At the beginning of our first online gathering of 2023, as we offered our worship to the Lord as one people, we were reminded that we are part of a…
At the beginning of our first online gathering of 2023, as we offered our worship to the Lord as one people, we were reminded that we are part of a ‘historical crescendo’ – the whole Church of Christ, being transformed from one degree of glory to another as we draw closer to Him. The return of Jesus is not an isolated event in time. Already His return is in preparation and we are a part of that!
Here are some further pointers to what the Lord is saying to us as a Community as we open ourselves to Him:
The Lord is wanting to teach us how to pray in a way that will change the earth. A key to this is to more fully live in our ‘ascended’ position in Christ. We do not ‘ascend’ by effort. We are already in that place if we are living in our true identity in Christ. This is directly related to another key – our oneness as members of Christ’s Body.
The Lord is wanting to teach us about the role of angels in bringing about His plans and purposes. He has spoken to us through Jacob’s dream of a ‘ladder’ (Gen 28) as well as through other scriptures (Ps 91, Jn 1.51, 2Kg 6). The Lord is the ‘God of angel armies’.
In this time, we need to have an understanding of the way in which heaven and earth are connected. Christ’s Church is key in this. It is as if we are the ‘ladder’. It is through this connection that the whole of creation will be brought under Christ’s rule – see Eph 1.10 & 3.10.
We are called to ‘occupy’ the heavenly realms (Eph 1.23). To do this we need to live, pray and work in unity, in the ‘fullness’ of Christ.
The Lord’s view of time is not limited to our chronological framework. The apostle John uses the phrase “from the beginning” a number of times in his first letter. We need to learn what it means to embrace “this is the day that the Lord has made” in the context of all time. We are not waiting for a special experience or event. We are looking to the Lord to know what He wants of us in this time, which is in unity with His eternal plan. ‘Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be forever!’ This picture gives an impression of a series of windows separated by time. When they are in alignment there is clarity of vision. This is what we see in the skies – stars which are millions of miles apart are seen by us as constellations, as if in 2D.
We are living in critical times. “There is turmoil. You are carriers of peace”.
The prophetic calling is less about speaking words and more about being the living Body of Christ in the world. “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev 19.10). This also relates to Isaiah 61 which Jesus read at the announcement of His ministry (Luke 4). We are called to live a prophetic lifestyle as ONE people, as the manifestation of the person of Jesus.
A word received during the gathering: “Wake up, the time is ripe for My coming. Be ready, alert to what I am doing in the world – drawing people to Me from far and near, away and close by. Do not be afraid, it must be, it is inevitable. And I smile on those who are ready, prepared to meet Me.”
