“Three Reasons Why Persecution is A Blessing”
Thank you Lord,
For persecution comes because of your mercy!
4-19-2009

This morning as I lay in bed, the Lord began to speak to me saying,
"Persecution is a Blessing", He then began to give me three reasons why it was a blessing.
 

No, I have lost my mind but in the spiritual sense, we all have!
I do not suffer well. I do not want my children, grandchildren, loved ones, friends or total strangers for that matter to endure the incredibly difficult times that are coming upon America and the rest of the world.
 

With regard to the Church,
We have not just fallen asleep; we have not just lost our “First Love”, It is much worse, it is because of
“Four Sins.” The number “four” represents, Trial, Inspection and examination.

S-L-I-D  

1.  Slumber
2.  Laziness
3.  Ignorance
4.  Disobedience

When I read about the Seven Churches in Revelation, what I also see is an example of physics. When matter has been placed in to motion, if it abandons it’s energy source, it will come to nothing and would at some point be vulnerable to utter destruction.


That is where we are, if not for the Great Mercy of God!
”When the Spirit comes, He brings “three messages” to us!
Praise for our victories, correction for our sin and encouragement for our hope and a future.

 

To the First Four Churches, the Lord spoke kindly as a Father who gently corrects His son saying,

You are suffering for my sake, how hard you have worked, your are keeping the faith without growing weary, I know that you are poor in wealth yet rich in the Spirit, I know you are enduring insults that you are tormented by those around you, you are holding on to my name, you did not deny me and you are trusting in me, I know your love, trust and perseverance, I know that you are doing more now than before.

The Lord was saying, “Hold on, endure a little longer, be an overcomer, be as “One who wins the Victory”.
To him who endures to the end will I give Authority over the Nations.

To the Fifth Church, The message was more stern, contained less praise and more correction. “You have a reputation for being alive, but in fact, you are dead!”  “Wake up and strengthen what remains before it dies too!” Nevertheless, there are a few of you who have not forsaken me.

To the Sixth Church, “I know that you have but a little power yet you have obeyed my message and have not disowned me. Because you did obey my message about preserving, I will keep you in the time of trial coming upon the whole world to put the people living on the earth to the test. I am coming soon, hold on to what you have so that no one will take away your crown. I will make him who “wins the victory” a pillar in the Temple of my God and he will never leave it.”

 
To the Seventh Church, Laodicea, the scene changes!
Of all the Seven Churches, her state is in the greatest peril. She, (we) have stepped beyond that place of simple correction in to a place called apathy.

Apathy defined by Webster’s,
lack of feeling or emotion :  impassiveness  
lack of interest or concern : indifference

We have become passé, unfeeling, without emotion and full of indifference.
It is a true statement,
“familiarity breeds contempt!”
Because we have become so familiar with the blessings of God,
we now have become contemptuous in our ignorance.

Remembering that to those where much is given, much is required!
America and the Church within America have been blessed beyond all others throughout all of history. The Holy Spirit has fallen on the Church in an awesome manner in recent years, yet the Church as a single entity has not yielded to Him, most of the Church has forsaken Him.
 

The Church has every version of the Bible available, every study guide, books, CDs, freedom to attend any church we wish and we can visit any God centered event and openly speak about the things of God without fear of reprisal.

That is about to change, this age, is quickly coming to an end and very soon, there is coming a time of great persecution!

The Lord says of us, that we have an “attitude of ingratitude”, saying we are rich and we do not need anything, when we are really wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked! So exert yourselves and turn from your sin!

The Lord was saying, it is not just your slumber issue, it is not just your laziness, or even your ignorance and disobedience but they have culminated into Apathy!

I heard the Lord saying,
"Persecution is a Blessing!"
 He then began to give me three reasons.

“Three Reasons Why Persecution is A Blessing”

1.  Desperation,
     And the Holy Spirit said, “Desperation is the Price of Admission”
     When prosperity abounds, people in general and especially God’s people will look for
     and find reasons to disagree. Everyone has his or her theology in our feeble attempt try
     rationalize our beliefs and words and actions.        

But this selfishness falls away quickly when persecution comes. All the facades will come tumbling down, our arrogance will finally become clear and we will finally see ourselves as we truly are, wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked! Just as Isaiah spoke the
words, “Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips.”
      

  Some time ago, I had a dream about a large warehouse which is called,
“Desperation is the Price of Admission”
This is a place that everyone has access, the only requirement would be that
a person be so desperate with a need, this and this alone would allow him entry. 

   
    This “Desperation” will drive us in to.....

2.  Repentance,
     “Repentance brings Times of Refreshing” found in Acts 3:19-20
     Therefore, repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be erased;
     so that times of refreshing may come from the Lord’s presence.   

There are so many of what we call “Our idiosyncrasies” but really they are much more akin to sin than quirks. By nature we are selfish! When we hear the word repentance, a shiver might run over us. We suddenly feel that we are under surveillance of the Holy Spirit and our first impression is to run. No one wants to think that they are living in sin, yet, it is a gift when we are able to receive correction. 

David in Psalms 19, asked the Lord to forgive him for the hidden faults. It is my belief that David understood the concept of how repentance brings the times of refreshing. That as a result of repentance comes a Refreshing of our spirit man and in turn this brings Joy and
that Joy would be complete in the Lord and would become our strength! 

I am chief among you, my sin is ever before me, whenever I feel that I am making strides in the faith, I seem to fall
in to some old sin. Although I can read my bible and gain great understanding, even then the enemy is constantly 
probing my spirit.  

This past year, I have been blessed to have time to read His word, to really search the Scriptures for the “hidden things” to worship Him, to seek the necessary change in my life that will facilitate those things He has called me. The revelation I have been entrusted with, has given me an enthusiasm however at times it could easily border on pride.

The scripture regarding knowledge that puffs up a man were in play, bless the Lord, that through His Spirit I began to see, through my loss of Joy that I was in violation, I was in sin.

How will we contend with the horses that are coming, if we are struggling to keep up with the walkman? How will we deal with things that are coming upon us, the truly harsh times if we are currently finding difficulty in staying close to Him and keeping the faith? 

The “Desperation and Repentance that will bring,
 “The times of refreshing” will usher us into…..

3.  Unity,
     Eph 4: Verses 11, 12 and 13

     Furthermore, He gave some people as emissaries, some as prophets, some as proclaimers of the Good News,
      and some as shepherds and teachers.

     Their task is to equip God’s people for the work of service that builds the body of the Messiah,
     Until we all arrive at the UNITY
     implied by trusting and knowing the Son of God, at full manhood,   
     at the standard of maturity set by the Messiah’s perfection.   

 The Lord's desire is for us to be one with Him just as He and the Father are one, for us all to be in Unity.
 In this way, we can pray effectively and be joined to His purposes.  

 

Walking in Unity

 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism;  Ephesians 4:1-5 (NKJV)

 
     Until we all come in to Unity!
That is the intended end, that is the goal, that the    
     Bride of Messiah, put on her purity,
the character and the
     Beauty of the Lord.  

 

 A New Normal is Coming!
The Church is about to become “like Job”,
placed on display like trophies on God’s mantle.
We will be those “Trophies of light” that will be used to draw men
out of their darkness into the Kingdom of God.

We will be magnets of attention both for good and evil,
for time “is of the essence”
for the fields are ripe unto Harvest!

Steve Grable
www.jeremiah111.org