Preparing for Harvest Part 9 Beyond Signs and Wonders

Preparing for Harvest Part 9

Beyond Signs and Wonders

Signs, wonders, miracles, healings, tend to get people’s attention and can tend to overshadow the bigger picture. Don’t get me wrong we desperately need continuous manifestation of the supernatural in the church today, and there is no doubt that signs and wonders are a vital evangelistic tool, the book of Acts clearly shows the need for miraculous manifestations of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus himself commanded His disciples to heal the sick.

Matthew 10:7	And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
8	Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Signs, wonders, and miracles are part of the gospel message; however we need to see beyond to the greater task of making the new believers into disciples of Jesus, with the purpose of being conformed into the image of Jesus, THIS IS THE GREATER TASK.

Taught Equipped Sent

Acceleration is part of this generation’s heritage; it took Moses nearly 80 years to get to the place where God could use him to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage.

Many long years Moses was in preparation for this great task. However Joshua was different, Moses taught Joshua the ways of God over a very short period of time. I remember when I was a child the task of getting from my small village in the North East of England to the nearest town about 8 miles away took about one and a half hours. Today you can make that trip in about 7 minutes. Likewise this generation is privileged to live in a time when God is doing a quick work.

Romans 9:27	Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
28	For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.

As the presence of the Lord continues to increase in the church and the anointing intensifies, that which took years of training teaching and preparing of Gods people for the work of the Lord will be done in an incredibly  quick time. This generation will undergo an intense period of preparation as they are taught how to come before the Lord and how to receive that which God has for them. Their hearts will become so pure that revelation and understanding will flow into them like a river. This is a generation that will give their all to see the Kingdom of God finally established in this earth.

New wine requires new wineskins

A new mentality or paradigm is needed for the days that lie ahead. For hundreds of years Christians have lived within a framework of thinking that has to be changed in order to enter into what God purposed to do over the next few years. Living within a framework of, being born again then living our lives while we are on this earth serving the Lord living for Him then eventually dying and making to heaven happy for ever after is not enough for this generation. The world all around us is in a spiral if destruction on so many fronts. Lawlessness especial among young people is at a level never seen before, as I write this there is over 43 armed conflicts going on in the world. The economies of the world are at breaking point and like the Titanic blunder on like a ship headed for and Iceberg of destruction. We have a whole generation of young people who have lost faith in mankind’s ability to bring in a better world, this loss of faith and trust in mans ability to bring about positive change has opened the door to immense evil and spirits of lawlessness. This generation needs hope and purpose to live for they need to be challenged with vision of saving this planet and bringing in the Kingdom of God and a thousand years of peace and blessing. THEY NEED A CAUSE TO DIE FOR. If we don’t give it to them the Devil will.

Reality the need of the hour

Many young people can get more reality out of a video game than what the church can give them. Millions are hooked on video games because that is all the reality they have in a confusing world of rhetoric, reality shows, and double standards.

Karl Marks said that religion is the opiate of the masses; this to a degree is true. Religion without reality is like hope that slowly diminishes into a lethargy and mindless acceptance, a deception that this generation is not buying into.

What we give this new generation must not be just doctrine but reality, It must work; if they are to walk with Jesus it must be a reality to them not some mystical one off experience. This generation of new Christians must be taught how to walk with the Lord in spirit, living in two words must become second nature to them. We must prepare them for a life in the spirit with a destiny and calling to change this world, they must be taught its worth dying for. The problem is we can only teach other what we are ourselves walking in.

Blessings
Neville Johnson  20-May-08