I know that I am only speaking to the most serious Christians in these Words for the Week. For this reason, I share with you things I do not feel at liberty to share with a general audience. I know I’m addressing some who will pursue the high calling in Christ that the apostle Paul wrote about in Philippians 3:13, where he said this “one thing” had become the focus of his life. I know there are some alive today, and many who are reading this, who cannot be satisfied with even the best the world can offer, because they are consumed with the love of Christ.
In contrast, many Christians today are satisfied with only giving the Lord an hour or two a week, and some even less. Are these even real Christians? I would not want to speculate on who is and who is not a Christian; as the apostle Paul wrote “'The Lord knows those who are His’” (2 Timothy 2:19). However, I have heard from the most reliable Source that most of those who claim to be Christians are not. This is because a cheap gospel of cheap grace has caused many to feel eternally safe in a condition that actually jeopardizes their eternal life.
As I was shown in 1987, a large portion of the harvest is going to be people who have called themselves Christians. They will be convicted that they are truly living a life below their calling, and they will pursue Him so as to find Him, be born again and begin the life of a true disciple. This has been going on, and was a big part of the charismatic movement that actually saw more people born again, more ministers and missionaries raised up, and more churches planted than in any other move in history. Even so, that great movement was beset with much shallowness and foolishness, and all the movements since have been to call and prepare the laborers for the ultimate ingathering at the end of this age.
The Lord does not want those who are about to come into His family to be herded into sheep pens where they are just thrown spiritual food once or twice a week. He has never wanted this for any of His people. It is obvious that we need new wine, and we can expect a new wineskin to be provided to hold it. As I have sought Him for many years about what this might look like, I have been shown that the next move of God is going to be God moving, not men. He is coming as the Captain of the hosts, and His people will become a mighty army.
The first two followers of the Lord asked Him perhaps the most important question we can ask now. They asked Him where He dwelt—where he was staying (see John 1:35-39). They did not ask Him where He was going to bless people or where He was going to move and do His works. They asked Him where He dwelt, and we should be asking the same question today. The highest calling of all is to be His dwelling place.
His answer to their question was the most encouraging I can think of: “Come and see” (John 1:39). They weren’t told to read about where He dwelt or to listen to other people’s stories about it. They could come and see for themselves. Just as Moses went to the mountain top to see the tabernacle he was to build for the Lord, the true builders of His dwelling place need to see the house He has designed for Himself. It’s His house, and He will build it.
The Lord may not be angry at those who would try to build Him a house, even if it was their initiative, not His, or more devoted to what people want than Him. He appreciates our efforts much the same way we would if our eight-year-old child tried to build a house for us. He loves His children more than any human parent, but while most loving parents would deeply appreciate that their child had tried to build a house for them, they wouldn’t live in it. This is why I think God has blessed many places, and even visited a few with His manifest presence. However, we must be in pursuit of the place He will dwell.
Of course, we should be in this pursuit, and those who have matured beyond thinking it’s all about them should have the heart of King David, who could not rest until the Lord Himself had a place to rest.
There is a reality of His presence coming that Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24, when He spoke of the signs that would mark the end of this age. That time is unfolding now, and so is the most important event of the age yet—the coming of the Lord’s presence, His parousia. This Greek word for “presence” is sometimes wrongly translated into English as “coming.” While Jesus is coming back physically to take His rule over the earth, His “presence” is going to precede His coming, as He made clear in His discourse. We will discuss this more next week.
© 2024 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.
