Good morning to you this August 9, 2019. I hope you are well in Christ.

What a glorious time to be alive in Jesus Christ. What a dark time to be alive for those without Christ.

There are multitudes in the valley of decision. Hopefully, many will embrace Christ and the revelation of his grace and love before the onslaught of darkness becomes so rooted and powerful few can escape.

Let’s be among those who cross over Jordan into Canaan’s land. God has some surprises up ahead we do not want to miss.

Oh, the rich glories of Christ we will experience once we are unshackled from the cares of this life and the weight and burden of sin, and finally connected in holy union with our heavenly bridegroom.

There are treasures in Christ yet to be possessed by the church and you and me. There are yet unimaginable riches to be bestowed upon those living in Christ.

There is a child in the womb of the church, growing and maturing, you and I do not want to miss. Whether we see the fullness of it in our lifetimes, only the Lord knows.

Nonetheless, the maturation of the saints of God is upon this generation, advancing the church to the next season in God, possibly birthing the church into the Millennium.

I’m so thankful for the heartfelt labors of those who’ve gone before us and helped “seed” the path and garden.

And to those who are ministering in the church today, providing resources and leadership to those pursuing Christ, and to those Christ chooses to take deep in him.

The Revelation of Christ in Grace

Seemingly, it took a deep work and a long time for the Lord to create in my heart the truth of his delight for me and his grace upholding me.

The Lord brought me under the wings of a spiritual father, and through his impartation of truth and prayer ministry, the Lord was able to bring to death areas of condemnation and anxiety, while planting seeds of confidence, trust and peace.

It’s a journey and a process, and the fruitfulness of the plantings of Christ far exceed the personal costs to “buy” from those offering the gifts and services of Christ.

My friend, now is the time to receive the care and resources from the body of Christ you and I so desperately need. Do not put it off, do not procrastinate.

It’s an ongoing work of grace and a continuing provision of Christ’s love that carries us above the whirlpool of sin in our lives and in the lives around us.

The Word Made Flesh

Christ is laboring to make “the word” flesh in your life and mine. It’s the mysterious and mystical work of Christ, we would “become and live out” the word of truth by the Spirit of God.

When Christ “takes you deep in him,” revealing himself to you, he will begin redeeming areas of your life under the stewardship of sin.

Many areas of sin, and the like, are deeply rooted and well hidden. We may receive glimpses of them and their fruit from time to time, but the degree, depth, and magnitude of their hold are usually hidden.

Some cover vast areas of the territory of our heart and mind, rooted in our body and spirit, while others may be more surface. No matter, Jesus has a wide assortment of resources and care available for the variety of sins we’ve embraced.

There is a deep and profound work of Christ occurring in the saints today. Structures and dominions formally under the rulership, authority, and power of the enemy are being “put to death,” and “made alive,” by the Spirit of God.

If you’re struggling in the area of confidence and trust, fighting the currents of condemnation – the assaults of the enemy waging war against your mind and heart – know this, Christ sees the hostility of your flesh (against you) and its’ accomplices, and is working a plan to bring justice to you.

Jesus has a specific and unique plan of redemption just for you. If you can’t express joy, then hope, and if you cannot express hope, then wait. And, if you feel like you cannot wait, then cry out to the Lord for his provision to hold you firm in grace as he reveals himself to you. (1 Peter 1:13 and Hebrews 3:14, see literal translation for Hebrews verse)

Jesus said his Father would uproot every plant he did not plant. (Matthew 15:13)

We have a lot of plants our heavenly Father did not plant. Some of those plants will require deep excavation and profound care of the surrounding soil.

The Lord has been working with me in a particular area (and if I’m understanding the situation correctly, it has to do with promptly responding to the presence of the Lord) and, if my assessment is correct, I seem to fall short of the finish line.

I’m asking the Lord to bring to death whatever it is keeping me from him, that I might be made alive in the spirit. Simply, cleanse and heal me.

Peter says in 1 Peter 4:1 – 2, “1 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 2 As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.” (NIV)

Where Are We in the Time Allotted to the New Testament Church?

We are at a significant time and crossroads in history. Just think about it, two thousand years ago Christ was likely in his mid-to late 20s. It is an interesting thought to consider Christ was just a few years from his ministry.

Two thousand years is a significant time key in church history, “day” typology, creation typology, and in Old Testament references to the regathering of Israel.

Two thousand years is but one of numerous “event/time keys,” signaling we may be on the threshold of the end of the Church age and the beginning of the Millennium.

As the church nears its destination – the culmination of the Church age and all it entails – God’s work in the saints of God is bound to accelerate and deepen.

There are territories yet to be captured by the church and brought into submission in Christ before the church age fulfills its mission.

And most assuredly the church will fulfill the mandate of the gospel of Jesus Christ before the Millennial rule of Christ.

