Part 5 Being Prepaired

Part 5 Being Prepaired As we ponder the events of the last few weeks we cannot help but wonder what our response should be, what lessons we need to learn. We know that we are heading into turbulent times, times of great darkness. Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. 2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. Isaiah prophesied about these days in which we live. Both righteousness and evil is maturing. Darkness will cover the earth at the same time the glory of the Lord will be seen upon His people, His church. The consequences of generations of sowing good and evil are beginning to return upon this generation like no other. All the pigeons are coming home to roost in our day. Proverbs 11:18 The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward. Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. As the power of sowing and reaping begin to unfold in this generation the world is becoming a wonderful and fearful place to live in.  In the book, "Tale of Two Cities" (1859) by Charles Dickens, the book opens with “it was the best of times it was the worst of times”, a fitting description of the times in which we live. Isaiah said when this gross darkness covers the earth, He the Lord will arise in power and glory and a harvest of souls will be reaped like never before in the history of the church Isaiah 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. 4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. The prophet Amos said: Amos 9:13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.       We are living in the most fearful and wonderful days, which present the church with the greatest challenge in its checkered history. Isaiah 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. The judgments of God are always redemptive The coming harvest will be so great, that it will compel a complete renovation of the church as we know it.  Many traditions which the church has been burdened with will evaporate as new wineskins are needed to embrace a new day. Lessons need to be learnt from the recent disaster in New Orleans Firstly: The US government was not adequately prepared for it. The Church is not prepared for what is coming. As judgments begin to unfold across the earth in the days ahead, we need to be prepared to take advantage of these times, turning them into redemptive opportunities. Secondly:  A spirit of confusion caused a loss of time in responding to the situation. This resulted in loss of many lives. There was no well thought out plan and no clear chain of command in place. The church has to know what do to and how to do it and have the resources to respond to situations like this. Christian emergency response teams need to be trained and have the resources available to them in order to for the opportunities these disasters give us to.  Disasters will increase across the earth; God has clearly warned us in His word and through true prophetic voices, these judgments will increase in both ferocity and frequency.  This is the time for those truly called to the Joseph ministry to begin to rise up and prepare for what is coming. Never before has it been so important for us as individuals to be able to hear thevoice of the Lord, your survival for the days that lie ahead depends on it. Christians died in the 9/11 disaster, Christians died in New Orleans. It is of utmost importance that you can hear the voice of the Lord in your heart and learn to respond to it. God said to Abraham I am going to destroy Sodom and Gomorra and he was able to get Lotand his family out before it happened. God said to Noah build an Ark. If he had not heard God or had not obeyed, he would have died. YOU MUST LEARN TO HEAR THE VOIVE OF THE LORD IN YOUR HEART FOR YOURSELF God Bless youJames N Johnson 2005