(see part 1 , part 2 , part 3 , part 4, part 5 , part 6 , part 7 )

The Shaking and The Sifting
The Lines are Drawn in the Sands of Time

It’s time for the church to “prepare the way of the Lord.” He is calling us to remove all hindrances and obstacles to His work and purposes in us, for us and through us. He’s calling for wholehearted devotion, TOTAL commitment, consecration (being set apart for Him and His purposes), and fierce determination to live purchased, redeemed, blood-bought lives for Him, following Him and His Word no matter the cost. We need to be fully prepared for all that lies ahead (including, we pray, for an unprecedented move of His Spirit that will usher in the end-times harvest) (Joel 2, Haggai 2:6-9). The hour is late, the darkness is great, but we were born and chosen for such a time as this. We’re called to arise and shine for Him with His grace and His Truth by the power of His Spirit.

For those who will respond, the shaking that’s occurring will yield glorious results. He’s preparing to do a new thing, but He cannot pour new wine into old wineskins. The shaking is to serve the purpose of removing all that is not of Him, so that what IS of Him is all that remains. As I shared last year, when we bring the “ark of the Lord” (the true Manifest Presence and Power of GOD and His Word) into the “temple” (our lives and the church) we will see the false gods (idols) fall and be broken (I Sam 5:2-4). All that’s not of Him must be shaken from its place (dethroned), shattered and removed that He may take His rightful place in our lives. He’s calling us into deeper intimacy with Him as our first love, leading us into deeper trust, purifying hearts and priorities, going after every undisciplined area, refining and uprooting everything from the old wineskin that cannot receive the new that He wants to pour out on us and in us. The old wineskin cannot handle it, cannot survive; it would be destroyed if it were to receive the blessing of the new wine. So in His love, not wanting us to be destroyed by what we’re not prepared to receive, the Lord is taking His people through the process of becoming new wineskins. We must cooperate with His work to uproot and purge all that is not of Him from our lives in order to fully make room for Him and what He is about to do. He is testing us to reveal who/what is truly on the throne of our hearts; who/what is our FIRST and GREATEST desire and love. He desires to see that we are willing to lay down anything to follow Him because of our love for and trust in Him.

“Babylon” must eventually be destroyed (Isaiah 13, Rev 17-18), but as Noah and his family were spared in the ark when destruction fell on the earth, as the Hebrews were protected in Goshen when the plagues fell all around on Egypt, and as Philadelphia was protected (in Revelation) during the hour of trial that came upon the whole earth, once again, I believe that those who are faithfully walking with the Lord (truly following Him, keeping His Word, living by the law of Christ under His Lordship and grace) may once again (Lord willing) have an “ark,” a “Goshen,” a “Philadelphia,” a supernatural, Psalm 91 place of protection in Him (Mal 3:16-17, Zeph 2:3, Lk 21:34-36, II Pt 2:4-9). Whether that means we’re rescued out (via being “raptured”) or rescued through, as in each of these other cases (until a mid or post-trib rapture), I’m not certain. But regardless of anyone’s eschatological views, I believe we should all be prepared to go through –  and even to be faithful unto death (Rev 2:9-10). It’s better to err on the side of preparing to go through whatever we may have to endure than to err on the side of only preparing to be rescued out, and for many to fall away in persecution and tribulation because their eschatology was flawed (as has happened in other nations when persecution and tribulation came, because they’d been taught they’d be rescued from it). Though they’re not promises Christians typically embroider on their pillows or stencil on their walls, we were promised persecution and tribulation in this life, and we need to be prepared to “endure to the end” (Mt 10:16-42; 24:9-14 , Jn 16:1-4 , 33, Acts 14:21-22).  It’s vital that we be intimately and thoroughly acquainted with and build our lives on the Word ~ both Jesus, the living Word, and His written Word. (Mt 7:13-27)

At certain times the Lord speaks a difficult message that causes many to depart. With winnowing fork, He sifts the wheat from the tares ~ His true bride from those who desire only the benefits of relationship without the exclusive, enduring commitment of marriage. In those moments, when He looks at each of us with eyes full of love and sorrow and asks, “What about you? Do you want to leave too?” what will our answer be? When we realize that following the Lord can cost us all, He says, “…blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” (Mt 11:6, spoken by Jesus to John the Baptist when he was in a crisis of faith, presumably due to his ongoing imprisonment, and impending death, for standing for Truth). Will we be offended? Do we “love” Him only for His blessings and promises, or will we truly love and follow Him no matter the cost because He is Lord? We are in such a season. The sifting and separating is now. The lines are drawn in the sands of time; we must choose whom we serve.

