“It’s a New Day – It’s a New Hour!”

by Jim and Marcella Wies

Many of us have been hearing this declared, or have sensed it in the Spirit. But one of the things we need to understand is the nature of prophetic terminology. While this is not an exact science, I have discovered that a new hour, prophetically speaking, is usually from three to five years in length. And a new day seems to be from 10 to 20 years long.

Another interesting fact about prophetic terminology is that the Scriptures tell us that God’s version of a new day begins in the dark. When God created the heavens and the earth, He declared that “the evening and the morning were the first day.” So His day starts with an evening, or a period of darkness.

With that in mind, I believe we HAVE stepped into a new day. I believe it began about a year ago, but most people still feel like they are pretty much in the dark. A Scriptural example of that was when the baby Jesus was born in Bethlehem. That was not only the beginning of a new day but a whole new dispensation; yet only a handful of people knew it for at least 12 years, and it took 33 years for the reality of it to be fully known.

The year 2008 was a time of darkness and confusion for much of the Body of Christ. The winds of change have been blowing, but it is yet to be seen what the full implications will be . You might even say it this way: The landscape around us has changed, but during the dark part of the day, it is hard to make out what is in our surroundings. Fortunately though, as the dawn comes, there comes a progressive clarity.

“But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” Proverbs 4:18

So, we HAVE stepped into a new day. This IS a new day, and our need is to persevere to see the dawn and the full light of day. While 2008 was a time of darkness and confusion for many, I believe there is coming fresh clarity in 2009.

Seeing Jesus as a Refiner’s Fire

The first time Jesus appeared, most religious people of the day missed Him because they were looking for a conquering king (based on their selective reading of prophetic Scriptures). But instead, He came as a suffering servant (also found in the prophetic Scriptures). Next time, He will appear as the Conquering King, while most are still expecting Him to be the suffering servant. The first time He came, He was the Lamb of God. But now He is about to be revealed as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

We have a Savior who loves us with an everlasting love but who is, at the same time, a refining fire. It was said of Him in Malachi:

“‘And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness.’” Malachi 3:1-3

An honest and full examination of Jesus will have to show Him to be both grand and dreadful. He is grand to those who love and put their trust in Him but, at the same time, dreadful to His adversaries. He is a loving God and a gracious Savior, but He is also a consuming fire, as is plainly spoken in Hebrews 12:28-29: “Therefore, since we are receiving a Kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.”

The fact that our Lord is a dreaded warrior is great when we consider His vengeance against our adversaries. But one of the Scriptures that should strike fear into our hearts is the section of Hebrews, Chapter Ten, where we see a warning for those who despise the Lord’s gift of grace.

“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

“Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the Blood of the covenant by which He was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:19-31

The Lord is About to Show Himself
as a Man of War

“Now I saw Heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.” Revelation 19:11

“The LORD will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry (King James Version says “roar”). He will prevail against His enemies.” Isaiah 42:13

The prophet Joel, whose prophetic words apply directly to the end times, shows a “last days” Jesus roaring as a Lion who calls His saints to war as well.

“The LORD also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake; but the LORD will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So you shall know that I am the LORD your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain.” Joel 3:16-17

Joel 2:28-29 describes the days we are currently in: “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”

It is in this context that we begin Joel, Chapter Three, so we need to see Joel 3 as a very significant Scripture for us as we come to the end of the age. It describes the happenings that will be going on “in those days and at that time” (Joel 3:1). We see that this will be a significant time of battle as the Lord comes forth as our Lion, our mighty Warrior. And here we see Him calling us to the battle as well.

“Proclaim this among the nations: ‘Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ Assemble and come, all you nations, and gather together all around. Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O LORD. Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.” Joel 3:9-13

The Lord and His Kingdom

“He (Lord Jesus Christ) who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords; who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen” 1 Timothy 6:14-16

“Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” Matthew 9:35

“Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Luke 9:1-2

The message that Jesus preached was the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. A simple definition of a kingdom is a domain where a king rules. The Kingdom of God implies a King, and Jesus is that King. Simply put, wherever Jesus has rule, there the Kingdom has come. Not only did Jesus preach the Kingdom of God, but His disciples were instructed to preach the Kingdom. In fact, Jesus connected the accomplishment of the Church’s mission to the full declaration of the Gospel of the Kingdom to all the nations as a witness before the end will come (see Matthew 24:14).

