Transition and Change
There are many things crumbling down, the “set ups” of men are falling like never before. For example, as the spies in Joshua chapter 2 went in by divine instruction and were housed by Rahab who actually knew more about God’s plan than they did. So is the Lord raising up men and women to spy out the inheritance that has been hidden.
HOLDING ON
Being in the midst of this transition there is great unrest in the Body of Christ, because of not being completely out of this transition. There are those that are welcoming the change, there are those that partly want the change but don’t recognize what comes with it and if they would even like it, and then those that are full on passionate for His promises to be released.
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised” Hebrews 10:23
The Word of God continues saying, “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25
We have to stand like we have never stood before persevering as we see “the day approaching.” What day is that? Is the day of the fulfilling and pouring out of the promises of God. Essentially the Word is telling us here, stay the course. Because the stage is being set for real transformation, redemption, healing and a great harvest to come.
THE BLESSING – HIS PRESENCE
The presence of the Lord with all its grace and gifts will be given to the beloved in a way that we have never anticipated. That’s why in anticipation of this, a burden in the form of a heavenly vision has been poured out to the elect who are focused on the heavens.
“The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.” Habakkuk 1:1
We also saw earlier in Hebrews that we will only truly be able to see the day approaching as we love one another and provoke one another to love and good works. This is a missing ingredient in the church and it is why the Body is so busy looking at its circumstances and not at “the heavenly vision.”
When we truly begin to love and encourage our brothers and sisters the presence of the Lord will begin to flow like a mighty river. This means that in the coming days the Lord is saying that many will have to come out of their comfort zone and circle of people in order to be able to see “the heavenly vision.”
“To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.” Acts 26:18-20
First we see that the opening of the eyes happens, and then the inheritance is released. We must see inheritance released. This is the word that the Lord is speaking to His church today.
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.” Romans 8:18-19
So what is this great move going to bring upon the earth?
“For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.” Haggai 2:6-7
It’s going to bring shaking, signs and wonders. But also the true desire of people will come forth, whether they want the Lord or not. And surrender to him not only as Savior but Lord.
THE NEW WINE
The new wine comes from the clusters in the promise land but these clusters are found in the dangerous places where no one wants to tread or go. But still we have those Rahab’s (harvest field) crying out for it and creation groaning for the redemption to come. This new wine will be served not by the pompous but by kingdom servants who will use love as a tool to infuse others with this new wine. We are getting ready for resurrection power. Life from the dead! The water becoming wine!!
KINGDOM INFLUENCE RISING
I also see that Esthers and Josephs are being raised to save the people of God, people that are filled with heavenly vision and people that don’t allow personality conflicts in the way of what God has called them to do. The shifts we are ready to see are bigger than what we could ever imagine. Get your eyes on the Word, your mouth in prayer, your heart in heavenly places, your ears in His heart, your hands in the Kingdom, and your feet in your inheritance.
THE PAINS OF DEATH
Last week I fasted for six days, on the fifth day I was in very intense prayer and the Lord spoke to me and said, “Son the plan of the enemy is to abort the destiny that I want to bring through my people. But my people have the choice whether they will allow that”.
He said many other things to me in this visitation but the point is that the enemy is releasing demonic forces of defeat, hopelessness and depression, like never before against His bride telling her that “the day” is not approaching.
That is where the pains of death, the death of dreams and visions of God are being seen in the body but that is why we have to stand in our inheritance and walk in Resurrection power so that we can call “things which be not as though they were” -Romans 4:17 Let’s pass this test and not only witness this change but be the change that God wants to bring.
In Jesus
Sincerely,
Pastor Joshua Alvarez
P.S. May the Lord give you revelation and wisdom to understand what I have written here
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MY STATEMENT CONCERNING JOHN CHAU:
I had the great privilege to meet John at a missionary base. After I preached, he came up and asked for prayer telling me his heart to minister to unreached people groups. I laid hands on him praying that God would use him. I’ve prayed for so many people through the years but I remember this time with John so clearly because of the weightiness of God’s presence upon his life and and an assuredness in my heart that God was going to use him as a fire brand. John also went to school with my wife and was also a resident of our city. We are saddened by his death but rejoice because he paid the ultimate price to reach those that hadn’t heard about the wonderful name of Jesus!
Hear my words, he did not die in vain. First of all, God takes the death of His martyrs very seriously and rewards them accordingly. Second, his blood will cry out for redemption for the Sentinelese people and they will come to know their Messiah. Thirdly, God is using this to wake up a fast asleep church lulled to sleep by self-centeredness. So ultimately, his death will be used by God as Stephen’s (whose martyrdom account I placed below), to cause boldness to rise in the hearts of the remnant, causing a wave of revival and harvest in the body of Christ.
And when they had called the apostles, and beaten them… they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. Acts 5:40-41
His death has truly revealed the complete disregard the American church has for the Great Commission. The comfort Laodicean gospel, that says “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing” has so infiltrated the body of Christ that we don’t even know how “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” we are. Rev. 3:17 That has been very apparent by the comments from many Christians, criticizing this fire brand from the comfort of their pampered lives here in the West.
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he (Stephen), being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7:54-60
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500 Years of the Reformation – Why It’s Important Today
By Joshua Alvarez
Historians agree that on this day, October 31, 1517, something changed. A movement was born that shook the very foundations of every institution in Western Europe, both religious and secular. Why is the Reformation a turning point in history? What was achieved? What is left of the reforms, if anything? Why is this important for us today? Those are some questions I want to address in this article.
