The Overcomers

In the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John the Revelator on the Greek island of Patmos, Jesus has messages for the seven angels in charge of the seven churches in Asia. To each church there is a specific charge: “To him who overcomes”

Today Jesus is once more calling out to the churches: “To him who overcomes” and it is His voice that is crying out in the wilderness “Prepare the way of the Lord”. And He is doing it through his bride, the overcomers.

What is an overcomer? In the New American Standard Bible, Jeremiah 20:11, we read:

But the LORD is with me like a dread champion;Therefore my persecutors will stumble and not prevail They will be utterly ashamed, because they have failed,With an everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten.

An overcomer is a “dread champion”. A champion of dread. One who has fought the demons of doubt, unbelief, the spirit of death, discouragement, and dread, and prevailed. The word says, in Revelation, that the serpent, the dragon, was given authority to war against the church and to prevail. Except, “To him who overcomes”.

The Lord is raising up His evangelists. We have seen much of the institutional church raising up evangelism and evangelists, and much of it has been effective, powerful, anointed, used mightily of God. But we have yet to see His evangelists.

In the book of Revelation we read of “The faithful church”

The Faithful Church

7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,
‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”:[c] 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it;[d] for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 Behold,[e] I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. 12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
13 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’

To the church of Philadelphia, the church of
“loving one’s brother”, Jesus promises the Key of David (as we read in Isaiah 22:22). To those who overcome, through learning to love the brotherhood of believers, he will make a pillar in the temple of “My God”. His evangelists, not of men, or of the institutions of the church, but His evangelists, coming out of the New Jerusalem, the city of “My God”, coming down from heaven “from My God”.

When the Lord releases His evangelists, and it is coming soon, then we will know that the great harvest has begun. As Jesus said “The harvest is the end of the age”. His evangelists, coming down from My God, not from men, nor of the institutions of men, but raised up by the Lord himself, faithful, dread champions, who will not shrink back but who will live in the Fear of the Lord, be bold and do great exploits for their King.

The REO Speedwagon Anointing

I know the Lord is calling us to surrender. He’s
creeping up on me. By the grace of God, I’m praying I get to the stage where I just can’t fight this feeling anymore. It’s time to take this ship into the shore and throw away the oars forever.

I know the Lord has a sense of humour, that’s why He’s put this song into my head and heart.
Just hope it works.

The Coming Revival

I had an impression of a coming move of God. Wave after wave of airplanes were approaching the country I live in (New Zealand). It was sort of like the invasion of Pearl Harbour, except these airplanes had a purpose that was good not evil. It was as if God had taken the negative energy and intent the enemy when he took on the pearl of great price, and turned it on its head. The purpose of these planes was salvation and revival. I looked up at the planes and saw clearly on them the Red-white-blue concentric circles and spot of the British Air Force. These planes were like spitfires that had come out of the Battle of Britain. I could only assume that these fighters had in fact been sent out from Britain.

Looking up at those planes, I could only breathe a huge sigh of relief. “They’re here! They’re here!”. Others were shouting “Thank God” and falling to their knees and worshiping the Lord, right there in the streets.

Suddenly, the planes released their payload of bombs… it was spiritual napalm. Within minutes entire churches, streets and even cities were ablaze with the fire of God. The fire was all-consuming, it burned through the iron chains and the bronze doors that were keeping the people in captivity. There was great celebration in the street, singing and dancing and rejoicing. But it soon became clear what the main purpose of the fire was: to ignite the hearts of those who were called to be a part of the coming army, for the harvest at the end of the age.

The people were set ablaze with the contagious fire of the glory of God, and everywhere they went they set others on fire. Soon the entire country was ablaze.

What struck me most about this was that this was a sovereign move of God. It was not as if we’d been asking for it or even particularly looking for it. It was just that it was time, at last. The other thing that struck me was the suddenness. Just as the bombing of Pearl Harbour had been a total surprise, so this was a total surprise. A good surprise, mind you.

