Fullfilling the Vision!

It’s been a while since I have blogged!  My interest was renewed when on of our elders, Charlie Courtney decided he wanted a blog.  You can visit his blog space by going to: http://revlifeasstpastor.wordpress.com/  Charlie isn’t the Asst Pastor yet, but within the next few weeks I am confident we will make that transition.

I feel the need to write a little bit about what God is doing in our lives and at Revolutionary Life Church.  We are excited about this season we are in right now.  I am excited because I am seeing the vision and the prophetic call for our church being fulfilled right before our eyes.  January of this year marked my third year as pastor of this church.  When I first took over I asked the Lord how I could fit into the current vision of the church.  To be honest, even though I knew the ongoing vision laid out by the previous pastors, I could clearly see that there were major limitations to meeting that vision.  For one, our current meeting place was not conducive or inviting to visitors.  People had problems finding our facility.  Our visibility to the street was non-existent.  I also observed people’s willingness to reach out to the community.  Many of our people at that time, and sorry if this is offensive to anyone reading, but my observations said, that though we talked about being an inner-city church we had no idea what true inner-city ministry was.  We had become comfortable!

So after 10 months of letting the ship slowly turn, I felt the Lord saying now is the time to lay out a new vision for the church.  Not only did we move out of the 500 seat theater, but we changed the name of the church from New Life City Church, to Revolutionary Life Church.  As a visionary I could see the church as bringing about a Kingdom revolution in this city.  I wanted to build a church that was not a building, but a people who walked in the knowledge and demonstration of the Kingdom of God.  I wanted to do more than just talk about it but live it.

I feel like so much of the Church in America, just talks about what God could do.  We focus so much on “some day” and not enough on TODAY.  And even though I am excited about the Kingdom to come and all of its benefits I want to focus on what God is doing right now.  My focus is and has been, how can God use me today to transform this city…  It’s one day at a time!  The Bridegroom wants to find us faithful with our hands to the plow when He comes back.

So we prayed about creating a vision for the church that would expand our influence.  I don’t think we ever fully developed the vision, because in part we had leadership that simply were not on board.  I love them very dearly and still to this day pray for them.  It’s not that they were wrong for not being aligned to my vision they just simply had a different calling.  That’s why when people leave our church I am able to bless them and send them out.  They may or may not ask for our blessing but in my times of prayer with the Lord I ask Him to bless them and increase them because we are all part of the same body just working in different fields.

It’s difficult to express a vision and ask people to get on board.  The Primary Leader is the vision setter.  That is why God has put him/her in that place.  Any other VISION is DIVISION.  That may be hard for some people to grasp but it’s the truth.  You cannot have two visions within the same house.  Matthew 12:25 says “²⁵And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:”  So in many churches there is so much division because there are those who feel their vision is much better than the one currently set.  Because their ideologies and thoughts are not part of the vision, they become loud and often overbearing.  This causes a great deal of division and brings a divisive spirit that seeks to destroy the work of God set out for the local body.  It’s not wrong to disagree with the pastor and leaders about certain points but when we begin to operate out of a disagreeable or divisive spirit then it is time for a vision adjustment!  Either that person(s) needs to come into alignment with the authority of the local body or find a new church to be a part of.

Romans 13:1-2 “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. “

I’m saying that to get to the point that as our vision has developed we have lost some people along the way.  Someone recently just told me that our vision has changed in the last couple of months, and that has caused some to reevaluate their place in the church.  I have thought greatly about this and realized that our vision didn’t change but that we have finally began to walk in the vision that was set out 2 and a half years ago when we became Revolutionary Life Church.  So the question then becomes, did our vision change or because we walked into the fullness of who we really are is the vision of those around us fully aligned to the vision?

Two and a half years ago we set out to become the hands and feet of Christ.  As an inner-city ministry we are called to minister to those who are living in poverty, homeless, disenfranchised, those who don’t like church, who don’t know God, and those who want to know more about God.  We are called to be a place for the hurting, dying, lost, broken, and sick.  To bring healing: emotionally, physically and spiritually.  We are not looking for perfect people but people who want to be perfected in Christ.  We want to clothe the naked, and give food to the hungry.  Pray for the alcoholic, drug addict, prostitute, gay, tattooed, homeless, and religious.

