DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE WE ARE AT THE DAWNING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD?


Dawning of the Kingdom of God




We are at the dawning of the Kingdom of God. The knowledge and understanding has come as the word of the Lord is being revealed. Now is the time to rise up and be a part of bringing forth the Kingdom with glory.

Although it now appears that darkness covers the earth and even greater darkness the people. The Lord is now rising to take his position by shining his glory upon the people. This is for the world to see the Glory and love of the Lord shine in and through his people in changing the world.

When they see the light, all people of all faiths and beliefs will come to see the light. To see the light of the Lord and be apart of the brightness and glory of the Lord.

Just open your eyes and look around and watch. You will see all the people gather themselves together in a new awakening to the knowledge of the Lord. Look and you will see the people of every nation and background coming to the light and standard of the Lord.

Watch the different people of different beliefs flow together. Every heart is being turned in reverence and amazement.

The people living in Israel are amazed because of the abundance of all the people of the earth who are changing their hearts to seek the Lord. The people are giving up their idols of wealth they once cherished and worshipped. They are bringing the wealth to be used in building the Kingdom of the Lord.

All roads lead to Jerusalem from all the countries of the world. They bring their wealth of gold and silver and give it as a praise offering to the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. They are coming into the Holy City. The traffic of land sea and air is full of the traffic from all the shipments of wealth.

The wealth will be placed upon the altar to the Lord with joy and gladness of being a part of building the Temple of God.

The Jewish people will be amazed and in wonderment because of not fully understanding Why the people of other nations and nationalities are bringing all their wealth to be a part of building the Temple of God.

All the nations on every continent and island will follow as they see the nations of Europe and the United States bring their wealth.

People not known in Israel or Jerusalem will come to be a part of building and beautifying the city of Jerusalem. Even the rulers and powerful men will come seeking the mercy of the Lord as they work together.

The city of Jerusalem will become a 24 hour a day city as people come together from around the world in celebration of what is happening in Jerusalem.

Any rebellious leaders and nations will soon be eliminated as they will be quickly brought to ruins. Lebanon will again be an important part in building this temple as it was in building Solomon’s temple.

The nations that fought against Israel will bow before the Lord on bended knee and declare, Jerusalem is the city of the Lord, the Christ, the Holy one of Israel. Jerusalem will be everyone’s eternal city of excellency for many generations.

Jerusalem will be where everyone will come and visit and bring gifts to the Lord their savior and redeemer the mighty one of the house of Israel. They will not bring gifts of just iron and brass but will bring gifts of silver and gold knowing that the officers and administrators will give and distribute to those in need with righteous judgment and wisdom.

There will be no fear of violence or destruction in the Holy City and the air will flow with music and praise as people rededicate their lives and find salvation.

The Light of Jerusalem will shine both spiritually and physically as the Glory of the Lord is manifested. To God be the Glory.

The People will declare that their Lord is their righteousness and all will have become the branch of the Lord’s planting. The International Branch of the Lion of Judah, the work of the Lord’s hand that he might be glorified.

Now we will have a better understanding of the significance of what Jesus read in the 61st chapter of Isaiah and why he quit where he did.

Isaiah 61: The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of prison to them that are bound;

2. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

Jesus then quit reading.

Luke 4:20,21

20. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21. And he began to say unto them, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

Jesus fulfilled the scripture that He read. Notice that Jesus quit reading in the middle of a sentence. The reason Jesus stopped where He did was because the rest of Isaiah chapter 61 will be fulfilled by the body of Jesus Christ empowered with the spirit of Jesus Christ. The spirit of Christ and the keys to the kingdom.

Isaiah 61 continues by describing the mission of the Branch in bringing forth the Kingdom of God. This will not be done personally by our efforts. But will be done as we allow Christ to operate through us as empty vessels, fully submitted to the Lord.

Now we will read the rest of the sentence in Isaiah 61:2.

and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
3 . To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
4 . And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.
5 . And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
6. But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.
7 . For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.
8 . For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 . And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed.
10 . I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
11 . For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

Isaiah 62

1. For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.
2. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.

The Lord is our rightiousness and we are the International Branch of the Lion of Judah.

6. I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,

7. And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.


REALMS OF GLORY

"For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the
waters cover the sea." Hab.2:14


Responding to Prophetic Delay
By David Orton

His dreams of fulfilled destiny lay wrecked before him.

From the heights of being anointed for the throne, and of a famous
victory over one of Israel's most forbidding enemies David was now
thrust from Saul's service into a fugitive life. Far from the comforts of
the palace he found himself fighting for his survival alone in the
wilderness.