David caught a glimpse of this King and wrote of Him in Psalm 2:

“Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us’…

“…’Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.’ I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession…’

“…Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.” Psalm 2:1-3, 6-8, 10-12

Daniel saw Him in a night vision:

“I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of Heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a Kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His Kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.” Daniel 7:13-14

At His ascension, Jesus said, “All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to Me” (Matthew 28:18). The implications of that are staggering. His supreme rule extends over all. He rules over space. He rules over time and eternity. He rules over nature. And, although there are pockets of rebellion currently remaining in the hearts of men, His rule shall eventually and inevitably extend to every individual, for Scripture states in Philippians 2:10-11, “…that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow…and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Lord of All

Scripture points to the fact that a belief about Jesus as Savior is not the same as a surrender to Jesus as Lord. In fact, one very grave problem within much of western Christianity has become an “easy believism” that is void of repentance and Lordship. That is, faith without repentance; salvation without sanctification; mental assent without life-changing surrender. He is not a Savior whom we have the option of establishing as Lord of our lives; rather, He must be acknowledged as Lord, then He will save us.

In our zeal to be theologically proper regarding the grand theme of grace, modern Christianity has often been guilty of presenting a “Gospel” of faith without Lordship, a cheap grace that’s not really grace but licentiousness (which means absence of restraint, indecency, wantonness) – note Jude 1:4: “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Costly grace recognizes the call to discipleship that Jesus expects in light of our redemption. Christ gave all for us and expects nothing less in return. Our relationship with Him is the “treasure in a field” for which a man sells all he has to purchase; or the costly pearl a man gives all to acquire. It is the call of Jesus for which a disciple leaves his nets, forsakes all, and follows. Such Gospel demands total surrender. It says, “If you receive Me as Lord, I will save you.” It is costly because it costs us our life, but is redemptive because in exchange we gain that which is true life eternal.

We find Jesus introduced as Lord and referred to as Lord close to 3,000 times in the New Testament. Jesus demonstrated His Lordship – His rulership over creation – by turning water to wine, through bread and fish multiplied, and even through His authority over the elements. He commanded the wind and waves, He exerted authority over demons and the domain of darkness, sickness, and disease, etc.

He was the Lord God who now had interposed His presence into the human condition in the form of Jesus, the Son of God. The Scripture indicates that Jesus came to intervene, and through His coming, bought back that one last, lost domain, the wayward heart of man, thus being established as Lord of all, once and for all.

This final dimension of His Lordship is clearly stated in Acts 2:36: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” and… Philippians 2:5-11: “Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name” – THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, THE LORD!

This final establishment of Jesus as Lord by the Father – even over the hearts of every man – gives the conclusion of the matter. He is Lord of all. We are all destined to acknowledge it by the confession of our tongue and the bending of our knee. Acknowledging Him as Lord implies putting faith in His saving power while giving Him right to rule over our lives. It is a Gospel that includes both repentance and faith. The fact is that everyone will acknowledge Him as Lord. He is Lord!

(Scriptures to meditate on: week one: Malachi 3; week two: Psalm 2;
week three: 1 Corinthians 10:1-15; week four: Hebrews 10:19-39.)

Jim and Marcella Wies
Extreme Prophetic Ministries
Email: jwies@xpwebchurch.com

Under Your Feet

by Kenneth Copeland

“The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool.”
(Acts 2:34-35)

Even though Satan lost all his authority on this earth the day Jesus rose from the dead, for the past 2,000 years he’s been running around as a spiritual outlaw–continuing to kill, steal from, and destroy all who will let him. But, he’s not going to be able to do that much longer. There’s coming a day when he’s going to be put out of business completely. There’s coming a day when the evil he’s done here on earth will be put totally underfoot by the power of God.

Most believers know that’s true. They’ve shouted and rejoiced over it–but they haven’t really understood how it’s going to happen. They haven’t realized that they are the foot that’s going to trample down the works of the devil!

Jesus is the Head of the Church. You and I are the feet. We are the ones who are going to take His authority and power and stomp on sin and sickness and every other demonic thing in this earth. We are the ones God is going to use, as Acts 2:35 says, to make Jesus’ enemies His footstool.

That’s what Jesus was telling us when He said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature…lay hands on the sick and…cast out devils” (Mark 16:15-18).  He was saying, “Go ye and be My foot.”  He was saying, ‘All power and authority has been given unto Me, both in heaven and in earth. Therefore, you take it and use it to put the devil under.”

But instead of obeying Him, we’ve waited around wondering when God was going to do something about this mess here on earth. We’ve sat around wondering why it’s taking so long for Jesus to come back.

We’re the reason it’s taking so long! Jesus is waiting on you and me. He’s waiting on us to step out in His power, put the devil in his place, and win the world. He’s waiting on us to drop our silly doctrinal differences and get busy doing what God said we would do.

The Bible says that one can put a thousand to flight and two can put ten thousand to flight. Every time we get together, we increase our strength astronomically. If we’d just get together and figure out who we are, if we’d realize that we’re the feet of Jesus, we could kick Satan out of earth’s affairs with ease.

Do you want to hasten Jesus’ return? Then quit sitting around staring at the clouds! Start stomping around in the Spirit. Start putting the works of the serpent under your feet and we can wrap this thing up and go home to glory real soon!