We are a group of messy people.  Each having our own stories about where we went wrong in life.  But we realize that God is working on us and working in this city.  As a church we love the loveless.  We love those who society has rejected and deemed as no good.  We see the goodness in every heart and the potential that can come out of a place of love. We are a church full of former alcoholics, former drug addicts, people who are homeless and who have overcome homelessness.  We have those who have been to jail, some once, others multiple times.  We have people who have been in gangs, sold drugs, and who have stolen.  We have those who wear tattered clothes, jeans and t-shirts and dirty sneakers.  We have those who are tattooed, those with mohawks, piercings, and aren’t clean shaven.

We also have those who wear a tie to every service, have gray hair, and have walked with God for several decades.  Some are part of our leadership, others feel comfortable to just take a seat on Sunday’s and enjoy the atmosphere.  We have children, teens, young adults and many older adults who work together to LOVE THE HELL OUT OF JAMESTOWN! We believe this is the heart and mission of this church!  We don’t apologize for not being a ‘normal” religious institution.  We meet in a store-front, next to a tattoo parlor and down the block from a bar.

In closing, our vision may not line up with all of those in this city, I am okay with that.  But I would like to believe that we are fulfilling the heart of Jesus and demonstrating the Kingdom of God.  After all part of our vision 2 1/2 years ago was:

o Renew-ing the heart: Renewing the idea that church is not about a religious movement or building, but it is based out of a relationship with Jesus Christ.
o Revolutionize-ing the mind: Transforming the mind set of our culture by challenging ourselves and others to go beyond formal religion and traditions that have held the Church back from all that God has promised.

We are seeing people’s lives changed every day.  We have heard so many people’s testimonies of the transforming power of Jesus Christ in their lives!  That’s why we can continue to minister knowing that that hearts and lives are being transformed through the vision set out many years ago we are finally walking in today!

With Love,

Pastor Scott

2011 A Year of the Turnaround

2011 a Year of the Turn Around

• We are walking into an extremely significant year for the Body of Christ
  • for the Lord is saying that 2011 is a year to leave your past in your behind and move forward
    • I hear forward motion
    • forward motion
    • forward motion
  • When God says something 3 times its important and significant
    • • The Bible says a 3 strand cord cannot be easily broken
      • So we are walking into a season where the bonds of the Lord cannot be broken except out of your disobedience
      • Obedience will be important in 2011 because God is raising the bar once again for His children
      • But forward motion is what the Lord is saying in this season for 2011 is going to be a year of turnaround for you
• Joshua 1:1-11
• 1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying:
• 2 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel.
• 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.
• 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory.
• 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.
• 6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
• 7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.
• 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
• 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
• 10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
• 11 “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess.’”
  • You see they were stuck in the desert for 40 years
    • it was dry, barren, difficult
      • Just as it may have seemed that all hope was lost the turnaround the Children of Israel was about to come
        • • they were told to go into their land of promise
    • We talk a lot of our land of promise but many of us are sitting on the outer banks waiting to get in
      • God is giving us the command to step into a place of turnaround
• There were several promises God reminded the children of Israel about as we said I am about to turn your situation around!
• There are a few major things God wants to turn around in this season we are walking into
• 1) Finances
  • the finances of God’s people will be restored
    • • The enemy is even now being reminded that the wealth of the wicked is being given to the righteous of the Lord
      • and every seed you have planted in the last season is being multiplied to you because the Kingdom is a place of return
  • 2011 will be a harvest of those seeds you have planted
    • Get ready for the increase
    • and get ready to live out of the increase
  • Deuteronomy 11:8-11
    • 8 “Therefore you shall keep every commandment which I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and possess the land which you cross over to possess,
    • 9 and that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD swore to give your fathers, to them and their descendants, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’[a]
    • 10 For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden;
    • 11 but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven,
• But I hear the Lord saying it is time to be even more diligent and faithful in your giving
  • where God required 5 dollars He’s now saying give 10
  • Its not a word of manipulation but a word of increase
• if we live out of the increase we must give out of the increase
  • Its not time to rob God because as you withhold He will also withhold from you
  • Men are about to give back unto you as you have given unto them
    • You are just the conduit of flow that God wants to use to bring money through
      • God is going to use the obedient to transfer wealth through
        