But this time, instead of a Philistine giant, the threat was posed by the
king of Israel himself, whom I'm sure David had legitimately felt was
designed to be his mentor and patron. The word of the Lord through
Samuel had been so clear, surely Saul would see that he was the
anointed and bow to the Lord's choice!

Sadly this was not to be. The very one he looked to for support and
promotion was now his enemy. Saul overtaken by jealousy made
several attempts on David's life driving him into one of the most
perplexing trials of his oftentimes traumatic life.

A Generation After the Heart of David

A picture, in my view, of a new order - of this generation. There is alive
in the earth now a new breed of Christian, of prophetic intercessors and
seers, men and women of the Spirit, a truly apostolic and prophetic
generation, who like David have been anointed and set apart for the
throne. They have had a glimpse of the kingdom. And as a prophetic
generation they have seen the Lord coming in awesome revivals and
outpourings of his glory filling the earth, overtaking whole cities and
nations.

But Saul, the "head and shoulders" leader (the "head" representing
human thinking and the "shoulders" human government or control; see
1 Sam.9:2), is still on the throne. Saul, signifying the whole spirit and
system of an old order, is uneasy about this new breed of believer. In
fact, he has driven many of them, like David, into hiding. And they are
now waiting in the wings, as an "underground movement", in the
equivalent of what was for David, Adullam's Cave - a place of darkness
and anonymity. A place of delayed dreams and disappointment. A
place where the Lord himself, through "the dark night of the soul", will
become their stronghold and refuge. A place without which they would
not be the people they are destined to be, nor be equipped to carry the
weight of glory that will soon be theirs. A place of prophetic delay.

The Principle of Prophetic Delay

This is a principle of God's operation. Every great move of God has
been born through the gestation of a prophetic delay. Joseph received
his vision as a 17-year-old youth, only to enjoy its fulfilment some 13
years later when finally at the age of 30, after being proven through
many trials and disappointments, he was raised up to the saving of
nations. The psalmist describes this principle: "He sent a man before
them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. They afflicted his feet with
fetters; he himself was laid in irons, until the time that his word came to
pass, the word of the Lord tested him" (Psa 105:17-19 NASB).

Now, here is the rub. During the delay the dream tests and refines us.
So, the question right now is: how do we respond to the dilemma of
delayed fulfilment?

Let's have a look at how David handled it. In the truly candid way that
only Scripture records, we see him responding both negatively and
positively. At first, we see David in a "knee-jerk" survival response but
in time finding God in such a way that he was changed and therefore
readied for prophetic fulfilment.

David was a man engaged in a process with God. Prophetically set
apart and anointed for the throne but now standing in the darkness of
Adullam's Cave. Let us consider the nature of that process and learn
the lesson for our generation - a lesson from the cave.

The Number One Lesson During Prophetic Delays

Despite initially fleeing to Samuel, to whom he unloaded about the
injustice of Saul's treatment (1 Sam. 19:18), he did not wait for the
word of the Lord but fled to Jonathan. His confusion at Saul's
behaviour is evident when David asked him, "What have I done? What
is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to take
my life?" (1 Sam 20:1). Confused and smarting over the injustice he
conspired with Jonathan to mislead Saul (v. 5-8). Having already
engaged in deception and lying to preserve himself he then fled to
Ahimelech the priest where he again lied to cover the fact that he was
fleeing from Saul (1 Sam 21:1-2). Still in survival mode he asked the
priest for bread and a weapon.

The irony of David's circumstances became stark. The only weapon at
hand was the sword of Goliath of Gath. David who had faced-down this
raging and mocking enemy through a mere sling and stone was now in
panic resorting to the same weapon that had already proven impotent
against one with inferior weaponry but whose trust was in a superior
God. From what spiritual heights he had so suddenly fallen!

But he was yet to fall further. From Ahimelech the priest he fled to the
Philistines, to Goliath's chief, the king of Gath himself. Here his former
exploits are remembered. And so, reduced to feigning insanity by
foaming at the mouth and dribbling into his beard he was ejected from
the king's presence escaping finally to his hold at Adullam's Cave.

Wow! What a sorry tale of human survival and cunning. David in
confusion and panic rather than trusting the Lord resorted to human
intrigue, lies, and manipulation to survive. Stripped of all his usual
securities his animal instinct for survival came to the surface. But why
was God allowing this? What was this process all about? And how
could David make some sense out of his sudden misfortune? Despite
appearances the Lord had not lost control of David's life. As the apostle
explains so clearly, "for it is God who is at work in us to will and do
according to his own good pleasure". And this is always to one end: so
that we may "become blameless and pure as a child of God without
fault in a crooked and depraved (twisted) generation" (Phil 2:13-15). To
put it another way, you can get the man out of the system but you can't
always get the system out of the man.

