As I worshipped my Lord in church Sunday, He gave me a vision. First I saw an angel clothed in white with a very long "trumpet" to his lips. He was surrounded by fire. Then I saw a torch that had been extinguished, thin vapors of smoke rose up from the top of the torch. When I asked God what this meant, He didn't answer but showed me another torch that was ablaze. And last, I saw another torch that had been extinguished a long time. It was cold, not even a wisp of smoke was evident.
I waited and He spoke, "When the wind of My Spirit blows on some, their spark is so weak that it is extinguished, their flames have dwindled. When My Spirit wind blows on others who are on fire, they blaze even brighter. This brought to mind Pentecost; Acts 2:1-4.
Then He said, "Some have run out of oil, their lights have gone out. They have no oil of their own. They have not come unto Me to buy of Me without money; for I would have freely given had they asked. Had they desired more of Me, I would have joyfully given. They know not that they are naked and blind and poor and weak. I am their Resource, not the church." (Revelation 3:17-18)
I have referred to Jesus as my Source many times, but I thought the word "resource" kind of odd. And, I thought the church was a resource. When I returned home, I looked up the word resource in my old Webster's dictionary. I was very surprised at what I found: resource-(to relieve, to rise again-more @ RESURRECTION). There is more to this definition, but God definitely had my attention.
As I wrote this in my journal, I began praying and asking God what He was trying to reveal to me. He began to speak to me of the ten virgins. (Matt.25:1-13) They all had lamps but only five were prepared and had oil in their vessels with their lamps. Hmm, what good is a lamp with no oil? Oil represents the Holy Spirit, the anointing of God, and-oil burns!! The five who had no oil tried to "get what they needed" from the other five who were prepared. (Many times the bible refers to our being, or body, as a vessel.)
Now, Jesus began in verse one of Matthew 25 with the statement, "The kingdom of heaven is like..." Was He speaking of His church? Then that means about half of those in church have no oil in their vessels. "Uh-oh!" Here are couple more thoughts, in the story of the prodigal son, one son went into the celebration while the other stood outside (Luke 15:25-28). Also consider Matthew 24:40-41.
Let's look in Matthew 21:43. Jesus is addressing the chief priests and the elders of the people (V.23), when He says, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And in John 18:36, He tells us His kingdom is not of this world. In the parable of the wedding feast in Matt. 22:1-14, Jesus also tells us that there are those in God's kingdom who are trying to enter in some other way than THE WAY that God provided, and that is through a relationship with Christ. This means much more than just reciting a prayer people. Hello? Just saying!!
May I go back to the ten virgins and finish up what Holy Spirit was revealing to me? Ok. As I was saying, the five unprepared virgins were trying to get something from the five who were prepared. The five who were prepared carried the anointing, they were on fire for God, they had a true relationship with Christ, and they were EXPECTING Him to show up!
Even in the church there are those who are not prepared for the Lord to come into our midst NOW! They are trying to "get something" from the church that the church cannot give and they miss it! Jesus swoops down and those who are prepared are carried away in His Spirit, while others aren't even (spiritually) present. They are attempting to get an anointing through the pastor, the Sunday school teacher, the choir, the preaching, etc. When the ONLY way they can get it is in a personal, real, living relationship with a very personal, real and living God.
Each of us is responsible for our own vessel. Is your vessel full of the oil of the Spirit? Do you go to your Lord and ask Him for more of His anointing, more of His presence, more of His Spirit, more of Him?? Are you on fire for God? Not an extinguished flame, not just "blowing smoke," but consumed by an all out raging Holy Ghost fire.
It's time people in the church stop examining everyone else's vessel and examine their own. Ask yourself- "What consumes me? My time? My mind? My actions? What is filling me? What is in my vessel? Am I prepared to meet the Lord today? In the next moment? In church on Sunday? When He returns?
What about the angel with the trumpet? Stay tuned!!
Blessings,
Peggy
ooooooh! So many thoughts!!
ReplyDelete"Stay tuned!" What a cliff-hanger!
"... consumed by an all out raging Holy Ghost fire." I LOVED this!! So many people think God and His ways are boring. Oh, no! Not at all! Fires (not the damage they cause) are very interesting and intriguing, just like the Holy Ghost! How often do you find yourself just sitting and watching the fire in the winter time? How often do you get excited to light that first fire of the season? To feel the warmth, to hear the popping, to watch the colors of the flames as they CONSUME? This is really getting me going!!!
But your words, inspired by the Spirit, are so true here! So many people are simply NOT READY!! "It's time people in the church stop examining everyone else's vessel and examine their own."
God is speaking the same things to me that you addressed here. YES! Confirmation! We can look ONLY to Him for everything we have need of!
Love you girl! Keep it coming!