• 2) Changing of Hands
  • in the last season many of you felt as though you lost your authority to speak to those things that were not and see them come to fruition
  • God is bringing a turn around to the confidence of the Church
  • in this season those who are tapped into the Spirit of God will begin to rise up in the authority of Jesus Christ
    • When God brings us into new seasons He elevates us to new dimensions
      • thats what 2011 is going to be for His Church
        • a new dimension of the Kingdom of God
  • 2011 is going to be a year of operating in the heavens
• Your Kingdom Authority is about to be discovered in your lives
  • many of you will begin to experience unctions of the Holy Spirit
    • and just as I said before that obedience is key in this season
      • Your reaction to the unction of the Holy Spirit will either bring activation or death to the promises in your life
    • This is the hour to begin to speak into the darkness and bring forth the light of the Lord
      • What happens when we bring forth the light
      • it uncovers those things hidden
        • and in this last season there has been hidden obstacles and hidden giants that have kept you from fulfilling the dreams and purposes of God for your life
        • But I’m telling you what was done in darkness is about to be brought into the light of the Lord
        • His light is truth
        • and when the truth Illuminates it brings about solutions to your obstacles
  • Your authority to trample on the temptations the the devil put in front of you
    • the authority to heal the sick
    • cleanse the leper
    • raise the dead
    • cast out demons
    • is about to turn around for you
• 3) The third thing God wants to turn around in 2011 is YOU!
  • I see a different direction for the Church
    • Yes the same precepts of His Word stands
    • He will uphold and enforce His standards of righteousness within the Church
  • but there is coming another direction that the prophetic Church is about to take
    • for the Lord has said in this former season I was taking you along with the streams
      • but I have called you to go against the flow of that which was popular
  • God is raising up a prophetic voice in this nation and even within the walls of this city
    • there will be prophets coming forth to declare the day and the hour in which we stand
  • This land needs a prophetic shake up
    • and just as the Sons of Issachar knew the signs of the seasons there is a camp of people who are being raised up to bring a word of victory
  • God is calling forth the bride in this season
    • I hear the Lord say get on your wedding dress for there is about to be a wedding
      • there is about to be a joining
      • a marriage of the Sons of God to the Son of God
  • There is going to be a celebration in 2011 like the Church has never seen before because of this turn around of His people
• Here is where you come in
  • • • • God is saying walk in another direction from where you were going
          • He is going to give you a clear direction in this season because your sights have been on Him
  • Get ready to do things you never have done before
    • there are going to be many of you who will step out into new business ventures
    • some into new ministry opportunities
• 3) Get ready for God to do a turn around in your thinking in 2011
  • • • For God is saying that there will also be shift in the thinking of the Church
        • • the Church has been asking for the mind of Christ
            • and the Spirit of God is asking can you handle my thoughts?
            • can you handle my ways?
              • For my ways are higher than yours
• 4) There are going to be major changes in the way we do church in 2011
  • • The season we are walking into will require more but it will not be striving for the Glory of the Lord
    • we are going to come into services and the Glory of the Lord will already be there
  • The Church is about to become the Church
• this is going a significant year of prophetic scripture being fulfilled concerning the Church
  • • God is saying do not be a spectator but a participator
  • Those who are complacent will surely die
    • but I hear the Lord say be actively and eagerly about the work of the Kingdom of God
    • Get ready to see signs, miracles and wonders in a greater frequency
  • as we increase the frequency of true worship
  • there will be an increase in the miraculous
• God is calling forth a counter culture in the Church that will not settle for things as usual!
  • We are not called to keep the status quo but called to stir up the flow of this nation

Broken Hearts

I hear the Lord saying that this day there is a breaking in the heavenlies. This is not an ordinary breaking, it is a breaking in the Spirit and hearts of men and women who are seeking the Kingdom. For this day says the Lord you have sought my heart but I say to you that before you can have my heart you must die to your own. For I can not break a heart that is not already broken.

