The
Approaching Storm Clouds
(A
Five Fold Word)
I have a weekly radio program on a
Albuquerque Christian radio station. As
I sought God for word for this week’s program I immediately saw in the Spirit
developing and approaching storm clouds.
This word is a confirmation to words already coming forth by other
prophetic folks. Some of these people
that I trust are Joanne Glavick, Dave Howe, Diane Bahler and Priscilla Van
Suttin. I hope that this message is of
blessing to you.
Please understand that these teachings are in
outline form for a thirteen-minute radio program. I have tried to adapt it more into a teaching that can be read.
Am 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
This next word out of Jonah was given recently at my place of work at KCHF TV-11. It came through a minister from India. He came to this country with a word for the American church out of Jonah 1:6. The American church is the “sleeper” found in the following scripture.
Jonah 1:6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
·
In the prophetic word that God gave me today, I saw five
aspects to it: They are as follow:
1)
God is grieved with the state of the disciples that
are coming forth out of our churches. I
saw them in the Spirit as powerless and shabby or shaggy looking:
This is
the result of our sheep still being in the bondage of hurts, sin and the demonic.
o We as ministers are failing to
teach the message of the cross and of our embracing of it; of our dying to
self, so that we can become free.
Secondly we are failing to teach our sheep how to truly walk in the
Spirit. Only through the voice of God
can people be raised up to be true disciples.
o One of the great errors and
spiritual battles that ministers and pastors are facing today is what I call PEM.
§
Personality, ego,
and ministry. As long as these three aspects of a
minister’s life are not dealt with by the cross and put to death, he or she
will control the pulpit, quenching the work of the Holy Spirit.
§
Many
ministers in this country have a need to project a certain personality as a
specific mighty man or woman of God.
Many ministers have a need to have and hold on to a ministry whether it
is or not of God. Both of these things
are due to the fact that many ministers have a huge ego that must be brought to
the cross. Until personalities, ego,
and the desire to have ministries are put to death, the work of the Holy Spirit
will be quenched.
§
We
need to be living and teaching Mat 28:19 out of very pulpits.
Mt
28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost: {teach…:
or, make disciples, or, Christians of all nations}
·
The baptism
of the name of the Father: The
revelation through our lives and teachings of the character of God, and
revealing God as a heavenly father.
·
The baptism
of the name of the Son: Who we are in
Christ through the victory of Christ and His merits. We need to die to all that we are so that the person of Christ is
revealed in our lives. In the
revelation of the person of Christ dwells all blessings and victory.
·
The baptism
of the Name of the Holy Ghost: We must
teach people how to walk in the Spirit and in the power of God.
·
o The importance of the five-fold ministry.
·
As
long as one man is in control because of personality, ego, and ministry, the
church will grow lop-sided. It takes
the operation of the five fold ministries and not only one ministry to make the
church grow aright.
Eph
4:11 And He Himself appointed some to
be Apostles, some to be Prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors
and teachers,
12 in order fully to equip His people for the work of serving—for the building up of Christ’s body—
2) Pastors
that are sacrificing the production of true disciples at the expense of having
a big and well know ministry.
a.
Jesus only
had twelve disciples, which produced a church of 120 people, which turned the world
around.
b.
Notice in
John 4:23 that true service to God requires a balance between teaching the word
of God and the unhindered moving of the Spirit of God.
John
4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is,
when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for
the Father seeketh such to worship him.
q
Pastors
that promote only the supernatural (miracles and blessings) without teaching
the accuracy of the word of God in order to produce godly character are in sin.
q
The
true blessings and miracles of God must always come from our embracing of the
cross. There can be no resurrection
without death. There can be no gain
without pain. Yet today we want
resurrection without death. This is the
teaching of prosperity and miracles found today along with our American
conception of a Santa Claus God.
q
On
the other hand, pastors that either say that spiritual gifts are not for today,
or are hindering the movement of the Spirit as to not offend the lost who come
to church are in sin as well.
q
In
Ephesians 5:26 the baptismal water by the word is talking about the rhema word
of God. The rehma word is the
revelatory word that comes through the use of spiritual gifts. Without the rhema word of verse 26 that
operates through the use of spiritual gifts, we remain an unglorious bride full
of defects, spots and wrinkles.
