Still continuing to press in. The more we seek the Lord, the more He confirms in breathtaking ways the things He’s been telling us. He’s poured out so much in the past few months and in response we’ve experienced opposite extremes:
~ One day we would be feeling as though we could launch through the roof with joy for the exceedingly, abundantly, above all we could ask, hope, or imagine “new thing” He’s saying He’s about to do for those who have been following Him, surrendering to His “crucifixion” process on the way to “resurrection” into our destinies. Many have been in a season of final testing on the precipice of the Promised Land, and have also been receiving God’s divine strategy for bringing down the walls of Jericho (much more to this, perhaps to be shared another time). The Lord gave us Job 23:10 and Daniel 4:35 to stand on and has confirmed both multiple times. We pray all will come forth as gold into the next dimension of glory He has prepared for us. He is watching to see that His Word, promises, prophecies over our lives are fulfilled, and nothing is too hard for Him! He who promised is faithful! His banner over us is love! He has saved the best wine for last that the glory of the latter house will be greater than all that has come before!
~ Then the next day we could be pierced through over the things He is still saying regarding those in the church/nation who have rejected His cry to repent. For these too, He has said He is watching over His Word to perform it. He continues to say that because people have rejected His call to repentance that He is now watching over the nation for harm instead of for good (Jeremiah 44). If all would truly hear and believe what He’s saying, the church/nation would be repenting in sackcloth and ashes.
Though He has repeatedly spoken of destruction that’s coming, He also speaks of the repentance and restoration which will follow for those who remain (Jeremiah 32, and others). As mentioned in a recent note, He also continues to talk about His coming (Zechariah 9, among others). While this is thrilling it is also extremely sobering because so many are not ready. Tragically, He continues to show us that many who believe they are saved are truly lost in sin. He confirmed this three more days in a row last week. This is largely due to the counterfeit grace that has pervaded the church gradually through the years. This knowledge has also been a source of piercing and grieving. I can imagine nothing more horrible than the moment Jesus described in Matthew 7 when many will realize too late they were deceived ~ with the exception, of course, of the eternal horror that follows. We cry out to turn as many from this deception as possible.
“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!’ Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Matthew 7:21-27
We must understand there is no such thing as “once saved, always saved.”
But of that [exact] day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For just as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, [men] marrying and [women] being given in marriage, until the [very] day when Noah went into the ark, And they did not know or understand until the flood came and swept them all away—so will be the coming of the Son of Man. At that time two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the hand mill; one will be taken and one will be left. Watch therefore give strict attention, be cautious and active], for you do not know in what kind of a day [whether a near or remote one] your Lord is coming. But understand this: had the householder known in what [part of the night, whether in a night or a morning] watch the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have allowed his house to be undermined and broken into. You also must be ready therefore, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him. Who then is the faithful, thoughtful, and wise servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household to give to the others the food and supplies at the proper time? Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) is that servant whom, when his master comes, he will find so doing. I solemnly declare to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant is wicked and says to himself, My master is delayed and is going to be gone a long time, And begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunken, The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour of which he is not aware, And will punish him [cut him up by scourging] and put him with the pretenders (hypocrites); there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Matthew 24:36-51
Where there is no longer faithfulness, there is no longer true faith. True faith produces following our Lord.
Neither is there such a thing as “once filled (with the Spirit), always filled.”
“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose 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, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” Matthew 25:1-13
We must purpose to abide in the Vine, sow to the Spirit, and stay full of Him. (John 14-15, Galatians 5:16-25; 6:7-9)
We believe the Lord showed us that the enemy did not attempt to take the church straight from God’s standard of Truth to full blown lawlessness in one step. He has sown seeds of counterfeit grace for many years in the church, in order to take people increment by increment, new “revelation” by new “revelation” which distorted Truth in order to bring people to the point where they would finally embrace the full message of lawlessness. This is not to say that there has not also been genuine revelation of grace and a greater awakening to all that is ours through our covenant, for those who truly remain in Christ, because we have been made righteous through faith in Him. But there have also been many “revelations” based on removing Scriptures from context which have resulted in extremes of error. For this reason, there are various degrees and nuances of these messages, intermingled with truth, throughout the church, even where people have not been taken all the way down the path to the full message of lawlessness. This is where we were when the Lord sat down on our theology and wrecked it with Truth. Though we had never embraced even the undertones of lawlessness we had heard, we had allowed shades of counterfeit grace to alter some of our beliefs. When God first dramatically brought us back to Truth, we began asking Him what we needed to repent of, and the first thing He told us was that our theology had caused us to speak, “Peace, peace! ” to people when there was no peace. We cry out that all others who have been deceived into doing the same through their theology will fall on their faces before the Lord and allow Him to correct them in every area so they will not be deceived or deceive others. We pray that the Lord will get the truth to any we (and others) have prophesied “peace” to, when if we had truly stood in the council of the Lord we would have spoken the truth He wanted spoken that would have called for repentance from sin (Jeremiah 23:9-24). Some of the words the Lord has been giving us continue to speak of the judgment of the false prophets who are continuing to oppose the true word of the Lord and cause people to trust in the deceptive words of counterfeit grace (Jeremiah 13-14, Jeremiah 28 – Eerily, He gave me this word when I asked if He was really telling me this would occur this year.). He continues to say the blood of those who are lost through these teachings will be on the hands of those teaching them. Again, it breaks our hearts to imagine, knowing that many do so believing what they teach to be right and true. We pray that all will seek the Lord now for an accounting of what they believe and teach while there is still time. We continue to pray all will wholeheartedly seek Truth, and will cry out to the Lord to dismantle every distortion, deception, and error that may have been unwittingly received.
to be continued…