Finally you could here the sound of the thundering of hooves. It was the Lord of Hosts himself, arriving with the army of God. He was here to commission each and every one of those whose hearts were burning with the flame of God, and He took the time to personally minister to each one. No one was less or more important. Everyone had a place. Everyone was personally anointed with oil by the Lord himself. Those who had prayed and longed for the coming revival were given badges of honor. Those who had scars from waiting and believing for so long, and from rejection and the disappointment were healed, and the scars became medals.

The Lord looked at me and said: “Arise, shine for your light has come. Lift up your heads, be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in.”

I realized that this was the Day when the sun of righteousness had arisen with healing in it’s wings, and those who revered the Name of the Lord were released like calves released from their stall. The Army had arisen!

Why we don’t have revival

Isaiah 55:6 (New International Version)

Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.

Joel 2:13
So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.

2 Chronicles 7:14
if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

I believe that God will not send revival, renewal, awakening, just to vindicate the church, by proving to the world that we were “right” after all, when our hearts have not been right even when our beliefs have been. It is not enough to look at the state of the world and shake our heads, or to look at the direction the world is going in disbelief when we ourselves have become unworthy to be listened to by our lack of integrity. If the world is going to pot, it is because we haven’t been salt and light. It’s as simple as that. The godless direction that society is heading is happening on our watch. It’s time we woke up and took some responsibility.

Notice that 2 Chr 7:14 doesn’t say “If my people… pray…”. We’ve been good at praying.
Cold, heartless, dead, formulaic prayers. All talk and no substance.

The bible says we need to:

(1) Humble ourselves. Fast. Put on sackcloth (figuratively) and mourn. Weep and mourn for the lost world.

(2) Pray. We still need to pray, it’s just the attitude that needs to change

(3) Seek God’s face. Stop asking God to bless us. Be like Abraham, and ask God to show us his glory. Be like Moses, who God knew face to face. Be like Jesus. WWJD. 1John 2:6

(4) Turn from our wicked ways. “What wicked ways?” Selfishness, self-reliance, self-centeredness, self-pity, “what about me/it’s all about me”. Sure things are tough, really tough. Sure they’re bad, really bad. But this isn’t all about us. It’s about God, it’s about Jesus and it’s about the kingdom. Satan cannot cast out Satan. Selfishness cannot cast out selfishness. Selfish ambition cannot cast out greed. Jesus, when things were bad, was honest with God the Father (he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”). Paul was beaten and left for dead, but that didn’t stop him living for the kingdom.

James 4
Pride Promotes Strife
1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
6 But He gives more [a greater] grace. Therefore He says:

“ God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”[c]
Humility Cures Worldliness

7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Something has to change. But let’s not get negative and introspective. God has provided the prescription, as David Wilkerson points out, from the book of Nehemiah. When the walls of Jerusalem are broken down, as they are, it is not a time for complacency and smugness. It’s a time for agonizing prayer, but don’t forget that the joy of the Lord is our strength as we agonize. It’s not oxymoronic, it’s part of the divine tension of Truth in the Kingdom of God.

Jesus is for losers

the self-made need not apply…

Grace from the blood of a tree…

Lord, I’m so thirsty… take me to the waterfall.

The Days of Awe

Today marks the start of the Jewish “Days of Awe” or 10 days of repentance, fasting and prayer that begin with Rosh Hashanah and end with Yom Kippur. The description of this is in Leviticus 23, where the start of the New Year is marked with the Feast of Trumpets, and ends on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).

I have been impressed with the need to pray for Israel, in part because of the tumult surrounding that country and the political situation which is in the news. No more about that here, you can read that for yourselves. I just felt the sense that God was calling me to pray for Israel and for the Jewish people as this is a time in which observing Jews are fasting and praying and seeking God.

In the midst of this, I am reminded of Paul’s prophecy that “all Israel will be saved”, I am reminded of the exhortation in the psalms to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem”, I am acutely aware of God’s love for Israel and the Jewish people, and for the desire that they recognise their Messiah. I pray that they are able to receive the perfect atonement that He, Jesus, Yeshua, has made, thus upstaging the need for sacrifices; the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom and the temple in Jerusalem is no more because it is no longer needed for sacrifices, in the sense that it once was.

But I am also acutely aware of the shameful way which we, “Christians” have treated God’s chosen people Israel, at least in part through the dreadful heresy that is “replacement theology”. The truth is we are the ingrafted branches, as the Gentiles, and God as done away with the dividing wall between us through Jesus, Yeshua, through the perfect blood of His sacrifice.