David had been thrust out of the system - out of the old order, but he
was now on a crash course to get the system out of him. Any residue of
the Saul nature in David, was being exposed to set him free to be truly
a man after the heart of God. Every twist of his inner-life was being
straightened so that he could touch God's heart and destiny for his
generation. How can we be used of God except we be inwardly clean?
As the prophet declared - "Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the
Lord!" So, God was overseeing the circumstances of David's life to
work something within him.

The one thing that robbed Saul of the kingdom was his inner-life. When
confronted with a prophetic delay he grew impatient rashly offering
sacrifice to secure his own leadership even though he had been clearly
told to wait (1 Sam 15). His refusal to deal with uncrucified self,
manifested in self-will, self-preservation, and self-promotion ultimately
lost him the throne and it passed to a better man (1 Sam 15:28). But
how could David be the "better man"? Surely he committed murder
and adultery! Now, Saul never stooped to that but still lost the
kingdom! Why? Without excusing David's behaviour obviously God's
hierarchy of sin is vastly different to ours. In our view adultery and
murder pretty well top the list while self-will or self-preservation would
be close to the bottom. Even so, God's ways are not ours. Saul's sin of
self-will was exposed, from God's perspective, as in fact being
witchcraft (1 Sam 15:23).

Paul elsewhere describes this problem as the flesh, explaining that it is
antagonistic to the Spirit. This was the fundamental difference between
Saul and David. While admittedly, David had significant lapses in
character, when his self-life was confronted he broke in repentance
coming through the other side having processed deep inner-change
(Psa 51). This, Saul refused to do. Consequently the atmosphere of
David's life was characterised by worship and the presence of God - he
was therefore, before all else, a man of the Spirit. God could not help
but place his endorsement on this man possessed of a broken and
contrite spirit.

So, caught in the processes of God, once in the cave, David turned to
the Lord. Psalm 142 is the cry of his heart from inside Adullam's Cave -
from experiencing the "dark night of the soul". In it he pours out his
complaint and his troubles before the Lord (v. 1,2), and then
completely overwhelmed he cries, "When my spirit grows faint within
me, it is you who know my way" (v. 3). While men may look at his
circumstances, pass judgement, and withdraw the Lord knows and
understands his way. His situation has been divinely orchestrated. God
has allowed it to bring his servant to a place of complete weakness and
inability. At last, this is it! This is where God wanted him! It is the
number one lesson of the cave, of prophetic delay - the lesson of
brokenness.

This one lesson deals a deathblow to the two greatest temptations
during a prophetic delay: survival and self-fulfilment. We either resort
to natural strength - our ability to organise, control, and manipulate or
to the Lord for survival and dream fulfilment. He cries out, ".I am in
desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too
strong for me" (v.6). He is over his head. The enemy is too powerful.
He is completely surrounded. So, unless the Lord shows up to deliver
him and bring to pass the prophetic word he is dead - a victim of Saul,
of the old order.

The Mark of the New Order

Therefore, the mark of the new order is not membership of a particular
group or movement. It is whether we have yielded to the processes of
God in the perplexity of prophetic delay and learned the lessons of the
cave.

We stand at a transitional point in history - the overlap between an old
order and the new. There is right now a new move of God being
prepared in the wings. But before it breaks forth, we are being faced
with a time of prophetic delay, and therefore with decisions - will we
find refuge and dream fulfilment through human ability, "head and
shoulders" government, or in the Lord? Will we cast ourselves in
brokenness on him or merely resolve to overcome in our own strength
depending on our skill, training, and programs - on human strategy and
planning? The purpose of prophetic delay, of transitional times is
probationary - we are being weighed in the balance - but will it fall to
the old order of human control or to the new order of humility and
brokenness.

We are talking here about an inner quality of the spirit that is
supernatural. It cannot be faked - it is more than cultural graciousness
and good manners. It is something deep in the human spirit that only
God himself can create. It comes in the extremity of our circumstances
- when we are either crushed by the weight of God's awesome
presence or overwhelmed without emotional, physical, or financial
strength - when in utter weakness we call on the Lord.

Therefore, let us cry with David, "Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me"; for "the sacrifices of God are a
broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart." (Psa 51:10, 17).

And in this moment of prophetic delay let us also be confident that the
One who lives in a high and holy place lives also with "he who is
contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive
the heart of the contrite" (Isa 57:15).

www.lifemessenger.org


REALMS OF GLORY

"For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Hab.2:14

THE SPIRIT OF GLORY: by David Orton

"…for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you".
1 Pet 4:14


In unprecedented measures and in unusual ways God is about to pour out his glory on the earth. But before he does, let us consider what the ‘glory’ is.


The Hebrew word for ‘glory’, kabod, carries the meaning of ‘heaviness’ or ‘weight’. And throughout Scripture it usually signifies the revelation of God’s nature, being,
and presence, often with physical phenomena.