Seek, inquire for, and require the Lord while He may be found [claiming Him by necessity and by right]; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have love, pity, and mercy for him, and to our God, for He will multiply to him His abundant pardon. Isaiah 55:6-7

Copyright © 2011-12, Laura Jewell Tyree

(see part 1 , part 2 , part 3 , part 4, part 5 , part 6) 

The John the Baptist Call
Prepare the Way of the Lord

After the 3-day fast the Lord called us to at the beginning of March 2011, He poured out greater clarity regarding our specific calling and revealed to us where we are on His prophetic timeline.

A voice of one who cries: Prepare in the wilderness the way of the Lord [clear away the obstacles]; make straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God! Every valley shall be lifted and filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked and uneven shall be made straight and level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory (majesty and splendor) of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. (Isaiah 40:3-5 AMP)

He said that just as He sent John the Baptist before the arrival of Jesus the first time, once again, He is sending His “John the Baptist” messengers into the world to call the church and the nations to repentance (turning away from sin and turning wholeheartedly to follow Him) and baptism, to prepare for the second coming of Jesus.

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And he shall turn and reconcile the hearts of the [estranged] fathers to the [ungodly] children, and the hearts of the [rebellious] children to [the piety of] their fathers [a reconciliation produced by repentance of the ungodly], lest I come and smite the land with a curse and a ban of utter destruction. Malachi 4:5-6 AMP

Though this Scripture refers to “before the great and terrible day of the Lord,” we know, based on what Jesus said, that it actually saw its first fulfillment in John the Baptist. (Who knows how many times it has seen a fulfillment on a smaller scale, since the Lord always faithfully sends His messengers to call people to repentance to avert destruction).

And he will turn back and cause to return many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, And he will [himself] go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn back the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient and incredulous and unpersuadable to the wisdom of the upright [which is the knowledge and holy love of the will of God]—in order to make ready for the Lord a people [perfectly] prepared [in spirit, adjusted and disposed and placed in the right moral state]. Luke 1:16-17 AMP

The original context of the passage in Malachi, as well as in Matthew 17 leaves room for a double fulfillment of this prophecy.

And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist. Matthew 17:10-13 NKJV

The Greek word translated “will restore” is apokathistēmi in the future active indicative form ~ meaning this is still a future tense fact (of restoration to the former state). Therefore, though the prophecy saw its first fulfillment through John the Baptist before the first coming of Christ, it will see a second fulfillment before the second coming of Christ (“before the great and terrible day of the Lord” as Malachi said). The second fulfillment of this prophecy involves both of these anointings working together in His messengers  – the spirit of Elijah working within the “John the Baptist” calling to “restore all things” and prepare the way of the Lord. Together, this produces the call to repentance from sin, turning wholeheartedly to live for and follow the Lord, AND I believe will also involve miracles, signs, and wonders that confirm the message of grace and Truth (demonstrated in Romans 15:18-19 and throughout the New Testament).

However, we should also be aware that those who are led by miracles will be at great risk of being among the many who will be deceived by the false signs and wonders done by the power of the enemy in the end (II Thess. 2:9-12, Mt. 24:24, Rev. 16:13-14). Interestingly, though the spirit of Elijah is at work in the final days to prepare for Jesus’ return, it is actually the agent of the antichrist who we’re told will call down fire from heaven – seemingly mimicking Elijah’s famous sign to the people to prove the identity of the true God and His true messenger. (Rev. 13:13 , I Kings 18 , II Kings 1)

Scripture makes clear that we’re not to be led by miracles, since not everything supernatural comes from God. We must discern the SOURCE behind the supernatural things we encounter. We must “test the spirits,” to discover whether the MESSAGE the miracles confirm is truly in line with God’s Word, and that the fruit in the lives of the messengers is from His Holy Spirit (Isaiah 8:20, I John 4:1-3, Gal. 1:3-9, I Thess. 5:19-22, II Tim. 3:14-17, etc.). Is the message being confirmed the true gospel, including repentance from sin and receiving Jesus as our Lord, as well as Savior, OR is it a gospel of lawlessness? 

As with the word about the nation, again, we have no idea exactly how long those who’ve received this “John the Baptist”/”Elijah” call to prepare the way for the second coming of the Lord have been given. We only know there has been a sense of urgency on this message since He first gave it to us. He confirmed this for us at least 7 times in the first couple of weeks after He spoke it to us in amazing ways, and has continued to confirm it since.

