THE PEOPLE OF GOD:
As the people of God we've been called out of kingdom of darkness and placed into the Kingdom of Christ, (Col. 1:13). It's interesting to notice the contrast: from DARKNESS to LIGHT. The significance of this contrast is first noticed in Gen. 1:3- And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, AND HE SEPARATED THE LIGHT from the darkness".
God has always purposed there to be a distinction between His people of light and the world of darkness. We're called children of light and children of the day. That's what we are! God is Light and we're His children of Light.
The Holy Spirit speaking through he apostle Paul says to us today, "For you wre once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light". (Eph. 5:8) The darkness in this world always tries to put out the light. Mix black with the white and get grey. Mix black with grey and you darker grey. This is why God separated the light from the darkness, so that white remains white and black remains black. That makes for a nice clear picture of things.
Once you start mixing, things start becoming unclear and confusion sets in.
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THE SPIRIT OF BABYLON:
The nation of Israel spent 70 years in Babylonian captivity. The Prophet Jeremiah foretold of it. Daniel lived through it. Zechariah lived to see Israel's temple worship restored and the walls of Jerusalem rebuilt. There's a lot we can learn about the "spirit of Babylon" from these three prophetic books. The major thing is: it always seeks to bring the true people God into, captivity, emptiness and religious confusion.
The Babylonian spirit is prevalent in our time and will be a spirit that is dominant during the days preceding the Second Coming of Christ.
In the book of Revelation, we find the cry of God's heart thundering through the earth! A Holy pleading is going to be released! "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues." (Rev. 18:4)
Now I'm quite sure that, "Mystery Babylon the Great the Mother of prostitutes and abominations of the earth," (Rev. 17:5) will ultimately be manifest as some large, even global religious organization of peoples, and that this spiritual harlot will ultimately be destroyed, never to rise again, (Rev. 18). Until this happens however, there's a sense where every generation of God's people must address and deal with this evil spirit that can take God's people captive. It causes spiritual confusion and emptiness, (Jer. 51:34).
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THE HOLY SPIRIT IS SPEAKING:
He that has an ear let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches (Rev. 2:11).
What is the Spirit starting to put a strong emphases on right now?
HOLINESS and RIGHTEOUSNESS
This was the message preceding the First Coming of Christ's and it will be the dominant message preceding the Second Coming of Christ.
As it was in the days of Noah so shall it be in the days of the coming of Christ, (Mt. 24:37). During the evil and wickedness of Noah's generation there was one dominant message being heralded! Noah was a preacher of righteousness, (2 P. 2:5) .
The prominent message from the heart of God through the Church to the world will be one of righteousness.
For the Church to be affective in the "spirit of Elijah ministry" will require that we be righteous in our everyday life and living .
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SEPARATING THE LIGHT FROM DARKNESS:
To put righteousness in one word that we can all understand; it's OBEDIENCE . That can mean only one thing! Total, absolute surrender to the Word and will of God ALL THE TIME.
The call of God right now is 2 Cor. 6:17, "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord; touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."
"But in your hearts SET APART Christ as Lord, (1 P. 3:15).
It might seem an extreme statement to say, "Either Christ is Lord of all in my life or He's not Lord at all.
We're fast approaching one of the most extreme times in the existence of the Church on earth. Time will prove this statement to be most accurate. It's time for an extreme committment to the Lord! No holding back! No reservations! We're told in Deut. 1:36 that Caleb got to possess his inheritance BECAUSE he followed the Lord WHOLEHEARTEDLY. This is the call of God's heart today!
WHOLEHEARTED SURRENDER FOR WHOLEHEARTED OBEDIENCE
The time has come for us to awake out of sleep, to be clothed with Christ's strength, to radiate His splendor. It's time to shake off the dust and to rise up and be freed from the chains of the Babylonian spirit and to take our rightful place in Christ as seated with Him on His throne. (Isa. 52:1,2).
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