One day when I was praying, God showed me an image of the enemy unsuccessfully attempting to cut a part off of the body of Christ. But as he tried, the body was shaken and people began to fall off. God then told me there will be a falling away in the body of Christ.
This deeply disturbed me. I begin to wonder how will this happen? God began to show me ways satan is unrooting believers.
In the parable of the sower, Jesus describes people who hear the word but don't have roots.
Matthew 13:20-21 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
Right now there's an increase in people who are on rocky ground. We serve a mighty beautiful God who is strong, yet gentle enough to warn us of the things that are to come. He is pleading with us to wake up and utilize the time we have now to grow as close to Him as possible.
Let's say you are getting ready to take a test. If a teacher hands you a sheet with the answers and gives you permission to glance at it for five minutes before taking the test, what would you do? Most of us would study it as much as possible, trying to soak up every ounce of it. This is because we know we need these answers to pass the test and we know the answers are only going to be available for a short period of time. In this way we must take advantage of God's presence and word before the great tribulation.
False sense of peace
Although most of us have our problems, we still live relatively peaceful lives. We feel pretty secure in the fact that we don't have to worry about bombs exploding or other terrorist attacks in our cities. Yet at this very moment, hundreds maybe even thousands of Christians are being hunted down and slaughtered because of their faith in Jesus Christ. It doesn't help that major news organizations don't report a lot of these murders. But we have to stick to the living word as our source. It's our answers to the upcoming test. Jesus told us,
Christians throughout Asia, Africa and many other places are being targeted, beaten, and even beheaded as we were told would happen in the book of Revelation.
Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 6:25-34 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Revelation 20:4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Our brothers and sisters in these places deal with people bursting into their homes and dragging them and their families into the streets. If they refuse to convert to the popular religion in that area they are beaten or murdered right then and there. Their kids aren't excluded--many children are beheaded as well because of their faith. Their homes are destroyed and their churches are burned. For them, going to church isn't about dressing up or finding out the latest gossip. It also isn't about hooking up with the guys or girls there. Every church service is a full out risk of their lives. Many times their churches are bombed. Some of our brothers and sisters don't even have the luxury of going to church. They have to hide in caves so that groups like ISIS won't find them and slay them.
Luke 17:33 Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.
It is naive of us to think that this will not come to America or other western countries (for I recognize there are readers in Germany, France, Canada etc.). We have been desensitized to think this only happens in some parts of the world. But Jesus didn't say this persecution will occur only in some parts of the world. He said all those who love Him will have to face this. When has God ever lied to us? We will someday have to go through the same trials our brothers and sisters are going through around the world. The stage is being set, and instead of gathering, praying and preparing, we are sitting in the audience waiting for the show--not knowing we are the target, the ones set to be thrown in the lions den. There's an ever-increasing shift in popular culture. Now everything that was wrong is now right and everything that was right is now wrong.
God has given me many end times dreams, and the common thread in all of them is shock. I remember telling God many times, "I can't believe this is happening." In one dream I was in my house one day and forced out of my home the next day. However other deceptive things like the mark of the beast was more subtle. It was no different than how people gradually started using ATM cards more than cash. I remember one dream I had involved Target offering me a discount if I went to the pharmacy and received the mark of the beast as a means to purchase items.
Now with tools like Youtube, the move toward the New World Order isn't much of a shock. There are hundreds of Youtube channels dedicated to exposing the ways the government is slowly but surely taking away our freedoms and imposing a one world government. But consider this a warning--despite western teachings knowledge is not the answer. Many of these Youtubers who know the truth about the New World Order will still fall to it because they don't have the only answer--Jesus Christ.
Ironically the answer to surviving this one world system is the very reason why you will face persecution. How many will still cling to Jesus? He warned us by informing us,
When I was a teenager I remember hearing a story (this wasn't a true story, but it rather served as a modern day parable):
One day a pastor was preaching to the congregation. Suddenly a man bursts in with a gun and he yells, "Who is ready to die for Jesus?" The congregation frantically ran out of the church except for 3 people and the pastor. Then the guy with the gun tells the pastor, "Now you have your real congregation."