I hear the Lord say that this is a season of breaking of those things which the Church has held sacred. There is a time coming hen the idols of man will be smashed in front of their faces for I the Lord has said that if you exalt yourself you will be humbled. Because you this day have exalted yourself above my will and my statutes I am breaking down the things which do not align with my Spirit. For anything that does not align with my Spirit is not of me and will be cast down into the fire. I am declaring fire over the hearts of man. fire over the hearts of that which is false. for I am bringing you into a place of truth this day. truth cannot exit where those things which are false remain. I am taking you out of the false, For the false produces death but the truth produces fruitfulness. I am bringing you into a season of greater fruitfulness and greater intimacy for you have asked for my heart. I am bringing you back to your first love. I am your first love, let me be your first and your last and see that I am bringing you out of your despair this very day says the Lord of Hosts.

A Spirit of Prophesy Being Released

I hear the voice of the Lord saying that there is a spirit of prophesy being poured out over this land like never seen before.  there are many great things that are happening in this season, but God is rising up a people who hear His voice and know how to communicate the heart of the Father.  There is a heart cry that God is releasing across this land.  It is a cry to release and unleash the power of the Kingdom.  We will not just see signs, wonders, and miracles flow but the heart of God will flow as well.  It is a heart of love.  There will be great love in this season.  Overwhelming love.

I hear the Father say that there will be a great voice that will arise over the voice of America.  It will be a voice of comfort but it will be deceptive.  It will come in like a lamb but will be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  It’s words will be flowery but behind those words will be works of deception. The Father is saying that in this season His sheep will need to know His voice for direction.  For there is a direction that the Father is pointing His Bride to.  It is a place of covering.  It will cover His Bride like the Glory will cover the earth.  It is a place of open heavens where the enemy cannot reside.  For I the Lord Your God has seen your heart.  your heart is to know me in a greater level.  I am not just taking you to another level but I am taking you to a greater dimension. It is a dimension of heavenly proportions because I am the Lord Your God, your Portion.

This is a season of releasing the goodness of the Kingdom.  This is a season of release says the Lord.  I have held you in for a season to be trained and equipped but I am taking you to another place.  There is another place for you.  It is a place where the manifestations of my love will be poured out like a river that can never run dry.  It will be a place of abundance, mercy, and grace.  There is justice coming to my Church says the Lord.  You have watched as this group and that group has received justice.  I have told you to sit back and watch and have told you to be content in little.  But this is an hour of the big.  There are big things coming.  The change and shift is about to begin. For within this season I am aligning the pieces that will lock together to bring a platform of change says the Lord.

The Cloud of Glory

I have been praying to receive prophetic dreams. I usually do not remember any dreams I have. However, my wife tells me I do talk in my sleep.

Last night I had a word that I believe was very significant. I am not sure what it all means yet but I know that God often reveals things piece by piece.

Here is the word:
Me: Now I know why God put me back into this.
Michelle: Why is that?
Me: I have to buy all the things and give them to the people.
Michelle: What things?
Me: The things for the cloud of Glory.

This is extremely significant because first of all, I don’t very often use the term, the cloud of Glory. I have asked God what those things were that I had to buy. While at Morningstar this last week I received a prophetic word from a couple from Indiana. Part of the word said that, “Like the pearl of great price, you will pay a great price to receive revelation.”

i am going to continue to ask God what things I need to purchase so this city can have the Cloud of Glory.

Kingdom Signs and Wonders

We used to sing this old song from the 80′s or 90′s called “I went to the enemy’s camp and I took back what he stole from me.” And the lord spoke to me and said, you need to stop singing that, and begin to proclaim that it is already yours!  Why are we begging the enemy to give us back our stuff when Jesus already has it?  The truth is, now that Jesus has your healing, your deliverence, your finances, your health, your relationships, and your jobs He is willing to freely give it to you.  Now its your turn to grab a hold of it and begin to walk in it.

Listen this is not word of faith kind of stuff, this is Kingdom stuff.  I don’t have to, like John the Baptist did, and say the Kingdom is coming.  No the KINGDOM OF GOD IS HERE!  It’s already here.  Jesus said that!  So I am proclaiming His Kingdom finances over you, His Kingdom health over you, His Kingdom over you.  I am proclaiming, signs and wonders, healings deliverance its coming here!!

Arise!

