A trumpet blast…

I was lying in bed one day, wandering somewhat aimlessly in my thoughts, when the Spirit clearly interjected a question into my mind: “HAVE YOU EVER HEARD A TRUMPET BLAST?” I thought “Hmmm, I’m not sure.” He directed me to the trumpet blast in Exodus 19. In this account, when the trumpet was heard, there were two very different and distinct reactions: The people who were not hungry for God trembled with fear and drew back. But Moses, who was consumed with hunger for God, ran like a bride running to her wedding, to meet with God on the mountain top (even in the midst of all the shaking and fire and smoke).

Later that same day, I received what I believe is a continuation of what God was saying. I ended up going over to some friends’ house and there was a guy there that I had met only once before. And when I saw him, he immediately said “I had a dream about you last night. In the dream, there was a scary, destructive flood, and because of this flood, you and I and others were forced up a mountain to seek higher ground. I saw you on this mountain lying face down, praying. Then Jesus came and placed His hand on your head and began praying for you, and your face began to glow.”

And then I realized that there were some similarities to these two revelations. When the trumpet blast sounded, Moses also went up a mountain, where, in the Presence of God, his face began to glow, as did my face in my friend’s dream.

WHAT I BELIEVE GOD IS SAYING IS THIS: All this refers to the things that are now happening in the earth in this season. A trumpet is being sounded. And we, like all people, have a choice – to either allow passivity and fear and depression and discouragement and unbelief to overcome and overwhelm us – or to allow the events in the world to push us “up the mountain” and closer to God.

And as this watershed event continues to happen across the planet, it will be clearer and clearer who is governed by fear and who is inspired by God, as the darkness gets darker and the Light gets brighter – and then those who are overwhelmed by fear and darkness will see the Bride, shining like Moses, and MANY will run to the light of Christ that they see reflected in her face. And this, I believe, will usher in the last great revival before the Bridegroom returns.

 

Advertisement

He wants it all.

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;  you were bought with a Price.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

When we first began this journey of faith, who knew how all-consuming this God of holy Fire and Glory and Love would really be?  But every day, it becomes more and more clear to me — He wants it all.

Without REVELATION, your BRAIN will always become your enemy.

Without revelation, your brain will always become your enemy.  What I mean by that is that our natural minds cannot totally understand God and that left to our own devices and natural abilities and insights, our spirituality always becomes merely the traditions and ideas of men, which, ultimately, will always war against the truth and reality of God.  I am not saying that we should ignore our brains or that we should not be thinking people.  But the human mind was never meant to be the center of our reality.  God is.  And even though He gave us our brains (wonderful and amazing and useful as they are), they will never be enough to walk in the fullness of our callings as spiritual beings.

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” (Ephesians 1:17-18)

“to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge;” (Ephesians 3:19)

“lean not on your own understanding;” (Proverbs 3:5)

“No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’ — but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2:7-10)

A perfect example of this is in Matthew 16, where Peter receives a revelation of who Jesus really is, and Jesus says, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” But just a few moments later, Peter stops relying on revelation and starts using his mind to figure things out, and he is rebuked by Jesus as one who opposes God: “Get behind me, Satan! [ie – opposer] You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

So…spend time with God, getting to know Him. This is ABSOLUTELY important to your eternal destiny. You need Him to tell you stuff — important stuff that you can know no other way than that He reveals it to you:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3-4)

Spend more time in His Word, yes. But also spend time listening for His voice. And as you begin to hear, respond to Him. Because then the real adventure begins — the adventure of the Spirit-led life.

“Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14-15)

The WORD and the SPIRIT…

“Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17)

Every generation of the Church has its own popular lens through which it looks at and interprets the scriptures.  And in this popular lens, you will find both true revelation and worldly trendy-ness. That is why it is so important for each generation, at times, to press past popular opinions and commentaries and sermons, and to ask the Holy Spirit for a fresh, more objective view of the scriptures.

But this can only happen through EFFORT and DIGGING and TIME AWAY from both popular and church culture, allowing the Word and the Spirit to teach us. And if we do this, we will find things more glorious than we could possibly imagine.

 

 

Impact the world TODAY!

The cool thing about TODAY is that we don’t have to be clever
or make anything happen in order for our lives
to significantly impact the world around us.
All we have to do is listen to the Holy Spirit and be available.