Since day one satan always used death as a means to control us. When God rejoiced because of Job's faith, satan admitted how he uses death to control. He told God,
Job 2:4-5 “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
So satan is convinced that we will give all we have for our own lives, including forfeiting the inheritance we have through Jesus Christ. But let the blood shed screaming from the ground from our brothers and sisters being murdered around the world expose that satan is a liar. God saw the grip death had over us and He got off of His throne, and came to this earth as Jesus Christ. He healed His people, taught us the way by living a sinless life, and submitted to the worst death imaginable so He could be risen on the third day. He did this so death can be defeated. He was the firstborn of the dead, and through Him we will have everlasting life. Jesus warned us,
Back to the disturbing image God showed me of people falling away from the body of Christ. He showed me two reasons that will cause this falling away:
Reason #1: This isn't our home
You see a homeless man kneeling down washing someones feet. Where do you think this guy stands in terms of the social ladder? He's certainly not a part of the elite, right?
But He is the King of kings. Jesus Christ was a homeless man during His time of ministry here on earth. He washed the feet of His disciples not too long before He was crucified. Can we take a moment to praise God for His greatness? When God chose to come down to this world, He could have exercised His strength and power and just forced us to do as He wishes. We are talking about someone who could literally destroy this world with the blink of His eye, or a thought in His mind. Yet He chose to come here as a homeless man and wash our feet to prepare us before He took our place and died for us.
But He is the King of kings. Jesus Christ was a homeless man during His time of ministry here on earth. He washed the feet of His disciples not too long before He was crucified. Can we take a moment to praise God for His greatness? When God chose to come down to this world, He could have exercised His strength and power and just forced us to do as He wishes. We are talking about someone who could literally destroy this world with the blink of His eye, or a thought in His mind. Yet He chose to come here as a homeless man and wash our feet to prepare us before He took our place and died for us.
Jesus didn't have a home, and he didn't store much of anything. He depended on the kindness of strangers and fishing for His meals--all given to Him by His Father through His faith. He didn't have a refrigerator full of food like we have now. He wasn't rich. It's not because He couldn't have those things if He wanted. It's because Jesus knew His mission.
Many of us have forgotten our mission. We are too busy trying to assimilate to the ways and goals of this world. Jesus had no need for a house here because He knew His house was in Heaven. He had no need for a job because He knew what He had to do here. I am not saying stop paying your rent or mortgage and quit your job for Jesus. What I am saying is don't let those things consume you. Remember the world's goals are not our goals.
Everything in this world will perish someday so there's no need to stress over it. Jesus paid His taxes like every other law-abiding person, but He didn't let the ways and traditions of this world taint Him. God is warning us. Too many of us are desiring the world rather than Him.
Now we have access to so many things at our fingertips through cell phones, tablets and laptops. We can go shopping, watch movies, connect with friends, meet new friends, date, listen to music, take pictures, shoot video, and much much more. This is for a reason. Satan wants us to be sucked into these things. One day I seen a young boy who almost was hit by a car. He was crossing the street not looking because he was into the junk on his cell phone. He had no idea of the danger he was in or the way he was saved from harm after the car swerved around him. In this way many of us aren't even alert to the dangers around us because we are so distracted. We are unaware of the demons trying to take our lives around us and we are unaware of the ways God fights and defeats these dangers.
Do you remember when we suddenly needed converter boxes to watch television a few years ago? We were told that television was no longer analog, it changed to digital. For that reason we needed to get converter boxes. Then the government so generously provided us with free converter boxes. God revealed to me that this is a way we will be introduced to the mark of the beast. Suddenly some features on our phones or the internet that we are accustomed to will only be accessible through the mark of the beast technology. And how many of us can go without our phones for a day?! Many Christians will fall from that alone.
I always hear God warning me not to get too attached to technology. Satan is exposing us to a drug. He's giving it to us in abundance now so we can be hooked. But it's only a matter of time before he snatches it away leaving us fiending for our next hit. We can't get too attached to this stuff!
This isn't our home. Many of us are busting our butts for things that won't even last. God wants to relieve you of that stress. Jesus knew that His father would make sure He was taken care of on earth. He tells us,
Jesus told us that loving Him will mean rejection from the world. This is because once we chose to follow Jesus, we were separated from this world and deemed unfamiliar. Jesus brought us to a place higher than the constraints of this world and He gave us authority over the principalities. Through the Holy Spirit we have an escape from sin, an escape from the temptations from our flesh.
The world says we as a human race are driven by things like hormones, and we should be fearful of cancers, and other terminal sicknesses like sickle cell and HIV, for these are conditions that will kill us. Being in the world subjects us to these beliefs because when we indulge in the world we are forfeiting the Spirit within us for that moment that sets us higher than these things. Through the Spirit we can heal people from these illnesses. We can also rid ourselves of sexual temptations because the Holy Spirit kills the lust that comes from our flesh.
