"Greater Things"

Hello everyone!

As I write this I’m listening to Chris Tomlin’s song, “God of this City” (from his Hello Love album). Here are some of the lyrics …

“You're the God of this city
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are

You're the light in this darkness
You're the hope to the hopeless
You're the peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this city
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this city …”

These last phrases in bold above really grabbed my heart, “For greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city” – and I felt the strong prompting of the Lord to pay attention and be alert because He is moving in our city. He has not been delayed or frustrated by COVID-19 restriction, He was not surprised by this pandemic as we were. I felt as if God was roused to action as the fullness of time had reached critical point beyond human understanding … and it is about to happen.

As I contemplated this, I began to understand something I shared with yesterday’s Zoom prayer meeting. I have been experiencing some very big shifts going on in the spiritual realm, of the proportion I have not experienced in many years – and these are changing things on the earth. If you can imagine the earth’s tectonic plates for a moment. These are huge. There are only a handful of major plates and dozens of smaller ones according to National Geographic magazine. Six of the major ones are named after the continents embedded within them, such as the North American, African, and Antarctic plates, and so on. Though smaller in size, the minor ones are just as important when it comes to shaping the Earth. The tiny Juan de Fuca plate, for example, is largely responsible for the volcanoes that dot the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

These plates, as we all learned in school, make up the earth's outer “shell”, called the lithosphere. (This includes the crust and uppermost part of the mantle.) Churning currents in the molten rocks deep below move these plates along like a random network of gigantic conveyor belts all doing their own thing – the human eye cannot see this movement, because it is slow, but it is happening. And, every now and then, in the places where these plates meet or divide where the pressure of their butting up against each other becomes too much, geologic activity results like an earth tremor in minor events, an earthquake perhaps or even a volcano in large events – then we see something quite big. What has been going on manifests.

Well, in these last few weeks, I have felt the “tectonic plates of the spiritual realm” (to use the metaphor) being forced together and pressure that has been slowly building for decades, is about to cause more than just a tremor – and people on the earth are sensing it too, and reacting, although most don’t know what is going on … they’re just reacting. But the stresses and strains can be sensed by the prophetics. There are significant seismic shifts beginning to occur over whole cities and even whole nations as what is happening in the spiritual realm has influence on the earth.

These are significant days.

And we’re seeing, I think, the beginnings of “birth pangs”, as Jesus put it in Matthew 24 …

“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

Now, none of this is to cause alarm. But we do need to be attentive to what is happening and become a people very seriously invested in intercession for our world so that we work with God in all of this. In all of this I sense that the Spirit of God is very active in the spiritual realm right now positioning strategically and making ready for who knows what kind of warfare that is coming. God is also calling his church to attention and spiritual high alert …

I believe that if ever there was a time for the church to seriously and ruthlessly ramp up its prayer life, it is right now – and this needs to be sustained over the next months so that we may learn what God is doing and how we are to be involved. As we pray, we ask for understanding and wisdom about what to pray about and for how long … and God will give that to us so that our prayers become highly effective.

Many during this time will see their intercessory gift, or prophetic gift, dramatically increase as God gets His church ready. But that will not happen if God’s people fall asleep … or will not get rid of sin …

James 1:21  “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”

My friends, I believe this is big. There are many things converging in this moment in history … and we need to be righteous, ready and alert. I’ll have more to say on this soon.

In the meantime, listen to the words of Jesus …

Luke 22:46  "Why are you sleeping?" He asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."

FINAL WORD

2 Kings 6:15-17  When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?" the servant asked.  16  "Don't be afraid," the prophet [Elisha] answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."  17  And Elisha prayed, "Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

1 John 4:4  “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.

He is the God of this city
He is the King of these people
He is the Lord of this nation
He is …

You are loved so very much.

Ps Milton

"Are We There Yet?"

Hello everyone!

Every parent with a car full of kids and luggage on board setting out for that distant holiday destination has heard the well-worn backseat question barely an hour into the trip, “Are we there yet?” I know I have.

