For me it's equally important how a word is brought and fundamentally how it's received. Every Spoken Word from the mouth of God has consequences, how we receive or reject a word has consequences for our lives and ultimately those are grace & mercy for the portions of our lives the Word speaks at or Judgement.
As Isaiah puts it (45:23)
I have sworn by Myself, the word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness and shall not return, that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.God says He swears by His Own name. Wow! There is no greater name by which The Lord can swear to us He Will do something, this is a weighty word in itself. God means business and ultimately that business shall not return to HIm, that is it shall fulfill it's purpose.
It is good at this point to understand a little of the Greek translation of Word, which is either Rhema or Logos, as they have different meanings and implications for us, when we are generally saying Word we mean Rhema, which is the spoken Word of God, namely that that proceeds out of his mouth.
Much of the confusion in the Church is because we tend to give the weightyness to the Rhema word over the Logos word where Biblically it is the other way around.
A Rhema word though important is a Word for the moment, a Logos Word communicates the bigger picture it could be said A Rhema word is much like a seed it falls into the ground, dies and then with a combination of light and being watered correctly it sprouts and grows, that is it's purpose. A Logos word is eternal, that is it never dies. Fundamentally a Logos word shows us the bigger picture but more importantly it reveals to us who God is, this often why we are initially confused by these words, we should take great heart at some of the Logos words given by God to the greatest men and women in history because they teach us we are not alone in this.
In Jeremiah 12, Jeremiah has a moan at God because of his circumstances, the Lord responds by saying (v5) in the Amplified version:
[But the Lord rebukes Jeremiah's impatience, saying] If you have raced with men on foot and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with horses? And if [you take to flight] in a land of peace where you feel secure, then what will you do [when you tread the tangled maze of jungle haunted by lions] in the swelling and flooding of the Jordan?I like to have the odd moan at God myself, I can totally relate to Jeremiah, in effect Jeremiah is saying to God firstly that the mess he find's himself is His thought and He has done nothing about it. Why oh Why oh Why? At least that's what I hear in the heart of Jeremiah, God however hears it differently.
God's response is simply Look Jeremiah at the Bigger Picture, because if you can't cope with this you ain't seen nothing yet? In effect it is a wake up word and God is saying to Jeremiah he has nothing to complain about, or that should be complain about yet!
Logos actually mean's (as opposed to Rhema) discourse of God, science of God in relation to reason and judgement. Ultimately it means 'made incarnate in Jesus Christ.' That is Jesus Christ is God Fleshed out, made real or living for us. In effect the Logos is not only God Himself but God alive, as John teaches right at the very beginning of his gospel what to me is the most profound statement in the whole Bible: In the beginning was the Logos, the Logos was with God, and God was the Logos. It is a testimony of who Jesus is in a sentence that we can spend a lifetime in realising what it actually means!
He spells this out later in verse 10:
He [that is the Logos John is talking about from verse 1] came into the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.
Jesus is the Logos!
Going backwards to pondering how a word often comes forth I imagine you may think it is just somewhat of an echo much like a Rhema word, God speaks and you just echo. Often it is fundamentally not. I believe we have become too attached to the notion that's God's doing, that is His Activity leads to something that is spoken that limits what God shows us to what he says. Actually the truth, particularly in regard to things that I have bought before is is seldom the case where God gives me something by speaking alone. God can communicate, particularly of Himself, by so much more than simple speach. This is one of the many Paradigm's we in the Western Church need to grasp hold of.
So this is a word that has been brewing up over a long time. It is not a Rhema word. In fact God began to communicate what I am about to say when i was 22, which is 14 years ago. Most of what I have relayed here is the product of different brewing processes that have lasted many years. More than that is is something that has consumed my life so when I say it's the product of 14 years if we were to say that this process took 694, 252, 372 seconds that is not quite the whole truth but is largely true.
With regard to why I am saying this now, then I learn't a long time ago that He not only knows what He is doing when i don't but is more than capable for making up for my inadequacies. There are two reasons why now? Firstly how does someone who ultimately can not communicate, communicate? Ultimately one day recently I was writing something to someone and it just came out in a succinct direct manner that had never happened before so alarm bells go off that there may be something in this.
Secondly this is a word that in my spirit has had both a tarrying effect and a quickening effect. Two things I came across recently that have fulfilled the quickening in my spirit to bring this now.
Firstly I came across this prophecy from Jason Westerfield and secondly I picked up a book I had bought a long time ago called the Second Coming of the Church by George Barna which quickened my spirit even more.
Jason Westerfield talks about having an experience where the Lord shows him a comet and Jason says it is a
Sign in the Heavens of what he is doing in our generation on the earth. In one generation the wole face and expression of Christianity, but also the world was going to change. We live in a season of reformation...