The world has a definition of a good man and a good woman, and both definitions are contrary to God's definition. For this world is ran by satan and he wants to contradict everything God says. satan defines a good man or woman only by shallow standards such as looks, careers and social mobility. But you chose to give your life to Christ and in doing so God set you higher than these shallow definitions. You are not subject to being reduced to your sexuality, your bank account, or your job. You are defined by the Holy Spirit who lives within you. You are in Him and He is in you.
But once we choose to get lost in the ways of this world we are "like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.…" James 1:24-24
We will sell ourselves short every time. Every time we choose to spend a day on Youtube without seeking God we are selling ourselves short. For God's glory can do so much more for us than a television show or funny vines can. Spending time with God isn't just about giving Him what He is owed. It benefits us just as much if not more than it benefits God. During this time God cleanses us and gives us what we need spiritually to get through the day. When we choose to reject God to blend in with this world we are forgetting our reflection. We are forgetting how God set us above the world. Jesus is the King of kings, meaning we are kings and queens by Him. When we choose to submit to this world however, we are choosing to leave our throne next to Him to go and be slaves to sin instead. For those who have not accepted Christ are slaves to sin.
Reason #2: Make sure you are in the right church!
Some pastors are rocking their congregation to sleep rather than opening their eyes to see the context we are living in. Make sure you are not in one of these churches!!
One pastor at a church I visited on the east coast actually told the congregation the book of Revelation isn't prophetic. He told them that it was merely a warning to the Israelites at that time period, like the book of Isaiah and Ezekiel. This is wrong in so many ways, in fact it is scary that this was preached. First of all there are very few books in the Bible that aren't prophetic. The book of Isaiah and Ezekiel are loaded with prophesies. I'm not going to spend much of my time disproving this pastor's statement. But I brought this up to touch on the fact that many churches are asleep, and many times this is because the pastor is asleep and/or lukewarm. There is no urgency. Jesus warned these type of churches:
Revelation 3: 1-3: I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
The world says we as a human race are driven by things like hormones, and we should be fearful of cancers, and other terminal sicknesses like sickle cell and HIV, for these are conditions that will kill us. Being in the world subjects us to these beliefs because when we indulge in the world we are forfeiting the Spirit within us for that moment that sets us higher than these things. Through the Spirit we can heal people from these illnesses. We can also rid ourselves of sexual temptations because the Holy Spirit kills the lust that comes from our flesh.
The world has a definition of a good man and a good woman, and both definitions are contrary to God's definition. For this world is ran by satan and he wants to contradict everything God says. satan defines a good man or woman only by shallow standards such as looks, careers and social mobility. But you chose to give your life to Christ and in doing so God set you higher than these shallow definitions. You are not subject to being reduced to your sexuality, your bank account, or your job. You are defined by the Holy Spirit who lives within you. You are in Him and He is in you.
But once we choose to get lost in the ways of this world we are "like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.…" James 1:24-24
We will sell ourselves short every time. Every time we choose to spend a day on Youtube without seeking God we are selling ourselves short. For God's glory can do so much more for us than a television show or funny vines can. Spending time with God isn't just about giving Him what He is owed. It benefits us just as much if not more than it benefits God. During this time God cleanses us and gives us what we need spiritually to get through the day. When we choose to reject God to blend in with this world we are forgetting our reflection. We are forgetting how God set us above the world. Jesus is the King of kings, meaning we are kings and queens by Him. When we choose to submit to this world however, we are choosing to leave our throne next to Him to go and be slaves to sin instead. For those who have not accepted Christ are slaves to sin.
Reason #2: Make sure you are in the right church!
Some pastors are rocking their congregation to sleep rather than opening their eyes to see the context we are living in. Make sure you are not in one of these churches!!
One pastor at a church I visited on the east coast actually told the congregation the book of Revelation isn't prophetic. He told them that it was merely a warning to the Israelites at that time period, like the book of Isaiah and Ezekiel. This is wrong in so many ways, in fact it is scary that this was preached. First of all there are very few books in the Bible that aren't prophetic. The book of Isaiah and Ezekiel are loaded with prophesies. I'm not going to spend much of my time disproving this pastor's statement. But I brought this up to touch on the fact that many churches are asleep, and many times this is because the pastor is asleep and/or lukewarm. There is no urgency. Jesus warned these type of churches:
Revelation 3: 1-3: I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
Revelation 3:15-16: 'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.
