A Little Child Shall Lead Them

My son, Bryan

Last night I woke at 3:00 AM with an overwhelming desire to read the last few chapters of Revelation. I had this crazy need to know and understand what that obscure book had to say and how it applies to what is happening today. It seems nobody understands it. Why should it be any different for me? All I could do is pray that if God had something to show me, and it was time, that I might understand.

I think there are times or seasons of revelation and I think we are in one now. I don’t know exactly where we are in God’s timeline, but I do think the “seals” that were opened at different times, correspond to the times of revelation from God down through history. He does not open a seal until it is time for man to understand what God wants him to.

I found some very interesting things that I will share with you in future blogs, but that is not what this blog is about.

A very odd and exciting thing happened today when I came home from work. My wife and I had spoken this morning about what I discovered in the book of Revelation, and because we were excited about what the Lord was showing us, we also called each other on the phone several times during the day. When I got home, I was very relaxed and asked Julie to sit on the couch beside me and talk about what we were learning. Our six children were all clustered around hanging off the sides and back of the love seat, eating pretzels and enjoying our conversation when Julie got up to go do something.

Bryan, my 15 month old baby boy in just a diaper and a dirty face plunked himself down where Julie had been sitting, grinned at me and said “Ehhh!”. (He only says 2 real words we know for sure he understands; “hot” and “nanna” {banana}.) He then reached over and grabbed Julie's Bible. Since I didn’t want him to rip it, I reached over, put it on his lap and started flipping pages to show him it didn’t have pictures. He didn't mind, he was fascinated. I think he felt special from the attention I was giving him.

After about five or six random page flips, he laughed and pointed to the beginning of a chapter. So, like a good daddy, I started reading it for him where he put his finger. That’s when I realized what it was.

It was Joshua 6, where God explained the plan to defeat Jericho,

the stronghold of the Amorite!

That wasn’t coincidence, that was a confirmation. Its time. Time for

The First Battle for Our Promised Land

My mind instantly thought of the promises in Isaiah 11 of which verse 6 is a part.

… and a little child shall lead them.

Standing Firm in What We Believe

Story

Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days. I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch in the bridge as night fell. The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities.

Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing of the bridge reported, “Light, bearing on the starboard bow.”

“Is it steady or moving astern?” the captain called out.

Lookout replied, “Steady captain,” which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.

The captain then called to the signalman, “Signal that ship: We are on a collision course, advise you to change course 20 degrees.”

Back came a signal, “Advisable for you to change course 20 degrees.”

The captain said, “Send: I’m captain, change course 20 degrees.”

“I’m a seaman second class,” came the reply. “You had better change course 20 degrees.”

By that time the captain was furious. He spat out, “Send: I’m a battleship. Change course 20 degrees.”

Back came the flashing light, “I’m a lighthouse.”

We changed course.

Let us earnestly seek God’s perspective in all things.

He is our Lighthouse.

Story from The Principle of a Lighthouse, Standing Firm ! ~ Frank Koch in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

The Shaking of the Body of Christ

 Before you go on, please read:
"A Warning - Straight From My Heart" if you haven't already.


Brother Sowders’ Dream

Brother Sowders, a man of God from the 1930's, once had a dream of a tree being shaken and all sorts of nasty unclean creatures fell out. The fellowship took this to mean that it would be shaken as a group… and it was. A lot of bad things happened and a lot of nasty people left. But the tree was shaken a second time in the dream and out fell a “silver rain”, the "latter rain movement, promised by God”.

Here’s a question. What was important, the tree or the silver rain? Think about it…

something is falling out.

The “Body of Christ” is currently being shaken again. In fact all over the world, people are leaving religion like never before. God is doing the shaking but these people are not losing out with God. They are quality people that love God and show love and forgiveness to others.

John 13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.


Our English is so pitiful, at times I have questions whether statements like this are self-explanatory. See if you can follow my train of thought; this is how a lot of people act.


