Dear Believer.

We are in a classic petri-dish situation with this covid-19 “crisis”.
Heaven is keenly observing you & the church……
The Anti-Christ and Satan’s host are also keenly watching the world, and the church and the believers. noting. adjusting. preparing.
Secret men are carefully watching the world in order to update plans to effect the next phase of things to come.

As a believer there should be no cause for alarm because Jesus has already told you everything that will unfold in Mathew 24:3-30. But there should also be cause for expectation. šŸ™‚ (not the rapture..that’s just selfish escapism at play, many want to quickly run away to heaven but empty handed for God)

Covid19 should also give CAUSE FOR CONCERN for you individually, and the church as an institution.

A major part of GOD’s end time plan calls for the conscription and the assembly of an end-time army (described in Joel 2:1-11). This army has one singular purpose: To bring in the end-time harvest through a glorious demonstration of God’s power and character.

The conscription for this end-time army is ongoing as we speak, and the COVID 19 crisis conveniently serves as a useful tool in testing for ‘eligibility’ to this end-time army to be given this end time assignment.

What if i told you dear believer that Just as Gideon’s assembled host was taken through a 2-stage filtering process in Judges 7, you dear believer are also being taken through a 2-stage eligibility test during this covid 19 crisis.

The preliminary results of this Covid 19 crisis is already showing our levels of end-time preparedness individually as believers, and corporately as the Church.

Test Phase 1: FEAR

in Judges 7: 3 God sent back >70% of Gideon’s army for reasons of fear.
They still belong to Israel, but for what was coming, they would be unfit for use.

It seems like 90% of shepherd’s have spent the past 2 months reassuring their congregations that “no harm will come near your dwellings” “you are safe” “God is mindful of you” etc… All very rue and very good.

But examined another way, our overt focus and emphasis on these assurances actually reads as a bad sign from heaven’s standpoint.
It exposes our poor state of readiness as individuals and as a congregation. We have become a people so familiar with comfort that we are mortally afraid of coming into harm? Christ certainly didn’t die for a weakling of a church that needs so much pampering at the 1st sign of dark foreboding clouds….

If you have been a christian for 10+ years, if you still need words of comfort & reassurance because of covid 19 then you might be in more trouble than you think.

If you’ve pastored a congregation for a decade and you find that the bulk of your covid 19 dialogue what your doing today is ‘easing the fears of your congregation’, then you all might be in more trouble than you know.

GOD cares about his flock, no doubt..BUT understand this very clearly dear believer. Your comfort and safety are not top of God’s priority list in this end-time agenda. In fact GOD may put you in harm’s way (though you will not be harmed) IF it serves to promote:
#1 – The showing Forth of His Glory.
#2 – The Advancement of His Kingdom on the earth.
(this might be news to you but your life is already forfeit?)

If 1 Peter 2:9 is anything to go by, then one core reason for why God has brought you into the church of His Son and been building you up is for such a time and season of darkness. He now has a chance to use you to show forth His saving power and glory.

We all quote Isaiah 60:1 very easily…”Arise, Shine, for thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee“. What we fail to understand is that, the rising of the glory of the Lord which we all hope and pray for is in fact predicated upon vs 2 “for darkness shall cover the earth and deep darkness the people“.

2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. 3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Are we scurrying into hiding because of the darkness? Yet the darkness should not have us scurrying for our bibles, our churches and the comforts of our pastors bosoms. The coming darkness should see us ‘gird up thy loins” as we position ourselves for divine action.

The point dear believer is that it is not time for you to look to your own affairs and your safety….But to the larger matters of the Kingdom for which very reason you are being prepared as 1 Peter 2:9 calls it.

Test 2: Mind Alignment?

Neither say they in their heart,
Let us now fear the Lord our God,
that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season:
he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.

Jeremiah 5:24

The second stage of eligibility testing for Gideon’s army was the water test. The essence of that test was to see whose mind would be entirely consumed and given to ministering to themselves and assuaging their thirsts.
There was Kingdom business afoot, and yes there was pressure.
At first sign of water many abandoned the consciousness of their primary purpose and began to lap like dogs. They were much more concerned about “Their Welfare” “Their Safety” “Their Thirsts“. God deemed them unfit!
Doesn’t that sound like where most of us are?

Perhaps you might want to debate: Have you personally waited on God since this COVID 19 crisis started to know how you can be of service to Him in this hour? or has your prayers been just focused on keeping you and yours safe?

In Jeremiah 5, God rebukes his people’s selfish attitudes. Their refusal to sober up to their divine purpose and callings. Clearly stating He had preserved them for the season of harvest. Jesus’s rebuke in John 4:35 “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest” still rings true to us this moment.

So many church advisory guides this season has been targeted at “take care of your matter” , “look after yourselves” , some might mention “be mindful of others and opportunity to show God’s love” but for the majority its a token mention. Only few are showing understanding and using it as a rallying cry to prepare the troops for the next move.

Dear believer Covid 19 has come, and will soon pass away into memory, the world will be talking about its consequences for a while. But you and i ought to be getting ourselves sharpened and pressing into the opportunity to commence the harvest and advance God’s agenda.

Bear in mind, that were your heart (mind) is there your treasure (of time, money, body) will be (committed) to also.

Summary

One thing Covid 19 may be proving is Luke 16:8c “for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light“.
With covid 19, even manufacturers of vodka switched equipment to begin manufacturing hand sanitizers. Not from the goodness of their hearts i can assure you but to key into the opportunity presented them.

How are we as a church keying into the opportunity to bring in lost souls into the kingdom? or we just doing all nights to pray away the darkness?

You cannot pray away the darkness…it comes before the Glory! so lets stop wasting time on frivolous issues.

Doomsday Preppers in the world have spent decades getting ready for the end time catastrophes that they believe are coming. They have built bunkers, stocked up on food and ammunition to last for 3 years underground.

We are not meant to follow them into hiding – we are meant to ARISE. For that to happen without disappointment, we really ought to have been preparing our spirit man, exercising our gifts, using our spare time to cast out demons, heal the sick, heighten our discernment and abilities in God.
So that when the call for the harvest comes we would be battle ready.

When Covid 19 runs its course, and heaven gives your scorecard? How well will heaven say you have used it to prepare yourself for the next coming cloud of gross darkness? What hill will

God is filling up positions in His platoon, with men and women He is training in hiding and the closets. Yet He extends this privilege to all His children……will you accept His offer? or will you be more concerned with the ‘Hustle’ which Covid19 has clearly proved in just a matter of days that anything not truly built on the eternal things is truly flimsy and can be lost in a millisecond of life?

If your just waiting out your time to go to Heaven and that’s it, may you not be a disappointment to Christ.

Think on these things dear believer.

Heaven is watching.

Selah.