The late pastor David Wilkerson made a point saying many times we don't pray like we should or spend time with God like we should because we don't really believe Jesus can come at any moment. If we did believe this, we would be too afraid to indulge in the lusts of this world. I completely agree with his statement. We often get too comfortable here. Think about the possibility of Jesus coming back in the next five minutes. Does that seem possible to you, or is it too far-fetched? The truth is He could very well come in the next five minutes. He could come at any given time. Each time we choose to satisfy our flesh we are playing a dangerous game. We are playing Russian roulette. The last thing we need is to be caught chasing after our flesh when Jesus arrives. If we are caught unprepared we can lose our eternity with Him just like that. Jesus said His coming will be like a thief in the night.
Revelation 16:15 "Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed."
The late pastor David Wilkerson made a point saying many times we don't pray like we should or spend time with God like we should because we don't really believe Jesus can come at any moment. If we did believe this, we would be too afraid to indulge in the lusts of this world. I completely agree with his statement. We often get too comfortable here. Think about the possibility of Jesus coming back in the next five minutes. Does that seem possible to you, or is it too far-fetched? The truth is He could very well come in the next five minutes. He could come at any given time. Each time we choose to satisfy our flesh we are playing a dangerous game. We are playing Russian roulette. The last thing we need is to be caught chasing after our flesh when Jesus arrives. If we are caught unprepared we can lose our eternity with Him just like that. Jesus said His coming will be like a thief in the night.
Revelation 16:15 "Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed."
There are too many pastors raising the flock to be prepared to be served by God rather than for the flock to serve. Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, it wasn't the other way around. Granted God will bless us here, but that isn't what it is all about.
Unfortunately it has gotten to a point where too many people are heading to church to hear how God is going to bless them. Many have come to think of God as a genie in a bottle more than a father and a best friend. More and more sermons and Christian songs are focused on how God is going to pay your bills more than praise and worship that builds a relationship with Him. I once was a part of a ministry like this. I would go to church and hear how God is going to bless me with a job, a car,--you name it. I would praise God for it all and my spirit would be lifted because I was told that the worldly problems I came in with was going to be taken care of. What I didn't know then was I was authentically praising God, but I was praising Him for the wrong reasons. It's ok to thank God for what He has given you, but is that only why you are praising Him? The result was Jesus' words fulfilled. I was a seed planted on rocky ground. So when the things I wanted didn't come when I expected it, I fell away.
Unfortunately it has gotten to a point where too many people are heading to church to hear how God is going to bless them. Many have come to think of God as a genie in a bottle more than a father and a best friend. More and more sermons and Christian songs are focused on how God is going to pay your bills more than praise and worship that builds a relationship with Him. I once was a part of a ministry like this. I would go to church and hear how God is going to bless me with a job, a car,--you name it. I would praise God for it all and my spirit would be lifted because I was told that the worldly problems I came in with was going to be taken care of. What I didn't know then was I was authentically praising God, but I was praising Him for the wrong reasons. It's ok to thank God for what He has given you, but is that only why you are praising Him? The result was Jesus' words fulfilled. I was a seed planted on rocky ground. So when the things I wanted didn't come when I expected it, I fell away.
I know fear isn't of the Lord but I have to be honest with you. THIS SCARES ME SO MUCH. There are so many churches encouraging a spirit of materialism, leaving members more concerned about money, possessions and prestige here on earth--when in reality all these things are waiting for them in Heaven and the little they gain on earth will perish. Many won't make it to Heaven because they are too busy trying to build a Heaven here on earth rather than building a relationship with Jesus Christ. There are too many people not prepared for the persecution ahead because they are too busy worrying about their jobs, relationships, and debt. I encourage all reading this including myself to wake up and stay awake. If we aren't focused on Jesus we will not survive the perils ahead. If you feel this post is about you it's because God has labeled you a lost sheep and He is searching for you. He is not mad at you. He is deeply in love with you and He is waiting to throw a party for you in Heaven once you repent and return to Him.
Jesus left us with this mission:(John 21)
Jesus left us with this mission:(John 21)
- Shepherd my sheep
- Tend my sheep
- Feed my sheep
Before giving each assignment Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love Me?"
It all starts with loving Him. Get back to that pure love you have for Jesus. Remember your mission! Dedicate your life to building your relationship with Him and telling the lost sheep about His love through your gifts and the miracles He will do through you. I pray these words reach fertile ground in your spirit in Jesus name. Amen.
Thanks for reading!! This is an important message from God, so please share this post with as many people as possible! I love you all, but most importantly Jesus loves you!
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