I must admit to feeling that way as the COVID-19 restrictions and limitations have stretched us into another month: “Are we there yet?” Well, the simple answer is, “No. We’re not there yet.” But the reply many of us parents have given to the backseat question is the same one I give here: “Not long now!” And that’s true. We’ll soon arrive at the 4-month mark (or thereabouts) of the lockdown. Australian borders were closed to all non-residents on 20 March. Social distancing rules were imposed on 21 March and state governments started to close down "non-essential" services such as social gathering venues such as pubs, clubs and churches, but unlike many other countries did not include most business operations such as construction, manufacturing and many retail categories.

The number of new cases initially grew sharply, then levelled out at about 350 per day around 22 March, and started falling at the beginning of April to under 20 cases per day by the end of the month. As of 7 June 2020, 3 pm, 7,260 cases and 102 deaths had been reported in Australia, with the highest number of cases being in New South Wales, with 3,109.

So, we’re a long way into the trip. We’ve come a long way, but we’re not there yet. But, not long to go now, too. Wisely, the government (state and federal) are very carefully easing restrictions and things are beginning to return to some sense of normality, but some things will have forever changed for us all. Where public hygiene is concerned, that’s not a bad thing, in my view. Improvements in health and safety standards are always welcome – and, for the good of all, we all have to play our part. The “new normal” will be created person by person …

FINAL WORD

Sometimes I worry that I may seem to be nagging you! I assure you that is not my heart. Not at all. My heart is to encourage you, reassure you and remind you often of God’s faithfulness and unstinting love for all of us … and to spur you on to victory. To overcome in these chaotic times where evil seems to flourish.

The apostle Peter once said this. It is recorded in his second letter …

2 Peter 1:12-14  “So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.  13  I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body,  14  because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.”

I guess that is the spirit of many a “FINAL WORD” that I send you in these updates. I know you already know many of the things I write to you about … but, being concerned for you, especially when I cannot see your faces and know what is happening in your worlds, I think it is helpful and right to refresh your memory … while I have opportunity to do so.

And so, in the spirit of Saint Peter, I want to refresh your memories about how amazingly faithful is our mighty God. He will not leave us, nor forsake us, nor let us be overwhelmed by circumstances though they may sorely buffet us and test us at times. Our God is completely and utterly trustworthy – totally faithful, true and righteous in all His ways.

I want to refresh your memory about that, because it is easy to forget that when the winds blow hard and the waves rage high. The wind and the waves still know His name!

Be encouraged. Be hopeful. And remember the three Cs that I have incorporated into my personal day-to-day frame of thinking for this challenging season …

·       Be proactive in CONNECTING (Hebrews 3:13)

·       Be COURAGEOUS despite the circumstances (Joshua 1:9)

·      Be CONFIDENT that our Lord has overcome the world. (Psalm 27:3) And so can we!

These are my three Cs. We’re not there yet …. but not long now.

I miss you all so much! I just want to bless you so much with everything I write …

You are loved so very, very much.

Ps Milton

"The Cost Of Sin"

Hello everyone!

It’s winter – and I am feeling the cold today. Brrrrr!!! I checked my beehive today, and my bees are very lethargic, as they have been with this colder than usual autumn. As soon as there is the slightest bit of sunshine, they’re out of the hive and energetically foraging for whatever they can find – it’s slim pickings in the area at the moment and a long way to spring.

The average beehive full of bees will visit some 50 million flowers on a sunny day (when they’re available) with each bee flying an average of 17 kilometres radius away from the hive looking for nectar – and they make several of these trips when gardens are in full bloom. That’s pretty amazing for such a small creature. Anyway, enough about bees for now.

I was “chatting” with Deb Mitchell via email following yesterday’s worship service that live streamed out of Wallan. Deb subscribes to an online  devotional called “Morning and Evening” using sermons and devotional pieces from Charles Spurgeon, that awesome British preacher of the 19th century. Here’s some basic information about him from Wikipedia.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834 – 31 January 1892) was an English Baptist preacher … who remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations today. He was known as the "Prince of Preachers". He was a strong figure in the Reformed Baptist tradition, defending the Church in agreement with the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith understanding, and opposing the liberal and pragmatic theological tendencies in the Church of his day. He was pastor of the congregation of the New Park Street Chapel (later the Metropolitan Tabernacle) in London for 38 years.