Scripture Study:  Genesis 3:1-14

Awake and Asleep

by Jon Acuff

I read an article in last month’s Men’s Journal about some coal miners that died in a tragic accident. While trapped miles under the earth, with their oxygen running out and death coming quickly, the men decided to write some notes to the people they loved.

One note said:

“It wasn’t bad. I just went to sleep.”

That is a gift…if you are dying.

That was a kindness, a man letting his family know that he did not suffer. I was overwhelmed by the selflessness of that action. With only a few short breaths left, that man did not focus on the pain he was in, but instead used his last energy to do everything he could to ease the pain of the people he loved.

But if you are alive…if you still have years ahead of you, if you are still above ground, breathing and living, that note is not a gift.

It is a curse.
It is a note that I wrote to describe my own life for many, many years.

“It wasn’t bad. I just went to sleep.”

Things weren’t horrible, I just went to sleep. I stopped caring about anyone but me. I stopped giving and focused on taking. I let go of risk and settled into a nice, safe, comfortable life.

“It wasn’t bad. I just went to sleep.”

I am tired of living that way.
Tired of writing that note.
Tired of being those words.

I don’t know if you’re like me and it’s easy for you to fall asleep. Easy to focus on the wrong things. Easy to miss the love and the life and the joy God keeps whispering in the corners of your day.

Well, this year, I’ve got two words for you: Wake up.

Wake up.
Wake up.
Wake up.

That is my prayer for 2009. That I would not sleep. That I would not live a life that is really not all that alive. That I would remember Revelation 16:15, “blessed is he who stays awake.”

What kind of note will you write this year?

Jon Acuff writes the site www.stuffchristianslike.netHe  has a book coming out with Zondervan in 2010, lives in Atlanta and thinks it’s weird to write his own bios.

Trust in The Lord

Trust in The Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.     Proverbs 3:5,6

High Hopes

by Dr. Frederick K.C. Price

Hebrews 10:23 says:  “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

There are two words in that verse which I want to examine-confession and hope.  Before I learned how to walk by faith, all my wife and I lived on was hope.  But hope will not change your circumstances.  It takes faith to release the power of God to change your circumstances.  Hope will only keep you alive until things change.  If you never bring faith to bear upon your circumstances, all you will do is live in hope.  Your circumstances will never change.

However, in order to really walk by faith, you have to have hope.  Hope is a goal setter.  What’s your goal?  My goal or objective is to reach the top of the mountain in all areas of life.  Everybody should have a goal.  If you do not set a goal you will never reach one.  This is one reason why many people, and even many Christians, never achieve anything.  They never set goals.  They have nothing for their faith to obtain.  Hope sets the goal and faith achieves it.

Hebrews 11:1 says: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Hope by itself has no substance.  Faith adds substance to your hope.  If you do not have hope then you have nothing for your faith to obtain.  On the other hand, if you have hope and do not have faith then you have nothing by which to obtain that which you hope for.

I want to challenge each of you to high hopes this New Year.  I have high hopes and I obtain the goals I set.  Though there still are some that have yet to manifest.  I know that some things take more time than others.

I want to challenge you to have high hopes, to set some goals for 2009.  If you do not set any goals you will never reach any.  Now be careful and use wisdom when you set your goals.  Do not set them so high that you become frustrated and lose hope.  If you do, it will cause you to give up and do nothing.

Have you set goals concerning your financial and spiritual needs?  Do you have any goals with regard to your desires, your family, your husband, your wife, your children, your job, your career, your education, your ministry or your physical health?

You need to have high hopes and there are steps you can take to obtain any goal.  The first one is to remain steadfast, as it says in Hebrews 10:23.  You have to be tenacious and hold on to your goals.  Do not let go until your goal manifests.  It takes that kind of attitude.  Stay with it even if it takes forever.  It may take a while for your goal to come to pass, but if you remain steadfast sooner or later it will manifest.

First Corinthians 15:58 says: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

If you want to reach your high hopes you have to be steadfast.  Even if hell rises up against you, if the water rises, you stick with the goal.  This is what steadfast means.  It takes discipline and commitment to be constant.

Jesus said in John 15:18-19: “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

The enemy will put pressure on you when you attempt to reach your goal.  But you can handle it.  Jesus did.  You are in good company.  In fact, you are running with the best.  He has already warned you.  If they persecuted Him they will persecute you.

Situations may arise in which you are unable to figure out what to do.  We all have encountered this at one time or another in our lives.  When you are walking in the Word and by the Holy Spirit you have divine, inside information to meet your goal.

Second Corinthians 4:8-9 says: “We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;”

If you are steadfast, standing through the persecution, deliverance is at hand.  You can obtain your High Hopes.