. The work has been finished!

"So I do not apologize for admitting to being on a pilgrimage in theology, as if it were in itself some kind of weakness of intelligence or character. Feeling our way toward the truth is the nature of theological work even with the help of Scripture, tradition and community... A pilgrimage, therefore, far from being unusual or slightly dishonorable, is what we would expect theologians who are properly aware of their limitations to experience." - Clark Pinnock

Simply said my lens has changed. Fifteen years ago I was reading books by Dwight Pentecost, CH Mackintosh, Kevin Conner, and others like them. As I've said before to say that I saw things a certain way would have been a huge understatement. To suggest that I see things entirely correct now would be a huge leap in the opposite direction as well. We as a Church are on a "pilgrimage in theology." I love this quote by Clark Pinnock because he was a theologian who was known to be worshipping in almost any setting (from a very traditional setting to "blissing out" at the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship). Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage (Psalm 84:5).

Eschatology: Weak, limp, divided, doom, gloom, total darkness covering the earth. Sounds like the setting of the latest end times fiction book. Unfortunately many in the Church today are teaching the message that the Church will not fulfill her mandate in the earth. Fear and despair rather than hope and victory are being spread through the Church by those who have ran with this message.

As a result of unity (ecumenism) and knowledge (theology) a shift is coming to the area of eschatology. The kingdom of God is ever-increasing and ever-expanding. The tiny mustard seed of the kingdom is slowly growing to become a great tree in the earth. The tiny stone cut out of the mountain without hands will subdue all other kingdoms and grow to fill the whole earth.

"Eschatology is not so much the sequence of the ‘end time' events, but rather concerns itself with rulership. The real issue is: Who has the right to rule?" - Frans du Plessis

It is imperative that we understand that He has come whose right it is and that every kingdom has been given to Him (Ezekiel 21:27). We are called to enforce Jesus' victory, to occupy until He comes. Nowhere in the New Testament are the saints told to fear the devil. Rather it is the devils who tremble (James 2:19). Fear and despair have no place in your future but rather hope and victory. "Your future is as bright as the promises of God!" - Jeff Rose

Is God really going to change the forms and expressions of the Church in a generation? Yes, I believe he will. Only I don't believe the Church is going to be unrecognizable. The Church is going look just like our Lord Jesus Christ. Kingdom Blessings!