Okay, I know this is really lengthy, but as I was reading this word today from Openheaven.com it really grabbed ahold of me.  I have been prophesying about this very season for over 5 years now.  This word is confirmation of just that!

When we walked into this year I knew that God was transitioning us out of an old era into something brand new.  He spoke to me and said 2009 is going to be a

year of transition, transition, transition.

Then He spoke and said there is going to be three things that will happened throughout this year.

1. We will be TRANSLATED during this season.
2. We are going to be TRANSFORMED in the transition.
   
3. We will be TRANSFIGURED in this season.
   

This, BTW, is the shift that God spoke to me about 5 years ago while in NYC during a service.  I very clearly heard the Lord say that within the next 5 years, which does bring us to this year, that there was going to be a line drawn in the sand.  And that there would be people and churches who for various reasons did not cross over that line and therefore they were left behind and forgotten about.

Lets deal with these three processes that God is taking us through.

1. Translation
   1. 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”
      1. this is the process of translation.  We are being taken out of a religious mindset into a Kingdom mindset.
         1. in the natural we translate words and languages in order for others to understand.
         2. We have been speaking in the wrong language
            1. The Church has learned to speak in a worldly language that does not produce fruit
            2. many of us in the church are so far removed from the faith of our forefathers that we don’t even speak the language of the True Church.
            3. We are citizens of heaven, therefore we must speak the language
               1. it is time for us to get back to the original language that Jesus spoke about, it is a language of power, a language of truth and a language of love.
2. A Transformation
   1. Romans 12:2 tells us”And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
      1. The former season:As a corporate Church many of our understanding has been based on what the “intellectual theologians” tell us.  It is interesting to me that we listen so intently to them when Jesus rebuked them and called them a “brood of vipers.”  The truth is, many theologians are nothing but modern day pharisees and are like wolves in sheep’s clothing.
      2. This new season: We have stepped into a season in which I believe we are being transformed from a humanistic way of thinking into a Godly, revelatory mindset.  This is the true mindset of the Kingdom of God!  We are transformed into having God’s thoughts, God’s heart, and God’s ways.
      3. The Church is arising and awakening into a level where organized religion no longer cuts it.  But we have replaced the old in order be a Church of the needy, a place for the sick, a place for the broken, a place for those who have been hurt.  This is where the mindset of the Church changes.
         1. We are no longer building stained-glass monuments to ourselves but building each other up in the most Holy faith!
3. Transfiguration
   1. The final process that God is doing in the Church is transfiguration
      1. We know in scripture that both Jesus and Moses had this event occur
      2. the Bible says in the case of Moses that the people couldn’t even look at him because his face radiated with the Glory of God
      3. Then in the New Testament it says that Jesus’ face shone brighter than the sun
      4. In both cases they were exhibiting the Glory of the Father
         1. God is taking the Bride through such a process of purity that the outcome will be the reflection of His Glory seen through us.
         2. He is perfecting us by His grace and mercy during this hour in order for us to emulate Him.
            1. I want to throw this out there as a connection to this:
               1. In Acts 5 the scripture says that people were just hoping that they might come in contact with Peter’s shadow because his shadow was healing people
                  1. God is going to restore these types of signs, miracles, and wonders to the Church in the next coming days.  But it was not because of Peter that His shadow healed.  It was because of the Glory of God that radiated from Peter
                     1. It is God’s Glory that is going to ultimately be revealed!

Here is the word from Open Heaven I would like to share with you:

1. ARISE

By Ron McGatlin

God is calling for His people to arise to a new higher plane of kingdom life and service – a life and walk more in tune with and dependent upon the Spirit. It may be a more simple life but with greater impact and value. For some it will involve picking up new or lost mantels of service with greater power and production in perfect peace. Arising into a higher kingdom walk in the Spirit will bring increased faith and rest even in the times of shaking and storms.

Some things are rapidly coming to an end. There are major overall worldwide shifts taking place. However, I am impressed that there are some personal and individual endings for many of God’s people. Probably a lot of these ending things will be evident by the end of this year of 2009. Some of the things ending were good things that were well used in their time but will not be best for us or the kingdom in the new season.

For some of us it feels somewhat like a death when something in our lives comes to an end. Grieving is common and natural but can become devastating if one looks back instead of focusing on the new that is just ahead. When a season passes away for God’s children, there is a greater season being birthed. New beginnings come as the old is ended.