Before I continue I think it is important to understand the concept of 'Signs and Wonders' in this context. God can often speak and we either don't actually hear what he is actually saying or we refuse to listen, effectively we can miss it because we are spiritually dumb to what He is saying and think we we are not. God will often attach a Sign to a message. When a sign is attached to a Word if the Sign comes true it is endorsement that the message will come true to so we have to in the words of Paul open the 'eyes of our hearts' to see the true meaning of the message.
The second coming of the church is in an interesting book in many ways. The subtitle on the cover is 'A Blueprint for Survival' and is described again on the front cover thus:
Today's Church is incapable of responding to the present moral crisis. It must reinvent itself or face virtual oblivion by mid-21st Century.
Taking up Barna in the preface he continues:
...This book [The Second Coming of the Church] is about more than interplay between the Church and the Culture. It is an urgent plea for the people of God to stop dabbling in religion and to grow in spiritual maturity. It is a challenge to ignite a moral and spiritual revolution in America [and the whole of Western Christianity] today, the likes of which we have [and have] never seen in our lifetime. This is a call for us to stop playing church and start being the Church by demonstrating the transformation that has occured within us as a result of an absolute, paramount commitment to Jesus Christ.
This is a book [The Second Coming of the Church] that goes beyond the debate about the need for change; it is a strategic plan for the rebirthing of the Christian faith in America [and across the West] drawing from scriptural mandates to determin God's vision for the true Church and what our role is to be in God's kingdom on earth.
America [and the world] is at a turning [or tipping] point in it's history. The decisions we make in the next few years regarding who we are and the values we stand for will seal the moral and spiritual fate of America for decades to come. The decadence and darkness of our nation [and the world] and more profound than since the founding of this nation more than two centuries ago. The only power than can cleanse and restore this nation [and the world] is the power of Christ. And the primary way in which that power is to be manifested is by Christ's followers serving God and humanity by being the Church - that is, the true representation of Jesus Christ.
This is our time of testing. We must prove that we are what we claim to be or we will certainly lose the platform to influence the world for Christ. That priviledged position is already slipping from our grasp. Given the moral and spiritual demise of our culture, maintaining that position is not an insignificant challenge. And the sad truth is that the Christian Church, as we now know it, is not geared up to meet the challenge.
Our situation is not hopeless, but is urgent. Time is of the essence. Godly, strategic leadership, dedicated to the fulfillment of God's vision for America [and the world] and His Church, is demanded.
If you care about the Church of Christ, please read on, reflect on the content, and act upon it in whatever ways God's Holy Spirit would cause you to respond. Some day God will ask you for an account of how you used the gifts and resources He entrusted to you for His purposes. Use the information outlined within this volume [book] as a tool to become a more effective change agent, for God's glory. The only true purpose for living yet another day is to know, love and serve God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.
May the next few precious years find us labouring together the fulfillment of a common vision that will glorify and honor our saviour.
Wow! It reads like a presidential speech offering true analysis of our present crisis and the leadership to navigate us into our inheritance and future. Succinctly I certainly could not have written in better. For both these reasons I have left the entire end of the preface as written. Also it would easy for us British to dismiss this as a comment to America.
It's interesting to note that Barna is primarily a sociologist and the basis of his book is not some half baked theory but a response to the hard honest truths of where we find ourself. If anything statistically speaking America is the most Godly western nation on earth, simply because statistically America confesses to be more Christianised than other western countries therefore we should take the general comment of the book more to heart not less just because we are not Americans.
For this reason I have added a few words in parenthesis []. Emphasis in bold is mine, emphasis in italics is also Barna's.
Wherever I turn today to hear what God is saying to the Church I basically hear the same thing, which I would put simply thus:
We are approaching the season of the 'Second Coming' The season that we are approaching will be looked back on historically as 'The Second Coming of the Church' the season after 'The Second Coming of Jesus Christ'.
I will ignore the second season. Not because it is not important, but what is important to understand is that for our generation we are living in the first and it is on our watch that the call to the people of God is to:
- stop dabbling in religion and to grow in spiritual maturity
- ignite a moral and spiritual revolution in today, the likes of which have never been seen
- stop playing church and start being the Church
- to demonstrate the transformation that has occured within us as a result of an absolute, paramount commitment to Jesus Christ.
Jason Westerfield is an interesting character. If you visit his ministries website is says:
In October of 2010 the Lord had us stay an extended time in Christchurch, New Zealand and then instructed us to relocate to Christchurch in order to prepare and help build the city. A reformation was coming both internally and externally in Christchurch and after it’s rebuilding it would become the healthiest city in the world.