‘Spurgo’ was a fearless preacher and defender of the true Gospel and any one of his sermons is a wonderful read – just pick one, there are heaps of them. Anyway, as part of Deb’s evening devotional which she sent me yesterday this following excerpt caught my heart as I was still recovering from the rawness following my Sunday sermon. This is what it said …

“Christians can never sin cheaply; they pay a heavy price for iniquity. Transgression destroys peace of mind, obscures fellowship with Jesus, hinders prayer, brings darkness over the soul; therefore be not the serf and bondman of sin. There is yet a higher argument: each time you ‘serve sin’ you have ‘Crucified the Lord afresh, and put him to an open shame.’ Can you bear that thought?”

In my spent and raw state of soul after Sunday’s message, this statement by Spurgeon struck me very hard. “Christians can never sin cheaply; they pay a heavy price for iniquity.” Sin costs the believer so, so much. Most of all it costs us deep fellowship with Jesus, our Lord, our prayers are roadblocked and we become spiritually oppressed … as the writer of the letter to the Hebrews wrote …

Hebrews 6:4-6 “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,  5  who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age  6  and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”

You have to ask yourself in all of this: “Is sin really worth it?” The answer for those who love the Lord is plainly obvious, I think. Spurgeon’s word is very sobering.

You are loved so very much!

Ps Milton

"Spiritual Food"

Hello everyone,

I went down to the back of my backyard yesterday to show my little granddaughter inside my beehive. (It’s OK, the bees are very lethargic in the cold, and I have two little viewing windows that can be opened without taking off the lid of the hive and disturbing them). Just three weeks ago when we still had some warmish weather, I’d checked the hive and there was quite a lot of honey although, at the time, I did notice that the stored honey had decreased somewhat. I had decided back then that I would not harvest any honey and make sure my bees (all 20,000 of them) would have sufficient food through the winter months when there is almost no forage from which they can obtain nectar.

Well, Gracie and I looked in through an inspection window, and the bees were very slowly going about their work, but I was surprised at how much honey had disappeared! Honey is bee food – and nearly two whole frames had been consumed in the cold snap to keep the colony alive. That leaves four large frames in the super box (the extra honey storage box on top of the main brood box). That should be enough to get them through until spring with, maybe, some supplemental syrup from me to help them along.

I walked back to the house with Joel and Grace thinking, “Wow, they ploughed through a lot honey pretty fast – glad I didn’t harvest at the start of autumn, they could have all died!”. Then I felt the Lord impress on me a thought. I’ll try and put it into words – I kind of felt it and saw it rather than actually hearing it.

Human beings need food and water in order to survive and stay healthy. If the body cannot get enough food we can get sick and, in extreme circumstances starve to death.

The spiritual person needs spiritual food. Our spiritual life consumes spiritual food. If we are depleted spiritually and we don’t spiritually replenish we’ll starve … and we’ll not make it through the winter experiences of life. It’s that simple. We will not have the spiritual resources gained by a deep abiding relationship with God.

Being “spiritual” is not some attainment of a higher level of consciousness by our performance, or just some graduation to a higher plane of living. In some ways it is a higher plane of living, or, more correctly, the complete way of living as God originally designed for us. But in order to stay at spiritual peak condition (and so, ready for how God wants to use us and enjoy Him), we need the nourishment of spiritual food. The point is, we use spiritual energy. It is a consumable thing – just ask any preacher after they’ve poured out their hearts after preaching sermon! And spiritual food fuels our spiritual life as surely as physical food fuels our physical bodies. We don’t eat once, and then never eat again. We eat regularly so that our bodies stay healthy. We need regular spiritual feeding, too, in order to remain spiritually healthy – because “winter times” come to us, and we need reserves of spiritual energy to get through. So, a minimal amount of spiritual food is not wise, at all.

This is what the apostle Paul was talking about when he said,  

Ephesians 5:18  “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, …” [the definite article “the” is not in the Greek text denoting power and not THE person of Holy Spirit.]

And the ancient Greek grammar here literally means, “be filled and keep on being filled with spirit” – not THE Spirit, as in THE person of Holy Spirit, which only happens once, but with Holy Spirit power. That’s food! In other words, keep feeding yourself spiritually, and care about that as much as you care about food for your body – because we use spiritual energy and always need more of it. If that were not the case, Paul would not have instructed the Ephesians like this. There are times in our faith journey when we need to draw on our spiritual reserves and dig deep to get through. I have seen spiritually emaciated Christians come completely undone in the “winter times” of life, and lose their faith altogether. Life is not just about food and drink for the body. Jesus said, John 6:55  “For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.”