In response to Moses’ cry to know the Lord and his ways (Ex 33:13) the Lord promised, ‘‘My Presence will go with you…" (v 14), triggering an even deeper cry, ‘‘Now show me your glory." (v 18). Moses had already been immersed in the physical manifestation of the cloud, but now received in response to this the deeper revelation of his nature as "… the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth…" (Ex 34:6-7).


And so, we see the ‘glory’ as the manifest presence, revealed not only in physical phenomena, but also in the divine attributes.


Neither of these are optional extras. They are joined at the hip and are integral to an intimate walk with God. The more we hunger for his presence the more we will be
immersed not only in the tangible sense of the anointing, but also in the reality of who he is, of his nature and attributes. We will come to know him and his ways.


Right now God is increasing again the sense of his presence. He wants to bring into our gatherings and celebrations the ‘weight’ of his glory. This is a palpable sense of the awe and presence of God as he comes to his temple. It is the ‘seven-fold’ Spirit of God – "the Spirit of the LORD … the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD" (Isa 11:2). These are the seven spirits that appear before the throne and are the
seven eyes of the Lamb (Rev 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6). It is the fullness of God filling
the church.


And as the intensity of his ‘felt presence’ increases several things will occur:


First, as already mentioned the ‘awe’ of God will invade our gatherings. The weight of this will reduce us and we will be on our faces before him. As God ‘leans upon
us’ our services and meetings will be disrupted and our hearts broken.


Secondly, the "spirit of power" will begin to perform unusual miracles, signs, and wonders in our gatherings and in the marketplace. The most unlikely people will be used in great power; and,


Thirdly, a "spirit of revelation" – of "wisdom
understanding, and counsel" will lead us into heights and depths of his nature, of his heart and being, hitherto unknown. This is not to say we have not possessed the theological content of these things, we have, but we have not possessed the spirit reality (see Jn 5:39; 6:63).


This will impart to the church a new spirit and a new heart. The heart of stone will be extracted through deep operations of the Spirit. There will be much weeping and
travail of soul. The deep subterranean cry of the generations, their wounds, hopes and dreams, will surface in this generation. Through deep identificational repentance the sins of the fathers will be extirpated and the guilt of many generations wiped away.


The "restoration of all things" is imminent. All the devotions, fastings, and prayers of the ages are filling up in this generation. Added to this generation’s, they are about to be poured out in the most holy, powerful, and passionate move of the Spirit history will record. The golden censer of the prayers of the saints is almost
full. And having been filled it will cast fire on the earth (see Rev 8:3-5). Eternal judgement and resurrection life will be restored to the church (see Heb 6:1-3). Some will lose their lives under the discipline of God and many will be raised from the dead.


The false apostolic and prophetic will be removed. The chief-cornerstone of Christ himself and the foundation of true apostles and prophets will be re-laid and the glory will return to the temple (see Eph 2:19-22). Everything the Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots and eradicated from the kingdom. Ministries, churches, and movements not born of the Spirit in the perfect will of the Father shall receive their reward. Pride and arrogance will be brought low – every mountain of idolatry and human presumption will be demolished and every valley of humility and brokenness exalted in this terrible day of the Lord. Only those who have fallen on their faces, humbling themselves under the mighty hand of God, will survive this fearful day of visitation.

The Lord would say in this hour, ‘‘For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.

I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the pools. I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,

along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.

But those who trust in idols, who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned back in utter shame."

Isa 42:14-17


God is about to break out upon us. But it will not be like the previous move. It is time to get our house in order. Wrong motives, relationships, and values will attract his attention. And so, the weight of glory that is about to rest on the church will come in blessing to those who have willingly suffered for the sake of Christ, bearing the reproach outside the camp (see 1 Pet 4:14; Heb 13:11-14). It will come in great favour, bringing prosperity to those who have prepared a place of habitation in their hearts by pursuing the praise of God rather than the praise of men – who through the fellowship of his sufferings and brokenness of heart have made him welcome, and who through the devotion of their heart restored the Father’s house as a house of prayer.


But to those who have pursued their own success, ministry or vocational goals outside the express will of the Father, the coming glory will only bring judgement. No motive or attitude of the heart is hidden – "all things are naked and opened to the eyes of him with whom we have to do" (Heb 4:13). They will be leant on heavily by the ‘weight’ of the presence. And only as they "fall on the rock" will they be saved. Otherwise, the rock – the awesome weight of the glory of God, will fall on them and they will be destroyed (see Mtt 21:43-44).


Now is the time to bow our hearts to the "Spirit of Glory" – there is fire coming on the earth (see Lk 12:49).

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