ECSTASY! Now don’t get
all shook!! I am not referring to the
synthetic drug known by this name. I am
using this word in its purest form to give it the most concentrated and potent
outcome possible. I am simply wrapping
it in the experience of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ intimately and
passionately. We are His Bride, you know! But, let me ask just one honest
question: “would anyone know by looking
at us, watching us, listening to us … that we are the Bride that the Bridegroom
is coming back for?”
Listen to some of these descriptions of ecstasy, which is what
we should be feeling and experiencing in our ongoing relationship with our
Bridegroom as we await His arrival to sweep us away to live with Him
forever! Intense joy, rapturous delight,
enthusiasm, elated bliss, fervor, a state of prophetic inspiration, heavenly. Quite a list of words to describe how we
should feel when we are in the presence of our Lord … but do we experience
these amazing emotions at all? Any of
them? Even more so, I am going to tread
on sacred ground and ask very bluntly, “do those of us who call ourselves by
His Name and who gather in His House to worship each Sunday … does our
Bridegroom see us experiencing and celebrating this kind of joy and delight and
fervor over His very presence in our midst?”
If not, “we have a problem, Houston!”
In these days as we sense the soon return of our Lord, He is
drawing me more and more to the prophetic.
But we must beware as there is lots and lots of “stuff” out there, and
whatever we read or hear MUST match up to the Word of God, or we must not
receive any of it as truth. If the
message is truth, the contents will resonate in our spirit as we seek the
Spirit of God for wisdom and discernment.
With that being said, let me share a serious wake-up call to all true
believers … and then a word of encouragement!
All too often we blame the world for being the ones who are
trying their best to hinder God’s work, His plan, and His next move. But really, they are not the only ones. Listen, listen to this. There is a fresh move of God on the horizon. And while the world makes a lot of noise and
not-so-subtly labels the true followers of Christ with labels of “intolerant”
and “out-of-touch with the changing times” – it is none other than the
traditions of the churches in this world so bound by the spirit of religion that
are just as dangerous to the downfall of believers. These church people try to quiet those with
genuine passion, shackling them with tradition, and eventually, spiritual
death. You see, they don’t want
intercessors who are praying for the fresh move of God’s Spirit. They don’t want prophets who are prophesying
the new things that God is about to do.
They don’t want apostles who are pioneering and working to manifest the
new moving of God’s Spirit. Why doesn’t
the “church” want these types of people?
Well, because the intercessors, the prophets, and the apostles are
bringing down and destroying the old religious mindset of so many in this hour! But God is calling us to spiritual freedom,
not bondage, dear ones! When churches,
ministers and people turn away from the fresh moving of the Holy Spirit and
start trying to make a man-made structure, they are in rebellion to the Holy
Spirit. I Samuel 15:23a says. “For
rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.”
Tradition and religion suck the life out of people physically and
spiritually when it can get those shackles around their necks, and it keeps
them from their God-given purpose.
Friends, we MUST distance ourselves from religion and tradition, and
pursue the presence and power of God! In
Christ alone, we have life! (Taken in part from Charisma article by Joe
Dawson)
And for those of you who have felt forgotten and overlooked by
God, take heart! He has purposely had
you in the place you’ve been in – cultivating something in you. And now is the time that He is reaching in to
those depths of what He has been cultivating.
When we’ve finally learned to rest, to let go, even of things He has
given us … and when we’ve been completely stripped down, then He can rebuild
things His way. Nothing has been wasted – it’s all been
training and development, but now we need to let go of our own efforts. God is saying, “No longer will My people do
things for Me, but with Me.
Sons and daughters, you are learning to adapt to My ways. You cannot cling to the old of what you know
– I desire for you to leap forward with childlike wonder and faith to receive
what I am doing now, not yesterday. What
you think you know is about to change, so remain pliable and excited, and
always dependent on Me. You must choose
to look at life from an eternal perspective.
You weren’t designed to play it safe, you were designed to adventure out
with Me into the deep and expand My Kingdom in the Earth! Return to the valiant warrior you are! A fresh, new wind which renews your youth is
coming to you now. Take it and receive
it by faith – it is not a feeling but a choosing. The best is yet to come! Look not at your age, for I am looking at
your heart and faith. Surely that is
what pleases Me. Act upon My promptings
and I will back your faith, line things up, and take care of the rest. All I
need are your steps of faith. Your race
is still yet to be won. Set a new
mindset and embrace everything I’m calling you to. Seek Me and allow Me to cast forth before you
My vision and where we are heading together next. I love you!
Time has not passed you by … I am stirring you and shaking you! Be willing and go with Me, that’s all I’m
asking. Let me hear your “yes”. The
best is yet to come! My celebration
is hitting the Earth! Yes, I’ve been
saving you until now and the world is about ready to declare, taste, and see
just how good I am!" (Taken from the Elijah List, exhortation by Amy Meyer)
Bride of Christ, we have an urgent mission: to keep our love and passion for our
Bridegroom burning brightly as we await His return for us, sharing His message
with everyone we can, and daily stepping into our God-given purpose to head out
together with Him to what He has planned next!
What will it be? Let’s go! What ecstasy ~ THE BEST IS YET TO COME!
REMEMBER . . .
“Though you have not seen
Him, you love Him.
Though you do not now see
Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled
with glory.”
Joyfully Serving Christ . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