In other words, as we “feed” on Jesus, to use the metaphor, we nourish our spirit which becomes capable of coming through tough and testing times when the winters or lean times come, without withering and dying, as some have done.

I’ll keep an eye on my bees and make sure they’re doing well through winter. But I’ll also keep an eye on my spiritual health and see in a new “spring” when God makes all things new again. And I’ll keep an eye on you, as well … to make sure you’re all “eating” well, too.

You are so loved. SO loved!

Ps Milton

"Pure Joy"

Hello everyone.

This season has been one of hardship for many, even suffering for some. But, as I mentioned to you in my last video message, God is with us. As we look to him, he will ensure that we are not overwhelmed, crushed or destroyed by anything in this season.

There is another thing going on, though. And it is so important and wonderful. As the apostle Paul sat in an underground dungeon awaiting his trial, he wrote two last letters. One to the church at Philippi that he had planted years earlier, and another, his final letter, to his young protégé, Timothy who was by now overseeing the large church of Ephesus. The letter to the Philippians is the most joyful piece in the entire Scriptures – old and new testaments combined. Why? Paul is in prison. He is awaiting trial for being a “gospel terrorist”. He knows he won’t win in this sham trial. He knows he is going to be executed. Is he despairing? No! Hurting? Yes. Has he lost his faith? No! Is he sad and lonely? Yes! Does he think it is all unfair? Yes. Is he without hope? Without joy? Oh, no! Definitely not. In fact, he writes this …

Philippians 4:11b “… for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”

That word “content” is the translation of αὐτάρκης (autárkēs) which means “the self-sufficiency of living and being that comes from the Lord”. It means being satisfied because one has been initiated into a fullness of being that can only come through the indwelling power of Christ over all those years and through all kinds of trials and testings. This word is used once in the entire New Testament. Right here - as Paul knows the executioner’s sword is just days away.

How was Paul initiated into such a state of being where the pure joy of the Lord was his thermostat regulating the temperature of life – no matter what was going on? This is so remarkable, isn’t it? How did this initiation into such a state of being start and develop? There is an easy answer to that … but the way, itself, isn’t easy. It didn’t happen overnight for Paul, or through one prayer time. It took a journey with God. Paul once said as he was encouraging many of the churches on his travels …

Acts 14:22  “… strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’ they [Paul and Barnabas] said.” This is what Paul meant as he sat in that dungeon cell. He’d gone through so much, and had come out the other side time and time again, that little more initiated until he can say to those Philippians …

Philippians 4:4  “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

And so it is with us.

It becomes easier as we go … The initiation of our person and character by God starts occurring the moment we start trusting him every time we are tested and tried through hardships, disappointments, griefs, injustices and sufferings. Each time we face these, and steadfastly look to God not doubting his faithfulness, not doubting his love and trusting his abounding grace to us, despite the pain … we are initiated, conditioned, proven a little more and a little more and a little more … until we become “content in the fullness of God” by his Spirit … so that joy reigns inextinguishably supreme in us. I know this to be so true in my experience. Praise the Lord!

It can be so with you, too. Do not despair in this season. Despite the frustrations and disappointments, despite the pain and the losses … keep looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Because there will come a time when we can say with Paul, “I have learned to be content, whatever life throws at me!” And the pure joy of that …

And many who don’t know Christ will enquire of you, and Christ will draw these to Himself to the Father’s delight and glory.

You are loved so very, very much. Be encouraged!

Ps Milton

"Tougher, Stronger People of God"

Hello Everyone!

It’s hard to believe that our last public worship services were held back on March 22nd – it seems so much longer ago than that to me! Easter has come and gone, the warmth of the sun has gone and winter is just a month away. How quickly, yet how slowly, time has passed …

and I am badly missing you all.

Many years ago (back in 1994) I was blessed to be with a group of other ministers touring around the United States looking at different churches and how they operated. It was an interesting two weeks. One of the churches we visited was the Crystal Cathedral in Los Angeles and, while there, we had an afternoon meeting with Rev. Dr. Robert Schuller, the senior pastor. Dr. Schuller was a television evangelist, motivational speaker and the author of dozens of books and articles. He was famous for his one-liner motivational quotes that always inspired and encouraged. To be sure, this particular afternoon, there was no shortage of motivational one-liners!