See Part 8 here

Related blogs: 
The Spirit of a Magician and Supernatural Power (and entire “Spirit of a Magician” series) 

(see part 1 , part 2 , part 3 , part 4, part 5 ) 

Build the Ark
My Seven to Heaven

In the Summer of 2010, when I felt the Lord told me it was the season to finish the book I’d written about the Holy Spirit, He gave Jesse a dream of the church’s coming transition to Heaven. In January 2011, the Lord began showing me that all this revelation He’d poured out as I sought Him for wisdom about the last section of that book was actually supposed to be a separate book (a sequel), and He kept referring to that assignment as “the Ark,” and “building the Ark” ~ through words about both Noah’s ark and the ark of the covenant. Initially, I was not thinking of this in terms of end-times events, but after a dream He gave me about the end-times, He reminded me of the New Testament passages that compare the end-times with Noah and the first judgment on the earth.

[Prompted] by faith Noah, being forewarned by God concerning events of which as yet there was no visible sign, took heed and diligently and reverently constructed and prepared an ark for the deliverance of his own family. By this [his faith which relied on God] he passed judgment and sentence on the world’s unbelief and became an heir and possessor of righteousness (that relation of being right into which God puts the person who has faith). Hebrews 11:7 AMP

No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’  and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 24:36-51 (see also Luke 17)

Some may remember the dream the Lord gave me last year where I heard words from Matthew 24-25, and some of the words came off the pages of the Bible and got bigger and bigger, and became a message from the Lord for His people written in the sky, saying, “BE READY.” Notice in this passage above, Jesus spoke of different outcomes, not between the church and the world – but even among those in His house, who were all His servants. 

The fact that the Lord has been referring to this revelation (about repentance and living under His Lordship) as “Noah’s ark”, in reference to end-time events, is deeply significant. We cannot just run to any version of “Jesus” being presented today if we want to make sure we’ll be safe in “the ark” from God’s coming judgments. We must make sure the Jesus we’re running to is the real Jesus revealed in God’s Word, and according to His terms.    

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord [Master] who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.  For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;  if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;  if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;  and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—  if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature (flesh) and despise authority. II Peter 2:1-10a NIV (see also Jude 1)

The word translated “authority” in II Peter 2:10 and Jude v.8 is the Greek word kyriotēs, which literally means Lordship! Notice Peter also said these false prophets and teachers would deny the Lord or Master who bought them, resulting in their destruction. Those deceived by the error of lawlessness still claim faith in Jesus as their Savior, but their distorted version of grace causes them to deny and disown Him as Master and Lord – in the sense that they reject His Lordship over their lives. It’s vital to understand that they don’t do so by intentionally denying or renouncing Him as Lord with their mouths. Instead this denial and rejection occurs through their actions/sin (I Thess 4:1-8, Titus 1:16, Jms 4:4, Heb 10:26-39). We are living in such a generation where many believe that Jesus is their Savior, but their lifestyles deny His authority in their lives as Master and Lord – they despise and reject His Lordship.

During this same season, Jesse heard a song in his sleep one night, repeating the words, “My seven to heaven.” We didn’t know what it meant and asked the Lord, “Are you saying seven months, seven years, seven somethings till we go to Heaven?” The Lord showed us that it was another reference to Noah’s ark (I Peter 3:20-21). Noah and his seven family members were saved because of his obedience of faith. We believe that the Lord was showing us that for those who will obey what God is calling them to do to “build the ark” and make sure they’re on it, it will not only be to their benefit, but to the benefit of their “seven” (This does not only refer to our immediate families. Since in Scripture, “seven” represents completion or perfection, I believe God was speaking of the complete number of those He’s assigned to each of us to reach for His Kingdom). Since that time we have continually prayed “Our seven to heaven, Lord! May we fulfill all You’ve called us to do and may the complete number of those You’ve called us to reach be brought into Your Kingdom!”
May this be true for each one of us! 

See Part 7 here

Related blogs:
As it was in the days of Noah (series of 3 notes)

(see part 1 , part 2 , part 3 , part 4)

Overthrowing the Lawless One
and his Gospel of Lawlessness

The Lord brought astounding confirmation to us last year of what we believed He’d been showing us when He spoke that Jesus is full of both Grace AND Truth (John 1:17); one to the exclusion of the other is error. Truth without grace produces legalism; grace without Truth produces lawlessness. There’s a ditch on both sides of the road.

Though many in the church have erred on the side of truth without grace, the growing problem in recent years is that many in the church are erring on the side of grace without truth. Both are just “religion,” on opposite ends of the spectrum, creating a false sense of knowing Jesus when there is not a true relationship with Him (John 14-15, I John 2-3). Just as we cannot receive Him as Savior, but not as Lord, we also cannot receive only His grace, but reject His Truth.

