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"WHAT IS HAPPENING IN 2007"
~ L.D. Oxford
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In a number of places across our nation, and around the world there is a move of the Spirit of God that is rapidly gaining momentum from the many reports that we have heard and personally experienced over the past few years, and especially from last September up until the present time in 2007.
People are really beginning to cry out, more and more desperately, as they are not satisfied with the status quo of the Church at large, which has resulted in many looking elsewhere, to smaller remnant groups of people who are actively crying out for more of God.
The Body of Christ is awakening to some degree however, through the intense shakings that have been taking place. People are looking for something that is real, lasting, life-changing and refreshing, which actually needs to start from within each individuals heart, and then corporately through those who are hungry for more of God.
People need something more, than just another good meeting and conference, but actually need for the changes to come from within, rather than looking for an external quick fix, or one more prophetic zapping session..
The answer to the dilemma is for true repentance and to work on ones own personal relationship with God, then to go become a blessing to others in the Body, and then on to the world at large..
A self-centered Christianity has never worked, and will never work.Times of renewal and refreshing from meetings can be a good thing, but will phase out and end, as for the most part individuals are being affected from the outside of the heart from another's anointing, and are not always neccesarily experiencing lasting changes that should come from within the heart of a person.
The Lord desires for true Christianity to be relationship, a love relationship with Him, with an out-flowing love towards His Body, and then to the world around us. We cannot have one aspect without the other aspects following.
A healthy relationship with God results in demonstrated love for His Body. This is the fruit, or result that our relationship with God is genuine.One of the main elements that are missing are walking in Christ's righteousness and living a life of true holiness.
There is a spirit of lawlessness that is still running rampant in the Body of Christ, where people act as if it is ok to do as they please without regard to what the consequences of their actions or sins may be. In some respects, obedience to God has been undermined by a loose, tainted gospel that neglects repentance, the need to walk in holiness, and emphasizes more on financial prosperity, entertainment and building programs.
In the eyes of so many out in the world, Christians are thought of as down right mean-spirited, religious acting, and so judgemental towards each other, that the world would feel better off not associating with them, nor would they feel the need to become a Christian.
Therefore, there is a great need to show each other Christ's genuine love, so that the world in turn, may be won over by that same love.The church today in many respects is a far cry from the Apostolic community life that was experienced and lived-out by the believers of the early church, although there has been a shift in a number of groups of people and fellowships throughout the land, to move towards returning to the ways that the Lord has intended for the church to be, which would compare more closely to the life-style of the early church.
The early Church knew what it meant to live sacrificial lives and understood the importance of godly leadership, accountability and fellowship. They shared everything in common, and they also knew that this could only happen through right relationship with God, respect towards spiritual authority, honest relationships and godly fellowship with each other.
The Lord is presently removing many of the stumbling blocks and those who would continue to commit lawlessness, and who are not coming into repentance. Sadly, some of those types are in some form of ministry, in church fellowships, and others are outside of the fellowships, as well.
Some may repent, be broken and turn around, but many have hardened hearts and may not be able to turn around with a true heart-felt repentance. This is known as the apostasy spoken of in 2 Timothy Chapter 3.
These are those who would resist the truth and refuse to come under the Lord's divine government and to walk in obedience of His Word. Those who will not obey His on-going dealings, challenges, and respond to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit should not be deceived into thinking that they will inherit His Kingdom.
See I Corinthians 6:9-11 - Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind.
vs 10, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God. ....
vs. 11, And such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
We must live by the Law of the Spirit that sets us free from the law of sin and death. Then we must choose to obey God no matter what the cost of that obedience may be. We should choose His Holy presence to reign in our lives, rather than opening the door of our lives to some other spirits.
Unforgiveness, offenses, negativity and rejections have moved people out of right relationship with God and have brought so many under the enemy's control, due to making wrong choices, and the Lord is not responsible for those wrong decisions that are made, but those who make those choices ultimately are.
So, we must choose to make the right choices in the light of God's Word by obeying what He says to do and by cooperating with the Lord's dealings in our lives. We must desire to want His presence in our lives to the degree that we are willing to deal with all of the other spirits, bondages, and issues that have been strongholds in our lives.