During his informal discussion with us that afternoon Dr. Schuller shared a lot of things, along with this one-liner: “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” He’d written a book about it a few years earlier and gave us all a signed copy – it was a bestseller and is still selling today. In that book – essentially a motivational piece for the secular market – Dr. Schuller argues that if you can name your problem, you can name your possibility! He shows you how to build a positive self-image, no matter what your problem. “Whether it's unemployment, poor health, loneliness, fear, or anything else that blocks your success, you can turn your negative into a positive. No matter how tough times get, you have the potential to achieve the best of life”. The book is no slick commercial self-help offering – it is built on hope and faith.

As he spoke to us ministers he became very vulnerable as he shared some of his own painful and toughest life experiences … and how he was able to endure and outlast these because of his faith in God and that indestructible hope that is embedded in it. Because of faith and hope he learned how to “tough out” tough circumstances and overcome – and to flourish again. He learned by experience as he walked closely with God, that faith and hope outlast the most painful, the most testing and the most difficult seasons of life … and that there always comes times of refreshing, peace, joy and prosperity of soul again. It made him “tough”, strong and resilient. Indeed, he realised what the apostle Paul meant when he wrote …

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love …” - 1 Corinthians 13:13

The toughest times cannot overcome these. The COVID-19 crisis can be a problem or a possibility! Despite the difficulties, so many of you can see the big new possibilities God is giving us to be his essential ambassadors on the earth! That makes us tougher than the tough times that never last … and we are becoming a tougher, stronger people of God.

Praise Him!

"He Is Greater"

Hello Everyone!

The apostle Paul once wrote, “It is no longer who lives, but Christ who lives in me!” (Galatians 2:20). That verse has always been in danger of becoming a glib saying, a cliché that is the proper thing for a believer to say but is not reflective of the believer’s actual experience. For Paul, his experience was one of exciting, enthralling, enraptured delight because he experienced the life of Christ developing inside him every day. This is a remarkable thing. The life of Christ in us. It is no longer my old life but the new life – that is sustained and empowered by the indwelling Spirit of God – that is my experience. The old has gone. The new has come. God is making all things new for me. That’s no cliché or proper thing to say – it’s real!

This is the excitement of the resurrection experience. It is not a religious cliché. This resurrection excitement was what characterised the early church. Those first disciples and followers of Jesus went from cowering, defeated nervous wrecks, to a fearless, evangelising people of God who were held in awe by the nation. The apostles dragged before the Jewish ruling council for preaching the resurrection were fearlessly unstoppable - even though they were on trial for their lives! The rulers and Pharisees conducting their kangaroo court stood in amazement as they listened to Peter who starts preaching Christ in their defence. This is what happened:

“When they (the courtroom) saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” – Acts 4:13

What was happening?

They were living the new life of the resurrected Christ which was in them. This was not some religious practice or ritual – it was new life! The life of Christ. In them. And professional ministry people were astonished.

Luke wrote earlier in the book of Acts …

“And they (those first believers) were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.” 
- Acts 2:42-47

Two things here (out of many I could go on about!).

Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe, and they kept experiencing the favour of all the people. Remarkable! But, you see, that is exactly what the new life of Christ that is in you and me does. We begin to live in a state of holy awe as the Spirit of God does things that could never have been done before.

Here’s the thing. If we learn to live more and more in a state of reverent awe as the DNA of the new life of Christ in us continues to unpack itself and we develop and mature, then we fear nothing in this world – the one living in me, the new life of Christ living in me, is greater than he that is in the world causing havoc.

And we will know it!

We will marvel at this new life in us more and more, and our worship will change, our unity will be unbreakable, and our mission will be welcomed with joy by the world.

And Satan will fear us! Because he will know we no longer fear him!

Two verses to live by this week …

“This is how we know that we live in Him and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit.” - 1 John 4:13.

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” - 1 John 4:4.

You are loved so very, very much.

Ps Milton

"Getting Real"

Hello Everyone!

It was wonderful to see so many joining is for the Easter Services! We really do hope you were encouraged at this very special time of year. It was very rich and meaningful to have been able to share in communion on Easter Day right across the region. Though we were absent from each other there was a very strong sense of connectedness. Thank you, Lord.

