“Lacked you anything,” Jesus asks His disciples and they replied,”nothing.” Jesus and His disciples, for the most part were met by crowds and well wishers and those who would put them up in their homes and feed them. Indeed, at one point the people would have made Jesus their King. Now everything was about to change.

Can I suggest that Christianity in the West has lacked for nothing for a considerable time now. Everything is about to change. The Western nations and their leaders are about to turn on Christians with a ferocity. Genuine Christians are going to find themselves second class citizens. We shall be counted with the transgressors.

Jesus spoke to His disciples because His time on earth was about to come to an end. He knew that the once loving crowds, so fickle, so self serving, were about to turn on Him and His followers. The atmosphere had changed. The gross darkness which would soon engulf the land had already begun to stretch out its shadow towards them.

Can I suggest that the very same shadow is encircling the earth right now. The atmosphere has changed. Can you sense it in your spirit? Do you understand that we shall be counted with the transgressors? And the lowest of them indeed. You are just about to be hated for His namesake by all nations. It will not be a normal hatred, if there is such a thing. No, you will be hated by a satanically inspired hatred.

Jesus tells His disciples to take their purse, to sell their cloak and to buy a sword. Now, it was common for Galileans to carry swords in that day. It would protect them from robbers and such. Indeed there was found two swords among the ranks of His disciples. Two among twelve. It was not something that the disciples had given much thought to apparently. For as they went out by their twos healing and casting out demons, the people loved them. Now all that was about to change. Now they would be hated and hunted and persecuted.

Saints, we must now expect trouble. Arm yourself with this knowledge. Prepare for it in your heart. Do not count your guns. We shall not be fighting robbers and wild beasts. Arm yourself with the sword of the Spirit for it will the authorities that will be coming after you. There is no question about the fact that we shall not fight the authorities. Jesus would say to you that’s enough already. We do not have a Barabbas spirit. Our war is not a civil war. We war against the unseen forces of darkness.

Jesus reminds His disciples that what has been written must yet be accomplished in Him. He knew what lay ahead not only for Him but for His followers and He was preparing them. What has been written about us must also yet be fulfilled saints. The force behind the darkness has come to make war with the saints and to overcome them. (Rev 13:7) It is written. One’s name is either in the Book of Life or it is not. All those, of every kindred and tongue and nation whose name is not found in the Book shall be our enemies.

Now, if you take up the sword you shall fall by the sword. This may appeal to many of my brothers and sisters. I know this because it appeals to me. Yet, this is not the will of God. His will is that we should be a witness. We have been called to be witnesses against the great evil and darkness of this world. When all the world sees our witness, then the end shall come, then shall come our Jesus. It is not your choice on how you leave this planet. We have a Lord and a God and He has clearly instructed us not only in the written Word but in the Word that is written on our hearts.

So brothers and sisters. Arm yourself with the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God moving in you with power. Stand before men as the witnesses of old stood before them. Stand with boldness, stand with indignation for the name of Jesus. Arm yourself by being prepared in your heart. Understand and know the times and the seasons that you are living in and have been called to.

The Lord Himself has called our generation, I believe, to make up the number of the Martyrs, to fulfill their numbers. When I speak of the remnant, this is what I speak of. Stand strong my brothers and sisters, our God is with us. The gross darkness of this world cannot penetrate the light that is in us. We are wrapped in impenetrable light. It is to us a wall of fire. Our God is a consuming fire.

I wanted to look at two of the churches in Revelations that Jesus has strong words for. He says to those in Philadelphia… I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name (Rev 3:8) And to the church in Laodicea He says….. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me (Rev 3:20)

The first thing I want to point out may not be the obvious difference between these two churches but do you see that in the first church there is an “open door.” In the second church the door is closed. The reason for the open door in the first church is stated by Jesus. They have a little strength, perhaps meaning they were poor in Spirit therefore they shall inherit the Kingdom of heaven. Secondly they have kept His word. They have stood upon the Word of God even although they are surrounded by what Jesus calls ” the synagogue of Satan,” those who claim to be worshipers of God but are clearly not. And lastly, they have not denied the name of Jesus. They are not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus. And because of all that, they have an open door.

The second church, the somewhat infamous Laodecean church does not have an open door, rather the door is closed. What has caused the door to be closed? The fundamental problem with this church is lukewarmness. Jesus says they are neither hot nor cold and Jesus, using some of His scariest language says that if this continues He would vomit them out of His mouth. Now, what led to their lukewarmness and the closing of the door? They were rich and increased with goods and in their minds had need of nothing. No doubt they imagined that their very riches was a blessing and a proof from God that they were blessed. Where have we heard that before? And yet, they were actually, according to Jesus, wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. Wow. This is not meek and gentle Jesus.

