When Heaven Touches Earthby Paul Cain
The coming move of God is going to be a lot different than I ever thought -- and I'm sure it will be different than you thought, too. The Lord is going to move in a completely new way, unlike anything we have ever seen before. It is good to look for precedents in Scripture and in church history, but many of the things that God will do in the days ahead are truly unprecedented. In fact, God has set somewhat of a precedent for doing unprecedented things. There never had been a precedent for a burning bush, but He used a burning bush as a powerful sign (see Exodus 3). Moses didn't have any doctrinal or theological foundation to prepare him for his encounter with this burning bush. God simply put His glory on a bush that burned without being consumed, and Moses turned aside to see. Like the burning bush, the church will again shine with the glory of the Lord. Though the bush was merely an inanimate plant impregnated with God's glory, the church will be a living body that is glorious beyond description. Like the burning bush, we will be a sign that people will turn aside to see. The holy radiation of God will drive out all kinds of illnesses in these last days, and it will be the number one cure for cancers, AIDS and all kinds of communicable diseases. God will once more do things that are unprecedented. He will do things that are different from anything He has ever done before. In the day of God's unprecedented acts, we need to be careful about saying, "Well, that's not in the Bible." No one had ever experienced a burning bush prior to Exodus 3. Paul had no Bible verse directing him to go and stay in a certain house, nor did Ananias have a Scripture giving him revelation of the geographic location, street number or name of the man he was going to see. Ananias had no precedent to follow that would show him what had caused Paul's blindness or what God would do if he would go and lay hands on Paul. Although Moses, Paul and Ananias may have lacked scriptural precedents for how God was choosing to move in their lives, they had the witness of the power of the Holy Spirit and they obeyed when God called to them. I do not know all the details of what God plans to do in coming days, but surely one of the key aspects is found in Isaiah 60:1-3: And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. "For behold, darkness will cover the earth, And deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you, And His glory will appear upon you. "And nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising" (Isaiah 60:1-3). A New Breed of Leaders I see a whole new leadership and a whole new move of God for these last days. The Lord is going to speak mightily again, and He is going to cause heaven to touch the earth. It is not enough for the world to hear our teachings, our prophecies, or our expositions of Scripture if the heavens are not stirred to action. Multitudes of men and women might thrill at the words they hear, but it matters little if there is not a chain reaction of kingdom life on the earth. The world is not so much questioning the reality of life after death, but rather it is watching us to see if we truly have a new kind of life after we receive Christ. Our inability to evangelize the world has been more the result of the world's skepticism about "life after life" than about life after death. Are we really saved? Do we really have new life? When we do, a heavenly chain reaction will follow. Life will beget life after its own kind (see Genesis 1:24). I believe an awesome, reverential fear and respect is coming back to the leadership of the church. Losing her self-imposed restrictions and her imprisonment to human traditions, the church is going to regain her power and emerge shining brighter than the noonday sun. We are going to be called upon by heads of state and kings of nations. The Lord is going to give heaven to earth so that we can evangelize the world. In the condition we are now in, the church would never be able to fully win the world. But, thank God, she is about to change. In order for the changes to occur, we, like Ezekiel, must "eat this scroll" that contains the Word of the Lord (Ezekiel 3:1). What does it mean to eat the scroll? It means that we have to digest His message to the point where we become the message. We will never be able to reach the world unless that happens. God gave John the Beloved similar instructions about eating a little book (Revelation 10:8-11) and, like Ezekiel, John was able to prophesy in a way that caused a mighty chain reaction. When we eat the scroll and get His Word in us so that it becomes a part of us, the world will behold the glory of the Father. The nations will respond to this kind of word -- not because God's servants are listed in Who's Who, or because they raise the greatest offerings, or build the greatest buildings. Rather, people will respond because they know that ordinary men cannot speak with such authority unless the power of God is in them. True Seed Faith One thing I am sure God will challenge is the idea of "seed money." God makes it very clear in His Word that His people are to be the seed that is planted, not the "almighty dollar." He distinctly shows us that we are to be the seed that is planted, and we are to be fruitful in the earth. Out of love for the Master they serve, God's true disciples are those who forsake everything (Luke 14:26). The teaching that one can grow financially prosperous by giving more to the church is a perversion of truth. We cannot be His disciples until all we have, all we are, and all we ever hope to be has been laid before Him. Only then can He do with us and through us all that He wants to do. "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23). This is what true discipleship is all about -- the sacrificial life. The Lord wants the seed to be planted so that it can produce grain, but it must first be bruised and crushed before it can be living bread for the hungry (see John 12:24). Although the "seed money" principle may have filled the coffers of the church, it has left the ministry and the people sterile. There is no birthing. The womb is closed. Yet God is going to change all this. He is going to plant the right seed in the right soil, and life is going to come forth. In the book of Acts, Peter and John were on their way into the temple when they saw a lame man lying at the gate. Fixing his gaze upon the man, Peter said, "Look at us!...I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene -- walk!" (Acts 3:4-6). Then Peter took him by the right hand and lifted him up. Immediately the man's feet and ankle bones received strength, and he began walking and leaping and praising God. This is what the world is waiting to see. The first thing Peter told the lame man was, "Look at us!" However, the world is not presently looking at the church. In fact, most unbelievers pay no attention to us at all. What is going to impress the world is the power and the character of God in our lives. They will take note when we are able to say, "What I do have I give to you" -- and then do mighty miracles in Jesus' name. That kind of authority is going to be restored to the church. A Heavenly Chain Reaction There is going to be a release of power evangelism that will meet the needs of mankind. This will cause a chain reaction throughout the world. God is going to have a mighty army that goes into every place on the face of the earth, sharing this glorious gospel. The gospel of the kingdom is not just His Word -- it is also His power. It is always associated with healing the sick and doing the works of God. This is the gospel that Jesus proclaimed and demonstrated, and He is about to do it again. When heaven touches the earth, we won't have to twist any arms to get people saved. Jesus is the Lord of the harvest, and He has given us the opportunity to proclaim His life-changing kingdom. We won't have to strive in our own energy. We won't have to go out and evangelize in the energy of the flesh, knocking on doors in hopes that someone will get saved. As never before, lost people will come to us. In this spiritual chain reaction of the last days, we are going to know the times, understand what God is saying, and then go do something about it. We will have life to pass on to those who will hear, and they will receive life to pass on to others. When heaven touches earth, the world will know that we serve an awesome, life-giving God. His glory will be seen throughout the whole earth! © Paul Cain
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