So I have been praying for Israel, and for the Jewish people. And in so doing I saw a mental image of Israel in flames. Unlike the flames of war that have so ravaged that nation, this was a picture of Israel in flames, where the flames represent the flames of revival, the fire of God. I thought, “that’s interesting, that reminds me of how Elijah was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire.” Then I realized that, in a spiritual sense, the flames represented the return of Elijah, coming back in the same chariot of fire which he left upon. As it was prophesied:

Malachi 4:4-6 (New King James Version)

4 “ Remember the Law of Moses, My servant,
Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel,
With the statutes and judgments.
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
6 And he will turn
The hearts of the fathers to the children,
And the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

John the Baptist was a type of Elijah at the time of Jesus, likewise God is coming in the spirit of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the Fathers (as I see it now, Israel) to the children (the church) and vice-versa.

Secondly, at the mount of transfiguration, there were three men in the vision: Moses (representing the old), Elijah representing the transition, and Jesus representing the new covenant:

Matthew 17

1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us[a] make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. 7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” 8 When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
9 Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.”
10 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
11 Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. 12 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.” 13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist

Elijah is coming and bringing restoration to both the church and to Israel, and not a moment too soon!

It is interesting that Jesus’ last words upon the cross, before He spoke “It is finished” were interpreted as calling forth Elijah. Although that wasn’t what Jesus was saying (he was quoting Psalm 22:1 in Aramaic), this is an interesting thought. There is something in this, that even as Jesus dies on the cross, there is the sense of a foretelling of the days of Elijah, the days of the preparation of Israel.

Jesus Dies on the Cross

45 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
47 Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!” 48 Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.
49 The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.”
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.
51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

So let us not forget, during these days of Awe. Elijah is coming to turn the hearts of the Fathers to the children, and to turn the hearts of the children to the Fathers, and let us not forget that “all Israel will be saved” and also never forget to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem”.

It’s time to cross the streams

Remember Ghostbusters? At the end, the demon/ghost couldn’t be overpowered. The end of the world was near. The answer was to “cross the streams” of the laser-powered ghost capturing things. It’d never been done before. It was dangerous. Deadly.

But also necessary given the certain death the crew were facing.

So it is with the church. God has raised up various movements. Some strong in worship. Some strong in the prophetic. Others strong in healing. Others evangelism. Others missions and church planting/apostolic vision.

Now as the times are getting harder, the world darker, the scenario all the more desperate, it is time to cross the streams. When we do the spiritual nuclear explosion is going to shock all of us, especially the world.

Isaiah 43:19
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

Squeezed and Pure

A couple of things were going through my mind, thinking about some of the difficulties we go through in this life, and how it is that God is using the trials that … let’s face it … are just part of life to teach us how to trust Him and to reveal and purify the motives of our hearts. In a way, I was thinking how I was glad to have gone through some of the things I have gone through, because now for the first time I think I’m starting to get real in my relationship with God. I thought about what I wrote in “The cord of three strands” about keeping it real, and this verse came to my mind.

1Peter 1:6,7

…now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine

For some reason I was thinking about the colour orange, and the song “Orange Crush” was going through my mind… I look across at the kitchen bench, and see an orange juice bottle. On it are the words Pure… 100%. Freshly squeezed. The brand is McCoy.

God is preparing our hearts, teaching us to keep it real, so that our faith may be proved genuine. As our genuine faith is revealed may it point the way to Jesus. That is coming. When others see our reality they will see Jesus.

Hebrews 12:7,8 and 12-14

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13″Make level paths for your feet,”[b] so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
14Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

Holiness here, I believe, speaks of purity and keeping it real.

Matthew 5:8

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Soaring, flying… breaking free

OK, so it’s pure cheese of the reprocessed nacho gloop variety, but I can’t help seeing the analogies in this song to our relationship with God….

Isaiah 61:7 (Amplified)

Instead of your [former] shame you shall have a twofold recompense; instead of dishonor and reproach [your people] shall rejoice in their portion.

