Passover 2020 was an historic event for the Church. Never in Church history have Christians been locked in their homes as a plague swept across the world. Chuck Pierce prophesied, we must truly understand Passover and he was so right. On Passover, as we were worshiping I asked the Lord, “Has your judgement passed over our house and those we are responsible for?” Immediately I sensed God’s peace, the peace which passes all understanding, and I knew God’s judgment had passed over our house.
The next day I was wondering, is God going to bring the Body through the wilderness into the Promised Land? That day Chuck Pierce prophesied again saying, the next 49 days is very important for the Church. Now I knew, God was bringing the Body of Christ out of spiritual Egypt, through the wilderness and into the Promised Land.
Faith and I spent many hours each day in prayer, fasting, repentance and seeking the Lord. Not only did we experience an historic Passover, we also experienced an historic Pentecost with the Holy Spirit confirming, we had entered the Promised Land.
Now, the Body of Christ has entered the Promised Land. This is a place of blessing but also warfare. Israel was such a fertile land the grapes were enormous. However the people were also enormous, the size of giants! Israel had to completely defeat their enemies before coming into all of God’s blessings. Therefore the Body of Christ must also overcome all her enemies, to come into all of God’s blessings.
Our greatest enemy is our soul so immature Christians must focus on overcoming the sin and weaknesses of their soul. By the grace of God we can all overcome so be encouraged. Chuck Pierce says the next two and a half years, until late 2023, will be spiritual warfare, so mature Christians be prepared for extra challenges as we take the land.
There are five levels of maturity in the Body; babes 1 Corinthians 3:1-2, children John 13:33, young men and women 1 John 2:13-14, fathers and mothers 1 John 2:13-14, and fifth Christ-like Christians Romans 8:29. What is the difference between these groups?
Babes are living according to the flesh, 1 Corinthians 3:1-3. They are bound in a worldly lifestyle and dominated by their soul rather than led by the Spirit, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Galatians 5:16-25. When I was at College, the Superintendent of International Correspondent Institute asked a question. What “words” was Jesus referring to when he said, “Those who hear these words of mine and do them”, Matthew 7:24-27. The previous week I was meditating on these verses so immediately replied, “”These words of mine” refer to the Sermon on the Mount!” He was surprised and replied, “Yes you are right”.
The Sermon on the Mount is the first thing Jesus taught the Apostles. The Apostles were new born Christians and he was laying foundations in their lives. When the Apostles came back from their first ministry trip Jesus said, “… revealed them to babes “, Matthew 11:25. How can the Apostles be babes or infants? They were fully grown men! Jesus was not talking about their age but their spiritual condition. They were spiritual babes. Every born-again Christian begins as a spiritual babe, no matter how old we are.
This will challenge many Christian’s theology and faith, but meditate on Matthew 7:24-27, Matthew 11:25 and consider these verses. Many teach the Sermon on the Mount as the goal of the Christian life, not the foundation. However, if we read Matthew 7:24-27 in context, we see Jesus is saying the Sermon is our foundation.
“The Sermon on the Mount, our foundation”
Also, the Apostles were the first disciples so Jesus must begin with the foundation before anything else. Jesus was building a spiritual foundation in their lives which had to withstand all the storms and floods that followed. The Apostles went through revival and severe persecution, like many have never experienced, but they and the Church, were strong and grew despite the severe shaking.
Many may wonder, how can revival be called a shaking? Rick Joyner researched revivals and found, every Church in history was destroyed by revival. The Apostles were three year old Christians when revival came. Three thousand were saved on Pentecost and later another five thousand. In three years, these guys were Pastors of mega Churches and they stood strong. Later, during severe persecution where people were impaled on poles and set alight, the Church continued to grow. Clearly, a solid foundation will endure all the storms, including revival.
During lock-down, many Pastors found their Church’s foundation is weak. One mega Church had only 200 out of 3,000 people come back! During lock-down our home Church grew with 350 salvations, tithes and offerings also increased. Like our founding Pastor we are called to live by faith for our finances. We do not receive from the Church tithes, but by prayer and simple faith believe the Lord to provide. During covid-19 the good Lord continues to provide.
Our Church has planted over 10,000 Churches in over 80 countries and continues to grow. Our Church has an excellent discipleship program, with a strong emphasis on character, which lays a solid foundation. When Uganda faced severe persecution, many left the country. One large Denomination asked our founding Pastor to lead them, which he accepted. The Church experienced explosive growth.
Our discipleship program is good for revival and for persecution. Therefore the Sermon on the Mount is our foundation character and when we live this, we will have a foundation which withstands the floods and storms of life.
This blog outlines the first stage of Christian growth and I will share more in other blogs. Our Church’s discipleship program is one of the best I have seen and is very similar, to how Jesus discipled the Apostles. It is well balanced with one-on-one discipling in the first year, includes lessons and ministry opportunities appropriate for the level of maturity. A basic inner healing is included in the first six months and lessons on how to lead a home group, begin in the first year. It is freely available, so e-mail me if you are interested.
Your foundation builders
Love Tim & Faith
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