Yet many now believe that Jesus’ finished work means there is no more moral law of God – or that we have no moral obligation to follow it – that it’s optional for believers – just “good advice.” As mentioned previously, some believe there is now no sin , or that “sin is not an issue” to God since Jesus already paid for it, and that freedom in Christ means we’re free to live however we want. In doing so, they end up denying the Master who bought them, and living under their own lordship instead of His (II Pt 2, Jude). God wants us to understand that the future of lawlessness is not desirable; its retirement plan is hell (II Pt 3, II Thess 2, Mt 7:13-27; 13:24-29, 36-43; Mt 24-25, I Cor 5, Gal 5:16-25, Heb 6:7-8; 10:26-31). We cannot call Jesus Lord yet continue to live under our own lordship and still be saved.

And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. II Thessalonians 2:8-12

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV

The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:41-42 NKJV

For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? II Corinthians 6:14b-15a

He (Paul) writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. II Peter 3:16-17

Everyone who commits (practices) sin is guilty of lawlessness; for [that is what] sin is, lawlessness (the breaking, violating of God’s law by transgression or neglect—being unrestrained and unregulated by His commands and His will). I John 3:4

As the Lord also emphasized to us last year, Paul said he wasn’t “under the law,” but he also said that he was not lawless; he was bound to the law of Christ (I Cor 9:20-21). The “law of Christ” can be defined as loving God first, and loving others with God’s love – according to God’s definitions in His Word. Jesus said these two commands sum up the Law and Prophets (Mt 22:36-40). He did not do away with God’s moral law. The change of priesthood ushered in a change of law (Heb 7:12). God’s law went from external stone tablets to being written on our hearts. In doing so, it went to an even higher standard – from addressing only external action to addressing even what was occurring at a thought and heart level (Mt 5-7). While this made it all the more obvious that none of us can be saved based on our own righteousness, and that we must have a Savior, this doesn’t mean Jesus set us free to live in the sin that He died to deliver us out of. Rather, He set us free from bondage to sin/the enemy so that we could live for and serve Him (foreshadowed by bringing Israel out of bondage and slavery in Egypt to serve Him). True faith in Jesus produces the freedom that comes from being His true disciple and keeping His Word. Every so called “freedom” outside of these boundaries only leads us back into captivity to the enemy (John 8, Rom 6, Jms 1:21-27).

Because God is in us, we are empowered by His Spirit to follow and keep the law of Christ. (And when we fall short, we will confess and repent, rather than persisting in that sin, as mentioned previously). If we are truly following His Spirit and not the flesh, we will be growing in following the law of Christ as we walk with Him under His Lordship and grace (undeserved favor and power to do His will) (Rom 8, Gal 5, Titus 2:11-15). If the spirit we’re being led by isn’t leading us into holiness, it’s not the Holy Spirit (I Cor 6:14-7:1, I Thess 4:1-8). If the spirit we’re being led by doesn’t produce a love, hunger, and respect for the full counsel of God’s Word as our final authority, it’s not the Spirit of Truth (Jn 17:14-17, II Thess 2:9-17).

Though some are now claiming that Jesus’ teachings are no longer for us under the New Covenant, Jesus told us to take them to the whole world – to make disciples by teaching all to follow them (Mt 28:19-20, II John 9-11). His resurrection did not invalidate the need for His teachings for believers; it validated them. It proved He was truly the Son of God and, therefore, that everything He claimed about Himself and everything He taught was true. As mentioned last year, when we separate the Person of Jesus from the teachings of Jesus (as some are suggesting we should do), we end up receiving and preaching “another Jesus” (II Cor 11:4). The “gospel” of “lawlessness” (hyper-grace) presents “another Jesus” ~ not the Jesus of the Word. It is a counterfeit gospel with a counterfeit Christ who offers a counterfeit grace received through a counterfeit faith.

In order to survive the deception of the last days we must make sure we know the Word of the LORD and the LORD of the Word (Jn 8:31-32, 12:44-50 ; 14:23-26). If we do not, we could be among the MANY (not only a few) “believers” who are deceived. (Mt 7:13-27; 24, II Tim 3-4:5, II Thess 2:9-15)

The true gospel of the real Jesus is not that freedom in Christ means we are free to live however we want (Rom 8:8-13, Gal 5:17) (The Lord showed us this is actually The First Law of satanism). The true message of the real Jesus is one of total exchange. Many today talk only about the parts of the exchange that are to our benefit  – He took our sins, sickness, poverty, shame, and the curse and gives us His righteousness, healing, acceptance, deliverance, provision, and the blessing of the righteous! Praise God! But not very many are willing to talk about the other part of the exchange – that He gave His life for us, and when we receive Him, we must give our lives to Him. We were bought at a price; our lives are not our own (I Cor 6:19-20). Salvation cost us nothing and there is no way to ever earn it (even one sin in an entire life of obedience would disqualify us), but being His true disciple has a cost, and we must be prepared for it to cost us everything (Mt 10, Mk 8:34-38).