Question 1: To be one of Jesus' disciples, I need to love Jesus' disciples, who are Jesus disciples?

Answer: Those that I love and who love me. 
John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.



Question 2: What happens if I don't love you, but I love someone else?

Answer: Then those in my group are disciples and yours aren't. Because I love my group and my group loves me, we are disciples, but there is no love between you and me.



Question 3: What happens if I love you, but you don't love me?


Answer: Then I am a disciple, but you aren't.  Because a disciple must have love to another, and since you don't love me, and I do...




Conclusion: So, I know I am a disciple and you are not following God because I love my group and you aren't part of my group.



What would be unique about that? Even animals love and prefer others of their own kind. Being exclusive does not mean you are special. Having God's perspective is essential.


If we are to line up with God's perspective, we must consider all definitions of a word and try to select the one that would fit Him and what we know of His nature. 



John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.



One definition I have not considered until now is when the word, "another" is used as a pronoun, it means, "a person other than oneself or the one specified. Example: He told her he loved another." Somebody different.




Having an additional definition for the word gives it a whole new meaning.


John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
(i.e. someone outside my group... somebody different than)


This now means to be Jesus disciple, I must become like God and love not only my own group, but others outside my group. I think this meaning aligns my thinking better to what I know of God, because I know He hates pride.


What makes God so special is that He is inclusive, not exclusive. He loved the whole world. (See John 3:16)  We are supposed to be like Him.




What happens if we stop treating our brothers with love? Do you think that would please God? Can we withold our love from our brothers and call it "tough love" even when we see the Lord does not withold His love? Do we think we know how to love better than God does? 



God's love is an ACTIVE thing. There is no such thing as PASSIVE love. Was Jesus' death on the cross passive? Perhaps it would have been if He had stood back 'from a distance' and never came to earth. If love is not active, is it love? Does it have any value?



When we decide who to love and who not to love, we are separating people with a golden wedge. The gold (the good word of God) is shaped by the hand of man into our own purposes and traditions; mutating what God intended.

Mark 7:13

¹³ Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Last time I checked, dividing was God's domain, not man's. See Division and Unity

The Latter Reign

Going back to the dream of the tree being shaken, I do see a number of scriptures talking about the early and latter rain, but pride and arrogance have changed “rain” to “reign”. Try googling “latter reign” and you will see what I mean; the terms are almost interchangeble and in some places people don't seem to know the difference.


My question is, "Which group is doing the reigning?"  I see former and latter house, but I do not see the concept of a latter reign by itself as Biblical.  Many of those in Revelation 20:4 that live and reign with Christ a thousand years were resurrected in Matthew 27:52-54; in other words, they were part of the early rain church; not the latter rain.

Ruling And Reigning A Thousand Years

“We shall rule and reign with Him a thousand years” just ain’t in the Bible, but I don't know how many times I have heard it in church. The phrase was probably created to add numbers to the Church, alluring those with an Amorite spirit. See The First Battle For Our Promised Land (Part One). 


'Ruling and reigning' has been perpetuated by church leaders that wish to 'practice their ruling and reigning' before they get down to the real thing.


Promising an Amorite the desires of his heart is the wrong way to build God's church; it's just like giving free heroin to druggies that do your bidding. You have to give them just enough recognition to keep them happy. That's how unqualified church leaders are created that don't meet up with all of the requirements in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus chapters 1 & 2.


Talking about ruling and reigning, if God didn't promise it, then what do you think His perspective on this practice is?



Romans 12:3
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.


Phillipians 2:7 tells us that Jesus "took upon him the form of a servant" not that of someone that wants to rule over others.


 Even John (the person God showed the vision to in Revelation 20:4) had the humility to use the word "they" and not "we".

Revelation 20:4

⁴ And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Attitude is important. What is yours? Will you serve God if you are just a remnant like in Revelation 12:17, or do you want to be paid for your work like a hireling?