David Wilkerson was an American evangelist who died in 2011. Wilkerson wrote the best-selling book, “The Cross and the Switchblade” in 1963 (I still have a copy on my bookshelf that I read as a teenager), and he was the founder of Teen Challenge, a ministry to the drug addicted that is still in operation today, even in Australia. He was also the founding pastor of Times Square Church in New York City.

Wilkerson was not only an evangelist but powerful prophetic voice in his day, calling the church worldwide, but especially in America to get serious about their commitment to obey the teachings and commission of Jesus Christ – he emphasised righteousness and holiness. He was killed in a car crash in April 2011 after preaching his last message – he was 79 years of age.

Charisma Magazine’s in this last week’s edition features an interview with Mike Evans, a close friend of Wilkerson’s for many years, who came across several prophecies that Wilkerson had written on a piece of paper back in 1986 when they had shared breakfast together in Dallas, Texas. The long-forgotten paper happened to fall out of an old Bible Evans picked off his bookshelf recently. Written on it was one prophecy about the fall of Praise the Lord ministries (remember Jimmy Bakker?). Wilkerson wrote in 1986, “Within a year of the date of this letter, the judgement of God will fall on PTL ministries.” That prophecy was fulfilled just under a year later. On that same piece of paper was another prophecy, too. This is what Wilkerson wrote:

"I see a plague coming on the world, and the bars and churches and government will shut down. The plague will hit New York City and shake it like it has never been shaken. The plague is going to force prayerless believers into radical prayer and into their Bibles and repentance will be the cry from the man of God in the pulpit. And out of it will come a third Great Awakening that will sweep America and the world."

Evans recalls the conversation that morning saying, “He (Wilkerson) then pointed to Isaiah 24 and said to me ‘a plague will hit the globe and America.” He said, “every house will be shut up, and no one will be coming or going. The city of confusion is broken down, and every house is shut up that no man may come in.” Isaiah 24:10 says that.”

The prophet Isaiah describes in Isaiah 24:12, all entrances and exits to the city are gone. In other words, there will be no place to escape. Wilkerson continued …

“God has shown me that a calamity is coming beyond humankind’s capacity to respond. This judgment (correction) will devastate the world’s economies. Every restaurant and bar will be shut down, and all the drinking and merrymaking will end. All entertainment and churches will be shut down.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic has gripped the world, many Christians have been driven to pray like never before and meditate on God’s Word like never before. God will often work in a crisis or national disaster – or times of great distress and hardship - to call His people back to Himself and prepare them for a fresh move of His Spirit. I am one of those who believes that God is preparing to do a new thing in this time of great shaking that has created so much uncertainty. I have said so from the beginning of this crisis. Much of that in which many have put their confidence and so much faith has been shaken hard, some of it has been destroyed – our security has been taken away … Many houses that have been built on the sand … are falling down. Idols have come crashing down. There is a great disillusionment and fear that has taken hold of our nation and, indeed, the world. And in the church, too.

But I am convinced of the love of God for His church. I am convinced that when He allows calamity or suffering, He repurposes all of it to sometimes discipline (not punish) His people so that they get very, very real about what is extremely important. So that they conduct a reality check, so that they repent and get ready for what God is going to do. That doesn’t mean that the process of getting real (repenting) is not easy. It’s not. It can be painful. But remember this: God disciplines (corrects) those He loves.

“They (our human parents) disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in His holiness.  11  No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” - Hebrews 12:10-11  

We are being prepared to share in His holiness. In the shaking … in the pressing and crushing … God is making new wine.

New Wine – Hillsong Worship (lyrics)

In the crushing
In the pressing
You are making
New wine
In the soil, I
Now surrender
You are breaking
New ground

So I yield to You and to Your careful hand
When I trust You I don't need to understand

Make me Your vessel
Make me an offering
Make me whatever You want me to be
I came here with nothing
But all You have given me
Jesus, bring new wine out of me …

Be encouraged! This is not a time for fear but for a reality check about our faith – we do want to be real about it, don’t we? Embrace repentance as the Spirit brings truth to you in grace … and get ready for what is next in God, because I think it’s going to be big. Very big!

You are so, so loved!

Ps Milton