If we’re concerned that this message of total commitment to the Lord (who gave everything to rescue us from hell and restore us to Himself) will scare away converts, then we’ve likely been guilty of presenting “another gospel.” Jesus was never afraid to speak truth that might drive away those who were not willing to be fully committed to Him. Perhaps it’s worth noting that after preaching a divisive message, the verse that tells us “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” is John 6:66… 

See Part 6 here

Related blogs: 
The Spirit of a Magician and Apostasy – Part 1

Exposing The Spirit of a Magician

Part of the Spirit of a Magician’s Grand Finale

Exposing the Gospel of Lawlessness

The First Law of satanism

The Inception of Inversion

(see part 1 , part 2 , part 3 )

FLEE BABYLON!

Last year, I mentioned  how the Lord has been crying out to His people, “Flee from Babylon! Run for your lives! Do not be destroyed because of her sins.” (Jer 51:6, see Jer 50-51) and that He showed us “Babylon” represents all spirituality outside of the Truth of God’s Word, the enemy’s kingdom, worldliness, rebellion toward God ~ the world’s system and ways, as revealed in Revelation 17-18. Many of His children have been living in “Babylon,” in compromise with the world and mixture with other belief systems, yet believing all is well in their relationship with the Lord. Many are like those in Sardis ~ having the reputation for being alive, though the Lord says they are spiritually dead. Others are like those in Laodicea, or lukewarm Christianity ~ proclaiming they’re “blessed and highly favored,” when the Lord sees them as spiritually bankrupt (Jer 7:1-11, Rev 2-3). These lifestyles of compromise with the world have become so prevalent that they seem normal to many. Yet the Lord is crying out, “Come out of her (Babylon), my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.” (Rev 18)

Though many have still not listened to His warnings or heeded His discipline (Zeph 3:7), in His mercy and grace The Refiner will continue to turn up the fire in His final attempts to purge the dross (sin) and bring us back to Him. As in the dream God gave Jesse last year, the Lord is shaking our nation and the world to bring about our repentance before it’s too late (Is 26:9b-11a, Heb 12:25-29). How severe must the shaking get and how hot the fire before we fully turn back to Him? He is not looking for short-term repentance and crying out to Him (as has happened in the past), but for authentic sustained repentance ~ a turning of our whole hearts and lives back to Him.

Again it’s not too late; but we must genuinely repent, turning away from all that keeps us from being fully committed and consecrated to the Lord, that we may wholeheartedly follow and live for Him. (II Chron 7:14)

Obviously, even those who are truly abiding in Christ, walking with Him in the Light of His Truth, still sin; but through Him and His power working in us, we are called to be, and can be, free from lifestyles of willful sin (I John 3:6-10).

No one who abides in Him [who lives and remains in communion with and in obedience to Him—deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] commits (practices) sin. No one who [habitually] sins has either seen or known Him [recognized, perceived, or understood Him, or has had an experiential acquaintance with Him]. ⁷Boys (lads), let no one deceive and lead you astray. He who practices righteousness [who is upright, conforming to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action, living a consistently conscientious life] is righteous, even as He is righteous. ⁸ [But] he who commits sin [who practices evildoing] is of the devil [takes his character from the evil one], for the devil has sinned (violated the divine law) from the beginning. The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil [has done]. ⁹ No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, for God’s nature abides in him [His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within him]; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God. ¹⁰ By this it is made clear who take their nature from God and are His children and who take their nature from the devil and are his children: no one who does not practice righteousness [who does not conform to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action] is of God; neither is anyone who does not love his brother (his fellow believer in Christ). I John 3:6-10

This is possible because when we’re born again, we receive a new heart and new spirit, that wants to do God’s will (Ez 11:19-20; 36:26-28 ). But we must still guard our hearts and tend them, lest they become hardened, rocky, or thorny ground that fail to produce good fruit (Mt 13:1-32). He is looking for hearts that remain perfect toward Him, that continue to desire Him above all, seek Him, and are surrendered to His will – all of which is only possible by being born again, continually filled with His Spirit, and abiding in intimate relationship with Him (John 3:1-21; 15, Eph 5:18). As we walk with Him in the Light of His Truth, His Light will reveal our sin. When our hearts remain open to His conviction and correction, we confess and turn (repent) from the things He reveals and His blood continually cleanses us of our sins (I John 1 – written to/for believers, not unbelievers). If we’re walking with Him in the Light, truly abiding in Him and He in us, His grace not only makes us righteous by faith in Him (Phil 3:7-16), but also empowers and enables us to live righteously (Titus 2:11-14).  When we truly abide “in Christ” in this way, we can claim all God’s promises available to those “in Him.” But sadly many today are professing that they are “in Christ,” when they truly do not meet God’s definition of this according to His Word.