On October 31st 2015, I felt led to share the following on my Facebook status: “Today while many are celebrating Halloween or All Saints Day (Catholic celebration of the “saints” – the “christianized” version of the pagan celebrations of the dead and evil spirits) I join those that are celebrating the very opposite. Today, 458 years ago, something happened that shook the very gates of hell and changed the whole course of history. Martin Luther nailed his ninety five theses to the doors of ALL SAINTS Church in Wittenberg and it sparked the Reformation out of superstition and demonic worship and the release of truth to the masses. Today marks the day that principalities and powers acting through a religious machine were defeated through the eternal Word of God. Even though I don’t agree with everything the reformers did, I recognize that because of them history changed for the better and blazed the way for us to continue in the spirit of Kingdom restoration. Happy Reformation Day!”
Here we are in the year 2017 and the five-hundred year celebration of the Reformation is upon us. What is it’s significance for today?”
First, the Reformation is responsible for many freedoms we cherish as a democracy today, some of which include freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and freedom to self govern. Before the spark of the Reformation, in the time frame that history has aptly called the “dark ages,” people were seen as subordinates of kings and clergy without “God given rights.” The Founding Fathers of America passionately defended these “God given rights” because they believed in the breakthroughs of the Reformation. Therefore, a large part of what we take for granted as a society today we enjoy because of the voices of dissent that called for freedom five hundred years ago.
Secondly, and for me even more importantly, is the spiritual shaking that the Reformation brought about. This movement brought down both principalities and human idols that carried great illegitimate authority over God’s word and God’s people. These power structures had brought about much spiritual darkness for centuries that kept people in bondage to belief systems that were contrary to the Gospel.
The Reformation was a turning point back to truth that rested upon these foundational pillars:
Grace Alone
Faith Alone
Scripture Alone
Christ Alone
For God’s Glory Alone
These were revolutionary concepts in a day when people were told how to believe and what to believe. Now suddenly, together with the availability of the printing press, people could go back to the Bible (something that had been prohibited to the common people for millennia) and come to their own free thought of how God wanted them to live.
God used men like Martin Luther, John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, John Knox, William Tyndale and many more to bring down the giants of superstition and lies to bring a move of restoration back to the church. Do I agree with everything these men did? Absolutely not! For example, I wept as I read Luther’s “On the Jews and their Lies” for the absolute hatred he showed my Jewish brothers and sisters.* Those same hate-filled words became part of the foundation for Hitler’s “cleansing.” So, at times, I have disagreed with their doctrine, tactics and sometimes even their motives. However, in reading much material from this time period many times I have been blessed. I realize that they were swinging the pendulum from one extreme to another extreme and, at times, they swung the plumb line of truth too far the other direction and got stuck there. Despite these extremes, my admiration for these men and women remains because they had such a great boldness in a day and time when their stand could have meant sure death.
The Reformation opened the door for the beginning of restoration of the church back to God’s intent. It wasn’t an end unto itself, but was just the beginning of restoring truths back to what it was originally designed to be. The Reformation opened the way for men and movements to affect the church to the core. Among them were the Holiness, Missionary and Discipleship movements of the 19th century. During the 20th century we saw the Holy Spirit baptism, Healing, Soul Winning, Prophetic and Jewish Roots movements.
The Reformation opened the way for restoration. Now, each of us has a part to play in carrying forward the torch of freedom and truth to our generation and to pass it on to the next generation. I believe that the real challenge that the Reformation paints for us is that the need for reform isn’t finished. God has much more that He wants to do. The spirit of reformation must be upon this generation of believers to return and boldly stand for “the faith once delivered to the saints.”
Ultimately, the Reformation wasn’t about a particular set of people, but the raising up of every believer to their divine calling and value as citizens of the Kingdom with all of its rights and privileges, the priesthood of all believers. In this we are yet to achieve. Since that time more believers have been activated into their calling as revivalists, but not all. God’s desire is for every member of the body to be mobilized to do their function. This is the ultimate reform that needs to be achieved! Just like Moses said in Numbers 11:29, “I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit upon them all!
Together, let’s celebrate the successes that the Reformation initiated while at the same time carry the banner of truth towards the goal of restoring all Biblical truth. Let every member of the body of Christ be mobilized with the aim of presenting to the world a bride “without spot or wrinkle,” that the gospel of the Kingdom would touch the masses and the church would experience an unparalleled harvest of souls!
Thank you for reading this article, please share it if you have been blessed!
*Note: Martin Luther’s original opinion on the Jewish people was very positive as written in his 1523 essay That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew.
“If I had been a Jew and had seen such dolts and blockheads govern and teach the Christian faith, I would sooner have become a hog than a Christian. They have dealt with the Jews as if they were dogs rather than human beings; they have done little else than deride them and seize their property. When they baptize them they show them nothing of Christian doctrine or life, but only subject them to popishness and monkery… If the apostles, who also were Jews, had dealt with us Gentiles as we Gentiles deal with the Jews, there would never have been a Christian among the Gentiles … When we are inclined to boast of our position [as Christians] we should remember that we are but Gentiles, while the Jews are of the lineage of Christ. We are aliens and in-laws; they are blood relatives, cousins, and brothers of our Lord. Therefore, if one is to boast of flesh and blood the Jews are actually nearer to Christ than we are… If we really want to help them, we must be guided in our dealings with them not by papal law but by the law of Christian love. We must receive them cordially, and permit them to trade and work with us, that they may have occasion and opportunity to associate with us, hear our Christian teaching, and witness our Christian life. If some of them should prove stiff-necked, what of it? After all, we ourselves are not all good Christians either.”
Quick thanks to Leslie Murphy for help in editing this article.
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