Arising to the new place of spiritual life and service would not be possible if we were to remain engaged in the things that are ending for us. The things may or may not be ending in function or existence. It may be that our participation in them is ending. In these cases, others may arise to fill our old place and continue some of the previous function. However, it may be quite different as the new people step up to carry it on. In other cases things may be totally ending because their function is not required in the new kingdom emphasis season.

Spiritual arising to meet the kingdom potential and challenges of the new season must come into our spirits from above. The Spirit of resurrection – the Spirit of the resurrected Christ is revival or awakening and more; it is an entering into the life God intended for each of us from eternity past. It involves the empowerment of Christ in us lifting us into our destiny of kings and priests reigning with Christ in life (Rev 1:5-6).

Rev 5:10: And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.

The things happening now are another step toward the final purpose of God for His people and Planet Earth.

This is a spiritual journey into heavenly realms that impacts and changes earthly or natural realms. This journey will eventually culminate in the fullness of the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

In a spiritual vision I see those who ascend the hill of the Lord with clean hands and pure hearts standing in high places, lifting their arms high toward heaven and receiving surges of heavenly power like lightening and hearing clearly the thunder of the all-powerful voice of God speaking wisdom and power beyond comprehension revealing mysteries from eternal heaven (Psa 24:1-5) (Exo 20:18).

Acts 1:8: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

God will pour out the liquid fire of His love from His great heavenly eternal supply into the reservoir of our lives to overflowing. The world will tremble and shake at the power of His word. Fortified mountains of ungodly power will melt at the voice of the sons of God. Multitudes will fall on their faces as the liquid fire of God’s love is released upon them by the words of God (Rom 5:5) (Psa 46).

Micah 1:4: The mountains will melt under Him, And the valleys will split Like wax before the fire, Like waters poured down a steep place.

The multitudes of waiting angels will harvest and sweep clean the earth of all evil and contamination. The awaited reality of the glory of God shall cover the earth. And those who remain will be transformed in the twinkling of an eye and with all the saints of glory shall partake of the glorious kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven (1 Cor 15:51-52).

Mat 13:41: “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. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

God will have a people who will rule and reign with Christ on earth.

His call for this generation is to become forerunners and pioneers who will take the next step into that which is seen in the Spirit and will be seen manifesting into the natural. God does nothing on earth without first telling His prophets (Amos 3:7). He also establishes no major foundational shifts without sending His apostles as wise master builders (1 Cor 3:10). It is important that we hear from and be enlightened by the Spirit of Christ Jesus speaking and imparting through these sent ones, especially as a group of collective elders. Each seer or leader will have his part or portion, but full truth will come in the collective revealed truth of God through connected apostolic and prophetic elders (leaders).

Do not follow an individual apostle or prophet. Follow the Spirit of truth from Christ Jesus that flows from a collective God-sent voice of many waters flowing as one stream from heaven with the roar of the power of God.

Rev 14:2: And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder.

Perhaps one of the things ending is the error of chasing after a prophet or an apostle. Without fail, following one gifted leader will lead to disorder and imbalance that will most likely cause error. We are not of Paul or Apollos; we are of Christ Jesus (1 Cor 3:3-11).

Caution demands a Spirit confirmation from within that can be discovered in the written word only after the revelation is received from the Spirit directly or through His sent ones. The deep hidden things of God are spiritually discerned (1 Cor 2:10-14). Hear the voice of God and not the voice of one man, other than the one mediator between God and man, Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2:5).

It is more than needful; it is imperative that we connect with others now in this season that the voices of many speaking their portions of truth become one voice in harmony of one sound from many notes. A lone voice is as a song played with only one note. There was a time of the voice of one crying in the wilderness, but when Christ came the lone voice proclaimed its own end, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). True wilderness preachers are today proclaiming their own demise and pointing toward the coming of the collective Body of Christ Jesus coming forth to do the greater works of establishing His kingdom from heaven on earth.

