Own It

Greetings to you as you grow in your hopeful expectation of Good things to come, precious Beloved family!

In the last few days, I have been more aware of the responsibilities I have, and we have, to this planet and our personal time in history. When the staff was together this week, I was sharing a little bit out of Revelation chapters two and three. These are the letters from the Lord, the Head of the Church, to the senior leaders of the local church bodies about what they were doing that was good… what they were doing that was not good… and what they needed to do, in order to be obedient to the callings and purposes that Jesus had for each of them uniquely.

These two chapters are offensive and contradictory to the present anti-Christ movement that is about, “christian,” leaders who are encouraging people to NOT be a part of the local church. This is one of the coolest and hip-est things going on right now and it is the same as physically abusing the Lord’s Bride. We should pray for these foolish, ignorant voices so that they would come to the knowledge of the truth of scripture. The local church is the foundation of the Lord’s activities on the earth and you are either for Him or against Him. Choose wisely…

I could spend literal hours on just a few of the verses, let alone the whole two chapters (as I am sure you well know and may be giggling a little bit about even now)… but there is something I just cannot shake from my soul that I want to submit to you to meditate on with me. Here is the statement, in red, from the Lord to the church at Thyatira:

“The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule (shepherd) them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.”
Revelation 2:26-27 (ESV)

These words are bursting with activating energy for us, the members of the local church, who have humbly accepted the truth that we all have a personal responsibility to accomplish in our world today. Please allow me to extrapolate just a few of these soul-quaking declarations from the King of kings:

• “The one who conquers…” – Here, we see something that is not politically correct or even acceptable in the sissy-fied and feminized “christianity” of the present time in America. What we should hear is that our divine Conqueror, Jesus, expects… even commands… you and I to conquer and be conquerors. For those of you that want to be like Jesus, this is a major aspect of His nature. He is not a pacifist as some denominations wrongfully preach. He is not a wimp as some of the world depicts. He is not a, “pretty boy,” Hollywood type of effeminate crowd pleaser looking for opportunities to compromise to get more money, Facebook friends, or accolades. He is THE MAN from heaven, with a double-edged sword in His mouth, a breastplate of honor on His broad chest, fire in His eyes, and a handmade whip in His hand to drive the self-serving, hypocritical, and traitorous “ministers” out of the Father’s house of worship. Neither you nor I want to be on the wrong end of the process… ever! Jesus righteously and simply expects us to conquer enemies, without excuse, and will never be pleased with surrender. That statement will offend the majority of our culture, the majority of the church, and yet still is true. How does it impact your heart?
• “who keeps my works until the end…” – This is another characteristic that is expected from all of us in the authentic, remnant ranks of Genuine faith… perseverance. In our microwave, fast-food world of next-day delivery, finding a person who is patiently enduring, not being weary in well doing, timelessly resolved, and IS persevering is as rare as finding people of honesty and humility. I am certain that you know how much of a diamond in the rough that is today. Think about the willingness of God to patiently and perfectly work out the details of the Gospel with His people that took four-thousand years to manifest. The biblical accounts of godly people investing decades into the visions and missions to which they were called are too numerous to list. If we would all commit to allowing patience to have her perfect work in our lives, we would never fail to see the promises of God come to full fruition. The good fight of faith is never over until we win!
• “to him will I give authority over the nations…” – We, generally, have such a self-focused version of Christianity that the only things we can even dare to exercise divine authority over are the personal problems that we singularly face. We think on an individual scope, while Jesus is thinking on a world-wide scope and a multi-generational scope. We are called to RULE over entire NATIONS… and many cannot even rule over their own emotions and circumstances. Whoa… was that a little too deep into a sand-box? I believe part of this Great Awakening will include masses of believers who, “seek first the Kingdom,” and stop seeking first their own welfare. It will be one of the most glorious changes that have ever happened on the planet and I greatly anticipate seeing it with my own eyes. It can start with us, here in small-town America, Beloved!
• “he will rule (shepherd) them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces” – There is a ton of stuff going on in this statement that I cannot fully delve into, but I do want to highlight the truth that we are the extension of the Lord’s authoritative will in the earth. We are HIS rod of iron that brings submission from the evil influence of wicked intended principalities and people. These ignorant, foolish, and temporal tyrants are as fragile as clay pots when we bring the rod of iron of our authority and the Word of our God. Obviously, our battle is not against flesh and blood, but it needs to be fought through and by flesh and blood. We are the carriers of the Lord’s purposes on the earth and need to embrace that important reality if we are going to effectively “co-labor” with our Master, Jesus. This will be accomplished with a shepherd’s heart of care for the people that we have been called to minister unto. Will you accept your royal-priesthood responsibilities going into this New Era?
• “even as I myself have received authority from my Father.” – I love this inclusive language and expression that comes from our infinitely powerful God who compares our commission with His commission. This, “even as,” completely and eternally destroyed any self-contrived excuses for why we just can’t get ‘er done. Jesus accomplished His mission, Finished the Work fully, and sat down on the throne of victory in expectation that you and I would follow the lead of the leader. “Even as,” He was authorized, empowered, and supported from the Father and all of Heaven, we can expect no less. And, also, please notice the massively important revelation that Jesus operated in, “delegated,” authority from His Father… that is SOOOOO important! Because you and I will be doing the same exact thing when we operate in the, “delegated,” authority of the name of Jesus! Same, same!

The final and exciting reveal about everything I have written here in regards to this prophetic chastisement from the Head of the Church to the local church of Thyatira is that they did not accomplish this mission. This prophetic Word, from the Author of prophecy, is still hanging out there in the spiritual stratosphere waiting for a radical group of believers to grab it and own it. This Word will not return to our King unfulfilled or void… WE THE PEOPLE of today, the remnant church, the local church can grab this and totally own it for our generation! Woohoo! It is our time to take authority over our nation and bring it into discipline to our Lord’s loving and good desires.

Beloved… let’s do this!

I love you deeply,
Steve