³ And this is how we may discern [daily, by experience] that we are coming to know Him [to perceive, recognize, understand, and become better acquainted with Him]: if we keep (bear in mind, observe, practice) His teachings (precepts, commandments). ⁴ Whoever says, I know Him [I perceive, recognize, understand, and am acquainted with Him] but fails to keep and obey His commandments (teachings) is a liar, and the Truth [of the Gospel] is not in him. ⁵ But he who keeps (treasures) His Word [who bears in mind His precepts, who observes His message in its entirety], truly in him has the love of and for God been perfected (completed, reached maturity). By this we may perceive (know, recognize, and be sure) that we are in Him: ⁶ Whoever says he abides in Him ought [as a personal debt] to walk and conduct himself in the same way in which He walked and conducted Himself.
I John 2:3-6

Many are walking in and living in the darkness of sin, rather than in the Light, yet believing they’re saved because they “believe” in Jesus as their Savior. As mentioned previously, this is not the Lord’s definition of having faith/belief in, loving or knowing Jesus (Mt 7:13-27, John 3:16-21; 14-15, I John 1-3).

True faith in Jesus means we believe in His identity not only as our Savior, but also as our Lord. It is our belief and acknowledgment that He is our Lord which brings us into saving relationship with Him. If we truly believe He is Lord, and receive Him as our Lord, not only Savior, we will bring our lives under His Lordship. We cannot choose to receive Him as Savior, but reject His Lordship over our lives. When we come to receive His free gift of salvation, we are also coming to give our lives to follow Him as our Lord. Obedience and doing His will is not a “work” that “earns” our salvation, which is impossible. It is not bondage or legalism to be resisted and rejected. It is the consistent fruit of truly knowing, loving, and believing in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. It is the fruit of being born again of His Spirit, receiving a new heart and nature, and abiding in Him. If this is not the consistent fruit we bear (our lifestyle), then according to Him we do not truly know, love, and believe Him (Mt 7:13-27, John 3:16-21; 14-15, Lk 13:1-9, 22-30, Jms 2, I John 2-3, 5).

See Part 5 here

Related blogs: 
When Normal Is Not Normal

(see part 1 , part 2 )

When the War is Still On
Do We Hate Sin? Or Do We Hate God?

God wants His people to understand that He still sees sin that we have not repented of (that we have not turned away from to follow Him) and He still hates it (not the people, but the sin). He wants us to realize that He hates the doctrines of lawlessness (hyper-grace, counterfeit grace) that have caused His people to live in compromise with the world, insulting His Spirit of grace and believing He has no problem with it (Heb 1:1-9 ; 10:26-31, Rev 2 , II Cor 6:14-7:1, etc.). He wants us to realize that living in “friendship” with the world and its ways truly is hatred (enmity) toward Him (Jms 4:4). It is spiritual adultery in His eyes. We can shout the victory all day long that “if God is for us who can be against us?” but He wants us to also understand that if He is ‘against us’ who can be for us? He says when we are living in “friendship” and spiritual adultery with the world, we have become as His enemies and He literally sets Himself against us. Though we may profess that under the New Covenant “the war is over,” when we’re living in spiritual adultery with the world, the Lord says the war is on. (I Cor 9:24-10:22, Eph 5:1-17, Col 3:5-6, I Thess 4:1-8, Jms 4:4-10, Rev 2-3)

For be sure of this: that no person practicing sexual vice or impurity in thought or in life, or one who is covetous [who has lustful desire for the property of others and is greedy for gain]—for he [in effect] is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one delude and deceive you with empty excuses and groundless arguments [for these sins], for through these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of rebellion and disobedience. So do not associate or be sharers with them. Eph 5:6-7 AMP (read 4:17-5:18)

So kill (deaden, deprive of power) the evil desire lurking in your members [those animal impulses and all that is earthly in you that is employed in sin]: sexual vice, impurity, sensual appetites, unholy desires, and all greed and covetousness, for that is idolatry (the deifying of self and other created things instead of God). It is on account of these [very sins] that the [holy] anger of God is ever coming upon the sons of disobedience (those who are obstinately opposed to the divine will)…. Colossians 3:5-6 AMP (read all Col 3)

In both passages the Greek translated that God’s wrath “comes” or “is ever coming” is the present indicative Greek verb form. This is not future wrath at the final judgment, but an ongoing present fact ~ although through the full counsel of the Word we understand that God is extraordinarily longsuffering, reaching out to us over and over to give us plenty of warning and time to repent.