Brothers and Sisters, it is not about compromise; it is about blending of many waters into the one stream of Christ Jesus and His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. It is about the roaring waterfall of kingdom truth and reality pouring down from heaven with the roar of God. Tremble and weep all who have held on to your religious stream as the exclusive and elite work of God. We are only a part and at best are incomplete and cripple alone. Subtle religious pride is ending and shall not survive the roar of God from heaven.

Connect to one another by the Spirit.

For God’s sake, the people’s sake, and the sake of the kingdom of God call somebody, meet with others, look them in the face, and connect in the Spirit. Renounce your error of exclusivity and one man or one stream leadership, and cut a channel to connect your stream with others in the great river of the one King in the one kingdom of heaven. In this day of the kingdom of heaven coming to earth, no stream alone in exclusivity is without error.

It takes all the colors of the rainbow blended together to make the whole clear light. If one color is missing, the light is not clear and whole. Properly blended no distinct colors are visible, only the one clear light of God. Yet all colors are present in the whole clear light of God and will be reflected by any object that is not transparent.  Clear light will reflect the color of an object. Pure clear light will discern all things. There is no darkness at all in the whole clear light of God. The whole clear light dispels darkness and nothing shall enter that defiles. (See chapter two of “Overcoming Life On A Small Planet” for more on the light of God.)

Keep on pursuing love. It never fails
and His kingdom never ends.

Ron McGatlin

Prophetic Release of Faith

I hear the Lord saying that there is a new release of faith coming to the Bride of Christ.  He is saying my beloved bride, I am a God of faith that when you are in my midst nothing is impossible for Me.  I am placing a new mantle of faith upon the Church, faith to see the impossible become possible.  It is a faith like none other, a faith that will break the yokes of bondage and set the captives free. It is a faith that I wanted to pour out in past generations but because of disobedience and lack of humility I could not release this faith.  I am now releasing a Spirit of faith upon you in a greater portion.  Greater portion is what you have been asking for and a greater portion is what I am about to give you.  Hold still says the Lord.  Hold still in the midst of your situation hold still in making decisions says the Lord.  Because when this faith is released you will see clearly that I am a God of power.  I am a God of the unseen, and a God who calls forth things that were not into existence.

You are in the midst of one of the greatest eras of the Church.  There is a wave of the Holy Spirit that is coming and it will uncover things that have been lost and forgotten about.  You are going to hear about things in the natural taking place.  Very big archeological finds.  But I say to you that it is not a thing in the natural that I am doing.  It is an uncovering of those things in the Spirit.  Surely as things occur in the natural they occur first in the Spirit.  For I the lord your God is the first and the last.  I am all things to you and because I have become all things to you I will show myself in your midst.  this will be a day of great things for you My bride.  I am elevating you to a new level says the Lord!

Living a Life of Influence

In 1975 Bill Bright and Loren Cunningham got together to talk about a concept of 7 spheres of influence that are in need of Kingdom rule and reign. These seven pillars are business, government, media, arts and entertainment, education, the family and religion.  I believe God is raising up Kingdom minded people who are about reaching a crowd that the Church alone is not able to reach.   After watching this video and knowing about the past American Idol winners my thoughts are simple.  God is doing a new thing upon the earth.  God is placing men and women in areas of influence so that the message of the Gospel can be heard by those who’s ears have been deafened to His word.

When God called me into a place of ministry I knew that it was for something more than just leading a local congregation.  Any pastor or ministry leader that feels his or her only call is to minister to those within the four walls of what we term as “church” is hugely limiting God and what He desires to accomplish.  I do not have a call to only serve God through my platform with DOVE Christian Fellowship International and Revolutionary Life Church.  My call is to serve God through advancing the KINGDOM of God and moving outside of my traditional understanding of ministry.

We are not only Christians inside of the church building but we are the CHURCH outside of the building.  We must show the love of God to the beggar on the street corner, the prostitute, the pimp, the drug addict, the local mechanic.  We must show the love of God by loving the business owner, the cab driver, the little lady that makes us angry because she is driving the car in front of us and going too slow.  The Bible says “And they will know we are Christians by our love for one another!”

We are given platforms in life every day to share the love of the Father with everyone we meet.  How well do we do with that opportunity?  Perhaps we don’t have the same talent and abilities as Kris Allen.  Perhaps you will never make it to American Idol.  But what is that thing that God has given to you as an area of influence?