It's interesting God had Jason visit then relocate to New Zealand. If you read my word on the Spirit of Slavery in the Church then to quote myself:
Of all that has gone on in the world the thing that has shaken my spirit the most is the events in Christchurch, which are a sign of the times. Events in the Middle East and Japan may be naturally more significant but there was no greater spiritual significance for the world today and particularly for the church, not just for the city of Christchurch or New Zealand but the whole church, to be shaken to the core so much so that the Cathedral spire topelled to the ground. Most of us have forgotten this even took place as we've been taken aback by events elsewhere since, but we must remember that it all started in Christchurch. If we are to understand the events in the Middle East and Japan and the coming events in America and the world wide financial meltdown, we must first understand the events of Christchurch. The events in Christchurch are particularly poignant as we must not forget that despite what God is saying to particular nations the nation of the inheritance, that is the Kingdom, on earth is the Church. In fact we are placed directly against the nations of the world because we will inherit everything and they will inherit nothing.
So what is Jesus saying to Christ's Church in this hour?
Emphasis mine!
Um, firstly I don't think the events of New Zealand are a spiritual sign but a significant physical sign of the shaking that is coming to the church starts there! If you don't understand why that is then think why Chirstchurch maybe called Christchurch and whatever you may think is not far wrong of the reasons why it was called Christchurch - there is a message in that. I think it is poignant the message that Jason Westerfield brings and I certainly find it ironic he has ended up there.
Being brutally honest I have been rather downcast at the way words I have given here have been generally received, particularly this word was mis-heard and the one about the last general election too. This is an indicator that we are not only not in a place to hear from God clearly but that we are if anything in more confusion not less with how we are approaching what is going on in the world today.
If I go back to what I said before about Signs and that part of Signs and wonders and that basically if we do not listen we bring judgement on ourselves then we need to stop burrying our heads in the sand.
We have basically the same message given in two different ways by different people. There are many who we may label Prophets who are saying the same message, that God is about to:
Change the face / definition / expression of Christianity in a generationSome have been saying this for many years.
Going back to how a word is received, how do we receive such a word?
Is it good news?
I would say the change is thus:
Face - that is physical change in other words God is about to give the Church a facelift.
Definition - not just a physical facelift but a spiritual one to, the change that's coming includes a change of that which defines us ie heart, lungs, brain
Expression - it will look completely different, we are about to be transformed.
I do not really want to comment about this, namely because I have touched on it many different ways before so you can read previous posts through the lens of what is written here. The two things I want to add are firstly the way the Church, seems to celebrate mediocrity particularly in England is an offense to God for which we will be Judged. We seem to have an attutide where we judge ourselves by the other churches down the road and in our own eyes if we seemingly look like we are doing a better job than them it's a sign of how great we are.
The reality for the church in the UK as far as I've seen is people tend to go to the least boring church they can find, not the best. We should judge ourselves on the justice and righteousness of God, the two cornerstones of His throne and therefore His Kingdom. This is not always the case but most people I have seen in Church services looked bored most of the time so I'm going to pull no punches on this one.
I've seen a pastor or two patted on the back for the enormous growth of their church plant when the truth of the matter is it is almost entirely made up of sideways church movement, which is mostly made up of either sheep stealing or movement within streams because we want to be associated with the coolest thing on the block, for which their is greater shame on us than the shepherds.
By rewarding mediocrity we label our God mediocre, we as His children are a reflection of who He is. We have seriously compromised God's standards.
Second is I want to highlight, which isn't a highlight but a Prophecy about the Night and Day / 24/7 prayer movements that God is currently blessing all around the nations. The growth alone dictates that this not just a move of God in itself but is a renewal movement leading to much more. This movement is a cornerstone of what God will do in the Church in this generation, namely change it's face, definition and expression.
In fact if you are totally confused by what I am talking about I would suggest joining a House of Prayer is the best place to start to put you on the right track by seeing for yourself
There are several facets of what God is going doing through the Houses of Prayer which may explain what I am saying:
Firstly and importantly the core ideal of a House of Prayer is to bring us into greater intimacy with Jesus. If a House of Prayer isn't making us love Jesus more and giving us a deeper longing for Him it is pointless. The reality on the ground is most local church ministry doesn't provide Christians with these two foundations, in effect church develops expansive programs that either busy us so that we feel like we are doing something because doing something is better than doing nothing and allows us to feel bored and still regularly attend with questioning. In a House of Prayer if you are not engaging with the presence of God it is the most pointless place to be.