In His jealous love for His bride, He will oppose and fight against our waywardness. We can rebuke the devil all day long, but it will be to no avail if God is the One opposing us. Yet even in opposing and fighting against us in our spiritual adultery, He is ultimately still for us. His love and grace compel Him to do this in order to bring us back to genuine repentance and restoration in our relationship with Him so that we will not be lost and utterly destroyed with the rest of the world. (I Cor 5; 11:31-32)

see Part 4 here

(See Part 1 here)

The Refiner’s Fire Must Not Fail to Remove the Dross

As in Jeremiah’s day, the Lord has been grieved that many are dressing the wounds of our nation and His people as if they’re not serious, and that many are prophesying “‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace” (Jer 6:14; 8:11). But the Lord says that the wounds of our Nation and many of His people are incurable apart from wholeheartedly returning to follow Him.

He has turned up The Refiner’s fire, but the dross has not been purged (Jer 6:28-30). This has resulted, in part, due to doctrines of lawlessness (counterfeit grace or “hyper-grace,” as the Lord has referred to it) that have infiltrated His church. Some teach that God no longer sees present, ongoing sin, but only sees us perfect through Christ, no matter how we’re choosing to live. Others are saying that even if He does see our present, ongoing sin, He has no problem with it, since “the sin problem has already been dealt with” – that since Jesus already paid for all sin, repentance is not necessary. Many presume upon His grace, using it as an excuse (license) to sin while relying on His forgiveness (Jude 1:3-4). God’s mercy, grace, and longsuffering in giving people time to repent has been misinterpreted by many to mean that we can continue living willful lifestyles of sin and still be saved as long as we “believe” in Jesus. But this is not God’s definition of having faith in or believing in Jesus (more about this later).

In addition, the dross has not been purged in The Refiner’s fire due to doctrines that have spread which teach that God no longer disciplines His children in any way except through His Word. Some even deny this form of discipline, saying the Holy Spirit doesn’t even convict believers of sin (that He only convicts unbelievers of sin, and only convicts us of our righteousness). Many believe God no longer brings any form of discipline, punishment, or judgment –  until the Final Judgment for those who reject Jesus. And some now deny even the Final Judgment (saying all will be saved). God has called out in warning, attempting first (as any good parent) to correct through His Word, saying,  

…Stand by the roads and look; and ask for the eternal paths, where the good, old way is; then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk in it! Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hear and obey the sound of the trumpet! But they said, We will not listen or obey.

So the Lord says, 

To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it. (Jer 6:16-17 AMP, v.10 NIV).

When God’s attempts to correct through His Word alone have gone unheeded, and He has resorted to discipline in other ways, many of His children still don’t repent because they’ve been taught God is not the One doing these things (due to the misunderstanding that, under the New Covenant, He only disciplines through His Word, if at all).

Therefore, in spite of The Refiner’s fire blazing, the dross has remained. The Lord says that when the dross refuses to be purged, what more can He do but reject the silver? Children who consistently reject His attempts to discipline eventually become illegitimate children, no longer having a legitimate relationship with Him (Is 1; 5:3-5,10-13; 30:9-14; Jer 6:29-30, Heb 12).

We are now at the critical stage where our nation has been set on course for devastation. Our nation has “the Solomon syndrome.” We had such a great beginning ~ covenanted with and dedicated to Him. We were blessed and prospered above all others, and the world sought us. But we “married” many foreign “wives” and allowed their foreign gods to turn us away from Him (I Kings 11). He has also compared us with Israel, saying we have forgotten Him, our miraculous beginning (of being brought out of another nation to follow Him), our covenant with Him, and all He’s done for us, and have turned to serve “idols” (Ps 78). He has given us some very sobering and frightening words about what’s coming as we’ve sought Him wholeheartedly in the past months. As the Lord showed Jesse in a dream last year, the “building” is on fire, yet the people inside are continuing to go on with life and business as usual. Yet, when I ask Him if there’s still time, still hope, He has said, “It’s not too late.”

By His grace and mercy He is still giving us the opportunity to repent and return to Him with our WHOLE HEARTS AND LIVES and see that course altered. He says if He decrees destruction for a nation, and that nation repents, that He reconsiders the things He planned to do (Jer 18). But there is no more time for continuing to go about life and business as usual. The course being altered requires His people being “altar”ed ~ putting our whole lives on the altar to Him. Lukewarm Christianity and compromise with the world must be purged from the church. The church must hear the ALARM He is sounding (Joel 2:1), awaken from its sleep, break free from all that distracts us from His purposes, and come out of all darkness fully into the Light to become the mighty army for the Lord He has called us to be.

see Part 3 here

I posted the mini version of some things the Lord has been speaking to us on June 24 (’12) and we continued to pray about whether we were to share the longer version I’d written, summarizing what we believe He’s been saying. We’ve received many precise confirmations since, and this past weekend were finally convinced that the Lord was giving us permission to share this full length version. If you’ve seen previous posts, some of this will be repeat, and some new.