Are you in a neighborhood where you can spread the GOOD NEWS of His Kingdom?  Are you in the business sector, or at working at the local music store?  What ever area God has called you to, you can rise to the top of that mountain and begin to influence those around you.

I believe the God is calling out those who know how to live lives of influence.  The amazing thing is, it doesn’t have to do with how much money you have or the level of your position.  It has to do with an obedient heart and a willingness to serve God.  That is what true humility is, it is yielding yourself to the will of God and saying “Yes Lord, send me!”

“Are you ready to be an influence to those around you?  It’s as simple as saying yes to the call and allowing God to elevate you in your due season!For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 11:14

You Got to Go Through to Get to!

God has been speaking to me a lot about the word “PROCESS.”  The Webster’s Dictionary says this about the word process:

• a natural phenomenon marked by gradual changes that lead toward a particular result <the process of growth>
• (2): a continuing natural or biological activity or function <such life processes as breathing>
  • b: a series of actions or operations conducing to an end

A natural phenomenon???  What about a Spiritual phenomenon?  What about the spiritual process we must all go through? I think we have a major misunderstanding of this concept in the Body of Christ!  Growing up in the Pentecostal/Holiness arena my whole life I have come to expect a certain level of maturity out of people, even those who are coming off the street.  How dare a drunk walk into the church, how dare someone swear inside the church, how dare someone smoke who is in leadership…. I’m not saying that I am okay with those things, but what I am saying is why do we expect so much of people?  Why do we set our standards upon people?  Why is it about our set of beliefs and rules?  Why do we expect the fish to be cleaned before they jump into our boats?

I have come to the conclusion that God sets the standards according to His Holiness and Righteousness.  It is not by a set of rules that man has placed upon the Church.  God will judge His beloved according to how pure we are.  Jesus is coming back for a pure spotless bride, that is without blemish.  How can we be a part of the Bride of Christ, but judge our brother?  It is impossible!  Christ has called us to love one another.  Now that does not mean that we allow sin to take place within the Church.  What that does mean is that we need to love one another through our personal processes.  That means that we pray for God’s wisdom and guidance, and that the conviction of the Holy Spirit would go on HIS behalf to bring judgment to the hearts of those in sin.

We are each on our own path towards righteousness.  Some of us will stumble, some will fall, some will go off the path, some will want to give up.  But that is when Christ’s healing hands come in to help those who are not able to find thier way.  And guess what?  WE SHOULD BE CHRIST’S HEALING HANDS.   This path that we are on, does have it’s limits.  But those limits are aligned with the Word of God and are not set by the religious rules of a systematic theological school of theory.  Religion seeks to judge the hearts of man based on each others sin.  Sin is measured not by man but according to how close we are to God’s Glory.  That’s why the scripture says, “All have sinned and fallen SHORT OF THE GLORY of God.”

We are often so quick to judge people when they are in the midst of thier process.  When we are born into the Kingdom we are born as children.  Children simply do childish things.   But there is a growth process that occurs so that we can go from being children to mature sons and daughters of the Kingdom of God.

Even Jesus had to go through this process.  But notice that before He became a mature Son he had to go through the desert and fast, to only be tempted, but He overcame!  It was a process to prepare Him for the Kingdom.  We must also go through the same process!  We must come to the end of our childhood, the end of ourselves to become mature Sons of the Kingdom.  Doesn’t it make you wonder why it took Jesus 30 years to get to the place of His ministry?  What was happening in those 30 years?  I believe He was going through a process.  Yes He was ALWAYS fully God and fully man, but he was being prepared for the right time in the right place.

We must remember that!  We must remember, that even though the road is tough and the fire is hot that we are all being refined to be used in the right time and the right place.  It is a process that is often uncomfortable.  It is a process that will often be misunderstood by others.  It is a process that might take a very long time.  But it is that process that brings us to Holiness, where we can stand before our Father and He will say, “Well done my good and faithful servant” instead of, “Depart from me you worker of iniquity, I never knew You.”

God has just been saying to me…Allow people to go through their processes and don’t get in the way.  As a wonderful pastor friend of mine preached on, “You have to go through to get to.”  We can’t get to the place of God’s Glory without going through the refiners fire!