Nov 30, 2022
I do not like the spirit of fear that is associated with the end-time in the minds of Christians. Yes, days of tribulation are coming. Yes, the Body of Christ will face persecution. But tribulation also means the expanding of our growth and our walk with God, the perfecting of our hearts and spirits, the final work of salvation in our lives, the presence of the Lord, and our living in His Spirit. These are things I look forward to, not fear.
Show Notes: The doctrine of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture and other material surrounding it are purposed with generating fear in the hearts of people regarding the events of the end-time. That is unfortunate because the time of the end is the time of our greatest joy. It is the moment for the return of our Lord to the earth, for seeing the fulfillment of the disciples’ prayer: “Thy kingdom come, and Thy will be done on this earth as it is in heaven.” Rather than make people fear, I want to generate a faith and a joy towards the end-time for the fulfillments we will see in the earth and in our lives.
We as humans tend to be driven to appropriate things and move into seeking God like never before during times of testing and trouble. So these days of tribulation that are called the Great Tribulation will be times when we will be motivated to seek Him, and with our motivation we will have the provision of God for us. That is what I am looking for in my walk with God. I want to be perfect, complete, and lacking in nothing in the things that God has made available for me.
These are days when we pray, “Lord, we want to be perfected. We want to be in this world as You are. As the Father is perfect, we long to be perfect. We long to be free of our sin and the nature of sin. We want to put on the new self You have provided for us.” We may suffer. But when we do, we will be like Christ who learned obedience and was perfected by the things that He suffered. We may lay our lives down. But when we do, we will be putting our lives in the hands of Him who is the Resurrection and the Life. And we will find ourselves not losing our lives but gaining them in truth and brought forth to stand with Him in newness of life.
Key Verses:
- James 1:2-4. “The testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result.”
- 2 Peter 1:3. “Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness.”
- Jeremiah 29:13. “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
- Daniel 12:10. “Many will be purged, purified and refined … those who have insight will understand.”
- Matthew 24:6. “See that you are not frightened.”
- Acts 4:31. “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the Word of God with boldness.”
- Matthew 24:14. “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world.”
- Luke 12:4. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body.”
- Ephesians 6:10-15. “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”
- James 1:2-4. “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.”
- Romans 8:29. “That He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”
- Romans 8:17. “If indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”
- Hebrews 5:8-9. “He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.”
- 2 Timothy 3:10-14. “You followed my … persecutions, and sufferings.”
- Revelation 1:9-10. “I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation … was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.”
- Acts 16:24-26. “Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise.”
Quotes:
- “We are perfected, and we are completed and are lacking in nothing as we move forward into the things of God.”
- “It may be called the Great Tribulation. But I'll tell you, the Great Tribulation is going to be answered by great men and women of faith.”
- “We won't go through these times in our own strength. That's impossible to do. But in His strength, we can.”
Takeaways:
- I want to prophesy an end to the spirit of fear that has been turned loose against the Body of Christ through false doctrines and teachings of fear that have implanted a withdrawal in the hearts of people and made them back away from these times.
- Our forefathers laid down their lives for America and other nations of the world so that peoples and families yet to be born could walk and live in freedom. Let us at least measure to that natural level of giving of ourselves for something greater than ourselves in this world. Let our lives count for more than self-seeking and fulfillment on a personal level. Let us be those who step up and bring forth the Kingdom of God with faith and boldness.
- We will be made perfect in the things that we suffer, and we will learn obedience in what we go through in these days. Therefore they will be the greatest days. They will be the days of the fulfillment of our prayers, the fulfillment of the walk with God we are looking for.