Eph
5:25 Married men, love your wives, as
Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself up to death for her;
26 in order to make her holy, cleansing her
with the baptismal water by the word,
27 that He might present the Church to Himself a glorious bride, without spot or wrinkle or any other defect, but to be holy and unblemished.
Jesus never though about offending the lost or seeker
through the display of power of God, as we find today in some of the largest
denominations.
Mat
12:9 Departing thence He went to their
synagogue,
10 where there was a man with a shrivelled arm.
And they questioned Him, "Is it right to cure people on the Sabbath?"
Their intention was to bring a charge against Him.
Mat 12:11 "Which of you is there," He replied, "who, if he has but a single sheep and it falls into a hole on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?
12 Is not a man, however, far superior to a
sheep? Therefore it is right to do good on the Sabbath."
13 Then He said to the man, "Stretch out
your arm." And he stretched it out, and it was restored quite sound like
the other.
q
The
vision of the fire of God falling in the park.
A dream that God gave a believer
in Miami about a certain church hindering the use of spiritual gifts: In this dream this particular church was
picnicking @ the park when the fire of God in the form of revival fell on the
top of the forest trees. The church inclusive of the pastor got into their cars
and sped away from the park.
3)The American church has
become a church that is hungry for miracles but is still in the bondage of
powerlessness and sin. Lasting miracles
of God can only come when we come to an end of ourselves and God forces himself
to act on our behalf.
q
The
frog burning in water
It has been proven that we can
boil a frog to death without its knowing it.
We can put the frog into a pot of cold water and very gradually turn up
the heat. The frog cannot discern the
gradual turning up of the heat and temperature and is boiled to its sure
death. So it is with the American
church. We are in danger of being
boiled to death through our instantaneous “ Burger King “miracle mind set, and
prosperity/ comfort mentality, without the preaching of the cross of Christ.
·
Are we
to become a church that knows the ways of God or only desires to behold the
acts, miracles and blessings of God?
Ps 103:7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
4)
We are not missions oriented church. I saw a picture of the American church sunk
low in our prosperity. This has made us fat and lazy and unwilling to reach out
because of our high comfort level.
Any church that is focused
inwardly will stagnate and die
q I know two of the most prominent Christian
Native American leaders in this country whom do not have money to hire a
secretary.
q There is 2-3% salvation rate amongst
several million Native Americans brethren.
This is after 600 years of evangelizing..
q Pine Ridge Reservation is in the poorest
county in this country. No running
water in numerous homes. Not even one
dollar to buy toilet paper amongst some people.
q Many ministries in this country have
millions of dollars while most Native American ministries are almost
broke. Something is wrong with our
ministries, and ministering, and distribution
of funds.
q We want Jesus to come back. Have we made things ready for His
return? In Mat 24:14 “ to preach the
gospel for a witness” means that our hearers must have such an accurate and
loving presentation of the gospel, that it will give them a chance to accept or
reject the gospel for themselves. Have
we presented the gospel to our Native brethren “for a witness”? Can the end come until this happens?
Mt 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Deut
32: 12LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.
13 He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock
5) We are
unwilling as the American church to go up to the high places that God has
prepared for us. The high places
represent the place of power and freedom
Moses had to climb up into the mountain of the Lord, to seek His face and glory.
Yet today as believers we are unwilling to go up the mountain of the Lord. We are losing our perspective of paying the price to acquire the power of God.
Ex 19:20 And the
LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called
Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.
q This entails sacrifice, challenge, and
pain. We live in a country and in a
church atmosphere that attempts to run away from pain at all costs.
Ex 19:23 And Moses said unto the LORD, The people
cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about
the mount, and sanctify it.
q This entails separation from the world!