John Belt:
The Elijah List
A Heart of Pursuit
God is wanting to help churches that have a heart to pursue Him in this hour. He is making great efforts, reaching out to help His people. There are adjustments, renovations, and changes He desires to make in congregations, so He is sending help through His prophets that have eyes to see and ears to hear. Sometimes it takes someone from the outside to get a better perspective of what is going on internally in a congregation.
Revelation 2:1-2, 4 To the angel of the Church of Ephesus write, "These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: 'I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil...Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.'"
Looking at the Churches addressed in the Book of Revelation, we see that each Church had issues to be dealt with. I love the way God deals with things because He always begins, not by listing what is wrong,
but encouraging them with things that are right.
It is at the end that He brings the tough stuff that the Churches need to deal with. We can also see this in the letters of Paul. He begins with greetings, salutations, and encourages them in how great they are doing in various areas – then he speaks the hard truth that they need to hear and the adjustments that they need to make to keep them on the narrow path that properly represents the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Embrace The Prophetic Voice
So it is in this hour. Leaders of local congregations must wisely, prayerfully, and discerningly open themselves to legitimate exterior prophetic voices that have eyes to see what is going on in their congregations.
Everything that can be shaken will be shaken. As we move into this new hour of the Church, those that will fully and wisely embrace the five-fold ministry will enjoy the fruit of living by God's scales and balances. All of the offices (apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher, and evangelist) bring the fullness of God's scales and balances to a congregation so that people may grow into the fullness and stature of Christ (see Ephesians 4:11-13).
God loves His Church. Therefore He brings help from the outside to sustain that which remains that it may grow rather than be taken away. There is cutting edge of the prophetic voice that brings a clear challenge to pastors, because so many times it goes against the grain of who they are or how they would typically view things.
Just as Jesus comes in forms that may offend our natural mind, we must be humble enough to recognize the form that He chooses to reveal Himself to us.
What we can know for sure is that it is always for our good, to help us grow, to prune us as needed that we may flourish in the courts of His presence.
As Paul said, pruning is not pleasant at the time, but later bears the fruit of righteousness in our lives. A wise man loves good, helpful correction. We must learn to love His pruning, because we know that it will help us dramatically.
(Photo © Copyright Richard Williams and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons License)
Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
If you are a pastor, I would encourage you to open your heart to pray that God would give you eyes to see and ears to hear what He is wanting to show and say to you. What adjustments need made? Maybe He will reveal these things directly to you, or maybe He will come to you in a form you may not expect that would be contrary to your normal culture.
God knows how to shake us up and shake things up so that we won't find our confidence in anything other than Him.
Prospering Through Prophetic Release
In the Book of Ezra they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah. Here we see the power of the prophetic voice in action. The people heeded the prophets and they prospered in building.
Ezra 6:14 So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo.
And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel...
Local congregations represent people, the living stones, that God is building for a habitation of His presence. God is looking for local congregations that will commit to the prophetic preparations necessary to be sanctuaries of His presence.
(Photo via Wikimedia Commons)
The Holy Spirit cannot be a side item, rather central, as He is God manifested in the earth. He is Christ in us the hope of glory. As we welcome Him into our hearts and congregations, we welcome the nature of God in His holiness in our midst, because He is the "Holy" Spirit.
The litmus test of whether we are welcoming the Holy Spirit is if we are rejecting that which is displeasing to God, profane and unholy. Jesus did. The fear of the Lord is the hatred of evil and sin (see Proverbs 8:13). God wants a pure people that are committed to His heart in purity. Anything less is settling for less than the best God has for us.
Welcome the Holy Spirit, ask the Lord for grace, wisdom, discernment, and His prophetic input into your life and congregation. Be honest, and see what God sees from the outside that you cannot see from the inside. As we yield our hearts to His presence, He is faithful to lead us in His ways, help us on our journey, and build up His Body for His glory.
His Love Never Fails!
John and Brandi Belt
Overflow Global Ministries
Overflow Global Ministries
Overflow Global Ministries is the ministry of John and Brandi Belt. The heart of their message is that God's greatest desire is to indwell His people with His presence. They believe that man was created to be inhabited by God through His Spirit. With a sincere devotion to God through the Holy Spirit, people can live in a place of overflow in His presence.
This overflow translates into touching the lives of others through living encounters with God. When John and Brandi minister, the intimate presence of God is manifest – being accompanied with demonstrations of God's power to heal, revive, and restore.
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Thanks for sharing. Blessings on your head from the Lord Jesus, Yeshua HaMashiach.
Steve Martin
Founder
Love For His People
Charlotte, NC USA