A house of prayer has no complicated programs or clever ideas to engage those that attend. It's mindbogling success is actually the simplicity where in effect you just sit down and proactively engage in the presence of God and get to know Jesus better. If you are not properly motivated to do that you will become mind numbingly bored and you will leave and not come back. On most Sundays I feel the whole program of Church is more likely to entertain me and so delude me in my boredom, most of what I see going on in Church I actually find to be a distraction.
A house of prayer does in effect look boring. There are no churches today that want to pray let alone devote time to corporate prayer that don't start their own houses to prayer. Prayer is not something that is suited to our modern lifestyle. Prayer is initself a sacrifice, Houses of Prayer teach you spiritual disciplines that the modern church has been mainly ignoring for decades and this is a problem that is getting worse not better. The Christian life is supposed to be a life of sacrifice primarily the church has forgotten this and we try and devise things that make both Jesus more acceptable and make us feel more happy.
Not many stop to think that Jesus isn't supposed to be that acceptable and that actually if we love Him with everything we are we will not live a life that is physically makes us the happiest, most achieving people in the world, the truth is the opposite. I believe what I see going on in the Church is not offensive to my flesh and that I do find very offensive. I find too many Christians easily offended by the HOP movement in particular.
Prayer in the church is seen as the uncoolest type of mininstry, the calling of an intercessor is more likely than not be the calling we pray we don't get and intercessors are seen in the church as the lightweight hippy people who don't get involved in the proper activity of church. The opposite is actually true. Ultimately the ideal of a House of Prayer is to combine a lifestyle of prayer with works or Justice.
Many 100's of thousands of Christians around the world are finding that the place of prayer is not only giving them a greater desire to be with Jesus but are giving them the heart of Jesus and the proper motivation to get involved in the things that are important to God. Houses of Prayer therefore tend to get involved proactively in the difficult things that are close to the heart of God such as abortion and human trafficking. If we want to follow in a lifestyle of fudging things then living a lifestyle of prayer is the wrong way to go.
I've heard arguments against Houses of Prayer, that they participate in areas of ministry that the church is called to. We must realise the bigger Jeremiah picture is that just because we label something 'Church' doesn't make it a proper biblical church.
The Lord will change the face, definition and expression of Christianity in a generation. You either believe that or you don't that's not really the point it will happen or it won't. If it does what does that tell us what God thinks about what we have done to His Church. In my mind the core activity of the church should be what a House of Prayer does. I do not necessarily believe that the Church will change into being Houses of Prayer so that you must in the future be a in a House of Prayer rather than a church, what I do see is that the House of Prayer movement is integral to what God is doing and saying to the Church in these times. What do I mean by that?
You may have heard me talking about 'Crossing Over'. This is from Jeremiah 3, the bigger picture would be the word about the 'Spirit of Slavery in the Church' dictates that the only way to free ourselves ultimately would be to 'Cross Over' that is Cross the Jordan. It's interesting to note the priest's were told to walk roughly 1 kilometer in front oo the congregation of Israel, 994 km to be precise. IHOP often talk about the calling of the 'forerunner' this is precisely what these priests did. The priests were charged with taking the ark into the Jordan until the Lord damned the Jordan out of site and with cold feet too!
Succinctly this is what I belive God's purpose for the whole HOP movement is.
Ultimately the Lord is calling the church from Revelation to Revolution until Reformation. The purpose of this metamorphisis is so that Jesus will have a spotless bride for which He will come, many do not even understand this. IHOP have this perverse longing to cry out for Jesus to come back. This is expressed in various way but is probably not better verbalised than either the Misty Edwards song Lovesick or Jon Thurlows' Mourning for the Bridegroom - see below:
It may seem peverse but the fact of the matter is for most of us either when or if we have already trully fallen in love with someone else we have an aching and a longing to be with them. This peverse cry for Jesus to come back is not only an expression of this but surely if we Love Jesus as we should do why would we not have such a longing for him to not only know Him intimately but to physically have him near. An outworking of this is fasting. IHOP have what they call the Global Bridegroom Fast. Anyone can engage with this in whichever way they feel fit but it is a monthly three day fast. This is where our relationship with Jesus becomes what I call the 'rubber hitting the road 'so why do we not have church groups all over the world from different streams and ministries calling us to fast just one day, even occasionally if not regularly.
If you listen to the song above there is a clear Biblical longing for Jesus to return, which is about Intimacy not judgement. So why is I have not heard the same longing expressed in whatever appropriate way in our Church meetings either in worship, prayer or preaching if not fasing? The truth is we have no longing, Church has taught us to want to be happy instead of want Jesus.
This is either me being melodramatic or it is probably in the grand scheme of things the only important thing I have ever brought or will ever bring. Being melodramatic or not this is the way it feels to me so I hope and pray you would weight it with the proper and appropriate consideration!