Isaiah 55:12

For you shall go out [from the spiritual exile caused by sin and evil into the homeland] with joy and be led forth [by your Leader, the Lord Himself, and His word] with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Nahum 1:12-13

12Thus says the Lord: Though they be in full strength and likewise many, even so shall [the Assyrians] be cut down when [their evil counselor] shall pass away. Though I have afflicted you [Jerusalem], I will not cause you to be afflicted [for your past sins] any more.

13For now will I break his yoke from off you and will burst your bonds asunder.

The cord of three strands

When David stood before Goliath, he knew that God was going to bring deliverance not only for him but also for the people of Israel, and not only that God’s manifest destiny for Israel would be preserved and not destroyed.

What was it that David had that gave him such complete confidence that when he came out to challenge Goliath, he would prevail?

I believe that it was the strength of David’s relationship with God, that he had built up over the lonely years of shepherding, when he was overlooked by his family, as he learned to worship God and to serve Him only, he developed a strong bond with God the Father Almighty, the Lord God Almighty, the Lord of Hosts.

In Ecclesiastes 4:12 we read that a cord of three strands is not easily broken. I believe that there were three key aspects to David’s relationship with God that enabled him to stand fast in the face of death.

(1) Faith
(2) Preparation
(3) Keeping it real

Each of those strands is in turn made up of three components. So we have
Faith, the presence of God, the call of God. David not only believed God, he had also been set apart by God, anointed by God (the call of God) and he also had cultivated the presence of God by becoming a worshipper.
Likewise, we have no business standing before Goliath unless we likewise have faith: we believe God; we’ve been called: appointed, anointed; we have cultivated the presence of God around our lives through seeking Him in prayer, through the word, and through worship. If we do that, we have the first strand in our lives intact.

Which brings me to the second strand. We have preparation. This in turn requires the presence of God (the anointing, the call of God, worship), and it requires humility, and it requires us to show up having done the absolute best with what God has given us. Consider the parable of the talents. Jesus has given us gifts, He has given us talents. And we’re to use them. But not the things that He hasn’t given to us. David was not (at the time of facing Goliath) a battle-hardened warrior. That was the problem. He was a shepherd boy, with a lot of time on his hands. Did he sit around thinking “oh dear, poor me, I’m only a poor useless shepherd boy, what can God ever use me for, I’m not a warrior, I’m not particularly talented, I’m not especially clever, oh poor me”. No he did not. He practiced with his slingshot. In the hours and hours of boredom, watching over his “few sheep”, he did not waste what he had. He learned to be a crack shot. God used this to overcome Goliath.

So you’re thinking “Well, I have absolutely nothing, I’m not even any good with a slingshot, I’m a complete unco, God could never have used me”. Wrong. God will use whatever you have. That is where the humility component and the anointing component come in. If David truly had no skills in at all, he would have overcome Goliath with “just” the anointing on his life. Humility required of David that he recognize that Saul’s armour wasn’t going to work. He went in the strength he had, having learned the lessons from the stories of his ancestors, in particular Moses and Gideon. But the preparation strand means that effort was required, and time was required, and waiting on God was required. God knows the timing. Our times are in His hands.
In the meantime we don’t sit twiddling our thumbs, we put our hands to the plow whatever is in front of us and we use the time wisely to prepare.

Finally, we have the component of “keeping it real”. Which is similar to the strand of preparation, yet different. The emphasis of this strand is humility. We understand not just that we can do nothing apart from God but that we can do everything in Him. All things are ours. All things are possible, to those who believe. So this strand is combined with faith. In fact its faith, hope and love wrapped in a cloak of humility.

So we have the three strands of the cord that must tie us to God, and does tie us to God in Christ.

The faith strand, made up of faith, the presence of God and the call of God. In other words, the anointing.
The preparation strand, made up of our talents and effort (preparation), the presence of God and humility.
The “keeping it real” strand: faith, hope and love wrapped up in the cloak of humility.

Remember we are God’s workmanship, and we are created to do good works in Christ.

Colossians chapter 1, the Message:

“The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope.”

There is a hope laid up for us in heaven, that God wants to use us to bring to earth. Touching heaven, pulling down the blessing, and changing earth. All things are possible, if we believe.