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About two years ago the Lord sat down on (not in) the theological box we’d had in place for nearly a decade. He revealed aspects of His nature and character which we had come to believe were no longer His method of operation under the New Covenant, and He answered theological questions we’d had for eight years. He had tried to show us these things before then, but our theology didn’t allow us to receive them. (Public Service Announcement: it’s not good when you unwittingly end up rebuking God when He’s trying to correct you.) So for the second time in our lives, nearly a decade apart, God revealed Himself in such a dramatic way that it changed our theological framework. (The first time was about the present day work of the Holy Spirit.)

Anyone who began seeing evidence of this second dramatic shift more than a year and a half ago has likely recognized that the revelation He’s given us is not one that many are excited about; it certainly hasn’t won us any popularity contests, but God convinced us beyond the shadow of all doubt that it is His Truth.

In the beginning of 2011, He convinced us He was asking us to lay down our lives and reputations to begin speaking about some of the things He had showed us, in response to an extreme version of teaching we thought we’d never hear. Though what we tried to share then was not well received, the Lord was so manifest that He was more real to us than the opposition against us. He faithfully comforted and encouraged us … but it was what He said to comfort us that was shocking. He stunned us by saying, among other things, “It’s not you they’re rejecting, but Me.” Yet the people rejecting us for what we we were saying believe in and preach “Jesus.” So how could Jesus be saying they’re rejecting Him? It was through this astonishing revelation that He showed us how misunderstandings are causing many to receive and preach “another Jesus,” “another gospel,” and “another spirit“, rather than the true Jesus, gospel, and Spirit revealed in God’s Word. (II Cor 11:1-4)

Knowing the consequences we’d experienced for obeying Him, the Lord asked me a question. He had asked this same question of others before, after delivering a challenging message to His followers that caused many to depart (John 6:60-69). I sensed grief in His voice. It was as though I could see Him looking at me with eyes full of love and sorrow when He said, “What about you? Do you want to leave too?” (Are you also offended by these truths about Me? Do you think the price to follow Me is too high?) It broke my heart. My cry was similar to the disciples ~ “To whom else could I go? You are the only true God ~ my Lord, my Savior, my life, my everything!”

When we truly love God, we will love Him and worship Him for ALL of who He is ~ for ALL aspects of His nature and character ~ not just those that make us feel happy and comfortable. And we will love His Truth regardless of whether it’s easy or enjoyable to hear. My heart was compelled to worship and love Him for the very facets of His nature and character that many people have been rejecting and denying in recent years. After all, whatever He does, I know Him well enough to know that He is good, right, righteous, just and holy in all His ways; there is no fault in Him. As posted last year ~

When we know God through only one facet of His nature, we are like a blind man who tries to know and describe an elephant by only one part; our understanding is error if it’s incomplete.
He is Lamb and Lion; Merciful Savior and Master Lord; Smitten Bridegroom and Jealous Husband; Shepherd and Warrior; Comforter and Avenger; Healer and Refiner;
Adoring Daddy and All-Consuming Fire.

It was only after we accepted the revelation that the Lord finally convinced us of two years ago, about the more challenging side of His nature, that He told us our foundation was now complete. On the precipice of this second major theological adjustment, He had told us we had to go backward before we could go forward in order to rediscover these things we’d once believed.

There’s a whole book of explanation behind these few statements and what’s to follow (literally), but I say this in order to preface the message that He’s asking us to share at this time (a continuation of things He asked us to begin saying in early 2011). We’re not gluttons for punishment. So after feeling “crucified” for the things He asked us to say last year, please believe me when I say that the only reason we’re saying them again is because of His relentless love for His people that has not allowed us to give up after one attempt when so much is at stake.

As mentioned last year, there is an urgency on this message. The trumpet blast has sounded in heaven; the urgency remains. Though He asked us to be silent for nearly a year while He worked some things out, now after several months of constant words (beginning during the 40 days before Resurrection Sunday), He has once again convinced us with crystal clarity that He’s calling us to speak.
(If you read the posts from last year some of this will be repeat and some new).

At the request of some who asked that this word be split into “chapters” after it was posted on FB, I’m posting it here in “parts.” 

See Part 2 here