Revelation 12:17

¹⁷ And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Man Takes Control

Man was never given dominion over his brother until the Curse of Cain. (see The Curse of Cain in What Happens When You Decide To Follow God Instead Of Men?) Wives are supposed to be subject to (under the dominion of) their own husbands (because of the curse of Eve), but the pastor or church leadership is not the husband of the church. Jesus is. When a preacher puts himself in the position of husband of the church, and the church accepts him and allows him to plant his own ideas or seed instead of Jesus’, there is a name for that.

Sustaining Excitement Through Fear 

In religion, everyone must think that the end times are just about upon us. A high level of excitement is how religious systems maintain their power. To believe anything else would “cause people to lose hope”. Leadership must maintain a high level of excitement about progress; the next meeting will be “the best one ever”; “the brethren will see more eye-to-eye than they ever have before”; "the next meeting may be the one that will bring in the latter reign"; "the next service may be the key to whether you reach perfection or not (so you better be there)". People are scared they might miss out. Putting fear into the hearts of those who wish to “be on the right side when things go down” keeps people subject to and under the dominion of the fear-giver if they allow it.


But fear is not of God. Fear is of man.


 2 Timothy 1:7  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

This high level of excitement has proven to be unsustainable throughout history and is one of the reasons for revivals. Perhaps this is also the reason for so many meetings and conventions…


Yes, I believe there are definite moves of God and good things do come from revivals, but when people become revival junkies, I wonder why their everyday life with God does not sustain them?  What are they drinking?  Carbonated beverages (fizzy lifting drinks) or the Water of Life? Jesus told the woman at the well that if He gave her living water, she would never thirst again. John 4:14. 


Let's get real, there should be no doubt or question in your mind. If out of your belly came a river of living water, do you think you would ever be thirsty? Do you think the people around you would ever be thirsty?

Living Water

Why is it that what we perceive as the water of life is always leaking out or losing its fizz?  Is something broken? Perhaps it is not the real living water, water for everyday living?  Is not God’s Holy Spirit sufficient to sustain us each and every day?  Are we missing something? Has something been withheld from us?

Water is a blessing, it IS life and can be stored up. Without it, people and other living things die. In fact there are a few places in the Bible that God withholds rain as punishment.

Jeremiah 3:3 Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.

What a weird saying!

thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed

Revelation 17:5 talks about what was written on a whore's  forehead because she had taken men to bed that were not her husband.

Revelation 17:5

⁵ And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.

I think that God would have forgiven Israel in Jeremiah 3:3 but for the last part; "thou refusedst to be ashamed". 



In contrast, there was a woman in the same predicament that was ashamed. Jesus forgave her.

The Samaritan woman at the well who was offered living water by Jesus was so ashamed at not having the "right covering", she didn't even mention the man who took the liberty, she just said she wasn't married. Up until that time, she had been accepting seed from, and was dominated by men who were not her husband.

 Even though the two women were both harlots, the difference is important!


First, the Samaritan woman had to be ashamed, she showed it by not mentioning the man. But even then, Jesus would NOT give her living water without her having the right order as specified in


1 Corinthians 11:3

But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.


He asked her to go get her husband but already knew she didn't have one. As a single mature woman she had to recognize and accept Jesus as the authority in her life and not a man pretending to be her husband.



It wasn't until she confessed that she was out of order and recognized Jesus as her head (and not the other men) did He share the water of life with her.



John 4:15-19

¹⁵ The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

¹⁶ Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

¹⁷ The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:

¹⁸ For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.

¹⁹ The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

But why FIVE husbands? What is Jesus trying to tell this woman? What is God trying to tell His Church? Numbers in the Bible are significant, not random. What does the number five mean to you? This is what the number five means to me...

1. Apostles
2. Prophets
3. Evangelists
4. Pastors
5. Teachers

"and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband"

 1 Samuel 8:7
And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

In our efforts to become spiritual Israel, let us not be so intense as to duplicate her failures. Treat Jesus as your head and a pastor as your brother.

People, we are getting another chance. Let's not blow it.

2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.