There is a climactic battle ahead for the church. If we know anything about battles, they’re generally not as advertised.

There is a tremendous struggle on the horizon for the church and Christians in particular, and now is the time to receive all the care and resources one can receive in preparation for the next move of God and darkness.

The Word of God is Alive, Growing, Maturing, Birthing New Fruitfulness in You and Me

This may seem strange to some of you, but the Word of God is more potent, telling, impacting and pertinent today – in its revelation (in many ways) – then when it was written.

Today, there is a richness and depth to the Word of God unlike any time in the past, of course, excepting, Jesus Christ.

Contrary to what is commonly heralded, the early church is not the standard to measure the depth and richness of the Word of God, nor the power and working of the Holy Spirit in signs, miracles, and wonders.

The Scripture bears this out. Paul, writing to the Ephesians in verse 4:13 says, “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (NIV)

There may be those in the past who have fulfilled this Scripture. But the church at large, in a special, unique and distinctive manner, has not fulfilled this Scripture.

The Scripture, in numerous places, intimates and states there is unique and special birthing of saints reserved for the last days in the culmination of all things at the end of the Church age.

The completion and maturity of righteousness in the church in the last of the last days, will like days of old, in the time of Noah and in the time of Christ, usher in a new dispensation/season in God.

Again, there’s something up ahead yet for the church to fulfill, as Noah fulfilled in his day, and Christ fulfilled in his, that will birth forth a new age and dispensation i.e., the Millennium.

The saints of God, you and me, will need to be brought to maturity (by Christ) in the latter days to withstand the power of darkness.

Those who do not blossom into adulthood in Christ, will face the fury and wrath of the Antichrist kingdom as it unfolds.

The Word of God

The writer of Hebrews says the Word of God is written on our hearts and put in our minds.

Those areas of our lives captured by the Lord, rooms of our heart – the territory of our being, those areas subdued and transformed into Christ likeness, become habitations of our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit.

Those areas no longer belong to carnality and sin, have been cleansed and healed, fulfilling Romans Chapter 6, are brought to life, maturity, fullness and fruitfulness by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:11).

It should not be strange to think of those areas as righteous and godly, captive to Christ in grace by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Greater Today?

An example of the depth and magnitude of the Word of God greater today than yesteryear would be the words spoken by Christ to the Church of Philadelphia.

When originally spoken those words had application to a specific people group.

The words of Christ were planted in that people group, bringing life and redemption, and a future to those who heeded his exhortation and promises.

Today, looking back two millenniums, we know the words of Christ to the seven churches, not only applied to them, but to specific periods of church history as well.

The message to the Church of Philadelphia, the sixth of the seven churches, applies to the church today. (Explaining this requires another post I plan to write about at some future time.)

Based on numerous Scriptures, prophetic and otherwise, our understanding of the “general sense of conditions” preceding the Millennium, coupled with our understanding of church history from the time of Christ to today, puts us squarely in the Philadelphia/Laodicea church ages.

Simply, it is probable we are in the church ages of “Philadelphia,” and “Laodicea.” Other church ages can be seen today, but the heartbeat of today is the two church ages I just mentioned.

With that being said, the depth, magnitude and degree of the words spoken by Christ directly to the Church of Philadelphia, are the initial plantings or “seed,” we, today, feast on in the “age” of the Church of Philadelphia.

In other words, the original “Philadelphians,” received the planting, and initial fruit of Christ’s words, but we receive the greater measure of fruit and spirit from the “seed of truths” planted in the church almost two thousand years ago.

The words and promises of Christ to the Church of Philadelphia – we read and receive – far exceed the initial utterances of those words and promises.

The Word of God has advanced to depths and levels of the heart and mind unprecedented to past generations.

Not only has the Word of God advanced into areas of our being unknown to those of yesteryear, it has revealed greater dimensions of truth and grace not known or experienced by those who preceded us.

Simply, we are receiving a richness and depth of the Word of God unlike any time before us. The Word of God is advancing and deepening in the saints of God throughout the earth.

Christ has prepared and made ready care and resources those in the past could only dream.

Even nature itself teaches us this truth. Look at the depth and degree of medical and other knowledge today.

Christianity is not a dinosaur. Christ’s grace and care to the whole man, body, soul and spirit will someday show forth a full and completed body of Christ the world will marvel at.

Christ was put to death in the body and made alive in the spirit. He is the author, pioneer, and forerunner of our faith.

Will you let him accomplish in you what his heavenly Father accomplished in him?

Much more to come as we dive deeper into the story of Jesus Christ.

How can we understand the call of God in our lives, and what he wants to accomplish in and through us, if we do not know or misunderstand the journey and story of Christ?

Blessings, Drake

(NIV) Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblical, Inc.™