I want to tell you that I have experienced an open door in the heavens. And at other times the heavens themselves were as brass. What does an open door mean? Lets take a look at Rev 4:1, just a sentence later and probably in the same breath….”After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven.” An open door brothers and sisters. Let us look through this door and see what we can see. “And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.” John, in the Spirit, beheld the throne and the glorious scene all around it. This is similar to the scene we see in Isaiah chapter six where the prophet, in the Spirit, has his own vision.

In short, when the door is open, we are ushered into the glory of God. We come before His throne of grace and mercy. We sense His manifest presence. We speak to Him intimately. We are full of His joy and sing His praises. We are quick to forgive and we refuse to take up the offense, rather we take up our crosses gladly and daily. These are just some of the blessings that rains down upon us from an open door. For that door to stay open we must abide in His Word and His word must abide in us. In short, we read His word and we keep His word. And of course we must never deny Him, not only in name only but also we must not deny Him by our actions.

If you find the door closed and the heavens above you are as brass, then you must search your heart. You must do all that the church at Philadelphia were doing. And if we find that we are lukewarm, we must repent of that lukewarmness. We must submit to the furnace and seek the gold that comes not from the material blessings of this world, but the true blessings that are found through suffering. Will you suffer loss for the cause of Christ? Will you seek Him out as your only passion? Will you forego everything that possibly stands between you and your Lord? Sacrifice, surrender, enduring, overcoming. These are the flames that the Spirit fans that melts away all the dross. And out of that furnace comes gold. It is that opens up the door of heaven, an open door where glory pours forth from.

I believe God ordained President Trump so that the hypocrisy of those who spoke about tolerance was exposed and their true hatred and intolerance revealed.. Secondly, what has happened in the last four years is like the drawing back on the bowstring. Back, back, back, almost at straining point, and then……..release.

A torrent of dammed up hatred against the saints is on the very verge of being released. The four years was a temporary alleviation of a global march by the elites. Just for a moment, with Brexit and President Trump it looked like globalism had been dealt a death blow. Now it has sprung to life again and is angrier, bolder, more arrogant and more dangerous than it ever was before. It no longer feels the need to hide behind the masquerade of tolerance. Stand fast saints.

For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer. (Isa 54:6-8)

The times in which we live are like no other times in history. We are approaching the end of ages and the birth pangs have begun and everything that can be shaken is being shaken. This is true not only of our denominations and institutions, but also our secular institutions and governments. Now, what is true for institutions and churches is also true for individuals. God’s people are being tested in ways that they have never been tested before as individuals and in their personal walk with the Lord. Are you feeling forsaken today? Your faith in God maybe steadfast but you feel forsaken. Not only do you live in a barren land but that barrenness has also touched your own soul. Not only do you feel barren but trials have mounted one on top of the other and it seems that you are under judgement. I want to encourage you today saint, the afflictions of the land is touching your soul.

You do indeed live in a barren land and your righteous soul is vexed, could it be any other way? If judgement indeed begins at the house of the Lord, that judgment will affect you. Perhaps you have had to leave your church? Or, perhaps you are still there and are totally dismayed by the worldliness that surrounds you? Either way, you seem to be in a place that is hopeless? I want you to read the promise of God quoted above.

But with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.
And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb. And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat. (1Sa 1:6-7)

Can you see the agony of Hannah? She herself was surrounded by fertile women but her womb was closed and this caused her to be ridiculed by her adversary. Perhaps there is little or nothing to show for your own walk with the Lord? Perhaps you hear the enemy whisper in your own ear that all you strivings and longings have produced nothing? If we look at the state of Israel in the midst of Hannah’s troubles we see something very disturbing.

1Sa 3:1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.

Can you see what was happening in the days of Eli? The word of the Lord was precious or rare and there was no open vision. People could not hear from God, the heavens were closed and when that happens then the flesh rises up and consumes. It is a bitter circle. It starts with disobedience and that creates distance from God until the voice of God grows silent and the flesh begins to dominates everything. Principally it begins with leadership, the priesthood, and the people follow suit. We see that the priesthood of Eli’s time was exceedingly wicked, demonstrated by his own two sons. This led to a famine in the land of the hearing of God’s revelation.

Can I suggest that we live in such a land. The vast majority of the shepherds have gone the way of the world and this has resulted in a famine of the revealed word of God in the land. The people starve through lack of true vision and word. In the end of Eli’s time, they even sought to use ark of the covenant in order to gain a victory over their enemies and the result was they lost the ark itself. All of their identity is taken away by a worldly enemy of theirs that they proved by their actions to be no different than.