Remember what David said in the Psalms, in Chapter 51:10-17: (Study the whole chapter)
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. vs. 11, Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
vs. 12, Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit,
vs. 13, Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
vs. 14, Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation; and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
vs. 15, Oh Lord, open thou my lips and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.
vs. 16, For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would i give it; thou delighteth not in burnt offering.
vs 17, The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou will not despise.We must choose the higher road to God, people. The road to a holy and progressively blameless life with Christ as our ultimate example.
And this can only be done and accomplished through absolute surrender to the Lord, dying to self, and through abiding in Christ daily.
We are living in a church culture of excessive self-exalting, motivational self-help, and over-emphasized prosperity messages which have deceived Christian believers into believing that if they suffer or have lack, then something is wrong with them.
You can easily know this is wrong by simply studying the scriptures and learning more about the lives of the Apostles, Prophets and others that were written about in the bible. Those who lived sold-out, surrendered lives to God went through much hard-ship, were stoned, tortured, shipwrecked and went through untold suffering such as the Apostle Paul and others.
Paul was not a part of the fashionable in-crowd and would probably not be acceptable or received as an Apostle in most of the churches of today.
The suffering and persecution is what brought the needed purification through the fire to a life of faithfulness, holiness and purity. We can clearly see this happening in the third-world nations today, yet the spirit of faithfulness and living a sacrificial life unto the Lord has diminished in many of our churches of today, and has been replaced with living in the comfort-zone, convenient service and half-hearted obedience unto the Lord.
Then on the out-side of Christian fellowship are also loose Christians who think that they are so anointed that they can go around as powder kegs with short fuse timers, never desiring to become accountable to anyone in the Body.
They might appear to be spiritual in some respects, but from what i have personally observed with these types, is that they usually act as if they are on some sort of mission to correct everyone (except themselves), have a duality of character and behave dishonorably, violating God-establish authority wherever they go.
Then when they feel rejected or hurt, they think that they have been persecuted for righteous sake, when they are usually the ones that demonstrate the bad attitudes. This is not always the case, of course, but there is more evidence that it is true, than is not.
No matter where they go, they usually do not respect leadership. Not only leadership, but will gradually lock-horns with anyone they cross paths with, unless they meet someone who is just like them. Then they will get along just fine.
So, i am sharing all of this to make a necessary point here. We as believers must choose the higher road to follow Christ, which is the straight and narrow way to life, and to live a honorable life for Christ.
Then, God will back you up and will stand behind you. He will be the one who will bring any vindication in your life where it is needed. When you choose the path to life, then you will come to know a deeper cleansing and purity of heart where the Lord will fit you into that proper place in the Body of Christ.
This deep cleansing and purity of heart and character is much more important than anointing and gifts of the Spirit. Anyone who has the anointing can prophesy, have some level of discernment or operate in other gifts. Prophesying is not new and is something that any spirit-anointed believer can do. It is no longer a novelty, but is very common and wide-spread these days.
But the anointing is never a sign of a persons surrender or committment towards God. Neither is the anointing a sign-post of good character or personal purity. There have been so many "workers of iniquity" who have risen up in the ranks of the church in the past, and that we all need to be aware that godly character and holy living are much more important than anointing and gifts.
Remember, we are living in the last days! God is now not only judging his household, but is shaking it from top to bottom. He is doing this in order to bring His people to repentance, and into a fresh and new level of commitment, to their true calling, commissioning and to what He has assigned them to do, so that the harvest may come in and that the Body of Christ may get the filth, spots, and wrinkles out..
The Bride makes herself ready by applying what Christ has already done. This is not based on the faithfulness and sovereignty of God alone, but is also based on our faithfulness and obedience to Him as well. We must apply and also walk in what He has already done by faith.
The Lord is truly coming back for a pure spotless bride, and not for a harlot or a harem.When we choose to follow Him in faith believing, then we may become vessels of honour. We cannot afford to be seeker-friendly, full of mixture for the sake of maintaining respect and popularity in the eyes of a humanistic society.
The Lord is surely getting His own cleaned up and is preparing His people for the fulfillment of His will, plans and the destinies that He has for each of our lives during these crucial end-times.
So, let's stay alert, and take a honest look inward, preparing ourselves for the days ahead, for the sake of the harvest, and for the return of our soon coming Lord and King. He loves you and so do we here. Blessings in Christ, L.D.
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