Hannah’s distress leads to the birth of Samuel, one who hears from God. The distress of the family of Eli which represents the priesthood leads to the birth of Ichabod, displaying for all to see that the presence of God has departed. We can see this today. Ichabod and the priesthood of Eli is represented by what passes for Christendom and Samuel represents God’s remnant people here on earth. Now, I want you to see in a another place where there is a separation of the ark of God from the people of God and what I believe God is showing me what that means.

Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore. And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to-morrow the LORD will do wonders among you. (Jos 3:4-5)

In this passage Joshua and the children of Israel are about to cross the Jordan into the promised land. As you know, they have wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Their fearfulness and lack of faith has condemned them to wander in circles until every one of fighting age in that generation had passed away, they would not enter the promised land. Now at last it was time. Can I suggest brothers and sisters that our generation has come to the very edge of the ages. It is not the Jordan that lies before us but it is the end of the ages that lie before us and we are about to see that place that the Lord Himself has prepared for us. This is our tumultuous time.

Now the ark of the Covenant and where it was positioned has always been highly significant in the Old Testament. David of course found this out the hard way, Eli heard of its capture and dies, Solomon places it in the temple and the shekinah glory falls. The Ark of the Covenant dominated the holy of Holies and represented the beating heart of God. When the Israelites moved from place to place they would set up their tabernacle in the midst of the people with the Ark of the Covenant at the very center. When they moved the Ark it was moved in the midst of the people. So we can see when it is removed from its regular place it becomes highly significant. Always remember , the Ark of the Covenant represents the presence of God. So, in the above passage we see that just prior to the children passing over into the promised land that the Ark is moved ahead of the people by two thousand cubits and they were told not to come near it. Now, two thousand cubits is just a little shy of a mile.

Now why do you suppose that the Ark is moved a mile in front of the people when its typical place was in the midst of the people? Does there seem to be distance between you and God right now? Your faith has not left you and you have been so used to have the presence of God in your midst but now there seems to be a distance between you and God. Can I suggest that the Ark was moved to the front of the people, a mile in front of the people so that they could follow God Himself to the very point of crossing over. A great miracle was just about to happen, the Jordan would be stopped so that the way could be made for them to enter into the promised land. All of God’s children would know that it was not by might nor by any power of their own but that it was by His Spirit and His Spirit alone that they would be taken from their wilderness wanderings into the promised land.

Can I tell you brothers and sisters that the Lord’s coming is at hand. We will pass from this world soon into that place that God has prepared for us. You have not been forsaken and with great mercies He shall gather you. In a little wrath God has hidden His face but with great mercies and everlasting kindness God will finish that which He has begun. Yes He has taken His place out in front of us but only so all can see and follow Him and trust Him. The time is at hand brothers and sisters, the whole earth is being shaken because the Bride-groom is returning for His Bride. Stand fast and follow the Lord brothers and sisters, put on the full armor of God for the times are drawing to their close and with great turbulence this world is coming to its end. And the Lord will lead and guide His people and He will be with us as we pass through the waters.

The paradoxical realms of the Kingdom utterly confound the creatures of this world. They see a crucifixion and they see defeat. They see someone carry a cross and they turn away. They see hard and brutal circumstances and they shudder. What they do not see is a refining fire in the midst of those circumstances. They do not see the lively stones being shaped, they only see and hear the blow of the hammer on the chisel that cuts deep the stone being shaped.

They are taken up with the pain, being oblivious to the clay being pounded and crushed and formed on the Potters wheel. A sculptors block of stone, a forgers raw material, a pile of ashes, that is all they ever see. They cannot foresee the magnificent statue, they cannot envision the sword, they cannot behold the beauty. A two dimensional world full of people with two dimensional minds with eyes that can only see in black and white.

The Kingdom of God is multidimensional and is festooned in blazing technicolor. We saints are called to walk in this Kingdom and see His hand in everything. See the genesis of His creative power actually creating us in real time. Saint, you are being shaped as you read this. You are His work of art in progress, for His will and for His good pleasure. The child of this world was created in his mothers womb, fashioned and shaped and perfected until the time of his birth.

The saint is being shaped and perfected in the depths of the Fathers heart. A raging furnace of love and mercy and forgiveness and brokenness and a thousand other flaming coals, all contained within grace. You may not always understand saint, but today, remind yourself that you are being shaped BY the hand of the Master and He will complete that which He has begUn in you. You are a work in progress, a work of art unfolding by the hand of God Himself.